“The God of Good’s”
A mystical pressure spread about the main hall of the Silver Palace. Bliss was felt every person present, from the silvery-silk draped messenger to the heavily over-geared guards standing on duty behind the sturdy throne room doors.
“Mind your words Trent, you inexperience does not allow for such a trivial error...”
Grim faced, the crowned man sat on the throne caused the messenger to take a deep gulp. The messenger quickly composed himself, taking a deep breath, before he continued on his reporting.
“Emissaries of the `Good Church` have asked for permission to settle the Lands of Silver. This coming with the rights to propagate their `Truth` to the commoners as well.”
The King showed no expression. The Kingdom of Silver had just recently kicked out its Patron God and so the hungry eyes of the other churches were now seeking to gain some fresh followers. Offers such as these had been common lately, although they usually came with some sort of gift to incentivise their specific faction.
A smile. The King had known many of the `Good` Priests and followers and he liked none of them.
“Rejected, next.”
Another scroll appeared as a ring on the messengers hand shined a dim blue. He then read:
“The local merchants have asked for more permanent buyouts for the spaces in the market square.”
A moment of silence spread around the throne room.
“They do seem to hate renting.”
Feeling through his beard the King searched his vast mind library for any idea worth presenting.
“Give them a high number for a lease of 20 years, it secures them the same store for a long time, and I haven’t been favourable to some of their matters recently.”
The emissary nodded his head and sent someone with the recorded response to someone down the in the kingdoms Finance department. He then pulled the most extravagant scroll seen so far.
“The final matter for today my King: another invitation by the Alliance. This time they hint at something more.. forceful if we do not oblige.”
The King simply stood up; a deep frown did not hide itself on his face.
“Bastards, we clean up their own mess and we are rewarded with this.” The King then looked off in a different direction, clearly his mind distracted. “For now, you’re all dismissed. Trent, I’ll speak about the matter with the Queen, we shall come to a conclusion together.”
“Right, good day my Liege”
Emissary peeled back into his own shadow and disappeared. A cheeky smile however did not escape the eyes of the King.
Such pleasantries, whilst common in court, was strange considering the King had known the emissary since their days in basic education. The memory managed to create a smile before his mind refocused back onto the grave task at hand.
`The Alliance` the King thought.
They held a quarter claim to the Eastern Half of the Divide and that roughly translated to 1/40 of all land known in all the Realm. It was maintained by sects of each different element, and this allowed them a diverse set of strengths that no other Eastern Land could equally boast.
It was strength that he and his dear wife could never hope to stand against, not even against the weaker elders of the group. The Land they ruled was so large that kingdoms such as his own were grown from small settlements only be taken under their wing after reaching a certain threshold: and they had already far surpassed that.
Trying to take his mind away from such thoughts the King focused more on what he saw around him. He had already left the throne room and was now slowly walking past a corridor named the Walk of History. On its walls were many significant historical pieces that celebrated how the Kingdom had come to how it was today.
The King ignored some of the Older relics, most were simply false, or they held to little evidence to be taken with full seriousness. To the end of the Hall the King finally came across some history he could relate to.
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A portrait of his grandfather, the one to reunify a splintered Kingdom after a period of decline by a litany of poor rulers. A man of great charisma and great strength, enough to wipe a city in a single spell. A role model for many, but also a mystery to all. His disappearance shook the Kingdom and not a verifiable word or rumour had spread about him ever since.
It was then that his lineage separated from power and another tyrant rose to the throne. This time, with a unified kingdom to rule over. He was greedy, power hungry, but he was also future thinking. He invested heavily in industry and imported several metal Apprentices to lay the foundation that made the Silver Kingdom what it was today.
The King’s thoughts of his late predecessor were mixed. In the future he hoped to be everything good about the man, without the evil it hid behind its silvery veil.
The portrait of him was grander than any other, gold carved into a frame where a man with silver hair and silver eyes stood. Calloused hands held a pure silver sceptre and he posed with the intent of looking authoritative. He portrait was simply named, `King` and it was history the current King could not help but recognise for what it was.
Those hands, no matter how much blood they had spilt, had also carved the kingdom he currently ruled. Morals in ruling were greyer than any other job, this King however hoped to be a whiter shade.
Coming to recent history and the King saw a face he knew all too well. A man he had seen beheaded, the previous ruler. Unlike his father he believed ruling was in his blood, clearly he had not seen history and such it repeated itself. His wife was the revolutionist and with her strength and the Kings own legitimacy, they claimed the throne and became the rightful rulers.
Now their portrait was on the wall. Smiling slightly, the King thought about how the corridor would change in the future. He had and his wife had great plans for their kingdom, time would decide if they were good or not.
Passing through another set of ornate double doors, the King walked past the gardens and through a series of bends before coming across a beautiful building laid in greenery and decorated modestly. This building was less so about appearance and more focused on results. The shimmering sign on the building named it, The Imperial Hospital.
The King walked up the steps into the building and past several royal Guards before coming across the room he was looking for. The Guards here were decked out in the best the Kingdom could afford, those that were hired were all nobles and were trusted to keep the Queen’s life intact at all times.
Although it was questionable whether she needed it or not.
She was the strongest person in the entire kingdom after all, but, one could never be too safe.
The King nodded to the Head guard, Jameson was his name, and they were technically Cousins. On his uniform the King could sense a small silk doll inside of the Guard’s pocket, that reminded the King of his Guard’s child.
“How is she?”
The Guard face come quickly out of its stoic expression and instead transformed into one of jovial happiness.
“She is my pride and joy who only grows better by the day.”
The King knew his Head guard was a very family orientated man, it was part of the reason why he was hired. His wife was the Queen’s Lady in Waiting (Assistant) and such they lived on the property, that meant guarding the Queen was likely the best bet for the Head Guard to also protect his family.
The King smiled at his own genius and after speaking of children for a small time the King finally decided to enter the hospitals finest room. One reserved for his wife only.
The King’s marriage was something that had been thrown around ever since he was young. Always told he would marry some other noble, or perhaps a princess, but the King was never one for that. He was a romantic, and he was looking at the woman he called soulmate. Even better, he could see a small bundle of joy he could proudly call his son, tucked inside his darling wife’s arms.
Her sleeping face together with the small sounds of his child’s voice made the King barely able to keep his composure as he sneaked over to take a better look.
The man who had sat on the throne with a stern complexion, managing the fates of millions, was now making strange faces, and weaving complex spells just to see his child giggle one more time.
“Stop using your concentration on such spells, your hopeless sometimes.”
His wife, her voice as smooth as silk, spiked at the King’s heart. He forgot sometimes how sensitive his wife was to magic.
“Sorry, but look at him...”
They both looked at the adorable child fiddling with a small blob of metal as it changed from a blunt sword to a big hammer, at the same time, both experienced a joy only parents could feel.
As the moment continued, the Kings eyes shifted to seriousness as he looked at his wife in the eyes.
“Right, sorry to ruin the mood but now your awake the Alliance demands we surrender. It seems we have no choice except to accept.”
The Queen of the Kingdom, the True ruler of the throne, simply gave the King a warm smile.
“We knew that it was inevitable from the day we learned of our puppet like nature. We must only send a few resources every year and that is all. Cheer up my love, after all our honeymoon is soon and I think you know exactly what that means.”
A suggestive glance sent the King away with the child in his arms. It was his turn for babysitting tonight and for her that meant she would finally get a full nights rest. Magic could cancel out the noise but as a mother she could never even think of doing that.
She would already wipe half the people out of her own kingdom for her son and sacrificing a few nights rest was nothing in comparison, although one was certainly more draining that the other.
The joyful figure of her juvenile husband disappeared down a long hallway as the guards closed the door.
Ever since she was a child, Tianna had always just wanted to live a happy life. A good husband and a few children was everything she wanted. Now, her eyes gave away her fatigue as she felt the heavy responsibility of an entire kingdom weighing on her shoulders.
She looked around the room, now empty of her family and gave out a long breath.
She had a family to protect now, there was certainly no take-backs. Tianna was young once, but now she was the true Queen of the Silver Kingdom.
Her eyes began to fade as her resolve stood firm.
As darkness enveloped her sight, she made one last promise to at least give her child the childhood she wished she had received herself.