The Hunter Prince

"You really should speak much quieter Kiseki. You might be an advisor to the Emperor himself, but the Fishspeakers are still around. You do not want to meet the end of their spear."
"The words I speak are not secrets. All have heard the tale."
"The accounts all vary though. Who might know the truth? As well, the Emperor may decide to exile any that speak of his son's shame."
"I believe it will become a badge of honor soon. I have it in my knowledge that Adelion is using this event has a bargaining chip. That Minister of theirs courts our lordship."
"For what?"
"War, naturally."
"Against the Tsayids? It would be impossible."
"Their Minister claims that with his Cloaks, it would indeed be possible. And now that the Prince counts himself among them, suggesting their weakness could be seen as an insult to the Emperor himself."
"How did he even find himself in that position?"
"As you know, the Prince was educated in Adelion."
"Certainly, one only need to hear his voice. At 17 he should have bore the accent of a royal, and instead speaks with an uncultured southern drawl."
"Indeed. Adelion boasts a much wider variety of extracurricular activities than our comparatively barren desert. The Prince had grown an affinity for hunting wolves in the cold mountains. Even taming one to kill it's kin by his side. Well on a hunt, it seems an assassin attacked him, gravely injuring his royal face, but the young Prince survived."
"And the Minister granted him rank in his elite unit as an apology?"
"If the Fishspeaker's words are to be believed, no, it was not. Instead, the assassin was none other than one of these 'Cloaks'."
"This is not what I heard in the bathhouse. Even if this is true, I'm not understanding, Kiseki."
"I was confused as well. Until the Fishspeaker explained. The Minister's unit is limited to only a few members, and new ones are only recruited when one is killed in action. Their replacement is often the individual that killed the Cloak."
"Do you suggest our noble young Prince killed this assassin and accepted an invitation to be their replacement?? That he would abandon his royal duties to serve a man who ordered his death?"
"Not only has he done this, Diamyo, but if the reports of bloodshed in the North are to be believed, he serves his new master with passion and zeal.
-Advisor Kiseki and Attendant Diamyo on the Prince's betrayal of the royal bloodline (27 years ago)