Ancient Imperial Calendar Year 1813
The seven-day, seven-night celebrations had ended.
The Dynasty Lord IV Orsman had summoned his son Ricardo.
Ricardo arrived at the Dynasty Lord's study, accompanied by his father's personal guards.
There were two guards waiting by the door. They knelt and bowed their heads when they saw Ricardo.
"We greet the Heir of the Dynasty."
"Raise your heads and inform the Dynasty Lord that I have arrived."
The guards stood up and the guard standing to the left of the door knocked three times.
"House Lord, the Heir of the House requests permission to enter."
Orsman answered in a deep and deep voice.
"Enter."
The two guards waiting on the right and left of the door opened the door, and the doors closed when Ricardo entered the room.
Ricardo knelt on one knee and bowed his head in a respectful voice.
"Greetings to the House Lord."
Orsman answered with a deep voice.
"Raise your head, Ricardo."
Ricardo felt strange when he heard his own name. It was the first time someone other than his mother addressed him by his name.
Everyone else addressed him as Young Lord, Heir of the Dynasty.
Ricardo had gotten used to it over time; he felt strange when he was addressed by his own name.
"May I know why you called me, House Lord?" Ricardo asked.
"Of course you will. Come and sit across from me."
Ricardo sat right across from his father.
"Since you are now the heir to the throne, you have the right to learn some things about our Dynasty. First, let's start with the Kerbel Forest. What do you know about this forest?"
Ricardo thought for a while and started to tell what came to his mind.
"What most people know is that it is a cursed land where monsters live, and because their numbers are increasing very fast, you have to go on an expedition with your soldiers once a month."
"This is just general information. But do you know how these lands are cursed?"
"No, I don't know. Or rather, I haven't heard anyone know."
"It's normal that you don't. Only the House Lord and the Heir know this information. Now I will tell you the unknown story of Kerbel Forest."
Ancient Imperial Calendar Year 985
22nd Year of the Reign of House Lord II Arlous of the 13th Dynasty
Since the day Arlous II ascended to the throne, the borders had grown exponentially.
The Western Dynasties formed an alliance under the banner of the powerful Pleyciys Dynasty in response to this advance.
II Arlous ordered the mobilization of all the Dynasties under his rule in response to this alliance.
He formed an army of 130,000 men in total, using all his resources.
The Dynasties gathered under the Pleyciys Dynasty formed an army of 230,000 men in total.
The two armies met thirty kilometers from Kerbel Forest.
The battle lasted 17 hours. Despite all his efforts, Arlous II was about to lose the battle, and at that moment he made a difficult decision.
He decided to use the Curses and Spells that had been passed down through the Kislavein Dynasty for generations.
We don't know what kind of curse and spell he used, but you already know the results.
The entire enemy army was destroyed, and the Kislavein warriors who were trying to hold the enemy in the center also received their share of curses and spells.
That day, 330,000 people died, or rather, turned into monsters. Kerbel Forest turned into cursed lands.
Ricardo was in amazement. He listened to his father without taking a breath; he had tons of question marks in his mind.
Ricardo asked curiously.
"So how come only we know this story? It's impossible that none of the surviving soldiers there told these events."
Orsman answered.
"Yes, under normal circumstances, this incident would have spread to the whole world. But in such a case, the Kislavein Dynasty would be seen as a dangerous Dynasty with curses and spells that could destroy all armies in the world, and we would have gained the enmity of the whole world. Arlous II also cast a different curse and spell, erasing the memory of the entire army."
"How did House Lord II Arlous know these curses and spells? Who taught them to him?"
"Here is another secret that most people don't know, Ricardo. I have a question for you. Who is the oldest known Kislavein?"
Even if Ricardo knew the answer to this question, he thought it would be more logical to ignore it.
"Of course I Karlmen Kislavein."
Orsman shook his head as if to say no.
"That is common knowledge, but our roots go back to the 40th Emperor of the Ancient Empire. Our real ancestor was Rodrigo, not Karlmen."
Rodrigo Kislavein was an ordinary person, but he was very intelligent. He started from scratch and rose to the position of chief advisor to the Emperor. He also brought his sister into the palace as his assistant, and that's how it all started.
Rodrigo's sister Cassandra caught the attention of IV Quizzah, the 40th Emperor of the Ancient Empire, with her intelligence, beauty, and intellectual background.
Emperor Quizzah IV eventually fell in love with Cassandra and took her into his harem as his concubine.
Emperor Quizzah later gave Rodrigo a small village to rule.
Emperor Quizzah and Cassandra had a son named Temiztokrisses and two daughters from their union.
Rodrigo and Cassandra managed to bring Temiztokrisses to the throne through years of intrigue and assassination, and thus their lives as commoners culminated in them taking control of the Ancient Empire that ruled the Five Lands.
The 41st Emperor of the Ancient Empire,
II Temiztokrisses, with the influence of his mother, gave his uncle Rodrigo the title of Duke and the city of Kisvein.
Rodrigo derived his surname from the name of the city and named his Dynasty Kislavein, and thus the Kislavein Dynasty was founded.
In short, the foundation of our Dynasty was not in 795 but in 713.
"So why do you hide these facts from people?" asked Ricardo.
"If it has any advantage for you, it's better to hide some truths. Right now, the whole world knows the Kislavein Dynasty as a Dynasty that rose from the ashes of a collapsed Empire. Which do you think is more interesting? A Dynasty that rose from the ashes or a Dynasty that rose from the people and started from scratch? Although the latter sounds better, people find chaos and war more interesting, even if they deny it. If there is no other problem, I will continue, Ricardo."
"I have no questions, House Lord. Continue."
Ricardo already knew the rest of this story, but of course he could not say it. Orsman continued the story from where he left off.
II Temiztokrisses had become the puppet of his mother and uncle.
Rodrigo was ruling the Empire while also investing in developing Kisvein City.
One of Rodrigo's strangest traits was his obsession with curses and spells.
We don't know the main reason for this obsession; maybe it was an obsession, or a historical event that has not survived to the present day.
Rodrigo invented very dangerous techniques as a result of his long years of work on the cursed and enchanted energy found in the Bloodstones and passed these techniques on to his son.
Years passed. When the Puppet Emperor II Temiztocrisses died, his son, the 42nd Emperor II Arjinisses, ascended to the throne. In order to break the Kislavein Dynasty's influence over the Empire, he executed his grandmother Cassandra and Rodrigo, raided the city of Kisvein with his army, and disgraced the Kislavein Dynasty.
Rodrigo's son Orlando never forgot that day, but he did not have the strength to take revenge.
Years passed. The hostility between the Imperial Family and the Kislavein Dynasty ended when Harlena, the daughter of the 44th Emperor VIII Harloumen, married Armando, the son and heir of Ricardo, the 5th Leader of the Kislavein Dynasty. From this marriage, Karlmen, whom people thought was the founder of the Kislavein Dynasty, or Kernando with his real name, was born.
Ricardo was surprised. "What do you mean by 'real name'?" he thought and asked.
"House Lord, I wonder what you mean by 'real name'."
"I meant this. Normally in the Kislavein Dynasty, male children were given names ending with 'do', but Karlmen was the only surviving grandson of the last Ancient Emperor, so he rightfully considered himself the Heir of the Ancient Empire. Therefore, he took the name of Karlmen, one of the founding heroes of the Ancient Empire. He was giving people this message: 'I will be the second founder of the Ancient Empire.' Of course, dreams and reality were very different. Karlmen was killed, his son took revenge, and they gave up the dream of re-establishing the Ancient Empire because the dynasties that gained their independence in the world did not want to lose it, so they went after the heirs. 2nd Lord Harlmen also realized this danger and announced to the world that they officially renounced their claim to the throne, and thus they were saved from the threat of extinction in the early establishment stages. Harlmen, whose real name was Harlando, took the name of a hero like his father and made it a tradition. Every House Lord who ascended to the throne changed his name to the name of a hero. Some House Lords took the names of the old leaders to show that they would follow in their ancestors' footsteps. You can see me as an example."
"I understand," said Ricardo and asked the question he was most curious about.
"House Lord, without exception, every Kislavein descendant has dark blood-red hair and eyes. Almost every member is extremely powerful. What is the reason for this? It cannot be just the dominance of blood; it should be different in a few people, but no one has a different hair or eye color. What is the reason for this?"
"The reason is our ancestor I Karlmen."
Karlmen had to be strong enough to take revenge on his enemies, especially against Frank II, King of Fresfurt, for his grandfather Harloumen's death. He didn't have much time, so he took the shortcut.
He went to the grave of his ancestor, the First Ancient Emperor I Harloumen. Despite the centuries that had passed, his heart and brain had not rotted. Karlmen ate his ancestor's heart and brain and took his power. However, after eight centuries, only 20% of I Harloumen's original power remained.
Karlmen found a way to pass this power on to his descendants: Bloodstones.
He cursed himself and his descendants using the Bloodstones. As a side effect of this curse, his descendants had blood-red hair and eyes. On the other hand, his own power was inherited by his descendants. In short, this is the secret of the superhuman power that the Kislaveins possess.
Ricardo, no one knows what I told you except for the two of us.
"Well, if you died before telling me, wouldn't this information be lost?" Ricardo asked.
"It wouldn't have happened. If it had, I wouldn't have known it," Orsman replied.
"What do you mean?" Ricardo asked.
"You know that I ascended to the throne by killing my father."
"Yes," Ricardo replied.
"I killed my father the day I graduated from the Blood Academy and was called to the throne room. Before he died, he held my hand and cast a spell. It was not a spell that would cause my death. Neither I nor anyone else knew what it was. A while after ascending to the throne, when I entered the House Lord's bedroom, the spell in my hand was activated, and I discovered the secret vault. When I examined the vault, I found two things there."
Orsman stood up.
"Follow me, Ricardo," said Orsman.
Father and son went to the House Lord's bedroom. The room was large and magnificent enough to fit 200 people inside.
Orsman closed the doors of the room and opened the secret passage by performing a spell.
Orsman and Ricardo walked deeper into the cellar. As they approached the end of the cellar, Ricardo felt an Ancient and Mystical power.
Ricardo saw an Ancient Sarcophagus in the middle of the cellar. The Ancient Letters on it and the Mystical power it emitted terrified and amazed Ricardo.
"What is this?" asked Ricardo.
"I don't know what it is either. For a thousand years, all 65 House Lords, including me, have tried to solve the mystery of this sarcophagus, but all we know about it is that it causes a tattoo to appear on the hand of the first person to touch it, and increases their power twentyfold."
"So is the legend of House Lords suddenly becoming stronger after ascending to the throne true?"
"Yes, it's true, Ricardo, but this sarcophagus only strengthens the first person to touch it, and it doesn't strengthen anyone else until that person dies."
Ricardo was horrified. He hadn't even known about the existence of these sarcophagi in his previous life.
"After I die, touch this Sarcophagus and strengthen your power, my son."
Ricardo could not answer; he just bowed his head. These sarcophagi were older than the founding of the Ancient Empire, so why didn't he know this?
"Who discovered these sarcophagi, House Lord?"
"Our ancestor Arlous II discovered them in the ruins of the Ancient Empire after the war in the Kerbel forest. Then he built the city of Kislathor on those ruins and declared it his capital."
Ricardo was no longer surprised by the fact that Arlous II appeared under almost every stone.
The two left the cellars and went back to the study. They sat across from each other and continued their conversation.
"So what is your real name, House Lord? Why did you choose this name in particular?" Ricardo asked.
"My real name is Orlando. People think I chose this name because I was inspired by the three house lords named Orsman before me, but in reality, I chose it to honor my older brother who was poisoned and killed when he was very young."
"Wait a minute, didn't you say that only those who ascended to the throne inherited the names of heroes?"
"This tradition was forgotten or ignored during the reign of Xanros II, the 60th Dynasty Leader, and mothers gave their sons the names of heroes as soon as they were born.
Until I ascended to the throne, people who were given the name of a hero at birth ascended to the throne. With my ascension, this tradition started again and will continue with you. On the other hand, what surprised me the most was that your mother remained loyal to this tradition and gave you an ordinary name instead of giving you a hero's name. That's why I always valued your mother more than the others."
Ricardo was very surprised when he heard the word value from his father.
"I didn't expect to hear you value any of you."
"Huh, to be honest, I don't know who killed my mother either, but I killed all my stepmothers and siblings without caring who the killer was.
More than twenty of my children were killed, but I never shed a tear for any of them, and I only care about your mother for keeping the tradition alive."
"House Lord, do you remember the day we were attacked by 30 assassins?"
"Yes," replied Orsman.
"You named the Trade Barons as the culprits, but I don't think they would do such a thing."
"What makes you think that, my son?"
"Merchants do not enter into a business that they do not have an interest in. On the other hand, they would not assassinate the son of the House Lord, which would destroy them. No one would do such a thing, no matter what the reason is."
"Maybe their stepmothers made them an offer they could not refuse."
"I don't think so, House Lord. Whoever made the offer has no guarantee that their own children will win, and they wouldn't care about the trade barons as soon as their work is done."
"Well done, my son. To be honest, it was not the trade barons who did the assassination. We just used this situation as an excuse to eliminate them. The ones who did the assassination were Dex, Zelfhaya's brother, who was also the head of the assassin organization in the palace. He wanted to avenge his sister. You have learned about your master Richard's killers. What will you do now?"
Ricardo was seething with anger. "Why didn't my father punish the criminals even though he knew this?" he thought.
"Why, WHY DID YOU NOT PUNISH THEM?"
Ricardo's killing intent was felt throughout the palace.
The guards who entered the room were thrown to one end of the corridor by Ricardo with a wind spell.
Orsman suppressed Ricardo with his own Aura. He was impressed when he saw his guards fainting.
"You have become very strong, Ricardo, but not enough to pressure me yet. I did not punish them because the roots of the organization go back a long way, and they have served the Dynasty a lot. If you want to punish them and fulfill your oath of revenge, you must become strong enough to kill me."
Orsman stood up, a scary smile on his face.
"Go to Kerbel Forest, Ricardo. This is your first task. Go on the expedition with those who graduated from the Blood Academy the same year as you. There, you will both become stronger and gain experience. But if the number of casualties exceeds a hundred, be sure that you will be punished with the harshest punishment."
Orsman left the room. Ricardo was alone with his anger and thoughts.
"How did he kill his father when he was my age, despite the power of the Sarcophagus? How could I kill him?"
Ricardo's new goal was clear: to become stronger than his father, to become the head of the Dynasty, and to avenge his master.