On the fourteenth day of Moonhallow, in the Great Hall of Aethermere, Prince Aelric Radelin stood before the assembled court and spoke words that would shatter a dynasty.
"Father," he said, and those who were present recall that his voice did not waver, "I have seen the ledgers. I have read the pacts. I know what feeds the throne's magic, and I know what it costs. The soldiers of the Frontier do not die in battle — they are harvested. Their souls fuel the wards that keep you young, and I will not inherit a crown paid for in silent screams."
The silence that followed lasted seven heartbeats. Then the Emperor rose from the Obsidian Throne, and for the first time in living memory, the stone beneath his hands turned cold.
"You are no longer my son," Emperor Valdris spoke. "You are no longer heir. You are nothing."
Aelric was stripped of his armor, his rank, and his name. He was permitted to keep only his sword — because the blade refused to leave his hand. Three attempts were made to take it from him, and three guards collapsed with burned palms. The court took this as a sign, though they could not agree on what it signified.
He walked out of the capital at dawn, through streets lined with people who wept but did not dare speak. At the city gates, he turned back once, looked at the towers he would never inherit, and said to no one in particular: "I will return. Not for the throne. For them."
He has not been seen in the capital since.