"So, the four of you had quite the night together. I hope it was all to your satisfaction and standards Mr. Altamari." Ase inquired as she put her leather boots on the wooden table and leaned back. Sitting in front of her were Ferrando Altamari and the three female soldiers he spent the night with. Surrounding the four of them were the rest of the Gunnulf + Havard family.
"Yes, quite so. I hope to spend more time engaging with these three lovely ladies. It is not often that I meet a couple of women who can wear me out. If possible, I would like to take them to my home and shower them in all the glamour we of the Cerviel Holy land can provide." Ferrando Altamari casually responded while the three women kept their gazes downwards to the ground. They knew they were in deep trouble, yet it seemed Ferrando was incapable of reading the mood.
"These "couple of women" are at the 3rd step of their path. You know as well as I do that I cannot let them go. Alma, Dahlia, and Laila, the three of you know what you've done right?" Ase decided Ferrando was a lost cause and decided to instead focus on the part of the foursome that seemed to have some manner of shame and intelligence.
"Yes Queen Gunnulf" the three of them responded, though quiet and downtrodden.
"Good, the three of you will be guests at the royal castle for around a year to be certain. Though it will likely be for around 2-3 months." Ase continued on berating them for a while longer while Ferrando was just sitting there like no harm was done.
"Mr. Altamari, as the Queen of the Gunnulf kingdom I wish to offer you the generosity of the Gunnulf Royal palace. I've been informed that Adina, the lovely lady you spoke to yesterday, has sent for a rider to the palace of your Royal Family. While I do hope for a swift response, it might take a few years for a person of high enough rank to come here and resolve the issue. The majority of your high-ranking family members are involved in the Hupomenó kingdom war." Ase returned her focus to Ferrando Altamari and wondered what to do about this situation.
'Well, guess I might as well put everything on the table' Ase thought to herself after seeing that Ferrando still doesn't get the problems at hand.
"Mr. Altamari, I think it might be prudent on my side to inform you what the consequences may be from your actions last night and why we dragged the four of you out of your love nest." Ase continued on, taking some time to hopefully let it sink in that she was about to explain something very important. "You carry the blood of Cerviel through your veins, blood that is very potent and important. This morning we discovered that you did manage to impregnate the three lovely ladies here, they are very likely to give birth to three Ophanim's, and even you should know what that means to not just you and the Gunnulf Kingdom, but also for the Cerviel holy land. But let me spell it out for you. It means that someone outside of the royal family and the 7 great families have their hands on the bloodline of Cerviel."
'Finally, it seems the rusted and webbed gears in his head are turning' Ase noted after Ferrando's face turned mighty pale when it finally hit him. 'Well then, let us see how I can exploit this'
"So, Mr. Altamari, it seems that the consequences are clear to you now. I would like to offer you a deal. A tremendous deal if I say so myself. To me, it seems quite clear that war with the Cerviel Holy Land is certain, but that is not in the interest of the Gunnulf family at this moment. And to me, it seems your life is also uncertain. If your family learns about what happened here, of which I am sure they will, they might just kill you." Ase continued on, it was best to push the issue while Ferrando was in a state of anxiety and stress.
"I say that we help each other. You help me avoid war with the Cerviel Holy Land and I help you keep your life. How does that sound to you?" Ase explained as she moved from leaning on the table with her foot while sitting back to sitting hunched over with her elbows on the table and her hands folded under her nose.
"Ho… how, how can I help! I don't want to die. Please I WILL DO ANYTHING. PLEASE SAVE ME!" shouted Ferrando as he quickly stood up and slammed his hands on the table. It seemed that fear was something he did know as his forehead started sweating and his knees started shaking.
"Very well, I look forward to working with you Mr. Altamari. Before we woke you up, we had a rider sent to the Dynasty of Wu. The message the rider carries tells the events of our battle and who you are. In it, we are offering the Dynasty of Wu a deal. In exchange for a one-sided military alliance with the Gunnulf Kingdom, The Gunnulf kingdom offers to hand over Mr. Ferrando Altamari to the Dynasty of Wu. With this we ensure that the Kingdom of Gunnulf is protected from war with the Cerviel Holy Land and the Dynasty of Wu will take over your protection. How does that sound Mr. Altamari?" Ase decided to strike while the iron was hot and laid out all the cards on the table.
"....Yes, yes. YES! That does sound good. I can live, I can live with this. I will live!" shouted Ferrando as he sat back down in his chair, his knees stopped shaking, and the sweat was gone from his forehead after Adani offered a towel to him to wipe.
"Very well, Mr. Altamari, give me your hand. You know how making deals with lords goes." came the reply from Ase as she stood up and offered Ferrando a hand. "Repeat after me Mr. Altamari."
"In exchange for providing Mr. Ferrando Altamari a safe haven till the Dynasty of Wu takes over, Mr. Ferrando Altamari will never speak of what happened yesterday and today nor about the possible impregnation and the potential childbirth. Furthermore, he shall never tell anyone else anything about the Gunnulf Kingdom and its interests." Ase spoke and let her Lord mana flow between her and Ferrando.
"..In exchange for providing Mr. Ferrando Altamari a safe haven till the Dynasty of Wu takes over, Mr. Ferrando Altamari will never speak of what happened yesterday and today nor about the possible impregnation and the potential childbirth. Furthermore, he shall never tell anyone else anything about the Gunnulf Kingdom and its interests." Ferrando replied after a tiny bit of hesitation.
"And with that, we sealed the pact. It was a pleasure solving this issue with you Mr. Altamari." Ase concluded as she stopped holding hands with Ferrando and let out a loud sigh.
'Issue solved, and we got three Orphanim's. Though we're likely going to have to hand one over to the Dynasty of Wu. But that is worth it. I hope one of them will be a male and the other two girls. We can trade one of the girls over to the Dynasty of Wu and have one male work with some of the willing women to get us some angels.' Ase thought to herself as it seems the world is finally working in her favor for once. All these years of misery and self-loathing and now, now things are looking bright again.
"Adina, send out the message that we're breaking up the camp and returning home. I'll make a Lord deal with the lovely ladies over here and then I'll join the rest of you after.` As Ase took a look around the table, she saw mostly relieved expressions in the family, with the exception of Adina. `Well, guess I am going to have to talk to her later.' she thought to herself and decided to let the issue rest for the moment.
As everyone but Ase, the three lovely ladies, Thyra and Astrid left the tent. Adina was thinking about something else or rather someone else, Ase.
`This is not like her, not like her at all. If this was the Ase of just two days ago, she would've instantly stopped Mr. Altamari and the three women from having sex, there is no way anything good can come from it. What changed, what caused her to change so much in just a single day…..` Adina thought to herself as realization slowly sank in.
"Erik" Adina whispered to herself, causing the others to cast their gaze towards her.
"Is there something wrong with Erik, Adina?" Hui-Ying inquired after hearing Adina speak to herself.
"No… There is something wrong with Ase. I am sure you all noticed as well that ever since she brought Erik here, she has been absent minded and quiet. You know as well as I do that what happened yesterday night in the next tent should never have happened. That is not Ase, she would've prevented the four of them from having sex. The impregnation of Alma, Dahlia, and Laila by Mr. Altamari can only cause issues. Issues we currently don't have time for, especially with the Hyenida King in the northwest and the dwarves in the northeast acting up and becoming active. We can't afford to waste time with these issues." Adina replied to all of them and hoped that they would've noticed as well.
"We all noticed Adina, no need to worry" Gunhilf replied after looking at everyone else. She had talked to Bodil, Svend, and Hui-Ying this morning about the very same issue while Ase, Thyra, and Astrid were waking up to the troublesome foursome.
"How is it not something to worry about?! We have way too many issues at this very moment!" Adina replied, her voice becoming louder and starting to carry over to the soldiers on guard.
"Now is not the time for this Adina, let's first return home. We can talk this out like we always do, as adults and as family." Hui-Ying decided to be the one to break this argument up before it got out of hand.
"Fine!" Adina replied as she stormed off to inform the generals to break camp.
"She really does hate it when things don't go according to plan. But I get how she feels. I think I know what Ase is planning and I think she is acting way too fast and way too early" Bodin decided to bring the matter to life once again and draw the questioning eyes of the rest.
"Erik is a Lord child. I bet you all my money that she is thinking about having Estrid and one of the Orphanim become part of Erik's family. Well if one of the Orphanim is a girl." Bodin explained as things seemed to click for the others as well.
"How do you know that Bodin?" Hui-Ying questioned as she stood still thinking about the potential consequences of this revelation.
"It takes one greedy person to know a greedy person. I've always felt some type of kinship with Ase, but up till now I never found out why. I must admit, she hides her greed extremely well." Bodin explained as she turned around and smiled at the baffled looks of the others.
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A month later, the Gunnulf Family finally reached their capital, Birka. It sat almost exactly in the middle of their kingdom, allowing the city to be the center of trade in the country and the capability of a quick response from the high-ranking generals and the Gunnulf Family.
It sat on a relatively flat plain, surrounded by just a few small hills to the northeast. It was surrounded by tall walls on all four sides, with current estimates setting the walls around 80 meters tall. Spaced out evenly across each section of the wall were large guard towers filled to the brim with arrows, javelins, and flammable water created by the heart and alchemist of the Gunnulf Family, the lady Adina.
The capital was evenly divided into 4 large squares with each square being assigned a category. To the south lay the military district of the capital. It houses the barracks, the armories, training fields, the assassin headquarters, and the office of Grand Marshal and Anchor of the Gunnulf Family Astrid. It also housed the office of the Sword of the Gunnulf family Thyra. The Grand Marshal's office was concerned with the allocation, supply, and equipment of the soldiers of the Gunnulf kingdom. It was a bureaucratic powerhouse in the city, rivaling that of the trade headquarters. The office had people constantly flowing in and out with orders or documents to copy and store.
Next to the Grand Marshal's office was the office of the Sword Thyra, affectionately nicknamed the bloody curse, due to the tendency of its chief to curse. While the office of the Grand Marshal was concerned with the allocation, supply, and equipment of the soldiers, the Sword's office's main task was to oversee the training of the soldiers, but most importantly to assign resources to those who are promising recruits or veterans.
To the west lay the trade district with at its head the trade headquarters led by Bodil. This district was the commercial heart of the kingdom and supplied almost the entire kingdom with the needed goods and luxuries. From a pot of flour all the way to customized chairs and tables, everything you needed as a normal citizen could be found here.
To the east were the heavy industry, the blacksmiths, forges, and siege workshops. It was also commonly known as the district of no-sleep, for the workshops, forges, and blacksmiths worked around the clock.
To the north, walled off from the rest of the city was the noble district. As the name would imply it was the area where the rich, influential, and nobles lived, or as Thyra would so adequately put it, "The district of stick up pigs." The reason why the district was located on this side of the city was quite simple, just to the northeast was the Gunnulf castle, where the royal family resided.
The castle was divided into two large pieces. The first piece was situated atop a hill that could be reached by a stone road. Once at the top of the stone road you will encounter a large gatehouse that leads into a small town surrounded by large dark stone walls with battlements and guard towers. This was where the maids, butlers, and other caretakers of the castle or family lived. Their houses were made of white stone to prevent fire from spreading properly if it were ever sieged. It was a bustling area with maids and workers rushing all over the place to prepare for the return of the royal family. Food was transported to the warehouse and into the castle if needed, alongside people sweeping the paved courtyard.
After walking through the city and exiting the second gatehouse, you would arrive at a bridge going over the river Älv. The river flows through the bridge between its pillars and underneath the arches. After a 200 meter walk, you would arrive at the final checkpoint before you entered the heart of the royal palace. A yellow staircase with at the end a unique gatehouse. The gatehouse had no portcullis but two arches that held up an open circle outhouse with four pillars supporting its triangle roof. At the back end of the roof was a large statue of a man holding his sword up to the heavens.
On either side just below the bridge, across the mighty river, you could find two mountain plateaus that held some circle yellow houses with red roofs and some spire towers next to it as water flowed from behind and next to the houses into the river, obviously some manner of guesthouse.
Once past the final gatehouse, you would enter a large plaza with at the center a large red tree surrounded by grass, some garden stone paths, and benches situated around a large tree.
Finally, behind the large tree, you would find the home of the royal family.
As the royal family made their way into the castle, maids and butlers were lined up to take care of their needs, whether it be baths or food, it wouldn't matter.
However, it seemed Ase had a different idea. She stepped forward and turned around to her family and decided to break the ice. "Everyone, over the last month I know I've been quiet and reserved and I know we need to talk about that, but first we have something else to discuss. Tomorrow morning I want everyone in the small council chamber to discuss the Hyenida problem in the northwest and the aggressive stance of the Dwarven Kingdom of Gen Torum in the northeast. After that, we will talk about myself and Erik and the issues I've been the source of." And with that Ase turned around and went to the large bathroom on the far-right side of the castle.
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*A month later, Dynasty of Wu imperial palace*
An old man was sitting on his throne, his grey hair bound up in a knot hidden by the signature piece of an Emperor's attire, the Mianliu Guan. His brown eyes slowly scanned the empty imperial court. Today he was wearing a yellow dragon dress that proudly displayed his Azure dragon friend. Sitting to either side of him, on a platform just below his, sat his first and second wife, his anchor and ace. Surveying the court just like they've been doing for over 700 years.
In his hand was a letter from Queen Ase of the Gunnulf Kingdom, explaining something quite interesting to the imperial family and their interests.
"Oh son of mine, what do you think of this?" The Emperor of the Dynasty of Wu looked to his son, sitting just on the right side of his first wife. Quite clearly showcasing who was in contention for the imperial throne.
The heir stood up and slowly bowed. "I believe this information to be true. I have received several messages from our scouts and ambassadors in the Cerviel Holy Land that describe the personality and looks of Mr. Altamari and I find they coincide with the message in this letter." The heir bowed and sat down on his throne.
"We will meet with the Queen of Gunnulf then. I will go there myself on Meng Zhang and discuss the deal with her. I heard she is quite a tough one, so I am looking forward to this." The emperor spoke as he smiled. It had been too long since he had a worthy adversary in this, ever since the old Emperor of the Sloop Empire died he had been quite bored. The young buck that was currently in control just hasn't had the time to develop yet.
His first and second wives quickly stood up from their thrones and bowed down to the Emperor. "Oh mighty ruler of Heaven, we ask that you allow us to go with you" they pleaded as they started to look quite distressed at the thought of their Emperor going alone to an enemy kingdom.
"Of course you will come with me, all my wives will. We can't just enter the home of the enemy without at least some display of threat." The emperor said and left the imperial court without so much as another word. He had things to do.
After walking through the palace, he boarded a small boat that brought him to the Emperor's pavilion. He loved traveling through the palace waters, the sound of bamboo swing pumps, the cherry blossoms flying on the wind, and the large water lilies parting before his boat all gave him this feeling of peace, of tranquility.
He was emperor, but he left the vast majority of the day-to-day operations to his son given to him by his first wife, preparing him for his eventual passing. However, his son will have to pass the title of Emperor to Heaven after he finishes the Academy of war.
"It seems some interesting times are ahead, and yet… I will miss them. Curse this old body of mine" he murmured as he looked at his bony and wrinkled arms. He had really decayed in the last 5-10 years. While he was still extremely strong, the emperor of Sloop might now be the strongest ruler in combat, though he might just be able to pull through with experience.
He sighed as he watched the passage of water and trees while he was being transported to the emperor pavilion where his friend Meng Zhang was lying taking care of a newborn Azure Dragon. Soon the young Azure Dragon will be brought to Heaven so that they can develop the bond they need to face the coming storm, and what a mighty storm it will be.
"Oh Queen of Gunnulf, I hope you can humor this old man a bit. I beg of you, please" he whispered amongst the trees while he walked the gravel pebble road to his pavilion, perhaps a nap would be a good way to pass the time.
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Another month passed by while the Gunnulf family was recuperating in their palace, well everyone besides Ase. She had a nation to lead and people to care for. The days quickly faded into one while she held several councils with powerful nobles and influential merchants, but today is an important day for the Emperor of the Dynasty of Wu will visit. In his letter back to her, he requested the meeting to be as low fanfare as possible, hence he would visit at night.
"I guess the stories of the Azure dragon are true, it is one of the fastest methods of travel. If he can move from his imperial palace to our palace in just a couple of hours, it is no wonder why he was able to lead multiple armies in a single day during his youth and conquer cities on different sides of the empire." Ase murmured to herself as she started to contemplate the meeting.
The meeting will happen in a couple of minutes from now and so she was preparing herself. Her throne room was inside a rotunda on the highest level of the palace. The floor was made from white wood, imported from the Timocracy of Tel in the southwest part of the world, unique in its property to nullify the mana in any person who threaded along a path. It required a rare master wood crafter to be able to handle this unique wood, so rare that from what she knew, only three of them were alive in the world. One lived in the timocracy of Tel, one more lived in the Sloop Empire and the final one was a hermit who lived in the Gen Torum mountain range. A strange fellow he was, she had no clue someone even lived in that mountain range, but he came to her as rumors spread that a large shipment of white wood arrived at the royal castle.
He didn't even want to be paid for it, all he asked in return was that she would answer a single request from him when the time came. A request that she, unfortunately, had to accept, as the man she wanted to hire from the Timocracy of Tel was extremely expensive.
Evenly spread around the throne room were 16 large yellow pillars decorated with various powerful and mythical people or animals, some of which were sculpted into the pillar or painted on with exquisite craftsmanship. The 16 pillars supported the second level of the throne room, where a variety of boxes and chairs were available to people who wanted to watch the gathering. Generally, the boxes were reserved for the powerful families in the kingdom, while the chairs were free for all.
Upon this second level were another 16 pillars that supported the roof of the rotunda made of crystal glass imported from the Kingdom of Selene on the far western edge of this world. Just under the crystal glass roof, painted on the dark yellowstone were 8 figures, among them a single man. This was the Gunnulf family of old, centuries ago when they first started forming the kingdom that it is today. Next to Aros on his right was Ase and to his left a southeastern woman of the Dynasty of Wu, the sister of Hui-Ying, Nuo-Ying. She was the sword of the Gunnulf Family and the one who created a safe passage away from the Mt. of Sannindi.
In the middle of the throne room was a large throne that was divided into 8 pieces, in the middle sat Ase, and to her right and left sat Astrid and Thyra. To the left of Thyra were Svend and Bodil and to the right of Astrid were Adina, Gunhilf, and Hui-Ying. Alma, Dahlia, and Laila stood to the left side of the throne room cradling two young ophanim's and one darker one while Ferrando Altamari stood just left of the throne.
The rest of the throne room was deserted, for this was a private meeting of great importance that would not only decide the conflict between Gunnulf and the Cerviel holy land, but also the relationship with the Dynasty of Wu. To the right was a large oaken door that was opened in preparation for the arrival of the Emperor.
The Oaken door led into a rhombus-shaped plateau that was used for social gatherings and parties of the high nobility. It held several fountains and large trees that provided cover from the sun if need be. The plateau also held a couple of benches that were scattered among the flower field to the right side of the middle. To the left of the middle were several small soundproof houses where people could converse in private if they so desired. At the end of the plateau was a giant statue of a man holding up a shield that was formed into the heraldry of the Gunnulf family.
The middle of the plateau is where the Emperor of the dynasty of Wu would land, for it was a stone circle intended for people to land on if they arrived on a flying mount. By landing into the middle of the plateau, they could then easily move towards either the throne room or the other sides of the plateau for whatever reason they wanted. Throughout the day, nobles and influential merchants would land here and converse or do business, but over the course of today, no one was allowed here. For everything needed to be kept in pristine condition.
As the winds started to howl, Ase knew the emperor had arrived.