Chapter 1: A New Master

Inside a relatively small, but extravagant room meant for hearing important matters located in the castle of Dravaria, stood four individuals. The atmosphere within this room was suffocating, due to the aura of a monarch who was displeased.

"For what reason have you made me pause my duties and request this private meeting dear daughter?” an ethereal voice sounded with a hint of annoyance.

The source of the stifling aura continued in a severe tone which oozed majesty, “This better be important, my schedule is packed, I hope you have a good reason for this. I hope to the dear mother gods you are not scheming anything as you requested me to be present without a single soul... yet you greet me yourself along with two of your paladins".

"Mother Themis relax, they are needed for this meeting, I come with a gift which is quite beneficial to you, a gift that must not be revealed to anyone," a noticeably younger voice hurriedly explained.

"Oh? Let me see this gift that you brought for me, it better compensate me enough for this lost time, if it is not satisfactory, you better be prepared for my wrath," Themis spoke harshly while folding her hands.

"Bring the boy here, paladin Sienna," the daughter of Themis instructed the paladin to her right.

The paladin exited through the back door and was relieved that they could leave the domineering atmosphere that the grand room contained.

After a few minutes, the paladin returned to the room with a presumably young child, bound and gagged, with a bag covering his face.

"Remove the bag covering his face, paladin Reika," Themis' daughter ordered.

The female paladin nodded and removed the covering, exposing the face of the young boy, who had a soft, feminine beauty, which was further accentuated by his long beautiful black hair that emphasized his gorgeous bright purple eyes.

Themis observed the unmasked boy and realized that if her daughter did not mention that the shackled child was a boy, she would have believed he was female. However, the fierce look in his eyes added a touch of masculinity, which may have given away the true gender of the child prisoner, had it not been revealed to her.

"Enough with this farce Moira, if I truly wish to have a pretty boy-toy there are thousands to choose from in this city alone. Although I admit that his beauty is pretty much unrivalled for his age and gender, I have no use for this stray cat that you have brought in," Themis replied dismissively, narrowing her eyes as if her daughter Moira was wasting her precious time.

In response, Moira nodded and said, "There is more than meets the eyes, my beloved mother, this child here carries a divine inscription."

"A divine inscription? Which God has favoured this little slave to leave their imprint on him ?" Themis replied inquisitively while tilting her head.

"That's the remarkable thing mother, he has been favoured by three Gods making him an extremely valuable product. Two of the Gods I have been unable to identify, but I can tell they are extremely ancient beings, as I have had my trusted aides search every God's divine inscription in the last six thousand years. As such, the power and authority that these two gods held are relatively unknown, “ Moira deduced.

“However, the one god I have identified is quite remarkable, and it is better if you see for yourself," Moira stated, anticipating her mother's reaction to the big reveal.

Moira removed the boy's shirt by tearing it off along his back, as his chains prevented his upper clothing from being removed by normal means.

Themis could tell from the child's wild eyes and facial expression that he wanted to resist, but it seemed as if great fear had been instilled into him, which prevented him from fighting Moira's forceful unclothing. As Themis' eyes moved from the boy's face to the tattoo-like glowing patterns on his back, she was stunned by what she observed.

"This beautiful flower-like inscription... there is no way... this belongs to the Great Goddess of Beauty and Fertility... Ap- Ap- Aphrodite," Themis muttered in a low voice, shock evident on her gorgeous face.

On the middle of the boy's small, pale back was a beautiful pattern with a symmetric flower, surrounded by a black circle that contained four white dots evenly spaced along its rim. The black circle with the four white dots was surrounded by the outline of a bizarre asymmetrical inscription, reminiscent of dancing flames.

"That's exactly it mother, the Goddess Aphrodite has given her inscription to the first male in over a thousand years," Moira responded with a smirk, noticing her mother's astonished expression.

Aphrodite was a goddess that treasured females above males, as females carried a natural affinity towards beauty. Compared to other Gods, Aphrodite was known for sparsely giving out blessings in the form of inscriptions, even to females, as she only allowed one being to carry her blessing at a time.

A female bearing the inscription of Aphrodite appears every 100 years or more. As males have a lower affinity for beauty, a male with Aphrodite's divine inscription is extremely rare.

The last male to carry Aphrodite's inscription was quite a famous legend, as a great war waged among three kingdoms as each power claimed him as their own.

The retelling of this story varies widely from the location its told, ranging from epics of righteous conquest to solemn poems and plays of tragedy.

Themis took a few moments to compose herself and uttered, "This boy... why have you brought him here... He can spell disaster for my kingdom of Dravaria if others come to know of this information.“

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‘Although it is surely tempting, I cannot accept Moira’s gift, I cannot risk my territory being invaded simply because of a poor decision,’ Themis reasoned internally.

Looking at the purple-eyed boy on the ground and then at her daughter, Themis questioned, “To offer something of this value to me, I am not foolish to think that you wanted to hand me this boy with no strings attached. What do you really want, Moira?"

Moira thought silently for a few seconds and then replied, "What I want, mother, is to have strong allies and you know better than most that the best allies are the ones which whom you have strong blood relations.”

“Think about it, mother, the boy is still pure, unsullied by anyone, and his seed can sprout very powerful offspring if grown with your nutrient-rich soil,“ Moira stated.

Clenching her fists as she lowered her head, Moira voiced in a low tone, “I can feel it mother, you are already releasing divine aura unconsciously and are already half-step into becoming a fully-fledged deity. If you truly become a Godly being you won't be able to conceive children with mortals, and the Gods that still have their physical bodies will want to have a piece of our kingdom in exchange for producing offspring.”

“Father has been dead for twelve years yet you refuse to choose any suitors! You only have two children, me and that incompetent oaf of a brother. I am sure you know that the future of our kingdom is dark as there are not enough positions to rule the kingdom efficiently, especially with the recent purge of the corrupt nobility. Please rethink your decision, this boy is a blessing if nurtured properly," Moira pleaded to her mother while clasping her hands in a begging motion, hoping to change her mother’s decision.

"I refuse, I can tell that your concerns are valid, and although I may have enough power to protect the boy until he is of age, he simply is not worth the risk," Themis replied with a hint of solemnity in her tone.

After hearing her mother’s response, Moira paused for a few moments and exhaled.

"Paladin Reika, count to a minute and then execute the boy. However, if Queen Themis reconsiders her decision within that timeframe, you are to spare him," Moira ordered coldly.

"You dare spill the blood of an innocent in front of me? Have you gone insane Moira?" Themis voiced harshly to her daughter, anger visibly present on her face.

Themis expressed an oppressing aura making Moira's paladins shiver and take a few steps back.

Moira however, stood firm, unmoving and uncaring to her mother's wrath.

"It is as you said, this child can spell disaster if he is in the hands of anyone but yourself. I do not have the ability to prevent our adversaries from learning the truth of this boy's origins forever and when they do, a repeat of the tragedy that occurred over a thousand years ago with the last male Aphrodite inscription bearer will be inevitable, " Moira hypothesized emotionlessly.

"This is the best course of action if you deny my gift," Moira replied indifferently, raising her head and straightening her body to meet her mother straight in the eyes.

As time ticked forward to the boy's execution, clacking noises from the chains that bound the child's limbs could be heard as he shivered uncontrollably because it seemed death was set in stone for him.

No person within the room uttered a single word, but it was clear that Queen Themis was in deep contemplation from her facial expressions.

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Ten seconds remained until the boy's death, at this moment, paladin Reika drew her sword and raised it in preparation. Reika steeled herself to make the kill as clean as possible, to make the boy suffer no pain during his execution. If one was to closely observe Reika's sword, a slight shaking could be seen, which seemed to convey that carrying out this execution was against this paladin's morals. However, this was an order directly from their lord, orders were a higher priority than their so-called morals.

Less than eight seconds remained until the boy's death. At this time, the boy raised his head for the first time to look Queen Themis in her eyes, with eyes that seemed full of indomitable will to survive, and tears of desperation as if begging Queen Themis to reconsider her decision. The boy tried to voice out words but could not, as the gag was still present in his mouth.

Queen Themis naturally noticed the boy's gaze, looking at her with his pretty purple eyes, and became slightly impressed both by his apparent will to live and the fact that he made eye contact with her, since elite knights and powerful mages under her command could not, due to the aura of oppressiveness she naturally radiated as a ruler and semi-deity. Even the two paladins that belonged to lady Moira were unable to stare at Queen Themis directly in her eyes.

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"Sigh… spare the boy, I accept the gift that you have brought me today, my dear daughter Moira," Themis said after much contemplation with just three seconds remaining.

Paladin Reika immediately sheathed her sword with a clear sign of relief showing on her face.

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