"One should always be wary of a royal summons."
"Because it means that your actions have drawn the ire of the royal countenance, something that can be as rewarding as it is dangerous."
"But if I were to say that the actions of my noble house, House Aurellion, were not to draw the interest and intrigue of the Nathian royal house of Kendari, then that would be a lie."
"For this royal summons was merely the start."
"The start of House Aurellion's rise to greatness."
"The family that would one day rebuild the ancient Kingdom of Nathia, letting it rise from the ashes like a phoenix."
Reginald Coulan, creator and head of House Aurellion in Dynasties Online.
….
The Nathian royal capital had reached a prosperous peak due to the decade of peace the Kingdom of Nathia had experienced, allowing its markets and economy to boom. Unfortunately, Railius Aurellion never seemed to have enough time to truly enjoy it, as the day after he arrived in Nathonia, his relaxing lunch was once again rudely interrupted by the Nathian royal family.
Though to be fair, this time the king of Nathia, Luther Kendari, actually had a good reason to summon and enquire about Railius' plans after his subordinates caused a devastating uproar that could have severely damaged his kingdom.
If anyone had any doubts about the damage a grandmaster could unleash on a nation, then after the commotion Leon caused in Nathia, all these doubts were erased, revealing the reason why grandmasters are so feared and controlled by the various governments, both large and small, worldwide.
Railius had been savouring a sausage from his brunch, having skipped breakfast due to sleeping in after being exhausted from his travels, when Thaddeus Varlian, commander of the Nathian royal guard, unceremoniously came sauntering into the restaurant, his armour clinking and clanking as he headed over to where Railius and his accompaniment were eating with some of his men and quickly surrounded their table.
Seeing the approach of uninvited guests, the hands of Railius' men and friends quickly went to find weapons, only to be stopped by Railius' raised hand which promptly resumed its previous action as if the young lord of House Aurellion had expected such an occurrence, though the Pelican Guards remained uneasy and began to subconsciously scan around for potential escape routes for their liege just in case it was needed.
Despite their deeply seated interest, none of the other patrons of the high-class restaurant dared to look at the royal guards who were obviously going about the king's business, as interrupting it, especially when the king's most trusted man led it, was the quickest way to find yourself next up on the executioner's chopping block.
A position no sane man would ever want to be in.
'Can't a man have one day of rest?'
Railius inwardly sighed, clicking his tongue in annoyance.
Railius had expected to be summoned by the king of Nathia; it was the reason he had come to the capital in the first place, knowing full well that no matter where he went in the kingdom, a summons would come, so why not just be in the capital for convenience? After all, he still had to answer for why his subordinates caused such chaos in the kingdom, and only a foolish king would not meet with the man who was at the centre of that storm, because even if he did not order as the lord in whose name they acted, he had to take responsibility.
Because that is what a good leader of a political group does. Something that modern world leaders could learn from, though, considering that in most cases, taking responsibility means losing their position. Railius could see why they would try to shirk it when their jobs and livelihoods are on the line.
But Railius had hoped that he would have had a few days to rest before he was summoned.
Obviously, that was not going to happen.
'I wonder if it had anything to do with the seemingly strange movements of Leon and Sigismund Security Solutions.'
Railius wondered, as there were many potential reasons for the king to want to see him, with the chaos that Malwin had engineered being only one reason, and it could explain why his royal majesty was so keen on an audience with him so quickly.
These unusual movements by his mercenary group were ordered directly by Railius himself, the moment he heard of the Empire of Chavaria's relocation of supplies to the southern mountain path, which was the only known connection between the two countries.
This series of actions would obviously make a small wave, which was quickly detected by the Nathian royal family, who were keeping a close eye on House Aurellion to stop another 'incident' from occurring.
Because if Railius wanted to make a significant contribution in the coming war between Chavaria and Nathia, he would need these 8,000 men commanded by Leon Mantalon, his only grandmaster, to act as a secret force and for them to infiltrate the Chavarian empire as he wanted would take many months, so only by mobilising them as soon as he detected a possible war would they be able to have the greatest effect on the war, maybe even getting House Aurellion a landed noble title in Nathia.
It was a shame that this hidden card would be revealed so quickly, but Railius had little choice in the matter as it would not be hard for people to put the pieces together once Leon Mantalon was found leading them in his name the most Railius could do is try to make it out that the mercenary company owed Leon a favour and so in a show of unprecedented support and for the first time since their establishment started to interfere in the worlds wars.
This was not an unusual practice for mercenaries, as many mercenary groups transition from one employer to the next. Some are merchants, others minor lords, and even a few major lords and kings may hire them to undertake tasks that their own kingdoms' soldiers cannot handle for various reasons.
However, for Sigismund Security Solutions, which has maintained a stance of non-interference in the world's wars since its establishment just over 10 years ago, this sudden and unexpected series of movements raises questions.
Questions that the wise kings, especially those with more information about House Aurellion's flight from Chavaria, will become very dangerous and expose the once-hidden tentacles of the noble houses' influence.
And once revealed, these tentacles will shock the world, inciting both admiration and fear from the noble class.
It will also instil some very dangerous ideas in the minds of the weaker noble families, especially the weaker and landless ones, who are not as bound by tradition as the older, more prominent, and powerful noble families, to try something similar to the exiled House Aurellion.
But these thoughts were quickly set aside as Thaddeus addressed Railius.
"The king requests your presence, Lord Aurellion."
The old, blunt commander said in a flat tone, though he made sure to control the volume of his voice so that only the people near the table would be able to hear him, having received orders from the king to do so.
While the Pelican Guards and the Nathian Royal Guard entered into a standoff, competing with each other to see who could give the most menacing glare, Railius didn't react to Commander Thaddeus ' words at all and continued savouring his meal as if he didn't hear the royal guard commander.
Commander Thaddeus's eyebrow twitched slightly at being ignored, but the experienced veteran of palace intrigue kept his calm, continuing as if the brief slight never happened. For those in the know, Railius was well known for his eccentric personality.
"Would you like me to shout my request for all to hear, my lord?"
Commander Thaddeus continued in a calm voice, maintaining the same volume, though this time it had a cold edge and was less courteous than before.
Hearing the threat, Railius finally looked into the man's calm blue eyes, which always seemed to flicker with a dangerous light, his own dark brown orbs meeting the suffocating gaze easily as he had faced such things when playing as a child during his second Dynasty History Event, so facing such a gaze without the limitations of a childs emotions was as easy as walking for him.
An unexpected but appreciated hidden boon from making his character early and going through the Dynasty History System.
"Request implies that I can refuse."
Railius replied, letting out a relaxed sigh as he had just finished his thoroughly enjoyable meal, as he imagined that the rest of his day would be far less relaxing and pleasant as he had hoped as the Nathian king had wasted no time in 'requesting' an audience, even if they both knew that there was no way to refuse.
Unless House Aurellion wanted to leave Nathia in the same manner as they had left Chavaria, which they most certainly did not.
Railius merely wanted to express his annoyance at having his relaxing time interrupted, even if it was slightly childish.
"You're welcome to do so, my lord. Of course, the consequences would be most severe if you did."
Commander Thaddus said, his expression and tone getting slightly colder.
"I assume I shall be entering the royal palace alone?"
Railius said nonchalantly, not bothered at all by the prospect of facing the king of Nathia alone, as it was not a meeting that any of his men would be helpful for anyway; if anything, they would just get in the way.
"My lord…." Captain Cedrick began only to be cut off by Railius, who was well aware of the man's fears, but in this case, they would be unfounded.
"I will not be in danger. We are in the royal capital, the beating heart of the kingdom. If His Majesty wished me dead, I would already be rotting in the ground or with my head on a spike, as we do not have the strength to fight a grandmaster without Leon."
Railius said, getting up from his seat.
"I assume my men will be able to wait for me outside the palace gates as the last thing either of us needs is a repeat of the last incident."
Railius commented as he made to follow Thaddeus, who nodded, well aware of the consequences of such a misunderstanding.
"I thank you on behalf of my subordinate's commander."
Railius finished respectfully, and if it were not for Commander Thaddeus' nod, you would think that Railius was talking more to himself rather than to another person.
The Nathian Royal Palace is both a luxurious residence for the royal family and its last stronghold. However, if any foreign force ever gets that far, then the kingdom will likely already be doomed, with its armies smashed and civilians slaughtered in its conquest, but its use in civil wars should not be underestimated, giving the royal family a secure bastion from which to work.
The walls are made of ancient stone still standing tall and stout after a thousand years of wear and tear. There are patches of newer stone and marble from its repair and maintenance over the course of its long lifetime.
Entering the palace, Railius passed through a large gatehouse that resembled a massive tunnel with two sets of enormous ironwood gates, made from the strongest wood in the world and reinforced with magically imbued steel.
Between them are two portcullises surrounded by murder holes, turning the tunnel into a vicious trap where defenders can rain down projectiles from all sides.
Only the capital's three main gates and the kingdom's fortresses have stronger defences than the royal palace.
The outer palace walls were crenellated on both sides like a castle's and oversaw a courtyard that could become another killing zone if needed, with the attackers needing many more times the men of the defenders to be able to break through to the main palace compound.
At the centre of the large courtyard was a statue of an armoured man on a horse, heroically raising his spear into the air as if he were commanding a cavalry charge.
The statue was placed above a large fountain, where the water flowed seamlessly out.
What surprised Railius was the system notification that appeared before Railius as he looked at the statue.
[Statue of King Neuven Kendari, the first Nathian king of the Kendari Dynasty]
Apart from the statue, there was nothing much else important to note in the courtyard except for a few murals on the walls depicting important events that happened throughout the kingdom's foundation, though most of those seem to be from the ruling dynasty before the Kendari family came to power after all they are the second ruling family not the first that actually created the Kingdom of Nathia.
However, as Reginald's character was highly educated, he had access to a great deal more information than the average player or NPC, something players from noble families extensively leverage for their own gain. So if he desired, he could access general information about Neuven, but right now that was not on his agenda, as he had far more important things to focus on with his limited time in the royal palace.
The first step is to get an idea and build a preliminary map of all the winding corridors and rooms, as who knows when such a map would come in handy.
Royal palaces are large with many hidden passageways, all built for one reason or another, some for escape, others for spying, but there is one thing everyone agrees on.
There are very few places, if any, where you can have a truly secret conversation that was not overheard by others, as spies run around like rats in the halls of power, sending information to their masters both near and far.
Unlike in other MMORPG games, players had to use their own in-game knowledge of the world to navigate it, as there were no minimaps for them to use to help them unless they bought them and in the medieval world, such maps were costly, especially maps detailing the inside of somewhere as important and confidential as a royal palace.
Railius imagined that only the royal family or someone deeply trusted by them would be in possession of such vital schematics.
Railius continued walking through the palace in silence, though he seemed to have been walking for a while, observing his surroundings and the many paintings and furnishings on the walls, though these, unlike the murals inscribed on the palace walls and embedded into the ancient stone, were of events that were much more recent.
One even made Railius pause as both he and the royal guards accompanying him stopped because this particular painting was of a siege.
A long year-long siege
The siege where Lucius Aurellion led a Chavarian army to take Nartook Fortress but was held off by the Nathians' determined defenders, though, while this painting made the reason out to be of the Nathians' dogged defence, Railius and those who were there knew it was internal strife and sabotage that won the Nathians the war, not their prowess on the battlefield.
On it, the banners of the Imperial family of Chavaria, House Aurellion, and other noble families could be seen retreating or lying on the ground, defeated, as Nathians cheered from the walls of the fortress, though none of the defenders dared to mount a counterattack, likely due to a fear of falling into one of the Spider of Chavaria's many traps.
"My lord?"
Thaddeus said politely, seeing that Railius had stopped momentarily and was locked in thought, his question more a reminder to move on quickly than anything else, as the king was waiting for him.
"Hmm…. Sorry, I got lost for a second there, please lead on."
Railius said, taking one last glance at the painting, though the lord of House Aurellion was not surprised to see Nathia turn the battle into a great victory for themselves, as it was a normal thing to do and could help the kingdom improve the morale of the army and the public sentiment of the people.
History has always been written by the victors, with the truth concealed or revealed in bits and pieces, to help lend legitimacy to the new rulers.
What is considered true is often determined by what the government or monarch declares to be true, rather than the actual reality of the situation, primarily to suit their own purposes and needs, providing justification for their deeds and unreasonable ambitions.
It took them only ten more minutes to get to their destination, and to Railius' surprise, it was not the throneroom or the king's chambers that he was led to, but the palace gardens.
Outside the garden entrance was a contingent of royal guards who nodded and made way when they saw Thaddeus, each gaze turning to one of judgment when they landed on Railius himself, as if they saw him as a potential danger, even when unarmed, as Railius had left his weapons with his men at the palace gates not trusting anyone else with something with such value.
In a pavilion by a small lake, musicians played a relaxing tune softly, while an old man with a long, white beard was clipping some bushes alone, guarded by a group of men to ensure that no one could get within 10 feet of him.
The king wore a golden crown on his head, dressed in purple and gold royal robes, which matched his eyes and the colours of his house. The long silk garment was light and perfect for the summer, where the sun constantly beat down on you.
Click click.
The large metal scissor-like objects in the king's hand clicked to the beat of the music coming from the pavilion as Thaddeus and Railius approached him, the royal guard commander, bowing respectfully before silently taking his place by his king's side, while Railius looked at his surroundings, seemingly relaxed but in reality he was nervous though no one would be able to tell it.
The rest of the royal guards who had escorted Railius had already taken up other positions dotted around the garden, for no chances were being taken with the king's safety or that of his secrets on this day.
Railius' nerves were mainly a result of his past experiences with the upper echelons of the nobility and ruling class of Dynasties Online.
Neither the Duke of Plantaria nor the leader of the Free Brothers nor even the Baron that he met in Rinada were easy people to deal with, as each took their pound of flesh from him for one reason or another.
And now he was talking with a king.
Even if he was known for being a mediocre king, King Luther was able to ensure the stability of his realm during the nearly 30+ years he had sat his old arse on the throne of Nathia, which in the current situation that Nathia finds itself in is no small achievement.
The silence continued as the old king of Nathia continued with his gardening, ignoring Railius' arrival entirely.
This continued for another ten minutes before the king seemed satisfied with his work, then turned purple gold eyes, locking onto Railius as if he was trying to pry all the secrets from his body, though a polite kind smile remained, even if the king's violet gold eyes remained judging.
Railius remained calm but furrowed his eyebrows with caution as he quickly came to a conclusion.
While the rest of the world thought that King Luthor Kendari was mediocre, Railius did not.
Railius thought that there was far more to this man than met the eye and that some of his once-conspiracy-theory thoughts may have far more truth to them than he could possibly imagine.
After spending a few seconds scanning him from head to toe, the king finally spoke for the first time.
"So you are Railius Aurellion."