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Crystals of Tame

Chapter 12

The Monster Tamer Association

10 years ago

The king of Traineria looked over the blueprints that were on his desk.

“So this is what the building for the Monster Tamer Association is going to look like,” he said, remembering that day when in this same chamber he found himself, but this time as king now. His father was now unable to do his royal duties and so he had to step in his place as king for the time being. Wasting no time for the coronation ceremony, Monsterra needed him more than ever now as he found himself trying to navigate the personalities of the guild leaders that commanded the 3 major guilds of the corners of Monsterra. Corners he sought to protect after that fateful day, the red night. An incident that still haunted the dreams or nightmares of the king he was now.

There wasn’t a night where the crimson beast didn’t haunt his dreams. Suffocating him, and dragging not only himself but Monsterra to the depths of its flames. Flames that had burned with a crimson hue that day. Thankfully, with the vote being a success, he hoped this Monster Taming Association would perhaps alleviate some of his worries, but deep down, he knew that this wasn’t enough. Despite Monsterra being relatively peaceful for almost a year now, he knew he didn’t have time to waste, for who knows when another crimson beast might curse Monsterra. He knew just how fragile this association was, he couldn’t rely entirely on it just yet. He needed to do more than just this for the future of Monsterra.

After all, there was a moment as he was listening to the guild leaders bicker about the Association when he thought that this plan of his and Villa was not going to become a reality. That they would be back at square one, with no defense against another crimson beast, if there were even more of those dreaded beasts hiding, waiting their time to attack once again. And if it wasn’t because of Light suggesting that he, the king himself now, break the tie of the votes that had been cast in favor and against, would he be sitting now looking at the blueprints for the building or would he find himself trying to think of another solution, but what other solution could he think of?

He wondered how the other two guild leaders, Ignis and Zephyr, had voted. He wondered which one he could rely on and which one would be an obstacle like Roth.

Recalling how Roth was so adamantly against the results, which was to be expected from someone from the South. The king knew just how delicate the ties of Traineria and the south were, or had always been. An unresolved conflict before their days.

“But why couldn’t Roth see,” he thought, this was for the future of tamers and monsters. For the future of Monsterra. If the vote had failed, would the citizens of Traineria and the south begin to fear one another because of the rumors that were floating around, and if they had seen that beast that night in the forest as it went up in flames, would war between Traineria and the South finally end or begin anew. The image of its human-like crimson body, or what was left of it, still haunted the newly appointed king’s mind, consuming him every second of the day, and with it, it had brought a thirst for knowledge in him he had never before had. Not even as a student, but now it was different. He had to know how. and Why? He had to know for the safety of everyone in Monsterra. For this was a great calamity that if they did not know its origins, it would befall upon all of Monsterra inhabitants, devouring everyone and anything in its path. But where could he begin his journey of knowledge? Perhaps in the history books of Monsterra? he wondered.

He wished Uriel, the tamer king was on his side, to guide him. For he was a person he needed now more than ever. Wondering just where he had disappeared to, not answering his call as king to be his advisor, having to put up with Villa per his father’s orders.

Perhaps a union with the South would better quench some of the vitriol that was beginning to form in Traineria and the South against one another, once more.

“Sir,” a voice woke him from his deep thought,

“Y-Yes,” he said, turning to look at a knight dressed in the gold and silver colors of Traineria.

“All the books that you have ordered have been organized and ready for your reading pleasure, my king”

Yes, this was the only place he could start, perhaps the ancestors of the people of Monsterra had the answers he needed.

“Perfect, “ he said, getting up from his desk, he rolled up the blueprints and walked with the knight to the most important room for the future of Monsterra. More important than the Monster Taming Association. This was for the future survival of Monsterra.

He made his way through the grand halls of the kingdom of Triaineria’s castle and into the great library.

A library he was determined to create as the biggest library in all of Monsterra. What they needed right now was not only the association, thought the association was the first step for the safety of non-tamers and tamers alike. But the most important thing to him right now was knowledge, and what better place than that starting from the history pages of Monsterra and its people?

“This is…” he said, as he looked at the mountains of shelves that lined the great hall of his library.

“A lot of books.”

Saying that it was massive was an understatement. But he pondered if he would have enough time in his lifetime to go over all the books, to search every page, to decipher every story, myth, legend, anything that would give him a clue about the crimson beast's origin.

But he knew he had too, for both Traineria’s future and all the villages and towns and cities that filled the great continent of Monsterra.

“This is quite the collection you have gathered, my king.”

One of the librarians who was hired to work in the palace’s library said, as she made her way toward the newly appointed king.

She had on a silver and gold robe, the same colors as the tamer knight. She looked at all the books that the king had ordered for them to collect, going to every village, town, and city and gathering as many copies or originals as they could find.

“I admired your taste for knowledge that I feared many citizens of Traineria lack, but I’m curious as to why we’re gathering all these books.”

An old man said, as he walked into the royal library, he was wearing a long silver robe with purple borders and a small blue Pingen monster partner on his shoulder.

“Knowledge, as you have said, my esteemed teacher, is the greatest tool in a person’s inventory,” the king said, smiling at his teacher.

“Of course, and I must say I’m quite proud of that newfound thirst for it. My king.”

“So what exactly are we seeking knowledge of?” the king’s teacher asked, curious and intrigued as to what the king was seeking.

“I don’t know yet, “the king said,

“But I hope to find it soon.”

***

South of Traineria in the city of Stonetopolis, where the Rock Shield stone building stood, tamers of the south had gathered to discuss their worries with their guild leader, Roth.

“So, we are under Traineria’s control now?” one of the tamers asked, as he sat in the great stone hall of the Rock Shield guild building.

“I fear so,” Roth said, as he overlooked the hall sitting on his towering stone thrown that sat at the end of the great hall.

“I knew those pesky guild leaders were no friends of the south,” another tamer said, not happy with the results.

“Is the Blazing Wing, those tamers have never been friends to us.”

“Perhaps, but the Torrent Scale tamers aren’t exactly friendly with us either.”

“Is the South against everyone else, it has always been.”

Roth looked at the faces of his tamers, their worries and anxiety plastered clearly on them. The South hadn’t been under Trianeria’s control since his great father’s time. And he feared that this was only the beginning. He didn’t trust the young prince and now king of Traineria to keep his promise, and let the south protect itself how it sought fit. To be more precise, he didn’t trust Villa, the king’s advisor.

“What do we do, Roth?” a tamer asked, and all the tamers that had gathered in the great Rock Shield guild building turned to stare at their leader, waiting for his words.

Roth took a moment to take in the atmosphere of the hall. To take in all that was present in that moment. “We wait, but fear not, the south will remain free and if they try to rule us, we will not back down,’ Roth said, his voice unwavering, as it vibrated throughout the stone halls of the Rock Shield guild.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

***

The next few days the king had watched over the building of the Monster Taming Association with great interest, but never interjecting himself in its construction, for he feared the people of the south would not like that, and he wanted the south and Traineria to cooperate between one another.

He also watched his library grow in size as even more books came rolling in, increasing the wealth of knowledge that he was amassing, A feeling of pride awoke in him as he heard some people calling it the fifth wondered of Monsterra, after the four great natural wonders that where in Monsterra.

“Well this is quite the feat,’ Villa said, as he walked into the king's library where the king spent most of his time as of late.

“Good afternoon Villa,” the king said, as he closed a book he was reading. It was quite interesting. He had learned of a time when Monsterra had no kingdoms but instead nomadic people, small tribes battling for control of the lands of Monsterra. Even though the stories were quite interesting, he did not find the answers to his questions regarding the Red Night. But he was sure the answers were somewhere in his library, he just had to keep looking, even if he had to spend all his life, he would find the answer to that night for the protection of his people and Monsterra.

“I see you have been quite the voracious reader,” Villa said, picking up one of the books that was on the king's huge brown oak table.

“Cutest monsters partners according to the first queen of Traineria.”

“I’m sure this is quite the bastion of information.”

Villa let out a faint laugh that the king did not find amusing.

‘What do you want Villa?” the king said, ignoring his ridicule. He had learned not to judge a book by its cover, this book that Villa had ridiculed had shown him that some monster partners have great power deep inside of them despite their cute appearance. The book talked a lot about the magic type, which many tamers regard as weak. A class of monster partners that most guy tamers avoided since they did not look cool enough for them, but they had a very interesting way to level, most of them only had one level path it seemed, but from the book he had learned that that level path could even rival Alpha tier progression evolution in some monster partners. Which was a tier below the great Emperor level, but he had also learned that there had only been one tamer to achieve such a level with their magic-type monster partner, and that was the first queen of Traineria.

“Just doing my regular update meeting about the association, My king,” Villa said as he took a seat across from the king.

“As your advisor.”

“Well don’t keep me waiting,” the king said, every update bringing his vision for peace and protection for Monsterra, or so he liked to think. He wonder if this association was nothing more than a hopeful dream of his and due to fail at any moment.

“Of course, your highness,” Villa said, adjusting his long black hair.

“Many Examination buildings have been built in all the cities of Monsterra, teaching, and hand selecting the next generation of tamers.”

The king listened as Villa went on with great interest, but yet, he couldn’t help but wonder if this was a good idea, he knew they had no other choice, they had to keep an ever-silent eye on tamers. Even if he didn’t like it, it needed to be done, for both their safety and the safety of Monsterra. If the off chance a tamer was responsible for the red night, they had to be prepared. But he hoped those fears of his were just fears and nothing more. He was still not sure any tamer would dare try and tame such a beast like the crimson beast. Perhaps that night had played a sick joke on them when they found a crystal of Tame in that red beast's hand.

“The association is viewed quite favorable by the citizens of all corners of Monsterra”

“That’s good,” the king said, though he felt that that wasn’t entirely true.

“There does seem to be a problem, though,” Villa said, brushing his dark hair to the side.

“What is it?” The king looked at Villa’s face, trying to decipher what was wrong, but his sleek features gave nothing away.

“It's nothing to worry much about, my king, is just that we need a director for the association.”

The king looked at Villa, examining his slender physique, there was a certain cunningness

about Villa, his advisor, that the king couldn’t ignore any longer. He was king now, and so he had to traverse with a certain subtleness regarding Villa.

“Who do you have in mind?” the king asked,

“Well, my king,” Villa said, brushing his dark hair back, his piercing purple eyes looking at the king.

“Is not who I have in mind is who the people trust,”

“A vote?” the king said, brushing his chin

“Well, that would be the best action to solve this issue, my king.”

”Very well, arrange it, and I trust you to run it,” The king said, not wanting to deal with every manner of the association, the more removed he was the better if he wanted the association to work for all the people of Monsterra, especially the south, he needed to be an outsider.

"Very well I would do that,” Villa said,

“Is that all? ” The king asked, wanting to go back to his books. He needed to find answers and fast. What if another monster like the crimson beast from the Red Night appeared, would they be able to stop it without the tamer king?

He wondered how he was doing. The tamer king had disappeared since the association vote and the king wondered if it had anything to do with the young lady that passed away. What was their relationship? He wondered, were they close friends, or perhaps lovers? Or was there a more sinister reason for his disappearance?

“It appears that not every guild is cooperating with the association.”

The king let out a sigh, scratching his forehead, his face flashing before him.

“It appears that some tamers of the Rock Shield

guild are being quite aggressive when it comes to the association in the south.”

“Of course they are,” the king said, touching his brow, feeling the headache that was the Rock Shield Guild begin to form.

“In what way?”

“Well, they attacked Stonetopolis city, well, to be more precise, the examination building. The attack, unfortunately, has sent back the construction of the building of the association a few weeks behind schedule in the south.”

“Is everyone okay?” the king asked, this was the last thing he needed. A squabble with the people of the south.

‘Everyone is fine, luckily nobody was hurt.” Villa said, adjusting his glasses.

“Is Roth informed about what his guild members are doing?” The king asked, there was a hint of anger that took Villa by surprise, to think this soft-featured king had that side of him, was quite the shocker.

“He’s said he’s looking into it but, to be honest, I don’t trust his word. With all due respect to him, my king.”

“Yes, I wouldn’t either,” the king said, caressing his chin,

“Do you want me to send guards down there and make sure no funny business comes from the Rock Shield guild anymore?”

“If you don’t mind, my king, I rather send in tamers from the association to stand guard and make sure the office gets built. We wouldn’t want the people of the south to think Traineria is encroaching on them.”

“You’re right, the last thing we need right now is some sort of fight with Roth and the people of the south. The people down south sure are a hard-headed bunch.” The king said, recalling the first tamer wars between the kingdom of the center, Traineria, and the people of the south, over the stone of Tamers. That was what started it all, or perhaps it was something else that was hidden in his books, but for all he could remember, the animosity had been there since his father’s reign, and his father’s father and his father before him, all the way back to the first king of Traineria. He wondered if the people of the South even remembered why they had been at odds with one another, or were they just following the custom of the South to hate Traineria for having dominion over the Stone of Tame. The stone which gave birth to the crystals that allowed them to tame the many monster partners that were in Monsterra.

“If things don’t go smooth, I’m going down there and making sure things progress at an acceptable pace, as well as talk to Roth,” the king said, not sure if that would help, but he was the king of Traineria, even if the citizens of the southern part of Monsterra didn’t think of him as their king, he was still a king nonetheless.

“Hopefully that

won’t be necessary, I’ll go down there myself before I let our king go” Villa said, as he got up from his chair,

“We wouldn’t want the king of Traineria to get hurt.”

“Now if you excuse me, my king, I have a busy day.”

Villa said, looking at the books the king was reading, he almost wanted to laugh but decided not to. He was his king after all, and he still needed him for a bit longer.

“Take care Villa,” the king said, as Villa bowed before him, leaving him to his books.

“Don’t they know how important the association is,” the king thought, hoping that the worst wouldn’t come.

The problems in the South brought nothing but headaches to his mind, he let out a sigh, which caught the attention of a certain librarian.

“Is everything alright my king?” she asked,

“I’m alright, just some problems down south,” he said,

‘Aw!” she said, as a person from the south, she knew the animosity between the kingdom of Traineria and the south.

“It is said that to know each other hearts, it is important to understand each other’s origins and histories, may I recommend a book that will help you in just that,”

“Of course,” the king said, raising an eyebrow. Curious as to what the librarian from the South had in mind.

“Very well, if you excuse me,” she said, bowing before him and rushing off to get just the book she had in mind.

She hovered her hand between the many books that were on her desk, searching for just the right book. The book that she had read when she was a young girl.

“ Here it is,” she said, grabbing a thick leather book that looked as if it had seen many centuries, and rushed toward the king of Traineria.

“Here it is my king.”

She placed the brown leather book on the king’s giant desk. Its colors almost blended with his giant oak table.

“This book is quite special, some say it is the story of the South. I hope this book will teach our great king a little about the South and her sons and daughters. ”

She bowed before the king and left him to his own. As she looked back at the king, she couldn’t help but recall the woman who had read that book to her and wondered if she was well up there in Turtle Mountain.

“Myths and legends of the south and its origins” the king read. The book was heavy in part because of its thick leather covering. It looked as if the book had been crafted many years ago. He opened the book with quite a curiosity and began to read the first line.

“The south’s beginning and the birth of the world.”

“Interesting title,” the king said, lingering over the “birth of the world “ part.

“In the beginning, there was nothing, and from that nothing, the ancient one was born.”

“The ancient one,” he repeated, he had heard of that name before. The tamers from the south said its name a lot during the red night.

“That’s the old god the people of the south worship.”

“But here in the kingdom of Traineria, the god and goddess of worship are Tameron the father and the mother of all, Crystalia,” he thought, recalling his teacher’s teachings.

“They both defeated the great evil beast, Therion. And in defeating him, he spat all the monsters into existence.”

He wondered if understanding their religion; he would come to understand them.

“When the ancient one awoke, space was created and when he spoke time was created. And in that space and time, there was nothing but darkness, so he created the world to fill that nothingness,” he read on,

“The ancient one descended upon one of his domains and saw that it was empty yet balanced, unlike the other ones of his creations. Upon seeing that, he gave birth to the four sages of creation to create the world to his liking. The sage of water, the endless sea serpent filled the ground with water. The sage of fire, the blazing phoenix gave birth to the land with its fiery wings. The sage of nature, the Turtle of the forest gave birth to all trees, grass, and flowers, and filled the world with a vibrant sea of green. The sage of thunder, the great lighting tiger filled the sky with thunder, dividing and protecting the ancient one’s creation from those who would destroy such a beautiful creation. And finally, after he had created the lands of Monsterra, he saw that despite looking beautiful and to his liking, it felt empty. So he combined all the sages of creation into the sage of life, the great golden dragon, and with its scales made of gold, the golden scales covered the ancient one’s world with them, giving birth to all living things.”

The king stopped and took everything he had read, and pondered. Creation myths and legends weren’t unique to any people, the citizens of Traineria had one too. However, he did find that the southern people thinking humans and monsters came from some golden dragon were silly, since Tameron the father, and Crystalia the mother gave birth to the descendants of Monsterra, and Therion the beast spat out the monsters that inhabitant the continent of Monsterra. And it was Crystalia the mother who gave her sons dominion over them. The unique thing about the myth was that the southern people didn’t separate humans from monsters, which he found odd. Yet, he couldn’t help but recall that night, and what that beast in crimson skin became. He wondered if the answer to that red beast lay in the south, perhaps the southern people were right. Humans and monsters weren’t so different. Nonetheless, he continued.

“After the ancient one’s sages of creation and life had finished their job, they all turned into the orbs of creations, and the guardians of Monsterra placed all five orbs in tombs fit for their divinity.

He turned the page and stopped. What he saw was straight out that night.

He looked at drawings that looked like black orbs, and underneath them, were beasts that were so grotesque that they didn’t resemble anything in Monsterra, reminding him of the crimson beast.

“But the greed of humans found the orbs, corrupting them and birthing the fallen, which brought the world to its knees.”

“And it was the guardians that managed to beat the age of darkness that the fallen brought to the world and the ancient one’s creation had been restored to its order.”

“The red beast,”

he said, as he got up from his chair, a cold sweat engulfed him, just like the crimson beast did that night.

He didn’t care for the myth, but the orbs, and what he saw underneath those orbs. Those demon-like drawings.

‘Who were these guardians of Monsterra,” he thought, wondering if the answers were really in the south.

“My King?”’ the librarians that were working in the library said, surprised by the king’s sudden ruckus.

“Sorry,” he

said, sitting back down.

“Royal knight,” he commanded snapping his fingers,

“Yes my king?” the knight said, bowing before the king of Traineria.

“Assemble

the Gryphon riders,” he said,

“I’m going to the south.”