On a peninsula on the northwestern side of the continent existed the relatively small yet powerful Kingdom of Sengar. Where the peninsula connected to the mainland, the Zawar Mountain Range served as a natural impediment to any sort of land based invasion. Coupled with only two well-defined pathways through the mountains, the kingdom had never feared attacks from its two neighboring countries. The security of its land routes led the Kingdom of Sengar to focus much of its military towards the sea and thus became a local naval power, allowing the kingdom to also benefit from controlling several nearby islands and the waters between them.
The mountains, forests, and access to the sea, the Kingdom of Sengar became a stable economic power, capable of providing most essentials for itself from natural resources all the way to finished products. The only area where there was occasional struggle was in the production of food, as their limited lands meant only so much space for crops. However, the bounty of the sea and prosperous trade routes frequently made up the difference here and so no citizen alive today could truly say they were in a position of starvation.
The people of Sengar consisted of a variety of races like one might find a role playing game. Elves, dwarves, beastfolk, and humans made up the majority though. Sengar was, relatively speaking, a progressive nation where one’s race mattered little. As such, though the current king and queen, as well as the first prince, were human, there were extended familial lines that included other races.
Speaking of the first prince, his name was Quinn Sengar. As the first prince and eldest of his siblings, he was the heir apparent to the Kingdom of Sengar. He was still young, at only eighteen, but had shown great promise to the royal advisors for the future of the kingdom since he had come of age two years prior. There was only one fault that anyone might have with the prince, though few outside the palace knew of it. The prince was a serial seducer. Any woman whom he deemed attractive enough he would pursue relentlessly. It was of some help that the prince’s advances were so outrageous and forward that he had never actually succeeded in wooing any of the women he had pursued. Also, this issue was noticed early and steps had been taken to try and curb Quinn’s overt, over-the-top proclivities.
Personality defects aside, Quinn was actually quite intelligent and, by the standards of Sengar at least, was considered to be a very handsome young man. Since he was ten, he had been a secret advisor to his father, the king, which had led to numerous reforms and improvements throughout the kingdom in everything including agriculture, mining and forestry, technology, public health, and economics and trade. There were no almost no fields that had not at least received a passing glance by the prince.
As mentioned, Quinn was considered to be very handsome and many of Sengar’s nobility would send their daughters to try and win his affections. His sand colored hair he wore short, and the kind gaze of his hazel colored eyes brought all to eaze. Having trained as a knight, he had a muscular and athletic physique. It was frequently said amongst the older retainers that he resembled his father in his youth, but gained the beauty of his mother. At a distance, women equally fell for him with but a single look, and many of the nobility’s daughters vowed to win his attention as a wife, mistress, or even at the very least a concubine. However, none had the ability to meet with Quinn alone in any effort to win those attentions, a result of the harsh rules put in place to shield the world from his more outlandish behaviors.
The sunlight streamed through the large window behind the ornate wooden desk where Quinn sat, pouring through the paperwork on his latest endeavor. A pair of orange colored lounging sofas faced each other, with a low coffee table between them, in the center of the room. A small table with matching wooden chairs sat in a corner near the wide double doors to this elaborate office space. Shelves full of books lined most of the wall space, only broken up by the fireplace and banner depicting the Sengar crest.
Despite the frequent scope of his projects, Quinn did not have many who worked under him to aid in such projects. The only one who could keep up with Quinn intellectually was the young elven man who currently sat on one of the sofas named Wyen. Wyen was the same age as Quinn, and the two had attended the Royal Academy together. Though by elven cultural standards Wyen was still considered a child, by Sengar law he was an adult. Wyen served not only as the primary assistant to Quinn and his ventures, but also as the last foil to protect the kingdom’s women. It was said that Wyen, upon Quinn becoming king, would be the most likely candidate to serve as prime minister.
“The plans to expand physician facilities to other cities is still not being accepted by a number of the more… resistant nobles,” Wyen smoothly stated, his gentle voice seemingly carried by the wind itself.
“It honestly does not surprise me,” replied Quinn without taking his eyes off the sheet of parchment he was holding, “We just barely forced through the waste and garbage reforms which cost them a lot of money to set up.”
Quinn was focusing on public health with his latest endeavors. Living in a society that would be comparable to perhaps the Middle Ages of Earth, it was generally a common practice to dump one’s trash and waste straight onto the street. As a modern person might know, this created an environment for disease. Having realized this, Quinn had recently implored the king to force through the idea that the cities be cleaned. As such, something akin to trash services and septic services had been brought to life. The employment of others to clean the streets brought all areas of cities improved health.
The next step in Quinn’s plan was to introduce the concept of physicians to all the people. It was not uncommon to have such trained personnel on call among the nobility, but the idea had yet to catch on beyond the capital when it came to them servicing the common folk. While healing magic and potions could be considered the cornerstone of medicine in the world, they were not used over simple matters or common ailments. In addition, magic or potions had a tendency to also be more expensive, thus the poorer individuals of nations would often still perish from sometimes small accidents.
“Of course, there are a number that accepted the experimental proposal you outlined, with the Crown taking the training costs. We will have to see if the facilities they agreed to establish meet the necessary qualifications you seek first Quinn.”
Wyen leaned back with a sigh and rubbed his temple which had started to ache ever so slightly.
“Perhaps we should take a break?”
“Hmm,” Quinn grunted an affirmative and set down the parchment.
The pair stood, prompting the only other individual in the office to move.
“It’s not good that the prince’s guard should fall asleep on duty Fang,” Wyen stated flatly, despite the grin crossing his face.
“It’s not my fault you two spend so much time talking about boring stuff in here. Of course, I like the relaxed duty,” grumbled the wolf-like beastfolk Wyen had spoken to.
Fang was the nickname of Fangor Wotnese, the young man who served as Quinn’s personal guard knight. He had likewise attended the Royal Academy and the trio had become friends. As he was more skilled with a blade, Fang had worked hard to become a knight. Though he could not always keep up intellectually with Quinn and Wyen, he was an invaluable part of their group. When in private situations like this, the three ignored their social status and talked both freely and openly. Resuming his station as a knight, Fang opened the door before falling in next to Quinn.
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“Where are we heading, sire?” inquired Fang, taking a formal tone as several other knights formed an escort.
“I still haven’t been able to check out a…,” started Quinn, his face turning into a smirk at the idea of a destination.
“Absolutely not, sire,” interrupted Wyen loudly and forcefully.
Quinn sighed in reluctant acceptance, “Fine. Let us head to the garden then. We can examine the medicinal herbs I had planted there.”
Fang nodded to another of the escorting knights, who promptly ran ahead. This was to clear out any women from the garden so as not to distract the prince. The only women exempted from this were Quinn’s mother, the queen, and his sisters, the princesses. It was such the procedure anywhere within the castle: if the prince is going there, do everything to prevent any of his un-princely behaviors from being displayed.
“I believe I had heard a report of a gifted alchemist in the capital. Perhaps we should have them join my research on the medicinal herbs. New potions would surely be worth any investments that could be made,” remarked Quinn as they walked.
Alchemist was the general term for anyone who made potions for a living. Most had a tendency to serve as apothecaries, those who gathered and processed herbs, at the same time, so the terms sometimes were interchanged by those less knowledgeable.
“I extended such an invitation to the alchemist in question just two days ago, Your Highness,” Wyen formally replied, as they were in a public setting, “I suspect that we should hear back from them within the week.”
“You read that report as well? When did it arrive?”
“Three days ago. You have spent the last two days arguing with the nobles about your physician plan, Your Highness. I took the liberty of dealing with other concerns so as to allow you to focus on that.”
“Hmm. I feel like it has been longer than that with the resistance. Thank you Wyen.”
Wyen nodded.
Arriving at the gardens, the trio continued in as the escorting knights took up positions at the entrance. Despite the gardens opening to the sky, the area was considered to be secure, thus only having Fang accompany the prince was deemed acceptable.
Most of the garden served as nothing more than aesthetic pleasure. Flowers grew in every color, offering their pleasant fragrances to the gentle breeze within. Beds and trellises of the flowers created an almost maze-like series of paths through the gardens. In one corner, a pristinely maintained gazebo contained a small table and several chairs. It was a favorite spot of both the queen and princesses to take lunch or host their occasional noblewomen guests. It was at the queen’s request that the gardens be brought up to their current standard as the previous queen, Quinn’s grandmother, had cared little for them and thus the area had been largely neglected.
Quinn led the way through the flowers and past several trees to the area of the garden that he had established as a small scale testing field for his agriculture related experiments. Currently the field was filled with a variety of rare and difficult to cultivate medicinal herbs. The fact that these herbs were growing here spoke greatly of the skill of the apothecary that maintained them.
Quinn pulled a small journal and a writing tool similar to a pencil he kept on him at all times from a pocket. The pencil-like tool was something that had been created by a hero several decades ago in another country. It was perfect for writing on paper that was not animal skin parchment, as the marks it could make remained and the whole thing did not use ink. It was still a little expensive to make them, but not quite as much as a quill and ink.
“It looks even better than the last time I checked on them,” Quinn remarked.
“Still just looks like plants to me,” muttered Fang.
“With that nose you have, how is it you still can’t tell the difference?”
“I prefer to focus on the scent that means people could be after you, Quinn. Sweat carries more than you realize.”
“So what do I smell like?”
“Desperation,” interjected Wyen, “Except I don’t need my nose to tell me that.”
Fang burst into laughter at the quip Wyen threw at Quinn. They often had conversations like this and this was not the first time of this one either.
Quinn scowled in faux seriousness at his friends, “I could have you two executed, you know?”
“If you did, who would cover for when you slack?” asked Wyen sarcastically.
Fang had recomposed himself and watched as the other two discussed the herbs.
“Let’s have the team see if we can expand the development of tonics over potions. If that happens, it will open up cheaper medicinal alternatives for the physicians.”
Tonics and potions were generally made the same way. Different mixtures of various herbs, animal parts, and monster parts were combined to create some effect. Potions then would be infused with magic whereas tonics were not. The magic infusion given to potions enabled effects to take place quickly, if not instantly.
As the trio turned to leave, Fang suddenly tensed up.
“Wyen,” he grumbled in a familiar tone, causing Wyen to likewise tense up.
Quinn smirked as he heard the slight distress in Fang’s voice and the tension that the pair now exhibited, for he likewise knew that something pleasurable, at least for him, was about to happen.
The three stopped walking as someone approached through the garden. This young woman was one of the few exceptions, aside from the queen and princesses, who was allowed near Quinn. Though she was a bit shorter than the average woman in the kingdom, she carried a certain fierceness that prevented others from commenting on it. Her raven black hair was frequently gathered into a singular braid that prevented it from obscuring her face. Black irises made her gaze a little unnerving to meet if one had never met her before, but her youthful face also made her easier to approach. Today, she wore a dress that was more of a hybrid between dress and wizard robe. The top was both form-fitting, emphasizing her generous bust, and flashy with lace elements at the collar and sleeves, whereas the bottom was loose and flowed, allowing for more free movement. The blue cloth was somewhere between the blue of the sky and the blue of the sea, making it seem like both at the same time. Silver embroidery gave the dress robe the appearance of waves or wind gusts in the vast blue.
“Your Highness,” she said with a small curtsy.
“Ah, Lady Ghele! I see you’ve returned to my side yet again! You must have reconsidered my proposition to…,” Quinn started saying joyfully.
Wyen looked disappointed as he clutched his head while Fang sharply elbowed Quinn in the gut, cutting off his statement.
“I’ve no intention of joining you in your chambers, Prince Pervert,” replied Lady Ghele.
Her full name was Adelade Ghele, and she was the daughter of Count Ghele, who was the Kingdom of Sengar’s current court mage. She was being intensely trained by her father to follow in his footsteps, and much like it was suspected that Wyen would serve as Quinn’s prime minister, it was suspected that Adelade would serve as his court mage, at the very least. There was a rumor among some of the other upper nobility that Adelade was Quinn’s fiance, but these were just rumors. It stemmed from the fact that Adelade was one of the only noblewomen aside from his family that was seen with Quinn frequently. They met once a week on average and thus Adelade was well aware of Quinn’s nature. Being aware made Adelade reluctant to be anywhere near him, but it was part of her job, and thus was unavoidable. There were disadvantages to being the strongest up-and-coming mage in the kingdom.
“What brings you here Adelade? I thought we had taken care of all matters this week already?” inquired Wyen, trying to expedite the conversation so as to diffuse the uncomfortable situation.
“My father and I have just received an important report from an informant,” she replied with a smirk as she raised her posture to emphasize the importance of this report, as well as her chest.
Quinn was shamelessly staring and barely heard the next words she said.
“There is a hero in Sengar.”