Following a war, the victorious adept family would require several years in order to truly absorb its earnings. There would always be obstacles.
The first challenge for the Thornfield family was to truly integrate the citizens from the newly conquered territories. Naturally, it was a minor issue and acolytes wouldn't be troubled by this more or less difficult task. They would send a knight as a noble, and if he failed to control his territory and meet the Thornfield family's expectations, he would be replaced by a more talented knight. End of the story.
The territories conquered were mainly baronies or viscount's territories, so the population rarely exceeded a hundred thousand of inhabitants after all. Among them, very few knew how to fight, so earning their trust could be easily done by giving them a few years free of taxes. Money was a real power in this world.
There was a second challenge though, one which required the Thornfield family's full attention. With their expansion, nearby adept families were looking at them with suspicious glares. It wouldn't be surprising if they tried to cause trouble here and there, to probe their reaction. Should they show weakness, a new war would erupt. Should they be too overbearing, a new war would erupt. And the Thornfield elders all agreed: they couldn't go through a second consecutive war!
Last but not least, the Thornfield family had obtained its forth resource point: The Magnolia Forest, filled with tens of thousands of Magnolia trees, magical resources, extremely attractive to adept families wanting to gear up their knights.
However, as long as there were magical resources, there was 80% of chance of it being either filled with numerous monsters or humanoid tribes, or difficult to access like the magical vein found several kilometres underground within the Elysian county.
While the Huntingwood family had made a deal with its inhabitants, rumoured to live in a small elven settlement, the Thornfield family wouldn't be pleased with just a yearly offering. They were greedy. Elder Water Dragon thus ordered the Water Troop to exterminate the elven species within the Magnolia Forest. In order to make sure no mishaps happened, Elder Water Dragon even sent three intermediate acolytes with the water troop, as well as 20 beginner acolytes.
Selene Dawins, now an elite knight with an enchanted heavy armour, and a looted spear made by the famous dwarf craftsman Pyro Forgemaster, was without any doubt one of the most powerful powerhouse in the Thornfield family. With her fire wolf mount, an intermediate-level magical beast, she was definitely one of the 10 strongest individuals in the Thornfield family. She was a true genius as she wasn't even 30!
However, not all geniuses were lucky.
Three months passed already passed since the sweet Water Fortress Banquet, and she was already on the verge of breaking down.
In the past three months, they suffered all kind of misfortunes. They encountered several packs of magical beasts a day, and the vegetation was so wild and uncontrolled that it slowed the army considerably. Adding to these daily life and death experiences, there were also countless conflicts opposing beginner acolytes and knights. Selene really didn't know which side to pick!
Her knights from the Water Troop were genuinely skilled and talented, they had earned their strength through hard work. In comparison, the beginner acolytes were weaker, and for sure, they passed their lives in laboratories and libraries, making them look frail. Even though they mastered one or two spells, they weren't powerhouses, unlike her men. Yet…because of their status within the Thornfield family, some having close ties with the main family branch, or some having good talents, they had a really bad temper.
Compared to their cosy life in the Water Fortress, the Magnolia Forest was hell. Insects were biting them, wolves scared them, and the knights, who went through this ordeal without mumbling a word of discomfort, humiliated them more than anything! Petty actions began to spread, and conflicts burst more and more often.
Selene, however, had other concerns. She was lost in this forest. The three past months had considerably weakened the army, and the moral couldn't be any lower. For sure, they had captured one or two elves. However, because of the peace-advocating elders wishing to avoid an all-out war, she couldn't even torture them to get the elven settlement's location!
Eventually, three months passed and she had yet to return with results! Her previous glory and noble lady demeanour were nowhere to be seen. She couldn't even return, since she was completely lost!
For some reasons, her magical compass stopped working as soon as she entered the forest.
In this cold day of winter, snow began to fall, and some younger acolytes, far from their family and home, started to cry. They were children, after all.
"Stop weeping, assholes", she shouted, obviously angered that she had to play the nanny.
In the eerie silence of the night, a shout reverberated. People started to panic for real. Chaos descended on the Water troops. They couldn't see in the darkness, but their enemy could! An elven attack!
"Where is Thomas?", a voice mumbled in fear. However, as he asked this question, a volley of arrows pierced his head, along with 8 other members of the Water Troop. This was a massacre. The elders reacted immediately, casting two frost spike spells, which failed to hit their hidden enemies.
Elves were beautiful beings, but legends were completely false. Elves weren't kind, at all! Ther were narrow-minded, selfish and incredibly xenophobic creatures!
Worshipping nature, they were worse than fanatical believer from the Church of Light! Conservative, unwilling to look forward, and unbelievably narrow-minded, their madness prevented their race from being the dominant species in Alphen. Physically, they weren't any weaker than humans. Spiritually, there were much more druids with mana abilities than human acolytes.
However, they lacked the greediness and open-minded nature of humans. Elves were very balanced, allowing them to have superior agility compared to their peers. Combined with their elegant wood craftsmanship, their sight and their stealth in the forest, most of them had the potential of becoming fearsome rangers.
Cultivating their bloodline, they could reach Grand-knight physique as long as
they invested enough time and effort.
The Water Troop was strong, but the extent of its strength could easily be seen. After 3 exhausting months, the knights were tired, and unfit to battle. Acolytes weren't of much use, as they spent their lives in laboratories and libraries, unsuited to battle.
Each second that passed was one knight who lost his life. As soon as she saw an arrow pointing towards her, she deflected it with her spear and charged towards the location where it was shot. The impact was brutal, blood splattered everywhere, and the corpse could barely be recognized.
However, her individual prowess was barely noticeable in the grand massacre that was taking place.
Elven archers were deadly, but the strongest powerhouses were actually druids, similar to acolytes as they had spirit, except that they had the strange ability of healing and shapeshifting into bears, wolves or gigantic spiders.
Eventually, after 15 minutes of trying to retaliate with little success, Selene Dawins sighed, knowing when to stop. Half of her knights were killed; all beginner acolytes had been focused by the enemy and massacred. Out of the three elders, two were killed, and one was on the brink of death. She knew there were no hope of getting out of this alive, should this battle continue.
"I surrender. Everyone, obey my command, and drop your weapons! I, as the commander of the Water Troop, demand to be treated according to the Silver Union Code of conduct and be treated as war prisoners", she said.
An elven beauty came out of the shadows. Astounded, Selene could guess her strength…She was as strong as a Peak Knight physically, and she was wielding a long elven bow, beautifully crafted, with runes flickering in an extraordinary weak grey light! She had the cunningness and patience of the devil, as well as the decisiveness of a politician.
She had blond hair, so clear that they almost seemed white. Yet, her face seemed exceptionally energetic, with no wrinkle to be seen. She was already 72 years old, yet she was only considered a youngster in the eyes of other elves, who could live up to 200 years even without cultivating their body. Her eyes were brimming with killing intent.
Her bow released a powerful arrow, which seemed to be as strong as an advanced apprentice's arrow spell. This arrow could deal as much as 50 points of damage! Selene saw the arrow, and she closed her eyes. She knew her death was unavoidable. If she fell, at least, she would make sure the Water Troop -or what remained out of it- survives.
"I, Diana Lockear, shall accept your surrender", the elven leader spoke in a clear voice.
A few seconds later, Selene fell on the ground. An arrow had pierced her head. She had been killed in cold blood.
The Water Troop had been massacred in the Magnolia Forest, its commander Selene Dawins, a rising star, had fallen. In the middle of the night a cold winter, ambushed and failing to cause even one tenth of the damage they received, the Water Troop would never get back on its feet. Everyone knew that. Some knights were traumatized by the experience, others were bleeding to death and wouldn't survive till next sunrise. All in all, only 50 knights or so would survive and be captured as prisoners.
A few days later, shock, incredulousness, sadness, anger. A flurry of emotions soared through the elders in the Water Fortress upon hearing the news from a scout. How could it be? What kind of forces could contend against several hundreds of knights, and a few acolytes? How come the elves were so strong?
It must be known that because of elves' low fertility rate, elven settlements with more than a few hundred individuals were extremely rare. Most of elves were nomads, or hermits, living in communion with nature. Elven large settlements, like the one in Magnolia Forest, were unique and very rarely seen in Alphen, much less in the Phuinem Kingdom! If the elders heard about Diana Lockear, a pseudo-adept powerhouse, protecting the settlement, they would cough blood! However, the scout who reported to them only saw a pile of bones and flesh, drown into a sea of blood. He had been so frightened that he came back to the Water Fortress immediately.
Of course, this was all part of Diana's plan. If she wanted to, she had thousands of means to deal with a mere scout with preparatory knight physique! She wanted the power who had invaded her territory to know what they were capable of. This way, she would have the higher grounds in future negotiations.
'No wonder the Huntingwood family supreme elder was laughing at me when I shared with him my plans of conquering the Magnolia forest…what a cunning bastard, you must be laughing, right?', elder Water Dragon thought.
There were ten elders in the room. Originally, there were 15 elders, but Drodosis' parents, elders themselves, were out in a special confidential mission, while three elders had been either brutally murdered in the Magnolia forest, or captured. Their fate was unknown. This was a huge blow to the Thornfield higher-up's confidence!
The remaining elders were more or less famous in the Water Fortress. Supreme Elder Water Dragon, head of the clan and most powerful man in the family, held unmatched prestige in the Fortress, loved and feared by everyone.
Elder Ice, Drodosis' aunt Lily, and her husband Elder Hugo, were the only 2 advanced acolytes in the building, and had contributed quite a lot to the family.
Count Hubert, here as Elder Spear, owner of the Elysian County, also possessed tremendous influence here.
However, the one with the most influence in this room, besides Water Dragon, was Elder Blue Beard. The old intermediate acolyte, with his long and majestic blue beard, looked like a grandpa. However weak he looked like, he was the most important craftsman in the Thornfield family, someone who knew alchemy better than anyone in the region.
His greatest creation was the Internal Energy elixir, a potion he could brew once out of ten times successfully. Despite using very precious ingredients and the cost of refining just one elixir was over 100 magic crystals, this potion enabled a preparatory knight to break through. Not to mention that it enabled one to get past a bottleneck, it also had very beneficial effects to one's strength and physique. However, the secondary effects were quite dreadful: unimaginable pain which would last for the three days and three nights following consumption, and because the elixir used the 'Negative Flower' famous petals, it also decreased one's lifespan by 15 years, a sacrifice that very few people could accept.
However, this potion was the reason why the Thornfield family had so many loyal knights as subordinates. Unlike other families, the Thornfield family didn't hire outsiders. This why the Thornfield family rarely had any spy or betrayer in its inner or outside circles. This was a huge advantage! The Water Troop was the crystallisation of Elder Blue Beard's genius, with more than 150 knights within it, some having broken through the intermediate realm, others stuck but still strong as novice knights. Now, the Water Troop was no more than a ghost of what it used to be.
He seemed to have aged by several years, he seemed furious.
The other elders were trembling, not knowing how to react, seeing their colleague, usually easy-going and happy, showing such a frightening stare radiating with killing intent!
The other elders had less influence, but still possessed a minimum of intermediate acolyte cultivation. The most famous was Elder Silver, financial heart of the Thornfield family, someone who dealt with noble territories and evaluated how much they could reap harvests from the lords, and he was also the keeper of the family's heirlooms. He was Drodosis' great uncle.
Elder Justice was a middle-aged woman, but instead of combat power, her field was judgement. She had mastered unique spells she came across in her youth in some ruins, spells which allowed her to determine the truth and investigate on events. She had tracked several betrayers, and managed to get the truth out of hundreds of captured prisoners! She represented righteousness and truth in the family.
Elder Gale was the library's keeper, and the most scholar-like elder in the room. He was also the most knowledgeable, having spent his life with books. He was as old as Water Dragon, nearing his seventies. Yet, he was healthier and only looked like 40.
Elder Shadow, always hidden under his hood, was named leader of the Shadow Order, a spying and investigating organization answering to Water Dragon only. With the new flow of Huntingwood's acolytes full of potential, and soul bound to the family, the Shadow Order had grown incredibly powerful.
Elder Turtle was an average man who had risen to the peak of the intermediate acolyte realm, and after transplanting an elder water turtle shell on his back, his defence was unmatched in the whole family. He had accomplished many feats in his prime, hence his status. However, he was just a secondary family's descendant, and obviously lacked influence and strength when compared to the other elders.
Elder Windcaller, an outsider who was adopted into the family, possessing wind affinities and having peak intermediate acolyte strength, was quite influential.
These 10 elders were all very respected in the family, some were even feared. Bards sang praises of their achievements on a daily basis in taverns, cantines and even castles!
However, someone broke into the confidential meeting room. Someone who was young, very young, compared to them. Blue Beard looked at the youth: ripped muscles, a foxy-like attitude, and a huge scar surrounding his left eye, which seemed completely unhuman. Wild and unrestrained, he was a problem child, very contrasting with the respectable elders in the room.
"Who dares to…", the hot-tempered Elder turtle exclaimed, only to be interrupted.
Drodosis had proved his worth quite a few times in the Huntingwood war, but laid low for a while. The Ironcloud Knight Order had been founded, but no one knew what it did in the past few months.
"Hi, grandpa!", Drodosis emphasized on his status, by showing off his connection with the supreme elder of the family.
His grandfather was narrowing his eyes, 'what kind of scheme is he planning?'
In the past three months, Drodosis had interacted more than once with elders, and he had benefited quite a bit. He had successfully armoured all of his subordinates with the most finely crafted ironcloud armours which could be found in the treasury, and their ironcloud spears were even more precious, yet Drodosis looted it all, saying his order would be laughable if it wasn't really equipped with Ironcloud gears, despite being called the Ironcloud Knight Order!
After long negotiations, and duels, Drodosis proved his strength and was given what he wanted. Yet…he never lifted a finger to contribute to the family, even when the elders offered him the opportunity to do a joint cooperation with the Water Troops.
"What are you doing here, Drodosis?", Elder Water Dragon said. Despite having white hair and wrinkles, his vigour had not diminished one bit, instead being at his peak. He still had at least forty years in front of him, and his authority was extraordinary.
"I am here because you have a problem: The Magnolia Forest, and I happen to have a solution: the Ironcloud Knight Order", Drodosis said straightforwardly, full of confidence.
An eerie silence followed his says. Shock, doubt, hope. They all felt that. But nobody said anything.