EPISODE 64: RESOLVE

— Edryan Queendom, Year 7291. Season: Central.

The smooth, but rumbling motion of the train lulled its occupants into a sense of secureness and drowsiness. Yet, the excitement of the past day did not and could not stop the parties traveling back to Edrya from excitedly chatting with one another.

The train held several booths with ash black seats that cushioned every bump and every rumble. It was luxurious and something these young scions of their respective families were used to enjoying on a daily basis. It was only in Imperius Academy that their quality of living lowered .

Across from Madria in their own separate booth was His Highness Lawruthian. Law gazed at her warmly, but there was a quality of air around him that showed his change and improvement in skills. The air of indifference surrounded him and that gave Madria pause… but she knew he was not disregarding her presence. He was only under the effect of a skill.

Her gaze turned back to the golden notification floating on the side of her vision. Once again, she slowly read over the offer presented to her. An offer that held a massive revelation in the history of Edryan and her… ‘Heroes.’

(Party)

Description:

You have received the offer to join Lawruthian Imperius Koltius Edryani’s (Party). Joining the (Party) will immediately result in a class advancement that will show three different professions aligned with your current class.

Accept

Decline

Her gazed constantly flickered between Law, the notification, and Amaya, who was happily chatting with her elder sister. Why do you make me go through such a decision?

“You can tell her. I’ve thought about doing so several times. To offer her the achievement and goal she dearly wished for,” Law spoke. His aura shielding them from any prying senses.

The moment her eyes returned from Amaya to him, he struct. His words served as the sweet relief to her dilemma.

“Why didn’t you,” Madria asked after a moment of contemplation.

Imagine if I told you your goal, your aspiration, was a simple step away. The drive you have… the momentum you’ve built chasing that goal… what happens to it?”

Red gold eyes gazed into hers. Eyes said more than words ever could. A window to the soul… a door to whom you represent at your core. What Lawruthian eyes held was a weight to them. A weight of responsibility and duty. It was only now, Madria realized she’d yet to see the prince truly act with selfish actions for his benefit.

She’d grown to know the youth well over the course of their time at Imperius Academy. During this period, not once had the young prince done much for himself besides choosing his class and solo delving into the [Tiger Den – ★★ ]. Her thoughts quickly reviewed everything she knew of Lawruthian from his childhood to now. She thought of the golems, the batteries, LSG, and more. In some way or shape, each of these actions benefited the rise of Edryan. It created jobs, new and diverse classes, and now she belonged to a growing faction. [Imperius Faction] molded her status into a new meaning as factions provided new and specialized benefits. These benefits wouldn’t matter much as she became a [Hero], but nevertheless, they were still incentives. Quest, unique faction skills and more will become available as a faction grows and develops.

Lawruthian had done much for the country. Did he antagonize the noble houses through several methods? Yes, did she find fault within him? Madria knew the answer to that question was a resounding no. She took it upon herself as her duty, no, her responsibility, to develop her relationship with Lawruthian as she grew to understand how she could best help him. This relationship fostered trust between them, and Madria grew to think of this more than just her responsibility as a [Priestess of Madris].

Her divinity gold eyes gaze into Lawruthian’s red golds. He winked and Madria smiled. “I will be selfish for you… BUT I will not allow you to just steamroll tradition that has gone on for thousands of years. You will be my King , but you are also my friend , and it is my responsibility to make sure I guide you to the right path.

“ I accept ,” she began. At the same moment, she clicked a button only she could see, and a new notification appeared before her and perhaps His Highness. She ignored it as she was not finished talking. “…but Amaya must know. I will not betray my friend or my principles.”

Lawruthian nodded in agreement. “Nor do I expect you too. Once I return from the Convocation, we’ll have to get you a Race-Up potion. We can’t have you lagging behind,” Lawruthian said with a smile.

“Once we , return,” Madria began. Her eyes roamed over her new class options. She smiled as she turned away from the selection and peered directly into Lawruthian’s eyes. “I’m going with you.”

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The bright early morning sunlight shown upon the large airship that cover a length of a frigate. The season was changing, and the trees began to produce hues of reds, yellows, and orange. Color Fading would soon be upon us. The airship, the [Crowned Jewel], was one of the many possessions my mother neglected on a daily basis. Now, I’d use it as a fast way to catch up with Laura and my generals. I was already 3 days behind and in a short four days, they’d arrive at the convocation.

The notification from last night was left on my screen. I hadn’t dismissed it just yet as I stared at the golden lettering.

New (Party) Member

Madria Judd Gamal has accepted your offer to join a ( Party ) and has become a [Hero] through your efforts.

I glanced at Madria, who was left in a brooding mood. She held her talk with Amaya the moment of our arrival back to the capital. I didn’t know how it went, but what was done… was done. Quickly, we boarded the airship. Next to us were two [Wyvern Riders] serving as our aerial escort. The sky’s held many dangers.

My golems were traveling through the underground train network that connected to the lands of the great families. They’d be dropped off at a halfway point before they’d have to travel a few hundred miles on land. These golems were escorted by a few of the mages from the TechShop. Nubia traveled with them alongside my first three Hero Golems. The newest Hero Golem was simply beyond what our initial expectations were. She was the original goal in developing the spell and golem grades. To create a machine powerful enough to kill a god. Generating one calamity meant I could generate two…

I gazed down at the command glove slotted snuggly on my left hand. It was far closer to a gauntlet than previous iterations. The usual connection golems held as the master and servant bond was connected to gloves like these. This was how the mages directed them. What I held it was a central command glove.

“( Inspect ).”

Armament Type: Golemancer Control Unit

Name:

Imperius Golemancer Central Controller — Legendary

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

Description:

This item is a central control unit that commands the functions of over 1,000 golems. It processes no other ability besides the function to expand to its wearers size.

Function:

Dictate in command, golems with simple hand, gestures, and movements. This allows them to change, formations, fire off, spills and more.

The ship sailed smoothly through the air. The vessel thrummed with power as the cold wind chilled my surroundings. My ebony gradient hair billowed outward. It grew just passed my shoulders and the fast traveling ship blew it out of order. I was dressed in a simple long sleeve tunic with jean like pants and steel – toed boots to match. I felt like an [Adventurer] ready to explore the world yet… I was traveling to slay men.

My heart palpitated yet my two skills (Political Mind) and (The King’s Indifference) helped me clarify my thoughts and view everything from an objective standpoint. The actions I was undergoing now would ensure future strife and unrest would be mellowed. The plans I instilled ‘today’ would ensure a change in society that would lead the Edryan State to a path I believe could only result in two things.

(Political Mind) – Passive

Function:

‎ Edryan Counsel

Receive insightful prompts of political strategies, no matter the content. Increase effectiveness in diplomatic negotiations.

Function:

‎ Edryan Authority

Enhance your persuasiveness and allow your Intent to transmit properly to your subjects.

Greatness, as I dissolved the common nobility structure and installed the Mark of the Citizen as their replacement.

Defeat, if my full implications, were understood by the High Houses, and they resisted until the bitter end.

The Convocation and what needed to be done to them was a message that would spread across Edryan. A message that establishes a precedent and resolved what I foresaw as future issues. My two skills worked overtime as they helped clarify my thoughts and future actions. Tobi and Atlas stood not far behind me. My guards were keeping in level with me, but they did not hold the same strength as me. They moved aside as Madria emerged from the living quarters of the airship. Behind her were several young men, emerging paladins and more sent along as her protection. My eyebrows shifted slightly up as I recognized an Imperius Academy student.

Rustic gold eyes filled with trust and faith gazed at me. I will not fail those eyes.

“Are you certain about joining me? You’ve never been on a battlefield, have you?”

“What better time to reveal the emergence of a ninth [Hero],” she countered to my questions before adding on. “Have you been onto the battlefield?”

A chuckle escaped from me before I responded to her. “No… no, I have not.”

The conversation settled for a few moments as we both gazed outside the airship. If one looked closely, they’d see a slightly translucent barrier that allowed just a fraction of the wind and other elements to pass in. The sky was clear, and our travel was fast and smooth. The [Wyvern Riders] lazily flapped next to us. The bonded pair of master and monster scanning the surrounding region. Green grasslands, forest, and other biomes passed beneath us as we traveled pass the Wild-lands of Edryan. The Wild-lands were a generalized term for areas not truly settled within the country. Danger zones that held calamities and ruins of previous civilizations.

There were valid reasons why Edryan was so large, but didn’t come close to reaching life sustaining capacity. The aforementioned was the primary reasoning. Most populations lived relatively close to the provincial capital or other large cities for protection. Although, there were still tribes of wild magi-humans living within Edryan.

Madria spoke up suddenly, and the young woman turned to face me once again. “How do you do it?”

Her words were sudden and outside the range of questions I expected her to ask. Madria saw my confused expression and added more to clarify her words.

“How do you handle the expectations placed upon you,” she asked, then paused.

Sensing she held more to say, I held back on responding. Our eyes remained locked.

“Certain expectations are now placed upon my shoulders as of the previous night. My ma-m-mother…,” she stuttered before glancing away and out toward the blue sky.

Was she blushing? Although it was harder to tell with black skin, there were small ticks and quirks that allowed one to know. Avoidance of eye contact, shuffling of the feet, and more all indicated these signs, and my skills told me the best way to take advantage of this situation. Just as they told me what to do when I pulled Madria from the golf cart. I hesitated, then spoke.

“I face it head o-,” I began to respond.

“CHIRP!”

A loud chirp came from behind us as Minerva emerged from her nap. She sat snuggly on a pillow carried by a maid, and was gazing at us with a hot passion.

‘ You’re not going to ignore that, are you?! ’

Her voice transmitted between our shared bond. The owl jumped from her pillow and flew the short distance to us and straight for Madria.

Surprised, Madria held an arm out for Minerva to land on. She let out a small, but cute grunt as the bird landed on her forearm.

“She’s grown again! What a majestic bird.”

Minerva radiated from the compliment. Her chest puffed out and her ebony gradient feathers fluttered in the wind, adding onto her prestige. Madria gently pet her while the owl's eyes locked on to me.

‘ You are not dense nor dumb . So, why did you not respond accordingly? You’ve only indicated signs that you like her. ’

I sighed. My skills told me one thing to say to get the best possible outcome… but my heart spoke differently. I ignored the informative suggestions of ( Political Mind ) and suppressed the feeling from ( King’s Indifference ).

‘ I… don’t know Minerva… I don’t know if I’m ready for that stage again… for that feeling… …again. ’

‘ It’s been 16 years, Lawruthian. I think it’s time you let those feelings go. ’

We slightly stood there. Minerva harshly glared at me and Madria was silent in her thoughts.

‘ See how you made this awkward, Minerva? ’

“I face it head-on. I cannot run from it, nor can I ignore it and hope it goes away. So the only thing left to do is to confront it,” I spoke.

We once again face one another. This time I let no skill influence me. I held out my hand to Madria. “Will you confront it with me?”

End of Part 5