The invitation, as it turned out, was not optional.

I was not harried, particularly, but the soldiers also did not leave, and would not leave without me. It was requested that I prepare for the journey quickly, to get back to the main road north before the worst of winter hit.

“Can I bring my beasts?”

The soldier looked at me like I was stupid. “It’s a tournament. You’re the leader of the Tamers Guild. Of course you can bring your beasts. That’s your talent. You won’t get very far without them.”

I was able to piece together a bit of information as I prepared for a journey, one in the other direction than I had hoped to go. Rugnor—the youngest prince, who had apparently dueled his brothers to the death for the throne—had seized control of the Kingdom after his father passed, and had reached across the Kingdom to bring those with power to his side and consolidate his power in the capital.

My invitation was one of many, and it seemed like all sorts of consolations were being made for those who voluntarily decided to attend. Crimes would be forgiven, debts erased from the record, and any other wish that the crown could grant was for the taking by those who could prove their power and were willing to offer it to the new king.

Obviously, I would not have been willing to go if I had the option to decline. However, every citizen had an obligation to the crown. Apparently, in Rugnor’s opinion, that extended even out to the settlements, or at least to Freehold, given the waves we were making. A summons could not be ignored, and my wealth and power was at the leisure of the crown, so it was of the opinion of the king that my power already belonged to him. I was expected to prove myself in the tournament, and show the value of my new form of battle taming.

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I briefly considered throwing my matches, hiding our power, and then slinking back home. Of course, I would have to then try and limit my accomplishments further, and also convince the members of the Guild to hide their own skill and ability. If powerful tamers arose after throwing my matches, I had no idea what Rugnor would do. I was not even sure I could survive the tournament if I did not fight to win, or if the Guild would; Rugnor might take the entire thing from me.

Winning, at least, should let me keep some level of control, or at least guide the directions that we would be set toward.

As such, I gathered my belongings and chose a number of beasts to accompany me to the capital. It would actually be much, much easier for me to win a tournament fighting as a mage and a warrior, but there was no need to reveal my hand, and I had to avoid using magic that would hint at my connection to the north.

Fortunately, we had already harvested that year’s crop of skillfruit. I could continue advancing my skills with those, both on the journey and for however long I would be stuck at the capital, assuming this did not run for multiple years.

I was glad to have my fancy new armor, since I did not have that much in the way of nice clothes. If I had to do this, I wanted to make a good impression, although that was probably my vanity. We would be traveling through Roko, so perhaps I could get a nice ensemble there, or in the capital itself. The capital probably has great tailors.

As for other fancy items I had to make a good impression, I had a wealth of gemstones, but little actual jewelry. I had Treepo’s memorial pendant, and the brooch I had been given all those years ago. I grabbed that from where I kept it, and put it in my inventory to bring with me.

I shut the door to my house, gathered my beasts, and headed back to Freehold.

“Take care of this place for me,” I said, looking over Rena and Soren, Bortag and Lubi, Hella and Len, Forn and Lussel, Bilgus and his family, and the other various friendly faces I had come to care for in Freehold.

It was time to revisit the capital of the Horuth Kingdom.

Pilus will return in Book 4: Worldseed Imperiate