Erik, in a joyous mood, nodded enthusiastically. "Indeed, son. There will still be areas designated for practical infrastructure like schools, armories, smitheries, and the like. But an extravagant palace like this? It has no place in our new kingdom."
Eldrin looked down at his own luxurious silk robes, a perfect fit for a prince, and then remembered his bare-footed father in Viridrigon's sanctuary. He recalled how his father had willingly embraced the wild, while he himself was unable to bridge the gap between royalty and nature.
He quietly walked past his father, a brewing thought consuming his mind. He couldn't help but wonder how many waking souls in their kingdom thought exactly like he did, people who might not take kindly to his father's radical plan of tearing down their civilization for a forest.
