The day of the final fight finally came.

Thaedric once again stood in front of the mirror in his room, his hair still wet with water from his bath. He was dressed and ready. Everything he wore was black; only the scarf around his neck was a different color. It was red, blood red.

He checked his hair and eyes; they were still solid black. He wondered what Elder Cormac had put inside. "Well then, seems it’s all set."

Urlk snorted. He wore brown and carried Thaedric’s mace with two hands. "How do you manage to look like that and still carry around a weapon this big with one hand?"

Thaedric shoved his hair behind him and turned. "That’s the secret you might find out today." He turned to the two, Malak and Urlk. They were the only things he had to rely on right now.

"Malak. Do you remember?" Thaedric looked at the bald psychopath. "Do you remember who your master is?"

Urlk was surprised. He looked from Thaedric to Malak.

Malak smiled and shrugged. "Of course." He swept into a bow. "You are, Reaper Blood."

"Then as of today, you do away with the act. You will listen to me. For starters, stay close to me when we enter the palace. Sandskar will shield your aura."

They left the room then, Thaedric took the lead.

It was morning outside, and Orso and... only two of his guards were outside. Thaedric raised his brows. "You’re going with only one guard?"

Orso snorted. "Why should I go with any guard into the palace? That’ll be saying the Bloodscion will harm her guests."

Thaedric gave him a skeptical look. His mother would do more than harm if she had any reason to. But still, it was wise of him.

They entered the metal carriage, and the riding beast began to move them into the street. This early in the morning, not a lot of people were on the street, as this was truly the time the Crumbs slept.

Thaedric didn’t know the direct direction of the palace from the Crumbs, but he knew they were not going straight to it. Instead, the carriage took them deeper into the Crumbs.

They stopped in front of an old three-story house hidden far from the street. Three carriages stood in front with their riding beasts.

Orso talked with a hooded man who cast his gaze on their carriage before saying a few words to the crime lord. Thaedric knew instinctively that it was the Iridessa. His gaze had been like a blade poised at him.

"We are now going to the palace," Oros said when he came back.

"Why so soon? I thought you said it’s noon the fight will happen?" Urlk asked.

Oros snorted. "Do you know the distance between here and the palace? Do you know how large the capital is? Not to talk of the traffic. We’ll be lucky if we’re not late."

"I’ve not been to the palace before," Urlk said wistfully before his face darkened. It was his clan’s greatest wish to work for the palace.

Orso didn’t react to the glare that was sent his way.

They began to move. All four of the metal carriages.

The traffic was relatively clear this early in the Crumbs, and the Rashakas here knew to stay out of the carriages’ way. It was Thaedric’s chance to truly see the Crumbs without the darkness of night.

One way to describe the Crumbs is that it is unpredictable. Good buildings and streets would suddenly give way to crumbling buildings and empty streets. It went like this until they left the Crumbs, and now they began to see a steady stream of good old buildings.

It continued like this until they joined the largest road in the capital. It was called the King’s Road, and it was wide enough to swallow twenty carriages traveling side by side.

And yet, they were stuck in the carriage.

A lot of people walked the King’s Road, and from Thaedric’s experience, they always did. Nobles or not. The closer they got, the more they saw Blue Shields. They patrolled the road and side streets, their blue color pristine.

Bit by bit their carriage moved until it was soon their turn to be checked in. The first thing Thaedric and the others saw was the walls, and they couldn’t help but look at them in awe.

They were tall, towering up into the sky. They were made of a combination of grey stones and purple ones. Chunks of blue crystals were scattered among the stones.

From his place, Thaedric could feel the magic woven into the walls. It sang to him, curling around him warmly, bidding him welcome.

"That’s some serious defensive technique in that wall," Malak spoke for the first time. "It’s not something that could be taken down easily."

Thaedric knew the story, that the walls were put up by the Stormgod himself, the founder of their Great Clan. Blue Shields walked atop the walls.

"Yes," Orso grunted. "Keep your head down now as we enter the palace. The Blue Shield is no joke here."

The carriage moved forward, and it was their turn. Oros climbed down and produced his permit, the one that gave him the right to enter and entertain.

The guards checked it thoroughly and ran the permit over an enchanted tool to verify its authenticity. Then, when it was confirmed real, they let all the carriages pass.

The gate was just as tall as the wall, but there were smaller gates set within the big one, and it was through those that they passed. Thaedric felt for the aura of the guards. The ones staying at the gate were all Tier Three, and he even felt two Tier Fours.

Inside was a burst of colors. As their carriage passed, they looked out the windows and saw the carvings etched into the walls, painted with different colors, each telling a story about the battles the Hydraeus had fought and won. There were a lot of paintings.