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Ivan's Lament III
The first order of business was to prepare Ivan for his official crowning as a legitimate prince. Although he was called by the title, there was usually a special ceremony that took place at birth. Seeing as how Ivan grew up in the small village of Vria away from the palace, he never had the opportunity to be dubbed.
Orlov spent the next week going into the palace and educating Ivan on the expectations of the ceremony. Orlov noticed the little boy preferred darker colors, so he asked one to be prepared for the ceremony. The entire royal family would be there, plus every noble in town for the season. It would be best if Orlov could begin curating Ivan’s character to make him a likeable figure to the public and the nobles.
Finally, the day arrived, and Orlov personally escorted Ivan, whose long red cape trailed behind him as he walked, completel
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The moment they entered the temple, Ivan felt a searing pain shoot down his back, threading down the mark on his back. His knees buckled and he fell to the ground in front of the priests that greeted them.“What’s wrong with the boy?” An alarmed priest asked. They immediately crowded around him.“-Back…” he grunted out, reaching out to grab a hold of anything that could let him ease the pain. Orlov immediately pushed the priest back and ripped off Ivan’s cape and coat and other layers revealing his deeply scarred back.“It’s blood red,” one priest commented in shock.“Look at the shape of that!” another exclaimed. They all fought to get a good look at the boy’s back whi
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The northern territories took ten months to calm. Ivan and Orlov fought together in countless battles, but they’d have it no other way. Before, their relationship was muffled by the teacher-student label the king had placed on them. And although Ivan still saw Orlov as a teacher, he also saw him as a friend… like a brother. Or however a brother was supposed to be. Those boys in the palace could not qualify for the position.When they returned, the king honored Ivan and Orlov with a banquet, and promoted Orlov to a diplomat to the Allied Clans.“So you’re just going to leave for Vaatu territory like that?” Ivan huffed as they practiced sparring.“I don’t control where the king takes me. Besides, he’ll probably send you on another campaign soon. We can only
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