Prologue + The Cerulean's Request. [Long Read] | Books & Writing Amino (2025)

quick note: this is me sharing my novella publicly for the first time, if there are any errors or room for improvement, I would love some constructive criticism and tips, ty.

A Saga of Oppression and Bloodshed, Abolished.

Prologue

In life, no one truly ever wins. There will always be losses.

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"Are you certain about this? Astaroth questioned, with concern, "This is going to be a huge feat." "It is not easy to take on someone who can take you down in an instant."

The man in question responded to Astaroth’s statement, "Burdens are a responsibility that must be carried; however, this does not imply that you will bear it indefinitely."

Astaroth paused, taking in the response: "I understand your approach; I really do."

"If you did, you would certainly allow me to lift the boulder from my shoulders, wouldn't you?" The man locked eyes, attempting to persuade.

They both shared a moment of silence, knowing that their next move would put each other's lives at risk.

"It is about time we remove the thorny crowns from our heads and throw them into the circle of fire." He broke the silence, rekindling the fire, "So, allow me to draw my blade and honor our Progenitors' agreement to never let anyone overrule your 'Will.'"

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Chapter 1:- The Cerulean's request.

The Royal Nobleman stood beneath the sun's resplendent luminescence, examining what seemed to be an ancient scripture. He stood there with grace, unbothered by the sun's rays.

What luscious long white hair he had, they swayed along with the mid-day breeze. His locks white and pure, matching that of his pale almost whitish skin. From what could be seen, he preferred to keep a portion of his hair at the back braided.

And what regal presence he bestowed upon those who saw him, his elegance stirring the air every time. He wore sophisticated yet alluring attire, befitting his title as Lumiere du Jour's Duke. He always strid with grandeur and opulence, and his swaying cape added to his flair.

At a moment's notice, the waves containing the sound of footsteps echoed through his mind, reaching him earlier than the producer of those footsteps approached.

A soldier approached the man and knelt. "Queen Hélie du Soleil has requested your presence at the Grand Hall, my Lord," he said.

"Has she?", the man blinked in amusement. "It is quite amusing how she never survives a day without calling my name," he sighed in helplessness. "I should reach the foyer before she blows her mind over my late arrival." He complained while gesturing the soldier to stand up.

A short moment went by and he had reached the facade of the château. He arrived before the Grand Hall and entered as the line of soldiers all fell to their knees at his presence. The Queen silently greeted him with the inclination of her head.

He knelt down before the Queen. She, in return, asked him to stand up straight. As he did so, he inquired earnestly but with a sprinkle of bitterness, "You have asked to see me, your Majesty?"

The Queen smiled at his earnest attitude, swaying her right hand off her armrest, "Indeed I have, Astaroth" She nodded. "I wish to assign you a mission."

Astaroth's eyebrows were already risen in disconcertment, "you wish to assign me a mission?", he repeated her words. In his mind, he seemed to be cursing out the Lady. He already had a good amount of work piled up, and now this only added to his troubles.

The Queen nodded at his repetition of her words, "I want you to do this in a much more secluded manner than anything. Do not get anyone involved in this, you alone are capable of this assignment only."

"Even my apprentice?", he protested in a silent yet sharp tone.

"No," but upon seeing Astaroth's reaction, she decided to make his apprentice the only exception.

Satisfied with her response, he declared; "Then I say please do not hesitate to provide me with sufficient intel regarding this assignment.", he only forced out a polite answer since he did not want to rile up the Queen.

"Very well then, my dear. The report will be delivered to you via our Royal Messenger, shortly." the queen remarked, pleased with Astaroth's cooperation. She had not thought of - or rather, cared if this assignment would add to Astaroth's troubles. The only thing she knew was that she had to get the work done even with a second-party involvement.

Later, while Astaroth was walking along the alleyways of lumière du jour, the Royal Messenger approached him, offered his bow, and spoke, "My Lord, the Queen has sent for you this," as he handed Astaroth a scroll wrapped with a delicate rope.

Astaroth watched the Royal Messenger perform his set of gestures of respect and then stood up, offering him the intel the Queen provided. Astounded, he said, "I did not expect the Queen to send the intel that fast.""My Lord," the Messenger said, "the Queen, I believe has provided in her letter a brief overview of what you are assigned to," he continued, "and if I am not mistaken, the text was written in a way that no eyes other than yours may lay upon it."

Intrigued by the Messenger's explanation of the letter, he immediately untied the ribbon and unfolded the piece of valuable parchment. He could not believe what he was laying eyes upon, real, solid text but in the size of ...ants.

Astaroth stared in complete bewilderment, his expression evident on his face. "Does Her Majesty think I am an ant? How is it that I am going to-", he stopped mid-sentence. "Right, I, we, possess external forces [abilities]."

The Messenger, unknowing of what to do after he saw Astaroth's expression, just offered to read out the text in favor of him. "My Lord, if you want, I could-"

"Non, spare me the trouble if you may. I am sure I will not have to memorize the contents, will I?" said he, interrupting the messenger while also offering a sarcastic remark. Astaroth then turned and walked away without a word.

The Messenger was bemused, he had only tried offering help but ended up being scarred by His Grace's remarks.

Undeniably, that is who Astaroth was. Always unpredictable and in somewhat of a hurry. He never pays attention to anything he does but always ends up getting the job done right. He is a case way more special than most.

Striding away, Astaroth found himself in a secluded yet spacious alleyway, but it might as be regarded as an abandoned hallway for its intricate designs and royal banners on the walls.

"I should have not run away, but oh well," he sighed. "Ah, right, let me see if I can work my special magic on it. Quite sure the letter was written in a way to be decoded by my abilities only."

Astaroth swiftly checks both his left and right twice before being sure albeit still feeling the presence of a second party nearby, "all clear," he thought. His gaze then fell upon the scroll, which he held in his hands.

To achieve the result he wanted, Astaroth needed to use his right eye. His ability was quite peculiar from the rest, being split between his right eye and left eye.

His right eye was preserved for revelation, it allowed him to unearth the hidden contents or, secrets of an object, place, or person. There had been no boundaries or limits.

His left eye however was more on his destructive qualities. It was a weapon in its own right, unleashed only when necessary in battle. Not that he enjoyed fighting— he avoided it whenever possible.

To use his eyes' respective abilities, he had to cover the other eye for using one. As he did here, covering his left eye to use his right.

"Reveal yourself, unveil your secrets!" he chanted in a low voice. This enchantment would help him unveil the incredible minuscule handwriting on the scroll.

As his 'magic' worked their abilities, he stood patiently. Then, a luminous blue light shone from the scroll, followed by the text being displayed upon it line by line, floating in thin air.

He laid his eyes upon the floating letters. It read, "To abolish the Red Moon Dynasty and achieve our goal, we must capture the crown prince from his throne at the Sanguine Fort. So, all I ask from you is to bring him to me, somehow and anyhow for I know how capable you are and I know you surely have a way."

Astaroth raised an eyebrow. "How confusing. Does she expect me to just stroll into the fort, scoop up the prince, and casually carry him back to the château?", he clasped the scroll tight, "On second thought, that idea does not sound half as bad..." he considered.

"Ahem," a voice suddenly interrupted. As Astaroth glanced at the dim end of the hallway, the direction of the owner of the voice, he put a hand to his hip, to appear as disappointed.

Astaroth did not even flinch. Instead, he let out an exasperated sigh. "Sneaking up on people while they are working— such a bad habit, Lucien. How many times must I repeat myself?", he crossed his arms, "you are still quite young, so learn."

Then from the shadows came him, no doubt that he was still ''young''. He was pale— in fact, very pale, so pale that he was practically white. He possessed a resplendent, and charming set of ocean-blue eyes. His eyes were the same as the blue-green mountain lakes, reflecting the hue of evergreen trees and the sparkling sun; his gleaming blue eyes transcended the light of all Blue Suns. He had beautiful golden locks of light blonde hair. He looked about one hundred and thirty years old [twenty-three in human age].

Lucien sighed, brushing a few stray locks of blonde hair from his face as he stood upright. "Apologies, Astaroth, for not meeting your lofty expectations. But truly, your... radiance was impossible to ignore. It reflected through the shadows and practically dragged me here."

Astaroth chuckled as he heard that, "Ah, were my abilities that captivating and enthralling to you?" he teased but shifted his tone to something that of acceptance. "Well, at least my abilities have some use."

Lucien did not understand why Astaroth looked down upon his powers so much. What was it that he needed as affirmation? Although, did he? "A remarkable power, yet... you choose to look down on it, why is that, Astaroth?" Lucien questioned him earnestly.

Astaroth in return offered only a reassuring smile, "The answer is simple, but only when the time comes, shall you know the weight of my abilities and why I try my best to avoid using it."

Lucien stared into Astaroth's eyes as he spoke, hoping to see something beyond those alluring blues, but there was nothing Lucien was capable of finding.

Astaroth shrugged, trying to lift the mood, "but since you are oh-so impressed with my powers, perhaps you would care to prove it in a duel?" he offered, although just teasing.

Lucien's eyes widened but as he realized Astaroth's motives to try and lift up the mood, he decided to play along. "No thank you, I know better than to challenge you with a duel. You are the Duke, anyone with a right piece of mind would know better than to fight to their death." He admitted.

Astaroth pretended to be deep in thought, "Now do not tell me that you only came to visit me for the sake of the Queen's assignment?"

Lucien was caught in his act, "Um, about that actually..." he paused, he knew what Astaroth would do, he would tease Lucien by feigning sadness to try and get Lucien to apologize.

"...I am sorry," he apologized before Astaroth could begin with his sob story. This left Astaroth a little surprised but ended up making him chuckle.

"You sure are quick on your feet, Lucien," he remarked.

"No comment on that," Lucien blurted out, he did not have or know how to respond to that except the thought of admitting he was always quick-witted in everything he did.

But Lucien folded his arms and seemed to be lost in thought. Back then, if he had truly been quick-witted, he would have sensed the impending doom awaiting the Eliodoro estate. For a moment, it seemed like he was facing something, a boundary, an emotion-stopping barrier. He quietly glanced at the concrete floor, only leaving Astaroth to break into his thoughts.

Astaroth noticed Lucien's deadpan expression, "Hey," he interrupted Lucien's thoughts, lightly tapping him on the shoulder.

Lucien broke free from his spirit-consuming formation of thoughts. And, for a moment, he seemed grateful to Astaroth for the intervention. "Uhm," he paused, rubbing the back of his hand, "...thank you." He was dazed, stunned.

Astaroth chuckled, "You should be more careful, Lucien. Do not give in to your doubts and fears easily; ever,"

Lucien responded with a glance at the floor, his face screamed hesitance. "I will, Astaroth, I will."

"Now that is a good boy," he smiled, ruffling Lucien's hair to his wish.

Lucien, who was stupefied in place, was unable to act against it. In any way, he did not want to act against it. He just wanted to feel the warmth of touch again after a while.

Without his own consciousness, Lucien went for Astaroth hand that was patting him and held it in place, as if he did not want to let go. This did not make a remarkable impact on Astaroth however, for he knew that Lucien went through a vicious period of abandonment and neglect in his past.

All of a sudden, Lucien and Astaroth were startled at the sound of foot stomps. "Someone is coming," Lucien said cautiously. Carefully, they approached the entrance of the alleyway and hid to get a peak at the approaching anomaly.

From a fair distance away, they saw a man. He had with him his Auburn-shaded hair, the tone being fixated on the deepest side of the spectrum. As he walked, his cape swayed along with something dangling at the back, and his hair was in the style of a rat tail.

"Wait," Lucien tried squinting his eyes for a better view of the man approaching, "is that Lord Avidité?", he sounded perplexed.

The figure, in an unusual sing-song tone, rang out "O Astaroth, where are you? Come out, come out, wherever you are." His voice was purely tinged with venom.

Astaroth had the fruitful advantage of his advanced eyesight, the figure that emerged into his view was unmistakable and he immediately knew it was him, "Yes, It seems like it is Bael Avidité. Ah, how this day just keeps on getting more and more interesting."

Lucien leaned toward Astaroth and whispered, "Well, he is looking for you, so you should probably go see what he wants."

Astaroth sighed dramatically, then slipped into the open with a feigned air of obliviousness, his steps casual as though he had merely been strolling the area.

After walking a fair distance, Astaroth approached the man. "Bael? I thought I heard someone calling my name. To what do I owe this... pleasure?" he asked, donning an innocent smile that did not quite reach his eyes.

Bael, upon sensing Astaroth's presence behind him, turned at the rate of a flash, the expression of burning hatred and frustration evident in his eyes. Without warning, he grabbed Astaroth's wrist in an iron grip and leaned in close, his voice a low growl. "You and I have some business to attend to. Follow me."

Astaroth wanted to see where this was going so he played along, Lucien, who was watching everything from the back thought that he should go and confront them. But seeing this as a matter between the Nobles, he knew better. Besides, Astaroth could handle it perfectly, after all, he isn't the first in rank for nothing.

Astaroth's curiosity flickered at Bael's request, so he decided to play along, intrigued by the man's uncharacteristic urgency. As Bael led him away, Lucien remained hidden, observing from the shadows. Though his instincts told him to intervene, he held back. He had already planned to intervene another way.

Besides, this was a matter between Nobles, and he trusted Astaroth's ability to handle himself.

Bael led Astaroth past the bustling heart of Château Lieu de Lumière, and to the outskirts where the grand structures gave way to quiet, desolate spaces. They stopped at a secluded clearing, far from prying eyes.

Once they reached their destination, the silence between them shattered as Bael's composure reached its deepest course. Bael swooped Astaroth by his collar and attempted to throw Astaroth against a wall, a result of his uncontainable rage for... some kind of reason.

The impact echoed in the silence, but Astaroth remained composed, rivaling Bael's broken demeanor. "Was that truly necessary, Bael? Or are you simply trying to prove a point?"

Bael's frustration was palpable as he tightened his grip on Astaroth's collar, his voice laced with bitterness. "Yes, a point, on why the queen favors you for this mission more than me?"

Astaroth tilted his head and held back a spiteful remark, "It seems so, the Queen clearly prefers me more than you, Bael. But what is so bothering you about this mission specifically? Do you wish to take care of it instead of me?"

Bael snapped, grabbing Astaroth by his collar, "Don't play coy with me Astaroth. I full well know Her Majesty prefers you more than me. She thinks you are more capable, and far more reliable. Yes, I should be the one leading this mission, not you."

Astaroth raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise. "Is this jealousy I smell? How lovely, I would have never thought a Noble could stoop to such emotions," he remarked.

Bael's grip on Astaroth's collar tightened, his irritation palpable, almost reaching the summit. "This has nothing to do with jealousy nor emotions - rather, this is about competence, Astaroth."

"I have served the queen faithfully far longer than you have, for a millennium even!", he snapped. "Then why must she choose you over me, in terms of service?"

Astaroth chuckled, the corners of his lips turning to a smile, "competence, you say? Why? Is the fact that I stand second to the throne so bothering to you?", his expression turned mockingly sympathetic.

"Do not bring in the age-old argument, Bael. It is not about how long you have served, but how well, and how faithfully. Me, personally? I have always been the Queen's first choice for everything. If I cannot provide you the answer you seek, perhaps you should ask her, as a second option."

Bael's eyes narrowed a flicker of anger in his gaze. "But I deserve recognition for how much I have done! For how much I have contributed. Ever since you showed up, the queen has never done as much to even look at me.", his voice filled with envy.

"No, Bael, I did not just 'show up' I was brought into this place by Her Majesty the Queen herself." Astaroth corrected. "I would have never chosen to 'show up' at this place, especially not with how it is."

"And perhaps, what you see as 'favoritism' is only personal preference, note that personal preference does not equal favoritism," Bael needed to hear those words, but even so, the barrier in his brain would not budge.

Bael's face contorted with simmering anger, his eyes narrowing as Astaroth's words seemed to stoke the flames of resentment within him. Silence was the only answer he ever gave whenever he felt intimidated.

Astaroth, maintaining his composed demeanor, shot Bael a knowing glance. "It seems to me that reason takes its time, or just never finds its way into some hearts."

Bael lunged at Astaroth's comments. "QUIET!", he hissed. His fangs grew an inch, and he was about to launch a fist at Astaroth, but he caught Bael's fist with his fierce agility.

"I am going to disfigure your stupid, "handsome" face!", Bael threated as he throttled Astaroth with his other hand.

Bael's threat almost made Astaroth pity the poor thing. Bael had no chance against someone like Astaroth, yet it was enough to escalate the situation further...

Just as the tension reached its peak, a voice cut through the air like a blade. "That is enough!" The words were soon followed by a gunshot at the wall Bael was facing.

The possessor of the mysterious voice came out of the shadow, revealing a blindfolded man of remarkable stature, possessing the regal allure of Blue Sun's vampire Nobles. His features carried an avian elegance. Before someone could even predict, a sword came bolting towards Bael, it was so close to him that it could've pierced him. "Hands off the First, Bael", he said with a cold tone.

Bael, upon hearing the voice acted quickly and did as the voice suggested. "...." He uttered silence, questioning the air of permission to speak.

The man lowered his sword, his sniper already set, and went up to Astaroth, "he's not done anything serious has he, My Lord?" He gently brushed Astaroth's sleeves with his hands.

He gracefully removed his blindfold, unveiling a mesmerizing pair of bright blue eyes-the hallmark trait of a Blue Sun. Dazzling mightily, they stood out vividly in the darkness, they were irresistible.

He shot Bael a glare. "You do know that you are to not threaten or harm your higher-ups ...especially the second to the throne!", his voice hardened as he clasped his blindfold.

Bael stared at the ground, thinking what he was about to say would sound stupider than it was. "Do... not get yourself between our argument." He said, reluctantly.

Astaroth adjusted his lace jabot, feigning a hurt sentiment. "No harm done Caym, only but a small 'agreement' between friends, that right Bael?", he signaled to Bael with a glance that told him to play along.

Bael, receiving the look, cleared his throat. "Ahm... yes, it was just an 'agreement' between us, like Astaroth said."

Caym crossed his arms and looked at them with disapproving eyes. He sighed, unimpressed. "My Lord, and Bael... I am afraid that I find you two's definition of 'friendly' rather peculiar."

"They can be rather stupid at times, to say the least," a voice spoke up from within the shadows. Then, out of it walked Lucien.

Astaroth's face lit up. "Lucien? What are you doing here?", he asked, surprised.

"It was I who informed Lord Caym about you and Bael. I couldn't leave you hanging just like that.", said Lucien, with pride. "Lord Bael..." Lucien said, with a sharp tone. "This 'mission' that has got you so worked up is between me and Astaroth only, but if you dare so much, as to even try to sabotage us, the queen... let us just say she would not be the happiest with you.

The look on Bael's face changed, indicating that he had gotten the hint of not bothering Astaroth with the intention of interfering with his mission.

"Well said Lucien! Well said." Astaroth grinned.

"Right and you'll be returning to the Chateau with me now.", Caym grabbed Bael's collar and dragged him away.

Astaroth bid farewell to them with a wave. Caym, still facing away, gave a quick wave in return.

“Now that the nuisance has been taken away, how do you wish to proceed with your plan?” Lucien asked, turning to Astaroth.

"Perhaps you can help me figure it out. Is that not correct? Astaroth smiled.