Lux looked at the blade, unsure how to react to the red crystal sword resting upon the war room's great table. The old artifact had been meant for him since the beginning yet the teen was unsure on why they were giving him the sword now. What had changed that caused them to give up on such a powerful artifact.

"The boy is ready to handle that weapon and all perks it brings. Only your former teacher could handle it before him Zicra, and he was trained in the dark arts by Sombra himself" Ridrak told the their leader and he nodded.

The half demon knew of this old chief from stories Zicra had told him and Blissful, how the old leader of their tribe had sacrificed himself to save the rest of them from the mad lunar princess and the queen of the sun. It was always fun to hear about the old stallion that had befriended his father many years ago, but if the sword had been his why was he being given it and not Zicra or Blissful.

He knew that the sword had been in his mother's "hidden" chest for years but he had never thought he was going to be given it to keep. Lux had always thought of the thing like it was some sort of borrowed book, once he was done with it or when the time ran out he had to return it.

But here it was, being given to him by the tribe leaders, his mother having reluctantly given Salijah the blade when the mage had requested it at their door steps. But now after some discussion in a language he did not understand the five tribal leaders had decided for him to receive the weapon.

The red blade's name had been unknown to him and he had asked Zicra for it's name only to be met by the stallion saying it's past was not important. Which had confused him at the time. Why would the history of a sword his father had made not matter?

"The shadow walker has proven himself to us so far. He has advanced in his magic classes and is slowly learning the fundamentals of enchanting. I think he should learn how to use a sword so clearly connected to his family heritage and his abilities" Salijah told the other leaders who nodded.

Serah looked at the colt before turning to the blade, his teacher of the wild eyeing the blade suspiciously before picking it up with her mouth, handing it to him with a bow. Lux always hated the bows, they made him feel weird to see some ponies twice his size bow down for something he hadn't accomplished yet.

"He has learned what to eat and what to leave alone out there as well as how one hunt smaller game and other predators. As the young one has shown his hunger for meat is partly from an actual need to survive and a bloodthirst from his demonic ancestors" Serah said as the half-breed picked up the blade with a purple aurora.

"He is no master with a sword. But he is good enough to give the military captains a run for their money. I say he should know the power a true crystal blade gives" Draigh said as the other leaders went over Lux's training in their heads.

"He knows a little history and math. He is a decent writer and knows at least the basic language. His overall strategic eye could be better but considering the time we have had to work with he is good enough to at least lead a squad" Zicra said as Ridrak opened his mouth to speak.

"The boy has shown himself capable when it comes to making weapons, or at least when it comes to small daggers and knives. We can forget teaching him about making heavy armor but we can get a few tips in about the lighter versions. His skill with making actual swords could be better, most of them are more like maces, but with the time we have had to teach the theory and practice it's not horrible" Ridrak said and the others nodded.

Lux hated when they spoke of him like he wasn't in the room, it was annoying. He cleared his throat to get their attention and they just kept talking. Some things made him feel pride like when they said he made progress in some hard subject while their talks about his shortcomings made him mutter.

After some time he had enough of their conversation and he gathered energy in his horn before slamming one of his front hooves down onto the ground, a wave of black magic rushing over the room that made the tribe leaders go quiet. Good, they could finally tell him how to use the sword.

"What makes this sword different from any other blade I have held? I know my father made the thing but other than that it does not look that much more impressive" The young half demon stated and Salijah walked over to make sure he was not gonna break the sword somehow.

"That is a crystal blade. So far the only ones that has managed to make it wake from it's slummer is those who wields dark magic" The older mage stated as Lux looked at him in confusion.

"The blade is made using a dark magic spell and smiting technique, or at least that is what the old chief's notes spoke on the matter. Without a written source from Sombra or a Tenebris before him we have no clear information on how to make more of them" He started and the half blood sat down (as did the other leaders) knowing a history lesson woven in with a magic lesson was about to begin.

"The blade itself is dull and heavy when in "hibernation". This means that anyone who is not supposed to use it physically cannot wield the blade. To wake the blade one must be a dark mage, and in this special blade's case be considered a Tenebris" The arch mage of Frigidum said and the teen listened to each word that came out of his mouth.

"The old chief was on very good terms with your father it seems, as he considered him family. That is the reason he could even use the blade to begin with" He continued and took the red crystalline sword from Lux's grasp.

"Once the blade recognizes both dark magic and Tenebris blood or honorary blood it will glow, weigh less and the dull edge becomes one of the most sharpest things in known world" Salijah finished and gave back the sword to Lux.

The young stallion immediately lit his horn and the heavy blade became light as a feather while the glowing started. He was in awe before trying to swing it, his peers backing off to not get their heads cut off. The half-breed looked at the blade seemingly cutting through the very magic in the air before Salijah cleared his throat.

"This sword is even more special however. There as a few known crystal weapons connected to the Tenebris family but this one is only mastered by the one who can say the phrase that made it" The mage explained and Lux once again looked at him in confusion.

"This blade, if one is to believe some of the older paper found in the chiefs collection, was made by uttering a phrase in old speech. This phrase is the key to unlocking the swords true potential and power. You can see it on the cross-guard, it's written in old speech but you should have no problem knowing your native language" The arch mage said and Zicra actually rolled his eyes at the other leader's remark.

Lux looked at the steel cross-guard and the words seemed to almost glow as he read them. Those glowing words seemed to light up the round war room and all papers within it as he read them in his mind. 'Yli Sol Draigen' was those words that made him feel like he held all the power in the world.

"Yli Sol Draigen!" He blurted out and the sword lit up like a beacon, the others in the room having to look away as the sword's blade seemed to have runes being burned into it.

"The sword used to have runes before the chief died. It lost them when the mad princess took his life" Zicra said as the runes were in demon tongue with it's earlier runes having been in basic tongue or old speech.

"It adapts to it's owner, it gives it's runes something that makes it clear who owns and use that blade. The shadow walker is the blades new owner and therefor can choose it's name" Salijah said and Lux looked at the glowing sword with the runes staying in their glowing golden form.

"Mercy" The young stallion said after a while and his demonic crow flew into the room from an opne window and landed on his head.

"What was that young one?" Serah asked him and Lux looked at them all as they eyed the sword as magic burned golden letters in old speech into the blade.

"I name it mercy, for that is the way I hope to take if I have a choice" He informed them and Draigh snorted.

"The kid wants the most ironic name in the world for a sword, bah" The grumpy old stallion muttered but the prince just ignored him.

"The blade has agreed with his choice and we will respect it" Salijah told the older warrior that just huffed in response.

Nathaniel poked the sword with his beak and was rewarded with the sword glowing brighter at where the bird had touched it. Lux found his companions actions funny and petted the crow before placing it on the table. He saw that all eyes were on the sword as the new words on it glowed a bright gold.

"misericordiae" The prince said as the sword once again glowed brightly, acknowledging it's name.

"Mercy it is" Zicra said and looked out the window at Frigidum, hoping that name would serve how Lux would handle battles.

Draigh handed him a sheet for the blade which he hanged from the saddle bags that was also given to him by Salijah. Both of them seemed to look differently at the sword. While Draigh saw it as a tool on the path to destroy the queen of the sun Salijah saw it as an item worth worship. Which way to see that was correct wasn't an easy question to answer, but Lux knew what he saw in the sword, himself and all those who had held it before him.

"Go and train with the blade in the outskirts, I will join you later" Draigh said before all bowed before the crystal prince who left the room in a hurry, wanting to see what the old blade could do.

The outskirts were the only place in the big forest except Frigidum that was safe for the dark mages or the zebra tribes. The small clearing among the tress had miniature poles like the ones protecting Frigidum all around it, using a powerful spell to hide it from the world around it.

If you walked by it wouldn't stand out as anything but a normal clearing in the woods you had no desire to visit (thanks to a spell from Salijah). But if you looked closer and manged to break through the hold this spell held over you then you would walk onto zebra training grounds.

The clearing was filled with training dummies, wooden swords as well as wooden shields along with a circle of runes to practice combat magic. These training grounds were special, not only because here they the trials of all to be warriors was carried out but it now held special environmental traps meant to mimic spells cast by Celestia's battle mages.

Those new additions had been mostly for him of course. His ability to teleport from shadow to shadow was something that made most obstacles obsolete. These runes where meant to force him away from the shadows of the walls and towards the middle where a fight could take place.

Yet even when a magic rune the size of two stallions exploded in his face he could often shake it off easily, quickly regaining his vision and being able to take a swing at his opponent. This was mostly because of the runes themselves not being meant to kill but rater to injure, meaning his evasion of those sorts of attacks had to become quicker.

But even in combat where he was injured from a rune only Draigh stood a chance against the fifteen-year old, his agility along with his wings or tentacles always overwhelmed his opponent. It would either end with all but one falling after a few blows from his sword.

Then again they might also give up early out of respect, the thought made him both annoyed and embarrassed. He hoped that he was just a skilled fighter and not a glorified prince of a dead empire. If the fighters he fought were actually yielding because they had not enough skill to counter his demonic abilities then he was glad.

But after he had knocked down the first opponents Draigh himself would face Lux and give him a run for his money. The young stallion knew that older warrior was the more experienced fighter but that didn't lessen the pain that came with each loss to him. It was always annoying that the old warrior could work past his defenses so quickly he often didn't last five minutes against him, with or without razor sharp tentacles and shadow jumping.

The thing he hated the most was the training with light magic domes. It was a glaring weakness for Lux that he could not call for his inherited powers when a dome of light magic surrounded him. Sure he could still cast spells that was not dark in nature like fireballs, but if he only relied on his abilities in battle and they were easily removed he would not stand a chance.

Because of that Draigh had forced Lux to learn how to fight while holding swords in his mouth. This was because of the possibility of Lux loosing his horn (something that made him shudder) and because very magic he used for most spells was tainted by his demonic blood.

It was way harder to fight with one's mouth then having a fluent relaxed magical grip on the handle but it was not impossible to use it that way. Most zebra warriors he faced was forced to use it that way and they did fine in battle. Of course they had to use it in that way while Lux subconsciously always tried to grip the blade with a magical grasp.

The prince just had a hard time learning this technique however, the sword always seemingly weighing down one side of his body as he moved with it. He had thought about using his wings to counteract this imbalance yet as his wings and tentacles were both partially magic and flesh it meant that half the time he would have them summoned and ready. This meant that if he wasn't ready when the dome would surround him he would have no chance.

This was quite the dilemma for the prince but it was not the only problem he faced as his slashes with the sword was always sluggish and slow, allowing his opponents the time to knock him down or push him back. Because of this he was training hard with Draigh and the other warriors to become a better fighter without using magic.

The young half-breed's martial arts skills were just sad, if one were to believe Draigh (which he did sadly). Without his tentacles to protect his back and keep enemies back or a sword to block incoming attacks Lux was helpless. The best he could do was to evade the attacks or run away.

If he was out into a hoof to hoof combat scenario he always lost, his smaller frame not helping him gain any advantages in the frenzy of combat. Those sorts of duels often ended with Lux face down in the dirt with a black eye and a grinning zebra warrior walking away to brag about his victory over the crystal prince.

Draigh had given him the basics in the art of close combat encounters without melee weapons but the young stallion had about the experience of a new initiate in Celestia's royal army. Which meant he was just shit at punching others. It was his weakness and the reason his personal armor had like ten different pockets for knives.

But he was not allowed to wear the the armor during the hoof to hoof combat training, meaning it often ended in him getting his ass handed to him by the other warriors. It was making him somewhat more of a capable fighter but it was a tough learning curve.

As he approached the outskirts he saw something that was strange, the spell that was keeping the place hidden was down and he could hear shouting and angry screaming. It was all the right signs for him to hide among the trees, teleporting to a shadow he could see in a high branch to get a look at the situation.

"Where are the rest of your tribe!? I know there is more than you five, so speak up!" The voice of a unicorn dressed in golden armor could be heard in the woods.

Lux looked and saw what was clearly a battle mage and four soldiers, a sweeping squad. Dammit! Ever since the dark mages of Equestria had started to seek refuge in Frigidum the squads sent to these woods had increased. The only reason they hadn't been found so far was because of Salijah's spell that made whoever looked at what the magic poles where hiding a huge disinterest of the place.

But he mage they had with them seemed to have been able to work around that spell and one up them all by tearing it down easily. This was a trained adversary and Lux had to be careful on how he handled this. Five warriors were currently bound with magical rings manifested from the unicorn's own horn.

The battle mage was a bulky stallion to say the least, his magic clearly not the only thing he could do. Lux knew that he could perhaps get the jump on them but that could still mean he endangered the warriors they had captured. He could wait for Draigh but who knew when the old stallion would come back from the leaders meeting.

No. He needed to do this himself and quickly. If he just waited around they might kill or torture his fellow fighters and he would not stand for that. With that thought he dropped down and walked slowly towards the training grounds, unsheeting Mercy without a second thought.

The prince spoke the old speech phrase and then the swords name, the blade shining like the sun with the runes that glowed upon it. He felt that rush of power again and grinned, his tentacles summoned and ready to cover his flank in the heat of battle.

"I'm gonna ask one more time before I start killing you! Where are the others of your tribe!?" The mage screamed into one of the zebra warriors stoic faces.

"They didn't think you were worth wasting time on, so they sent me instead" Lux said, appearing behind the four soldiers that had guarded the mage's rear.

The response came almost instantly, the four soldiers turning around to cut the prince down only for him to disappear again, a swirl of black smoke where he once stood. The soldiers and the mage looked around in panic and in confusion before Lux once again reappeared next to the the soldiers, cutting the spear one of them was holding in half before he hit the pony in the head with Mercy's pommel.

The battle mage screamed in anger and let loose a beam of light magic at the prince, sending him backwards onto the dirt, leaving skid-marks in his wake. The half-breed could barely get up before the five enemies rushed him, the three soldiers with working spears all tried to stab at him only for his tentacles to grip the shaft of the long ranged melee weapons, breaking them.

"Demon!" The pony mage said and once again sent a blast at Lux, the bright beam of magic flying at him with incredible speed.

The crystal prince held up his sword and the beam was deflected, the runes and blade glowing brightly as the beam hit the ground instead. The young stallion took this opportunity to slash out at one of the soldiers, the blade piercing his armor and the enemy backing off with a limp as blood poured out of his chest.

The other four opponents were not gonna wait for Lux to cut them down and they all tried to hit him with their hooves or spells, the stallions sheer size making it hard for him to avoid all their attacks. It ended with him blocking another spell from the battle mage but one of the other stallions punching him across the jaw, sending him flying to the side.

He was stunned for a moment which gave the mage enough time to hit him square in the chest with one of his spells, Lux flying back into a boulder used during combat scenarios. The impact forced the air out of his lungs and the patch of skin and fur the spell had hit looked burnt.

Before he could get up the battle mage put up a dome of light magic around them, Lux feeling his own magic suppressed. He couldn't loose Mercy now, without a weapon he only had his hooves and now much weaker tentacles. It would be his death if he had to fight hoof to hoof.

The prince got up and spat some blood on the ground before the four stallions advanced on him, he needed to take out their mage first if he was to stand a chance against them all. Knowing this made the young stallion walk cautiously around them before one of the soldiers pounced on him, hoping to catch him off guard.

The fraction of a second Lux had to react to the stallion coming towards him was enough to instinctively toss Mercy at the soldier, the crystal sword flying through the air before piercing the stallion's chest, sending him crashing down onto the ground. He was dead.

Lux hadn't time to contemplate his first real kill, if he had his mind would probably have had somewhat of a breakdown. The young stallion didn't have time to think about it however, the sword laying under the dead body, trapped by the dead stallion's weight.

'Shit..' Lux thought before another punch forced him to back off, the three stallions that could still fight had decided that now was the moment to strike and they all fell upon him, the half-breed ducking under some of the hits but many hitting him.

After a while Lux stumbled and fell to the ground, a swift kick to his side making him wheeze out in pain before the mage picked him up with a golden aurora, glaring at him. The half demon hoped that they would make it quick, he'd rather not die by being tortured to death.

That is when one of his very tired tentacles gripped something, one of the broken spear shafts he had destroyed earlier. Knowing that this was the only chance he got the young stallion swung the broken spear at the mage's horn, the spear tip wedging itself into the unicorn's horn.

The battle mage screamed in pain as his horn cracked, the dome dropping and the once bound Zebra warriors were free. The prince used his sharp tentacle to cut of the Mage's horn entirely before he dropped to the ground, his vision blurry as he could see in the distant how the zebra warriors quickly overpowered the soldiers who were still standing.

Lux got up and with all his magical strength he pulled out Mercy from the dead stallions chest and he limped over to the soldier he had cut across the chest, his yellow eyes glowing with anger as he held his blade at the stallion's throat. He knew that a simple slash would be enough and that the soldier would be dead, just a simple slash.

"Do it you fucker.." His opponent spat out and his own glare met Lux's, both of them never letting the other stop watching.

After a while Lux, took a deep breath and let go of his anger for now. This stallion might have information they needed, mercy was the way to go when you were given a choice. His buddy hadn't given him a choice when he jumped Lux but this stallion wasn't in any shape to attack him again.

The crystal prince lowered his blade and sheeted it, walking away to lean at one of the training dummies as he could see Draigh coming runnig in the distance. He hoped the blade master had a very good reason for being this late. If he didn't Lux would gladly reshape his face with his tentacles.

Of course that would not happen as the young stallion stumbled before darkness greeted him, his body to tired to keep pushing itself had forced him to pass out. The zebra warriors decided to move the prince using a wagon, hoping that they could get him to the healers as soon as possible. The injures he had taken weren't lethal, but they were still pretty bad.

Two days later

Zicra had gathered Salijah, Ridrak, Draigh and Serah to disuses what they were to do with the prisoners and what to do next. Prince Luxri had yet to wake up from the ordeal and so far the light magic spell he had been hit with was making it hard for the healers to work on him.

The effects of the spell had been to supress a demons natural ability to heal quickly, something the crown prince had only inherited parts off. He did heal faster than the average pony or zebra but it didn't mean he healed after one day of rest. The healers had said he needed at least a week before he could get out of the bed, and even more than that if the light magic spell kept him from healing properly.

The pink striped stallion sighed before he turned away from the window that overlooked Frigidum and he walked up to the round war table, the outskirts now marked with a red 'X' as to make it clear the clearing could not be used again by anyone in the city.

"They are coming to close. If they could find the training grounds with a good mage they WILL find our city sooner or later" Draigh said and Serah nodded.

"My scouts are now more on guard but I agree. We are running out of time. We need at least five more years to complete Luxri's training if we want him to face Celestia as prepared as possible, but we don't have years. We have months at tops, if not weeks" The leader of the Orgamia tribe sighed and the others agreed with their own mumbles.

"The shadow walker is not ready to face the queen of light. He barely walked away from a battle with a mage and four soldiers. If he battles with Celestia he will die" Slaijah told them all and Zicra nodded.

"Why didn't he just cast a spell? He relied on his demonic abilities even when he knows he shouldn't do that. If he's this reckless he might die the next time some medium skilled mage finds him" Ridrak said.

"The kid knows how to use his abilities and blade in combat. It's what I've trained with him to do. Yet he needs to incorporate other attacks and spells into his fighting style, I agree" Draigh muttered and sat down on one of the chairs.

After a few more observations the leaders decided to get what info they could from the prisoners before sending them as gift to the succubi hive in the east. They didn't have the resources to keep prisoners and to just kill them when they could use them to get favors was wasteful.

The battle mage's horn would grown back eventually yet that would take years, meaning that the succubi would have plenty of time to make him one of their many mates. The same went for the three other stallions. It would gain them favor with the powerful demonesses and get the prisoners out of their mane without having to slit their throats.

Of course some saw it as almost a reward for the soldiers to be given to the lust demons but Zicra quickly reminded them that the soldiers would loose most of their own free will and thoughts inside the hive, meaning their punishment was to become husks of their former selves. With that out of the way Zicra continued the conversation about Lux.

"We need to speed up the training. I will give him a few more lessons in history and basic math. But we have had ten years to prepare him, let's use what time we have left to make sure he knows the theory of what we have taught him and that he learns more advanced combat tactics" Zicra ordered and the other leaders nodded before most of them walked away.

"The young half-blood knows the basics of enchanting. But I will have to replace that with more combat spells and wards. If he are to survive he needs all the protection he can get" Salijah told Zicra who looked at the pillars protecting the city.

"Increase the spells power if you can. We need to buy ourselves some time if we are to last for at least a few months. His sixteenth birthday is coming closer and closer. If we are to train him we need to have him ready before then" The zebra stallion said.

"You know that is impossible chief.." Salijah told him and the pink striped zebra sighed.

"I know my friend.. I know.." H e answered before looking over Frigidum with a grim expression.

One day later

Lux was woken up by Blissful giving him a hug and the warriors around the healers wing cheering for their crown prince. The half-breed just felt like shit and requested his friend to stop hugging him before he threw him out a window, something a few stallions chuckled at.

Bliss helped him stand after some time and he was grateful for the help, even if he felt a bit weak for limping past the warriors who didn't even flinch when they broke a bone. It was at least not as bad as it could have been. He had seen some of those warriors who lost their eyes to timber wolves and the such.

As the two younger stallions walked out of the healers wing Bliss decided to lead Lux to the hot-springs that had been artificially created by some of the mages that lived in the small city. The two friends easily got into the warm water after being allowed in for free (the perks with being royalty) and they both gave off a relaxed sigh.

"So how did you loose? I heard they kicked your ass so hard the blade master had to drag you back here" Blissful Dreams said with a grin to his best friend who groaned in response.

"They used all my weakness against me ok? But I came out on top in the end, you know, as I cut of that mage's horn" Lux responded with a small smirk.

"They said you fought like a beast at first before they beat you into the ground. So what? You just decided that tearing their heads off was to easy for you? It had to be a hard fight?" Bliss asked and the crown prince shook his head.

"No, it was more that I saw a quick chance to throw them off balance by using the shadows. After that I basically went with instinct, which did me both good and bad" He said with a grimace as he looked at his reflection, a scar at the side of his left eye.

"I'm lucky they didn't blind me considering how hard they hit" He murmured and his friend gave his front leg a light punch.

"You beat them in the end, so see it as a victory. Use that head of yours and actually remember that you can use spells in the next fight and you'll crush your opponents" Blissful told him before bringing over a bowl of peanuts from the side using his magic.

"Yeah you're probably right" Lux said and leaned back before he got up, summoning his wings.

"I need to go see mom, she must be angry I didn't go to her right away" The young stallion said before he flew up into the air and away from the hot-springs, heading towards his mother's house.

As he landed in front of the building with a strained grunt he limped into the home, his mother already embracing him the second he walked through the door. Her hug felt nice after having been in a coma for three days and her worried mesh of words made him smile.

"I'm better mom I promise. It just hurts a bit to walk" He said as the older mare looked over the scar by his eye, growling for herself.

"Those sons of bitches are lucky I have a son to take care of or they would be pudding by now" Autumn spat and Lux chuckled at his mother's choice of words.

"Can we just make something simple to lunch? Squirrel or hare sounds nice after being asleep for three days" He said and the golden maned mare nodded, walking to the kitchen to make her son a strengthening meal.

Lux was given his new schedule for classes by a mail pony just before Autumn finished up the meal. The young stallion was surprised to find that most classes were now gonna be either combat or magic oriented. The attack must have spurred this on, which didn't surprise him at all.

After making sure he understood the new schedule the half-breed joined his mom to eat lunch, she eating a salad while he ate his meat along with some carrots. She was used to the smell of meat these days and she didn't flinch as her son ate the dead animal.

They both spoke about little thing throughout the meal, Autumn questioning Lux about his studies and him turning the question around to ask her about some new weird plants she had put in her garden. The conversation would go on for a few hours before Lux hugged his mother and left for the town hall to study some magic.

Next time he would be prepared. Next time he would not be beaten easily by some soldiers. He was the crystal prince for crying out loud, he needed to be strong and powerful if he ever was to face Celestia. Lux knew that he would try even harder now to live up to the expectations that was put on him. He would not fail his people. He would protect them and this city. He was their warrior of shadow, time to prove himself as one.

Author's Note

Thank you so much for reading chapter nine I am one step closer to chapter ten and those edits and rewrites I so often speak about. It's a funny thing how I notice that I've evolved quite a bit since the first chapter I wrote over two years ago. I notice I'm better with grammar and that my story isn't a wall of text anymore.

Wait.. Two years since I wrote the first chapter and I'm not even at chapter ten yet. Awwwww FUUUUUUUUUU this is gonna take some time

Anyway, thanks for reading and possibly leaving a review.