Ravi was seething

Reports had been slowly coming in from all around the twelve major kingdoms. Kings and Queens were reported dead, monarchs new and old gone in an instant. Next generations wiped out before they can begin and for what? Ravi had stretched his resources and brain for the past two weeks trying to find any mention of these accords. Somewhere on this planet someone made a decision to break an agreement that it seems on the surface that none of the kingdoms know anything about.

What does this all mean?? Ravi blurted out quietly, feeling as if he wanted to pull out his hair.

Did you say something? The Queen consort whispered, subtly turning in his direction from her seat in the throne room next to the new king.

No, nothing my queen, Ravi whispered back

The new rulers of Argog sat in full regalia on the thrones Wraith thought of as ceremonial. He never used this room, not even when he was crowned. Domini would always say “there’s too much work to be done” in that gruff voice of his. Now Cokren has the crown with his wife Stanna and they have slightly different plans. Cokren is the spitting image of his father, his slick black hair and muscled frame shows that he kept to his fathers routine. The differences can be seen in that beard he is so proud of and the healed slash that can be seen diagonally from the middle of his forehead to his right cheek. Just like his father would have, he refused to have the injury healed. It was a rite of passage for him although Wraith barely noticed. In Domini’s eyes any fourteen year old child of his should have been able to defeat a dire bear easily. Cokren was the laughingstock of his family for a few years after that. He made up for it by subjugating every dungeon he came across many of them by himself.

The respect he gained has now translated to this outpouring of support from his subjects in attendance. Looking over the crowd Ravi realized there were no fear filled stares, no tears, no whimpers and no one looking over their shoulders in worry. Wraith had sharpened his people, so much so that a large majority of them stayed ready for battle. This was a kingdom of fighters, the battle kingdom.

Ravi stood next to the Queen whose seat was placed on a slightly lower incline next to the king. From there the king's inner circle stood at attention on the declining steps based solely on their importance. Rand still stood as the captain of the guard, his step was directly below the height of the Queen as he stood ever vigilant. From there cascades of older and newer faces stood, some of them friends of the king. Those were noticeable by the slight fidgeting and overall sloppiness in their stance. This was clearly not noticed by the crowd but Rand surely did, Ravi was sure of it. That man missed nothing, in all the years that they had known each other he had only once seen Rand caught by surprise. That was when his wife suddenly got the bug for dungeon exploration.

Caught in his thoughts Ravi almost missed his cue, without missing a beat he said:

With this crown you become the king of Argog, the next warrior king who is blessed in battle and leads through strength. You hold the honor of your father and the generations before him. Seated you are a man, you rise as a king!!!

Ravi’s assistants handed him two crowns which he placed on the heads of the new king and his wife. They rose to the cheers of the crowd as Ravi did his best to hide his disgust at this entire ceremony. He bowed and began to turn to leave.

The captain of the guard gave him a sidelong look and slightly shook his head “no”. Ravi froze and stepped back into place near the throne unsure of why he was still needed.

My father laid a foundation for this kingdom that will never be shifted. I will build on that foundation and we all will bring our people to the future he only dreamed of. We will win great battles, claim amazing loot and raise the next generation of S - Ranked warriors. Our kingdom will shine bright among its peers and you will see victory laid out in your lifetime. This I promise as your king!! Cokren said

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

A loud roar emanated from the crowd followed by stomping and chants of Cokren, Colren, Cokren. After taking in the adulation of the crowd for a few minutes Cokren raised his hand calling for silence.

My father also instilled in all of his children the importance of information in war. As our world now stands at the precipice of battle and information will hand us the keys to victory… King Cokren said

It took all Ravi’s strength to keep his expressions in check. This boy knew nothing of his father, the man at his core was a blunt battle club. Fighting was all he knew and did, research and information had to be forced on him. Ravi clenched his teeth behind his well curated smile.

… in this kingdom there was not a man, woman or child he trusted more than the person I call on now. No battle strategy was forged without his input.

Ravi looked at Rand who stood unchanged, he knew he would have to stand and watch the guard captain be honored at this ceremony that just would not end.

… For the battle ahead I now present our strategist. This man will be second only to me in authority from this day forward…

“Here we go” Ravi thought, readying a false cheerful expression.

… On you I bestow the title of master strategist..

Ravi could hear the grinding of his teeth.

…to the king's scribe, Ravi Stainward!!

Ravi was genuinely surprised as the King motioned him over directing him to bow before him. King Cokren tapped him on both shoulders slightly with his scepter.

System message:

“You have unlocked the path of the Strategist Scribe”

Ravi kneeled dumbstruck, this path was not one he had previously heard of. He had so many questions and couldn't wait to research it.

“You have been offered the title of Strategist by King Cokren of the Argog kingdom. Will you accept this title?”

A blue scroll appeared in his vision, it was not seen by anyone else but silence was in the room as the audience held their breath in anticipation. On the scroll was written the title and an unfinished description.

“The bearer of this title will have the ability to harness the path of the scribe as well as see strategic uses of information received. All experience points past rank C will be allocated for this change.”

At the bottom of the scroll was written the words Yes/No

With tear filled eyes he thought yes while simultaneously saying thank you my king

A system message went out to the entire kingdom which brought joy to those who knew Ravi and confusion to those who had not heard the name.

“Arise and cheer Argog, a new Strategist Scribe has been appointed.

May your battles be plentiful, well fought and wise”

Ravi painfully stood as the process of extracting experience points had already begun. To his credit he kept his external expression standard to not interrupt this ceremony. Internally his joy was at war with the full body pain he felt. Having gone through this process before Ravi was not looking forward to the future vomiting and bedridden days.

The rest of the event went smoothly and Ravi made it halfway through the following feast before he had to excuse himself to his chambers. He needed to rest as the days ahead would not leave much time for it.

Argog would be preparing for war.