Valtoris Blackstar was training. There were some who said such things were pointless, that his power was in his empire now, not in the strength of his flesh, or the reach of his magic. But they did not say that these things were pointless to their emperor’s face. It was well known how much he reveled in his own personal progression, and how he encouraged it in others. There were some that said you could not rise in his court if you didn’t first rise to at least the fifth circle. Though once again, they didn’t say that in earshot of the emperor.

  Some days he fought with magic alone, some days with the weapons he had used to unite and forge his empire, but today he had his hands bare and empty. The same could not be said for his opponents. They were practically bristling with every bladed weapon that the universe had ever produced, and a few more that Valtoris suspected had been added to the mix for his entertainment by an overenthusiastic smith.

  Each one of these sparring partners had very clear instructions. They were to kill the emperor if they could, and if they could, he had sworn and signed a contract that would allow them to go free and unharmed afterwards. They had been drawn from among the violent criminals of the imperial prisons, those who thought themselves a match for the Blackstar could plead for his leniency, knowing that this was what it would look like.

  Amidst their number, he knew from his intelligence networks, there were four separate plants. Assassins who had been trained for this exact scenario and then dropped onto imperial worlds, where they would commit crimes, and oh so slowly make their way through the waiting lists to face him. He knew which four the assassins were, and he would pay them no extra attention until such time as he was fighting them. Even then, he probably wouldn’t spend much extra attention on them. The sad truth was, the best trained assassins that his enemies could field were no more a danger to him than a cattle-thief from some farm-world he’d conquered by accident.

  The running of an empire constituted a challenge. The conquest to make one, that was a challenge too. But this was mostly mummery and play acting at this point. To remind people that the lion still had claws even while it was in hibernation.

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  He stood ready, stripped down to his waist. Counting down the moments until the bell rang and the horde were released from the barrier that held them back. Yet the allotted moment arrived, and the barrier did not fall. He had few pleasures in life, and this was one of them. He did not like to see it interrupted. He turned to call out to one of his castellans only to discover that a black shrouded figure had made its way to stand by his side once more. Completely unseen and silent, even to his heightened senses. This would be an assassin worth fighting off.

  “Forgive the interruption your…”

  He waved off the usual string of titles and praise. “Forget the pleasantries. What do you have for me?”

  “Two of the prophetic events have been completed in succession. We believe. A necromancer’s defeat and… evidence that is suggestive of… other matters.”

  Blackstar followed her gaze to the prisoners behind the barrier and huffed with amusement. “Speak plainly, the only ones liable to overhear will be dead before the day is out.”

  She still leaned in furtively to say. “A worldsoul fragment, destroyed without an eidolon.”

  It was certainly suggestive that they’d finally found the one that the prophecy referred to. But Valtoris Blackstar had not built an empire by leaving things to chance. “We need to step up our plans for this one. Position…”

  She interrupted him, which was a novel experience for an emperor. “We have inserted an agent into the social circle of the individual in question. More up to date feedback on the situation should be available to us from this point forward.”

  Despite her interruption, Blackstar was pleased. “And this agent, they’re in a position to push our target towards his destiny, if required?”

  “We shall ensure that he has all of the assistance that he could possibly need.” The emperor opened his mouth, only for her to predict his next words. “And all of the resistance, also.”

  “Then by all means.” He chuckled. “Proceed according to our designs.”

  Just as fast as she’d arrived, she vanished from sight. Leaving the emperor with a smile on his face for what felt like the first time in years. He turned to face the prisoners, and they flinched away from the sight of their emperor pleased.

  Then the castellan finally did his job and turned off the barrier. Blackstar’s smile grew ever wider as the assassins came for him, and their dismay only grew as he carefully placed one hand behind his back.

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