King Christian Lemillious

What could I have done differently? I wonder indulging in whimsey. Would splitting the army up have been for the better? Would I have avoided having to marry off my granddaughter to a man who has caused so much death.

Annettes words were pretty, they moved the hearts of many. Yet, the fact remains. This monster slew my son in cold blood. He didn't seek the counsel of his King, his arrogance led him to damnation and war. Yet, my own arrogance costed me more than my old heart seems able to bear and what I could not have possibly imagined.

Eight knightly orders eradicated, fourteen bloodied into a pitiable state. Four mages guilds forever lost and every other mages guild taking some degree of casualty. Two hundred thousand dead militia. Nearly 40% of the primary military force of Milos, gone.

My heart hurts to know I have condemned these men, without anything to show for it. The necromancer lives, walks proudly and with his held high.

Five of the sixteen Dukes of Milos are dead. Their heirs have stepped in and are outraged that the necromancers act of rebellion has been not only pardoned but 'rewarded'.

Annettes hand in marriage. Long coveted, a surefire pathway to becoming king consort. At least, if she had married anyone other than Raderius it would have been. Now, the factions are more or less evenly divided between her and her brother Christos.

This is a state of affairs I could not have imagined.

My eldest and second born sons are dead. My Kingdom is in the shadow of darkness and civil war is a possibility. In fact, were it not for the trust, confidence and prior good will that Annette had earned from the Dukes families a civil war would have already begun.

What is she thinking? She rejected many fine suitors just to end up with a necromancer.

What could the reason have been?

Is it to use him?

He possesses tremendous power, truthfully Raderius and his undead from a military perspective possesses value that exceeds the casualties we suffered. Bringing him into the fold through marriage would be a tactically sound move considering that the battle would have left us vulnerable to conquest.

Though that's just trading one oppressor for another!

She made an impassioned claim that I've been deceived, that we were all misunderstanding one another. Raderius is not a oppressor, more benevolent than some of the other Dukes or my children.

Yet, I can't accept these claims.

No matter how I wrack my brain I can't come to a convincing answer about why she would do this. Annette couldn't possibly betray the family or her Kingdom by allowing Raderius legitimacy?

Unless...

Assassination?

Did Annette judge that Milos would be lost regardless of whether we won this battle or lost it? Did she decide the only path for Milos to achieve victory would be intrigue? Abandon her own claim to the throne, allowing her brother to ascend while I quietly deal with her 'husband.' A sacrifice of her honor and virtue so that Milos can achieve victory?

That must be it!

Fret not Annette, your grandfather understands you. Victory will belong to house Lemillious and your sacrifice will be not be wasted.

Christos Lemillious

The fate of Milos rests on my shoulders. My father is dead. Annette has embraced a villain. A kingdom divided, my sisters reputation preventing the succession from devolving into civil war.

War...

Truthfully, now that Annette is on his side and enough Dukes have pledged support, a civil war would only end in my death and that foul woman ascending to Queen.

How could it have come to this.

Father...my cousins and I share this common grief. Yet Annette walks around boldly smiling. Does she not care she's married the man who slew our father? My dearest friend fell in battle as well. The number of devastated families is beyond my knowledge, but pains my heart to imagine. Yet, again I ask myself; does she even care?

What am I saying? Of course she doesn't. I know better than anyone she possesses no soul, no wonder she managed to latch onto the foulest person she could find. I didn't attend the wedding, instead sending a representative, but the report told me everything I needed to know. The smile she wore, the radiant joy and atmosphere of celebration. How the attendants had the time of their lives. That the necromancer himself was smiling and enjoying himself, free from any worries of the immeasurable loss of life at his hands!

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Still, I can't afford to focus on matters that leave me in an impotent rage. The problem that I need to focus on is how to overcome the current situation; how does one solve this stalemate that we find ourselves in? The common man has divided opinions, some embracing the change after hearing about the increasing prosperity of the Duchy of Avantine, others deriding the idea of an undead work force and the violation that one day will face all who live in Milos should we have a Necromancer King. Half of the Dukes who did not fall in battle out of a combination of fear of Raderius and respect for Annette have fallen into line.

At this rate, when the King passes we will have reached an impasse. Annette and Raderius will not back down and if I refuse to acknowledge them we'll lose the eventual civil war.

Assassination.

That's the only option left. My sister and Raderius, if either falls the other will be unable to keep the loyalty of those who are underneath. However, this won't fully solve the issue. If only my sister is slain, Raderius will engage the entire kingdom in battle once more. The victor of our second bout would be unknown and inevitably, left to fate to decide.

I'm not one to bargain on fate after its led me to this situation!

Now, if only Raderius were to be slain the fundamental issue of my sister remains. As King I could marry her off to some foreign nation, but knowing her she would twist her situation to her advantage and come back to unleash vindicative vengeance upon me.

They both need to be die. If I discuss this with grandfather he'll likely cooperate in slaying Raderius, but slaying Annette will be on me.

So many of my family have been slain, and soon more will pass away. As much as I fear and hate my sister, this fact still brings my heart great pain.

The darkest days Milos has ever faced are upon us, but in my fathers stead its my duty to rise up and overcome this challenge!

Annette Lemillious

I don't think I could be more happy than I am now. Finally, after so much time spent waiting I've found my one true love. The wedding was wonderful, Raderius dashing. The entourage of friends and acquaintances that served as guests, cheering for our love. The refreshments, food, the outfits, it was all so, very, very wonderful! Everything I've ever dreamed of. The night was just as wonderful, the passion we shared as he claimed what was now his and I claimed what was now mine.

I love Raderius.

Of course, not everything is perfect. Grandfather and brother were both absent and didn't attend. As I dress myself in the aftermath of our nights fun I consider the truth of my so called family.

Grandfather and brother will attempt to slay Raderius. Brother will seek to marry me off after he's made King to some foreign lord. If i'm not careful they will find a way to kill my love and enact it.

Still, I have time to prepare counter measures. Raderius has redevoted his attention to his people. That kind nature of his is not something I wish to rob from him, I can focus on my family while he focuses on the people. There will be a time to be vulnerable and open up to him, but for now I need to be strong.

I could easily slay father and my brother, but the ensuing civil war will lead to Raderius being King of Kingdom of ash and death. That wouldn't make him happy. It would also result in me breaking my promise to him. That to, I cannot bear.

The first step will be to discover what means those two intend to use to slay my love, the next will be implementing countermeasures and defaming my brother. Once its public knowledge that my brother attempted to assassinate Raderius, he'll be forced to either step down and relinquish his claim or declare an unjust civil war. He would lose such a war and the people would stay out of it, leaving Milos in tact for Raderius and I to rule. Stepping down though will provide him opportunity to seek vengeance. I'd likely have him married off to a foreign land, he's to small of a man to do anything once distance has been created. Even if he were to try and seek vengeance, by then Raderius and Milos will be to powerful for any nation to take on. A powerful military led by two Godkin.

Oh, Luminious, my divine father. Thank you for creating me. Thank you for letting me meet Raderius. I know this wasn't what you envisioned when you had me born in this country, you wanted me to abuse my power and slay the necromantic boy, but Luminious surely you can see it too, cant you?

Raderius is two things.

One is fully ignorant of what he is and even that there will one day be conflict between fellow Godkin. That the Gods wish for us to slay one another to create a world in their image!

The other is the perfect man. Loving, caring, a tortured soul. One that I can influence and mold into what I desire! The love of my life. I know you consider this a betrayal Luminious, ever since you realized that I intended to marry a Godkin from a different God you haven't spoken to me. However, father, you don't seem to understand.

An alliance between Godkin of different Gods will be a far stronger faction than one comprised of only Godkin from one deity. Of course, that would mean at the end there is a tie.

A Tie between you and the God of Death, joint ownership of a world.

Its a good compromise that eliminates the influence of nearly every other deity and I think a strategy that you can't complain about when it proves itself victorious.

Oh Father of Mercy, the love I have for you is as strong as the day I was born, but I can't relent on my one true love. Please understand me! Make sure the others come to me.

Still, I do fear that the Godkin Wars will be multigenerational. In that case even with my extended divine lifespan, I could be dead from old age before Luminious achieves victory.

That is another way that Raderius can aid in your victory my Lord. I'm certain that he will one day unlock the secrets of immortality.

Please understand me Luminious. I love you!

When the time comes, please understand me Raderius. I love you!

I love you both, so please don't hate me. Everything I do will guarantee that the two of you get what you want.

After all, I'm the child of Light and I will blanket the world in my warm embrace.

I sleep soundly that night dreaming of my future world ownership. My Lord smiling down at me while my King holds me passionately.

I don't care how many broken dreams and corpses I have to tread on to get there.