The four halls, Virtue, Inner, Guardian, and Heroes, are the sectors that Snowdrifts had opened to the public but there are actually a fifth hall.

The Dusk Hall.

Information gathering, covert operations, assassinations, and intelligence.

This hall does not and will not exist in any public records.

The only people that know about its existence will be those participating in it and the founders of the Snowdrifts branch.

The people who will join this department will be tested for their loyalty and will have their lives bound to the guild.

For the members to fit these strict criteria will need years of investment, and even so, if they have family or old habits, they could be compromised.

There will be exceptions, of course, but those are too few and far between to support the Dusk Hall. That is why the same morning that the bulletin board was put up, Relestia and Kairos took a trip to all the orphanages in the two cities. They have enough funds to start up thanks to Thunderstalk’s possessions, and a brewery that will soon bring in stable cash flow for the branch, adopting a few children falls comfortably in their means.

Kairos held Relestia’s hand tightly, seemingly more nervous than the girl on bringing home his new family, just like Alan, Edward, Jim, Tommy and Jones.

He couldn’t see them as his kids, given that he is only sixteen himself, so those they bring home will be his new younger brothers and sisters. Their ages will be fitting as well, with the oldest among them not yet twelve for those who are will already be sent out to find work.

Regardless dwarves, gnomes, elves, or humans, twelve is an age where they are considered big enough to seek employment on the Axis. Although some races live longer than others, they generally speed through childhood at the same pace. It is arranged by nature for the sake of survival.

Of course, there are also other core races of Axis Mundi that are different, like the goblins that become adults within months.

When Kairos and Relestia arrive, the orphanages are more than happy to release the children to the two well-doing young couple. As for whether they take in these children as their kids or as adopted siblings, there are no laws here enforcing it, only that they must take your family name.

Taking the royal name, Vestimore, is impossible. Even Relestia cannot make that decision on her own, but the Astroire name has no problem. Except, perhaps for the headache that Vouno will have when he finds out all these siblings that Kairos are bringing home.

Besides the orphanages, there are also those they found abandoned on the streets or those abducted to beg for money. A single scan with the surveillance spell quickly revealed most of the dark horrors hidden in the cities.

In between orphanages, they busted drug rings, trafficking nests, and kidnapper circles. Alas, Kairos and Relestia are not janitors hired by the dwarves and gnomes, and they have no obligations to clear their trash.

The smuggler coves, for example, are untouched just because there are no children in need of help there.

Still, the two made notes on all the illegal places that they found, a list that will eventually find its way to their respective governments.

The two youths reckoned that if they could do something good with a few minutes of their time, there are no reasons not to.

To exchange the list for favours or to gain rewards. These acts will only water down the original good intentions.

On the other hand, to protect themselves, the two decided to send the list in secret to both the people’s union and the gnome king, as well as the dwarf king, and inform all sides.

In secret, because revealing it to the public will be turning this issue into a criticism.

To the three parties, because it shows the Snowdrifts’ equal acknowledgement towards their management authority.

Of course, the list will be separated according to city and given to the race respectively.

The children following Kairos and Relestia quickly grow in numbers. Not only so, but they also saw how other small children that are in need rescued, and their eyes glow brightly. One day, when they grow up, with a sword in hand, they want to help others poorer than them.

The children quickly looked up to their new elder brother and sister. The example was set.

Kairos and Relestia generously explained what they were doing to the curious kids, as well as the list they are writing on and how to protect themselves while doing good… and the children absorbed all of these like water to sponge.

That day, the two brought home enough children to form an academy.

Kairos looked at Relestia with shining eyes and mouthed, “Saint Cadets Academy.”

Relestia instantly smiled and nodded saying, “Let’s call this the Saint Adept Academy!”

Kairos thought over the name a little, liking it more and more every moment and quickly punched his palm in approval.

The children will not be taught as cadets of a military school, but adepts that could pick up the helm on different occasions.

As the two came home, Leo and the rest came out to meet them. It is hard not to be alarmed when there are so many people going up to your doorsteps. When they came out, they saw Kairos and Relestia each carrying a child in their arms while holding the hand of another. Around them, a throng of children followed, the bigger ones carrying groceries or the smaller kids.

As Leo and group was surprised by how many there are, the children looked amazed at the large yard and massive buildings in front of them.

This luxurious feel, even the air here seemed sweeter.

Most of the younger ones did not think too much on it as they enjoyed the pleasant change in environment. The older kids, however, had enough life experience to know the ones who brought them home… looks like they are far far more a bigshot then first believed.

Those that understood this stiffened up. Even if they are not yet twelve, they are old enough to know that there is no free lunch in the world.

Why would people with money and large land want so many orphans when they could have hired any hand they need.

A little squirt that had been shyly following Kairos, stuck his head out. His hand gripping Kairos’ trousers tightly as he said in a childish tone, “Papa, is that our home?”

Kairos roughed up the little one’s hair with a large smile and nodded, adding with a soft voice, “You can call me third brother, or just brother.”

The kid tilted his head confused.

“The ward at the orphanage said to call the man who brings me home, papa, and the woman as mama.”

The kid then furrowed his eyebrows seriously and said, “The ward also says, nobody likes a rude child, and if you don’t like me, I won’t be able to fill my tummy, so I must call you papa.”

Kairos’ hand stiffened then continued rustling through the boy’s hair, “What is your name?”

“Timmy,” the kid squeaked, adding, “I’m six!”

Kairos immediately looked around for a white kitten, and on seeing none, he sighed in regret. He had not magically teleported to that legendary city after all.

“Little Timmy,” he said, “take care of those younger than you, and look up to those older than you. For they will all be your siblings, including Relestia and I. Can you do that for me?”

Timmy happily agreed, then pointed at Linda who is being carried by Leo, “Is she also?”

Kairos nodded.

“She is so pretty! I want to play with her.”

The younger children quickly erupted from Timmy’s exclamation and noisily asked to play.

“I wanna play also…”

“Can we play?”

A beautiful large green yard and large houses to be explored. The younger kids are all sparkling with the spirit of adventure.

Most of the older kids did not speak, nor did they stop the rest from asking.

They are still thinking about why so many are adopted. Are they to be made used of? But the two had freed many children too…

Also, the guy mentioned to call him third brother, so are there two more older siblings?

Kairos could see all these questions reflected on their faces, but there will be a better time to address them all.

He clapped his hands together, much like a matron of the orphanage from where Tommy, Alan, and Edward had lived in.

Jim, Jones, and Kairos had been caught plenty of times sneaking in to play.

“We will have dinner first, then if you want to play, we have plenty of time before bath and sleep.”

Relestia added, “Don’t run into the buildings under construction, it’s still dangerous.”

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The children all listened carefully. Only a person as beautiful as her could hold the full attention of all these hyperactive children whenever she speaks.

Of course, Kairos is not one of such people. His looks are above average, but yet to turn heads when he walks by. It is his demeanour and disposition that sets him apart.

They led the children in as Kairos and Leo quickly took over the kitchen.

After the best meal they had in their lives, everyone is visibly more relaxed. Kairos clapped again and announced, “The game we will play today is called Kings and Kingdom. Form up in groups. The numbers don’t matter, but the more players there are the harder it will be.

There will be only one Overlord’s throne per group. Three resources, each indicated by a pellet of different colour, determine who can become the Overlord, Yellow for Gold, Black for Troops, and Grey for Thieves.

Each person will start with twenty resources, everyone can pick it randomly or everyone can choose their own from the same pool. The pool is made up of seven of each resource multiply by the total number of players.

When two players meet, they will choose any number of pellets to reveal. Gold will buy Troops, Troops will capture Thieves, and Thieves will steal Gold.

The winner will take from the loser according to the number wagered

In case of a draw, there will be a rematch until there is a winner.

There are no rules other than these. You can form alliances, do trades, even elect your own Overlord.

Your Overlord can challenge another Overlord and led all of you to victory or defeat.”

This game teaches them how to count, negotiate, trade, form groups, and lead groups. The things children can learn from this game will help them throughout their lives. Similarly, Tommy, Alan, Kairos, Edward, and Jim could quickly pick up the reins during their first year’s capture-the—flag examination because they had played this before.

This game was of course invented for the purpose of teaching children these necessary traits to survive in a chaotic, war-ridden, world. Likewise, Kairos passed it down to these children.

These kids will one day pick up Snowdrifts’ businesses and take up leadership roles in the halls.

……

Time passed quickly and months had gone by. Days changed at the same speed for both Gaia and Axis Mundi.

Just like the branch, the Snowdrifts’ main guild had started establishing their grounds on Gaia. They had announced they are neither rebels nor foreign forces. They are true blue Saint Empire troops.

Why?

Because their leader is not the unlawful Devilheart family that is controlling Saint Empire, nor the crippled Fifth Prince that is controlled by them.

The Snowdrifts had publicly denounced the current Saint Empire governance and declared that their leader is Relestia Vestimore the rightful inheritor to the throne.

They recalled those loyal to the royal family, including veteran soldiers and noble houses that supports Vestimore. Of course, many are bound to Saint Empire or held firmly by the Devilheart family.

Still, many answered their call and travelled miles to join the Snowdrifts. Until today, despite disappearing from the public eye, the recognition that emperor Galahad Vestimore had among his citizens is still untouchable.

Others came because they did not agree with the Devilheart’s method of running the place.

It is expected that many will feel like this, especially when they plotted their rebellion from a long time ago. Now that there is a chance to feed their ambition, the Devilheart did it with fervour and it turned away many people that had little to survive on.

Still, for the Snowdrifts to be established, it is nothing short of a miracle, yet completely reasonable that they could.

They had absorbed an army of a hundred thousand soldiers from the Frosthral Feudal State and another hundred thousand after they conquered Ku Kang Plateau and additionally have the support of multiple powerful families and clans.

With two out of three of the Great Noble families backing them, the Snowdrifts had a pretty good position. Furthermore, the guild itself runs one of the largest enterprises on Gaia, with trade routes stretching across several empires thanks to the Thief King Rielon and the Trade Federate’s support.

Lastly, and perhaps the most important factor that made forming a new state possible is the news of the Snowdrifts conquering the Ku Kang Plateau, a feat that was previously thought to be impossible, and it caused their reputation to explode since.

Just like this, Saint Empire had been torn into two factions.

Their numbers quickly grew from two hundred thousand to half a million, with no signs of stopping.

Constructions are undergoing every single day to accommodate the new residents. Pitstops and crossover towns are made along the way between Saint Empire, the Frosthral Feudal State, and the Silent Lambs Empire towards where Snowdrifts is now situated at, next to Avalon.

They are at a place smacked in the middle. North-west of Saint Empire, South-West of Frosthral, and directly north of the Silent Lambs Empire, each about a month’s journey away.

The Snowdrifts are not like typical new kingdoms but have the resources to match an empire.

In fact, the war funds they took from the Silent Lambs Empire is only their enterprise’s starting capital. The money they roll in from various trade routes, both from the underworld’s blackmarkets and the merchants’ commodity roads, and the royalty from weapons and stratagems they patented is enough to buy two kingdoms with spare left.

However, as more people answered their call, they faced another problem, the lack of certain resources.

Their army are quickly growing as well, yet the number of weapons and armours they have in store cannot equip even half of them.

This scale will only worsen as more soldiers come.

Compared to Saint Empire that has eight million, what they have now are but a drop in the bucket.

On the surface, Saint Empire has eight million troops with the deceased Third Prince and the crippled Fifth Prince each controlling a million in the past, while the rest belonged to Emperor Galahad.

Deducting those who lacked loyalty or are bound by family and other matters, the ones who want to serve their princess for any reason at all will take the month-long journey. If things increase at this pace, they will have a million troops by next year.

Until then, they must resolve the issue. It won’t do to have them hold pitchfork and spades on the battlefield. Even if the soldiers did not die in a battle, they will die from embarrassment. For an occupation that takes everything seriously, this is not an adjective but very much in the literal sense.

Alas, keeping armours and weapons in the mass is a crime of treason for any country. What they have is what their army carried on them during the battle before with none to spare.

Even with the biggest trade network on Gaia, there is no way to equip an army except to forge it themselves.

The same thing goes for mounts. Without horses, the warbeasts, and the beasts of burden, they will be standing targets for their enemies.

Besides this, food is also getting scarce. The land around them may be lush and fertile compared to Frosthral, but it is still soil mixed with ice and only the hardiest crops could survive here.

The trained soldiers that come to join them are not farmers. They may obey in tiling the land and fertilising the crops, but they are not farmers.

They need to be retrained to function effectively in this new environment with new comrades instead of becoming a farmhand.

Saint Empire organise their troops in groups of five with a saboteur, a combat engineer, a scout, a vanguard, and a captain.

Twenty squads make up a section which fights together in a skirmish.

Ten sections make up a platoon that move together during a battle.

Ten platoons make up a company which is ten thousand people or more.

A battalion has ten platoons. Each time there is a war, at least one battalion will be assigned, according to the scale. Sometimes just two or three platoons within a battalion is sufficient, sometimes far more, but each battalion must be self-dependant and capable of working with other battalions.

This means from logistics to general strategy; a battalion needs to prepare and execute it without fail.

All of this, every single part, runs like well-oiled gears in a machine. If a single piece fails, the whole thing will come crashing down.

Tommy, Alan, Edward, and Jim all know this.

Luciette and George know this.

All the captains and the strategists know this.

That is why the trained soldiers that came from Saint Empire have to be retrained.

And training means burning food and resources.

The Snowdrifts has the money but just like armour and weapons are restricted, food beyond a certain weight is not for sale.

If they want to form a new country, they need to resolve these first.

And therefore, they came to Tommy’s birthplace, Avalon. It is a secret that only his closest friends know he was not born in Saint Empire.

Avalon is a unique place that falls within Frosthral territory. It is one of the largest valleys on Gaia, in-between the endless frost towards the north and the endless plains towards the east.

To know more about Avalon, one must discuss the now-vanquished kingdom of the north.

A little over a decade ago, that grand kingdom called Logres still stood proudly.

Filled with the best craftsmen and a long history, it was universally acknowledged as the most civilised country on Gaia.

Alas, after over three centuries of peace, they had the most advanced weapons on this world but did not know how to wield it properly.

Nomads lived sparsely around the lands belonging to Logres and they travel through the tundra with reindeer herds, always chasing the green grass that will keep them fed.

These people are peaceful and friendly to visitors and traders, but on horseback they can become fierce warriors, raiders, and invaders.

When their numbers are low, they depended on Logres for her goods, yet after they had thrived from the things they traded, their eyes turned green. While Logres consider them her people, these people are loyal only to themselves.

It was during this time when amongst the tribes of nomads, a great person arose, known only by a single word, Genghis.

He was like a meteor that shot across the heavens. His exploits are legendary and the people gave him the title of Great Khan.

He rallied all the tribes living on this harsh and savage land, and that day, he took upon himself the name Yesugei-in Temujin.

The nomads started attacking travellers to and from Logres, and one of the victims happened to be Tommy’s family.

They had just visited Saint City, the capital of Saint Empire. A place that stood proudly close to her borders like a steward guardian.

When they were attacked by the bandits, the young Tommy who had been riding on a spooked horse by himself was separated from his family.

By the time the chaos had rescinded, he had lost his horse and found himself completely lost.

At that time, he was only five, but already had two years of riding experience. That experience also includes how to handle a spooked horse and what to do when it overpowers you and left you in the middle of nowhere.

He quickly reorientates himself, finding where is north, and from there speculate how to return home.

Unfortunately, home is too far from him to trek on foot so Tommy turned towards Saint City instead.

At the same time, his father, having dealt with the bandits, frantically searched around the place for Tommy, but a news soon reached his ears forcing him to return.

War had broken out. A planned uprising by the nomads had besieged Logres from within.

Peace had dulled their senses, towns and cities were lost in an instant. Now only their capital, Astolat is left, and they are planning to surrender.

Tommy’s father who had attained the rank, Knight of the Lake, is the greatest warrior of Logres. The last of the royal family prepares to flee towards their final bastion, Avalon, together with their loyal retinue and he must return to their aid.

Leaving a few servants behind to search for Tommy, he returned to Astolat.

Years passed. Tommy was never found but the servants eventually found traces that confirmed the boy to have survived.

And since the Snowdrifts had been established, Tommy had been seeking his family. At first there was no leads, given that Tommy’s memories of his childhood were blurred by youth and time.

After the kingdom fell, where his family had gone became a mystery, but Laksa, Helena, and Siegfried’s arrival gave him new leads.

They told him about Avalon, the secret place where the royals had retreated to.

The valley of kings, the resting place of the once and future king, and the treasure vault of Pendragon. It is a legendary valley but as top-tiered craftsmen, the three teachers were invited as well. Unfortunately, Astolat fell too quickly and in the chaos, they were unable to reach the palace in time and were left behind.

The location of Avalon remained unknown until Tommy enlisted the help of the Dark Hall. For the empire’s central information hub, it was a matter of flipping a few pages to find Avalon’s whereabouts.

More than just its location, the Dark Hall also knows its history and purpose.

Although Logres had rotted from the three centuries of peace, one of their ancestors had the foresight to stow away their excess resources in Avalon during years of abundance and his successors had carried on with this tradition.

Each time the kingdom faced a disaster, this stash helped them to rebound, and even though the bulk had been spent over the years, they still have plenty to restore Logres to its former glory.

In fact, the royals who retreated to Avalon wanted to use this and retake the north from the newly established kingdom called the Frosthral Feudal State.

There are a bunch of reasons why Saint Empire had not taken this treasury as her own, but primarily because Avalon’s riches are too little to worth the trouble.

The purpose of having secrets is to keep out those that must not know. The hidden might be treasures for some yet garbage for others.

In fact, most empires know of Avalon’s existence just like they know where each country’s gold mines are located.

They just do not want the trouble of acquiring those resources, however, for the Snowdrifts, it is the opposite. They have the people but lacked specific resources. Resources that Avalon have in abundance.