Oac sits in a room looking out his window, his hands wrapped in bandages. He stares down at a group of crows gathered around a dead crow. Are they morning it, investigating it, or were they simply curious? turning his gaze, he spots a cat licking blood from its paws a few buildings away.
"Knock knock. I heard you weren't feeling too well, so I thought I might drop by." A man with a slim build, blond hair, and pointed ears, enters the room.
"Robin, it is good to see you." Oac turns away from the window to look at the man.
"I heard about your vow you made before turning your hands into... very well done, let's say," he says jokingly as he walks closer to better examine his hand. "Well, I figured you were going to do something... unwise, but I didn't expect you to go this far." his jovial expression turns to one of worry as he bends down. "Goodness, you're lucky to still have your hands at all."
"Why are you here?" Oac says, looking over Robin.
"Oh, is comforting my friend in his time of need not a good enough reason to be here?" he stands back up, slightly insulted.
"If you're in the middle of work, a god walking the earth couldn't pry you from it." Oacs' eyes star daggers at Robin.
"Oh no, it happened, I've become... perdictable."
"..."
"..."
"So what did you make?"
"Just a magic deck of cards. I've spent enough thousands of years wondering to have seen enough to draw inspiration upon."
"What does it do?"
"Well, each card has a basic power that can change depending on its chosen holder."
"chosen holder?"
"You know that card trick, pick a card, any card? Well, in this deck, the cards pick you, or at least the person most viable for the card."
"Was there any reason you made it?"
"Nope, but here, take this," he hands him a card showing the entire content under one banner, blow its name, read 'the world'. "It's your card."
"If you didn't know my plans, how did you?"
"Oac! Oh, Robin, were you two discussing something?" Teak stepped into the room.
"Oh, I was just stopping by to say my farewells. Since I don't tend to stay in one place too long, I thought it was about time I looked for somewhere else to venture. Plus, as an outlaw to the elves, I think it'd be best for your negotiations."
"I see, very well, Oac, we need you for this meeting," Teak walked around Robin. "Do you need help?"
"No, I'm fine." Oac stood up from his bed, taking a moment to steady himself. "Lead the way."
The two of them walked down the halls until finally reaching the meeting room. There, the three other lords wait for the meeting to start.
"Thank you three for coming."
"We couldn't possibly refuse," Madam Kousa of the northern forests jested.
"Thank you nonetheless," Oac and Teak sat down. "Now, then, allow me to inform you of why we have to make adjustments to the current four lords module our kingdom has been using. Firstly, the West has gained a drastic increase in territory. Once developed, it will have more power than any other noble territory." After a moment to let the words sink in, the southern lord Palo Verde spoke up.
"What is the plan you have in mind?" Duke Palo Verde
"Simple, we restore the three kingdoms and have them each give land to the growing empire."
"What?" Duke Carpe Myrtle questioned
"Let me explain, the current way we handle lordship must change, so first we will restore the elven and dwarven kingdoms to limit how much the nobility can exploit the land for their own gain. Second, if we make these changes suddenly, the nobility will most likely rebel, so we take a portion of all three kingdoms and have them give up one-tenth of their starting land. That way, the nobles will have time to prepare and or die off, lowering the chances of rebellion. Third, the elven and dwarven kingdoms will be restored in name alone; they don't have they man power to gain anything from it."
"So, you plan on waiting 100 years for the empire to form?" Teak captain of the western seas asked.
"I plan on laying the foundation; it will take many lifetimes to change our own people enough to accept life inside the empire I hope to build."
"Well, I'm afraid that leaves me in a bit of an awkward position since I'll lose my nobility first as well as all the land we just gained."
"Not so, I plan on having nobility be given to a family that makes notable contributions to the empire, it will last for three generations before needing to be renewed, and gives the power to collect taxes from locals and hold an army larger than 20 people. The amount and span of your influence is determined by your noble rank, and high ranks decay after three generations instead of losing there nobilaty."
"You've given this a lot of thought, it seems." Duke Carpe Myrtle admitted
"I made a vow to the gods; one should not take that lightly."
"Well, young master Pro, it appears to be getting late; we should be heading to bed," Fredrick says, looking at the moon rise over the horizon.
"what your just ending it now?" Pro asks confusedly.
"You already know what happens next, the young king to be Oac venchurs to what remains of the dwarven and elven kingdoms and has them sign the treaty. In a sense, he saved their entire race."
"In reality, they were more likely to have been strong-armed."
"See, you know the story well, now you need rest for the hike tomorrow."