《Whispers of Riverward》 Fall of the Griffin - Chapter 1.1 Nero Like most sane people, Nero hated funerals. For his brief twenty-year existence on Riverward, he attended two and now was about to begin his third. When he entered the temple the young prince marveled at the lush nature of the building. The masterfully painted benches, floors, ceilings, griffin sculptures that dotted the temple, and most importantly, a clean and sturdy surface to walk on. As Nero walked down the hallway, he could only think of what he would do after the funeral. How much more enjoyable going back to the palace would be. He loathed the long robes that he was forced to wear. His cape contained feathers from all the griffins, his buttons were made of pure gold, and his hair was groomed to perfection. Sitting still in his chair, the servants prepared him and assured him that he looked great, but all that Nero could focus on was the dragonvine that ran from the top left to the bottom right of his face. It had the appearance of a plant in a jungle but the texture of scales on a dragon. His complexation besides that was decent to any common eye, but it was stained. Stained by the looks he got when he met new people when he would ask people how their day was, and the look from his father¡ªKing Maximus. The crowd was full of earls, their children, and a couple of commoners, with the ones sat further up signifying their rank in society. Nero reached the front row and took a seat next to his two siblings. He turned to her bastard sister¡ªGala¡ªand asked her if she knew when their father was coming. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± She responded. ¡°Last time I saw him, I was outside his door while he was getting dressed.¡± Gala turned to Nero and looked him in the eye. The only person who would do so. ¡°You know, I don¡¯t know why we didn¡¯t just hold this thing in the Capital. We have a bigger temple and a bigger city. But no, we have to drag our asses to Staff Harbor and do this thing here.¡± The bells rang shortly after, and everyone stood up. Their father was here, and everyone looked as Maximus entered the temple with his robes wrapped around his body. The extravagant design on his robes of the griffins beating the hydras back into the sea. Maximus¡¯s crown only had a gold frame, while the outside and top were padded with griffin feathers. The crowd was silent as the bells rang, and the fine silks of the king¡¯s robes filled the room with a smell that commoners would only dream of smelling. One of the priests announced the king¡¯s arrival. ¡°You are now in the presence of King Maximus Qar. Originator of the name, king of the Dymish and Borzor people, and servant to the reunification of the continent and Mydrazan.¡± Maximus made his way to the front of the temple, took a seat with the priests at the front table, and the crowd sat back down. There was more waiting, and Nero sat there, tapping his leg waiting for the funeral to start. Nero stared at his father. Whatever was causing the delay, it must have been because of Maximus, and it must have been stupid. Nero¡¯s brother¡ªRomulus¡ªleaned over and asked Nero if there was anything after the funeral that the family was mandated to attend. ¡°I hope not,¡± Nero responded softly. Romulus gave a little laugh and looked for Gala for confirmation. She also said that she didn¡¯t know. Romulus looked back at the door. ¡°God, I hope we get some good music or something. This thing is boring.¡± ¡°You know, if you were a little more patient, then it wouldn¡¯t be so bad,¡± Gala snapped back. Romulus turned back to her. ¡°Oh, and you are the shining example of patience?¡± A thump came from the back of the temple. Everyone looked back, and Nero slowly stood, knowing what was coming. More thumps came, and they peeked and tried to look past each other to see what it was. When the people in the back of the temple saw what caused such a loud noise, they stood, then the king, and soon the rest of the temple. The thumps roared as they entered the temple. It was the last griffin¡ªLucius¡ªwith his dead brother on his back. Gala looked back at Nero in confusion. Nero had the same question that she did: Why was Lucius carrying Titus on his back? Lucius made his way up the temple, with every step a struggle. He barely fit in the gap between the seats, and when his head got to the front, he gracefully let his brother off his back as Lucius backed out of the temple until his head was the only body part left inside the temple. His dead brother¡¯s corpse lay on the floor as the smell of what smelled like a dead horse enveloped the room. Romulus backed up and scrunched his face, Nero did the same but looked to his father for a reaction, Maximus looked to the priests seemingly looking for an answer, and Gala didn¡¯t budge. The crowd murmured and wondered what was happening. Lucius¡¯s face held firm as he gaged the crowd¡¯s reaction. It seemed as if Lucius was trying to be strong, but behind his eyes lay a sense of hopelessness. Maximus took a deep breath and stood tall. ¡°Lucius! We told you that Titus¡¯s body would remain at the graveyard.¡± His authoritative voice echoed through the temple. Nero thought back to the time when his father¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t authoritative. When it was gentle and soft before he was king. ¡°Explain yourself!¡± Maximus demanded. Lucius looked up at the king and slowly backed away from the temple. He had something in his front claw and placed it in his teeth. It was a jar filled with green liquid. Lucius walked back into the temple and placed the jar on his brother. ¡°That was in my brother!¡± His voice tried to match Maximus¡¯s authoritativeness, but Lucius was old, and his voice was raspy. ¡°I am sorry to bring you the terrible truth, but my brother didn¡¯t die peacefully in his cave. He was assassinated by someone with access to greenwood poison.¡± The crowd erupted into quick, snappy, and unintelligent conversations of people confirming that the person next to them heard the same thing. There were plenty of ¡°Whats!¡± ¡°Ohs!¡± and ¡°No ways!¡± Maximus demanded silence, and the crowd complied as if their life depended on it. Maximus demanded that Lucius be sure of the accusation that he was making. Lucius stared at the king. ¡°No other leader on the continent is here to pay their respects to Titus. All of them were in Godmouth for Vespa, but not now. Why?¡± The entire crowd¡ªincluding Nero¡ªlooked at the king for a response. Maximus stood there thinking of an answer. Nero thought to himself too as he stared at the king. There was no previous official answer from the crown¡ªor that Nero was aware of¡ªand Nero waited for his father to say something that would dominate their lives for at least the next couple of weeks. Maximus still stood there, thinking. The crowd went back into their conversation, but as the voices reached a point where one couldn¡¯t think, Maximus put his hand up, and the crowd quieted back down. ¡°You are right Lucius. It is a shame that the leaders are not here especially since now a terrific crime has come to light.¡± Maximus gave a frown to the crowd, but his children saw his smile. If only their mother wasn¡¯t overseeing the capital while they were gone. She might have seen her beloved husband¡¯s true nature. ¡°But that brings us closer to the truth. You lost a brother, and we lost a friend. Crimes shall not go unpunished, and the truth shall be exposed. No matter the cost, and if the other leaders on the continent do not explain their absence and innocence, this kingdom shall honorably extract the truth.¡± The crowd remained silent for a moment before some of the earls spoke up. ¡°Hail Mydrazan and the king!¡± they said. Their voice seemed patriotic and loyal, but Nero was convinced that they had no passion behind their words. More people joined in and soon the temple echoed with thunder as the room chanted the kingdom¡¯s motto. Nero glanced at his sister in disappointment as it seemed nothing good would come out of this. Gala nodded, and they both looked at Romulus for his reaction. He smiled in silence like his father. # Later that day, Nero found Gala sitting on a bench by the docks looking out into the vast bay that was Walik¡¯s Wake. Everyone passed by her without a second thought as they went about their day as the sun set. She stared into the bay, with the only obstruction being the royal navy that was now hastily being prepared by the sailors. Nero took a seat next to Gala and asked if she thought Maximus was really going to do it. ¡°You know, even if he doesn¡¯t, he is going to get damn close,¡± Gala responded. ¡°Have you had an opportunity to talk to him since the funeral?¡± Nero asked. ¡°No, he¡¯s too busy escalating the situation,¡± Gala said. ¡°If this somehow, or probably, ends up as a war, I just hope that it ends early.¡± She sighed and her eyes relaxed. It seemed that so much was going on that the only way to tackle it was to turn off her brain for a couple of moments to naturally filter out what was important. ¡°Do you think you¡¯ll be able to talk him out of it?¡± asked Nero. ¡°Maybe, if I can get him alone and talk some sense into him like the other times then maybe, but those times he didn¡¯t have a good excuse to go to war. You can only talk somehow out of their instinct so many times.¡± ¡°What are you going to do if it does happen?¡± Nero asked.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Try my best to keep the country together. Hold speeches, rally troops, and gather public support¡ªI wish I didn¡¯t have to, but Dad is probably going to force me. What about you?¡± ¡°Same,¡± responded Nero. ¡°Well not the same thing as in rally people, but what dad makes me do. Which is probably to sit in the palace, so I don¡¯t get captured.¡± A moment later, thumps came from the right of them. They both snapped their heads at the same time to see what it was. It was Lucius making his way down the street inspecting ships and asking sailors things that Nero and Gala couldn¡¯t discern from a distance. Gala stood up and made her way to him. Nero hesitantly followed behind and asked what she was doing. ¡°Going to ask why he¡¯s an idiot. Fucking Lucius couldn¡¯t have talked about the greenwood poison in private.¡± Gala pushed through the small crowd that formed around Lucius and looked him in the eye, with Nero not far behind. ¡°Lucius, you know what you just did?¡± Gala demanded. Lucius focused his shift from the ships and crowd to the twenty-two-year-old bastard princess. ¡°I did what I thought was right,¡± he softly responded. Nero watched Lucius¡¯s facial expressions. He was still angry as his eyes dilated and pitch increased at Gala¡¯s questioning, but his tone was as if he was responsible for Titus¡¯s death or a disappointment to his family. If he had one. ¡°And you know what the truth is going to lead to? Right?¡± ¡°My brother deserves justice,¡± Lucius said as he avoided eye contact. ¡°My brother served this kingdom, and I have served him by bringing the truth. I only hope that Maximus translates the truth in justice and punish the people responsible.¡± Before Gala could respond, an explosion erupted behind them. The thunderous noise rang in Nero¡¯s ear for a moment before he could figure out what it was. It came from one of the ships, and the crowd stood in silence as Lucius immediately backed up and took off to see what happened. A plume of smoke rose from the ship. It looked like a gunpowder explosion. Nero and Gala stood with the crowd and watched Lucius fly through the air before landing on the dock and nearly making it collapse due to his sheer weight. Nero and Gala slowly walked to the ship as the risk of another explosion died down. Most people were, however, running at full speed around the dock to an area they believed to be safe. Lucius looked at the ship that was now in pieces and moved his head around until he found someone drowning in the water near him. He was barely able to reach him, but after some struggle, grabbed him with his mouth and placed him on the dock. Gala and Nero kept approaching when Gala noticed two men running towards them, attempting to hide their knives. Gala shoved Nero behind him and drew her dagger hidden between her pants and shirt. They tried to shank Gala, but she pivoted to the left as the knife passed. It nearly hit Nero as the assaulter lunged forward along the knife¡¯s path. Gala swiftly slit the man¡¯s throat, and the man fell to the ground instantly. The other man then tried to grab hold of Nero. The young prince tried to budge, but the man grabbed hold of his wrist and held a knife to his throat. Gala paused and watched the man. People whizzed by them, only caring about themselves. Gala stood there as Nero and the assaulter watched her seemingly go through all the possible options. ¡°Let go of the knife!¡± The assaulter demanded. His voice was rough, direct, and patchy. ¡°Oh, and you will let my brother go?¡± Gala asked with a suspicious tone. ¡°Yes,¡± he responded. Gala looked at Nero for some guidance. Nero didn¡¯t believe that the man would give him up, and judging based on Gala¡¯s reaction: she didn¡¯t believe it either. People kept whizzing by. Their field of vision was momentarily blinded every couple of seconds by people running perpendicular to them. Nero didn¡¯t understand why they were running. It was very likely that there were no more explosions. Gala slowly walked at a forty-five-degree angle. The assaulter did the same, so they circled around and maintained their distance. He kept demanding that Gala make up her mind, every time moving the knife closer to Nero¡¯s throat. Gala stopped when most of the people on the dock were now running in her direction, while Nero and the assaulter showed their backs to most of the crowd. The knife had reached Nero¡¯s throat, and he was afraid to breathe or gulp in case the knife accidentally nicked a blood vessel. Gala waited as the man grew more impatient, but Gala sat there with the dagger in hand, waiting. Her face was perfectly calm as she stared at the man like she was the one in charge and that she was waiting for him to respond to a question she never asked. The crowd started to slow down as the odds of another explosion further decreased, but before it came to the point where people stopped running, a man bumped into the back of Nero, with him and the assaulter launching forward. Gala leaped toward the assaulter and pinned him to the ground. Nero checked his throat to make sure he wasn¡¯t bleeding out. Gala disarmed the assaulter and stabbed into the man¡¯s hand. He screamed out in pain and quickly lifted his hand from the dirty dock covered with mud below him. It seemed that Gala expected his hand to stay put as Gala momentarily let some pressure go. Nero watched as Gala punched the man in the face several times after he lifted his hand. Each punch was more devastating than the last until the man lay in the mud, unconscious. Gala rushed to Nero and asked if he was okay. He nodded and collected his breath. ¡°Please, I¡¯m fine unless I get more mud on me,¡± Nero replied. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll get you cleaned up once this man is arrested.¡± Nero shot to his feet and attempted to remove the mud, but it had already stained his clothes. Gala went back to the assaulter to make sure that he was still unconscious, before checking the first assaulter and confirming that he was dead. Nero didn¡¯t notice it before, but as he looked down on the two men who attacked them, he noticed that they were Borzor people. Their skin was nearly perfectly black, and their eyes were red. The only similarity that Nero¡ªalong with the rest of the Dymish people¡ªwas the light brown hair. Except that, everything was different. Language, skin tone, culture, and so many other things may have provided a background for this attack. The crowd had calmed down enough for some people to realize royals had just been assaulted and rushed to help Gala and Nero reach a safe building. The man who bumped into Nero, freeing him, was also brought to the same location. They were brought to a small outdoor restaurant and were offered all the amenities that were available. Tea, coffee, free food, and even complimentary cigarettes and alcohol. Gala accepted the tea, while Nero sat there and reflected on what happened. He hated how everyone kept bothering him to ask if he was okay. He would be fine if everyone stopped asking. Gala kept yelling at the crowd to make sure that the unconscious man who assaulted them was constrained, while Nero sat there until the city guard arrived. # Romulus came a couple of minutes after a couple of soldiers took the assaulter away. He talked to Gala for a little to presumably ask what happened, checked out the rest of the area, and walked to Nero, who sat at one of the restaurant tables. ¡°You really couldn¡¯t have fought them off yourself?¡± Romulus teased. ¡°Romulus, what do you want?¡± Nero asked, still recovering from what happened. ¡°You know who those people were?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± ¡°How long do you think it will take me before I get an answer out of him?¡± Romulus laughed. Nero looked up but didn¡¯t respond as he sighed. ¡°Do you even know if the man speaks Dymish?¡± ¡°God, I don¡¯t know. Let¡¯s just hope so because I don¡¯t want to listen to that brutish language and talk through a translator.¡± Nero looked Romulus up and down and looked at the clean metal that Romulus wore. ¡°Why are you wearing your armor? ¡°I got to head up to a military camp. Father asked me to head back up and prepare for a potential war,¡± Romulus answered. Nero shook his head. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Well, it could be a preemptive attack. Dicon could be trying to weaken us, but Father also thinks it could be the Expert¡¯s Commonwealth. Why? I don¡¯t know.¡± "Because greenwood poison comes from greenwood trees. They only grow in the Expert¡¯s Commonwealth.¡± Nero said. Romulus seemed impressed by Nero¡¯s knowledge of greenwood poison. ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll bring that up later with the man who assaulted you. Maybe it will help us figure out who did it, and while I¡¯m at it I¡¯ll let him know that he almost killed a scholar.¡± Romulus gave a little smirk, while Nero gave an awkward one back as he didn¡¯t know whether to either laugh, smile, or not react to the joke. ¡°Before, I question the guy and make wild accusations,¡± Romulus continued. ¡°Did you have any quarrels with people that I am not aware of?¡± ¡°Please, I would need to leave the palace more often to have quarrels with people,¡± Nero responded. ¡°Did you not say thank you to a maid or something and now they feel insulted?¡± Romulus suggested. Nero brushed off the question and moved on. ¡°Before the ship explosion, Gala was trying to start something with Lucius,¡± Nero said. ¡°Am I not surprised,¡± Romulus remarked. ¡°Can I blame her? She¡¯s used to being the only person to get into her father¡¯s ear and just like that it¡¯s over. A griffin is about to start a war if no one stops it.¡± ¡°You get a chance to talk to him?¡± Nero asked. ¡°No,¡± Romulus responded, disappointed. ¡°Though, I did see him. Not a good look... If I¡¯m honest with you, I don¡¯t really want a war. We¡¯re not ready, and the generals are so far up their asses, I would be surprised if they knew what biome they were in.¡± ¡°And what you''re better than them?¡± Nero asked. ¡°Maybe,¡± responded Romulus. ¡°We¡¯ll see the next time I have a war game, but you won¡¯t be able to see that. Father told me to inform you that you and Gala were going back to Gatherstorm in the morning. Let me get you an escort before you leave.¡± Nero got up with Romulus, but as his guard gathered and Romulus left, he saw Lucius out of the corner of his eye about a block away. He wanted to go up to him and ask the same thing that Gala asked before the explosion but decided not to. He didn¡¯t want to go up there with a poorly formatted question in public as everyone would watch him embarrass himself. He nearly made an impulse decision to go talk to him, but the royal guard was already gathering to leave, and he didn¡¯t want to explain to them why he was trying to get out of their escort for something unimportant. As he made his way to his night quarters, he looked upon the homes of Staff Harbor. They were just like the capital: terrible. The homes were built on weak foundations, half of them were leaning, making the alleyways weave and bend. Nero thought he was about to get jumped every time they reached an intersection, there was nearly no lighting, and people threw their feces out the window which then turned into mud. He checked his clothing again, hoping the mud was gone, but as expected, it was still there. When Nero got to his bed, all he could think about was what the country, the cities, the villages, and the roads would be like if he was given free rein to clean them up, but no, not a single person in the royal family or court trusted him with the money. Though, most of the time, he didn¡¯t trust himself to fix anything. Chapter 1.2 Gala Gala, Nero, and Maximus all sat in the royal carriage back to Gatherstorm. They were only two days out of Staff Harbor, and they tried to make conversation, but it went nowhere, which left the carriage silent. During the second night, they slept in the carriage, but around three in the morning Maximus stopped it and went to pee in a field. When he came back, Gala woke up and noticed that Nero was still sound asleep. Maybe now would be the time to talk to Maximus about preventing war. ¡°Dad?¡± Gala asked.¡°Yes?¡± Maximus said, snapping his tired eyes to Gala. ¡°I know that you don¡¯t probably want to talk about this, but I wanted a moment in private before it was too late,¡± Gala said. Maximus groaned. ¡°Now?¡± he asked. ¡°Let me go to sleep. If you are worried about anything, we¡¯ll talk about it in the morning.¡± ¡°No, now,¡± Gala responded, trying to sound as respectful as possible. ¡°Both of us probably won¡¯t be able to fall asleep for at least another twenty minutes. So, to make the most of it, I want to talk to you while I have the chance. Alone.¡± "Alright, fine,¡± said Maximus. ¡°What do you suggest? They killed one of the griffins, but more importantly, the one that pledged its allegiance to us.¡± He leaned forward. ¡°Someone insulted us. We can¡¯t let that go unpunished,¡± said Maximus with stern eyes as he locked eyes with Gala. ¡°We don¡¯t even know if we have to go to war.¡± Gala rebutted. ¡°This shouldn¡¯t be just an excuse to go after reunification. Imagine the consequences, if you blame the Expert¡¯s Commonwealth, we also go to war with¡ª¡± Maximus interrupted. ¡°Don¡¯t act like I am not an academic either. I don¡¯t need to lecture me about the geopolitics of the continent. I didn¡¯t mobilize one and a half million men just to bow down to an army of half a million. The Expert¡¯s Commonwealth¡ª¡± ¡°Why would an army a third the size of ours provoke us like this?¡± Gala demanded. She kept her eyes locked with her fathers. Gala tried to stare harder like she was trying to cast a bigger shadow than her father. A lone feather trying to change the direction of a bird. ¡°Some men just don¡¯t know what they are doing. They are irrational.¡± Gala considered turning the statement back on her father. She opened her lips to say it but pulled back out of fear that the conversation would turn ugly. ¡°You know, you don¡¯t have to drag down our kingdom because of the irrational actions of others. Strength comes from humility too.¡± Gala paused for a moment. ¡°I have a different solution.¡± ¡°We wouldn¡¯t be having this conversation if you didn¡¯t,¡± Maximus said. Gala expected this phrase to be spoken with some high spirit, like someone leading up to a joke, but his demeanor didn¡¯t change, and his eyes were still locked onto Gala¡¯s. She continued. ¡°Set up a conference with the other leaders. Invite them to find out who did it, and demand concessions. Something, but if they still don¡¯t admit it and you are sure, and you know you''re sure, then we can go to war. If we don¡¯t know, we would be wasting good men of this country on a war against the wrong enemy.¡± ¡°I know who it is,¡± Maximus assured Gala. ¡°What if we are being deceived?¡± Gala questioned. ¡°If we are being deceived then I will know.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°Because I am not a fool who makes decisions based on opportunities I think may be opportunistic. I imagine the scenario and plan accordingly before it ever happens.¡± He said it with such confidence that Gala wanted to shut it down again but didn¡¯t know how to respond. The conversation was over, and Gala sunk into her chair. Only a person who didn¡¯t know Maximus would continue and potentially rile him up. She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep. There were no more conversations about the potential war for the rest of the trip. # They arrived in Gatherstorm a couple of weeks later. Nero¡¯s mother, Claudia, greeted them as they reached the palace gates. Gala looked at the royal guards that surrounded the carriage. It was nearly double the number of troops as usual, but Gala doubted their effectiveness. ¡°They¡± took down a griffin. What possibly could more guards do?If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. She looked over at Nero and found him looking up at the palace walls, towers, and windows. His eyes were almost never like this. During everyday life, he would dart his eyes from object to object; when talking to anyone besides Gala, he would look at the ground or to the side of the person; but when in front of the capital, his eyes were locked on the only beautiful thing in the country. Claudia and Maximus bear-hugged each other when he got out of the carriage, while Gala and Nero awkwardly waited until they let go. They gave each other a little glance of acknowledgment. After the king and queen stopped embracing and loving each other, Claudia moved on to her children. She first hugged Nero and then Gala. She did all the pleasantries and told them how much she missed them, but after her face swapped to concern. She turned toward Maximus and asked where Romulus was. Maximus informed her that he was still near Staff Harbor dealing with a prisoner and organizing military regiments. Claudia sighed. Gala watched as the queen put on a happy face and told them to go to their rooms to get everything organized. A couple hours later, Gala was in one of the many dining halls eating her dinner. She scarfed chicken and bread down her throat while drinking more water than some peasants drank in a week. Anytime a part of the chicken or bread was cold she immediately shoved more food into her mouth to bring back some heat which nearly made her choke a couple of times. Also, the number of candles in the dining hall made Gala scoff. There was no need for this many candles¡ªand along with the exuberant number of paintings¡ªwould give someone with claustrophobia a small panic attack. A door opened at the far end and Gala tried to see who it was. After swinging her head side to side trying to look passed the candles, she found Claudia walking to her. Gala took another bite of her chicken and asked how Claudia was doing. Claudia took the seat across from her and said she was fine. There was a moment of silence before Gala asked what she was doing here. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± asked Gala. ¡°Can¡¯t I talk to my stepdaughter? Is that a problem?¡± Claudia asked, sounding offended. ¡°Well, you didn¡¯t say anything. Besides, what do you want to talk about?¡± Gala asked trying to sound more upbeat. ¡°How the funeral was? Let me answer that for you. It was terrible, alright.¡± She laughed. ¡°This country is going to be at war with either two or three countries and it feels like Dad has no idea what he is doing.¡± ¡°He knows what he is doing. He¡¯s the king.¡± Claudia said. ¡°Besides, you shouldn¡¯t concern yourself with things you don¡¯t have much influence on. Focus on things you have power over. Example A: me. I was in charge while you were away, and when I heard of the news, I made all the preparations to make sure I and this family were okay. If you focus on what other people are doing, you are going to be worse off and before you know it, someone is going to chop your head off.¡± ¡°I know, but what¡¯s the point? Isn¡¯t caring about what others do and how I get more say in the kingdom. Plus, I don¡¯t want the people to suffer because I couldn¡¯t convince the king to calm down. If the royal family doesn¡¯t care about the people, who will?¡± Gala inquired. ¡°The earls of course.¡± ¡°Then why are we in charge?¡± Gala asked, setting down her fork and knife for a brief moment. Claudia tried to come up with an answer, but the brief moment of silence before she began confirmed Gala¡¯s assumption. There was no one in the family who truly cared about the people. Anytime any action was taken that benefited the people, it was only done in the first place for selfish reasons. Claudia said they were in charge because they deserved it by right. It is their family¡¯s right to sit on the throne and lead the people. Gala nodded to her response. She played along with the notion and could only long for the day that the leaders of Qar cared for the people. Gala finished her meal and wondered about the man who was currently in line for the throne after Maximus. ¡°You think Romulus is going to be a good king?¡± Gala asked. ¡°Gala!¡± Claudia gasped. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t even be thinking about that already.¡± ¡°I know that he is your husband and you two love each other, but he is going to die. A sixty-year-old king is like the moment before a public execution in the town square. Everybody waits and doesn¡¯t dare move and look away. Romulus is the rightful heir, but sometimes I wonder about if he is going to be competent.¡± Claudia reluctantly moved past Gala¡¯s morbid thoughts and answered her question. ¡°No, he doesn¡¯t know what he is doing. He¡¯s cocky, he¡¯s not diplomatic, but at least he¡¯s a military man. No one challenges a king with a military at his back. Or at least I hope he has the military with him. I wouldn¡¯t know such things, and even though he wouldn¡¯t be good, I think he would have enough skilled people at his side that it would protect the kingdom.¡± Claudia stopped. She smiled at Gala. ¡°And I got someone in mind who would fit that role perfectly.¡± Gala smirked but was a little embarrassed by the motherly love. ¡°Thanks, Claudia, it means a lot,¡± Gala said out of respect. ¡°Again, you are more than welcome to call me mom,¡± Claudia assured her. Gala shook her head. They¡¯ve had this conversation before but with the same result. Gala refusing to call the woman who took care of her her entire life ¡°mom¡±. There was silence as both sat there, not knowing what to say. Claudia got up from her seat. ¡°I should let you find a maid to handle your dirty dishes. I need to write Romulus,¡± she said as she pushed in her chair and walked away. Chapter 1.3 Romulus The military camp was a couple of kilometers outside of Staff Harbor and contained around thirty purple tents. It was only a small detachment made mostly of infantry to provide a defense of the city in case of rebellion or surprise invasion. He got there the day after the funeral, and before interrogating the assaulter, Romulus went over to the tent that was assigned to him to drop off his belongings. He found the previous occupant to still be sleeping in his straw bed. Romulus left his things on a nearby table and kicked the man to sleep. ¡°Get up soldier. This tent¡¯s mine now,¡± Romulus said before disappearing out of the tent. He shook his head as he grew tired of how common this behavior was whenever he moved into a new camp. When Romulus arrived at the assaulter¡¯s tent, he flashed the royal seal on his uniform at the guard on duty and entered. Once Romulus got inside, he found the assaulter on the ground and bruised. His hands and feet were chained on the center pole but looked like they were tied to a saw. It was clear that he had already taken a beating from some of the soldiers. Romulus stood over the man, examining him. ¡°You tell them anything?¡± Romulus asked, hoping he would respond in Dymish. ¡°They didn¡¯t ask anything,¡± the assaulter responded in a brutish Borzor accent. From the man who didn¡¯t leave his tent to the guard who barely glanced at Romulus when he flashed his royal seal, it was obvious they didn¡¯t make use of a good beating. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Romulus asked as he squatted down. ¡°Why would I tell you?¡± The man asked. ¡°So, when we execute you, we have someone to notify,¡± Romulus answered without missing a beat. ¡°And if I don¡¯t, are you going to beat it out of me?¡± ¡°You want us to give you the luxury of a public execution or not?¡± The man sighed. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯m a Borzor.¡± ¡°Alright Borzor,¡± Romulus continued. ¡°Why did you attack the prince and princess?¡±. He stared at the Borzor knowing what his answer would be the first time around. ¡°Fuck off.¡± Romulus stood back up and kicked the man in his side. The Borzor winced but was relatively unharmed. ¡°Tell me,¡± Romulus said once again. ¡°Or you shall receive a whipping till death rather than a swift chop of the head!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the difference? I¡¯ll be dead anyway.¡± It was more of the same for an hour. Romulus demanded why the man attacked his brother and stepsister, who sent him if they were foreign, and what their aim was. Romulus became exhausted from the numerous punches, kicks, and headbutts he gave to the Borzor. ¡°I¡¯ll give you something. Borzors are much more resilient to torture than the Dymish. I suppose they¡¯re more conditioned to facing the consequences of crimes.¡± Romulus remarked. The man''s blood ran from his head to his feet. It looked like the man¡¯s eyes were dripping onto his face and clothes, dirt entered his bloodstream as wounds opened up, but he still sat there and told Romulus to shove it. A messenger then walked into the tent. Romulus turned toward him and demanded what he wanted. It was time for the war game. Romulus sighed as he wasn¡¯t able to get an answer before having to take a break. Wiping his bloody hands on the inside of the tent, he left, but not before he turned toward the Borzor and remarked: ¡°Tough shit, you.¡± # The war game was simple. Romulus was on the defensive while his opponent was simulating an invading force from the east. Romulus had half the size of his opponent but had the better terrain. Romulus organized his troops into three regiments. First, the main infantry that would be the meat of the army; second, the cavalry unit that would guard the flanks and the artillery that were typically sitting ducks in this type of battle. They were supposed to guard a pass, with whoever controlled it at the end winning the game. The infantry didn¡¯t carry metal swords, instead using wooden ones made for war games like this. Same with the cavalry, but the artillery did use military-grade cannonballs. The battle started, and Romulus watched from a hilltop mounted on his horse. The entire battle was simulated in a forest, so information and visibility were severely limited. Romulus, however, brought a state-of-the-art mechanical clock only the royal family and earls had access to. He estimated how long it would take the enemy army to reach his position and waited. When the time came, he ordered the infantry and cavalry to pull back to the end of the pass and wait. After Romulus approximated how long it took them and waited, he ordered the cannons to fire on the pass. His inferior officers warned him that it would kill some of the soldiers, but Romulus brushed it off. After about ten minutes of constant barrages, he ordered his cavalry to charge at the enemy and for the cannons to stop shooting. In a little under an hour, Romulus defeated an army double the size and completed his objective. When Romulus arrived back at the camp, the commander of the enemy forces walked in front of him and confronted Romulus. ¡°What was that, Captain Romulus?! You killed thirty of my men!¡± Romulus paused for a moment and smirked. ¡°Do you not lose men in war?¡± ¡°It was a war game,¡± the commander responded. ¡°You shot at us with your artillery! You killed people in your army, so how is that supposed to help us? We need those men. We are about to be¡ª¡± ¡°Those who died today provided something to me and you that is more valuable than anything they could have provided on the field of war. Experience.¡± Romulus put his hand on the commander¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Now you know not to chase an army down a pass without first checking if the enemy isn¡¯t as a shit commander as you were. Now excuse me; I have a prisoner to interrogate.¡± Romulus walked passed the man, but the commander persisted and followed Romulus. ¡°What do you think the generals will do when they hear of this?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± Romulus calmly responded. ¡°They will demote you. You know the generals don¡¯t like wasting men.¡± Romulus stopped in his tracks and took a deep breath. ¡°You know you¡¯re an idiot, right?¡± The commander became shocked. ¡°Before you report me to anyone, I want you to think about something. If the generals are too scared to let thirty men die in an army of one and a half million, then I don¡¯t think they are going to demote the heir to the throne.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°They¡¯ll find a way.¡± the commander said after a pause. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The commander was no longer confident. The security in his voice disappeared, and he no longer looked Romulus in the eyes. ¡°You obviously haven¡¯t been here long so let me tell you something. The only way I don¡¯t leave the military a general is either I become king before that happens, or I lose a battle, skirmish, hell even a war game; then maybe, just maybe, I won¡¯t become a general, let alone get demoted.¡± The commander had no response. Romulus patted the man on the shoulder and told him: ¡°You¡¯ll get over it. They all do in my experience,¡± and walked back to the Borzor¡¯s tent. Along the way, he found a stool and brought it with him. The man asleep laid face down in the mud. Romulus sat down on the stool before lightly kicking the man. He woke up and found Romulus sitting calmly, waiting for the Borzor to collect himself. ¡°It¡¯s lucky that I found someone who speaks Dymish.¡± Romulus commented, ¡°Some of you Borzor refuse to learn the language of the land. Can you read too?¡± ¡°Yes, I can read.¡± The Borzor answered, offended. ¡°Good.¡± The Borzor continued to collect himself as Romulus sat there, watching. He asked about the Borzor¡¯s condition, if he was near death, and if he was hungry. ¡°What do you care?¡± The Borzor responded. ¡°You playing nice isn¡¯t going to work. I¡¯ll die before you attempt to inspire some humility out of me. You¡¯re going to make a grand old speech¡ª¡± ¡°I don¡¯t make speeches,¡± Romulus answered. ¡°That¡¯s more of Gala¡¯s thing. Here¡¯s what I am going to do.¡± He pulled up his stool closer to the Borzor and leaned in. The Borzor leaned back past the tent¡¯s center pole. ¡°I am probably going to get a speech of my own from the general staff. You see I just let thirty men of the military die out there, and they are not very happy about it.¡± Romulus dropped the friendly act for a moment. ¡°Soldiers are not people, they¡¯re numbers. I did more to damage this army¡ªin the eyes of the uninformed¡ªthan you have or ever will do. If I wanted to kill you, you would have been tied to a horse and dragged until you were on the brink of death. After that, we would make it stop, feed you, but not you let piss or shit and do it all over again. You understand?¡± Romulus¡¯s eyes pierced the Borzor¡¯s. The prisoner didn¡¯t respond, and Romulus grabbed his neck and asked him again. The Borzor nodded. ¡°Why did you not kill Nero?¡± Romulus asked. The Borzor didn¡¯t respond or react. Romulus squeezed his neck a little harder and repeated the question. ¡°There¡¯s no way you¡¯re stupid enough to not realize he¡¯s worth more dead than alive to the king?¡± Romulus added. ¡°I suppose the truth seems irrational until you get the context,¡± The Borzor responded. A smile crept on Romulus¡¯s face as he let go of the man¡¯s neck. He knew that he would get something out of this man after all. It was time to make the offer. ¡°Let¡¯s make a deal,¡± he proposed. ¡°You tell me who you are, the people that you work for, and who you are protecting. In exchange, you shall die, but the people who you look after shall be under the protection of the crown. If you refuse then you shall die by the horse execution I mentioned earlier, and the kingdom shall be told that you are a rat, and the organization you work for shall be destroyed.¡± ¡°How would you know who they are if I don¡¯t tell you?¡± ¡°Judging by your brazen attack, I assume they aren¡¯t the most subtle of organizations. They¡¯ll reveal themselves eventually. Plus, if you tell me, then there might still be room for negotiation.¡± The man outright refused and cursed Romulus. Romulus waited for the Borzor to finish before continuing. ¡°Would you rather have a slight chance of the people you care for surviving and the organization you work for getting what they want, or the death of thousands of my and your people? I mean a two percent chance is still greater than zero percent.¡± Romulus waited. The Borzor contemplated the offer. Every other Borzor never listened to reason and threw tantrums, tried to escape, or commit suicide every time they were interrogated. Most of them were young males without any family that Romulus knew of. This one, however, was older and probably in his early thirties. ¡°How do I know you will keep your word.¡± The Borzor asked. ¡°Thinking someone will keep their word requires some trust,¡± Romulus pointed out. The Borzor sighed and closed his eyes. He told Romulus the name of the woman he loved. ¡°Does she work for the same organization?¡± Romulus asked. ¡°I stopped her,¡± The Borzor responded. ¡°I stopped her from serving the People¡¯s Lord.¡± ¡°And which bastard country is supporting them?¡± Romulus asked. ¡°No one. They serve the people of Qar. The king, the queen, the princes, the princess, and the earls shall fall.¡± ¡°Was your organization also behind Titus¡¯s death?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± ¡°Good, I can work with this,¡± Romulus said. The Borzor sighed and seemed to be soaking in his last moments. ¡°Go on,¡± he said. ¡°Do it.¡± Seconds turned into a minute. Nothing happened. The Borzor kept his eyes shut, not budging nor expecting his death to be prevented. After initially pulling out his sword, Romulus took a moment to appreciate that a Borzor accepted a deal for once. He waved his sword across the Borzor¡¯s face, but the Borzor didn¡¯t flinch. The man didn¡¯t fear death, and so he granted his wish as he sliced his neck. He sat there and watched him bleed out, and within seconds he was dead. Romulus closed the man¡¯s eyelids before forcing himself back to his feet, cleaning the blood off the sword using the tent¡¯s fabric, and leaving, and as he walked over to the general staff¡¯s tent. Along the way, he was surprised about how much he considered following through with his end of the deal. That is if he ever found a woman with the same name that Borzor gave him. # The general staff summoned Romulus to the main tent. A large table resided in the middle and supported up to twelve people around it. A map of the country with the various military regiments lay across it. There were auxiliary sections of the tent containing some of the general quarters, with a small mail desk in the corner. Romulus walked toward the table before stopping a couple of paces behind one of the chairs. He saluted by raising his right hand over his shoulder with his palm facing forward. He stood as straight as an arrow and looked at no one in particular. ¡°Romulus Qar, prince of the Dymish and Borzor people, captain to the royal military, and servant to the reunification of the continent and Mydrazan, you have been called here to answer for your conduct during today¡¯s war game. Thirty-four men have died. Thirty under the command of the enemy, and four under your command. Dozens of others have sustained serious injuries. How do you explain such disdain for your comrades¡¯ lives?¡± His voice was plain yet insulting to Romulus. It was as if the general saw himself as superior to Romulus because of his rank, but Romulus knew if the general ever seriously threatened him, the general¡¯s career would be over. The general who questioned Romulus¡¯s behavior was General Lepidus Pluto and was the one who spoke to Romulus whenever he went against the general staff. He was bald and short, but with an impressive beard that went down to his collar bone, while the other four generals had so much hair it was difficult to discern where their beard and head hair met. ¡°They pledged their life to the Kingdom of Qar,¡± answered Romulus loudly and clearly. ¡°I serve the Kingdom of Qar, and I took the actions I thought appropriate that would better the needs of the Kingdom¡¯s military.¡± ¡°Thirty soldiers are dead, captain,¡± General Pluto pointed out. ¡°And the experiences gained by the survivors better serve the needs of the kingdom than that could be provided by those dead men.¡± ¡°That may be your opinion Captain Qar, but you violated military policy. You shall be temporarily suspended of command for three days.¡± A slap on the wrist. Romulus smirked but shoved his face back down so the generals couldn¡¯t see it. ¡°May I ask for an appeal?¡± Romulus asked. ¡°For what reason?¡± General Pluto asked as he sighed. ¡°I have extracted vital information of a prisoner. The men who attacked the prince and princess serve an organization named the People¡¯s Lord. I believe this information outweighs my violation of military policy, and I formally ask my sentence to be overturned.¡± General Pluto turned toward one of the generals seated. The seated generals groaned at Romulus while General Pluto, once again, sighed. ¡°Anything else?¡± General Pluto asked. ¡°No, he died of torture as I tried to extract more information,¡± Romulus lied. ¡°Captain Romulus, your temporary suspension has been overruled. Dismissed,¡± General Pluto resigned. Romulus saluted the generals before he turned and left the tent. It was such an inconvenience having to explain his actions to those idiots. They don¡¯t know how to talk to people nor command their armies, but Romulus moved past that. He had a letter to write. Chapter 1.4 The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Chapter 1.5 Claudia Though the sun had just risen, Claudia was already at her carriage ready to leave. She and her servants packed up clothes the night before, the horses were freshly groomed, Claudia wrote letters to her children since she would already be gone by the time they woke up, and frantically checked every last item to make sure that she wasn¡¯t missing anything. She waited in the stables next to the carriages refusing to leave before saying goodbye to her husband. Most of the ground was muddy and would stain anything within a second, but the servants laid out a wooden walkway so her clothing wouldn''t touch the mud. Maximus finally came out in his full attire. Claudia was annoyed that he had to wear his formal clothing but understood the importance of a king to always appear luxurious, even if everybody knew that was not what a king wore in private. Maximus speed-walked to Claudia, and they both bear-hugged each other as the sun slowly became a circle and rose in the sky, casting a deep orange glow. ¡°I gave you some extra men, in case that dastardly People¡¯s Lord group decides to attack you. Sorry about not being able to go over water.¡± Maximus said. ¡°Thank you, but what can you do? The bay is storming, so by land it is,¡± Claudia responded. ¡°I¡¯m sure you gave me the best.¡± Maximus smiled at the comment and nodded. ¡°You only deserve the best. Goodbye, Claudia,¡± ¡°Bye,¡± They let go, and she could see Maximus on the brink of tears. There weren¡¯t any physical tears or even a sign of them, but both knew that Maximus was trying his hardest to keep calm. He had only seen her for two days before they were separated again, and even though Claudia smiled and told him not to worry, it was difficult, nonetheless. To make the separation bearable, they both had a list of where she would be on what days, and they both promised to write to each other every day. She climbed aboard her carriage, and she went as the two waved goodbye to each other. Once he was out of sight, Claudia faced the windows she tried to relax and think of the preparations for Gala''s ceremony. She traveled slowly because the carriage was sandwiched between four other carriages which formed a convoy with dozens of armed guards in full body armor marching in formation. The pattern of their marching first bothered her but provided a pleasant white noise as she read her books. Eventually, the second day passed with nothing notable, but a little after dinner time on the third day, as the sun was coming down, the convoy stopped. Claudia looked out the window, but they didn¡¯t arrive in any town or farm. There were no landmarks nearby that suggested civilization, only rolling hills across the plains. She assumed that one of the drivers needed to empty their piss and shit bucket, but the amount of time they were stopped concerned her, so she decided to check it out for herself. She was wearing a purple dress that luckily didn¡¯t reach the ground and brushed up against the brick road. If she was wearing something less formal, it would be fine, but alas she chose to wear this, as she expected not to exit the carriage without warning. She hopped out of the carriage to talk to her carriage drivers. ¡°What seems to be the hold-up?¡± she politely asked. ¡°I am afraid there are a couple of dead bodies up the road, Your Majesty. The soldiers have gone up to inspect it.¡± Claudia nodded and decided to check the bodies herself. The drivers tried to protest, but she insisted on seeing what was holding up their trip. They only had limited time to set up Gala¡¯s coronation after all.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. She reached the front and saw a group of a dozen bodies lying about fifty meters ahead. A couple of the soldiers surrounded them. Claudia could make out four cows, three Borzors, and three Dymish people, but the last two escaped her observation as the soldiers didn¡¯t let a line-of-sight pass through. She turned around and made her way back to the carriage. Their curiosity would expire, and they would be on their way soon enough. Claudia walked past some of the soldiers, but when she got to her carriage, she found both of her drivers to be dead. Blood dripped from their throat as they sat limp, leaning on each other. She froze and heard footsteps run across the back of her carriage. Claudia screamed and turned back to the front to hide behind some of the soldiers, but they had no idea what was going on as they were facing forward the entire time. She pointed and screamed in pure terror and the bodies. The soldiers turned around and saw the dead drivers, but before the adrenaline could run through their bodies and pull out their swords, a group of men appeared from behind one of the hills and charged them. Claudia hid under one of the carriages as a battle ensued. Lying on her stomach she watched as blood, steel, and bodies dropped to the ground. Though she was in a state of shock, Claudia could tell that her guard lost the battle. She lay there and pretended to be dead, as they were hopefully thieves who assumed the guards were protecting a transport of gold. Screaming and yelling became silent as all of the royal guards were dead. The thieves found her soon after, and a Borzor man dragged her to the front of the convoy. She kicked and screamed the whole walk up but couldn¡¯t break free. They forced her to her knees. She looked forward toward the dead bodies in the distance and saw the final two bodies. It was a mother holding her daughter¡¯s hand. Claudia began to bawl as she assumed the worst. These were not thieves. A group of around twenty men watched her collapse onto the ground crying her heart out before one of the men, who was the only one wearing any armor, picked her up and put her back on her knees. He had a scar across his jawline that went ear to ear. He was Dymish and no older than twenty-five or twenty-six. He looked closer to a Dymish man than any Borzor, but his skin was more white compared to the tan of the Dymish. Claudia looked around and saw a group of Dymish, Tolman, and Borzor men around them. ¡°Do you know who we are?¡± His voice was unexpectedly ragged and tired, yet calm and educated. Claudia couldn¡¯t imagine any other of these murderers having such a respectable voice, so she assumed that he was the leader. ¡°No, but whoever you¡¯re monsters,¡± Claudia said, choking on her tears. ¡°Just take the valuables and leave me be!¡± She pleaded. ¡°You¡¯ve already killed enough people!¡± The Dymish chuckled along with the rest of the group. ¡°No, we aren¡¯t here for your valuables. We are not thieves; we are here for you,¡± he explained. Claudia''s face dropped, and she looked up at the man helplessly. ¡°Let me ask again,¡± he said. ¡°Do you know who we are?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the People¡¯s Lord,¡± she realized as her jaw unhinged into an open position. The man looked to his comrades in shock, before turning back toward Claudia. ¡°Not exactly,¡± he explained. ¡°I am not the People¡¯s Lord, but all of us here work for him. To be honest, though, he is a hard man to reach. I haven¡¯t talked to him in months. Hell, it was easier finding you. I thought the one thing that royals would be good at, if not murdering Borzor people, would be to keep themselves safe. You know, like traveling with a fake name, do your hair differently, or you know,¡± he said as he backed up and gestured toward the convoy. ¡°Not put a giant sign wherever you go saying ¡®Hi, I¡¯m a royal, and I am traveling with only a few guards.¡¯ So spoiled.¡± Claudia didn¡¯t respond as she stared into the road. ¡°Let me tell you what we want,¡± the man continued. ¡°We are going to bring you to a secret location and contact the king. We¡¯ll give you back if he disbands all his armies and abdicates the throne to the People¡¯s Lord. What do you think?¡± Claudia gulped and looked up at the man. ¡°My husband¡¯s too honorable to deal with the likes of you.¡± The man scoffed. ¡°Honorable? If he¡¯s honorable, he would have a heart for the poor men just wanting to have a say in their government, but in the meantime, let¡¯s see if he¡¯s honorable enough to get back his wife.¡± The man nodded toward one of his men, and they pulled a black mask over her head, surrounding her in blackness. They stood her up and walked her off the road; all the while she wondered if she would see light again. Chapter 1.6 If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Chapter 1.7 Gala Gala was on another one of her walks. She walked on the boardwalk as the sun rose before making her way through the crowded streets of the morning market. The smell of the fruits engulfed the air and was trapped by the thin alleyways further concentrating the smell. Tobacco and weed also filled the air as smoking dens dotted the streets squeezed between fruit stands. As Gala made her way through a crowd of people negotiating prices over a bag of apples, she stumbled across a boy nailing a poster to the wall of a corner building. When the boy finished and walked away, she approached the poster, curious about its contents. It seemed to be an announcement from the crown. Gala guessed it was the announcement of her becoming Earl Regent of Wailing Wind. It dawned on Gala that this would be one of her last walks, so as she continued approaching the poster, she took a deep breath of the smell of fruits, tobacco, weed, and a hint of feces from people¡¯s homes not far from the fruit market. However, when she got within reading distance her eyes widened, and she immediately ran off back to the palace. Gala knocked a couple of people over on the way and was delayed with apologizing profusely and picking them back up, before continuing. When she arrived, the guards told her to slow down, but after she explained who she was, was able to squeeze passed them. As Gala opened the palace doors, she acknowledged that having an unmemorable face to the general public was sometimes not a good thing but supposed it wouldn¡¯t be like that for long. She dashed through the halls, and after she became out of breath, and after at least ten minutes of running, she arrived at Nero¡¯s chambers. She pounded on the door. The bodyguard posted outside his chamber stopped her, pulled her off, however, and told her to calm down. He was a tall and brutish man¡ªthe opposite of Nero¡ªand shoved her back while demanding what was so urgent that pounding on the prince¡¯s door was necessary. Gala told him to get off of him, which the bodyguard immediately complied with. Gala jumped back to Nero¡¯s door to continue pounding, but Nero had already opened it by then. Nero, confused at the commotion, asked what she wanted. But before Gala could explain what she had seen, she asked about a nick on the bottom of Nero¡¯s dragonvine. ¡°It¡¯s from shaving,¡± he explained. Gala nodded and forced herself into the room. Nero hastily stepped back to let her through before closing the door behind her. ¡°It is eight in the morning,¡± Nero complained. ¡°What do you want?¡± Gala sighed and explained to him what she saw on the poster. It was a royal announcement from Maximus personally accusing the People¡¯s Lord of killing Titus, but more importantly, the kidnapping of Claudia. Nero had two questions off the bat. The first was what the People¡¯s Lord was, which Gala quickly answered before Nero moved on to the more important question of how and when his mom was kidnapped. He tried to keep his composure, but Gala noticed panic slip out of his voice. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Gala responded. ¡°Probably at some point on her way to Wailing Wind. But you know what doesn¡¯t make sense? How we haven¡¯t been told about this? I found out through a fucking poster,¡± Gala said, infuriated. ¡°Do you know how long it takes to make copies of posters like that? At least a couple of hours.¡± Gala fell onto Nero¡¯s bed since there were no chairs. There wasn¡¯t much of anything in his room. Only a bed, desk, small bookshelf, closet, and a small nightstand with a drawer for the few papers he was allowed to look at. ¡°Why didn¡¯t Dad tell us this?¡± Nero asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Gala responded. She sat up on Nero¡¯s bed. ¡°But why don¡¯t we go ask him now?¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Nero hesitated and said that he might be busy, but Gala didn¡¯t care and dragged him out of his room, with only his night robes, down to the opposite side of the palace to confront their dad. When they got to their dad¡¯s chambers, they found five guards posted outside. Gala demanded entry, but the guards said the king was busy. Instead of arguing with them, she called out for her dad to let them in. The guards tried to shut her up, but Maximus opened the door and told them to come inside. As soon as Gala stepped foot into his chambers, she demanded answers. ¡°Why in the fuck would you keep this a secret? That is our mom!¡± Maximus tried to get her to quiet down, but it was in vain. She kept demanding an answer in the harshest way possible without offending the king. ¡°Fine, shut up, and I¡¯ll tell you,¡± Maximus said. Gala closed her mouth. ¡°I received the news during the night, and I had little time to respond. I immediately ordered the commission of posters around the city, and I¡¯ve been meeting with advisors and generals ever since.¡± ¡°She¡¯s our family too,¡± Gala rebutted. ¡°If you want to save her then we should have told us. Maybe we would have a solution!¡± ¡°Like what?!¡± Maximus demanded. ¡°What? Ask nicely if you even suggest talking with the People¡¯s Lord then I will kick you out of this country until the day I die.¡± Maximus paced around the room in frustration. ¡°Also, what is this insulting clothing? Can you imagine what the people would think if they saw the both of you dressed like this?¡± ¡°Oh, I know. Not get swarmed every time I leave the palace to go on a simple walk. That¡¯s what they would do,¡± Gala responded. ¡°So, let me hear it. What is this genius plan you¡¯ve got cooked up?¡± During this exchange, Nero had been tapping his foot and biting his lip. He was trying to say something but didn¡¯t want to interrupt their argument, but when Gala didn¡¯t respond to Maximus¡¯s question, Nero answered for her. ¡°Talk to them,¡± he suggested. Maximus was insulted. ¡°Did you not hear anything I just said? Are you that stupid?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be on your behalf,¡± Nero clarified. He stared at the ground when he talked. ¡°I can go off on my own and say that I want to know if mom is ok. I can demand that I see her with my own eyes, and if they accept terms, then she will be returned. If not, then spies can trail them back to wherever they are hiding here, and we can move on from there. Once we get Mom out, we can go after the rest of the People¡¯s Lord.¡± No one spoke for a moment. ¡°You know he¡¯s right,¡± Gala spoke up. Maximus scoffed at the suggestion. Gala continued. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the idea? We have no leverage. We have armies but nowhere to command them to, we have an enemy but no way of knowing who they are, and they have Claudia!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t negotiate with terrorists,¡± Maximus said. ¡°They have Claudia.¡± ¡°Please, don¡¯t act like you haven¡¯t kidnapped their entire lives,¡± Nero said. Maximus and Gala snapped their heads at Nero. Maximus fumed with anger at the statement, and Nero turned red. Gala shook her head, trying to tell him not to escalate the situation further. Maximus walked up to Nero. ¡°What did you just say?¡± Nero bit his lip once more and tilted his head in uneasiness. ¡°We spend almost all our money on the army and partying, while a race of people who don¡¯t speak our language see none of the benefits. Who do you think is behind this? A Borzor man held a knife to my throat. You remember, don¡¯t you?¡± Nero didn¡¯t ask Maximus the question firmly but rather was afraid of what his father¡¯s answer might be. Maximus seemed on the verge of an explosion, but Gala interjected before. ¡°Leave him alone, dad,¡± she said. ¡°And he brings a good point. They don¡¯t see us as their rightful overlords and have every reason to go against us.¡± Maximus backed off and looked at both of them. ¡°Romulus will be here in a couple of weeks. I wrote him a letter putting him in charge of getting Claudia back. Until then, you can talk to them, but no agreement gets made without my permission. Understand?¡± They both nodded. Maximus threw up his arm at the door and told them to leave. ¡°Don''t come back unless you have Claudia around your arms.¡± As they left, Gala asked why Nero and Maximus couldn¡¯t bury their hatchet. ¡°Things like that don¡¯t go buried,¡± Nero said. ¡°I can still talk to him and live the rest of my life, but he isn¡¯t sorry or seems to have any empathy for what happened. Until that happens, the hatchet stays up. Plus, the hatchet is in his hands, not mine.¡± ¡°How are you going to get into contact with them?¡± Gala asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I¡¯ll find out.¡± Chapter 1.8 Nero Nero¡¯s bodyguards weren¡¯t royal guards. No, for this purpose, he needed mercenaries, and though Nero hated the thought of paying someone an exuberant one-time fee to protect him while an army was willing to do it for a small wage bothered him, it was necessary. There were two bodyguards who were dressed in normal clothing except for the sword and sheathe tied around their backs. Nero carried a small knife, but never used it in his knife, and doubted that if it became violent he would fight before escaping or negotiating for release. Nero was also in normal clothing but couldn¡¯t help himself and looked at everyone¡¯s faces as we walked the streets to see if they noticed who he was or the dragonvine on his face. It had been a week since talking to Maximus, and in the meantime, he was able to procure a meeting with members of the People¡¯s Lord. It was set up in a busy tavern only a kilometer from the palace. When he entered the tavern, he tried to find the table where the People¡¯s Lord members were, but before he could go from table to table and look for the man with the scar across his jawline, the man walked up to him and sat him down at a corner table. Though it was midday, the tavern was almost pitch black, with the only light being two or three candle lights at each table. They sat across from each other, with Nero¡¯s bodyguards standing behind them and the man with the scar and a Borzor woman behind him leaning against the wall. ¡°I never knew dragons could write letters,¡± the scarred man said. ¡°They can¡¯t,¡± Nero corrected. ¡°The messenger wrote down the message.¡± ¡°Is that so? Interesting, I suppose I have to deliver a couple of messages from Iyo the Ice Sire on my own. I think we¡¯ll have an educated talk.¡± Nero didn¡¯t respond and awkwardly looked at the man, not knowing how to continue the conversation. The scarred man leaned in. ¡°How did you get Iyo to write a letter for you?¡± ¡°He¡¯s¡­a friend,¡± Nero responded. He felt strange about calling Iyo a friend. They talked at events and enjoyed each other¡¯s company, but Nero never went out of his way to speak to him unless necessary. The small talk went on for a little while longer as the scarred man moved his hands about and seemed cozy. The Borzor woman stared at Nero the entire exchange, and along with the high tension of the meeting itself, made Nero as stiff as a stick. All his motor functions seemed to shut down and didn¡¯t keep eye contact or look in the scarred man¡¯s general direction. After about five minutes the scarred man took the hint that Nero wasn¡¯t comfortable with the situation. ¡°So, let¡¯s get down to business,¡± the scarred man said. ¡°I would like to see her before we discuss terms. Make sure she¡¯s okay and everything.¡± This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.The scarred man looked back at the Borzor woman and nodded. ¡°Of course, a man should be able to see his mother.¡± He looked across the tavern and motioned someone over. Slowly, three people approached, two of them holding the other. The one being held¡ªpresumably Claudia¡ªhad a bag over her face. When they got close enough that Nero could see but not try anything stupid, they lifted the bag off her head. Claudia adjusted her eyes and looked around the room to see where she was, but it only took a couple of seconds to notice Nero sitting in front of her. She called out for him and begged him to get her out of this. Nero tried to calm her down, but eventually, the two people holding her covered her mouth with their hands. They then dragged Claudia away where Nero couldn¡¯t see her. Nero demanded the scarred man bring her back, but he said that wasn¡¯t their agreement. Nero, pissed, could only do one thing to quell his anger: move on with negotiations. ¡°Here are my terms,¡± Nero said. ¡°Amnesty for the People¡¯s Lord top officials, and you will be given homes in the Lake Republic. You must give us your real names, you shall never leave Kato Kanali without permission, and under no circumstances you shall return to Leozan. In exchange, you will return Claudia.¡± The scarred man leaned in, but before he could say anything, the Borzor woman threw a necklace onto the table and walked toward Nero. Her eyes, or rather her lack of eyes as she had some sort of thin eye cover, glared at Nero in more frustration than naked eyes could ever do. She leaned in and spoke to Nero with a brutish Borzor accent. ¡°You see that necklace there? Those were my parents. All they wanted was freedom, but your father killed them, and here you are. Afraid to look people in the eye. It''s disgusting how you sleep at night knowing these terrible things but do nothing. When I was your age, I was smuggling swords and shields over the border.¡± She grabbed Nero¡¯s chin. The bodyguards drew their swords out, but the scarred man told them to relax. She continued. ¡°We speak on our terms, not yours. We haven¡¯t yet hurt Claudia, but if you come here again and propose this kind of insult again, then I rip the tongue out of your mouth and feed it to your dear queen.¡± Maybe it was the accent or the tone of her voice, but Nero had no doubt that she would follow through on that promise. She walked back to the scarred man and picked up a small knapsack before walking off. The scarred man also got up before giving a smug shrug. ¡°I guess the negotiations are over. Next time I see you, I¡¯ll have my sword to your throat,¡± he said before smiling and leaving. Nero left the tavern and nodded toward a couple of men standing by a fruit stand. They signaled that one of them was already following a group of people who loaded a woman into a carriage. The men by the fruit stand then split off. One went around the building, while the other went inside to see if Claudia was still there. Nero gave the strict instruction not to try getting her back unless she was unguarded. He didn¡¯t want to be responsible for any harm that may come to Claudia. Nero walked as fast as he could back to the palace and along the way, realized that the situation could have gone south if the People¡¯s Lord wanted it so. They could have killed him or taken him captive. The scarred man and Borzor woman would have died, of course, because of the two bodyguards inside and the other mercenaries outside, but Nero realized, based on the interactions with the two, that they would have no problem with that. Nero then started regretting not just getting Claudia as soon as they saw her with some mercenaries already planted inside the bar, but Nero didn¡¯t consider the option before he got there and would have probably been captured or dead himself. When he got back to his chambers, he didn¡¯t know how he was going to break the news to Gala. He didn¡¯t bring her because of safety risk but began to regret it as she might have made a difference in the negotiation. Regardless the only option now was to wait for the mercenaries to come back and let them know where she was held up. Chapter 1.9 Romulus Romulus arrived in the Gatherstorm along with three generals on the 15th of July. Gala and Nero briefed him on the situation and informed him that they found out where Claudia was being held. Romulus immediately asked if she was hurt, to which Nero said no. He thanked them for their help and told Gala to go to Wailing Wind for the ceremony. It had already been delayed, and Maximus was considering canceling it for a simple oath so that Gala could become regent without the security risks, but Romulus told Gala that he convinced Maximus to go forward with the ceremony; it would delayed no further. Gala protested that it would be wrong to hold the ceremony while Claudia was kidnapped, but he assured Gala that she would be back by the time of the ceremony. Romulus assured her that they were going to get her back no matter the cost. He told Gala that she needed to leave as soon as possible if they wanted to reach the next town by sunset. Romulus also instructed her not to travel during the night under any circumstances. Before he was about to leave, Romulus, who was gearing up in the royal stables, pulled Nero aside and asked him if he was doing okay. Nero nodded but said he only wanted Mom back. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we will get her back,¡± Romulus comforted. He didn¡¯t look into Nero¡¯s eyes when he said this, though but looked at his clothes. ¡°Dressing fancy, eh,¡± Romulus commented. Nero looked down and gave a pitiful laugh. ¡°I don¡¯t really choose what to wear.¡± ¡°No, sadly not. Do you think this armor is comfortable? But I will tell you that I have a choice for you. I have to come up with strategies for taking the position. It¡¯s a network of tunnels, so we have little information, but in the meantime, I need you to go around to these locations.¡± Romulus pulled out a map that he squeezed in between his shirt and armor and handed it to Nero. ¡°And find as many men as possible who have enlisted and bring them here.¡± ¡°That sounds like an order,¡± Nero said. ¡°Well, it''s not. I know you don¡¯t want to do something like this, but if you want to move up in the world then you need to meet people and give a good impression also people are more likely to comply if a royal delivers the order personally.¡± Nero sighed and clenched his teeth. He shook his head and said he didn¡¯t want to do it. ¡°God, come on,¡± Romulus said. Even though Romulus gave him a choice, he wasn¡¯t going to let Nero off that easily. ¡°What are you going to do besides that? We all want to get Mom back, and you want to help, right?¡± Nero hesitantly nodded. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll go,¡± he said. Romulus gave him a smirk patted him on the shoulder and turned toward the generals who arrived with him. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.# Romulus, Maximus, and the three generals were holed up in a dimly lit planning room discussing how to get Claudia out. She was last seen entering a tunnel¡ªwhich they assumed to be a network¡ªwith a bag over her face. There was a map of Riverward in the middle¡ªwhich wasn¡¯t much use in this case¡ªand they placed troop locations on it. At first, the room was split on how to proceed. Maximus and Romulus wanted to rush into the tunnels and get Claudia out as fast as possible, while the generals wanted to send a small force that would probe the tunnels before sending in a larger force. There was fierce debate, with the generals arguing that sending everybody at the start would lead to unnecessary deaths, and would create a bottleneck, but since Maximus was king, he shut down the debate after ten minutes and told them to organize for a full assault from the get-go. The generals grumbled, but they wouldn¡¯t dare further the point after the king made his decision. It took about a couple of hours to plan the entire operation. From what regiments were going to be used, the time of attack, and what weapons to bring. The generals attempted to bring up the issue of acceptable losses, but Romulus and Maximus didn¡¯t want to hear it. To them, every man woman, and child was worth one Claudia. When they finished, Romulus stepped out and found Nero sitting on a bench waiting for him. Romulus approached him and asked how the recruitment went. Nero jumped out of the bench and told him that they found around 300 enlisted men in various ¡°establishments¡± around the city. Romulus asked him if there was any trouble, to which Nero confirmed. There was a tavern far from the palace in the depths of the shanty town south of the Wine River and on the edge of the city. It was one of the last locations they hit and almost got into a fight with about twenty men, but after the soldiers that came along with Nero pulled out their swords, the men complied. Romulus thanked Nero for his work and said that he did a lot for the operation, but before Romulus could walk away, Nero asked how many men were going to rescue their mom. Romulus winced at the question. ¡°20,000,¡± Romulus responded. ¡°20,000?! What was the point of me spending an entire day fetching 300 men from brothels and bars for an army of 20,000? I could have done something more useful,¡± Nero said, infuriated. Romulus turned back toward Nero. ¡°You have to look at it from a different perspective. This was more about sending a message. We can¡¯t have enlisted men getting drunk when our mom has been kidnapped.¡± ¡°But why did ¡®I¡¯ have to do it?¡± ¡°Because you needed experience in something, and that was all that was available, now please, I have to ride off tonight,¡± Romulus said. Nero kept talking. ¡°How are we going to march 20,000 men into one tunnel?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not. We are going to march 2,000 men first, have 10,000 form a five-kilometer radius around the tunnel entrance, and the rest are in reserve. I have to go now.¡± Romulus left Nero in the palace, while he got ready to leave. The army would be marching tonight. They had 300 kilometers to go and needed to go as fast as possible. Romulus was one the first to leave the city, with his army taking the rest of the night to reach the edge of the city. They didn¡¯t leave Gatherstorm, however, as they wanted to stay concealed for as long as possible. The sun was rising by the time they reached the edge of Gatherstorm, so they decided to stay put for the rest of the day. They would only travel at night and in no more than groups of 100. They were all told their positions, so it increased speed, but even with the smaller groups moving independently, the trip would take at least two weeks. Chapter 1.10 Claudia Claudia didn¡¯t know how long she was held hostage. All she knew was that she was underground somewhere. The bag over her head never came off. She was fed twice a day and was allowed water whenever requested. The first day was full of screaming where she demanded her release and unharmed return to her husband and children, but no one answered her cries, and she wept for days after. She first kept track of the days by counting her meals, but after about a week, she lost count. She slept most of the time on the cold dirt, and when she wasn¡¯t sleeping, she was still on the ground, pretending she was. A day came, however, that was unlike any other. She heard distant yelling from every direction. She demanded to know what was happening, but yet again, there was no answer. It seemed as if there were a million men marching through the tunnels. Dirt fell from the ceiling, chairs shook in place, and all the while Claudia was still. She had perfected the art of using as little energy as possible. She moved with the vibrations with the only independent piece being her mouth as she demanded what was going on. She hooked onto one person¡¯s footsteps. She isolated them through the unknown number of tunnels in between them and followed wherever they went. It seemed like the man had no sense of direction, bouncing from one place to another, and at some points stopping another. That was until the footsteps stopped some distance away, but directly in front of her. She waited as echoes of the footsteps came closer and eventually, he pounded on what seemed to be a wooden door. The man in the room opened the door and conversed in Borzor. Before she could have a hint of what was happening, she was brought to her feet and rushed through the tunnels. She continued to demand what was happening, but the man yelled, screamed, and for the first time, hit her. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.Claudia lost her footing at various points but was quickly brought to her feet before being dragged off into a crowd where she seemed to hit every person that she could. As she continued to be dragged, the air changed. It was becoming drier. The humidity of every person¡¯s breath no longer dominated the air. Claudia began to shiver as it got colder and before she knew it, she was outside. Claudia began to become hopeful. Was she being returned? Had Maximus pressured the People¡¯s Lord into giving her up, or worse, negotiating with them? No matter what it was, it seemed there was no bloodshed. There were no screams, swords, or arrows flinging in the air; and no bodies on the ground as they walked further from the tunnels. Claudia began to question the commotion. Why would there be a mass panic if the dispute was resolved peacefully? However, all that hope was ripped out as she was forced to her knees. She asked one more time what was happening. The man who dragged her outside didn¡¯t answer but a voice she recognized did. It was the scarred man, the man who took her, and¡ªas far as Claudia was concerned¡ªwas the People¡¯s Lord. He stepped within centimeters of her and squatted down. She could only tell by where he was based on the location of his voice. ¡°Your husband has violated our terms. It seems there is no other choice but to follow through on our end.¡± He stood back up and backed away. Claudia stayed silent as she knew what that meant. Gusts of wind blew past her and what Claudia assumed was a group of people around her, but everyone was silent. The only noise was from the commotion back from the tunnels. Claudia continued to demand what was happening, as they stayed silent. She wanted to know if her husband was safe if her children were safe, and why she was brought outside, but any hope of her questions being answered disintegrated as she heard the sound of a sword swinging out of a sheathe. She fell silent as footsteps came from behind. The scarred man spoke once again. ¡°Claudia Qar, you are charged and found guilty of treason, fraud, and conspiracy to murder. You have been sentenced to death. Do you have any last words?¡± His voice was too calm for the execution of a royal. Any respectable citizen of the Kingdom of Qar wouldn¡¯t be able to bring themselves to say those words. ¡°May Mydrazan be forgiving and let you repent for your sins,¡± Claudia responded. She could barely have enough time to fully fear her situation. There was no response for a moment before the scarred man spoke again. ¡°Commence.¡± Her head would be on its way to Gatherstorm that night. Chapter 1.11 Maximus They wept for her for days. The palace bells rang every day every five minutes for three days. No one could talk to Maximus, Romulus was furious and trying to keep his job, Gala was infuriated that she found out through a letter, and Nero sat in his library counting down until the funeral. The rescue failed. Not in the sense of taking the tunnels, they were able to do that, but they failed to get Claudia. All they found was a Dymish woman of the same shape and size as Claudia. They were tricked, deceived, and brought to their knees at the hands of the People¡¯s Lord. They initially kept looking, but despite all the anger in the aftermath of the rescue and confusion, it was impossible to track her down. It didn¡¯t matter in the end when a Borzor man approached the capital and claimed to have information on Claudia¡¯s location. He talked to Maximus personally when he opened a box he brought with him and revealed Claudia¡¯s head neatly packed in blood-absorbent material. Maximus arrested the man and had him executed the next day. Gala¡¯s regency ceremony was canceled in favor of a simple oath, as Maximus recalled her to plan and attend the funeral. Everyone was at a standstill. Nothing could occupy their minds except the queen¡¯s death. Claudia''s funeral took place on August 10th, year 500 of the 3rd era. The temple held 2,000 people, but it was nowhere close to having enough room. People were shoulder to shoulder for kilometers trying to shove their way through the crowd. It seemed as if there was a sea trying to flood the land it encroached upon. Maximus and the family left the palace at noon and made the kilometer walk to the temple. They needed fifty soldiers to clear the people out of the way. When the temple came within sight, it reminded Maximus of Titus¡¯s funeral. Only the best temples for the most honorable people. The temple was named The Grand Temple of Mydrazan as it was the biggest and most beautiful of the temples in the Kingdom of Qar. It was 100 meters tall with stained glass on all its walls. In the front were two large wooden doors outlined in purple leather, and above it was the nine-pointed star of Mydrazan. It represents the nine mythical beings that first landed on Riverward. The griffins, the pegasuses, and the dragons. It was a shame the faith divided into three, with the Borzors only worshiping the dragons deeming the griffins and pegasus as false idols, and believing the dragons came from a different god¡ªCayo. Unlike Mydrazan, Cayo had a physical description, which so happened to be a dragon, and its children were Iyo the Ice Sire, Zorokon the Iron Melter, and Walik the Water Whisperer. The true believers in Mydrazan weren¡¯t united either. The people of Leozan believed that the griffins were the first to fall on Riverward while the people of Roran believed the pegasuses were the first. It didn¡¯t help that the divide was along continent lines, so any hope of reconciliation was small. There were three platforms on top of the temple made for the griffins to land on. Now there was only one of them to occupy the space. Lucius looked down in pity as the royal family entered the temple. Maximus thought about Lucius and what he was going through right now. A great being wanted justice for his brother¡¯s death leading to the fall of the queen. Maximus couldn¡¯t help but think that if Lucius never publicly demanded justice Claudia would still be alive. The only time Maximus and Nero talked between Claudia¡¯s death and her funeral was when Maximus asked if Iyo was coming. Nero said no, saying that he wouldn¡¯t step foot inside a Mydrazan temple, no matter the person. The funeral commenced as usual, and they wrapped up with the long walk to the Palace¡¯s graveyard, where all the previous kings, queens, princes, and princesses were buried. Only royals or earls were allowed at this point, and the small crowd watched as Claudia was given the dignity that commoners were rarely afforded. A burial, not a cremation. The sun set as everybody went back to their chambers. Maximus sat on his bed quietly mourning the empty side of the bed. No more tugging on the sheets or late-night conversation, and though he tried to go to sleep very early that night, he couldn¡¯t. He needed to talk to his children, and one in particular. Gala was first. She needed to go to sleep early to go back to Wailing Wind, and so Maximus wanted to get her out of the way. He knocked on her door, and he sat down on one of the two leather couches. They sat across from each other and talked about Claudia. Gala went first talking about the time she was first brought into the family and how Claudia obsessed over her well-being. She didn¡¯t realize it then, but she now was grateful for her and thanked Maximus for bringing her in. Now and again, tears peeked out of her eyelids, but she shoved them back in. Maximus then talked and went on about all the good times, but then he stopped for a moment to prepare. He needed to breathe in a heavy breath before talking about how they first met. ¡°When my dad was still alive, he would host giant parties every time he or my mom would have a birthday. I was twenty-five at the time. I had a couple of relationships, but even though any other prince would be married off at the first instance, my father refused, believing that the best marriage was the one I wanted. I also think it was a power thing,¡± he laughed. ¡°It didn¡¯t matter though. I saw a girl at a table full of princesses and she was talking, but not as much as the other ones. It¡¯s like the one person who is on the edge of a friend group. Not the main attraction or someone¡¯s best friend, but is there, in case someone needs a second choice. ¡°Long story short, I talked to her, and we hit it off immediately. At first, I was too worried to ask for a date because I didn¡¯t want to mess it up. She wasn¡¯t like the other girls who were brought to me so I could ¡®try them out'' so I wanted to see if she liked me. Well, it turned out that every time there was a party or gathering, she would always come to me first, and we would talk for hours by ourselves. Eventually, I worked up the courage to ask her out, and there was no turning back.¡± It was the first time Gala saw Maximus in anything resembling a sorrowful mood without any hint of anger, but it was starting to get late, and she needed to go to sleep. They said their goodbyes and the night ended for Gala.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Maximus left the room before Gala could say more and made his way to Romulus, who was in his room looking at several documents on his desk in his chambers. Romulus welcomed him in, and they sat next to each other as Romulus kept pouring over more papers. ¡°You should get some sleep,¡± said Maximus. ¡°I¡¯ll try,¡± Romulus responded. There was silence for quite a bit as Romulus tried to read, but it became too difficult, and he shoved the papers aside. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do anymore Dad. I¡¯ve had a plan for my entire adult life, but now I feel like I can¡¯t see a day ahead of me. Everything is on automatic.¡± Maximus turned to Romulus and put his hand on his shoulder. ¡°I felt the same way when your grandfather died. I became king and things I thought that I would know everything that was going on, but the scary thing was that people moved on with their day while I sat there doing nothing.¡± ¡°How did you get out of it?¡± Romulus asked. ¡°I found a goal. A goal bigger than myself and bigger than a king. I take our kingdom¡¯s motto more seriously than any earl. For them, it¡¯s just a tool to keep the poor in line, but for me, for me, it is my purpose. I know I wasn¡¯t the first to pursue this goal, and I know I won¡¯t be the last.¡± ¡°I know that reunification is the goal Dad, but I am not king. What am I supposed to do right now?¡± ¡°Eliminate the threats, and we both know who the biggest threat is right now. Eliminate them, Romulus. I am too old to go out myself, and your siblings don¡¯t have the right skills for this. Hell, the generals are stuck in the past, afraid to have even one of their men die.¡± Maximus looked into Romulus¡¯s eyes when he said this and grabbed his shoulder tighter. ¡°Kill the People¡¯s Lord and everyone around him. Do it for reunification, but for now, do it for your mother and queen.¡± He didn¡¯t sound proud when he said this, but desperate and vengeful. Romulus nodded, and Maximus stood up. ¡°You should probably get some extra sleep for tomorrow. It¡¯s a big day.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Romulus said as he walked Maximus out. One more stop and it was over. Nero: the disappointment. He first checked his chambers, but he wasn¡¯t there so Maximus walked to the only place where he could be: his library. Though Maximus despised nearly everything about his son, the library was not one. The Royal Library contained elsewhere in the palace dwarfed Nero¡¯s with its high ceiling, statues, skylight, and dozens of soft couches, but Nero¡¯s felt more personal and cozier. Every inch of the walls was covered in books from all genres, but the ones that always remained within reach were the architecture and historical books. Nero didn¡¯t move his head as Maximus took a seat diagonal from Nero. ¡°Hello, Nero,¡± Maximus said. ¡°Hi, Dad,¡± Nero plainly responded. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°What do I want?¡± Maximus scoffed. ¡°My wife just died, and you ask me what I want?¡± ¡°She was also my mom,¡± Nero responded. ¡°You act like I am not in shambles myself.¡± Maximus was ticked off. Nero was born into a family of luxury and privilege, and yet, he squandered it. He hid away most of the day and would go days without seeing anyone. When he was out, the things he did around other people were an embarrassment most of the time and made the family look mad. ¡°Oh, and I¡¯m sure Atticus was a hard day for you too. A thief who showed you an ounce of generosity just to deceive you the next minute. I¡¯m sure you had a lot of empathy that day too.¡± ¡°You¡¯re bringing this up now?¡± Nero asked. ¡°He was my friend. Of course, I was sad.¡± Nero quietly said. ¡°You¡¯re friend? Were you his? It didn¡¯t seem like it. He stole from you.¡± Nero snapped his head toward Maximus while looking past him. ¡°He was a boy trying to feed his poor family.¡± ¡°And you believed him?¡± ¡°He was eight!¡± Nero yelled. The voice echoed through the library and caused a standstill in the conversation. For a moment, the two stared at each other and waited for each other to continue. ¡°He¡ª¡± Maximus tried to say. ¡°He would have grown out of it,¡± Nero said as he tripped over his voice. ¡°If you let him.¡± ¡°He committed a crime against a royal.¡± ¡°And the penalty is death? What sober man makes that decision?¡± ¡°He still insulted the crown, even a dead man could figure that out.¡± ¡°You sentenced a young boy along with his family to be executed in front of the eyes of the public. Is that the image you wanted to send? Fear in people who don¡¯t understand the word?¡± Nero argued. ¡°The lack of fear is what led to Claudia¡¯s death.¡± Maximus rebutted. ¡°Or maybe, just maybe, it was the overflow of fear. People were so afraid they would do anything to get rid of it. They would try to overthrow a king who is oppressing them.¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Maximus exclaimed. Nero pulled his head back and slid a little down his chair. ¡°I will not hear of such treasonous talk.¡± Maximus glared at Nero. ¡°You know why I came here? To talk to such a liability. It¡¯s because I wanted to know what talking to such an idiot would feel like. We fell right into their trap. They knew we would tail them, and we followed them like idiots, but I wonder who was there to suggest such a meeting in the first place?¡± Maximus stood up and walked in front of Nero, who was still looking down. ¡°She would be alive if it wasn¡¯t for you. We would have found her true location, and we would have saved her. You have the audacity to say the things you suggest to the crown. I am not an idiot. You¡¯re too far gone Nero, and I can¡¯t have you anymore. Every day I wake up, I wish you would disappear, and Gala would take your place. You don¡¯t deserve to rule or even be the backup to rule.¡± This last comment seemed to hurt Nero. All the other comments he had heard before, but Maximus never insulted his place in the family. The uttering of such an insult would be too risky for the line of succession, but now it seemed like everything the Qar family took for granted was whisked away. ¡°What do you want me to do, Dad?¡± Nero asked. ¡°Be your puppet?¡± ¡°Claudia has a friend in Writer¡¯s End. Her name is Raya Webster, and you shall live with her until my death.¡± Maximus responded. Nero pulled his head to the write and bit his fist. ¡°As servant and order given by Mydrazan, I King Maximus Qar, originator of the name, king of the Dymish and Borzor people, and servant to the reunification of the continent and Mydrazan herby declare Nero Qar, prince of the Dymish and Borzor people, and servant to the reunification of the continent and Mydrazan exiled from the Kingdom of Qar. He is to leave the city by the end of tomorrow and leave the country by the end of the month or else face execution.¡± The moment was bitter-sweet for Maximus. He was finally ridding himself of a son who took everything for granted, but he was still exiling his son, and this news certainly wouldn¡¯t go over well with the other earls, but in Maximus¡¯s mind, they were still too busy with Claudia¡¯s death, and the threat of the People¡¯s Lord. He left the library, leaving Nero to his thoughts, whatever they may be. Chapter 1.12 Nero Nero was packed up and ready to leave the next day. No less than ten people helped with the packing and would accompany him all the way to the Expert¡¯s Commonwealth border. He would have taken a ship from Staff Harbor to Papertown, but Maximus refused to pay for it, so a road trip it was. Romulus and Gala, however, had other duties to attend to. Gala said goodbye in the morning and told him that when they meet again Gala would give him any responsibility that she was capable of giving, and Romulus promised that he would get revenge for their mother. Though he had ten people help him, there wasn¡¯t much packing to do, rather, Nero wanted things packed in a very particular way but wouldn¡¯t tell the helpers until they already did it wrong. He was too worried about appearing too picky while slowing the whole thing down because of his adjustments. Two weeks passed without much incident. The only thing that slowed the travel was the various checkpoints that Romulus ordered around the country so soldiers could stop suspicious carriages. Before them one used to barely see wagons on certain parts of the road, versus now where it near checkpoints would be a miracle if you were by yourself, even worrying. They spent a night in Staff Harbor. The town was mostly quiet, unlike the last time Nero was here. There were no sailors hastily preparing to set sail at a moment''s notice, no admirals ordering people and supplies around, or food wagons or merchants flooding the boardwalk. There were still some, but ever since the true culprit of Titus¡¯s poisoning came out, the business of war died with it. Nero found it regrettable that some people made their lives dependent on war. Why should a man live his life on the death of others? How could they feel no empathy for other people? It wasn¡¯t like they had national security measures to consider or the safety of his family. Wouldn¡¯t working in such an industry make their families more at risk? Nero knew that he couldn¡¯t rationalize their thought process because no man could reach a conclusion like that with logic. An outside factor such as money or blackmail must have influenced them. Whatever it was, Nero wanted to get rid of it. Before Nero left Staff Harbor, he went to where Titus was buried. The Graveyard was on the edge of town as far away from the commercial sector as possible. Lucius mustn''t have wanted Titus¡¯s grave to be monetized in any sense, so he placed it near residential homes. Nero thought that Lucius must have known people were going to try anyway, but alas what could a griffin who lives two countries away do? Charging a fee to see a griffin¡¯s grave would be good money. People had attempted it with Vespa, and they were probably going to try it again with Titus. It wasn¡¯t like Titus¡¯s grave was hidden. One could see it from halfway across the city. The base was a sculpture of Titus (still in progress) with a tower emerging behind it. Nero couldn¡¯t discern how tall it was, but he figured it was at least fifty meters, and along with the statue being parallel with a major street it wouldn¡¯t be hard for a commoner to see it. When Nero got to the border a couple of days later, he saw about a dozen Expert¡¯s Commonwealth soldiers laced to the teeth in armor. The soldiers that came along with Nero were also suited up but kept their faces exposed most of the time. These soldiers, however, didn¡¯t have a square millimeter of their bodies exposed. Nero wondered how they could see. That would be a good question to write Romulus for. They asked for identification, and Nero handed them a letter directly from King Maximus informing anyone of Nero¡¯s exile. The soldiers nodded and let them through, but once he was through, he was pleasantly surprised when he saw Iyo fly through the air and land not too far from him. The soldiers ducked, and though their faces were covered Nero could tell that they watched in amazement and fear. Nero smiled as he walked toward Iyo. He finally approached him close enough that he could talk to him but not catch frostbite from Iyo¡¯s breath. Iyo the Ice Sire was the second largest being on Riverward¡ªbehind his brother. His wingspan was 300 meters while he stretched half a kilometer. Nero turned around toward the wagon as the soldiers stayed behind, and the driver continued. The driver was the only one allowed to pass the border as he was the only one unarmed. ¡°It¡¯s a shame that you have been exiled,¡± said Iyo. His voice was deep and raspy. Which was understandable as ice constantly lined his mouth. ¡°Yes, it is,¡± Nero said, remembering his last conversation with Maximus. ¡°I¡¯m off to see a Raya Webster. She was friends with my mom.¡± ¡°My dearest condolences,¡± Iyo said. ¡°Thank you, but anyway, I still have a long road ahead of me. It¡¯s nice to see you Iyo. You didn¡¯t have to come.¡± ¡°I like to keep track of those who possess dragonvine now and again. I don¡¯t want people who are part dragons to suffer in this world.¡± ¡°Well, it seems that you failed,¡± Nero rebutted. ¡°I¡¯ve been exiled from my own country to live with a woman I¡¯ve never met.¡± ¡°That may seem like a long time to you, but that is not long enough for us to consider a problem.¡± ¡°Well, I suppose trivial things like exile don¡¯t matter that much, then,¡± Nero commented. ¡°I would like to give you some advice,¡± Iyo said. Nero nodded. ¡°Alright then.¡± ¡°You have not been exiled your entire life. You have been exiled until your father¡¯s death. Things are not as stable in the Expert¡¯s Commonwealth as they appear. I¡¯ll set up a meeting with Foreign Minister Floyd and he¡¯ll explain it to you.¡± Nero was at a loss for words. ¡°Wait? What? You are going to set up a meeting with the head of state? What am I going to do?¡± ¡°If they need you for something, then you shall provide.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± Nero asked. ¡°The Lake Republic has been conflicting with the Expert¡¯s Commonwealth and the Griffin Republic in the Starved Sea. There have been skirmishes and sailors arresting other sailors and forcing them to work on their ships.¡± ¡°How have I not heard of this?¡± Nero asked, confused. ¡°Because dragons fly faster than pigeons, and I¡¯ve heard you don¡¯t pay much attention to foreign countries, even for Qar standards, but that is not the point. The point is that if the situation continues to escalate then you could provide as a mediator for the two sides.¡± ¡°A mediator?¡± Nero asked. ¡°Please, who do you think I am? People are not going to listen to an exiled prince.¡± ¡°Would it hurt to try?¡± Nero paused. ¡°I suppose not, but it probably wouldn¡¯t work.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Iyo said. ¡°I have complete faith in you to make the most out of your situation.¡± Nero hesitated to say anything else, and by the time he could think of something Iyo was already saying goodbye. ¡°Uh, ok, bye,¡± Nero said before Iyo flew off back south. # It was nearly autumn when Nero arrived in Papertown¡ªthe Expert Commonwealth¡¯s capital. His meeting with Foreign Minister Floyd was scheduled for the next day, so he had some sightseeing to do. Nero acquired another driver on the way to Cannonville so they could reach Papertown faster. Papertown and Cannonville were entirely two different cities. Cannonville wasn¡¯t much different from Gatherstorm or any other major city in the Kingdom of Qar. Buildings were brown or gray, and horse stables dotted nearly every corner with horse dung planted next to them, but there were significant differences. Cities in Gatherstorm either had one or two paved or brick-laid roads, while Cannonville had dozens. Nero figured it was because they named the city after the most important invention created in the city¡ªthe cannon. Non-paved roads were terrible for cannons and would often get stuck in the mud or dirt, so for a city that invented and was the first major manufacturer of cannons, the roads needed to be paved with extreme care. Papertown seemed like it came down from the heavens. Nearly every building is covered in green or white bricks. Trees dotted the trees as vines climbed the brick buildings. There was nearly no poop on the ground from people or animals, and Nero could walk in confidence as he had never done before. There were more public cleaners in this one city than the Kingdom of Qar had in the entire country. Ink Run¡ªone of the nine mythical rivers¡ªwas almost entirely see-through, a fantasy for the residents of Gatherstorm. Nero read about it back in his library, but as he looked passed the water down to the river¡¯s soil, all knowledge and facts about anything in the city disappeared as he became mesmerized by the water. After they checked into an inn for the night, Nero took a walk down the river. He had already finished all the books he brought with him and wanted to spend as much time on the river as possible. He understood why Gala was so consistent about walks down the Wine River. She knew these rivers were unlike anything else and wanted to clear her head before she started her day. Nero thought that if Gala lived in Papertown then she would be the most humble, clear-minded, and patient person in the world. As he walked down the river, Nero noticed a large figure in the distance. He walked another kilometer before he realized what it was. It was the mythical Ink Run Water Wheel! Nero was so distracted by the water that he forgot about the city¡¯s main attraction. It stretched fifty meters into the air with countless wedges and buckets spinning around. It had been going non-stop ever since its construction and provided enough energy to power dozens of blacksmith shops, and so it did. The wheel spun a large turbine that split off into dozens more that connected to either a fan¡ªfor blacksmith shops¡ªor a smaller waterwheel inside that provided water to cotton and wool shops. When Nero was standing by the wheel, he noticed that he was the only one mesmerized by it. Everyone else seemed to go about their day, not even batting an eye toward the engineering wonder. Some of them stared at Nero as if it was strange that he considered the wheel to be a marvelous thing that someone should admire for a good while. It was now that Nero finally remembered the existence of the People¡¯s Lord. They used greenwood poison, after all, which could only be sourced from the Expert¡¯s Commonwealth. Maybe they were watching him right now, waiting to kidnap or kill him. Nero turned straight back toward the hotel with such a troubling thought dominating his mind for the rest of the night. # As Nero made his way toward the capital meeting the next day, he gazed upon the falling leaves. He nearly passed by 1,000 sweepers trying their best to keep the green and white streets clean from the orange and red leaves. If it were left up to Nero, he would have just gutted the trees from the city entirely so that these people could do something more productive and fulfilling in their lives. The cost of having trees falling on the ground vastly outweighed the benefit of a more nature-oriented city in Nero¡¯s mind. The capital building was nearly as large as the palace in Gatherstorm. It was completely white with vines carefully crafted and grown, so they grew only upwards passed the windows. Nero watched as more public cleaners trimmed vines that strayed to their sides. The building contained more and bigger windows than any other building that Nero had seen. When Nero first read about the building in an architecture book, he couldn¡¯t believe how the capital building was still standing with so many holes made in the structure for windows.Stolen story; please report. The roof was nearly all flat except for the front which had a giant triangle starting from opposite ends of the roof. The sides converged in the middle and depicted a griffin flying above a ship in the space the triangle provided. The inside was even more spectacular. The floor was made of tile, something that was near-extinct (except for royal property) from the Kingdom of Qar because of absurdly high tariffs. He approached a roundtable in the center of the spacious lobby and told them that he was expecting a meeting with Foreign Minister Floyd. The secretary hesitated¡ªwhich Nero never found out why¡ªand checked Floyd¡¯s schedule. Nero slumped forward as he became nervous that something had gone wrong before the secretary stood up and told him to follow. They nearly walked for two minutes as they went up to the second level and passed various paintings and small sculptures that decorated the hallway. Nero appreciated not only the decoration but the judicious placement of them. They stopped at the end of the hallway on the right side of the building, faced the door, and knocked. A voice called out from the office. ¡°Come in!¡± and the secretary opened the door, letting Nero pass through, before closing the door behind him. Nero found the Foreign Minister standing up from his desk. They approached each other and shook hands as they introduced themselves. ¡°Foreign Minister Roman Floyd, nice to meet you,¡± he said. ¡°Nero Qar, likewise.¡± Floyd went back to his desk as Nero sat on a lightly padded chair opposite of him. Though he tried his best to hide it, it seemed that Floyd couldn¡¯t help but stare at Nero¡¯s dragonvine. Nero thought about saying something but decided against it as the conversation would have become awkward. Roman Floyd was a much older man than Nero and groaned as he sat down. An earl, prince, or king would never publicly groan as they performed such a simple action. It would appear as if their health was in decline, and people around them would start making potential plans to mess with the line of succession. The Expert¡¯s Commonwealth was different. Through his reading, Nero looked through the country¡¯s system of governance. It was a society based entirely on merit, with no bloodlines or elections. Each profession stayed in its field and didn¡¯t interact with each other. The general surgeon and the health committee would have the final say in any healthcare decisions, the country¡¯s economic minister and the economic committee would have the final say in any fiscal or monetary policy, and Foreign Minister Floyd would have the final say in any foreign treaties or any other matters involving foreign relations. It was all decided based on merit and experience. Non-quantifiable factors were ruled out completely for the sake of consistency and predictability. ¡°I understand that Iyo wanted me to have you as an arbitrator for rising tensions,¡± Floyd said. ¡°Yes, he did,¡± Nero responded. ¡°I tried¡ª¡± Nero tripped over his words. ¡°To tell him that I have no experience of what is happening and limited knowledge of the tensions with the Lake Republic.¡± ¡°Well, we dare not oppose a dragon, so tell me what you do know.¡± Since Nero talked to Iyo, he tried to find any information about the conflict. He picked up bits and pieces along the way, but the bulk of his knowledge came from when he was in Cannonville. ¡°A couple of years ago a Lake Republic ship and an Expert¡¯s Commonwealth ship collided during a foggy night. In the confusion, they both assumed they were being attacked, and a battle commenced. The Expert¡¯s Commonwealth ship won, and some of the men were captured and brought back to Papertown. When Councilman Daniels heard of the news, he demanded compensation. You promptly agreed, but ever since, for some reason, Lake Republic ships have continued to stop and capture sailors and bring them back to Kato Kanali. You and your ally the Griffin Republic have retaliated by doing the same, and this has been going on for at least a year now.¡± ¡°Not exactly,¡± Floyd explained. ¡°That first ship during the first night contained goods that Councilman Daniels considered of vast importance. He tried to make up for lost profits, but unlike what you¡¯ll hear in Kato Kanali, we have never gone on the offensive.¡± Nero nodded his head in agreement, even though he was suspicious of Foreign Minister Floyd¡¯s claim of never taking a Lake Republic Ship on purpose. Especially since the Griffin Republic had gotten involved to ¡°support their ally¡± even though a war never started. ¡°We are nearly on the brink of war. Luckily, none of the skirmishes have involved more than one ship on each side, but if a skirmish occurs where ten maybe five ships on each side are involved, then we are potentially looking at war.¡± ¡°Why haven¡¯t you tried negotiating?¡± Nero asked. ¡°Well, that is what Iyo wants. That¡¯s why he sent you here, but I doubt it will work.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯ve heard of Councilman Hektor Daniels, but he is not the most cooperative man. He refuses to sell any of his shares of leadership, no matter what the offer. He seems to value control over the Lake Republic over money he could make selling his majority share. Also, there are rumors that he sees and hears things.¡± ¡°You are saying the richest man in the world is insane?¡± Nero asked, shocked that he had never heard of this before. ¡°I¡¯m not, but that is what I¡¯ve heard from across the sea. Also, there are rumors that your father is insane.¡± Nero shook his head. ¡°No, he is perfectly aware of what he is doing. There is a difference between insane and incompetent.¡± Floyd broke out into laughter. ¡°Pardon me, but you should watch your mouth. That can get you killed. If an exiled prince starts bad-mouthing a royal, let alone a king, he will get killed.¡± ¡°I would rather take my chances with my father compared to the People¡¯s Lord.¡± ¡°I forgot about them,¡± Floyd said, calming down. ¡°Sorry I didn¡¯t say this before, but I am sorry for your loss. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. If I start bad-mouthing the king, then the People¡¯s Lord might leave me alone. I think they¡¯ve sensed that I am not their biggest threat.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t act like you know everything,¡± Floyd reminded. ¡°I live in a country full of experts, but every day there are questions. I only ever hear statements from your father, not questions.¡± ¡°Well, a king¡ª¡± ¡°What? Needs to appear strong. Don¡¯t lie to yourself. If people expect strength, then they will be more sensitive to weakness. People here expect to know nothing they are newly exposed to. There are still people who try to inflate their ego, but they usually get brushed aside if they don¡¯t learn and move to the Griffin¡¯s Republic.¡± Nero nodded but hadn¡¯t internalized the thought. But as they continued to talk, it sunk deeper into his mind. It made complete sense, and he realized that Nero agreed with the statement nearly his entire life, even if he hadn¡¯t consciously thought about it. A knock came from the door, and Floyd stood up in shock. ¡°Beg your pardon, but I have to meet with someone else. Do you have somewhere to stay?¡± Nero waved him off as he stood up. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be on my way to stay with a Raya Webster in Writer¡¯s End.¡± ¡°She writes some good books,¡± commented Floyd. ¡°I¡¯ve read them all. You¡¯re lucky to have her as a friend. Do you have her address yet?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Nero responded. ¡°Alright then, see you soon,¡± Floyd said as they shook hands before Nero turned around to leave, but before he could reach the door, he turned back toward the minister and asked one more question. ¡°Why weren¡¯t the other leaders of Leozan at Titus¡¯s funeral?¡± The foreign minister sighed before answering. ¡°I know we¡¯ve given wish-wash answering to your people and government, but off the record, it¡¯s because the people in the Kingdom of Qar have seemingly forgotten that Titus killed thousands of Tolmans during our independence war. Also, we didn¡¯t know if your father was going to kill. You know, slip some poison into our water or sink our ships on the way back to the border. # It took another week to get to Writer¡¯s End. As Nero left Papertown they entered a city that they thought was an extension of Papertown but turned out to be an entirely different city. Papertown sat on the mouth of the Ink Run while the city; he thought Papertown turned out to be the third-largest city behind Papertown and Cannonville. Its name was Penpool, and after some inquiring in a local history book, it was created for the sole purpose of making Papertown smaller. The city sat on the fork of Ink Run and Chawbury River. It was originally a shanty town, but as housing prices in Papertown increased the middle class started to move into Penpool. The southern edge of the city contained mills and workshops that carried liters upon liters of what seemed to be ink. As Nero continued to look in the history book, he picked up he discovered that Penpool was the world¡¯s leading producer in pen and ink manufacturing. It seemed the Expert¡¯s Commonwealth had a severe lack of creativity when naming their cities. When he arrived at Writer¡¯s End, Nero paid the drivers the last share of the payment as they continued into the city. It was considerably smaller than Papertown or Penpool with 800,000 compared to their 5,000,000 combined. It didn¡¯t seem like it as the streets were just as busy: wagons carried barrels of greenwood extract, which only reminded Nero of the greenwood poison, and builders laid green and white bricks on buildings under construction. After asking many locals, they reached the address, and Nero walked up to the door. The building was the only house in the middle of the city. Everywhere else was made for apartments, but a cute little house stood in between two five-story apartment complexes. Nero knocked on the door, and shortly after an old woman answered the door. ¡°Hello?¡± She asked. ¡°Hi,¡± Nero said nervously. ¡°Is this the address for Raya Webster?¡± Raya softly scoffed at Nero. ¡°You¡¯re Nero, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, yes I am.¡± ¡°I thought the scar would be worse.¡± Nero wanted to correct her and say that the dragonvine wasn¡¯t a scar, but by the time he could think of any words, Raya signaled over the drivers rudely blocking the road to unload Nero¡¯s things. They unloaded in silence as Nero couldn¡¯t think of any conversation for the life of him and put all his stuff in a room that wasn¡¯t much smaller than his chambers in the palace. However, it did appear much smaller as Nero not only took things out of his chambers but also the library. When everything was finished, Nero said goodbye to the drivers and retreated inside Raya¡¯s house. He was going to take his things out of the boxes and arrange them around his room, but before he could do that. Raya pressured him to have some tea first. ¡°No, if I don¡¯t unpack now, it will be harder later,¡± Nero said. ¡°It will just be for a second,¡± Raya said. ¡°No, I really think¡ª¡± ¡°Come on; I¡¯m an old woman. You wouldn¡¯t want to make an old woman sad, would you?¡± Nero sighed and went to the living room as Raya poured some green tea in the kitchen. Her home looked how one would expect an old woman¡¯s home would look except for the busy city noises outside and the massive number of books that had her name on the spine. ¡°You¡¯re an author, right?¡± Nero asked. ¡°They don¡¯t call it Writer¡¯s End for nothing,¡± she said. ¡°When was the last book you wrote?¡± Nero asked as Raya walked in with the tea. ¡°I published my last one around a year ago,¡± she responded. ¡°Oh,¡± Nero responded in surprise. ¡°Does it get harder at your age?¡± Nero tried to rephrase as his question came out harsher than expected, but Raya laughed it off. ¡°I am only sixty-five. I know I look nearly eighty but let us just say that my brain aged a lot slower than my skin.¡± Nero gave out a nervous laugh as he tried to think of something else to talk about as he drank his tea. ¡°How did you meet my mom?¡± Raya took a sip of tea as she pondered the question. ¡°I believe it started around twenty years ago when she invited me to an event in Gatherstorm. She was a fan of my work and wanted to introduce me to the crown.¡± ¡°Did you accept?¡± ¡°No, the trip wasn¡¯t worth it. It was just a simple party, and besides I thought she would try to pressure me to write allegories that would make the Kingdom of Qar look better than it was. I was wrong though, as after I sent her a polite denial, she kept writing me asking questions about the books and manuscripts I was working on. I dared not respond to a royal, so we talked for a couple of years before she once again invited me to an event in Staff Harbor. I went, and we became good friends after that. We wrote to each other as much as possible and I talked to her in person every couple of years.¡± Nero nodded along, and when she finished said: ¡°I¡¯m sorry that my father gave you the responsibility of housing me for the time being.¡± Raya brushed it off. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that; it is more than an honor to house a royal in my house.¡± ¡°Speaking of the house,¡± Nero said. ¡°Why do you live here?¡± ¡°Why? Do you think my old ears can¡¯t handle the noise?¡± she asked. Nero wanted to apologize, but Raya put up her hand as if she knew that Nero would try to make the situation less awkward. ¡°No, it¡¯s because my feet can¡¯t handle walking that much. I¡¯ve had many people over the years offer me great money for the house, but I won¡¯t be able to find a place nearby that has the same amount of space.¡± ¡°How much?¡± Nero asked. ¡°That wouldn¡¯t mean much to you. We don¡¯t use gold over here. We use copper.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Nero said. ¡°I haven¡¯t been paying my drivers or the places I¡¯ve been staying in gold, so I do have a baseline for the conversions.¡± ¡°100,000 copper.¡± Nero didn¡¯t respond. It turned out that his baseline was more off than he thought. Raya explained that copper was a lot more inflated than gold, which Nero already knew, but that didn¡¯t explain the price. ¡°That was their final offer,¡± Raya continued to explain. ¡°Most of the other lots in the area were bought for 100,000, but that probably isn¡¯t a fraction of what the crown spends on their parties.¡± ¡°Trust me, I know,¡± Nero said. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you know about me, but I read quite a lot for a royal. Don¡¯t let those parties fool you because I have seen the finances of the crown and we are in a lot of debt, which is probably why we haven¡¯t had a party in a couple of months.¡± ¡°To whom are you indebted?¡± Raya asked. ¡°Everyone,¡± Nero responded. ¡°I would suggest a solution, but my dad has already refused that offer many times when Gala suggested it. The parties are probably going to stay, and I don¡¯t know what else to suggest. Economics isn¡¯t my strong suit.¡± ¡°What is?¡± Raya asked. Nero shrugged and winced. Every time he told someone outside the family, they gave them a strange look and offered a piece of advice. The advice was mostly to forget about such things and leave it up to the commoners. ¡°Architecture, I really like architecture. Especially when it makes things cleaner.¡± Raya took another sip of her tea. ¡°Tell me more.¡± Chapter 1.13 If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Chapter 1.14 This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Chapter 1.15 Stolen story; please report. Chapter 1.16 Romulus Romulus, Captain Smith, and Sergeant Kosta were in charge of a group of 200 men from the detachment that Earl Marcus promised along with other troops around King Harbor that were willing to fight alongside them. They set off from King Harbor and marched a few kilometers outside the city to a farm complex containing thousands of commoners. There wasn¡¯t much talk between the three men who led the soldiers as Kosta and Smith dared not to speak to each other more than necessary. Kosta asked Romulus why they were going to the farm, and Romulus answered that they needed to send a message to the farmers, secure some of the grain that had already been harvested, and find anything that could lead to the capture of Noah. The complex wasn¡¯t as complex as one would think, but a series of farms built around a central trade building where all of the farmers stored their tools, sent out the grain and socialized with the other farmers. When the detachment arrived, the people at the central building stared in suspicion as Romulus dismounted his horse and approached a man who stood behind a table. The central building had no walls but a roof with bugs crawling over the place. ¡°Good sir,¡± Romulus called out. The man looked up from a pile of papers on the table and looked behind Romulus. ¡°You¡¯ve got hundreds of men behind you with about fifty on horseback. Are you invading the farms?¡± he asked sarcastically. ¡°By order of the king, I am here to collect all shipments of grain and wheat to be stored in the royal reserves. If you have a record of how much of the grain belongs to each farmer, they shall be compensated for their contribution to the country.¡± ¡°And what is their contribution to this?¡± the man asked. ¡°Ten percent below market price. That¡¯s for buying in bulk.¡± Romulus assured the man. The man gave out a fake smile and nodded. ¡°I assume there is not much I can do?¡± ¡°You can do something else, though. Has there been any sign of Noah Kien or any other People¡¯s Lord activity?¡± The man stood up and told Romulus that rumors of the discussion in King Harbor had trickled into the countryside. ¡°And let¡¯s just say the farmers weren¡¯t the most receptive to the plan that was decided. People don¡¯t really like being pushed into a corner and told what to do.¡± It was then someone called out to Romulus. He turned to his right and found a Dymish man in worn-down clothing with a scar across his jawline. ¡°The gentleman would like some time to himself, and the farmers would like to keep their grain until someone buys it at the appropriate price.¡± ¡°Noah,¡± Romulus said, stunned. Kosta and Smith flew off of their horses, and men followed as they went to see what the commotion was about and when they saw the scarred man, they pulled out their swords and surrounded Noah. Romulus walked closer to Noah and wanted to punch him in the face, but held off. There was no good reason a sane man would walk into the enemy¡¯s face without a good reason. ¡°Why are you here you?¡± Romulus asked. ¡°Before I answer that, I would like to inform you that if you touch me in any way all of you will be killed. You shall be killed slowly, brutally, but most importantly, publicly.¡± Noah turned his back to Romulus and looked at the soldiers who now surrounded him. ¡°I have come to talk. Unlike some members in the People¡¯s Lord, including the People¡¯s Lord himself, I am more open to negotiations, but before we negotiate, I would like to ask you what we are surrounded by.¡± Romulus was silent until Noah asked him again but in a firmer voice. ¡°Farms,¡± Romulus answered. ¡°What is in between the farms?¡± Noah asked. Romulus looked past Noah and his soldiers and saw fences, trees, and the next farm behind that. ¡°A forest?¡± Romulus guessed, confused at what game Noah was playing. ¡°Hm,¡± Noah said before checking his watch. ¡°How about now?¡± Romulus gave a smirk to Kosta and Smith before looking back out into the strip of forest in between the farms, but this time, his smirk was wiped from his face. A feeling that no man, especially Romulus, enjoyed. A row of men in black slowly rose from the forest floor. Romulus looked to his right to where they came from, and the dirt road was now blocked off by a row of men behind, to his left was the same story, and, together, marched to Romulus and his soldiers. Romulus didn¡¯t need to respond to Noah¡¯s question as the soldiers noticed the men emerge from the forest, and sweat rolled down their faces. They clinched onto their swords, clumped together, and turned to see if the line of men was getting closer. ¡°Negotiations tend to go better without hundreds of men surrounding others.¡± Romulus reminded Noah. ¡°If one isn¡¯t willing to back out of negotiations, they aren¡¯t the smartest people,¡± Noah responded as he turned back around. ¡°What do you want? And please tell me before someone panics and charges the other.¡± ¡°Governors,¡± Noah said. ¡°Governors?¡± Romulus asked, confused at the concept. ¡°I want elected governors to replace the earls. If you do that, I shall no longer be a part of the People¡¯s Lord and will stop committing ¡®liberating acts¡¯, and the farmers will happily give over their food stores to the crown for the winter.¡± ¡°God, are you serious?¡± Romulus asked. ¡°You might as well ask the crown to step down.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve already tried that, and it hasn¡¯t worked.¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Yeah, but you are terrorists. You don¡¯t compromise.¡± ¡°We have never claimed to be terrorists. Only you have.¡± By now Noah¡¯s men had closed in and were only a couple of paces away from Romulus¡¯s men. They formed a circle around the building, the soldiers on horseback, and the people surrounding Noah. Romulus knew that now there was no way this was going to end peacefully and ran through scenarios about how to get out of the situation the best. He looked back at Kosta and Smith to gauge their reactions. Smith gave no emotion while Kosta only gave a nod of his head while holding over his unsheathed sword. ¡°It¡¯s a no, Noah,¡± Romulus said. ¡°It was worth a try.¡± ¡°Noah Kien, you are under arrest for treason. Men, arrest this man!¡± When Romulus said that his men moved closer to Noah, and in response, Noah¡¯s men charged Romulus. Swords clashed between the two sides; all the while Noah dodged person after person trying to grab him. One or two people were able to latch onto his arm, but he swiftly knocked them back before sneaking through the circle around him by pushing someone over who was facing the other way. Romulus tried to reach Noah himself, but there were too many men in the way attempting the same thing, and he had to pull back to the building. Romulus, Kosta, and Smith formed a tight circle around each other, but there wasn¡¯t much else Romulus thought of doing. All the plans he made a moment ago about how to get out of this situation involved grabbing ahold of Noah. He didn¡¯t think that Noah would be able to get out of the circle alive. However, Kosta was ahead of Romulus and ordered all the men to form around the building. Romulus asked Kosta what he was doing, and he responded: ¡°Staying alive!¡± By the time the three men formed a wall around the building, about thirty of Romulus¡¯s men lay on the ground, with only about ten or so dead for Noah. Smith ran around the inside of the formation and pushed the soldiers together, so they made a perfect seal, so no man could slip behind and break the formation. All the horses were dead, including the ones with men on them, as they were shot or stabbed early in the fighting. The two sides now stared at each other as they tried to assess the situation. Romulus looked for Noah and found him slithering behind his men, watching. ¡°Noah!¡± Romulus yelled. His voice trembled as he raised his sword in the air. ¡°Come here and face me like a man!¡± Romulus could see that Noah gave a chuckle and walked to the front of his line. ¡°We know in this situation that if you were me, you would have said no too.¡± Romulus tried to respond, but before he could, Kosta pulled him back and asked how they were going to get out of there. ¡°We are surrounded on all sides, and now unless you are going to keep shouting nonsense at Noah, I suggest we come up with a plan to get out of here.¡± ¡°Alright, what do you suggest, Kosta? Huh?¡± Kosta clinched his teeth before answering. ¡°You are not going to like this, but I think we should hold out here for a while and stall for time. If they haven¡¯t attacked yet, I don¡¯t think they will for a little bit.¡± As Kosta said Noah ordered his men to advance. ¡°You were saying,¡± responded Romulus. Kosta didn¡¯t respond. ¡°God,¡± Romulus told his men. ¡°That is the only man who decides if you shall die or not today, but I have a strong feeling that he is not going to let you die in front of a bunch of terrorists today. Do your jobs and bring me Noah¡¯s head!¡± Romulus ordered his men to advance out of the building and toward Noah. Kosta tried to protest, but it was too late, and every soldier, including Captain Smith, was fighting. Swords clashed, blood flew through the air, and men yelled in pain, all while Romulus looked over and saw Captain Smith cutting down man after man. Kosta and Romulus stayed in the center of the building to command the troops and looked in awe as Smith killed each man with increasing brutality, and he did it without getting a nick, but one man couldn¡¯t fight an entire army and holes in the formation began to form. Kosta begged Romulus to pull back the formation, and Romulus reluctantly agreed. Romulus looked to the ground and saw the man he first talked to on the ground, dead. The formation grew smaller, but this time it looked like they had taken an equal number of men. Romulus looked to see where Noah was, but he was already gone. The two men looked around and wondered why Noah¡¯s men weren¡¯t attacking. They would destroy them in a second, but when they saw Captain Smith, they understood why. He was covered in blood and held two swords in his hands. He wasn¡¯t in formation or behind it but in front of it as he waved his swords at the People¡¯s Lord soldiers. They backed up as he got closer, but eventually, they had to stop to hold the formation around the building. It looked like Smith contemplated attacking as his swords twitched in his hands, but after staring down the enemy, came back to the line. They stood there for about an hour, with the consensus being that the enemy was trying to wear them down to minimize losses. Romulus tried to think of a way out, but all of them involved attacking and that would end in disaster. It wasn¡¯t until Kosta suggested an idea that they knew how to get out. ¡°We stay in formation no matter what,¡± he said. ¡°And we slowly march down the road back to King Harbor.¡± ¡°Are you insane?¡± Romulus asked him. ¡°You think they are just going to let us out of here?¡± ¡°We are outnumbered on every side, Romulus. That road only has two sides. They will funnel into three groups. The ones in front of us, the ones behind us, and the ones trying to follow through the forest. The ones on the side will most likely fall behind, we can handle the ones in the front if they attack, and the ones in the back will have their numbers suppressed by the width of the road. You got any better ideas?¡± Romulus shook his head. It sounded incredibly stupid, but this situation was also stupid. An outnumbered force was allowed to stand for an hour. ¡°God,¡± Romulus responded. ¡°When I get my hands on Noah, I am going to smash him limb by limb. Let¡¯s go.¡± So they went, marching about ten paces per minute toward the road. At first, the People¡¯s Lord men had their swords at the ready and a couple of them attacked, but after Captain Smith showed up to the part of the line that was being attacked, they pulled back. They were out of the building and slowly marched down the road with the enemy trying to coordinate an all-out attack, but Kosta was right, and they weren¡¯t able to coordinate. At several points, Captain Smith suggested they make a run for it with a couple of the men covering for them. A large force wouldn¡¯t be able to get them all. Romulus shut down the idea as the likelihood of two stupid ideas working was incredibly low, and there was no reason to change. The further they went, the fewer men were in front of them, and the enemy behind them grew wearier. About two kilometers out from King Harbor, the enemy decided that they weren¡¯t going to let the heir to the throne live and attacked the formation. Romulus now had two choices: run or stay in formation to fight. If he ran, many of them would die not only by volleys of arrow fire but because who knew how many of the People¡¯s Lord soldiers used to be in a job that required a lot of running? If he stood and fought, most of them would probably die, so Romulus decided on the former. # Romulus, Kosta, and Smith all got to the city relativity unharmed. They ran for about a kilometer or so before the enemy stopped chasing them. It was a miracle in disguise that they killed all the horses as they couldn¡¯t chase them for the home stretch. The three men found a back alley inn to hide at for the rest of the night. There wasn¡¯t much talking as they all tried to recover from what just happened. Romulus resisted the urge to run back outside and find Noah, Kosta immediately went to his bed and lay in the fetal position, and Smith tended to his wounds and ground his teeth harder than Romulus had ever seen before. The sleep was terrible, and before sunrise, they decided to head back to the castle, but when they stepped outside, Romulus reached his hand out and felt what he feared he would touch before Noah¡¯s death: snow. Chapter 1.17 The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Chapter 1.18 If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Chapter 1.19 Romulus January 1st, Year 501 of the 3rd Era. Romulus stood on a hill near the edge of King Harbor. He was wearing one of his royal robes over top of his armor as the snow made it too cold to even stick your hands out. In reality, it wasn¡¯t advisable to have any part of your body exposed to the cold, but Romulus needed the time to think. The other seasons were never as quiet as winter. There was also something going on. Either people or birds in the background, but everything came to a halt in the winter. Only about half a meter of snow and white as far as the eye could see. There had been no success in searching for Noah, and with the treasury almost defaulting on its debt, Romulus no longer had many men. He knows only had twenty men including himself. It would be impossible to look for Noah with twenty men. Though, he thought he should be thankful as he had no idea how the treasury was still on its feet. According to Maximus¡¯s letter, it should have been defaulting for weeks now. Romulus knew that Noah was somewhere out there. Either in the woods or on farms. In a couple of minutes, he was out there, he almost came close to screaming. Damning Noah to hell and demanding that he face him right away. They barely had enough food for the winter. Farmers were put down from all over the peninsula, but even then, food had to be shipped from the capital, and to make sure they got something out of it, the earls were taxed to hell on every grain they received. ¡®Maybe that saved the treasury?¡¯ Romulus thought. ¡®Or did Gala¡¯s plan actually work?¡¯ After hearing about Gala''s suspension of slavery, Romulus thought about sending a letter to Gala, demanding her to redact the suspension, but decided not to. Abolishing slavery came with so many risks, but with the risk of the crown losing control over the economy, it became a necessary evil at the moment. Thinking of temporary measures, his mind wandered eastward. The War of the Republics was in full swing, and he wondered how Nero was holding up. He wished all the best for his little brother, but not only because he was his backup. Romulus missed the small interactions he had with him about things he didn¡¯t know about. How Nero would interrupt Romulus to correct him. However, his brother never did it in public, and Romulus sometimes played a game in his head to see if Nero would correct him if he made an intentional mistake in recalling a fact. It now seemed like years since Nero corrected him. Everything felt like years ago, like the events didn¡¯t belong to Romulus, but to a happier, more patient, and resourceful Romulus. The only comforting news was that Nero finally sent a letter. Nero asked about what he had been up to this entire time. Nero wrote that he also sent a letter to Gala, asking the same thing, but that is not what stood out to Romulus. Apparently, Nero passed a bill in Congress. A hesitant smile crept on Romulus¡¯s face at the thought. He was proud of Nero, but he was colluding with a foreign nation on behalf of the kingdom without their knowledge. Though it wasn¡¯t an official representation, it didn¡¯t matter. If Nero wasn¡¯t his little brother, he would have him either imprisoned or quietly disposed of. Romulus heard soft footsteps in the snow and would have rested his sword on his hilt, but by the sound of the footsteps, he knew it was Kosta. ¡°You really had to make someone climb a hill in the snow to talk to you if they wanted?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the point,¡± Romulus responded. Kosta reached the top of the hill and looked over the edge with Romulus. ¡°Well, happy new year.¡± Romulus gave out a small chuckle. ¡°Yes, happy new year.¡± There was a brief silence while the two of them stared into the distance. The trees softly swayed along, taking the place of the now-frozen northern oceans. ¡°Is there a reason you came up here?¡± Romulus asked. ¡°We never talked about my relationship with Captain Smith. It has been months, and I don¡¯t think this operation can last much longer.¡± ¡°I told you, Kosta, that we will deal with Noah, and then we will deal with your problems with Smith. Did you see what Captain Smith did that day we ran in with Noah? I never saw the enemy so afraid before.¡± ¡°To be fair, you haven¡¯t really seen the enemy until last year,¡± Kosta pointed out. ¡°Don¡¯t be a smart ass with me. You just hold it together with him until we deal with Noah, and don¡¯t worry because if anything happens, I take your side before his.¡± Kosta digested the thought for a moment. ¡°Thanks, but why? He is obviously more capable at almost everything.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true,¡± Romulus responded. ¡°It¡¯s just that¡­I reward people who are loyal to me and have saved my life.¡± ¡°Are you talking about the bison?¡± Kosta asked. ¡°Surely¡ª¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for you, that bison would have killed me or, you know, died from thirst or hunger. What did Captain Smith do? Kill a bunch of People¡¯s Lord terrorists with his swords. We had plenty of troops, and I¡¯m sure you and I would have made it out anyway.¡± ¡°But more people would have died,¡± Kosta pointed out. ¡°Yes, but¡ª¡± ¡°Let me ask you this: who would you rather fight in a duel? Me or Smith?¡± Romulus turned to Kosta and laughed. ¡°Well, obviously, Captain Smith is the better fighter.¡± ¡°So, you should be more careful around him,¡± Kosta suggested. ¡°The man¡¯s got some demons in him. I don¡¯t know where they came from, but he must have experienced something in his childhood or soon after.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t reckon he is just a controlled maniac?¡± Romulus asked. There was no response from Kosta. ¡°Sometimes,¡± Romulus continued. ¡°I feel like life is just one big mess.¡± Romulus took a deep breath before continuing. ¡°I got the news that there has been increased People¡¯s Lord activity in the south. Fucking Borzors, man. When are they going to give up? Of course, General Pluto has been assigned to deal with him.¡± ¡°Is there a problem with that?¡± Kosta asked. ¡°God, yes!¡± Romulus exclaimed. He calmed himself down before continuing. ¡°Of course, I want every People¡¯s Lord terrorist to be destroyed on sight, but what has General Pluto suffered from them? Has he lost a mother, or has his family ripped apart? For God¡¯s sake, the second-in-line for the throne is in the Griffin Republic.¡± Romulus wanted to tell Kosta about the alcohol tax that Nero helped pass, but he couldn¡¯t. It would damage the reputation of the crown too much. ¡°If it¡¯s any comfort, remember that if anyone is going to have the key to finding the People¡¯s Lord, it¡¯s going to be Noah. When you find him, I¡¯m sure missing the action down south won¡¯t mean much.¡± ¡°How do you do it, Kosta?¡± Romulus asked. ¡°You don¡¯t have a family anymore. You said Cholera killed them, so how do you deal with going on and have nothing to funnel your anger into?¡± His voice trembled. It sounded like he was going to cry, but no tears emerged from his eyes. ¡°How did I deal with it?¡± Kosta corrected. ¡°At some point, you just focus on surviving. You realize that there are some things that you can¡¯t control.¡± ¡°But I did control what happened. If we were smarter, we would have gotten my mother out, and she would have been safe. If only we were more careful.¡± Romulus and Kosta fell silent as the white noise of the winter filled their heads. Kosta focused on trying to keep as warm as possible as he had less clothing on him compared to Romulus. Meanwhile, the heir to the throne tried to collect himself and thought this was no way for a superior officer to act in front of his troops. ¡°Can I ask you something?¡± Kosta petitioned. ¡°What do you want from life? You are complaining about so many things, but they are all in the short term. When you become king, what do you want?¡± ¡°Reunification obviously,¡± Romulus responded, sounding offended. ¡°No, besides that. If I went into the future and walked around the streets of Gatherstorm, what difference would you want.¡± ¡°God, I don¡¯t know. For people to be more loyal, happier, and healthier, what do you want with your life? Mister asking all these questions. You said you learn to survive, but what if I want to live? What if I want to look out the window and see something that I am proud of? Something I created?¡± ¡°Technically, you tell other people to create stuff in your name,¡± Kosta corrected. Romulus burst out laughing at the remark. ¡°You¡¯re starting to become more like Nero. Speaking of him, I think you two would get along very well.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Kosta asked. ¡°Why would you get along with Nero?¡± ¡°No, why do you want a world that is not only good but one you created? What made you so involved in other people¡¯s lives?¡± Romulus didn¡¯t answer. He thought over the question, but it seemed so simple to him. He would be the king. He had divine right over these people. He could guide them better than anyone else, but Kosta wouldn¡¯t take that as an answer. So, Romulus answered it as if he was a common citizen becoming king. ¡°I joined the military immediately after I came of age. Twenty years old with a proud title. None of them gave a shit, though. Not the recruits, privates, sergeants, and anyone above that. I wasn¡¯t treated like everyone else, but worse. I was picked on all the time, my form was critiqued to oblivion, and people wanted to know me but not be friends.¡± Romulus fell silent as he remembered those times. ¡°I still have scars from those days. My back looks like a drunk tried to draw the outline on a continent.¡± Romulus¡¯s voice was somber, and he no longer looked at Kosta or far into the distance. His head pointed at the ground. ¡°I made it through, though,¡± he continued. ¡°And I became a sergeant by twenty-one and captain by twenty-three. I¡¯m thirty now, and I am still a captain. I had and still have every advantage in the world, but I still hold the same rank, so it¡¯s not hard to figure out what the problem is. ¡°The military wasn¡¯t a fan of my strategies on the field. They said I killed too many men to achieve the objective, but what¡¯s the point of war? Even if it¡¯s only a war game, those men who died create better men who can win on an actual battlefield, and the battlefield is in the South. General Pluto is relying on old tactics that lost us the continent in the first place.¡± Romulus lifted his head. ¡°But when I go to the south, I get in the one situation where my strategy doesn¡¯t work, and I am punished for it.¡± Romulus¡¯s voice suddenly became harsh and vengeful. ¡°There is only one way I get out of this state that I am in. I kill Noah, I kill Lia, I kill Benito, and I kill anyone who stands in my way. After I become king, I reunify the continent and have my name carved into the history books.¡± Romulus stared into the distance. Somewhere, Noah was hiding, plotting, ruining countless lives, but most importantly, destroying the reputation of a future king. ¡°Not everyone loves the People¡¯s Lord. We can¡¯t smoke out the rats, so it has come to a point where we have to become the rats.¡± Romulus turned around and faced the outskirts of King Harbor. ¡°Kosta, tomorrow we are going to get more men. I don¡¯t care if my father allows it or not. We are going to get as many men as possible to temporarily associate with the enemy so we can find out where they are. Once we do that, we can figure out what I want to do as king.¡± Chapter 1.20 Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Chapter 1.21 Romulus Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Chapter 1.22 If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Chapter 1.23 You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Chapter 1.24 Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Chapter 1.25 Nero got back to Godmouth on the 17th of April. The docks seemed a lot calmer with news of the war ending, arriving by pigeon weeks before Nero and Keon came back to the capital. The prince went to his chambers and began packing, so he could move back to Writer¡¯s End, but in the middle of packing, he was summoned to Wagner¡¯s office. When he arrived, he found the president hunching over in his chair, looking out the window. ¡°How do you find the motivation?¡± he asked before turning his chair around to face Nero. ¡°I¡¯ve been president for a year now, but I¡¯ve failed to do what I¡¯ve been elected to do. The only bill that was passed is now the most controversial law in the country.¡± ¡°Did you call for me because you wanted my advice?¡± Nero asked. ¡°Well, do you have any?¡± Nero sighed. ¡°It¡¯s always easy to think you can do a better job than the man in charge, but most of the time you can¡¯t. To be honest, I never thought I would step foot on Roran, but now I know that the mud is just as disgusting as the mud on Leozan. There¡¯s nothing that I can tell you that will help except that you should try your best.¡± Wagner nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t know if my best is good enough. My best would be to get the reforms done with as much support as possible, so they work, but¡­¡± Wagner shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s not the right thing to do. I think that if I push hard enough I can get the right thing done. Sure, doing my best could pass twice as many bills as not doing my best, but I would rather be known as someone who failed to try to do the right thing than being really good at doing things that didn¡¯t help anyone.¡± ¡°If you were born a royal, you could do all those things in a snap,¡± Nero reminded. ¡°But doing the right thing in a monarchy would be to destroy the monarchy immediately. Wagner stood up and walked to Nero. ¡°A republican prince. What a thought. I suppose this is the last time we might see each other, so let¡¯s promise each other something. How about I promise I get all my reforms done, and you promise that you¡¯ll do what¡¯s right if you ever become king.¡± ¡°Yeah, sure. I can do that.¡± Nero said. ¡°Goodbye, Wagner.¡± ¡°Goodbye, Nero.¡± # It took a little under a month to get back to Writer¡¯s End. He took a boat up the river and disembarked at Brain¡¯s Beginning. He spent a night at the same inn from when he first came down to Godmouth. As he lay there in the middle of the night, sleepless, he couldn¡¯t help but think about what was only a long walk away from him. He knew that going there wouldn¡¯t help him, but he couldn¡¯t resist the urge. When he got to Lucius¡¯s cave, he couldn¡¯t help but stay there for a couple of hours. It felt wrong to leave after such a short amount of time. He let the last griffin die in his arms, and it only felt right to spend some time where the griffin wasted away his life. Maybe Lucius was looking down upon him and appreciated the care that Nero had for the old griffin, or the Cayoists were right, and the griffins weren¡¯t mythical beings. Maybe only Walik was looking down in pity and shamed Nero for his ignorance. He was soon on his way again, and when he got back to Raya¡¯s small house sandwiched between the larger complexes, he didn¡¯t know what to do. He stood in front of the house, still. How could he simply knock and say hello? After all, that¡¯s happened, would it be wrong to pretend everything was fine, that he hadn¡¯t seen the things he¡¯d seen?A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. However, Raya didn¡¯t let him make that decision as she saw him standing in front of the house and walked outside. ¡°What are you doing? Standing there like an idiot? Come in!¡± She said. It took a couple of days for Nero to explain everything that happened. Raya rarely interrupted when he explained what happened and didn¡¯t say anything when Nero described Lucius¡¯s death. The prince paused for many moments during his expositions and would ask for them to stop for the day. All the while, Nero visited those architectural firms that Raya wrote to him about. He applied to six of them, and they all asked him to draw up a model building that met specific requirements. Most of them were simple residential buildings, but the last one he went to asked him to map out a park. Nero, who twiddled his thumbs, shook his legs, and clenched his fist during the application process, didn¡¯t understand and asked them why they wanted him to map out a park, they responded that the city needed more parks, and that was the service that particular architecture firm was providing. After applying to all of the architecture firms, Nero felt that he would die if he had to do another. After all the interviews and delivering his submission for each firm, he had sweat dripping from his armpits, and his mouth felt extremely dry. Before any of the firms accepted or denied Nero¡¯s applications, or even before Nero properly settled back in, he paid a visit to the Greenwood Management Ministry¡¯s office in Writer¡¯s End. They oversaw the management, import, and export of greenwood lumber and extract, and Nero wanted to share his opinions on their performance. When he arrived for his meeting, he sat in an empty office in a bare-bones wooden chair with no padding. The office was on the edge of the town, and Nero could see the recently cut-down greenwood trees and the stump that remained. A man in his mid-30s walked in and took a seat at the desk in front of Nero. He was the man that Nero was meeting and was the vice-minister of the ministry. ¡°It¡¯s an honor to have your audience, Prince Nero. What can I do for you?¡± he asked as he sat down. ¡°I¡¯m sure you are aware,¡± Nero said, trying to sound as professional as possible. ¡°That the extract coming from these forests has led to the death of Titus and Lucius.¡± ¡°We express our condolences,¡± said the minister. Nero paused and took a deep breath before continuing. ¡°Please tell me what exactly you have done in response.¡± ¡°Well, we have launched an investigation on how to improve our vetting process, but besides that, we can¡¯t do much.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Nero demanded. ¡°You see, the people who killed Titus and Lucius converted the extract into poison outside the city. Everything that is handled by the ministry is accounted for. We have found no bad actors within our employment.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Nero asked. ¡°No bad actors in the entire ministry?¡± Nero was suspicious of the claim. ¡°Not that we found evidence of.¡± Nero hated the fakeness that oozed out of the vice-minister. He was trying to make it seem that he cared, but he didn¡¯t. Nero knew that if someone actually cared they would be furious about what happened under their watch and would demand that the criminal be found and put on trial, but that¡¯s what Nero, who was not in the vice-minister position, was saying. If he actually had the vice-minister¡¯s power, who knew what he would do? Nero realized it was a mistake coming here. ¡°So you are going to do nothing else?¡± Nero asked in disappointment. ¡°Unless you think that someone else is going to get poisoned, I think our security is the best it can be. I can assure you that no human will suffer the same fate as Titus or Lucius. The only way that it can be effective is if it is poured down someone¡¯s throat, and there are much better ways to kill a man than that. We would actually be providing a handicap in that case,¡± the vice-minister laughed. ¡°You can¡¯t poison a drink or food as they would dissolve in seconds, leaving only the poison behind, so what do you suggest?¡± Nero slowly nodded his head and clenched his jaw. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m sorry for wasting your time. I think I shouldn¡¯t waste any more.¡± ¡°That¡¯s no problem,¡± he said. There that fake kindness went again. Nero felt the urge to leap at the man and tear his skin apart. How could a man put on such a performance and be okay with himself afterward? ¡°Let me show you out.¡± Chapter 1.26 Florian After Romulus killed Noah, the trio of Florian, Smith, and Romulus were all called back to Gatherstorm. They arrived late in the afternoon, and they met up with the king in the throne room. He sat in his chair, patiently waiting for their arrival, and when they all walked up the stairs that led up to the Griffin Throne, the king asked where Noah¡¯s head was. Romulus held a box in his head the entire time, and when his father asked for proof, Romulus opened the box, kneeled, and presented it to the king. Maximus took one look at the head and when he saw the scar told them to put it on a spike and display it in front of the palace. But that would come later as the king told them; he had a very important announcement for all of them and asked them to kneel. When they did, Maximus walked up to the three of them, one by one, and promoted them. Florian watched as Romulus tried to keep still as his father said the words that he had been waiting for his entire life. Smith remained as still as a rock, and Florian didn¡¯t know what to do when the king came to him, so his eyes darted around the room, not knowing what to look at. The king told them to stand back up and asked if they had any requests. ¡°Yes,¡± responded Romulus. ¡°I would like to head south and help with the hunt down there.¡± ¡°Granted,¡± said the king, sitting back on the throne. ¡°Anyone else?¡± The king¡¯s eyes swayed from Romulus to Smith, and when he did not answer, the king ordered him to return to Gala¡¯s service in Wailing Wind. When the king¡¯s eyes swayed to Florian, he felt as if a clock was rapidly falling apart. He didn¡¯t think too hard about what he was going to do after so he said what instinctively came to him. ¡°Two things. First, I would like to be stationed at Alington. It is my home city, and I want to do what I can there.¡± ¡°Granted, Captain Kosta, and the second thing?¡± ¡°I would like to have General Smith stripped of his honors and locked up for the murder of a captain in the military.¡± Romulus and Smith turned their heads toward Florian. Romulus¡¯s eyes tried to warn him to stop before he dug his grave further, while Smith looked at him with pity. ¡°You realize what you are accusing the general of?¡± the king asked. ¡°Yes, I do,¡± responded Florian. ¡°I have no concrete proof, only a suspicious series of actions.¡± Florian continued to explain what had happened to him back in the military academy and said that the king had no reason to believe him, but he would also have no reason to believe that he would lie. ¡°I cannot grant you such a motion,¡± explained the king once Florian ended his plea. ¡°However, I do hope that time shall bring us the truth. Nonetheless, you shall be thousands of kilometers away from each other, so I see no reason to act on these accusations. Unless, of course, General Smith actually did commit them,¡± he said as he turned toward General Smith. ¡°I absolutely deny them,¡± calmly said, Smith. ¡°In that case, I dismiss all of you.¡± After the meeting, Romulus stopped Florian and demanded an explanation. ¡°You must be stupid to do that in front of my father! God, do you have any idea what type of shit you realize you got yourself into?¡± ¡°You told me that we would discuss this after we got Noah, and now it¡¯s done. If the king is going to promote someone to a generalship position, he should know what that person has done.¡± Romulus took a deep breath and looked around the hallway. ¡°What if he didn¡¯t take it well back there? What if he punished you because you dared accuse a general who helped kill a terrorist, why you were accusing him of murder and punished you for it?¡± ¡°Then, I would have done what I am about to do. Pack my bags to Alington and enjoy some time away from the action and handle the crumbs while you do the rest.¡± Florian turned around to get away from Romulus, but before he could get too far, Romulus called out to him. ¡°Kosta.¡±Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Yeah?¡± Florian said, turning back around. ¡°Do you think that you only deserve to handle the crumbs?¡± ¡°No one¡¯s stabbed anyone over crumbs.¡± ¡°Then why are you in the military?¡± There was a pause. ¡°To be honest, it was the only place where I could get a hot meal.¡± Florian nodded before turning back to get an early night¡¯s sleep. # It took a little under a month to get to Alington. He didn¡¯t take a carriage and didn¡¯t take many supplies. It was only Florian and his horse for most of the trip. He would stay in the smallest towns that he could find so he could get a cheap price, and when he wasn¡¯t close enough to a town, he would make camp on the rolling hills of the plains. Sometimes he would sit there and look at the horse. Maybe it was time to buy a horse. All of his life, he only rented horses as he didn¡¯t need them for extended periods of time, but now that it seemed that he might have a stable job where he could ride out into the plains east of Alington, he should share the experience with a horse. However, that decision would come later, and as Florian rode across the rolling hills, he admired the stillness. Spring was always a beautiful time of year as it wasn¡¯t too hot or cold, and their plains would spring flowers, and the bison would roam the grasslands looking for food. Sometimes, the bison saved Florian from panic as he followed them to the nearest water source and would fill up his water bottle and bath in a river or lake after the bison left. Alington seemed to be the same as it was during Florian¡¯s childhood. The further west you went, the worse it got. Florian was lucky that he grew up on the east side of the city, but when his family died of cholera, he was forced to move out of the city entirely and a couple of years later, would join the military. After reporting to the army camp and getting settled into his position, he found the residence he was given. It was a small apartment in the center of the city on the third floor of a damp, loud, and cramped complex. Florian never spent more than an hour inside that building during daylight hours as Florian¡¯s first couple of days were full of work and walks along the eastern edge of the city. There wasn¡¯t much action in Alington. Yes, a couple of reports of People¡¯s Lord action, but most of them were dead ends or red herrings. The days drew on sometimes, and though Florian wanted to shake off the thought, the memory of his family¡¯s burial site called to him. Florian didn¡¯t want to relive the memories, but it would be an insult not to go to their graves, even if there was no afterlife. So, a week after he arrived, he forced himself to a small graveyard on the northeastern side of the city. It was a bright and sunny day with children playing on the street and people going to work, but Florian silently stared at his parents, older brother, and aunt¡¯s graves. If they didn¡¯t die, Florian would most likely be in a university studying law, medicine, or any other field that would make them proud. Florian didn¡¯t tear up or cry. All of the tears that could flow were already gone, and all that remained was a man with nothing to lose or gain. Most of the time, anger filled the hole that sadness once occupied. Florian asked himself why a god would allow this. Why would he punish a family that did nothing wrong by giving them a disease they couldn¡¯t cure? But the longer he stood there. A scarier thought occupied his mind. The worst thing that could happen to his family and the rest of the world was that there was no god. That there was no heaven that Mydrazan or Cayo looked over, and when they died, there was nothing. No righteous path for one to live on, no bad people to punish in hell, and no justice for his family. This didn¡¯t change Florian''s opinion that there was no God, but he realized that he wanted there to be a God. His family did not sin, and though they died an undeserving death, they would have a spot in the heavens. More weeks passed, and when May became June, Florian was sitting on a bench on the western docks. There was a tip-off near the docks, but as usual, nothing came of it. He sat there breathing in the cold air as the sun began its fall below the horizon. Two men in armor walked up in front of Florian. They were covered in blood, and it seemed they had never emoted in their entire lives. One of the men through a letter onto Florian¡¯s lap. ¡°Are you guys okay?¡± Florian asked. ¡°Just read the letter,¡± responded one of the men. Florian obliged and broke the seal. It was a letter from Romulus. He reported that People¡¯s Lord forces stormed nine castles, successfully taking eight of them. All of the earls whose castles were taken were murdered on sight. Florian stared silently at the letter with his mouth hinged open. ¡°Alington was also attacked,¡± said one of the men. ¡°Fifteen castles were stormed, and it seems that eight of them have succeeded.¡± ¡°Why did you give me this letter, then?¡± asked Florian. ¡°If you already know everything, why didn¡¯t you just tell me?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a backside.¡± Florian turned the letter over and found a postscript from Romulus. When he read it, he simply covered his mouth and imagined what could become of Alington. Chapter 1.27 If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Chapter 1.28 Maximus July 5th, Year 501 of the 3rd Era. Maximus sat around an empty dining table waiting for his children. What was now being dubbed Lia¡¯s Southern Rebellion was now over, and eight dead earls needed to be replaced. This would have been a relatively simple affair if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Lia almost killed every royal that was in line for the earldoms. After the chaos of the rebellion died down, Gala and Romulus both suggested that they handpick the next royals in a closed-door conference to ensure loyalty to the crown. As he sat there, he wondered about the events that happened over the last couple of years. Royals and mythical beings were dropping like flies and this left Maximus thinking about his own line of succession. The heir was getting into life-or-death situations left and right, and though he performed well in war games, his real-life experience in the field was atrocious, but in the end, he always seemed to come out on top. Though, Maximus couldn¡¯t help but believe that his luck would run out soon. On the other hand, Gala had done almost everything right. Of course, she didn¡¯t help kill two high-ranking members of the People¡¯s Lord, but she also helped bail the treasury out by providing economic activity. Her people loved her, and her confidence in the crown only seemed to increase where she went. If she were only wasn¡¯t a bastard. Being a female wasn¡¯t the biggest of issues since queens have existed in the past, but since she was a bastard the line of succession bypassed her and went to Nero. Maximus sat thinking about Nero. He wouldn¡¯t worry about him if Nero was a normal human being, but, of course, Maximus¡¯s luck left with him a child that was nothing less than a savage. When Maximus heard the reports of Nero¡¯s involvement in the Griffin Republic, he could not help but laugh. Sure, Maximus had made mistakes during his reign, but he never outwardly showed it. Weakness wouldn¡¯t be tolerated, and the report of a prince helping pass laws in Congress or arbitering the peace talks was an insult to the crown. Was it his business that their continental rivals improved their countries? It was nothing less than treason, and if he wasn¡¯t needed as a backup for Romulus, Nero would be long executed for treason. However, Maximus couldn¡¯t help but improve his opinion of his son as the Nero that Maximus knew would never have the metal to do such things. The king even heard that Nero held Lucius in his arms when he died. Maximus¡¯s best guess was that Nero liked his new residence and did whatever he could to stick it to his father. As Maximus scoffed at the notion, Romulus entered, shortly followed by Gala. They greeted each other, and the two children both held lists in their hands. A map lay on the table showing the earldom map of the Kingdom of Qar. The three of them exchanged small talk before Maximus decided to move on. ¡°Please, we have eight earls to replace. Show me your proposals.¡± Romulus didn¡¯t hesitate and began to present his suggestions. First, he said which earldom he was proposing to discuss, followed by the candidate¡¯s relation to the now dead earl, and lastly, their name. The room was silent for a short time before Gala spoke up. ¡°I have a list of my own.¡± She read off her list, and none of her candidates matched up with Romulus and were significantly further removed from the previous earl. Most of Romulus¡¯s candidates were either fifth or sixth in line or as close as many of the earldoms had, but Gala was suggesting people that were eight, tenth, or even fifteenth in line for the earldom. Immediately, Romulus erupted and flew forward in his chair. ¡°We can¡¯t skip over so many people for no reason.¡± ¡°Oh, there is a reason. They would be better earls.¡± ¡°How? Some of these people are basically People¡¯s Lord members.¡± Romulus rebutted. ¡°Your candidates for Birdmouth and Edgetown have both publicly spoken out against the crown and all of these people are rumored to be against slavery.¡± Romulus turned to his father. ¡°Imagine eight earldoms suspending slavery all at once. All the other slaves would revolt.¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I can overrule the earls if that happens,¡± reminded Maximus. ¡°Then what? Do the slaves think they have support for their cause and stop working? No, we need strength at the moment.¡± ¡°As in burn and drown someone at the same time? That kind of strength?¡± asked Gala. Romulus snapped his attention toward Gala, and the two started an argument that gradually increased in volume until forced them to stop. ¡°Enough! I¡¯ve made up my mind.¡± The two children fell silent. ¡°Slavery is necessary for the operation in the kingdom and righteous for those Borzors, but Gala is right that there are significant drawbacks to slavery.¡± ¡°So, what are you proposing?¡± asked Romulus. Maximus stood and dragged his finger down the Wine River. ¡°Gala would choose the people you want west of the river. Romulus, you do the same in the east. Is that understood?¡± ¡°Three of the earldoms are east and west of the river,¡± pointed out Gala. ¡°Alright then, Romulus, you get Birdmouth and Norlisbia while Gala gets Baneland.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not fair, Gala gets five earldoms while I get three.¡± ¡°You get Birdmouth,¡± pointed out Gala. ¡°I am perfectly happy with this. Romulus?¡± Romulus sat there grumbly but agreed to the compromise. Maximus stood there waiting for Romulus to pull out another card and convince him to come up with another plan, but it seemed that Romulus was okay with the deal. Of course, he would have wanted more, but Gala and Maximus weren¡¯t easy people to convince, or at least that¡¯s what Maximus thought Romulus was thinking. The heir nodded his head before standing up to leave. # Later that day, Maximus was walking around one of the many gardens of the palace when Gala walked up next to him. ¡°So, Romulus is going back down south to hunt the rest of the People¡¯s Lord?¡± asked Gala. ¡°Yes,¡± responded Maximus. ¡°He and General Pluto should make light work of them. He even told me that he is recalling Kosta to his service. I guess he doesn¡¯t want to get lost in the mountains again without him. Speaking of Kosta, how is his adversary General Smith getting along.¡± ¡°You know, I have him doing the necessary things ever since Lia¡¯s rebellion. Though, he is understandably mad that he wasn¡¯t allowed to help kill Lia.¡± ¡°Even if he was there,¡± Maximus launched. ¡°Romulus would have made sure to kill Lia himself. If Smith ever dared touch Lia without his permission, Romulus would have burned him alive.¡± Gala winced at the thought before looking down in hesitation. It seemed that she was deeply uncomfortable with the thought. ¡°What, you want to keep your dog alive?¡± Maximus asked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, nobody touches my daughter¡¯s pets without my permission. If Romulus dared, I would kill Kosta in exchange.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the thing,¡± Gala said. ¡°It¡¯s not that I want Smith alive, though that would be nice, that if Romulus is capable and willing to ensure that nobody challenges him when he is a general, one can only imagine when he is king. You know, if the earls challenged him on a royal decree or an increase in taxes, is he going to chop off their heads?¡± ¡°Yes, there is that to worry about, but I¡¯m sure that cooler heads will prevail.¡± ¡°Like who?¡± The two of them stopped walking, and they looked at each other. ¡°Me? Nero? Kosta? If we aren¡¯t around him for a second, he is going to commit a massacre on a city¡¯s population.¡± Maximus scoffed, but Gala pressed on. The king tried to pretend that he had some faith in his son to keep the peace, but Gala saw right through it and asked him to be honest. ¡°Okay,¡± he said. ¡°He¡¯s not the best, but what am I going to do? Put Nero on the throne? I can¡¯t just do what you are doing and skip four people in the line of succession to pick someone I like.¡± Gala didn¡¯t respond and simply looked at her father. Maximus tried to say something, but before he could, Gala interrupted him. ¡°In your opinion? Who would be the best monarch?¡± Maximus thought about the question but more importantly, contemplated why Gala said monarch and not king. Maximus¡¯s heart sank at the notion. What would the earls say? What would Romulus do? Would it even be worth it? ¡°Are you aware of what you are suggesting?¡± Gala smiled and shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ll get started on putting my candidates on their thrones. In the meantime, as far as I am aware, Claudia¡¯s my mother.¡± No more words were spoken as Gala walked away and disappeared back into the palace, leaving Maximus alone. All the pieces were moving under him, and he was oblivious to it all. If he made a move for either side, he would either save the kingdom or doom it for hundreds of years. It seemed whispers of Gala and Romulus filled his head and couldn¡¯t bring himself to a decision. Chapter 1.29 Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Chapter 1.30 Florian From what Florian could tell, the first couple of days of September was the worst of Romulus''s life. The news of Dad''s illness and the declaration that Gala would be his heir a month before caused him to start marching north. The People''s Lord was secondary to the survival of the kingdom. Romulus immediately sent letters to every earl in the country publicly contesting the will after Maximus''s death. Florian was recalled to Romulus''s command shortly after Lia''s rebellion ended to help destroy the remnants of the People''s Lord, but days after he arrived was when the news arrived. Florian didn''t dare talk to his commander for many days as he was liable to swing that hammer of his around and smash anything delicate. This wasn''t helped by the fact that General Pluto took half of the 400,000 men under their dual command to defend Birdmouth from any forces wishing to install Romulus onto the throne. Romulus''s troop marched at least twelve hours a day. Dozens of men collapsed while marching and were left behind to rot. Florian had already gone through two horses by the time they reached the Dawn River north of Edgetown. Sometimes he wanted to beg Romulus to stop for the sake of the horses, men, and their overall sanity, but as he looked up the line and saw the hammer that he now had tied to his back, any hope of slowing disappeared from Florian''s mind. When they reached the river, Romulus finally approached Florian and ordered him to march to King Harbor to ensure that the earls in the north were determined when it came to their loyalty to him. Florian asked how they were so loyal that they declared their intention to fight for Romulus when most of the earls declared neutrality. "They think Gala will take their power away," Romulus answered. "And who told them that?" Florian asked. "The slaves." Florian also asked why Romulus was sending him to King Harbor and not going himself. If he truly wanted to secure their loyalty, wouldn''t it be best to go himself? "My dumbass of a cousin that is the earl of Staff Harbor, has declared neutrality in the struggle. Luckily for us, our forces surround him. I can make a deal for his loyalty." As the army boarded ships that would take them upriver, Romulus approached Florian once again and asked him a simple question. "What''s your title?" "Excuse me?" Florian asked. Romulus, who was understandably already ticked off by the situation they were in, cursed Florian and told him to answer the question. "Captain," Florian answered. "Why?" "Why?" Florian paused. "Because I answer to you¡­" Florian realized what Romulus was getting at. "You''re not a general anymore. You''re a king." "And who answers to kings in the military?" "Generals," Florian answered. He wanted to smile and thank Romulus for the promotion, but with Romulus''s anger at an unknown level, he decided to remain professional. "Thank you, your majesty." Romulus put his hands on Florian''s shoulder. "There''s a lot of people that want me dead and vice-versa. My own brother has betrayed me and the country in the name of his ''morals'', but you are still here. You''re a good man, Kosta." Romulus smiled as much as the situation allowed. "When all of this is over, I''ll have a crown on my head, and you can be an earl if you want." Florian didn''t know how to respond, and by the time he could think of a single word to say, Romulus was already out of earshot. # Florian didn''t have emotions for most of the day. He was too busy to feel as if the 100 and 50,000 men that Romulus gave him to command demanded his attention. It took months to reach King Harbor, but when they got there, around a tenth of his men had died, and the snows of winter dominated the air. He sent scouts ahead of their arrival, and a day before they reached King Harbor, he was informed that the city had fallen into a siege. Florian contemplated his options on how to proceed. The enemy did not know of their arrival as they snuck past cities and went off-road. Romulus wouldn''t expect anything less than exhaustion out of his men, and so Florian forced his troops to go as fast as they could, with men or horses collapsing and becoming food for vultures. His men virtually had no winter clothing as they were only originally stationed in the grasslands where snow never dared touch the equator. The few pieces of winter clothing they were given were meant for mountain action, which supported many fewer men, so they needed to move fast if they wanted any chance of success. Two goals needed to be accomplished. One, relieve King Harbor from the siege; and two, get supplies for his army. So, the next morning, Florian gathered his men, comprised of a mix of infantry and cavalry, to head north from the road that linked Gatherstorm and King Harbor. No regiments were to be tied down in any fighting on the way up to the city. The scouts reported 500,000 men outside the city walls, with about 100,000 of those men operating the thousands of cannons that leveled hundreds of homes, stores, and lives in the city. That left 300,000 men who could respond to an attack in a short amount of time. Outnumbered, Florian believed that the speed of his cavalry would be able to shock the enemy army into submission. Florian tried to stay in the middle of the army, trying to command his troops while ensuring that they weren''t outflanked, but after hours of fighting in the bitter cold where one couldn''t see fifty meters in front of them, all of the orders fell apart. Horns, whistles, and any other instrument that the soldiers could get their hands on rung through the air as regiments continually tried to reorganize. Eventually, the enemy''s artillery was organized, and Florian''s soldiers were liable to cannonballs whistling through the air out of sight and smashing their heads in before they could see it. Florian stayed on his horse as messengers from all over the battlefield reported what was happening. It was a monumental task trying to get a picture of the geography, but the more reports that came in, the easier it became. It seemed that in the blindness of the snow, the two armies were compacted into a narrow space of only a couple of kilometers wide. Every once and a while, Florian watched as the enemy cannons hit their own men, and that left Florian with an idea. He observed as he tried to gauge the rough area where the cannonballs were landing and adjusted his line accordingly. Soon enough, more of the enemy''s men were killed than Florian''s as the cannons blindly fired into the white emptiness of where the battle was taking place. More time passed, and there was no clear idea of who was winning the battle. On his right, his men broke through the enemy lines, while on his left, the enemy infantry killed Florian''s horses in the dozens.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Florian couldn''t survive a war of attrition and knew that he couldn''t hold out much longer. The snow was building up and wrapped around ankles, tying down tripping, and confusing soldiers. He needed to do something fast or else his army faced annihilation. There was no sense of direction except for when the sun peaked through the clouds showing east and west, but that only guided the men as long as they knew the time, which also quickly fell from them. Florian threw off his helmet to see better and noticed that most of the men had already done that. In the academy, Florian learned a couple of ways that a smaller force could beat a larger force. He had already tried speed, and separating the enemy was out of the question at this point, so that only left one option: concentration. Florian needed to gather up his forces and concentrate them in one location, but in the blinding snow, there was only one location that the army could gather around: the walls of King Harbor. Doing so would force his men closer to the enemy artillery, but in the frenzy of battle, options are a luxury. With a lump in his stomach and with the only certainty being uncertainty, he grabbed a horn from his saddle and ordered his men to advance to the walls. He and Florian''s guard slowly galloped through the narrow gaps between the lines of men smashing their spears and shields against each other. Florian''s men cheered and followed, not knowing what else to do, as they marched toward the city walls. Soon, the origin of the cannon fire was visible, and the cannoneers, seeing the approaching calvary, tilted their barrels down and stuffed cannonballs into the artillery. Due to the cold, the only way to light the fuse was to have a large firepit next to the cannon, so the flame didn''t die out quickly. Florian watched as the enemy forces stretched their arms out to light the fuse before stuffing it onto the top of the cannon so it could fire. A couple of cannons fired before Florian came to his senses and ordered his men to charge. He had no idea how many men he was ordering but could only hope that it was enough to change the outcome of the battle. Florian whipped out his longsword and charged alongside his men. He slashed a couple of men before the enemy abandoned their first cannon. He and his guard moved from artillery squad to artillery squad as their numbers dwindled and the surprise of calvary reaching the artillery line forced the enemy into a frenzy. Every once and a while, Florian blew into his horn to get more of his men concentrated. About twenty more minutes passed and Florian could feel the frostbite developing on his fingers. Even the thickest of gloves couldn''t protect against the cold forever, and he even started to develop cuts around his legs as the enemy soldiers got a couple of lucky ones against him. But it wasn''t until Florian heard marching from the north that he worried the worst. The fear of enemy reserves arriving forced him into a tired state, and he paused as the marching grew louder. The artillery line was only about 100 meters away from the edge of the city, and snowfall cleared up, to a point where he could see the burned, smashed, and uninhabitable houses staring back at him in despair. As Florian gazed at the battered city, an enemy soldier sliced two of his horse''s legs off, and Florian fell to the ground. His guard quickly disposed of the enemy, but Florian lay in the snow, dazed as the marching grew louder. The heartbeat of an approaching army forced Florian back up to his feet as he saw his horse wince in pain. He didn''t want to contemplate it up to his point, but now that his horse was injured, he needed to put it out of his misery. Florian thought about naming the horse before he died. At least giving the animal some dignity before death, but his mind was too cluttered, and he forced his sword into the horse''s throat as it gave out a horrific squeal. A member of Florian''s guard offered his horse and nearly stepped down from it, but before Florian could accept the offer, he saw a man on the force about twenty meters away. The man also removed his helmet to see better, and this allowed Florian to recognize the man. He held two swords in his hands and cut down every man who dared approach him and his horse. Florian quickly refused the offer before grabbing the horn off of his dead horse and blowing into it. He dragged through the snow, tightly gripped his sword in his right hand, and yelled at the dual-wielding man. "Smith!" he shouted. "General George Smith!" It was him, no doubt, and now that Romulus and the death of Maximus denied any peaceful resolution for the two''s history, trial by combat remained the only option. After shouting his name about a dozen times, Florian''s mouth became as dry as a rock on a summer evening. He blew the horn one last time before Smith looked over and recognized who it was. He cut down a few more men before riding over and disembarking from his horse. Florian''s guard stood firmly behind him, waiting for the general to attack. Florian forced his body up from a slouch to face the man who forced him into the mountainside. "It''s about time," Florian said. Smith stood there with his two swords casually pointed toward the ground as he looked at Florian''s guard. "I see you''ve made it a fair fight." Though Florian could barely see it, he knew that the smirk on Smith''s face was only a fraction of the joy he felt seeing the opportunity to end the man''s life who threatened his career. The two generals slowly circled each other, but before one could contemplate swinging their swords, Florian ordered his guard to charge at Smith. The general snapped his head toward the men on horseback and stood his ground as half a dozen men charged. Florian also approached Smith, but before he could get into range, Smith already cut down three of the guards. Florian backed up in shock, and the memories of what happened back at the farm came roaring back. He was a fool for challenging Smith in a duel, and now he almost had no backup. Florian tried to catch Smith by surprise and swung his sword at him, but it was quickly deflected. He fell onto the snow as Smith cut down the rest of the guard and turned his attention back to Florian. "A brave gambit, I will give you that," Smith said. "But it was nonetheless foolish." Florian tried to bring up his sword, but Smith knocked it out of his hand, and it flew out of reach. Smith didn''t even allow Florian the luxury of last words as he slightly pulled his sword up to swing down at Florian. He braced for one of two options. Death or survival. As the sword plunged down to Florian''s heart, he launched himself forward and smashed his foot into Smith''s groin. Though he most likely had a cup guard, Florian kicked it a little to the side so Smith''s aim was messed up. It worked, and the sword stabbed straight passed his face and into the ground. Smith swung the sword in his left hand to counteract it, but Florian twisted his body, so it sliced the back of his breastplate rather than his neck. Now with Smith dazed and confused, Florian smashed his head into the broad side of the longsword planted in the ground to release it from Smith''s hand and stood up. Normally, the thought of smashing one''s head into the broadside of a sword would be ridiculous because of the amount of pain it would cause, but Florian was currently moving too fast to consider such trivial concerns. Smith tried to hit him while he got up but narrowly missed as he booked it for the city. Sure, it was deserting the battlefield, but what else was he going to do? Die? He picked up his sword that Smith knocked away earlier and ran as fast as he could toward the city. Smith pursued of course, but he was decades older than Florian and the distance between the two increased. As he ran toward the city, the sound of the marching suddenly came back, and Florian hoped for the best as he ran toward the sound. The sound became a sight as he saw men marching through the streets where there was much less snow, and the sound of their boots echoed through the streets and alleyways. However, what caught Florian''s attention was the banner. A blue, green, and yellow background with red swords overlayed on it. It was Earl Marcus''s men, and they had come out of the city walls to assist their reinforcements. Florian breathed a sigh of relief as he was far enough away from Smith that he could turn around and see Smith''s reaction to the banners of the city. Smith stopped chasing Florian as he stared at the banner with a blank expression. Florian cracked a smile at Smith''s neutral face. He must have been so shocked that he didn''t know what else to do. Smith stepped backward as arrows began to fly from the city and therefore, wouldn''t have enough time to duel Florian again. The young general watched Smith run back to his horse and blow a whistle. The joy of Smith retreating quickly disappeared as exhaustion wore on him, and he fell onto the ground. The battle was now out of his hands and therefore, the fate of King Harbor. Chapter 1.31 Gala Gala felt conflicted. They had lost the battle of King Harbor, but Romulus¡¯s collapse in Birdmouth reignited her hope that the war would be won. She believed this not because Romulus lost the battle, though, that didn¡¯t hurt, but because all of the western earls declared their support for Gala as the result of the battle. Altogether, 150,000 troops were pledged to Gala, and though they would be mostly made up of men who never held a spear before, she didn¡¯t exactly complain about it. In the meantime, while her army waited for the reinforcements and waited out the winter, there were several matters to attend to. Though Gala was the reformist in the war, Nero advised not to do anything too harsh until they had beaten back Romulus, so when the eastern earls were defeated, Gala could appoint reformist earls to support her in case the western ones put up a fight. To Gala, the war was on the brink of victory. Romulus had barely escaped the battle with around 30,000 men, and though Romulus inflicted around the same number of casualties, the war seemed to become more of a manhunt for Romulus rather than a war of thousands. What was a more immediate concern was the treasury. It turned out that war is terrible for the economy, and Gala didn¡¯t even have an opportunity to do anything before the treasury started to default on its debts. Luckily, due to the kingdom''s internal focus, a decent portion of the debt was owed to other earls and not foreign countries, or more specifically, the earls in Seneca¡¯s peninsula who were in open rebellion. Even with that, Gala needed money fast as she instructed the treasury to take out more loans to pay for the older ones. She still had some time to deal with it, but if the civil war didn¡¯t end fast, Gala could be at the point where declaring bankruptcy might become the only option. Nero spent most of his time planning how to deal with the earls once the war was over, and the impression Gala got from Nero was that it was a lot harder to pass reforms than what Gala thought. Unlike the Griffin Republic, the power structure wasn¡¯t as clear-cut. You couldn¡¯t lobby for votes or convince voters but rather worry about the psychology of the most powerful men in the country. About a month later, Gala was sitting in what was her father¡¯s chambers when a knock came at her door. It was a messenger in beaten armor with his helmet in his hands. ¡°They¡¯re burning the crops. They¡¯ve decided to bypass the cities and go after the food stores.¡± Gala launched out of her chair and thanked the messenger. She made her way down to the general staff¡¯s headquarters where Smith was ordering the other generals around, demanding that something be done. Gala asked the specifics, and Smith¡¯s response seemed eerily close to his demeanor after he retreated from King Harbor. She stood next to him as he hunched over a map. ¡°The bastards are squeezing between Gatherstorm and Birdmouth and finding any food stores along the way and destroying them.¡± ¡°Can we survive without them?¡± Gala asked. ¡°Yes, but that¡¯s not it. Scouts from Birdmouth reported that Romulus¡¯s forces are doing what is called a shadow siege. The only food supply for Birdmouth is from the farms directly around it, which they already burned, and upriver. Birdmouth can¡¯t supply using the Wine River since Romulus has controlled everything up from Birdmouth since the start of the war, and now they have sent troops to destroy any transport heading north up the Golden River.¡± ¡°How many months can Birdmouth hold out?¡± ¡°Three months.¡± Smith¡¯s knuckles pressed into the table. ¡°Three months, and then we have to consider abandoning Gatherstorm.¡± Gala looked at Smith with shock. ¡°Abandon Gatherstorm? Are you insane? If we give up the capital, we are basically giving up. We were supposed to be on the brink of victory. We have four times the number of men down there. Why can¡¯t we send the troops after them.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°If we send all of our troops, we abandon the city, and they can walk in. They have fewer men, so they can hold out in a long siege. If we said just enough to beat them, Romulus is most likely not going to bunch up his troops in one place. He is trying to disrupt our supply lines, and he doesn¡¯t need all 30,000 of his men to do so.¡± ¡°So, you are saying there is no way to beat them?¡± ¡°Negative. It seems that we need to lull them north somehow, but they seem determined to take Birdmouth. If they take Birdmouth, nothing is stopping them from heading due west to Alington.¡± ¡°They have the supplies for that?¡± Gala asked. ¡°Maybe by pillaging cities on the way, but the important thing is what will the western earls think when they see an army marching on their city? Do you think people who didn¡¯t declare their loyalty to you until you seemed on the brink of victory will die for you on the battlefield?¡± Smith asked. ¡°What do say we do then?¡± ¡°Kosta is commanding an army a little further south of the city.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why everyone is panicking,¡± Gala added. ¡°If we take our army in Gatherstorm and find Kosta, we can beat him in a battle. We have more than twice his men and can destroy him in a fair fight. The only problem is that he can move faster than us. We have to catch him. Somehow. # Gala approved the plan, and Smith took the Gatherstorm army south. In the weeks that followed, Gala felt like whispers dominated her head. People tell her what to do, what to think, and who to trust. Night after night, letters would come from Smith that Kosta was still running circles around him. It was encouraging that running was Kosta¡¯s only strategy, but it grew ever more concerning when Smith couldn¡¯t catch up to him, night after night. Gala trusted Smith. He had been a loyal dog ever since she met him. Though they disagreed on some things, Gala understood Smith¡¯s perspective, but now Gala felt the general grew more erratic. In his letters, Smith seemed to become more emotional in the chase for Kosta as he cursed the young general in his tactics to not necessarily win but survive. Eventually, a month after that messenger with the tattered armor told her of the burning crops, Birdmouth fell. Gala hovered over the letter from General Pluto in shock as the general told of the greatest mistake he made in his life. Apparently, in the days between Romulus¡¯s defeat at Birdmouth and his harassment of the supply lines, Pluto let the residents of the city reenter. He quickly kicked them out again after Romulus attacked the supply lines, but in that short time, a month¡¯s supplies were used up. As the weeks drew on, with Smith not catching up with Kosta, the troops and the city¡¯s civilians who now camped outside the city grew restless. They were frustrated with the lack of aid and food. After two battles and a month of their supplies being cut off, the soldiers mutinied and forced General Pluto to raise the white flag. He was now only writing this as a courtesy as his own troops held him captive, awaiting Romulus¡¯s arrival. He was to be executed the same day Romulus arrived, and the soldiers were going to join ranks with Romulus in the hopes that Romulus¡¯s small army had reserves of food. Gala sat silent as she remembered the letters that General Pluto sent requesting aid, only to be met with Gala informing them that Smith would aid them as soon as he dealt with Kosta. How ignorant she was of the situation. What was depression turned into rage as Gala couldn¡¯t understand why the soldiers defected. Couldn¡¯t they realize that Romulus would lead them down the same dreaded path that every other monarch had? Of course, they didn¡¯t because she couldn¡¯t tell the world her true intentions. If she did, she wouldn¡¯t be here in the first place. She needed to clear her mind, so she took a wall around the palace, but the longer she walked, the more she heard whispers from the servants talking about the People¡¯s Lord. Eventually, she got worried that something about the People¡¯s Lord didn¡¯t reach her and asked one of the servants what was going on. ¡°Sorry, but did something happen with the People¡¯s Lord? I¡¯ve heard nothing from the generals.¡± The two servants she asked glanced at each other before one of them answered. ¡°Is it true? That you are the liberator?¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± Gala asked. She hoped they weren¡¯t asking what she thought they were asking. ¡°Are you the People¡¯s Lord?¡± Gala didn¡¯t respond as stared at them blankly. The servants asked again, and Gala immediately denied it before excusing herself. She suddenly felt hot all over her body, she cracked every bone in her body to distract herself and became desperately thirsty, but when she came to her senses, she brainstormed who could have started such an accusation, and only one name came to mind. Benito Diaz. Chapter 1.32 A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Chapter 1.33 Romulus If there was one thing that Romulus learned over the last couple of years is that Florian Kosta is a genius and meeting him in Honobor was the best thing to happen to him. From helping him escape the mountains, being a loyal soldier, saving his life when they first met Noah, and now his idea of attacking the enemy''s supply lines working better than Romulus could ever have hoped for. For God''s sake, while Kosta was running around the countryside, toying with Smith, Birdmouth surrendered without a fight as they ran out of food, and he proudly entered the city with his 30,000 troops behind him. The gate laid wide open with General Pluto on his knees in front of it held at spearpoint. Romulus smiled as he returned to the city that General Pluto forced him to retreat like a rat from only to return to take his head. Romulus stepped off his horse at the city''s moat and handed the lead to one of the captains. The wind blew in Romulus''s face as the joy of not needing to wear a helmet felt righteous. He was king after all, and kings shouldn''t wear helmets to protect themselves. That''s what their armies are for. General Pluto''s face seemed like it hadn''t been washed in days, he avoided eye contact with Romulus. What seemed to be the leader of the mutiny ¡ªwho looked like a captain¡ªgreeted Romulus. "It''s a pleasure, Your Majesty," said the captain as he and every other soldier around him kneeled. "Likewise," Romulus said as he turned his attention toward General Pluto. "How are you doing? Your men treating you well?" Romulus laughed. "Can you not be condescending for one second?" General Pluto asked. Romulus told the kneeling soldiers to get back up before continuing. "Well, when you are forced to march up and down a river, dodging patrols, I think one earns the right to be a little condescending." No one spoke for a little. "What''s going to happen now? Burn me alive while you drown me?" "God, no," Romulus assured. "Though, you are a traitor, not very likable personality, or any use for me now, you are a decent general. That move you pulled on me during the battle had me pretty pissed off for a couple of days." "You should thank Kosta for the tip," General Pluto smirked. "He left General Smith in quite an interesting mood after King Harbor. In the days after the battle, he told every general about what happened, and if he could tell them personally, he sent a letter." General Pluto shook his head. "For a man I''ve heard is nothing but stoic and calm, his plain language in the letters seems to perfectly describe what he is feeling inside." "Yes, I know all about it," Romulus responded. "Back to the matter at hand, I believe you fought bravely. You helped kill Lia, and more importantly, did your best. You shall earn a soldier''s death." Pluto remained silent as one of the captains brought out a headblock and a basket. As his head lay there and Romulus pulled out his sword, he made one more request. "If it wouldn''t be any trouble, I would like you to make it official." Romulus nodded. "By order of the king, you have been found guilty of treason. This is a summary judgment and since it was made by the king, and not a trial, it is subject to the whim and only the whim of the present and future monarchs. The king sentences you to death by decapitation. Any last words?" General Pluto closed his eyes and relaxed his head onto the block. "For the sake of reunification, end this war fast." # Of course, the offer would be too good to turn up for any logical man, but this war wasn''t one of logic. When Benito showed up in the days leading up to Birdmouth surrendering, he didn''t know how he found him. The man approached Romulus like something was stuck up his ass, and he had ego years of ego to make up for. The men even exchanged some banter about how they almost killed Romulus back in Honobor. The meeting¡ªwhich took place in the middle of a field on a scolding day with a herd of bison not far off¡ª became tenser as Romulus became suspects about if Benito came alone, and Romulus''s men slowly approached what they deemed to be the devils across the mountains. Though, when the offer did come, Romulus pretended to contemplate it before answering. "Do you really think that I would believe I have control in this situation?" "Why, yes of course," Benito answered. "We are aiming to end this war fast so we can establish a healthy relationship with the next government." "But only if I accept that other offer of yours, yes?" "It would be a start." Romulus gave a fake smile and said one last thing before forcing Benito to leave. "Tell your diarchs that once I win this war, I won''t need a rumor to get their people to embrace me as their liberator." # Romulus never met up with Kosta when he marched north as Kosta sent a letter to Romulus suggesting that he head straight to Wailing Wind to cut off Gatherstorm from the west while he kept Smith busy. It was amazing that Kosta kept running around with Smith never stopping him. Kosta wrote that a couple of times he lost 100 men, but that was about it. Judging based on his letters, Kosta seemed to be doing okay mentally, but even the strongest of military commanders could only retreat for so long. Most generals would have wanted to take the initiative back to Smith by this point, but Kosta stayed true and ran around like the world''s largest rat. Following Kosta''s suggestion, Romulus rolled into Wailing Wind without a fight. There were soldiers but didn''t raise a shoulder at the sight of 130,000 men rolling into the city. Romulus rode into the city''s castle and looked down upon the shocked locals as they saw Romulus riding through the streets. Some of the citizens through insults or rocks, but Romulus''s soldiers made short work of them soon enough. The city would have plenty of time to get used to its new leadership. At the end of his tour of the city, he found the young earl standing in front of the castle gates hesitantly waiting to find out who this man on an armored horse was. Romulus ordered that his troops find every man around the city willing to fight for him while he handled things in the castle, and what he meant by handling things was to take the young earl on a walk around. The young earl saw it a thousand times and asked why this strange man who claimed to be the king was walking him around. "I just want to ask you some questions," he said. "You got any siblings?"The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "Well, I have a younger sister, but she died. The maids said that she died of an infection." "Anyone else?" Romulus asked. Romulus tried to do what he did with Nero when he was younger and showed him all the tricks, like playing hide and seek, tag, and the other games people play with young children, and it reminded him of the younger times he had with Nero. The times he had breaks from the military academy he would drag Nero out of his big library that he was ever so fond of and go around the palace since going into the city was too dangerous. They even got Gala in on some of the action. After about an hour, Romulus sat in his hiding spot as the young earl looked for him, and he couldn''t help but laugh. If he only knew what was going to happen later in life. All the conflict, near-death situations, and even two siblings betraying the natural order of things. When the young earl found Romulus hidden inside a closet, his face was blank in reflection. Only if he wasn''t meant to be king, could he have had a happier life. The continent wasn''t going to reunify itself, and when his hiding place was found, Romulus decided that playtime was over. He got out of the closet and sat the young earl down in the nearest chair. "You need to make sure you live," he told the young earl. "If you fall, I can''t count on anyone to run this earldom. Can you promise me that?" The young earl emphatically nodded and thanked Romulus for giving him control of the earldom. "Oh no, you got it all wrong," said Romulus, pretending to be nice. "You were in charge the whole time. Gala lied to you. Everyone lied to you, but I am now telling you the truth. You are in charge. Remember that and remember who told you this." He considered killing the young earl and appointing a yes man to the earldom, but if the kid died, he would be able to do that anyway, so he decided to let the kid be. Maybe he had a chance not to end up like Romulus. # A couple of days later, a surprise came at the western gates of Wailing Wind. According to scouts, an army of 150,000 men was only about twenty kilometers from the city. They were the reinforcements provided by the Western earls to help Gala in the war and were presumably heading to Gatherstorm before learning about Wailing Wind''s fall. Now, scouts reported that hastily made siege equipment dotted the marching columns, and most of the troops seemed to be poorly equipped. Romulus considered his options. He could settle in for a siege and wear down the enemy. It would be the most obvious option, the safest, but it would destroy the city and not do any favors for Kosta or the drive on Gatherstorm. The second option was to meet them in the field and destroy them. It would cost more men, but the potential of destroying an army of 150,000 poorly equipped soldiers with 130,000 most of which were battle-hardened was too good to pass up. Romulus immediately left the castle and rode around the city, gathering his troops to head west. No matter if they sat in an army camp, were getting blackout drunk or leisured around the city, Romulus and his captains rounded them up and got them on their way. It was twilight when Romulus first made eye contact with the enemy. His infantry was lined up in a simple line in front of the city, while his archers and cannoneers sat in the back, and calvary sat on the flanks. It was the most basic and intuitive of battle formations, but against what seemed to be rookie soldiers, it would do fine for now. Romulus waited for the enemy to do the obvious thing and engage immediately, but it seemed that the army had some sort of an idea of what they were doing and decided to camp for the night and fight in the morning. Romulus chuckled at the sight of them pitching up tents and lighting up torches. Romulus also instructed some of his men to do the same, but this was only to deceive the enemy into a false sense of security and convince them that Romulus also resigned himself to a fight at dawn. However, what the enemy didn''t realize was that Romulus kept his army at attention and in their formation. He had a plan to destroy this weak army, but first, he rode up and down the line talking to his men. "Men!" he exclaimed. "I speak to you tonight not as your king but as your comrade. These ''men'' only a couple of kilometers think that this shall be a gentlemen''s war, but I think we know better than them. We have run around the fields of the south, banged our heads against the wall at Birdmouth, and retreated like rats into the night. But no more! We shall show them what we went through, but unlike the brave men that I march with, they shall perish!" Romulus pulled out his sword and lifted it in the air. "I hold what shall be your best friend for the rest of your life. It may be a sword, a spear, or a cannon, but it is the same, nonetheless. Cherish it! Cherish it with your life, but friendships do not form out of thin air but from shared experiences, and you know what that experience is? It shall be killing the fucking traitors in front of you! The soldiers gave out a mixture of laughs and cheers. "Remember, if you aim to kill five men, you shall kill three; but if you aim to kill fifty, you shall kill thirty!" Another cheer came out, this time quieter with Romulus noticing that some of the men were getting bored of the speech, so he gathered up his calvary and told them to follow him. They would flank from the north while the infantry would come from the south. A couple of thousand men would stay to maintain the impression that they were setting up camp, and the cannons or archers would not fire unless in the unlikely event that Romulus retreated. It took about an hour for the cavalry to sneak into the dark to their position. There stood 20,000 men on horses waiting behind a small hill just out of sight of the enemy. Romulus watched as the enemy soldiers got drunk and toppled over campfires. If there was a time to attack, it would be now, and Romulus reached into his saddle, paused to look back at his men, and blew into the horn. The faces of the enemy soldiers dropped. They could not see it, but they all knew what that horn meant as it was probably the only training they received ahead of their deployment. They watched as Romulus and the endless sea of horses flew through the camp and ruined their merry party before what was supposed to be a morning battle. Men cried as they tried to grab their gear, but Romulus and his men cut them down. Some of the riders dismounted their horses to grab a torch and burn the tents to the ground. Romulus looked around for the general''s tent, but once he found it, it was already burning. The ground soon became mud as thousands of hooves and feet pummeled the ground and any poor person trampled in the action. After Romulus saw the infantry arrive from the south side of the camp, Romulus excused himself from direct combat in an attempt to organize his troops and minimize losses. Though Romulus soon found that he didn''t need to command as by the time he could find a group of enemy soldiers to concentrate on, they were already dead. When the sun began to rise, the battle was over, and Romulus started to take a tally of the men. They captured 20,000 men, almost all of which switched to their side while the rest were dead. On the other hand, Romulus''s army only lost 10,000. In the days after the battle, Romulus was observed reorganizing his army. Along with cleaning up the battle and their dead comrades, Romulus was also trying to plan a way to take Gatherstorm and destroy Gala''s armies, all the while not damaging the city too much. He fell deeper into trying to find a solution with his captains. Dozens of maps were destroyed in the process as the number of pen marks and circling made most of them beyond recognition. When eight letters came addressed to Romulus, he told the messenger to put them on the side while he continued to try and find a way to destroy the capital, but the messenger insisted saying they had royal seals on them. Romulus sighed, took the letters, and dismissed the messenger. He flipped through the envelopes before coming back to the top one. The messenger wasn''t lying; all of them were from earls. He ripped open the first letter and found surrender terms. Romulus remained silent as he read it. "As the earl of Salta, I must take care of my citizens, and I have reached a situation where I must place my pride aside. I have sent many of my loyal soldiers to aid Gala for them to only die. I wish for this not to continue. I would be willing to recognize Romulus as the one true king of the Kingdom of Qar in exchange for sparing my earldom from destruction." Romulus''s eyes widened, and he smiled with his mouth slightly open as he tore open the other letters to find the same message. Eight earls, all of which were located in the northwest of the kingdom, offered to pledge their loyalty as long as they remained on the throne of their earldom. The captains asked what it was, and Romulus turned to face them. "It seems I don''t need to replace eight earls for the moment." "Which means?" one of the captains asked. "We''re going to win the war." Chapter 1.34 Gala After considering all the options, only one course of action was agreed upon. 50,000 men would stay in Gatherstorm while General Smith would park his army outside of the city, waiting for Romulus and Kosta to take the bait and the end war. After the surrender of nearly all the remaining earls loyal to Gala, Gatherstorm was cut off from all sources of food. Their army wasn¡¯t going to last for long, and not able or willing to endure a siege of the capital, General Smith and Gala decided that they had one opportunity to win this war. Days passed, and nothing happened. Neither Kosta nor Romulus engaged with General Smith, and according to the general, hadn¡¯t even been seen in the areas around Gatherstorm. Now, in the middle of the day, Gala sat with Nero in the throne room. Neither of them sat on the thrones but rather sat in the gallery seats. The thrones didn¡¯t lend themselves well to conversations. ¡°You know,¡± Gala said as he took the Griffin Crown off her head. ¡°I wonder how long it took Dad to absorb it,¡± Nero asked her to clarify. ¡°To sit on the throne, and it snaps into your head that you are the monarch. You are the leader, and you don¡¯t have to answer to anybody.¡± ¡°Well, has that happened to you yet?¡± asked Nero. He was hunched over and seemed like he wanted to puke. He was like this yesterday too, and Gala asked if he was okay. Nero nodded, only saying it was from the anxiety of waiting for Romulus to make a move. ¡°Have you realized that you have to answer to anybody?¡± ¡°Oh, I do. I have to answer to the people. Technically, not now, but when I change everything.¡± No one spoke for a little until Gala asked the same question but about Nero¡¯s exile. ¡°You mean when I realized that I could potentially not return home for years?¡± Nero asked. ¡°When Lucius handed me a jar of greenwood poison. That¡¯s when I realized that life wasn¡¯t going to go as smoothly as I thought.¡± Nero opened his mouth, but no words came out. It seemed like he wanted to say something but decided against it at the last moment. However, Gala forced Nero to speak his mind. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid,¡± she said. I¡¯m not going to drag you into a river or anything.¡± It convinced Nero, and she turned to look Gala in the eyes. ¡°Please be honest with me. Do you really think that this is going to last much longer? We¡¯re surrounded,¡± Nero pleaded. ¡°We have more men, but our soldiers will starve if we don¡¯t destroy their army soon. We have 500,000 men in a city with millions of people and expect them to feed themselves on last year''s harvest for who knows how long.¡± Gala reassured her brother. ¡°I trust good things eventually come, and after a monarchy existing in every Era of history, nothing like this has been attempted. We will free the people.¡± Nero nodded, and the two fell silent again. Though Gala wanted her statement to be true, she couldn¡¯t help but think that there was a real opportunity and that it would all be for nothing. Earl Regent of Wailing Wind, the People¡¯s Lord, Lia¡¯s rebellion and following appointments of new earls, the death of two griffins, and now a civil war that seemed to reach its culmination. She had shown all her cards, but now all she could be waiting for. Nero started to give out a soft chuckle. ¡°What?¡± Gala asked. ¡°I was just thinking. Remember that guy in Staff Harbor who put a knife to my throat?¡± Nero slowly nodded and clenched his jaw. ¡°It could have ended for the both of us right there. Thousands of lives would have been spared, Dad could have caved under the pressure, or the faith in the royal family could have collapsed, and the People¡¯s Lord would have taken over. It of course wouldn¡¯t be how it should have gone, but it sure is better than what is happening now.¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°You can¡¯t predict the future,¡± Gala said. ¡°The only way to do it is the right way. Dad named me his heir, and I am following the law, even though I want to abolish many of their laws. Who knows what would have happened if the People¡¯s Lord took over? Maybe a deadlier civil war could have occurred from rebellious earls.¡± ¡°But out of all the scenarios, I¡¯m happy you chose the ones where you had a good enough relationship with your father to make him not marry you off to the first prince he saw.¡± ¡°A prince would never accept a bastard,¡± Gala responded. ¡°Or former bastard.¡± Once again, the two fell silent. Enjoying the quietness that had been empty from their lives for many years. Every day seemed to bring a new challenge and an urge to solve it. That¡¯s what happened in all of those books that were stashed in Nero¡¯s library. The good guys always came out on top, and even at their lowest moments, held out hope that their vision of the world would come out on top. However, all of the hopes and dreams of democracy fell apart when they heard the sound of a sledgehammer dragging across the floor. Gala shot up as scraping echoed through the palace halls. Nero fell frozen and stared at the ground. Gala looked back at Nero and sighed as she put on the Griffin Crown. Whoever it was, they certainly weren''t looking for a peaceful day. The sound got louder and louder until the outlines of Romulus, Kosta, and Smith appeared before the doors of the throne room. Nero stood and faced the three men, and for a while, they simply looked at each other. Romulus¡¯s hammer rested on the floor as Gala walked backward toward the throne before Nero began to follow her. Though before Nero could leave the gallery, Romulus picked up the sledgehammer and pointed it at Nero. He smiled and said: ¡°God no, not right now. I¡¯ll deal with you later.¡± The three men slowly approached Gala and stopped before the stairs that led up to the thrones. ¡°How does it feel?¡± asked Romulus. ¡°This is the last time in your life you held power. And for what? To free the slaves? Other stuff that you¡¯ve hidden from us?¡± Romulus''s voice was spiteful as his eyes gazed from side to side as if he relived his experiences on the throne. ¡°I represented the side of the righteous,¡± responded Gala, resigned. ¡°But I see that even the righteous fall.¡± She looked at Smith. ¡°I thought you were loyal.¡± ¡°I only did it because it saved thousands if not millions of lives,¡± Smith answered. His voice was plain, unauthentic, and generic. Gala looked at everyone else¡¯s reaction. Romulus seemed unsurprised, Kosta annoyed, and Nero removed from it all as if their mother had died again. ¡°You know, Gala is right,¡± responded Romulus. ¡°You¡¯re a rat not to be trusted.¡± And before anyone could say anything else, Romulus lifted his hammer and swung at Smith¡¯s head. Everyone fell silent as Smith¡¯s head hit the floor and bits of skull flew around the room. Blood gushed, and his eyes were nowhere to be seen. Romulus took a deep breath before becoming the first to speak. ¡°If he is willing to betray you, no doubt he¡¯ll turn my back on me at some point. Kosta, when we are done here, I want you to show the troops to demonstrate what happens if they consider betraying me. They shouldn¡¯t have the luxury of thinking they can just come back and be accepted with open arms.¡± Kosta nodded with glee. Romulus dropped his hammer and brought his attention back to Gala. ¡°So then, your hands, please.¡± Gala remained motionless on the throne and shook her head. ¡°Come on, Gala,¡± said Romulus. ¡°It¡¯s over. You have no one left except Nero, but I¡¯ll deal with him soon enough.¡± Gala pondered for a second before looking Romulus straight in the eyes. ¡°If you can¡¯t take the crown, maybe you shouldn¡¯t have it.¡± ¡°So be it,¡± Romulus said as he detached a pair of shackles from his beltline and ascended the steps to be king. Kosta turned around and pulled out shackles of his own to arrest Nero. Gala watched as his brother calmly put forward his hands to be restrained. Romulus grabbed Gala¡¯s hands and restrained them before pulling her off the throne and taking the crown. He looked at it for a second, admiring what he had been after this entire time. His eyes lit up like a little boy on his birthday. He slowly placed it on his head, closing his eyes to savor the moment before it soundly fit the shape of his skull. He brought his attention back to Gala and uttered his first command as undisputed King of the Qar. ¡°Gala Mane, by order of the king, you are to be found guilty of treason. The summary judgment is lateral hanging. Chapter 1.35 Romulus Romulus sat outside the palace on a lowly chair where no one bothered him. He had done it. The thousands of lives lost, the running around the countryside, his parent''s death, and the snakes that surrounded him. He expected to be overfilled with joy, but now he felt a sense of responsibility that this was only the beginning of it, and it was no time for celebration. After all the nation was in ruin and was about to execute a member of the royal family, even if they were a bastard. He still had many enemies. Benito Diaz and the diarchy that enabled him to support the People¡¯s Lord, the last remnants of the People¡¯s Lord, The Expert¡¯s Commonwealth, and the Griffin Republic, but those two were a given. They represented the counter-idea to monarchy. However, the one person that Romulus knew he could count on now rode up to the seated Romulus in a chair. ¡°Enjoying your reign?¡± asked Kosta. Romulus nodded. ¡°So far so good.¡± The king gazed up and down the horse. ¡°Are you going somewhere?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m here. I hope you didn¡¯t forget about the earls still loyal to Gala in the southwest.¡± ¡°God, no. I sent about 10,000 to convince the earls to stand down. You should know this; you were there.¡± ¡°I would like to ask you to go with them.¡± Romulus pondered the thought and took a deep breath. ¡°Hometown, eh? You want to make sure that it doesn¡¯t fall apart.¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°I don¡¯t want anyone to die without needing to,¡± responded Kosta as he looked around him. The walls of the palace dominated over them and provided a cool shade that one could waste away a summer¡¯s evening in. ¡°We saved your hometown. It¡¯s only fair I get the same opportunity.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to miss the coronation,¡± said Romulus. ¡°I¡¯m not really one for large ceremonies or parties. I guess the mountain life stuck with me. Quiet evenings in the grasslands surrounded by bison or gazing upon the stars in silence seems to do it for me more than being stuck in a temple surrounded by hundreds of sweaty people.¡± Romulus laughed. ¡°Well, if you are going to meet up with them, you should take that horse of yours and head up as soon as we are done talking.¡± ¡°Thank you. Speaking of the horse, I was thinking about keeping this one. He survived the entire counter with Smith where I ran around him, so I think I should name him. What do you think?¡± ¡°If I were you, I would give this one to someone else. I think a fresh start would be best. Not be reminded of the civil war,¡± advised Romulus. Kosta shook his head. ¡°I think I¡¯ve had enough fresh starts for a lifetime. Thank you for the advice, though.¡± The two remained silent for a moment before Kosta spoke up again. ¡°Gaius, after my brother.¡± ¡°I am sorry about your family¡¯s untimely death,¡± Romulus said, trying to be as nice as he could as the new king. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be sorry about anything. You already did more than enough killing Smith. Bastard never saw it coming, did he?¡± ¡°Snakes don¡¯t have eyes on the back of their head,¡± reminded Romulus. ¡°I only did what was right. Though, there was a significant part that did it because he deserved it, besides all the other stuff.¡± Before long, they found themselves saying goodbye, but before Kosta turned Gaius around to head out of the city, he said one last thing. ¡°The name¡¯s Florian. If you wouldn¡¯t mind, I would like to ask that you call me that.¡± ¡°That wouldn¡¯t be a problem, Florian.¡± Chapter 1.36 This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.