ACT V
THE GLORY WARS
"Phew..." Hans sighed, thinking to himself, "I nearly said yes. That old codger really knows how to talk, but a war? As I care. This world is in a mess because of adults, so why do they keep bringing me into their fights…” Suddenly, a pat on his back startled him. "Sis, were you waiting for me?" he asked Vanessa, surprised.
"Yeah, what did you guys talk about?" she inquired with curiosity. However, Hans's reply was a bit distant as his thoughts wandered, "Oh, he was trying to get me to come back with them," he paused, recollecting the words on the paper he had seen. Worried, he asked her, "Hey, Sis, how well do you remember my father?"
"I was even younger than you back then, dear brother, but the memory of him... he was clever, I mean really clever —"
"I'm aware of that." Hans interjected and, emphasised, "I'm looking for something more specific."
"Hmm..." She pondered for a moment before continuing, "Contrary to what others think, I remember him as warm and gentle, trying everything possible to help those he cared about, even if they never recognised his efforts. He never sought recognition or approval." She chuckled and went on, "He was too proud to ask for that."
Doubting, Hans asked, “Did he change suddenly, like keeping things close to him like hiding things?”
“I don’t remember anything like that, I was way younger than you. But I overheard Father talking once. After Sam returned from Parv, he seemed different – colder and more unforgiving. There was no second chance in his eyes, but that applied to him too. He never made mistakes and his every decision turned perfect. Whatever he attempted, he triumphed. That's why people started saying he could see the future.”
“It was more like he was living a second life,” Hans commented, hinting at a legend that every mage dreamed of and Vanessa was not oblivious to where Hans was going with it. “Regression magic is a myth, dear brother," she disagreed, shaking her head to dismiss the notion, emphasising, "No one could do that —”
“Yet the idea of that very myth exists Sister," Hans grinned, "There is no smoke without fire.”
AT THE BOARDROOM
Gathered in the Boardroom, encompassing all eight directions, the designated site for the World Summit discussions commenced as Arat began to speak. "I want to sincerely thank all of you who accepted the Summit invitation on such short notice. Before we proceed, though, there are some personal matters I need to address," he turned towards Sunfall's foreign minister, his gaze staring at their souls, and continued, "Why are you so keen on disrupting world peace?"
Taken aback by the unexpected remark, the Sunfall foreign minister protested, "What on earth are you saying?" Failing to receive the answer he was hoping for, Arat questioned him further, "Being aware of the incident implies deceit, while ignorance implies incompetence. Take your pick?"
"What the fuck are you talking about?" One of the ministers stood, angered.
"So it's the latter, I'm disappointed in myself thinking you fall in the first category." He sighed but then the air around him changed for the worse, his eyes almost giving a death glare, and he asked with a grim voice, "What were your royal guards doing in Edenberg? This was the fuck I'm talking about, respected dignitaries.”
This stirred up a commotion, triggering discussions among everyone present. While they were aware of the unexpected assault in Edenberg's county, it had been dismissed as an outburst of old grievances against Rudolf. However, Arat's accusation suggested something different. The Foreign Minister wasn't naive; he grasped the implications of Arat's words. Without delay, he refuted, "I don’t know what are you talking about and there is no proof against us either."
Arat had been waiting for this response. "Ah, yes," he sighed, "The world is filled with incompetence. I can't place the blame solely on you...Then I hope to hear these very words again from you when the culprits suddenly find themselves beheaded in some dark alley."
“Is this a threat?” The Foreign minister questioned, locking eyes with Arat. Yet, Arat's gaze remained steady, as always, and he retorted, "No, this is retribution."
"Pat! Pat! Pat!" Norwin rhythmically tapped his table, his voice carrying a hint of annoyance. "Is this why you gathered us here, Arat?" he queried, meeting Arat's gaze with the same directness as the Sunfall foreign minister. The only difference was that he wasn't unsettled like his counterpart. "Tell me, Parv's Prime Minister, what's the real reason behind your sudden appearance? I suspect it's more than merely pointing fingers at an Allied nation without evidence."
“Evidence is required for trials, I don't give a fuck who is wrong and who is not kid, I'm declaring my judgement here,” Arat said without flinching, ruffling and challenging Norwin’s authority right at his face. “But you are right,” he shook his head, conceding this time, “I called you all here because I’m tired of a nuisance called Xandor and his rag-tag group of defected Eclipse. And I assume all of you are as well."
“So why the sudden change? Aren't you funding them” The new king of Utar commented, but Arat was not some rookie in debates, “Them robbing us and we, willingly giving funds are different things, you uneducated child?” Taking a pause and glancing at all of them, Arat announced, ”Our intelligence found out that Xandor has found some ancient text and is hasting his preparations. We do not know what it is or what his end goal is but I do think it is time to put our animosity in a corner for a while. And kill this tumour for good.”
"And what of your sincerity?" This time, it was the Elven King, who had a deeply strained relationship with Parv, who posed the question. But like every other time, Arat had prepared a response for him, “My sincerity is that I'm warning you beforehand, you imbeciles. He came to your door, killed your right-hand man, almost got your daughter, and you couldn't do shit. Is that not enough to scare you? You know much better than me how dangerous that bastard is, he single-handedly wiped almost all your council members, did you forget about that too?”
Arat took a brief pause after shutting up Clandor King and continued, “I came here to achieve one thing, Xandor needs to be eliminated and to show that we are willing to work with you and to show that Parv is shaking hands with you, we will resume our participation in the Glory wars as we were used to a decade ago.”
“So what is that Xandor preparing?” Norwin asked ignoring all the drama Arat made, this was the only thing keeping his ass stuck to the board room however, Arat's answer disappointed him. “I don’t know," Arat said while pointing out, "but you do know, me meeting you and discussing this marked me his enemy, right?”
“Then why are you doing this? Even if Xandor completes the weapon, he is not gonna fire it at Parv —”
“NO, YOU ARE WRONG, Parv might not be the first target, but it will eventually become one since we are the ones who rejected him in his plan of grand revenge. He blames us for Samson’s death. When he was executing the enemies in a faraway land, we got our king killed. We are the incompetent fools who failed to protect his king when he was not there.”
Arat paused again, and when none questioned him further, he concluded, “That's all I came here to say, Since we are not part of Alliance, I’ll leave the further discussion to you a bunch. Parv will take the leave here.” He stood up and walked away and none stopped him. Parv came like a sudden gust and went like one. Only to leave the grand sight of their departure that can be seen from miles away.
The discussions stretched for hours, and the decision regarding Parv's proposal was deferred until after the Glory Wars. The need for more information on Xandor's alleged weapon prompted them to send out numerous spies and rangers to verify Arat's claims. Meanwhile, another individual was preparing to depart for a distant destination. Dijkstra had received fresh orders to impart some wisdom to the Sunfall Royal Guards. Actualising the fears of the vice-captain of the squad that attacked Edenberg’s.
When they exited the room, one of the knights asked Arat in secrecy, "Sir, Why did you not tell them the complete truth?" And, Arat answered, sneering, "Because chaos is necessary to keep order, you fledglings."
The summit was a place to discuss for nation movers to discuss things but for Concordia students, it was more of a festival, and after separating from Vanessa, Hans was searching for Chris and Delimira. They had set the meeting place, but he was running late. “Darn that old fox, he said so much nonsense. Just where these idiots go, no one is in the central plaza.”
“BEHIND THE CLOCK TOWER”
The words entered Hans’s ears, startling him, he turned frantically, looking for the source, but the voice echoed in his ears again, “BEHIND THE CLOCK TOWER NOW.”
“Yes, yes, great ancestor. What's the hurry? Where are you?”
“BEHIND THE CLOCK TOWER, FOOLISH DESCENDANT”
“Yes, I'm going, I'm going…” He sped up since Dietrich urged him to, “So this was the reason, Darn this Old man.” Hans saw his friends and the Parvian PM confronting them. “Get the heck away from them.” he shouted.“Swoosh! Swoosh!” two SeedBullets were shot right beside Arat’s feet. “I said get away from them.” Hans came between them, gesturing to both sides to stop. On his left were Chris, Delimira and Allynna and on his right were Arat and his single knight.
“How is that he found us,” Arat asked his subordinate, but the knight had no answers since the artefact of isolation was still working. Hans interrupted them, “You should leave, now —”
“Do you even know who you are protecting?” Arat asked, his voice filled with anger. However, Hans was adamant about not listening since he knew why Arat was doing this, but it was not right to him, “Yes, I know, HE IS MY FRIEND.” He stressed.
“That friend of yours is the son of a traitor —”
"Sins are not inherited. Those are my father's words to me. If you have a score to settle, find the person responsible and address it directly. Don't take a cheap shot by harming the innocent."
Arat sighed, and shifted his gaze towards Chris, battered, “You are lucky, traitor, don’t leave this place, I might have some empathy but others are not that understanding. ” Changing his gaze, he stared at the Elven princess, but his eyes wanned on the necklace she was wearing, looking back at Hans he warned, “You’ll get killed if you have her around.”
“Thanks for the concern but you should leave, The Chairman already knows you are here.”
‘INGRESS’ Arat said the command and the pillar of light fell on him. He had masked his presence by sending two knights before. That’s why he was able to confront Chris. Hans saw them leave and thought, “And he said to do this modestly, how many sunstones did he burn in this fiasco.” He turned to take a look at Chris, he was not badly harmed but was shaken mentally, mumbling, “ My father…he made a choice, he wanted to stop the bloodshed. He chose the path —”
“Stop it, Chris,” Hans shook him, holding both his shoulders, “Hey, You are my friend. If anyone messes with you then they are enemies, their justifications can go eat shit. As I have said, Sins are not inherited. They have no right to mess with you.”
AnnouncementNEXT : THE HALF BOOK OF DEATH
ACT V
THE GLORY WARS
"Phew..." Hans sighed, thinking to himself, "I nearly said yes. That old codger really knows how to talk, but a war? As I care. This world is in a mess because of adults, so why do they keep bringing me into their fights…” Suddenly, a pat on his back startled him. "Sis, were you waiting for me?" he asked Vanessa, surprised.
"Yeah, what did you guys talk about?" she inquired with curiosity. However, Hans's reply was a bit distant as his thoughts wandered, "Oh, he was trying to get me to come back with them," he paused, recollecting the words on the paper he had seen. Worried, he asked her, "Hey, Sis, how well do you remember my father?"
"I was even younger than you back then, dear brother, but the memory of him... he was clever, I mean really clever —"
"I'm aware of that." Hans interjected and, emphasised, "I'm looking for something more specific."
"Hmm..." She pondered for a moment before continuing, "Contrary to what others think, I remember him as warm and gentle, trying everything possible to help those he cared about, even if they never recognised his efforts. He never sought recognition or approval." She chuckled and went on, "He was too proud to ask for that."
Doubting, Hans asked, “Did he change suddenly, like keeping things close to him like hiding things?”
“I don’t remember anything like that, I was way younger than you. But I overheard Father talking once. After Sam returned from Parv, he seemed different – colder and more unforgiving. There was no second chance in his eyes, but that applied to him too. He never made mistakes and his every decision turned perfect. Whatever he attempted, he triumphed. That's why people started saying he could see the future.”
“It was more like he was living a second life,” Hans commented, hinting at a legend that every mage dreamed of and Vanessa was not oblivious to where Hans was going with it. “Regression magic is a myth, dear brother," she disagreed, shaking her head to dismiss the notion, emphasising, "No one could do that —”
“Yet the idea of that very myth exists Sister," Hans grinned, "There is no smoke without fire.”
AT THE BOARDROOM
Gathered in the Boardroom, encompassing all eight directions, the designated site for the World Summit discussions commenced as Arat began to speak. "I want to sincerely thank all of you who accepted the Summit invitation on such short notice. Before we proceed, though, there are some personal matters I need to address," he turned towards Sunfall's foreign minister, his gaze staring at their souls, and continued, "Why are you so keen on disrupting world peace?"
Taken aback by the unexpected remark, the Sunfall foreign minister protested, "What on earth are you saying?" Failing to receive the answer he was hoping for, Arat questioned him further, "Being aware of the incident implies deceit, while ignorance implies incompetence. Take your pick?"
"What the fuck are you talking about?" One of the ministers stood, angered.
"So it's the latter, I'm disappointed in myself thinking you fall in the first category." He sighed but then the air around him changed for the worse, his eyes almost giving a death glare, and he asked with a grim voice, "What were your royal guards doing in Edenberg? This was the fuck I'm talking about, respected dignitaries.”
This stirred up a commotion, triggering discussions among everyone present. While they were aware of the unexpected assault in Edenberg's county, it had been dismissed as an outburst of old grievances against Rudolf. However, Arat's accusation suggested something different. The Foreign Minister wasn't naive; he grasped the implications of Arat's words. Without delay, he refuted, "I don’t know what are you talking about and there is no proof against us either."
Arat had been waiting for this response. "Ah, yes," he sighed, "The world is filled with incompetence. I can't place the blame solely on you...Then I hope to hear these very words again from you when the culprits suddenly find themselves beheaded in some dark alley."
“Is this a threat?” The Foreign minister questioned, locking eyes with Arat. Yet, Arat's gaze remained steady, as always, and he retorted, "No, this is retribution."
"Pat! Pat! Pat!" Norwin rhythmically tapped his table, his voice carrying a hint of annoyance. "Is this why you gathered us here, Arat?" he queried, meeting Arat's gaze with the same directness as the Sunfall foreign minister. The only difference was that he wasn't unsettled like his counterpart. "Tell me, Parv's Prime Minister, what's the real reason behind your sudden appearance? I suspect it's more than merely pointing fingers at an Allied nation without evidence."
“Evidence is required for trials, I don't give a fuck who is wrong and who is not kid, I'm declaring my judgement here,” Arat said without flinching, ruffling and challenging Norwin’s authority right at his face. “But you are right,” he shook his head, conceding this time, “I called you all here because I’m tired of a nuisance called Xandor and his rag-tag group of defected Eclipse. And I assume all of you are as well."
“So why the sudden change? Aren't you funding them” The new king of Utar commented, but Arat was not some rookie in debates, “Them robbing us and we, willingly giving funds are different things, you uneducated child?” Taking a pause and glancing at all of them, Arat announced, ”Our intelligence found out that Xandor has found some ancient text and is hasting his preparations. We do not know what it is or what his end goal is but I do think it is time to put our animosity in a corner for a while. And kill this tumour for good.”
"And what of your sincerity?" This time, it was the Elven King, who had a deeply strained relationship with Parv, who posed the question. But like every other time, Arat had prepared a response for him, “My sincerity is that I'm warning you beforehand, you imbeciles. He came to your door, killed your right-hand man, almost got your daughter, and you couldn't do shit. Is that not enough to scare you? You know much better than me how dangerous that bastard is, he single-handedly wiped almost all your council members, did you forget about that too?”
Arat took a brief pause after shutting up Clandor King and continued, “I came here to achieve one thing, Xandor needs to be eliminated and to show that we are willing to work with you and to show that Parv is shaking hands with you, we will resume our participation in the Glory wars as we were used to a decade ago.”
“So what is that Xandor preparing?” Norwin asked ignoring all the drama Arat made, this was the only thing keeping his ass stuck to the board room however, Arat's answer disappointed him. “I don’t know," Arat said while pointing out, "but you do know, me meeting you and discussing this marked me his enemy, right?”
“Then why are you doing this? Even if Xandor completes the weapon, he is not gonna fire it at Parv —”
“NO, YOU ARE WRONG, Parv might not be the first target, but it will eventually become one since we are the ones who rejected him in his plan of grand revenge. He blames us for Samson’s death. When he was executing the enemies in a faraway land, we got our king killed. We are the incompetent fools who failed to protect his king when he was not there.”
Arat paused again, and when none questioned him further, he concluded, “That's all I came here to say, Since we are not part of Alliance, I’ll leave the further discussion to you a bunch. Parv will take the leave here.” He stood up and walked away and none stopped him. Parv came like a sudden gust and went like one. Only to leave the grand sight of their departure that can be seen from miles away.
The discussions stretched for hours, and the decision regarding Parv's proposal was deferred until after the Glory Wars. The need for more information on Xandor's alleged weapon prompted them to send out numerous spies and rangers to verify Arat's claims. Meanwhile, another individual was preparing to depart for a distant destination. Dijkstra had received fresh orders to impart some wisdom to the Sunfall Royal Guards. Actualising the fears of the vice-captain of the squad that attacked Edenberg’s.
When they exited the room, one of the knights asked Arat in secrecy, "Sir, Why did you not tell them the complete truth?" And, Arat answered, sneering, "Because chaos is necessary to keep order, you fledglings."
The summit was a place to discuss for nation movers to discuss things but for Concordia students, it was more of a festival, and after separating from Vanessa, Hans was searching for Chris and Delimira. They had set the meeting place, but he was running late. “Darn that old fox, he said so much nonsense. Just where these idiots go, no one is in the central plaza.”
“BEHIND THE CLOCK TOWER”
The words entered Hans’s ears, startling him, he turned frantically, looking for the source, but the voice echoed in his ears again, “BEHIND THE CLOCK TOWER NOW.”
“Yes, yes, great ancestor. What's the hurry? Where are you?”
“BEHIND THE CLOCK TOWER, FOOLISH DESCENDANT”
“Yes, I'm going, I'm going…” He sped up since Dietrich urged him to, “So this was the reason, Darn this Old man.” Hans saw his friends and the Parvian PM confronting them. “Get the heck away from them.” he shouted.“Swoosh! Swoosh!” two SeedBullets were shot right beside Arat’s feet. “I said get away from them.” Hans came between them, gesturing to both sides to stop. On his left were Chris, Delimira and Allynna and on his right were Arat and his single knight.
“How is that he found us,” Arat asked his subordinate, but the knight had no answers since the artefact of isolation was still working. Hans interrupted them, “You should leave, now —”
“Do you even know who you are protecting?” Arat asked, his voice filled with anger. However, Hans was adamant about not listening since he knew why Arat was doing this, but it was not right to him, “Yes, I know, HE IS MY FRIEND.” He stressed.
“That friend of yours is the son of a traitor —”
"Sins are not inherited. Those are my father's words to me. If you have a score to settle, find the person responsible and address it directly. Don't take a cheap shot by harming the innocent."
Arat sighed, and shifted his gaze towards Chris, battered, “You are lucky, traitor, don’t leave this place, I might have some empathy but others are not that understanding. ” Changing his gaze, he stared at the Elven princess, but his eyes wanned on the necklace she was wearing, looking back at Hans he warned, “You’ll get killed if you have her around.”
“Thanks for the concern but you should leave, The Chairman already knows you are here.”
‘INGRESS’ Arat said the command and the pillar of light fell on him. He had masked his presence by sending two knights before. That’s why he was able to confront Chris. Hans saw them leave and thought, “And he said to do this modestly, how many sunstones did he burn in this fiasco.” He turned to take a look at Chris, he was not badly harmed but was shaken mentally, mumbling, “ My father…he made a choice, he wanted to stop the bloodshed. He chose the path —”
“Stop it, Chris,” Hans shook him, holding both his shoulders, “Hey, You are my friend. If anyone messes with you then they are enemies, their justifications can go eat shit. As I have said, Sins are not inherited. They have no right to mess with you.”
AnnouncementNEXT : THE HALF BOOK OF DEATH
