Dull yellow crystals barely illuminated a musty, dark room, surrounded by large, overfilled shelves and piles of haphazardly stacked books. In the centre of the room was a circular table with two men sitting on opposite sides.

The man who sat closest to the large, wooden door, was wearing exceedingly ornate clothing, marking him as someone with high social standing and wealth. His eyebrows furrowed as he leant forward, placing his elbows on the table and grasping his hands.  "And I am supposed to believe you are doing all of this out of the kindness of your heart... Mr representative of the Sun Clan? You haven't even told me your real name."

Greying fox ears protruded out from the head of the man on the opposite side of the table, as he sat impassively before a belittling smile covered his face, intelligence and cunning dancing menacingly in his dark brown eyes. "Not at all... Prince Harken... What I am proposing is a mutually beneficial arrangement. For that to happen, both sides must get something out of it. I had hoped your father would have taught you at least that before passing on."

The prince's frown deepened as he struggled to mask his emotions. "My father has been dead less than a month and was only buried last week... Mind your words, representative, for our kingdom, may only be a shadow of its former self, but we still have sharp teeth and a nasty bite."

The foxkin laughed at the human's very beastkin like response. "Oh, of that I have no doubt, young prince, or else I would not be here." His mocking smile widened. "But I guess that being on the verge of civil war, having the Empire demand unrestricted military access to your lands and having the Federation's Huntsmen operating in the area has me a bit dubious of the longevity of your nation, making your threats seem a little... pathetic."

The prince's eyes narrowed, and his hands visibly shook from anger. "We are the descendants of the Kingdom of Man. The blood of the human heroes flows in our veins, and our 'tiny' army has held off the Empire and Federation for hundreds of years. Even if we are to fall, we will do it with our heads held high and swords in our hands."

"I would have thought that the destruction of the Moon Clan would have taught the world what happens when you think with your muscles and ideals instead of common sense and logic," laughed the representative in contempt. "What about your younger sister? Does she have this 'heroic' heritage flowing through her veins?"

Standing up abruptly, the prince slammed his hands down on the table and glared into the foxkin's eyes.  "Do not bring my sister into this, she is my sister before anything else, and I will not have her slandered in front of me, or by the Seven Sins, they will not find enough of your corpse to feed a fly."

With an unimpressed look, the foxkin raised his hands in a surrendering manner. "Why would I speak ill of your sister? She is of the beastkin race, same as me, and from what I hear, along with your full blood sister, who seems to have inherited your father's personality, they are the only ones trying to unify your kingdom without violence." He shook his head in a mocking manner. "I think you have been hanging around the human supremacists you call nobles too much, that or you have a guilty conscious about something?"

The prince sat down but did not speak; his eyes were filled with hate for the man in front of him as well as a hint of sadness.

Waiting for the prince to calm down, the Sun Clan representative began talking. "If you wanted the reason why we have come to you, then you only had to ask."

"I did," Interrupted Harken, clearly irritated. "Many times."

The representative continued, his eye twitching slightly in annoyance. "The Antaeth Basin, in which the only surviving kingdoms of men exist, is pivotal in keeping the power balance between the Federation, Empire and the Mystic Republic." He let out a deep breath, apparently bored with the subject already. "Currently, they are in a cold war, unwilling to throw the first punch in case of a surprise attack by the third. If either the Empire or the Federation were to gain control of the basin, then they could successfully hold off the other, using the natural terrain to their advantage and commit their full attention to the Republic. The Republic is only a threat when mobilised, they have little to no defences, preferring to live with nature meaning that after their armies are defeated, it would almost be laughable how much resistance they could muster before being completely crushed."

The representative stopped, and made sure the prince was paying attention. "Your marriage to the princess of Inetaria was a brilliant political move, but it drew the wrong kind of attention. Both the Empire and Federation are worried the human kingdoms will unite, removing any possibility they will have of conquering the basin without a significant commitment and loss of life. If they were to do so, it would also make them easy targets for the Republic. And if they were to attack the Republic, the opposing force being allowed passage through your lands to attack them from behind."

"And why would we allow that?" said the Prince, his temper finally receding.

"Because if one of them conquered the Republic, then they would gain massive amounts of resources and fresh recruits making it easy to smash through the basin in a couple of years. It's in your interest to keep them as weak as possible without openly going to war, If one side gets too far ahead, it is not difficult to see them conquering the entire continent in a few decades."

The prince scratched the stubble on his chin. "Father always said the reason we survived after the Kingdom of Man fell, was due to our enemies fighting amongst themselves." A smirk grew on his face as he berated himself for getting sucked into the foxkin's story and revealing information. "So how does summoning thirty-two beings from another dimension help? Also, the legends talk about the Great Calamity on the mainland caused by a summoning. Are you sure you’re not using us because we are far enough away that if something goes wrong, you won't instantly die?"

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

The smile on the fox kin did not even waver. "Although linked, the summoning was not the cause of the Great Calamity. We have made sure that only new souls will be targeted... It's not like we are going to do something that has any chance of destroying the last habitable continent in the world is it?" He put his hand into his dark robes and pulled out a bundle of parchment. "I guess in simpler terms, is that if we can't have any of the major players have something that will tip the scales, we must create a fourth player. Within five years, with the right training and leadership, the summoned will be the backbone of your army, making any attempt to attack the basin, suicidal."

Casually throwing the parchment onto the centre of the table, the foxkin stood up grasping a dark green crystal in his hand. "Oh... As we will be providing the vast quantities of materials needed and dealing with your little... domestic problem, we will be taking ten of the summoned; the other twenty-two are yours to do with as you wish. So... your decision?"

"Can you guarantee that none of this will harm my kingdom?" Distrust was evident in the prince's eyes, but he was in a precarious situation, even more so than the representative had revealed.

"We are merely providing the tools and opportunity; it is up to you how you use them. We will not rule your kingdom for you," said the foxkin, impatience heavy in his voice.

The prince sighed. "You already know I can't really refuse... but I can demand one more condition."

The foxkin turned his back and walked towards the wall behind him. "We will ensure your two sisters get into the Hitoln Grand Mages Academy and pay all of their expenses while things are... unsettled here and guarantee their safety.. Ensure the location marked on the map meets the requirements in two weeks, including the thirty-two Knight or higher ranked souls, Goodbye, Prince Harken. " 

"Just how much do you know?" muttered the prince as he shook his head and glared the man's back. 

Throwing the green crystal to the floor, the foxkin was enveloped in smoke before faded into nothingness, his voice lingering a few seconds before also vanishing. "We are the Sun Clan... We know everything young prince… Everything."

Ten minutes later the prince pushed open the heavy wooden doors with a dark expression and walked into a brightly lit corridor. Every ten feet, a guard in silver plate armour, was standing with a black sash hanging around their right shoulder signifying the citadel was in mourning for their deceased king.

Marching down the corridor at great speed was a young woman, the same colour hair as the prince fluttering behind her. At her side was a young girl looking to be the age of thirteen, small triangular ears twitched on her head as her cat-like eyes nervously darted about, as if expecting something to attack her at any moment.

"BROTHER! I hear you are going to meet with the Sun Clan. You can't! You should know how treacherous those people are." The young woman skidded to a halt in front of the prince, placing her hands on her hips. "Father would never deal with them."

The little girl beside her looked at the prince, who smiled warmly back and ruffled her hair. "Hey Kira, how are you today?"

The girl smiled back, her cat-like eyes sparkling as she visibly relaxed. "Good, but big brother, sister will get mad again if you ignore her."

"She's always mad at me," laughed the prince, feeling some of his tension receding. "I think she feels she can rule the kingdom better than me. Maybe she is going to sidetrack my coronation ceremony tomorrow."

The woman's face fell. "Brother... I would never..."

Laughing the prince waved his hand and revealed a mischievous grin. "I know you wouldn't, Elanor; you just want to do what's best for the kingdom, like me." His smile vanished, and he lowered his voice. "Dark times call for drastic measures. The wolf is at the door, and unless we do something, the kingdom will fall, and its people suffer."

"But the Sun Clan...."

Harken motioned for his sisters to lead the way in the direction they had just come from. "They are only here because they know we have no other options. Sometimes you have to make a pact with a devil to keep a demon at bay." 

=======================================================================

Hey Guys!

Guess who's back! Due to the huge demand for a placeholder post and interest here is the first draft of the Prologue for the Book of Mors:Summoned.

Below is the Info Document I will be working in (Hopfully this should be a good solution for those who want it and those that don't. (I am content poping it with 'finalised' concepts today/tonight. If you have anything you want answered that WILL NOT spoil the story. Let me know and I will see if I can get it in.

**Warning May Contain Spoilers**

https://docs.google.com/document/d/15uov_ahObYf2-6EhHWpEamMpL0p4qLAaY_czJhgWjKA/edit?usp=sharing

Thanks for reading !