Light of Dissent - Fragments of Luminem

Leonius Syphre smiled as he locked the doors of his study, after ordering his butler out. He was the firstborn of Meridia - the original designated crown prince, until Louis II came along and usurped his place in the most unfashionable of ways. It annoyed him greatly, of course, but he respected his brother in the most twisted of ways - the man did do a good job after all.

Leonius walked to a cupboard, which he opened, revealing a runed basin, which he filled with some sort of holy water, sanctified by special rituals. A small white flame lit up below the bowl magically, causing steamy fumes to rise from the receptacle, which formed into the shimmering visage of a sorceress.

The sorceress was no doubt a mortal woman, and she had the red eyes and white hair of one who practiced the Pacts of Darkness. Yet, unlike most of her fellow magicians, she was beautiful, retaining the fine features of a noblewoman, without the aid of illusion or alteration. She was good looking to the extent of inciting jealousy in Leonius, when he realized none of his daughters could compare. In fact, he was trapped in an unhappy marriage.

"I take it that you know what to do? If Louis comes after me, and if I die, you will cause chaos in Mundus, right? You have your commands, mortal. The price you pay for your beauty ... the pact you made with the daedra I helped to supply to you ... make good on your word and make sure of it. When the throne is mine, I'll let you become one of us" said Leonius.

The Sorceress smiled bitterly and said "who said the throne was going to be yours? We have planned ... I don't even take orders from you. You see, Louis II is a perfect King, and one whom all the Aurorans respect and love. They will listen to him. You? You are just a good for nothing piece of trash. I'm not even your lover, idiot. My lover told me, you misdirected Louis long enough, and you now serve no purpose, since he managed to narrow down to you. So, it's time for an exit."

"What are you insinuating?"

"Please ... please. You aren't even the real Leonius Syphre. You are just a body double, a baby we swapped for Meridia's actual Firstborn after she sacrificed her own power. She can't even tell if a child belongs to her, it's so funny when you realize she's supposed to be an all powerful goddess! I can't even hold in my laughter anymore right now! You Aurorans are such jokes compared to us mortals. Granted, the big time planner IS an Auroran."

Leonius angrily opened his wings and used the bowl to contact another Auroran. A man he had trusted to put him on the throne. Yet there was no reply. Seconds later, the window shattered as a railgun round pulverized the bulletproof glass into a thousand sparkling fragments, aimed straight for Leonius, who fell over, cradling his shoulder, which was shattered. Electricity gathered around him, but dissipated when his head was blown apart by a second round from the same railgun. Whatever the bullets were made of, Leonius didn't seem to be able to regenerate, and his animus pulled free.

A second later, the door of the room came down, as Louis Syphre and Corentin Zeill rushed in, guns drawn. They secured the area immediately, as Louis checked his eldest brother for a pulse. Looking at the damage, though, he knew there was no point hoping. Louis sighed and said "well, General Zeill, we came too damned late. Failed to capture my fake brother, and I can't find the real one now. Smart guys even destroyed the head, because the know we have memory readers. Man, Auroran enemies are a real pain in the ass..."