《The Ruler of A Kingdom》 Chapter 0: Prologue "Father, your long-held ambition will finally be fulfilled today!" The young man congratulated the man, with grey-white hair, dressed formally in a white suit and carrying a cane that only elderly statesmen carried. The old man, however, paid no attention to his son''s words, and he continued at a brisk pace towards his group of advisors and secretaries. The group of people quietened down as he approached, gazing at him as though he was the promised messiah from the religions of the first millennia. "Esteemed hegemon, the crowd is ready for your address. Shall we proceed?" A secretary beside the stage door bowed while asking. Wordlessly, the old man nodded, and with great imposing strides that seem to belong to men half his age, but yet fitting on his well-built stature that did not diminish with time, he walked onto the podium, gazing out at the endless masses. The masses went wild when they saw him, and many of them raised flags with the colours blue and purple, the colours of the Hegemony of Earth that he now led. Ah, the old man thought to himself, all these years have finally led to this moment. All these long and dreadful years where I''ve committed so many cruel deeds on the climb up. All for this moment. I shall be remembered as the greatest leader of humanity in history, hahahahahah! This is THE moment! His eyes swept across the huge stadium containing nearly a million people. Huge screens that illuminated the stadium broadcasted him to the people, as well as the billions across the planet. The masses quietened as he tapped the microphone, as if mesmerised by his presence. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. "People of Earth, as the first Hegemon of Earth, I promise you peace and prosperity. I promise you beautiful cities that are safe from crime. I promise not just the people of Earth, but also humans who are spread out among the stars. My dream is to unify all humanity under the banner of Earth, the origin of mankind! We humans have unlimited potential, in just two millennia since we first stepped into space, we have reached across the galaxy, conquering boundless space. I believe it is time for us to take the next step in mankind¡¯s journey¡­¡± . . . . . . ¡°...and Long live the Hegemony of Earth!¡± Shouts erupted from the crowds, whipped into a frenzy of excitement by his speech. With a flourish of his suit, he turned and walked down the podium, planning to begin his rule immediately in the Hegemonial Tower. But when he turned, he felt a sense of foreboding, looking face to face with his secretary. The secretary said nothing, but her eyes seemed to be frosty as she glared at him. It seemed like a slow movement, but when she raised the gun she held in her hands and pressed the trigger, he couldn¡¯t do anything. All this happened in an instant, and he could not even cry out for help before the bullet, which will surely go through his cranium, and bury his ambition in history. Who? Was his only thought, as he glanced behind his secretary at his son who he ignored earlier, who merely stared back at his father, dead in the eye, his own brimming with the fire of victory and desire. Then all went black for the old man. Chapter 1: A New Purpose ¡­ Where am I? The old man thought as he stared into the darkness. In fact, the old man realized that he didn¡¯t even know whether his eyes were open or not, or whether he even had eyes for that matter. But the surroundings, though formless and dark felt reassuring to him, even somewhat nostalgic, as if he was in his mother¡¯s embrace. It was more instinctual than anything else, he had been abandoned as a child and grew up in an orphanage where the nuns were fiends who loved torturing young boys. Who am I? The old man realized with a start. There seemed to be a layer of fog beneath his mind, as he couldn¡¯t recall his own name, even though he knew that he was supposed to be dead. With a sudden flash that lit up the darkness, he suddenly recalled all that he lived through in his previous life, and at that moment, more than anything else was a crushing sense of failure and defeat. For it to end all because of my son¡­ The old man knew, at the moment he died on the podium that it was his son, his only son, that plotted for his death. There were so many signs prior, but he failed to realize what they meant, and in retrospect, he knew that he was a fool. He remembered how, in the days after he was elected by the final session of the Senate, his sons had spoken to his longtime political opponents. He remembered how his son had been avoiding meeting him though he was unsure whether his son was avoiding him or were they just too used to not meeting each other. He also recalled the final words his son had spoken to him. Which he ignored, much like how he had always ignored his son¡¯s existence. If only...if only if I treated my son better and played my role as his father¡­ The old man, though berating himself for a fool, was not stupid. He felt immense regret at not being a good father, and for not having been there when his son was growing up. His son was his only family after his wife¡¯s death at childbirth, but he blamed his son for being the cause of her death. Though he did not truly love her, as it was a political marriage, she was still the only person he had trusted as they had a common goal. Perhaps he truly loved her, though, for when she died, he felt as if a part of him died too. After all, after her, he had not felt such closeness for any human being. His son grew up without a mother, and without a father too, as at that time, he was still the Admiral General of Earth and was a leader during the First Humanity War. No doubt his son got the best treatment possible, but like himself did not grow up being loved. Immense regret continued to wash over him, and he wished that he could make amends. Ah...if I could live again...if given another chance, I would cherish and love my family. My ambition? A failure like me who couldn¡¯t even raise his child properly is definitely unfit as a ruler. But what use is there in such futile hope? I have died. There is no turning back. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Again, his regret threatened to overwhelm him. He, who had killed in the war and murdered in peace felt like crying because of his mistakes.
A long time passed within the darkness. But the old man did not know as he was still wallowing in self-pity and abandonment. Then, out of nowhere, something pulled at him. There was something holding onto his leg, which he didn¡¯t know that he had until this moment. With a strong pull, he was out of the darkness and blinded by the light he hadn¡¯t seen for so long. He was still squinting when he heard a joyful masculine voice. ¡°Honey, he¡¯s such a beautiful boy! Look at him, he¡¯s so cute!¡± A man in tattered clothes with a regal air that didn¡¯t fit his clothes exclaimed. His face was flushed, and his eyes were almost sparkling. But beneath that, his face was gaunt, and his cheekbones were obvious as his skin was stretched. ¡°Hahaha...haaah,¡± the lady on the mattress, which was yellow and tattered sighed with a hint of pride. ¡°His name will be Rydan, after my grandfather. I¡¯m sure little Rydan here will one day grow up to become as impressive as my grandfather.¡± ¡°Rydan Skyborn! That¡¯s a good name, heheh, maybe he¡¯ll grow up to be as strong as his father,¡± he chuckled. ¡°Ah, he opened his eyes, honey! Oh, he looks as though he understands us!¡± But Rydan did understand them. Though he could not understand the alien tongue, he knew his new name was ¡°Rydan¡± from how his parents repeated the name. At the same time, he was astonished at this phenomenon of reincarnation. It felt to him like the gods, wherever and whoever they were, heard his wish in his mother¡¯s womb. In this life, Rydan thought to himself, I will redeem myself, I will not lose myself for such a goal again. I will love my parents and be a good child, for they are now my family. Ryden looked around and saw the midwife standing nearby, helping his mother to clean up after childbirth. The room itself, while spacious, was bare but clean. He knew who he was, and what he was, but during his time in the womb, he already made up his mind to put his past behind himself. Still, he could not help but be solemn whenever he thought of it. ¡°Eh? What a weird child, he doesn¡¯t cry.¡± ¡°Maybe he¡¯s tired dear. Come, let me hold him, he needs to sleep.¡± Hugging the newly born Rydan gently, the lady patted Rydan, humming a melody as they both fell asleep. But before Ryden closed his eyes, he glanced at his father, who somehow in addition to his regal air also gave off a sense of security. Satisfied, Rydan closed his eyes. The man squatted beside his wife, with love in his eyes looking over them as they slept.
Author''s Comments: If you like/dislike it, please tell me! It''s my motivation. Do tell me if there were any mistakes in language/grammar. Also, the third person narrative seems kind of boring to me at the moment, should I change to the first person, and alternate between the two instead? Thanks for reading. Chapter 2: First Words Rydan opened his eyes. The world to him, at the moment, consisted of his mother, father and the midwife who doubled as a maid. Right now, Rydan is a day old, still tiny, still weak on the exterior. But his mental age was even older than his parents; back in his previous world, Rydan was a 60 years old cunning old fox of a politician who reached the peak of power. Rydan stared out of his crib curiously. Even though he was just born, he still wanted to know more about his new family, and new life. After all, it wasn¡¯t every day that someone got the chance to live in another world. The room wasn¡¯t bare, contrary to his expectations. He thought that his new family was poor, based on his father¡¯s attire and their bed. It didn¡¯t look as if they were well off, rather, it looked as if they were struggling to survive. But his room was decorated, there were bookshelves that were actually filled, a table with a flower in a vase on it and on the floor there were objects that looked like mini-swords and mini-daggers, made of wood. I wonder why it is necessary to give the children of this world this kind of toys...do parents expect their child to be able to fight too in this world? Rydan recalled that in his previous world, there were some colonies that were established on the fringes of the galaxy, and their planets had ferocious creatures living on them. Rydan once visited one of those planets, and there, even children were expected to know how to use a pistol, and it was necessary for teenagers around the age of 13 to be able to fight at close range with the creatures too. The martial culture there posed a huge threat to his troops on land, but ultimately, they were no match for Earth¡¯s superior spaceships. Rydan would have preferred to live a peaceful life in this world, instead of a life filled with strife and blood. Still, he was not disheartened, for at least he had another life. There were no lights in this room. At least, Rydan couldn¡¯t see any. There was also no evidence to show that there was advanced technology here. The clothing my mother wore was similar to what ¡°noble ladies¡± of the early part of the second millennia wore, Rydan thought. But my father...his clothes were no doubt a ¡°peasant¡¯s¡±. This doesn¡¯t quite add up, I wonder why? In his previous world, Rydan had been smart. Well, that was probably an understatement. Rydan was the all-time highest scorer in the Earth Maturity Examination, with a near perfect score of 1199/1200 for the mental capability component which consisted of history, mathematics, linguistics, engineering, and various sciences ranging from computing to medical. Of course, he wasn¡¯t just smart, his physical component was also way above average, at 790/800. Rydan was probably the most intelligent and capable student Earth had ever seen, but he knew that it was because he was willing to work hard for his ambition. As a famous scientist in his previous world once said, ¡°Success is 99% hard work, and 1% of talent.¡± Which was why Rydan felt that the disparity between his parent¡¯s clothes was odd. His hypothesis based on the surroundings was that the new world was at a stage similar to that of the early second millennia in his previous world, the medieval times. He knew from historical simulations and lectures, that during this period of time, class mobility was very limited, and ¡°nobles¡± and ¡°peasants¡± don¡¯t marry each other. Hence, his parent¡¯s relationship was odd. Rydan was very interested in the reason behind this. Perhaps, his hypothesis was wrong, and people actually weren¡¯t restricted by their status in this world, though it was unlikely as even during the period he lived in during his previous life, class mattered when looking for a lifelong partner. I¡¯ll find up when I grow older...for now though, I¡¯m famished¡­ With a growl originating from his stomach, Rydan thought about how he can get fed. Babies...Cry when they¡¯re hungry...right? There was a hint of black humor as Rydan thought. He was after all a 60-year-old man and the leader of humanity. But what choice does he have when it came to food as a baby? ¡°Waah...waa¡­¡± He waited for someone to come. But after a few minutes, all was unchanged, and he still remained hungry. He was becoming impatient. Maybe I was too soft? How embarrassing, though¡­ ¡°Waaa...WAAH...WAAAAH!¡± Ugh...if I could blush, my face would be redder than a baboon¡¯s ass now¡­ But at least his cry was answered, for the door was opened, and his mother looked at him with some panic in her eyes. Quickly realizing that Rydan was hungry, she cradled Rydan as she shoved her left tit at his tiny mouth. Eyes widening, his thoughts were filled with embarrassment. Still, it was a novel experience, being breastfed, that is. He never experienced this before in his previous life as he was an orphan. Warm milk flowed down his throat as he slowly fell asleep, with a full stomach and a satisfied smile. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. His last thoughts before he fell asleep was, I¡¯ll learn more about this world later...for now, I¡¯ll be a baby pampered by his family¡­ A year passed in a blink of an eye. Rydan had long been weaned off milk and he had even started walking with his mother¡¯s assistance. When his parents had found out he could walk, they celebrated by kissing his cheeks, his mom on the left and his dad on the right. At that point in time, Rydan felt as if love itself was liquid chocolate gushing out of his heart. This was his first experience at being loved as a child. Today, Rydan sat on his mother¡¯s lap as she read books for him. During the past year, he had already started to understand how to speak this language as well as read it. But he refrained from speaking so soon, as he wanted to live a normal life so there was no need to be labeled as a genius. Other than that, Rydan had learned a great deal about the world he lived in. His father was named Kristen and his mom was named Lysha. Lysha Dawnstone was everything he expected of a medieval noble. Proud and elegant, she once showed him the family tree of House Dawnstone. Though she expected him to be unable to comprehend it, she showed him that to let him recognize his grandfather¡¯s name and portrait. Rydan Dawnstone was a man with blonde hair and blue eyes, and Rydan could tell that he was a handsome man just by looking at the picture. House Dawnstone was indeed a noble house, going back about 8 generations, and Lysha was the ninth generation. Kristen, on the other hand, had a completely different status from his wife, Lysha. He was the last scion of the disgraced House Skyborn until Rydan was born, of course, which according to the conversations his mother and father had, was disbanded forcefully by the King himself. Though he didn¡¯t know why just yet, he wanted to find out as soon as possible. Since House Skyborn was disbanded, it also meant that Kristen was a fallen noble, the same as a peasant in status. By marriage, it also meant that Lysha was a peasant. Perhaps that is the reason why our house is devoid of possessions except my room, they probably sold them all to continue living here, Rydan thought when he first knew their status. Being a noble had its privileges, and one of them was having a decent house in the Noble District, his mother had told him with a sad voice one night. His mother had finished reading the book. Thinking that there couldn¡¯t be a better timing, he glanced upwards at his mother, instantly capturing her eyes with his blue eyes. ¡°Mother,¡± he said and instantly regretted his words. Well, shit. I should¡¯ve said ¡°Mama¡± or something dumber. That was way too unrealistic for my first words. I actually forgot that my first words had to be dumb... Shock flitted across his mother¡¯s face. She immediately carried him to her bedroom beside his, where Kristen was reading a letter by the candlelight. ¡°Dear! Rydan just said his first words! He called me ¡®Mother¡¯!¡± ¡°What! Really? Come here Rydan,¡± Kristen cooed, ¡°Come to papa. Say ¡®pa - pa¡¯, ¡®papa¡¯!¡± Oh well, since I already did it, I might as well do it again, Rydan thought, resigned. Besides, being a genius does has its benefits too...though it may be troublesome at first. ¡°Father.¡± ¡°Dear! Our child is so smart! He actually already knows how to say ¡®father¡¯ and ¡®mother¡¯! When I was younger, I was nearly 2 years old before I said something other than ¡®papa¡¯ and ¡®mama¡¯. Our son will definitely be a smart person!¡± ¡°Hahaha, he¡¯s my son after all!¡± Rydan wanted to roll his eyes. But in the end, he decided he couldn¡¯t be bothered and went back to sleep in his mother¡¯s cradle.
Author''s Comments: For now at least, the story will be focused on some snips of the background setting. Mostly, I''m trying to bring across a personality, but I''m not sure how well I''ve done it. Short chapters until the parts where it really matters. Next chapter onwards will explain the world better. Also, yes, it is fantasy. I''ll be using third-person limited for now, which a friend recommended until a better alternative comes. Some chapters though will be in first person. But that will be later on, probably second arc onwards. Thank you for reading. Chapter 3: By the order of the King Rydan was now three years old. He was the pride of his parents, and he loved his new family. His family was a comfort, even as he sometimes stared into blank space and recalled how he had died. Rydan felt as if he could share everything and anything with his parents, but, of course, he had to keep the fact that he was a reincarnated individual for now. In the last year, they had moved from a two story building in the Noble District, to a shophouse apartment in the Commoner District. Apparently, his old house was too old to be habitable. Or so his mother claimed. He often saw her with red eyes nowadays, and she looked sad whenever she mentioned her House. Rydan could guess that there was probably some circumstance related to her House that forced her to relinquish the old house they lived in. But still, Lysha was more cheerful when her friends visited at her now smaller, but cozier house. Today was special, though. Usually, when his parents had visitors, it was always pre-arranged, and the visitor would¡¯ve made an appointment. But today, his mother left him in the study where she had been teaching him how to read and write prior to the bell. When she heard the bell, her face suddenly paled and she rushed down to the entrance at the first floor, beside the flower shop. Since Lysha left, Rydan no longer had to keep up a pretense. Although he was called a ¡®genius¡¯ by his parents, he didn¡¯t want to be too outrageous a genius, and so, he hid his true language ability. Evidently, because of his mental age, he could read and write as well as any adult. Still, it wasn¡¯t a good idea to attract attention to himself when he was so young. Left alone in the study, Rydan climbed up a wooden chair which was placed against the table his mother left important stuff on. Messy, was his first thought as he glanced at the piles of paper and parchment on the table. He picked up the first letter that captured his attention. The crest of House Dawnstone, the sun with a diamond in the middle, was stamped at the bottom of the letter. He had a strange sense of foreboding when he saw the seal. Picking it up, he read softly, Dear Lysha, How have you been recently? How is Rydan too? I fear that House Itansil and House Refaron are working together now. Recently, they have shown signs of hostility towards us. It makes me doubt their previous actions against Lord Aspar Skyborn when House Itansil worked with us to destroy House Skyborn. Perhaps I should have listened to you when you said that Gerome Itansil was spouting lies. If that is true, I am really sorry. But what use is there in regretting what could have been? We too stand at the brink of destruction like House Skyborn did four years ago. I can only hope to protect you, who have been the smartest of my children, and the only one distant enough from the main branch in the citadel that they don¡¯t consider as part of our family. You may think I am cruel for saying this, but it was a blessing in disguise that you married Kristen and we played a hand in destroying House Skyborn. I am sure that they will not drag you down. I estimate that within the year, they will take action. You should move out of the old family estate soon. You are my House Dawnstone¡¯s only daughter now. Fear not that our line will end, though, your brother¡¯s wife is pregnant and it''s a boy according to the spirits. Once he is born, I will send him to a border village immediately with a letter, money and Graham the loyal servant. If, in the future, you meet him, I hope you¡¯ll treat him as if he is your son too. Thank you Lysha. I fear that this is the last letter I can send you. They are watching too closely now. I love you Lysha, and so does your family. May the spirits guide you and love you. Rydan Dawnstone Head of House Dawnstone Haeperia Kingdom Rydan was stunned for a moment. He discovered so many shocking facts in this letter! When was this written? Where is the date - Ah, the 92nd Common Era? That¡¯s last year¡­ Rydan wondered if his mother¡¯s pale face as she ran down was related. Because today was exactly one year since the letter was written. Did my grandfather survive? Rydan could only hope. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Rydan Dawnstone, by all his mother¡¯s accounts, was an impressive man who brought House Dawnstone up from lower nobility to having the current middle nobility status. The elder Rydan was a cunning old fox who found evidence that an old House was involved in buying weapons in bulk behind the King¡¯s back, and he reported them to the King. For his loyalty, the family underwent an increase in status. More surprising, though, was the fact that Lysha still loved her father so closely, even when she obviously knew that he was partially responsible for the destruction of her beloved husband¡¯s house. It seems like the politics of this world isn¡¯t in any way inferior to my previous world¡­ But as Rydan was comparing the two worlds, a loud cry sounded out from the stairs. The cry was filled with anguish. ¡°Why oh why, why why WHYYYYY?¡± It was Rydan¡¯s first time hearing his mother like this. He ran as fast as his small legs could out of the study mother usually locked after use without even closing the door, towards the door to their house. ¡°Mother? Are you alright?¡± Rydan asked, for once putting down his pretense. He genuinely loved his mother, she was the person he spent the most time with, in this new life of his. He was hugging her legs as he looked at her tortured face. ¡°Oh, my sweet dawn child,¡± Lysha said, with tears in her eyes. ¡°My baby. Everything is fine.¡± Obviously ¡®everything'' isn¡¯t fine. Look at yourself. ¡°Mom? What happened? Why are you crying?¡± ¡°I...T-that¡¯s something I¡¯ll tell you when you¡¯re older. Now let mommy go.¡± ¡°Look, mother, I know you want to cry and escape the cruel reality. But I know what the bell meant. It could only mean urgent news from the citadel and the palace itself was sent here. I read Grandpa Rydan¡¯s letter in the study. Tell me.¡± Lysha¡¯s face paled further. She knelt down and hugged Rydan as she let her tears go. ¡°Y-your grandfather...Rydan and my House were all...were all...e-ex-ex-exterminated by the order of the King this morning. They¡¯re gone Rydan¡­¡± Lysha could only continue sobbing uncontrollably as she cried her sadness out. Like what I expected. How cruel, this world. To kill off my poor mother¡¯s family. Right now, the only thing I can do is to comfort her. It is the only thing, I, her useless son can do right now. But I swear, on both House Skyborn and House Dawnstone, that I, Rydan, will one day reclaim the names of our houses, out of the ashes of defeat. I, Rydan, will find out the truth. That night, he slept in between his parents. His father had rushed home from his work at the market immediately after receiving the news. While Rydan didn¡¯t know if Kristen knew about the truth of House Skyborn¡¯s destruction, it wasn¡¯t the right time to mention it. At least not until Lysha gets over her grief. Looking out of the window at the ivory moon while being nestled between his parent, Rydan felt melancholic. From one world to another, nothing really changes does it? Indeed, ¡®Man hands on misery to man. It deepens like a coastal shelf¡¯. This cycle, how can one stop it unless one is in control? Change requires control of the current system. I will have to study more about this world, I¡¯ve spent far too long playing around¡­ But out of the darkness, a shadow flickered, and a man in long dark robes entered the room from the window. He gave off a bloody smell, a smell of iron and rust. Rydan recognized it, and he was paralyzed with fear. There was no way any of them could escape if he was here for their lives. The man seemed to realize Rydan was awake and gave him a slow, sadistic smile. He mouthed the words soundlessly, ¡°By the order of the King.¡± And then there was a slash, a sound of loss, and the man was gone. Only the cruel eye in the night sky remained, its gaze shining upon red blankets.
Author''s Comments: Maybe a little dark, but trust me for now. This isn''t a short novel with the imagination of a teenager and the plot of a cheap flick novel. I have it all covered. Thank you for reading.