"Family."
"It can give you strength."
"It can become your weakness."
"But no matter what, it must stick together."
"For only united can it survive the many storms that life throws at you."
"So even if a member fucks up you must help them and forgive them."
"Even if at times that can be an ordeal entirely of its own."
Count Ellisar Venselor, Count of Neelthas in the Kingdom of Pelthas.
….
Railius was sleeping soundly. A rare occurrence at the best of times, as usually the morning light woke him up, interrupting his blissful slumber, but today was not that day.
For today, he was given a gift, a gift that only occurred on nights like the last one, where his safety was put in jeopardy because it was 'unsuitable' for him as the lord to be placed in any other room but the best.
And the best room had a window.
It always had a bloody window!
A window that ensured that he was always awakened by the blasted morning light at an unearthly hour every morning, though at least they usually had lovely views, a small consolation at least.
Though as far as Railius was concerned, in both the real and virtual worlds, windows, at least ones without some very strong blackout curtains, are the scourge of the earth.
Railius was a man who could sleep through a storm at sea with no problems at all; even thunder and lightning would struggle to interrupt his slumber, but light woke him up faster than a drill sergeant on a military base.
So the young, lazy lord of House Aurellion was enjoying his sweet dreams and a rare lie-in.
Unfortunately, it was not to last, as it was not only up to him when he got out of bed.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
A mailed fist slammed into his room's wooden door, seemingly louder than thunder, almost shattering the unfortunate oaken construction that was forced to endure the man's anger on the other side of the door as it vibrated from the impact of the fist.
So loud that even Railius was woken by the commotion and the vibrations that ran down to the very foundation of the tavern.
To say that the person on the other side of the door was slightly pissed-off would be an understatement, as even the patrons eating breakfast nearly three floors below looked up at the commotion above, concerned about which expert had been royally upset this morning.
Railius just rolled over in his bed, not stirring in the slightest, not sleeping, no, that would be an unfounded, unjust accusation!
Railius was just resting his eyes.
That was all.
Just resting his eyes.
But after a minute of silence, the banging resumed.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Three more bangs, somehow louder than the previous ones, once again woke the lazy lord, followed by some stern words.
"My lord, it is time to get up."
Aldorus' cold voice said from outside his room, forcing Railius to get up as it appeared that he was particularly annoyed at Darkarth Venselors' retaliation for his lord's impudence the previous night.
It would have been so much easier and less risky if Railius could just lie low and not make a commotion, as then Aldorus and the rest of the Pelican Guard would have gotten a nice rest.
Surely it wasn't that bad, right? That arrogant asshole should have at most sent an expert assassin after him.
He couldn't be stupid or reckless enough to send one of his family's master fighters after him, right?
Right?
Unknown to Railius, that is precisely what Darkath sent after him, which is why his protector was being more stern than usual this particular morning with far less patience for his shenanigans.
Something Railius was sure that he would feel on the training ground, as training suddenly seemed to be much more painful whenever Aldorus was in a bad mood.
"Also, if you don't get up, the door may not survive my next polite knock, and that is not a case of affairs you want to be dealing with, my good lord."
Aldorus said, as Railius would definitely not like what would happen if he were to push the Pelican Guard commanders' patience too far.
Okay, okay, I'm awake!"
Railius complained as if he were a child, despite his maturity, which can be far beyond his years at times. The head of House Aurellion, no matter their age, seemed to have an almost playful, childish side to them at times, to the point that even their most loyal courtiers sighed.
Many years in the future, when they were powerful rulers of men in their own right, people simply attributed it to one of the many quirks that the head of House Aurellion had, as each ruler of the noble house seemed to be as eccentric as the last.
But despite these eccentricities, no one would ever accuse them of being poor rulers; in fact, they ended up being some of the best and most terrifying rulers in the game world.
Railius reluctantly got out of bed and prepared to begin his daily routine within the game world before heading back to Nathia, as his little holiday and gallivanting around the globe were beginning to come to an end.
After eating breakfast, he was heading to the stables, preparing to continue his journey, which would take him back to Nathia within a few months, when Lady Cirdyl was seen rushing towards his party. Her beautiful violet eyes seemed surprised at his state, which was not only alive but seemingly unharmed.
A most surprising state of affairs, considering that she knew just who it was that came after him and disappeared that night.
A master assassin.
To be honest, it took Cirdyl by surprise just how far Darkath Venselor went in his need to regain his so-called honour and vent his anger.
Not that the arrogant raciest asshole had any honour to begin with.
But sending a master assassin to kill someone just because you were insulted in a bar, and to top it off, failing at the same time, is a recipe for disaster.
Because those who can shrug off such an assassination attempt are anything but ordinary, and if Darkarth had even a single working brain cell, which was a stretch even on a good day, he would have noticed that despite having the outward appearance of a half dwarf commoner, the young man's speech and way of talking were anything but.
He would also have noticed that the man's companions were extraordinary. When she left the tavern, the quasi-grandmaster responsible for her protection pointed out that the two older men among Railius' companions were both master fighters in their own right.
With one being a powerful quasi master on the verge of becoming a grandmaster.
But master assassins were not to be underestimated, as they can freely enter through windows with even other master level figures and even some grandmasters missing them, which is why the disappearance of such an assassin could only be said to be most odd.
They also happen to be experts at escaping from pursuers and are renowned for being particularly difficult to catch.
Unless they were caught like a rat in a trap, like Lothir was, which was surprising in itself, as Lothir was a man who had a high reputation within the underworld of the city, and in just one night, seemed to fall off the face of the earth.
"You're alive?"
Cirdyl asked in slight amazement.
"Is there a reason I shouldn't be?"
Railius asked with some amusement, as he had long been aware of just who it was that tried to kill him last night.
Luckily, he was here to prevent his men from doing anything particularly rash like Leon and Malwin had in Nathia, as the last thing he needed at this moment in time was to be the cause of another national crisis.
Something which his house was more than capable of conjuring up if their history had anything to say about it, even if that history was currently hidden in the shadows.
Especially as House Venselor were not like the other landed nobles that House Aurellion had dealt with in Nathia, as they had far more power, and there was little to no significant factional conflict that he could use as a cover.
Because, despite the presence of factions within Pelthas, they were surprisingly united behind their current ruler, and any major power shift would have to wait until a new king was crowned or someone like the prime minister fell from grace.
This is not abnormal, as in any country or political system, there will always be different factions pushing their own interests and agendas. However, it is up to the ruler of that nation to utilise these factions to check and balance each other, thereby maintaining the ruler's power and control.
This was an art that the King of Pelthas was an expert in though he did have the advantage of having a hardcore royalist faction to help him out whenever he needed it and why he had been able to push through so many reforms as no noble is stupid enough to start a rebellion that would be crushed in an instant unless forced to.
"Wasn't there an incident in the middle of the night?"
Lady Cirdyl asked her sharp gaze piercing through Railius, who seemed not to feel it at all, as compared to some of the political masters that he had faced in the past, Cirdyl's interrogation of him was nothing short of a cute little act to him.
Like that of an excitable child who finally got to play with adults for the first time.
"Oh, you mean that annoying fly which decided to buzz around a bit too close to the light? Don't worry, my lady, my men thoroughly squished it, and it shall not be bothering anyone again."
"An excellent lesson in discretion for other such flies who may decide to try such a thing in the future, as one cannot spend gold from the grave."
Railius said with a slight arrogant smirk that had become oh so signature of him over the past few years within the game.
It was as if the death of the master assassin who tried to kill him was a matter of course, a regular daily occurrence compared to something that could start a war, where hundreds of thousands of people could die.
After all, everyone had heard the stories of the past where one assassination incident, whether successful or not, started wars that consumed thousands of lives, with the most famous war creating a set of rules within the world of Dynasties Online that helped to protect those with immense power to prevent such catastrophic conflicts from occurring ever again.
Cirdyl just hoped that this would not be another one of those cases where a war started because of a man's foolish pride.
Cirdyl then noticed that one of the men had their abdomen bandaged, the white material slightly stained crimson, while a few others had bruises and cuts present on their faces and necks.
"What happened to him?"
Cirdyl asked, pointing at the bandaged man.
"A Training accident, my lady, I am sure you agree that they can be quite common if someone is not careful."
"Especially when they train with live steel, but don't worry, my lady, we have skilled healers amongst us, and he will be right as rain in a few weeks.
Railius replied calmly, giving an excuse that he had prepared long ago for the poor health of some of his men.
"A training accident, hmm?"
Cirdyl asked, her left eyebrow twitching, thoroughly unimpressed by the young man's excuse, as they both knew the reason was bullshit.
"Yes, a training accident."
"Why is there another reason why he would have such injuries that I am not aware of?"
Railius said innocently, and if Cirdyl didn't know better, then she may have even believed him, clearly indicating that he did not want to pursue the culprits responsible for the attempt on his life.
After all, in the future, it will be the Chavarian Empire plotting his death, and having to investigate and kill each and every one of their pawns would just be exhausting, so you might as well allow some of their pawns to escape so that you can track any future assassination attempts.
"This...."
Cirdyl began, however, quickly stopped herself, as having this event pass by as if it never happened was actually the best outcome for her kingdom. She felt ashamed that the young man before her could not receive the justice he deserved due to politics, not that it seemed to faze the man at all.
Railius chuckled, seeing her flustered expression, which he found adorable, before mounting his horse as he still had a long journey ahead of him.
"I'll see you around, my lady, and I wish you the best in your future endeavours."
Railius said, before clicking his tongue, giving a little mocking two-fingered salute and taking off with his men, which she now saw were 50 strong, each man having a horse and wearing armour.
But what was more interesting was that the horses were not ordinary horses, no.
They were warhorses.
A rather expensive investment for a mercenary group that had just been operating for 2 years.
This meant they were either very well paid.
Or they had another backer, another shadowy hand hidden behind the scenes that controlled their actions and paid for such expensive equipment.
And all of it pointed to the young half dwarf who had just ridden out of the gate of the Pelthian capital.
Watching the mailed figures disappear into the distance from the city gates, Cirdyl had a contemplative expression on her face.
"Make sure I get a report on the findings of the investigation, my brother will inevitably start into that man."
"Because he is far more interesting than most men and can be said to be amongst the greatest of the young talents of our age."
Cirdyl said as she left the gatehouse and headed home, a slight smile gracing her lips.
….
SMASH!
An expensive green jade cup shattered on the floor only 2 meters from Darkath, who was kneeling on the floor of his family's mansion's main audience chamber, making the poor boy flinch.
Never before has Darkath been scolded like this but then again neither has he ever fucked up as badly as this before
A slightly wrinkled middle-aged man paced ferociously before him, his black hair revealing streaks of grey, indicating his vast life experience.
Watching calmly from the side was Darkath's eldest brother, Arendel Venselor, heir to House Venselor, who let out a sigh of depression.
'What kind of catastrophe has my youngest brother managed to conjure up this time?'
Arendel wondered, shaking his head slightly as his father continued to take out his anger on his wayward brother.
House Venslor, the Counts of Neelthas, were many things.
One of the oldest elven noble houses in the kingdom, boasting power and influence that could rival even that of a marquis or a duke, thanks to their rich history and intelligent political decision-making, which saw them rise from lowly barons to respectable counts.
Their lands are fertile and plentiful, and their lord and his eldest son both hold high positions in the royal court.
But if it had one weakness, one man who could create a black hole that could swallow up the entire noble house.
Then it would be his little brother Darkath a complete cunt who was far to proud for his own good and now that pride has led to a loss which their house would struggle to recover from for years to come.
"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU HAVE DONE?! ANY IDEA OF WHAT YOU HAVE COST US BECAUSE OF YOUR PEANUT-SIZED BRAIN!"
Count Ellisar Vensalor roared, his face red with anger at his unfilial son, who had lost them an important asset that had taken them years to cultivate. As assassins, especially those of the master level, are not easy for any noble house to train, because many prefer to work for assassin guilds rather than individual noble houses for several reasons.
These reasons range from being unexpectedly murdered in the middle of the night because they have committed or know about some deed that someone powerful does not want to ever see the light of day, to being the subject of a worldwide manhunt for killing the wrong person.
After all, just because it is conventional for assassins and assassin guilds not to kill important people, there will always be those willing to risk it, which is where assassins loyal to noble houses come from.
Those assassins also happen to get the protection of that particular noble house, so anything short of a war or capture by an enemy would be unable to affect them, allowing them to commit some of the most nefarious crimes imaginable.
In other words, they are the perfect chess piece for one to use and cultivate, and now House Venselor has lost such a chess piece because of a scion's stupidity and pride.
"I just sent someone to teach an arrogant commoner half breed a lesson."
Darkath replied quietly to his father, his voice so faint that Count Ellisar had to strain his ears to hear his son's reply, as if this reason would be enough to justify his actions and the heavy losses that House Venselor had suffered as a result.
"Sent someone to teach a commoner half breed a lesson…."
Count Ellisar repeated in disbelief, his hands clenched into fists, and his body began to shake visibly.
"If the target was a bloody commoner, then how the hell did a master assassin end up losing his life?!"
"Do you think that master assassins grow on trees?!
"Do you?!!!"
The count continued to roar, throwing an expensive piece of china to the floor, this time and shattering it.
"Isn't he just a servant that we send to deal with our problems?"
Darkath asked, seemingly unrepentant and unaware of where he had gone wrong and just how rare it was for a noble house to have a master assassin under its command.
The count facepalmed. He really could not believe that he could give birth to such a stupid son and would have divorced or even executed his wife for adultery if he did not know her so well.
So this stupid little mongrel was his flesh and blood, much to his chagrin, but at least his eldest son and heir had a good head on his shoulders; otherwise, Ellisar would have worried for his house's future.
'But is it really possible for someone to be so stupid?'
Count Ellisar wondered, trying to remember if Darkath ever accidentally got dropped on his head as a child, as it seemed the only explanation for his apparent lack of brain cells.
Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, in the future, he would order all master level figures and above to ignore all orders given by Darkath; otherwise, it could be a grandmaster he loses next, not just a master assassin who would likely have been silenced sooner or later anyway.
'Let's just hope Lothir did not leak any secrets before he disappeared. Otherwise, it will not just be our pride but our entire noble house at stake.'
The count thought idly.
"Yes, he is a servant, a subject, a chess piece for us to use and throw away as we see fit, but he is useful, he actually has value, which is more than I can say for you!"
"Well, had value as thanks to you, his soul has been prematurely reaped by the god of death."
The count continued his lecture before finally deciding to try and get at least some useful information from his failure of a son.
Not that the count held out much hope in this regard, but who knows, maybe he will get surprised.
"At least tell me the name of the person whom you foolishly sent Lothir after."
The count asked in a cold voice, which sent chills down the spine of every person in the room.
"Captain Delron. He is a half Dwarf mercenary acting captain who dared to contradict me."
Darkath said as if this was the greatest offence in the world, making Count Ellisar sigh.
The only thing the count gained from this was the discovery of an unknown entity, though whether that person could become an ally or enemy in the future remains to be seen.
"Arendel, get me everything there is to know about this 'Captain Delron. ' I am sure you know that the name he gave was fake because, unlike that thing kneeling on the floor there, he actually has an inch of intelligence. Find his real name and find out which noble house he is from, as no one other than a noble has the capability to kill a master assassin so effortlessly."
Count Ellisar ordered his eldest son as he began to leave, then turned back and saw the thoughts going through his third son's head, and said.
"And you, Darkarth, before you get any more bright ideas, you will leave this matter alone!"
"You will do nothing understand?!"
"You will send no more assassins over a small tavern spat, and you will not cause any more trouble or losses to our house, or I swear to every god that lives above this fucking world that you will have no place in the line of succession."
"Am I understood?"
Count Ellisar shouted, and, after getting a nervous nod from his son, left the mansions audience chamber.