Normally I’m stationed to welcome new recruits and get them acclimated, but today I spent most of my morning finalizing an agreement that will see our soldiers fed throughout the entirety of the war. Yesterday, I helped prepare towns on the outskirts of our half of Fenrir for housing children, their guardians and the elderly who won’t be able to take up arms. Tomorrow, I’ll be participating in a meeting that could change the very foundation of our world… A meeting meant to discuss what comes next. What happens to us all in the aftermath of this inevitable bloodshed?

Now I know what you’re thinking. This girl must be from Onyx, where Kazai rules, but you would be mistaken. I’m from Obsidian and like many others, I call Ingvar my King. If you compare the methods of the two rulers, then many would make the assumption that Kazai looks after his people more. Now I can’t speak for those living in Onyx, but I also think the level of care these two rulers have for their people is closer than you think.

It would be naive of me to not agree that King Ingvar is a ruthless leader, and it would be blatantly obvious that I am turning a blind eye if I didn’t agree that his methods are violent… But many of us in his army believe he has Fenrir’s best interest at heart. While Kazai campaigns to unite his land and get his people to follow him, King Ingvar takes a quicker approach. Obsidian is already more united than Onyx may ever be and as the war draws closer and closer it will become more apparent that one of these two is more prepared than the other.

Let me also clarify that I am no fighter. I too had my doubts in King Ingvar at first. I thought for sure he would not be interested in having a girl like me in his army, but I luckily caught King Ingvar during a time when he was starting to realize that he couldn’t just fill his entire army with warriors. If he was truly going to win this war, then he needed new recruits and he needed people with the skill set to welcome them to the army and prepare them for what comes next.

All my life I’ve lived in the territories now considered under the banner of Obsidian. Prior to being recruited to Ingvar’s army, I was working in my parent’s shop. My family owned a tailoring business for gods knows how long and as soon as I was able to help out around the shop, I started to do so. As a little girl I couldn’t provide much help in the actual tailoring, so I spent most of my time entertaining customers with conversation.

My mom was worried that I was annoying their customers, but they soon realized talking to me had become a draw. “We were given a recommendation to come here. Apparently, the entertainment is top notch,” I recall a customer joking once, but there had been some truth to it. As years went by my silver tongue had brought in everyone from knights to peasants and it wasn’t before long, we found King Ingvar himself at our door.

My family and I had no previous experiences with King Ingvar during his conquest through Obsidian, but everything we had heard up until this point was negative. He would ravage and leave villages burning in his wake, disrespecting deities and forcing men and women alike to join his army or die. At this moment, we feared the worst for what our town looked like on the outside, but if King Ingvar and his men had destroyed our town, we would have heard it. Something stayed his blade.

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That’s when I noticed one of King Ingvar’s men beyond the entrance to our shop covered in bandages, his leather armor ruined from a previous battle. One of King Ingvar’s men asked us for assistance in repairing some of their damaged armor. I went outside with my father to survey the damage done and noticed the leather armor used by King Ingvar’s knights was inferior to the quality we made in our shop. However, judging by where the bandages were covering the wounds, I wasn’t sure even our armor would have protected this knight.

My father, only interested in making money, was about to suggest King Ingvar’s men used our services. When he went to speak, I interrupted him. Despite my fear of what may happen by sharing my opinion, I suggested that King Ingvar’s men wear sturdier armor in the fights to come. Though I did offer to make the straps for said armor. A deathly silence fell over the town, and I saw the concern on my father’s face as King Ingvar himself walked up to me. I could feel that the knights who had spent so much time with King Ingvar were also fearful for my safety at this moment.

“And you think you could do better?” his words and the way he said them are still etched in my mind. As is my response.

“I know I can.”

I thought I would spend the rest of my days in one of King Ingvar’s cells or be cut down right where I stood, but instead I got what I could only assume was a rare smile from the self-proclaimed Godking. He insisted that his knights work with my family to improve their armor. Part of me wanted to suggest that King Ingvar himself get an armor upgrade, as he practically wasn’t even wearing a shirt, but I felt I already overstepped my boundaries.

The days that followed were not what I anticipated. My mother and father spent day and night working with the town’s blacksmiths to upgrade the armor of King Ingvar’s men. I imagined I would be there with them every step of the way, but to my surprise I spent most of that time with King Ingvar himself. I expected these talks to mostly consist of his past victories, but instead these conversations were ones I never expected to have with a man such as Ingvar.

His concern for Obsidian and the overall future of Fenrir surprised me. Here I was expecting tales of conquest, yet he seemed more interested in what I had to say in relation to being a King. He was curious and full of questions, not of battle, but more so along the lines of fixing issues within Obsidian, how to approach his people better and what could be done to help all of Fenrir, both the East and the West. It was this odd vulnerability that I imagine he didn’t share with many others, but also made me feel like if I told anyone about these conversations, I would be dead.

I would still be working in my parent’s tailor shop if it wasn’t for these conversations, not helping run an army destined to rule all of Fenrir. The way I spoke to him and the way I helped his army was enough to convince him that I would be a pivotal part of the future of his rule.