The neon moon rose gingerly as Atreus and his men left the forest and crossed the Great Grid, a large field with faint color-changing lines forming perfect grids glowing in the grass. The horses breathed hard as they rode, their eyes glowing a bright blue and their teeth shining like glass. Upon the other side of a protruding hill, a bright beam of light shown brightly to the night sky. As the hill descended, the vast city of Dagon appeared. White neon light glowing off the walls shined through the night. Atreus, though troubled, was eager to return to the city. Upon his approach, the gate commander yelled "OPEN THE GATES!" and the gates opened. The citizens greeted their king with cheers and bows. Slowing to a trot through the streets, Atreus removed his helmet once again, looking upon his people. He could never grow tired of the beauty of the city, powered by magic-infused technology set by ancient wizards centuries ago, nor of the citizens, human and elf, that resides within.

Bright pink flower petals rained the streets, a sign of good fortune for the king. The citizens have given their praise for Atreus many times, ever since he wielded the Sword of Amor for the first time and slain the Dragon of Cyx. It was then, he was proclaimed King and he ruled mightily over the city, with a gentle yet fierce grace. Always watching over his people. With Mordekai now making moves against his kingdom, Atreus now begins to think of what he should do. Such will be determined later.

When he reached the entrance to his castle, he climbed off his horse and walked in. He was greeted by his advisors, including one named Yannis, who was very eager to give him updates of the city while he was away. But as Yannis rambled, Atreus noticed someone in the distance; a single elf-hybrid woman standing in the archery, target practicing. Elara was her name, a friend Atreus knew from the days when they were children. 

Her long, smooth, blond hair flowed as she let loose another laser arrow, hitting the bull's-eye dead center. Atreus had been on her mind for some time. She would willfully throw herself on the line for him, not just as a regular soldier, but much more. Unfortunately, as far as she knew, Atreus has his sight and his love for Dagon. How can she compete with that? She's kept her feelings for him closed, out of fear that she may trouble him. She loved him but cannot tell him herself. Atreus approached her as she let loose another arrow.

"Elara," he spoke, "your aim never fails to impress me." She let out a small chuckle and she picked up another arrow. "If only you would let me tag along in one of your parties, you would see how well my aim is."

Atreus shook his head. "And if something were to happen to me, who would defend the city of Dagon better than you?" Elara froze briefly. He trusts her but he doesn't let her into his heart. She then raised the arrow and fired another shot, this time without uttering a single word. "There is a feast tonight," Atreus continued, "And I was wondering if you would like to attend?" 

What Elara didn't know was that Atreus had feelings for her as well but he, too, is plagued by fears. He wanted to tell her himself how he truly felt but he feared hurting her, let alone jeopardize their friendship. He kept his focus on his duties to try and distract himself from such trouble. Quite often, he imagined her by his side not as another soldier, but as his queen. He did, in fact, consider taking Elara with him when he went out to combat Mordekai's troops, but he couldn't stand even the thought of losing her, so he had her tasked with guarding the city. Anything to keep her safe.

Elara turned to him. Her green eyes were always a sight for him to see. She gave a smile, something he secretly enjoyed seeing. "I would be honored, your highness," she answered. Atreus gave a warm nod. "Then I will see you tonight," he said before leaving. Elara turned her head away, hiding her warm smile before firing another arrow at the target with quick haste, taking her mind off the matter.

Entering the corridor, Yannis kept close to Atreus, still addressing updates of the city. As they approached Atreus's bedroom, Atreus turned to face Yannis. "I'm sorry, my friend," he began, "I'm sorry if I seem like I was paying any attention to the matters, but I must admit I haven't been paying any heed. Right now, I want to freshen up and maybe get a bit of rest." Yannis stuttered. "But, sire, I'm only doing my job--" "and a fine job you are doing, Yannis. That I can promise you. However, I'm tired at the moment. We will discuss the matters when I'm fully rested," Atreus said reassuredly. Yannis gave a small bow. "As you wish, my lord." He then turned and left.

Atreus entered his bedroom. A chandelier surrounded with floating crystals, each shining an emerald color with splashes of gold, lit up the entire room. The bed, covered in the softest fabric woven from silk of the Crysn Spiders. He removed his armor before making his way to the balcony, staring at the mesmerizing sight of Dagon. His thoughts of Mordekai's imminent invasion troubled him. Twice before, Mordekai invaded Dagon and both times, Atreus confronted him in battle. The first time, Atreus was in the center of battle, slaying dark knights and cyborg skeletons left and right, when thunder rumbled and he set his eyes on Mordekai for the first time.

He remembered the dark sorcerer summoning violent red lightning from the sky and casting it forth, hoping to take out the king. What Mordekai didn't expect was Atreus raising his sword in an attempt to deflect the lightning, only to instead absorb the lightning with easy, much to Atreus's surprise for he did not fully know the magic within the Sword of Amor. The lightning absorbed gave a blue-ish purple glow, prompting Atreus to point the sword at Mordekai. A beam of light shot out and struck the dark sorcerer. Mordekai would've been destroyed had he not conjure an arcane shield at the very last second. The shield took the full blunt but the dark sorcerer was sent flying. Stunned and weakened, Mordekai fled, swearing he would return.

The second time, however, things were much different. Mordekai led the charge across the Great Grid, wielding a sword of his own, the Black Sword of Nor. The two clashed in the heat of battle, dragons swooping over, spewing violet flames onto Dagon forces, setting them ablaze, prompting the Great Eagles of Styx to fly out from Dagon to do battle with the dragons.

Soon, Atreus found that Mordekai is much stronger than their last encounter. The battle was nearly lost that time. In fact, Mordekai nearly killed Atreus had it not been for Elara. He remembered being at the mercy of the Sorcerer of the Dark, mere seconds away from death as Mordekai raised his Black Sword of Nor for the final impalement, only to be interrupted by a single laser arrow fired from Elara's bow. He remembered Mordekai's howl of pain as the arrow tore the skin from his mouth, exposing his teeth and bone.

Mordekai was forced to flee as a result. Since then, Atreus has been dealing with war parties and scout forces sent by the dark sorcerer himself. They were few in far and between but lately, they've grown to become more frequent, a sign of imminent invasion. When will they come, he doesn't know. 

Atreus shook his head before leaving the balcony.