After Corvus distributed the loot to the soldiers under his command, he had almost nothing left. He gave his share to Justinianus for knowledge and the statue he was going to build. Of course, he reserved the tribute to the king. After finishing all his business with his soldiers, he headed towards the big building at the foot of the Rhaz mountain. The only speciality of this building was that it was bigger than all the other buildings in the city and Sanguinar lived here. The sculptors with Corvus were horrified by the ugliness of the building. How could a king live in such a place?
Sanguinar Sakhaar was not in the city. He had recently left the city to prevent another demon attack. It was up to Carvus and his uncle Valerius to do all the work his father should have done. The first issue to be dealt with was Sakhaar's share of the loot of the expedition. Valerius disliked this kind of work, so he left it to his nephew.
Corvus entered the throne room. Several commanders had already arrived to pay their tribute. They were the commanders who were in the city of Adler with Corvus.
Corvus was not yet king, so he was not authorised to sit on the throne. There were three commanders in the room. One of them was a woman and each of them had more than three thousand soldiers under his command. All three commanders were relatives of Corvus. Each of them shared the surname Tiamat and supported Sakhaar. The reason they came here as soon as they entered the city was that they wanted to show their respect for Sakhaar. However, none of the three had any reason to respect Corvus.
The first to come forward was the only woman in the room. Kaelyra Tiamat was Corvus' cousin and Valerius' daughter. She was also the second most powerful woman in the city. Kaelyra was holding a large axe in her hand, having to bring with her the share that Valerius had to give. She gave the axe to Corvus.
"This axe is a gift from me to our Sakhaar. It was made by the best blacksmiths in the Kingdom of Adler." Kaelyra could not take her eyes off her gift. "In addition, as always, I offer a third of my own spoils as tribute." Kaelyra rolled her eyes and continued. This gesture caused Corvus to laugh slightly. "And of course I bring the tribute of my father, Valerius."
Following Kaelyra, the other commanders paid their tribute and left the room. Within a few hours, all the commanders except two had paid their tribute. There were only two who did not pay tribute. One of them was Torin Ogon, who had lost too many soldiers in the war with the demons.
The Ogon family was one of the leading families in the city of Rahazgord, though not as prominent as the Tiamats. The decades-long rivalry between Torin Ogon and Valerius Tiamat had caused tension between the two families. This was why Valerius had placed Torin and his soldiers in the most dangerous position in the last war.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
It was not obligatory to pay tribute to Sanguinar, but it was disrespectful not to. Corvus knew this, but Torin's excuse was strong. Varek Nabuk, on the other hand, had no excuse. The only reason he didn't pay tribute was because he had no respect for the Tiamat family. The Nabuk family was one of the three most powerful families in the city and had been fighting the Tiamat family for the position of Sanguinar for centuries.
It took Corvus hours to report and approve all the tributes, but he had much to do. A lot had happened in his and his father's absence, and he had to find out about it and solve the problems. Of course, the elders of the Tiamat family would help him.
Corvus had finished his work after three tiring days and it was time to start his own plans. The sculptors had sketched several statues and were waiting for Corvus' opinion. Just as they were telling Corvus their ideas, Kaelyra entered the room and called Corvus with a hand gesture. Corvus realised from Kaelyra's look that the situation was serious. Corvus, knowing his cousin's anger, quickly followed his cousin.
Along the way, Kaelyra didn't say a word. The reason for this was Kaelyra's self-awareness. Kaelyra did not know how to stop talking when she was angry. Kaelyra, who did not want to talk in public, was holding herself back and getting faster with every step. Soon they were already diving into the streets of the city. Kaelyra stopped in the quietest alley she could find and turned to Corvus furiously.
She was so angry. She had swelled up along the way and she couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed Corvus tightly by both shoulders and stared into his eyes. "You will be Sanguinar, Corvus! Stop messing about with nonsense and get back to your soldiers!" she thundered. She was angry because instead of going back to his soldiers, Corvus was making chit-chat with the sculptors he had brought back from Adler. Corvus remained silent. "Everyone is talking about you!" her voice softened a little. "Not only did you hang around with that boy in Adler instead of taking care of your soldiers, but you brought weak guys with you." Corvus' stare did not change in the slightest. Kaelyra's anger gave way to compassion. "I'm speaking for you, Corvus. At this rate, the family will stop supporting you. Even my father says you've gone soft."
Corvus understood Kaelyra's problem and was grateful for it. He was about to say something when he stopped. After hesitating for a second, he quickly left the alley. He started shouting with all his might.
"I am Corvus Tiamat! I never knew you Rhazgordians were gossips!". Although the place they were in was not very crowded, people were slowly gathering.
He looked at the people gathered around him with his eyes for a moment. "There are those who whisper that I am not a true warrior, that I have turned from the way of the warrior!" people began to grumble. "If anyone has the guts to speak to my face, they can find me on the outskirts of Rhaz at sunset!" He stared at the crowd for a few seconds. There were many who looked like they would have attacked Corvus if it hadn't been for Kaelyra, who was standing right behind Corvus, and the other Tiamats who had heard the noise. The whole city was talking about Corvus, and Corvus had challenged them all. As Corvus headed towards Mount Rhaz, the chaos he created spread through the city like wildfire. While all this was happening, a large convoy led by a young man was approaching the city.