Tumultuous streams of glory gushed

There was something about this night. Thriumph had felt it in his bones, it was an eerie feeling that crawled in the insides of his body. Maybe it was the quietness the past days have had. Since he was king his whole day was filled with strategic meetings, whether he needed to take extra control on the border post, or just renew the trade route that was so important for Navarre. Next to that was finding the right council quite a huge task, he needed more respect from the people. But at the same time, starting a civil war was the last thing he wanted. So he went on, searching for the right men to lead the country, keep enough money and keep the borders as closed as he could. Especially the northern seas, they were very open and needed to be protected at any cost.

Accepting his mind wouldn’t be done thinking for a long time, he decided sleep wasn’t an option anymore. It was almost morning anyway and soon the day would start with another meeting, maybe he could come closer to an agreement for the border posts that laid eastern of D’auvignon. Taking some fresh air to think even more wouldn’t be bad, he thought as he stepped outside on his horse. He left quietly, leaving a note for his guard where he would be and when he would return. It was quite a luxury to have, especially since he was very talented and had some interesting magic. Once outside the borders he could feel the pressure take off for just a moment. It seemed like the city had too much weight on him, now he needed to fix so much.

For some time he stepped on, enjoying the eerie quietness that would set the hairs in your neck stand up straight. His thoughts however were disturbed by a fleshy sound, which would make many nauseous. Thriumph glided off his horse leaving it stand there, knowing the horse would stay where he left him. Although it was still really dark, he could see the contour of a man, close to the ground. A small grin appeared on his face while hearing his words. ’Achilles, enjoy your meal.’ He said cold, keeping the grin on his face as he pointed towards the remains of what probably was a human before. ’My thoughts awoke me, and who needs sleep anyways.’ His icy blue eyes observed the man for a moment, carefully as he was. ’Had a productive night?’ He asked after, seeing the many blood stains in his clothes while looking for some satisfaction in his eyes.

Many that would have seen the man would turned on their heels right back from the direction they came from. No, it weren’t the animals that made these forests especially as dark as they were, it were more dangerous creatures that imposed the silence, claiming it as theirs. And they were luring, Thriumph knew it. The man stood up, letting his enormous height show. It was a huge man to see, as automatic Thri’s head turned with the movement up, not letting that little grin fade a single bit. His posture on the nonchalant side, but never losing focus, although he had his agreements with Achilles and the cult, being perfectly save was never an option.

The words that came from the man made him smile a moment. He still didn’t know where his nickname came from exactly, but he took it with a little bit of humor. ’Ah,’ He responded while shaking his head, ’well I needed to see new faces anyways.’ He almost got bored between his countless of meetings, and seeing new faces meant new mind games to be played. Besides that, it was something he had warned for and if people were stupid enough to ignore that they could face the facts themselves. As he spoke again Thriumph saw the grin disappear with his icy blue eyes and could guess already what was up. He sighed hearing the enormous man out. His words seemed lightly said, but it was clear there were enough warnings in them, and they weren’t false. ’That blithering idiot.’ Thriumph responded to the man, shaking his head once more.

Staring back up to Achilles he let his grin show up a bit more again. ’Wicked runs along in the Medici blood.’ He pointed out, it was clear in him and his brother. And Aeron had made it obvious for the rest of Fallen Skies by burning half of the country. You could go along the history books of the Medici-line and it would always turn out on the same thing. Thriumphs lips curled up towards a sarcastic smile, Achilles knew in what kind of situation he was in, and knew exactly where it hurts. ’You almost seem surprised I’m still alive.’ He said as sarcasticly. ’What do I owe you for that idiot?’ Thri finally came back to point, holding back the sarcasm again.

There was a reason Thriumph was alone in the earliest of mornings, standing in the dark forest just outside of D’auvignon. He prepared well for those little “spontaneous” trips, knowing who of the guards watched and where the people were. Or in particular, where his so called guest were and what they would even do in the night. Thri ensured that nobody saw him leave, and that he would stay unseen until he was back in his quarters ready for the morning breakfast. No what he did was strictly secret, making his own deals with the man. Deals that would cause, civil wars if anyone found them out. A direct chaos that would probably mean the end of his reign, if he hadn’t made his plans and backups.

His attention went back up to the man in front of him. Closely he looked when the man walked towards the corpse, watching the sinister move that caused the dead man to lose his face. Frowning he could only grin a little bit before letting that expression fade when Thri understood he was supposed to grab the piece of skin. But before he could even deny Achilles threw the thing, leaving only the sharp reflexes at work. Grimacing he caught the piece, with still fresh blood dripping off it. Holding it for him he turned his head to look more closely to it. ’Ah, beautiful,’ The man responded, quickly switching strategy. ’Maybe I’m even going to wear it.’ He looked very serious for a moment before he burst in a small laughter. While shaking his head he let his blue eyes glide from the face to Achilles. ’When don’t you surprise me?’ He said after. No he wasn’t fond of bloody situations, but he certainly wasn’t afraid of getting his hands dirty in the process.

The next words coming from the man made him laugh for a moment again. ’Don’t you see I’m shivering in fear already?’ He thought about the ones Achie meant, and shook his head again. All three of them didn’t stand a change, even though they were so convinced of themselves. Or not, that was the part it was getting funny. ’Well at least one of them is running from D’auvignon, so that one scares me the most.’ His arrogance showed through with sarcasm in his voice. But his mind went serious again talking about the deal itself. ’When is he going to make it easier?’ He sighed, knowing the man in front of him would gladly profit of the whole thing. ’Well fine, surely he wants to set someone up against me, when was the time he didn’t plan on that?’ Thriumph gave in, his eyes searching through those of Achie again. ’Depends on how you want them, I’m certain we can make an appropriate deal.’

The connection Thriumph had with Achilles could be called simple, yet complex. The understanding between the two was as simple as it could be. They both knew where they stood with each other, and in this situation there was a simple trading going on. But aside from that, Achilles was a monster. To be exact, he was the monster of the monsters, him als part of the cult that stood on top of the whole other food chain that rose above the one that ruled the normal, natural and even human food chain. Precisely that meant that if Achie wanted to, he would kill the man easily, surpassing the natural top. And with that he would get away with it, which topped the monarchy one. Still, he didn’t kill Thri, and that made it complex at the same time. And with that, where many would have years of nightmares getting a freshly torn off face thrown at them, Thri had seen worse, no he would rather be the nightmare itself. He would wash the blood of his hands and go through his normal day.

The playful words of him had a good response of Achilles. It told him he made the right decision in strategy and had a little bit of fun at the same time. ’Ah I’m your favorite now?’ Thri pulled an eyebrow, still grinning from before, responding to the words Achie said. Seeing the expression fade into a more serious one he let his grin slide into his own serious face. Keeping that small grin as he gazed in the dark eyes of the man. ’I’ll definitely need to handle those yes.’ He agreed to the little warning the man gave, but grinned at the last words. ’It’s always fun when a brothers want to fuck up each other.’ Thri said sharply, knowing the sentence didn’t only worked for the Tenebrae’s. The next words of Achie made him look up towards the pitch black eyes of the man. ’Maybe the sheer innocence makes them taste more sinful.’ Letting the small arrogant smile cross over his lips again. ’You’ll get the 3 extra, how would you want them this time?’ He made the deal, but lured for the details now. He knew Achie knew about his little ability to play tricks on their minds. ’And more of the usual, I’ll fix that.’ He leaned back to a tree, keeping that small grin on his face. Yes there was a reason he was all alone, maybe he enjoyed this way more than he should.

Leaning back into a nearby tree, Thriumph made himself somewhat comfortable. Surely he could never really relax with any members of the cult, but he was quite close with the huge man in front of him. By that he could add that he was handy for Achie which made it easier for him to be alive. Beside that was the fact that only the man in front of him understood how it was to kill a person, and having fun with it along the way. Of course there were more, but having much contact with those was risky and dangerous. Not to mention the fact that some were idiots who exposed themselves way too easy, not so great if your rule shatters around that.

Thriumph raised a brow while hearing the words of the man, his curiosity coming to play immediately. ’Oh oh oh, what did you do?’ He asked, his blue eyes searching like they always did. Shaking his head he grinned a little bit. ’I’ll fix your drinks, and grand you a room in the castle.’ Thri said after, his mind trying to plan everything already. This needed to run very smoothly, but he could also gain some advantage out of it, only if he did it correctly. He knew Achie wasn’t taking no for an answer, so he made sure he’d know the whole deal.

Raising his brows even more as Achilles just assumed it would be okay, he shook his head and pushed himself off of the tree he was leaning against. ’It always sounds nice for you, yeah.’ He nodded, letting a small smile glide over his face again. ’You do remember that daughter of the baroness last time, don’t you.’ He gestured to the last time the man came over for a couple of nights. It was a reminder just as much as a little warning, though he knew Achilles must have had a lot of fun that night. ’Took me ages to get that straight.’ While looking towards the man again he glanced at the pitch blackness of his eyes, seeing the reaction after the words he said. ’No that’s a huge mystery for me as well,’ Thri sarcasticly said, gazing as sarcastic. ’You look like such an huggable man, you totally don’t look threatening with that height of yours, nah.’ He kept his eyes on him as he began to make way to his horse, expecting Achie would follow.