POV of Lord Wrey: 

The night was far too young as the sky had barely finished shedding into its vibrant blueberry coat. A crescent moon shone faintly through the thin clouds that remained. 

The quietness of the night was masked behind the faint sound of feet marching back and forth. Messengers—constantly exchanging news between senders and receivers—roamed in, around, and out of the palace. 

Hands clasped together, I sat with a slight lean in my posture that prevented my back from resting against the throne behind it. My eyes were closed and my mind was at rest besides its subconscious tracking of footsteps across the palace floor. But... what lays beyond the palace was the whole kingdom of Aerodom. Every space and area that resembled the makeup of this great domain was under my surveillance. Every area, occupied or not with the residents of the domain, was completely mapped out in my head. 

This state had lasted for hours. Although my body felt the urges of rest and the heavy toll of excessive mana usage, I could have continued maintaining the spell. However, the benefits were far too little compared to the detriments. Every bit of information that I was able to gather would be more than enough to suffice. 

“Lord Wrey,” Lord Vinzel interrupted; the echo of his steps came to a halt. “I’m sure you’ve sensed it by now.” His voice was aided in a stern but monotone pitch. 

“Yes,” I replied. “There are two among us.” My hands had broken free from their clasped position and were now resting along the armrest of the throne. The rhythmic tapping of my fingers filled the silence between every pause and breath without speech. 

“With that being addressed, what is our next course of action?” 

“We wait,” I said firmly. 

“Odd,” a voice descended from a nearby staircase. 

It was Lady Visu. Smirking as if she was amused or satisfied by the answer, she made her way to greet the two men. 

“You’re not usually a man of patience,” she said. “Would you be interested in sharing your thoughts?” 

“While the mana presence is similar to those of the invaders, I believe it is a trap.” 

“A trap?” Lord Vinzel repeated softly. 

“Yes. The dark and mysterious mana that is floating around right now is barely noticeable,” I confirmed. “It’s almost as if it’s attempting to mask itself or bond to the mana of others.” 

“In other words,” Lady Visu chipped in, “there are spies…” 

“Yes.” 

“Impressive,” Lord Vinzel said. “Even my sensory skills were unable to distinguish such a presence.” He rubbed his chin. 

Twice, I tapped my foot against the ground. A portion of my mana had enveloped us and created a barrier in which sound was incapable of fleeing. The next exchange of words would serve as the final statements for the night. 

It wasn’t until later in my sleeping chambers that I had completed my second task. Outside of my body, I had created a projection for the sole purpose of finding him... Draenel Pridelyn. The seven-foot giant had a muscular and bold appearance with long dark hair and a thick beard that lined up roughly against his jaw. His back appeared to have been turned when I approached. 

“Long time no see,” his voice boomed in a cheery undertone. 

“This is no time for pleasant reunions,” I said. My lips curled as my eyes laid upon the sitting man. 

“Such hostility. You would think you would be more grateful considering I gave you a child capable of matching the potential of your finest guardians,” he responded in a snarky manner while turning to face me. 

“Cut the bullshit,” I ordered. “We’ve had peace for centuries until that bastard was brought here.” 

“Boo-hoo,” he teased. “The child was in your care and now you refuse to take accountability or even claim him despite raising him in Aerodom.” He had finished digging his pinky in his ear before flicking away the wax. His face dropped as he slowly spoke. “Your kind annoys me.” 

“Watch yours—“ 

The brown, rocky background of the cave alongside Draenel had disappeared; The view in front of me was replaced with the walls of my sleeping chambers as the projection ended. A sense of suspicion grazed the skin of my body. Something was wrong. 

Vanishing from the room, I followed my senses. As I materialized, I was pulled into a hall with an abnormal presence. Instead of being greeted with the sight of working servants, I was welcomed to a bloodbath in which the bodies of multiple servants were piled on top of the floor. Their murderer stood proudly before me with a wide grin.  

At first glance, I could see how he went unnoticed. He was dressed like a servant and may have even played the role if needed to. Waiting, he carefully plotted in how he might make his way to me. One by one, he had dropped the other servants to lower his odds of facing any difficulty. 

“Guess you saved me the trouble of coming to you,” he snickered. “Would’ve been more useful if you had shown up earlier though.” he shrugged. 

“I don’t have time for your nonsense,” I said. My newfound patience was shortly dying. Although the urge to kill him was strong, there were still questions that needed to be answered. Relaxing my fists, I let them drop beside my sides. Slowly, I walked toward him. 

“Sensory Magic: Aural Outburst” 

Powerful soundwaves materialized from my vision. Everything within sight was affected as a silent yet deadly frequency forced itself upon the hallway. Incapacitated, the imposter fell backward and watched as I continued to approach him. 

“Who are you?” I asked. 

No answer... 

I proceeded to touch his forehead. Sending him into a dying state, I gathered the information I needed. “The Dark Brethren,” I said.