Chapter 273: The Keep(2)

Standing in the door was Jonas, as always, he wore as set of immaculate black clothing, with silver inlay. But his face looked aged, with deep wrinkles, and though his hair had been white before, now it looked dry and limp.

There was a deep sadness in his eyes, and even as he bowed, it seemed halfhearted. 

Kothar knew what had caused him to become like this, and a lump formed in his throat as he looked at him.

At the same time, Kothar felt a deep seething rage, Krieg had not only betrayed him, but he had also come after Rotan, all because he had tried to negotiate with the Academy on Kothar's behalf.

"Please, follow me, sir." Jonas said, his voice shaky and weak, and he turned around, walking in toward the great hall of the keep.

The walls and great chandelier that hung above the hall were just as Kothar remembered them, but the throne that Roton had once sat on was gone.

In its place was a long wooden table, quite bare, with only some decorative carvings around its edges, apart from that, it looked far too simple to be within what had once been the throne room of Ursten.

There were many wooden chairs around the table, made of the same deep brown, polished wood, and right now, they were all empty.

"This way." Jonas' voice brought Kothar out of the daze  he was in, staring at the space where the throne had once been, and he looked around to see Jonas standing in one of the many doors that branched off of the hall.

Jonas led Kothar up countless staircases and hallways, all of them well lit with Mana Crystal lamps, the silver within the black granite shining and shimmering in the light.

Jonas was silent as he walked, and after a few minutes of leading Kothar through the twisting and winding corridors of the castle, he stopped in a small antechamber, one Kothar had never seen before. 

As was Tam's preference, the antechamber was decorated simply, with only a tapestry of a scene of the Fidour Mountains on one wall, and a few chairs.

"Please, go on in, the Grand Marshal is waiting for you." Jonas bowed, and gestured with one arm toward the door. Before he went in, Kothar gave the man a long look, as much as he wanted to reveal his dignity to and comfort the man, he knew that while Krieg was alive, he would only endanger those he knew by revealing himself.

Kothar walked over to the wooden door, and gently pushed it open, stepping through and pushing it gently shut behind him.

The room was as simply decorated as the antechamber, with only a few cushioned chairs, a small writing desk, and an all too familiar tapestry on the wall, that made a lump appear in Kothar's throat. 

It was one of those that had decorated their home, woven by Ophil, a scene of a lush forest, with all sorts of animals delicately pictured between the trees, peeking out from behind the trunks and out beneath the roots.

And by the tall windows at one side of the room, a tall man, with a ponytail of long straight dark hair, a pair of piercing blue eyes and proud nose was pacing back and forth. 

He wore a set of dark clothing, and had his usual curved sword at his belt.

As Kothar entered, he spun on his heel, and looked at the armored figure in front of him, with a confused expression.

But as Kothar removed his helm, tears welled up in his eyes, and a smile spread across his face.

"Son." Tam croaked, as he wrapped Kothar up in a tight hug, causing even his Steelwing armor to creak slightly, as he lifted him up off of the ground.

"You're okay." Tam breathed, and as he set Kothar abc down, he shook his head in disbelief, as if confused that Kothar was standing in front of him.

"When I didn't see you, with all the others who fled the ship as it went down, I wasn't worried. I was sure you had something to do with it. But I expected you to return, but then the days went by, and you didn't show, and I began to fear the worst." Tears welled up in Tam's eyes as hugged Kothar again,a s if making sure he really was standing there, in front of him.

"Sorry Father, I escaped by taking a portal to another plane, but I couldn't know if the invasion was truly repelled, since I didn't know the outcome of the battle with the Ascendant."

Tam led Kothar over to the chairs and sat him down, and then nodded for Kothar to keep talking.

"So I stayed there, and I was preparing myself for whatever might have happened back here, and I would have stayed for far longer, but I couldn't bear not knowing if you and Simon were alright. As well as all of Eclat, so I returned." Kothar said with a half smile, still overcome by seeing his father and home after so many days of not knowing whether they were still alive, and whether his home even still existed.

"Wow. You should have seen it, son." Tam shook his head, as he thought back to the sight that everyone who had been watching the skies on Eclat had seen.

"The other Ascendant, he was enraged when he returned to find his ship sunk in the ocean. And he tried to take his rage out on Eclat, but then the great beast that protected us followed him  out of the tear in space that he came out from, and then swatted him like a fly." Tam stopped for a moment, a smile spreading across his face as he looked at his son, who was really there, in front of him.

"He ran away, with his tail between his legs. We finished off the remaining invaders, and that was that." Tam leaned back, and crossed his arms.

"What about the people, Father? What has come over them?" Kothar asked, as he remembered how strangely all those he had seen had been acting.