After having said all he could, Velthur somehow managed to convince his mother to allow him to have freedom until the meetings in .

Tasks that Velthur considered useless, such as his duty to study religion, language, and art, were reduced. Even the time devoted to the study of politics would have been reduced had it not been for persistent objections.

The main reason Velthur believed that these subjects were useless was that they had not changed for a hundred years: the stagnation of ideas was just another sign of how Etruscan society was in a period of decadence.

The social elite used to their historical supremacy in the area and their continuous victorious wars over the other powers generated the question of which group would be the leader of such a nation, only to be the result of hundreds of internal wars that wore out the forces to resist the continuous barbarian invasions and the uprisings of important cities like Rome, Velthur knew what would be the fate of the Etruscan culture if things continued their course.

Yet despite this, they pretended that they were still the leaders of the present age, seeing every Etruscan loss of territory and defeat as an opportunity for their political opponents to lose power. But Velthur knew that the error was not so simple, for the simple teaching consisted in the pride and grandeur of certain decadent ideas that blinded anyone to the reality they faced. If he had been educated on that basis, in the current complicated internal political situation of Cisra, it would surely not be long before he would have lost all the luxuries he had.

If nothing stood in his way, brother would “take over” the family, which meant the end of the pact that protected them so well from the wolves around her, even though mother would still be the decision-maker. They would push to push her away and look for faults in Thesmus.

Should she be involved in politics from a young age?'

Obviously, this was risky, Velthur knew it was foolish to rely on the poor knowledge of history he had about the time, this world though similar, had a reality far removed from where he came from.

However, he knew he had knowledge that benefited him above most, he had tried to implement some but knowledge without the power to protect it was simply a target on his back, so he had made the decision to devise strategies that would help the family business. That had already attracted stares full of malice.

- Ramu contacts Tiv's guard and tells them to prepare for months on ships

- at once, although I don't think your mother will like it if you are seen with simple mercenaries even if they are from the Velian house.

- Mother said I could choose any man of the house for my campaign, perhaps next time she will consider, more explanation in her words. Besides, I cannot risk going with inexperienced guards. You remember what happened two years ago, don't you?

-Very clearly,” he sighed. Ramuthas with frustration.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

-I have not invested so much time and money in the Tiv guards to have contact with good mercenaries. In this campaign, I will be sure to secure their loyalty.

-It is hard enough to say for sure that they will serve our house, it will not be easy to ensure that they will follow you in the face of such free individuals.

Velthur took the sword from his waist and waved it with a demonstrative air. “They are simple weapons Ramus, and like all you must only know how to wield and aim them effectively. Besides that your leader has the sweet tendency to gamble, his debts to our house would enslave anyone.”

-Understood. Do you still want to visit your uncle? -The Velian house had only five direct members, the mother and head of the family Livia, and her three sons, but they were also camped in life by their uncle Lars, brother of Larth and former general of Cisra, who was retired due to a wound that took his left arm.

As Cisra's most revered general, he had defeated several armies under the command of the Gauls and had been promoted to the position of Strategos at the age of 33. Moreover, he was the only Coalition general whom I feared, as he had even been able to take the power of the house from the hands of Mother, but many say that with his hand went his ambitions. But they were not so far from the truth, the man had become disillusioned with politics and his people, he had sacrificed much for his people and had been turned away.

Had it not been for the incompetence of the Cisra government, which did not know how to take advantage of the good cards it had been dealt, the wars against the Gauls would have ended before the Romans intervened and Cisra would have had a more important political position in the Etruscan league, perhaps even the entire league would have been better off. One man achieving success was certainly no good for such a divided polity.

“Fortunately, he's part of our family.” There were few things Velthur could come to appreciate in such a backward world, where he almost felt like an alien because of the vast difference in ideas, but with his family it was different.

Soon they reached the room designated in the mansion for his uncle's exclusive use, but a startled slave at the door interrupted their passage.

“Your Highness, please wait a moment; my lord strategos will receive you shortly!”

The slave spoke with polite concern in her tone, thinking it was a bad idea to leave Velthur, enter, and find out what was going on in the room. In truth, the concern was unfounded, for there was no one more sympathetic about what was going on inside that room than Velthur himself.

Beyond that, knowing that it would not be a good idea to interrupt his uncle while he seemed to be engaged in his routines for the day.

-I have no problem waiting here. Besides, bring me a glass of wine! -Velthur replied with a smile on his face.

“Little Vel, I see you've decided to dazzle me with your presence - oh, how you've grown!”

A cheerful voice was heard.

“Man, I see you've decided to finish your business faster, I hope it's because you don't want to keep us waiting and not a factor related to your age,” Franz said as he smiled bitterly.

“Ha, Brat, a lot of talk for someone who has never spoken to a girl in your life, sometimes I worry that Greek customs have managed to permeate you while you were learning their language” Lars said amidst laughter.

The calm and laughing atmosphere seemed to have changed to one of pure violence, as nephew and uncle rested their hand on the hilt of their swords, which seemed to worry all the servants who did not know how to react.

“My lords, I'm afraid to remind you that the lady will not appreciate you practicing your skills in the halls and it could result in a pocket cutting.”

- Tsh, you ruined the fun,” said Lars as he seemed to calm down and take a seat while sipping a glass of wine.

“Uncle, I've been sent on to the next Invasion campaign” Velthur said as he sat back down.

-Well, let's talk then Lars set aside his glass and gestured for his servants to leave.