[center][h1][color=ff5000][b]Renar Hagen[/b][/color][/h1][/center]

Edwin struck him down, and Renar awoke in the middle of the night, a glower plastered on his face. He hadn't expected victory, of course. Renar had improved significantly since his first try against the fool, but the gap between the two was still wide enough that he'd lost handily. Still, he'd gotten what he wanted out of it. That being a useful measuring stick against which he could note his rate of improvement. 

He rose from his bed, thoughts buzzing through his mind. It would be pointless to try to sleep right now. Especially after it felt he'd been slumbering for hours. Renar dressed himself in a simple tunic and breeches, belting his sword to his side before leaving his chambers. He mused as he walked, emerging out on the castle ramparts. 

[color=ff5000][b]"Now what?"[/b][/color] Renar murmured to himself. It was true that he'd grown much in strength and skill. But those were only one part of the equation. How would he leverage this into achieving his goals? Unless a war or some other crisis broke out, being ever so slightly better at killing wouldn't amount to much on its own. Especially when everyone around him had grown at the same rate. The thought crossed through his mind that surely, with the amount he'd improved, he could get away with killing his own father at last. But he pushed the inane musing down. Renar could have accomplished that with poison years ago. It would have availed him of nothing. Even should his father die, that just meant his elder brother would get everything. 

And besides, Renar wanted Lord Brias alive so that the old man could choke on the ash in his mouth when he saw his bastard son achieve everything he deserved. He wouldn't assassinate his father until then. But that still left the question of how to go about it. 

He folded his arms, staring up into the stars as he continued to plot.