The Child of Fortune

A dense mass of people packed the royal palace. Soldiers, attendants, generals, nobles, priests, and people of every other rank filled the once-empty hall until not a scrap of space remained.

Now every head was raised and every eye fixed on Henir, standing beside the throne with the Yinsai Scepter in his grip.

There was shock in those gazes, there was worship, there was hatred, and there was ambition.

Stan Tito alone was different. He stared at the stone coffin, his thoughts far away.

He did not care who became king. Nor did he care who rose to the summit of power.

"Her Majesty... is dead?"

He could scarcely accept that Her Majesty had died this way. Something within him gave way, just as the legends said King Yesael had broken when he watched the statue of the divine crack apart before him.

To him, the Queen had been nobility and strength beyond measure. As the Sky Beast roamed the sea of clouds beneath the blue vault, its power seemed almost like the might of the divine itself. Nothing in all the world of Yinsai could defeat it.

He still remembered the day he first entered this place, a mere craftsman and commoner. The Queen had stood at the window with sunlight pouring over her.

The sight had been both holy and beautiful.

She had gently asked his name, and her smile had restored courage to the flustered craftsman's son.

Only then had he understood for the first time what it meant to bear oneself as a true sovereign.

Mustering all his strength, Stan Tito forced his way through the crowd. At last he emerged at the foot of the throne and put his question to Henir.

"Grand Duke of Volcano, how did Her Majesty truly die?"

Beside the throne, Henir bowed his head and said in a voice heavy with grief, "The Queen died when the Sky Beast lost control. What drove the great beast to it, we still do not know. But the Sele and Samo kingdoms must have had a hand in it."

"Every soldier in the kingdom's legion witnessed it with his own eyes."

Henir sighed, "A pity I was attacking the City of Sea Spirits at the time. I could not reach Her Majesty soon enough to save her."

"But the Queen's passing does not mean all is lost."

"I, Henir, shall make everyone who harmed Her Majesty pay the price, and I shall carry on her final wishes!"

The soldiers and generals answered Henir's cry with a roar of approval.

Only then did the nobles and priests glance around at one another and join in with scattered applause.

Stan Tito had his answer, and he believed it. Nothing less, he thought, could have brought down a Star Luo Queen of such nobility and strength.

With his own eyes, he had witnessed the Sky Beast and the Burrowing Demon Worm locked in brutal combat in God-Descended City. Their battle had torn the city apart and brought the palace crashing down.

He had watched the Samo Kingdom's great beast smash through a city wall as tens of thousands fled in terror, trampling one another underfoot.

Now he had once again tasted the death and terror that followed a great beast.

The words escaped him in a murmur, "O Ruhe, gift of the divine!"

"Why do you always bring destruction?"

Henir declared that he would take charge of God-Servant City, then announced a succession of decrees. To guard against another possible war with the Samo Kingdom, he ordered troop movements and made personnel assignments.

Through this succession of arrangements, Henir began drawing control of God-Servant City and the Sky Temple into his own hands.

As the crowd dispersed, Grand Duke Henir remained at the eye of the storm and asked Stan Tito to stay behind.

Henir inclined his head to Stan Tito. "Child of Fortune, we meet again."

Sorrow weighed on Stan Tito's face. "So we do! I just never imagined it would be like this."

"I haven't forgotten what you told me. Only the one who swims against the current can master his own fate and the world."

The Child of Fortune raised his head toward Henir and forced a smile.

"Congratulations, Grand Duke Henir."

Henir held Stan Tito's gaze and asked without warning, "Child of Fortune, do you think I shall become king?"

Stan Tito blinked. "How could I possibly know that?"

Henir had already prepared to seize the throne. Yet throughout all the ages, no man of his birth had ever become king.

He wanted the descendant of the Great Saint Tito, the acknowledged Child of Fortune, to present the offering for him. That would prove both the legitimacy of his ascent and the divine being's blessing upon it.

"If I become king, will you bestow your blessing upon me?"

"If that day comes, I would have you raise the Chapter of Saint Tito and stand at my left hand."

"I would even entrust the Sky Temple to you."

Stan Tito stared at him in astonishment. "I am only an ordinary man, not a priest."

Henir plainly had no use for well-worn paths. Breaking every rule had become his habit.

"Why should that matter?"

"Is service to the divine founded upon strength?"

"No. It is founded upon devotion to the divine."

Henir regarded him earnestly. "Descendant of the Saint, most devout Child of Fortune."

"Should a man such as you not preside over the Sky Temple and serve the Great God Yinsai?"

Stan Tito lowered his eyes. "If that day ever comes, I'll consider it."

Stan Tito neither agreed on the spot nor refused.

It was true to his reserved and weak nature.

He was only an ordinary man, drifting with the current.

A few days later, an uninvited guest climbed over the wall of the Saint family's residence and entered the courtyard in the dead of night.

Stan Tito rose in the depths of night to receive him. The visitor had once been high priest of the Yinsai Temple in God-Descended City, and was one of the few true friends Stan Tito had in the Star Luo Kingdom.

The priest had clearly come in haste. He was still gasping for breath.

His first words drained the color from Stan Tito's face.

"There is more to Her Majesty's death than we have been told."

Stan Tito sprang to his feet. "What happened? What's wrong?"

The priest leaned closer. "Before Her Majesty fell in battle, Henir ordered one of his subordinates to wait for an opportunity."

"Henir knew in advance that Her Majesty would die, and he prepared for it."

Eyes bloodshot with fury, the priest struck the table. "This was all a conspiracy. Henir must have had a hand in Her Majesty's death."

Stan Tito stared at him. "How did you learn this?"

The priest answered, "I never believed Henir's story. To uncover the true cause of Her Majesty's death, I took control of that subordinate."

"I read this information from his memories."

With that, the priest produced something.

It was a newborn Sun Cup no larger than a palm, with an illusion technique symbol branded upon its little golden flower cup.

Stan Tito did not reach for it. "What is it?"

The priest held it out, urging him to take it.

"It is a Sun Cup bearing an illusion technique. I made several of them."

"The information and images I read are all stored inside. Should danger find you, it can help you as well."

After a moment's hesitation, Stan Tito accepted the Sun Cup.

Stan Tito asked the priest, "Why give it to me?"

The priest lowered his voice. "Henir already has his eye on me. If anything happens to me, these secrets may never come to light."

"Stan, you may not possess the wisdom ability, but I believe you have potential and strength beyond the ordinary."

"You are Saint Tito's descendant, the chosen Child of Fortune."

"From the moment we met, I felt that a great purpose rested upon your shoulders, just as one rested upon your ancestor's."

The priest gazed earnestly at Stan Tito, as though trying to convey his deepest thoughts directly to the younger man.

Stan Tito remained silent for a long while.

He lowered his head without meeting the priest's eyes.

"You think far too highly of me. I'm just an ordinary man."

The priest laughed. "Every legend begins with someone plain and ordinary."

Leaving Stan Tito's residence behind, he followed the main road through moonlit God-Servant City.

Then he suddenly saw shadow after shadow across the road, stretching long in the moonlight and gliding past.

The priest knew at once that something was wrong. He broke into a run toward the far end of the street.

Sounds of fighting and slaughter spilled from around the corner.

Before long, the sounds died away. Several priests of the Volcano Duchy emerged, followed by a squad of soldiers hurrying off with something held between them.