Chương 2: 1. A Kingdom Core

The crowd was silent. When Tavian's ship rounded the headland and the harbor opened up, he'd expected cheering or music—some kind of celebration for his return. Instead, a pier full of pale faces turned quietly toward the ship, watching, waiting for the Prince and Princess to return. They were as silent as a funeral procession. A chill ran down Tavian's spine. He spotted his father. The king stood among a pocket of attendants, but Tavian nearly didn't recognize him. His beard had turned gray.

His sister Calli emerged from the cabin and saw the crowd.

"Hey! We're back!" she yelled across the water. She waved a green handkerchief, the color of house Veros. A few scattered hands waved back, and a small cheer went up. A long crate rested on the deck at Tavian's feet. If only the crowd knew what lay inside.

"This crate contains the solution to the miasmic surges, father," Tavian announced. He set the heavy wooden box down on the marble floor of the throne room with a hollow thud. A foul breeze swept through the room, ruffling banners and tapestries. Candles guttered in silver sockets, and braziers dimmed to embers. Tavian felt like the breath had been knocked from his lungs. The throne room's hextile rejected the king's Influence, turning neutral beneath their feet.

King Veros sank into the throne of Tar Corinath, and the ornate seat—inlaid with precious metals and studded with gemstones—seemed to wilt with him. Tavian stared at the throne. A year before, when he'd last stood in this room, every socket held a gemstone. Now a griffin's eye was missing, and the petals of a flower were gone. A chunk of plaster fell from the ceiling, exploding when it hit the floor. Dust settled on Tavian's sea-salt-encrusted boots.

Pale light glowed from within the crate, as though resisting the darkness in the air. Then the king's Core reasserted its claim over the hextile, and Influence returned, like warmth flooding into a cold room. A weight lifted off of Tavian's shoulders. He reflexively checked the system interface. ⬣ Kingdom Status ⬣ Kingdom Tier Claimed Hextiles Influence Tar Corinath V 25, 943 1. 78 Tavian sprang atop the crate, and gave a flourishing bow as he tried to lighten the mood.

"As I was saying…" His sister, Calli, stood beside him. She rolled her eyes at the gesture. King Veros did not smile.

"I don't care what you have in that box," he said.

"You never should have brought it here. You can't—""The miasmic surges have gotten worse," Calli observed, fidgeting with her belt of coresmith's tools.

"They're happening more often?" King Veros slumped, exhaustion plain on his face.

"They've gotten more frequent while you were away," he admitted.

"Almost daily." Calli prepared to make her rational case for a new Kingdom Core.

"Father, this new Core could significantly stabilize—""We already tried switching out the Core," King Veros said.

"It was a disaster. It didn't fix anything." Calli met Tavian's eyes. He gave a decisive nod, and they moved to open the crate together.

"This one is different," Tavian said, undoing the clasps and lifting the lid of the crate. Calli pushed straw aside, revealing the Core. A silvery obelisk shimmered with its own internal light. The sight still took Tavian's breath away. He reached in and touched it, tracing his fingers over the engravings on its surface. A feeling of power crackled over his fingertips, the Kingdom Core glowing beneath his hands. This Core wasn't dead metal like the other Kingdom Cores Tavian had seen. It felt… alive.

He wrapped his arms around it and lifted the Core from the crate. It was heavy, but Tavian's [Crown Prince] Class lent him the strength of three men. The six-sided obelisk was long and slender, tapering to a point a foot above Tavian's head. Calli joined him, helping him stand the Core up with a quiet reverence. Tavian placed one hand on the Core, feeling its power. ⬣ New Core Detected: Legendary Conqueror's Core ⬣ ⬣ Activate Core? ⬣ Tavian wanted to. He desperately wanted to. But this wasn't his kingdom, yet.

The Core flickered, and the king's eyes lit up. Exhaustion in his face gave way to surprise, then hunger. The king rose from his throne and slowly descended the steps. He stood in quiet reverence, drinking in the craftsmanship of the Core.

"This is incredible," the king breathed, reaching out a hand toward the Core.

"The craftsmanship…" Calli beamed, the distress of moments before forgotten in the wonder of the Core.

"Father, this is one of Galwyn's Cores! Look here, at this relief. It depicts Ishtoran himself, establishing the world hexgrid. Isn't it beautiful?" If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. The king followed her gaze, taking in the carving. His fingers traced out runes beneath the image.

"These runes, they describe the strength of the Core," Calli said.

"No burn rate, no elemental Essence balancing, no requirement for—" The king was moving on.

"And this?" he asked.

"The mark of Galwyn himself," Calli said.

"The master coresmith." King Veros stood in silence for a moment.

"I see why you were so anxious to show me this. It is truly a marvel." He stood quietly for a long moment. Calli started to speak again, but Tavian nudged her. Never interrupt a man when he's convincing himself.

"But we can't use it," King Veros said.

"Father!" Calli protested.

"We stand on the edge of a blade. We can't just seize power and ignore the other Houses. One wrong move—""You can save us, father," Tavian urged. Calli nodded eagerly. King Veros stroked his beard.

"Things become more secure after your wedding, Tavian." They both looked at Tavian. He felt himself reddening, but did not look away.

"You've negotiated a strong alliance for our House, father," Tavian said.

"My marriage to Lord Anarvia's daughter will benefit the kingdom. I understand that, but—""Then understand this too: We will do nothing until the alliance is sealed."

"How long will that be? How many more of our people will die in that time?" Tavian asked.

"Three weeks," the king said. He had made his decision.

"In three weeks, the wedding binds House Anarvia to House Veros by marriage. We do this the right way or we don't do it at all." His hand drifted back to the Core, reluctant to let it go.

"You've carried this thing across an ocean and half a continent," he said.

"Can't you wait for three more weeks?" Calli pursed her lips, and Tavian shifted uncomfortably in his boots. If they used the Core, maybe he wouldn't have to marry Ilara—a girl he hardly knew. Perhaps one more push…

"Respectfully, father," Tavian said.

"Every day that passes before we use the Core is another chance for our enemies to move."

"I know that," King Veros said. His neck reddened.

"You think you're telling me something new, boy? You think that having the power of this Core negates the need for politics and alliances? You think it gets you out of an arranged marriage?" Tavian cringed at the hint of ugly truth in his father's words.

"Have you been feeding your Core with gems pried from your own throne?" The words came out sharper than he'd intended. The king spun on his son and jabbed a finger into Tavian's chest.

"I have done what I must to keep this kingdom alive. I'll keep doing it!" Tavian puffed out his chest, preparing to fight back, when the king's eyes went distant.

"One moment," he said. He must have just received a message, and was dealing with it in his system interface.

"Everything is ready, then," the king muttered.

"It's time." Tavian seethed. He hated it when his father ignored him like this.

"You're not going to be happy about what I have to do now," the king said to his children, eyes glazed over.

"If we consolidate our domain, we'll be better able to resist the miasmic surges."

"Father, wait, no—" Tavian exclaimed.

"But the Core!" Calli blurted.

"It has to be done," the king said. King Veros gestured decisively as he locked his decision into the system. Tavian watched a map of the kingdom in his system interface. Before his eyes, the borders receded. Anything now outside the kingdom faded off of the map. Troop markers across the city disappeared one by one. The docks, the fields, the mills, anything on the periphery winked out, as King Veros removed the Core's Influence, pulling it in close around the Fortress.

Tar Corinath's claimed hextile count ticked downward. It crossed a threshold. The world flickered. Tavian staggered. He gasped, his knees shaking. Calli whimpered and leaned forward, grasping the edge of the crate. A coresmithing tool spilled out of her belt and clattered on the floor. The passive buffs to strength, constitution, and magical affinity that had boosted Tavian for most of his life suddenly collapsed. His body ached like he'd been run over by a horse.

⬣ Class Tier Decreased ⬣ ⬣ [Crown Prince V] reduced to [Crown Prince IV] ⬣ The Kingdom Core wobbled, but Tavian caught it, pushing it upright on the marble floor. His arms screamed at the effort. Colors muted, and shapes blurred. Tavian's body sagged. His stat buffs had just been cut in half. Calli breathed heavily, doubling over and gripping the side of the crate. The ground rumbled. At first Tavian thought it was an earthquake, but then he realized it was buildings collapsing.

Without the benefit of a Kingdom Core's Influence, some structures could no longer stand. Then strength returned, slowly, like a tide coming in. Not the stat buffs he'd had before, but an increase in Core Influence. Everything became subtly easier, a little brighter, like someone had lit a candle in a dim room. ⬣ Kingdom Status ⬣ Kingdom Tier Influence Tar Corinath IV 2. 34 Influence surged higher than it had been before, but not by much.

Tavian longed for the days of his childhood, when he'd been able to fling himself from the top of the fortress wall, and land uninjured on the cobblestones below.

"It had to be done," the king declared. He clenched his jaw.

"I shrank the kingdom's borders. Less territory to spread our Essence over. Our burn rate will be reduced."

"People will die!" Calli said.

"The fields—how will anything grow?"

"Kings must make hard choices," Veros said once more, like he was trying to convince himself he'd done the right thing.

"Father, this Core is much stronger!" Tavian insisted.

"We could have used it to resist the surges!"

"You don't know that!" the king countered.

"And using it at all would upset the balance of power, angering the Houses."

"With all due respect, sir," Tavian pushed back, "that's what we're trying to do. With the power of the Conqueror's Core, we won't need the Houses." The king gave Tavian a sharp look.

"Enough of that! If we activate the Core and it's as strong as you say, we'll attract the attention of the Karath Amon. If it's not, we'll have provoked the Houses for nothing." His words hung in the air as he exhaled, long and slow.

"Put this Core in the vault. Pretend it's nothing special, just another of the relics you brought home from your expedition. Speak of it to no one. In three weeks, after you are married, we'll speak again."

"You sent us to Endara to find this Core," Tavian protested.

"Why send us at all, if you aren't going to use what we found?" His father's silence lasted a moment too long.

"You… you didn't expect us to find anything," Tavian said slowly.

"You were just trying to… to get us out of the way." King Veros didn't deny it.

"Tavian, you're a problem. You're too bold, too passionate. The other Houses… they're afraid of you. Frightened men don't wait for permission to act." Tavian held his breath as the king turned and began walking away.

"What do you mean by that?" Tavian called after him. The king didn't look back.

"You sent me away because someone was plotting to kill me?" His father walked out of the room without a word. They watched him go. Calli and Tavian stared at each other for a long moment, then they both looked at the Core.

"Are we really going to bring it to the vault?" Calli hissed. Tavian's heart pounded in his chest as he wondered what his father had meant about the other Houses being afraid of him. Could he discard the Core and pretend he'd never found it? Play it safe. Marry Ilara. Live in a crumbling kingdom. Give up on his dream of restoring Tar Corinath.

"No," Tavian said, resolute. He had the itching suspicion that they did not have three weeks to wait.

"We'd be disobeying an order from the king," Calli said.

"That's treason."

"It could be seen that way," Tavian admitted.

"Sometimes a king has to make hard choices." He meant it as a joke, but it came out flat, and neither of them laughed. They carefully lowered the Core into the crate, repacking straw around it. Lifting it was harder now, with his reduced Class Tier. Calli picked up one end. Together they lifted the crate and carried it toward the side door. A flash of movement in the corner of his eye caught Tavian's attention. Something had moved near an archway across the room. He watched the empty doorway for a long moment.

Could it have just been torchlight playing tricks with his tired mind and weakened [Perception]? It had definitely been a person. Someone had been listening. Someone knew that Tavian had a Conqueror's Core.