*buries face in hands* I cannot believe that I forgot that there were two emperors! I don't know if they did away with the civil war and the East and the West and stuff for the comics, but I was nearly done when I realized that something wasn't sitting right. I rewatched "Campfire," and gah, point is I had to rewrite EVERYTHING.

*deep breath* Okay Lya, you can recover from this. A day may come when you know The Haunted like the backside of your hand again, just be patient, casually binge the series when you should be being productive, etc.

I think for the rebooted one-shots, I'm going to do what I did with the original: I know that in the beginning I tried to give the original characters their own story each before redoing POVs. I did Grayson last time, and this one I decided to tackle Ferox because why the hell not. Let's see, that leaves Drake, Mia, Armen, Collin, Mairyn (?)... I'm gonna have to figure out what other characters exist... Heh, can I make Slimey the light spirit again? I know that was a theory I had, but I can't remember if I wrote for it before my untimely disappearance.

Also, it was such a pleasant surprise to have reviews when I posted for the first time in forever! It made me feel so good, and I hope that I won't disappear again. *crosses fingers* It's only been a few days. When was the last time I posted within a few days?

Well, without further ado, let the chapter commence!

Let's Go On An Adventure

Blood and Flame

His cloak swept across the dusty floors of the hidden chambers as Ferox entered the hidden chamber where he knew where it was hidden. It took a fortnight to lay siege to the Emerald City, but now that its defenses had finally fallen, he could take what was rightfully his. He had discovered the egg's location from a few unwilling sources, so it wasn't difficult for the Emperor of the East to find the hidden panel that opened the passageway into the secret vault holding the dragon's egg.

Moonlight shone down from a grate in the ceiling. It was the first night since the smoke had cleared from the siege, but he needed the torch burning in his hand to see down the passage. He came upon an elaborate stone pedestal. Intricate carvings were embedded in the stone, and there was a time in his childhood where he would have marveled at the sheer beauty, a time that was so long ago that it was worthless now.

Where was the egg?

He held out the torch, frantically searching the ground in case if the egg had rolled off of the pedestal. Did his sources lie? Even if they did, this pedestal was supposed to be holding something important because why else was it hidden? Someone must have taken it, but how? This was the Western Empire's best kept secret, and he had to coax its location from a few different high-ranking officials because no one had the complete story.

Ferox had plans, of course, plans on what to do with the egg. His court of mages were working on finding the Magical Library to hatch the egg once he had it, but he didn't have it because someone decided that it would be a great idea to take it. In a fit of anger, he threw the torch onto the ground, but nothing caught on fire. Something will, though, when he found the thief. Whoever he or she was, they would be punished.

He turned tail and left the chamber, not bothering to pick up the torch. If it burned down the secret room, so be it. Who was Ferox to care? It could be rebuilt, though he doubted that he would need to hide the egg again once he found it. He wouldn't waste any time to hatch the dragon.

He'll find it. No matter how long it took him, no matter how many lives he must sacrifice in the process, he had to recover the egg. One day it will be he who sat on the back of a dragon, commanding his troops with a zealous voice as he conquered land after land. While the Empire had been broken apart by the civil war, he'd unite it again with blood and flame, then he would expand upon his lands and bring it all under his rule.

All he had to do was wait.

Unfortunately, Ferox was not known for his patience. Over the course of the month, he had had many people thrown into the dungeons, and when the dungeons got overcrowded he had them hanged. The guards meant to protect the egg who hadn't seen the thief? Publicly flogged and executed. The Western Emperor's former top officials? Either forced into swearing fealty to him or killed along with the rest of those who fought against his reign, for the Emperor wasn't known for showing mercy to those who betrayed him, either.

There weren't any clues left inside of the temple, so whoever had taken the egg had to have known what they were doing. A master of stealth, most likely. It was highly doubtful that a common thief could have taken it, so it must have been a soldier, probably one of the West's most trusted, but who? Who could have come in and taken it underneath his very nose? Who was busy taking the egg instead of defending the city?

Well, Ferox may have his answers. He looked upon the purple-haired man before him, bedraggled in appearance and shaking like a leaf. One eye was a brilliant shade of blue, and the other was a fiery brown. He carried his hat in his hands, and his head was bowed low because he very wisely chose to not meet the Emperor's gaze.

"Speak up, boy!" he bellowed, causing some of the elves chained at his feet to cringe. He didn't always raise his voice, but he was growing impatient with the nameless soldier's quivering.

"I-I might know who has the dragon's egg," he squeaked. He fisted the hat so tightly that it was a wonder that it didn't become misshapen from the rough handling.

Ferox waited... for a full-blown five seconds before snapping, "Well, spit it out!" He didn't care how much gold he had to give the sniveling fool before him. He wanted answers, and he wanted the egg. Behind him was a guard holding a sizeable bag of money, mostly gold but there were surely a few marques in there as well. If not, then he could make do with giving the man more... as long as he actually had decent information.

The man hesitated and stared at his shoes, his oh so interesting worn boots. The money in the pouch could buy a pair of boots for every day of the year and more. So much more! Now, if he could quit his groveling and actually tell him something worth knowing!

"He's..." A he. Well, that narrowed down half of the population. "He's my... friend." There was some regret, but he regained enough composure to betray said friend. Somehow. "The commander of the armies, he left during the battle. Said he was going to do something. If anyone knows anything, he would."

"Grayson." He knew the name well enough. Grayson had been a thorn in Ferox's side for nearly two years, but he had hoped that the man's family would have kept him in line when he took the city. Apparently not. "He has a family, doesn't he?"

The soldier's eyes widened, but he nodded. "Y-yes, my lord."

"Good." A smirk formed on Ferox's face as he formulated a plan to not only have the thief out himself but to also punish him. He indicated the soldiers guarding the doors. "Send for them," he commanded ever-so-sweetly. His smirk turned into a majestic simper as the guards bowed and left.

The unnamed soldier's eyes widened further from horror, but that didn't stop him from catching the bag being thrown his way. Ferox held both arms of the throne, still grinning widely. Taking Grayson's family was only the first thing he would do to the thief. Oh, he could already see it. He would have the man's home burned into a fiery mass and force him to watch as his family hung in the square. Even if they didn't apprehend him at his home, surely he wouldn't miss the occasion?

He would make Grayson pay.

Cue a house on fire, a couple of people hanging (I totally missed that it was Armenbrine that hanged them in Armen's short and I feel stupid. I also feel stupid because I KNOW that there was a time where Grayson pointed out gallows but I can't remember which of the Red Keep episodes it was in and now it has some angstier meaning), a lot of running, a lot of hunting, stuff and things, and will Grayson actually get to have a dragon pet? I want a dragon pet!

Plot twist: he goes batshit crazy and uses discount Drogon to burn down the Empire.

Let's hope that this momentum continues! Carry on my wayward sons and daughters!

~Lya200~