Age of Heroes (Age of Heroes Chronicles)

Chapter 135: Tempus fugit

ANVALI

THE YOUNG DEMON KING

AZRAEL MOURNSTAR

His reign of the kingdom has just begun

He is a young King but he was not the first one to hold the tile of King in such a young age and he is not even the youngest.

If the humans have George the Wise that become the Emperor at the age of ten, then Anvali have King Drael who assumes the throne at the age of six.

As the law dictates, when his father abdicated he assumes the throne. To him, his father got the better part of the deal.

Nowadays, his father spends his life outside the palace, resting and no longer he is entwined in the politics of the court, and no longer he has to fend of plots and intrigue.

He is living a very carefree life in seclusion

On the other hand, Azrael had learned the burden of responsibility placed upon him. Every day he has to administer the Eight great clans as the Protector of the realm.

The Orc King, the Fairy King, though the last time it was a fairy queen, (who is quite the headache for the royal court to handle) the Elves Council which rules in place of their King, and the other prominent race of Anvali.

His father abdicated and as the sole heir to the Kingdom, naturally it falls to his shoulder, the heavy responsibility of governing this Kingdom.

And how heavy it is the task of governing and ruling. It made him feel exhausted by the end of the day.

Scuffles between the Eight Great Kings are common place but as the King that sits on the Arakath Throne, it is his duty and his responsibilities to end their discord peacefully and with civility.

One of the most essential ingredients of great statesmanship is trust, and especially expressing trust.

And though Azrael know some of them are not confident of his rule, he must trust and have to trust that in time, the Kings could and will follow him.

However, that is not what concern him this day. His concern right now is upon his fianc.

It has been many moons since Arianna left the capital. She did not send any letters and he is beginning to worry about her.

'Hmm' he grunted.

She was not tasked to act as an envoy but she insisted, saying that she want to help the royal family. At that time, his father is overjoyed of course but he was not.

He worried for her, and for her peerless beauty, because he knows how her beauty can mislead men, weaker men with weak hearts and flawed morale and honor, and the rumor he heard about the Vern Emperor that he is lecherous did not help in easing his worry

But Arianna convinces him that surely the emperor will not do anything untoward to the future Queen of Anvali.

So, she takes upon a great task of once again establishing trade with the Human continent.

Even now there are ministers in his court that is insistently asking him and actively campaigning to him to mount an attack to the Human Continent.

Of course he argues to them that the Human Continent have the Bleeding Wall created by Alan and Alexander the First Emperor of Vern Empire

And even though those heroes have fallen 500 years ago, that Wall even now still stand and remain an impregnable Wall that keep their race from ever again penetrating into the heartland of the human continent.

But if Arakath really decided to invade, nothing is impossible. There is no longer Levitia and his companion.

But Azrael know the issue of the Human continent is a sore subject for some.

Especially for the people of his court and those who romanticize the good old days, where Demon Lords prospers and have full authority over the human, a view which him and his father detest and speaks in derision.

But why is it that it is a sore subject? It is because they were defeated and humiliated both in history and in their conduct of that time

After all, even in their history, it prominently displays how once, their Kingdom is so prosperous, and it is thought that no one can defeat them, but Levitia, a human, change the rules and the era itself, immortalizing himself as the hero of the ages

He showed that humans might be fragile and weakbut they can learn from their weakness and the year of persecution only led them to the inevitable conclusion where the Demon Lords are rid out from Davarus, humiliated and badly defeated by a human so great of virtue and human might.

And with it came their vengeance, a vengeance wroth upon the demon lords for all the sins they have done to the human population.

Levitia who acts as the hammer that dole out his justice, even as far as to incite such terrible fears among the Demon population.

If that is not enough, he marches to the Blessed Land intending to, as many Demon Lords believed at that time, the one known at that time as Levitia the Scourge, the Great Hero and Avenger came to annihilate every single Demons in Anvali, to ease his vengeful heart and showed the power of human might.

If the history is correct, and the old stories is true, it is said that at that time, every Priest of the Dark God weep and cry in their Dome, pleading, praying, to God that dwells in the shadow to hide us, to deliver us from the darkness and the impending doom that looms ahead, Levitia the Avenger, the Undefeated Hero, the Liberator, who came with his army, strong and mighty, bent on his vengeance towards the demonic race.

Even now, many of the common birth tells the story of Levitia the Avengers to their child warning that if they act naughty, that Levitia will come for them.

It is interesting

In Human Continent, he is loved and in some region he is even deified as a God, revered and respected, while here, he is feared and regarded as the Scourge of their Kingdoms, an Avenger sent by God for our sins, the Demonkind greatest regret and mistake when they decided to underestimate him.

But the march?

But of course his famous march, and whatever he intended to donever happened. If not, not even a shred of their civilization might survive his anger.

So great his strength and the threats he posed against the Kingdom at the time. The march. Which even now is a matter of debate among scholars and historians.

Some say, he finds mercy in his heart to spare the population of the demonic race, which is one of the most popular theory, because it is said that in his later years he is a little bit peaceful.

Some say, he gained some great knowledge in the Blessed Lands and decided to hide this knowledge to fall from anyone so he stop his march.

This theory is propagated by a group of men, who in the library of the Royal family, noted that they no longer exist.

In the royal library they spoke of a certain secret organization that hides themselves from the Church

Levitia suddenly stops his march after the Three Wise Men from the Sea speaks to him and he makes a truce and an agreement with the Demon Lords of that time.

As he was thinking of this, the winds blow and the smell of the spring can be smell.

It brought him back out from his musing.

'Fresh and. calming' he muttered

He looked at the tables, with the bulk of papers and parchment and scrolls, messily scattered on the table.

He is in one the chamber in the castle overviewing expenses and reports, complaints and land scuffles from the Eight Kings.

But even though his Kingdom have Kings and council to represent the King their rule are controlled by two factions, the Cha'haya and Ge'laer.

Most of the Kings belongs to one of this faction and he as the full authority between these two faction acts as their arbiter.

His power and authority is immense whether in enacting new law or waging war. Which by all laws of Anvali, they must and will provide support.

But of course these faction functions as advisory capacities. And if one of them feels too slighted by Azrael rule they may not help him in certain task.

Tomorrow he had already decided to meet the Ge'laer faction and in that very evening he will meet the Cha'haya faction to discuss about the Kingdom economy.

Arakath do not trade with the Human Continent but they do trade with Asteros in the far south and Vorthy in the far north.

He was reviewing a few reports about the Orc when a knock suddenly came knocking on his door.

He raised his eyes and asked

'Who is it?'

'It's me, Elkar, your courtier your Grace'

'Enter' as he continues back reading the report. Elkar enter the room

'Did you bring the tax report?'

'Yes, Your Grace.'

He opens the bag and began placing the documents and parchment in the table. Azrael quickly arranged the other parchment so it will not disturb this new batch of reports and ledgers.

He sighed and then he rubs his forehead.

'A little tired, Your Grace?'

'A little bit. Sit down Elkar and do help me with my load.'

'As you wish your grace.'

So they work in silence reviewing reports and overseeing any errors in the expenses and the treasury. Elkar look uncomfortable with all the silence.

Elkar was his attendants and he usually does not like to speak but they have known each other long enough, for Azrael to treat him more a friend than servant.

'So your grace, you will meet both the faction tomorrow.' He said trying to make a light conversation, not knowing he just touched upon one of the most complicated and sensitive subject in the palace court.

'Yes.' then he sighed

'Your Grace?'

'Cha'haya and Ge'laer.' Azrael said, sighing again.

'They are...highly divisive and both of them is a pain'

'Ge'laer ...is an insurgent outlier.' he said, as he began his ranting of both of this political faction in his court.

Not like the time of days past where they are the champion of justice and the one who advise Mikael Mournstar the King Who Lost to seek peace with Levitia.

But now? So different with their extreme views

If their current attitude is lie this a thousand year ago, it would only anger Levitia

if Ge'laer faction at that time acted like now, they might even bring Anvali at that time to the Great Avenger great and terrible wrath.

'How so, Your Grace?' Elkar asked.

Azrael looked at him. His trusted confidante.

Elkar is the one who help him in many things regarding rumors in the palace and the plots that even he is not aware of during his early years and Elkar is there beside him telling him all of this vital information, plots and intrigue, protecting him but of the faction even he did not have that many influence to know about them, so Azrael promote him to a courtier position so that he might best serve him.

Azrael always share everything with him.

'Let me tell you' Azrael said and he began his explanation and his feverish ranting of the dangers that this faction posed.

'Ge'laer faction has become ideologically extreme and violent, contemptuous of the inherited social and economic policy regime that I try to enact for the good of our race; scornful of compromise usually about the Lost Lands and their unyielding hatred to humans; unpersuaded by conventional understanding of facts, evidence, and morality; that humans are capable to live peacefully and they are not a subspecies of the Demonic race, which evidence by Levitia feats, and dismissive of the legitimacy of its faction opposition, all but declaring war on the throne. If there is even a hint of their treasonous thoughts, I would not tolerate them even for a second.'

'Then Cha'haya is better?' Elkar asked. Azrael let out a snort.

'Them? Cha'haya faction, while they are no paragon noble virtue, is more diverse and flexible, and protective of the throne. They are a loyalist through and through, open to changes and they did try, though unsuccessfully, to try to compromise with the Ge'laer faction. This asymmetry and rivalry with faction that sometimes could lead to war among the Eight Kings, is protected by many lords, in what they believe is a balance of power and equal voice in my governance but actually the factions constitute a huge obstacle to effective governance.'

'So both are not good?'

'Yes, but it is the customs of my father, and my father before him, and his father before him. And Elkar, if there is something I learnTradition dies hard.'

'That is true' Elkar said.

And then they sit in silence as they poured over the documents, not knowing at this time, a young boy in Vern holds the letter that would decide the fate of Humankind and Demonkind both.

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This is a longer chapter than usual. It explaisn a bit about the politics of the Dark Lands while also showing what the future Demon King that started the Great War was really thinking about. 

Hope you like the chapter and leave some comments.