32 Chapter 32: Kingdom Building(Literally XD)

Later that night, about when Bast woke up.

"So Sir Rizen, What do you think of rumors that you would be given a knighthood for your exemplary service in the battle of the Goturn plains?"

Kire laughed waving a hand with more focus on EXACTLY how to move than he could ever remember doing before.

"It doesn't concern me as of right now. These are the front lines still, and no matter my position, awakened or not, and arrow through the heart will still strike me down."

The man he was talking to was the mayor of the city the army was using as a command center right now as the battle lines had suddenly shifted after the massive and unexpectedly swift victory due to Kire kinda... turning a large portion of their army to... mincemeat.

When kingdoms go to war, it's common to use just regular soldiers for as long as possible. Mages were too valuable, and the costs of personnel with how many magic could easily kill were simply too high.

Of course in any armed conflict the losing side will take out a higher force, so war will always intensify later on, but usually many battles can be fought without a single mage present.

So a battle at the BEGINNING of a war is not one where a kingdom would expect not just a mage, but an AWAKENED to show up from the side with HIGHER numbers!

The Bejusk desert tribes to the south, the Sattix wild lands to the north, and their Kingdom of Revan stuck in the middle, with the coast to the west.

Finally the Svarntheilm Kingdom in the mountain ranges of the east, also known as the underground kingdom, home of the dwarves.

'This is already exhausting... am I expected to continue constantly dealing with this pleasantries crap? I could be absorbing and fusing more magic, getting ACTUAL weapons training now that I'm important enough for them not to be "Hey 17 year old kid, here's a sword, have fun!" Seriously...'

Finally the meal was over and Kire "retired" from the dining room.

He sighed as he walked down the halls.

"How'd I do?" He asked Zanna.

"Well, you spoke really well, like REALLY well considering your upbringing, and that surprised a few of the people there, so you managed to put them off their feet a bit."

Kire frowned and stopped. "Why do you phrase it like I'm being aggressive or trying to get one up on them?"

Zanna frowned in confusion as she also stopped, mirroring Kire's. "Sorry?"

"Why do you phrase it that way?"

"Because you are in a war?" Zanna replied with some obvious confuzzlement.

"...I don't understand how the war refers to dinner politics."

Zanna's expression finally cleared as she understood the confusion. "No. I mean politics are a war that you are now a part of Kire."

His eyes widened. "I don't want to politically battle anyone!"

Zanna sighed. "Kire... that's too naive."

Silence.

"You are now a valuable individual to the kingdom. Families will use you as a pawn against one another, you will be manipulated and make into propaganda or a weapon against our enemies, and against our own people."

Kire stood stock still.

This was the reality of human greed and pride.

He was either a tool, or a contender.

"You either stay a pawn... or you become a player." Zanna finally said after some silence.

"So by the impression I just gave during that dinner...?"

"You've acted in a way that is confusing. You weren't too aggressive, but you also didn't reach for rewards like one who is easily manipulated might. You spoke better than expected, meaning you are now seen as more politically inclined or intelligent than before."

Kire sighed. "So overall I've given the impression that I'm not a contender, but could be. And that as a pawn, I'm hard to deal with. The absolute worst kind of piece they would want on the board."

Zanna nodded. "I thought you were intending to be in a position of power..."

She stuck her tongue out cutely at him to try and lighten the mood. "But I guess I gave you too much credit!"

Kire scowled. "How would I know what's going on in this ridiculous viper den?"

Right as the smile was fading from Zanna's expression at Kire's serious rebuke, he stuck out his tongue at her, just after finishing his words.

It softened the blow and showed a playful reciprocation to her joke, and her smile returned even brighter.

~ ~ ~

The next morning...

A man sighed, sitting in a rocking chair as he smoked his pipe.

"George just up and left with his daughter, leaving that Knight's son high and dry eh?"

The entire village was driven into a mad scramble yesterday with the sudden disappearance of two members of their community who had been there for over a decade!

Supposedly, Jonathan had revealed an ability to wield magic by blowing a massive hole in garden of the manor his father owned in the center of the village that worked as a town hall as well.

Those there had claimed he had screamed in mad rage, throwing fire at the earth and tearing the stone and burning the flowers away!

"I wonder why they ran... if George was against the marriage, they'd have left long ago wouldn't they?"

The man with the pipe leaned back and responded to his companion, "Well his daughter did go missing for quite awhile the night before... plus they HAVE only been gone a day. Perhaps we're all overreacting."

His companion snorted, displeased with that idea because it would be less dramatic and give him less gossip to work off of for entertainment.

"Hmm?" The man with the pipe raised an eyebrow. "Ain't that George's horse there? And on it... Bast was his girl's name right?"

The other narrowed his eyes into a squint. "Ah, looks like it is. But where's George?"

Bast came in through the gates on Junior's back, bow and spear on her back on display.

The old men near the entrance felt that's something seemed different about her.

Her skin seemed to almost look as though it had gold dust added to it, though maybe that was the dawn light? And did her hair now have red highlights?

The aura around her too seemed so drastically changed from before, in how she carried herself alone.

They remembered her as wild, passionate, energetic and bubbly with a lot of laughter and fun, pulling pranks as a child and leading the children in marches and games.

But now a young woman sat on a horse looking ready for war, with a sense of steady purpose in every movement.

There was no excitement or bubbly energy.

'How can a girl change so much in a day?' They found themselves wondering as she went by.

And in the manor at the center of the village, Jonathan took out his frustrations on the maid, knowing she would never tell her family of what her master's son had forced her to let him do to her.

Her family lived in this same village, unaware their hardworking daughter was now forced to comply with all the cruel and sadistic methods of the young monster.

And how safe he felt, as he thought nothing and no one in this backwoods area could hurt him.

Unaware of death riding into town on her horse.