2 The Sun King

[I thought I was going to die! And what's with this place?! 'A little bit of trouble' she said? 'Nothing I can't handle' right?]

[Where is my castle? Where are my armies? Wait, is that kid over there picking his nose while looking at me?]

[All I can see are hunters and farmers. Can we even communicate? That damned flat chested girl was speaking my language but do they? Huh?]

His thoughts were interrupted when everyone kneeled and shouted "The Sun King!"

He tried to hide his surprise the best he could, not that it would have mattered as they all looked down. They didn't dare look directly at him.

[Oooh... That makes things easier. Was it the robe or the flashy entrance? Well, my scarily good looks certainly helped as well.] Chris nodded, quite happy with himself. [I am glad I managed to strike a cool pose before the dust settled.]

[So... the Sun King huh. Not bad. The golden runes on this robe are strangely appropriate. Did that little would be Goddess know about the title in advance?]

Chris' mind was working as fast as it could for he was about to speak to his people for the first time. Right now they were in awe, but if he messed up, things could turn bad very fast.

[Calm down. They already recognize you as the King, the rest should be easy.] He reassured himself.

He exhaled discreetly and said in his most majestic voice: "Everyone, rise!"

[Right, let's act king-like]

Everyone hesitated but then stood up while a man jumped as if he came out of a trance and ran to a startled Chris.

"Welcome Sun King! I am Berg Silowas, the village chief!"

[Holy shit, I nearly crapped myself!]

Berg, like most people in this world, was shorter than Chris, nut his body was much thicker. Chris could spot bulging muscle under his garments. He had short brown hair with a touch of graying on the sides and a glorious mustache. He looked to be slightly under 40 years old and had an honest face.

"W-Well met Berg! I am Chris Duhan, the Sun King! I was sent by the Goddess Ariadne to save humanity!" He said just loud enough to make sure everyone heard it.

He looked at faces full of hope and thought: [Nailed it!]

"I have just arrived in this world, can you show me around and explain the situation?" After saying this Chris thought: [That should work, right? I am a newbie here, I know nothing after all.]

"Of course! Please come!" Berg said.

Berg proceeded to show Chris the tiny village.

"This is Five Caves Village, it was named for the five caves we use as shelter." Berg looked at the nearby caves and sighed. "We have no need for a proper name as we won't stay long anyway."

He paused and then asked. "Sire, are you familiar with the previous war?" Asked Berg.

"I am not..." Answered Chris.

"A neighboring country suddenly attacked us. Our defenses were no match for their power. Our armies were defeated, our cities were razed, and our king was..." Berg hesitated at this part and sneaked a glance at Chris.

"Killed..." said Chris.

"Indeed. Any attempt to rebuild a country or even a decent size city was met with force. So now we live in small tribes."

As he said this, Berg pulled out a small map of the area. It was clearly incomplete and in bad shape. The map: goo.gl/v4ACBU

"This is the Riverhorn Valley. It was named after a lake in the form of a horn. The lake is long gone but the rivers it was connected to remain. If you follow the river north you will eventually reach the old capital, now completely destroyed. The river coming from the west leads to a mountain range, the home of the dwarves, and as far as I know, they are not in conflict with anyone right now. Both rivers then merge and continue southeast where you will reach the sea and the kingdom of the Razor Hide."

"Razor Hide?" Asked Chris. He was familiar with dwarves, at least as they are described in his world's fantasy lore, but he had never heard of Razor Hides.

"It's a very aggressive race, a mix of reptilians and humanoids, and one of the few races we can not communicate with. They are, however, very intelligent and tricky. They rarely leave their kingdom, and they prefer sneak attacks over frontal ones. They are not in any major conflict as far as I know. They will attack any intruders, but they almost never leave their territory."

"East, beyond the valley, lies the Kunalls, a very strong and aggressive race, their bodies are thick and go over 3 meters in height." Chris noticed Berg's anxiety rising when he spoke of the Kunalls. "They are the ones that destroyed our kingdom! They used their huge bodies to bring down our defenses. Wooden walls mean nothing to them while rock and mud walls only last for a little while. Our swords can barely hurt them!"

[They are using mud as mortar so they must not have anything better. As for swords... Is he talking about those copper ones the sentries are using? No wonder they are not able to hurt those Kunalls.]

"I am curious about one thing Berg."

"Please ask Sun King!"

"This is the old kingdom's territory right?"

"Yes, my liege!"

"I noticed things were rough, but you are still able to move around freely. How come?"

Berg's eyes shined when he answered.

"This is only hearsay, my liege. But even with their superior bodies, the Kunalls still had to use a big army to attack us. This weakened their other borders. They were attacked by another force during the middle stages of their invasion. Apparently they didn't want to withdraw, so they made a mad dash for the capital. They ignored everything else and only destroyed anything in their way. In just a few days, the capital was destroyed."

"Only a few days?!" said Chris.

"Yes... It was very humiliating." Said Berg. "They destroyed cities, defenses, and our armies, but as long as our people ran away before they got there, they ignored them. They wanted to finish us before withdrawing. And they did, almost all Kunalls went back. However, they still left behind a small patrolling force."

"And it's those troops that are hunting humans down, making sure we can never settle down and create real villages." Guessed Chris.

"Exactly." Answered Berg.

"Any guess on the other force?" Asked Chris.

"We are not sure. During the last days of our kingdom, some people said it might be the elves... But I just don't know."

As they walked, they reached one of the five caves, there Berg turned to Chris and said: "My Liege, this will be your quarters for now. I am ashamed to say we have nothing better."

Berg continued. "We have no buildings outside as this helps us avoid detection from the Kunalls. Even if they spot the small fields outside, we should be fine. They dislike caves because of their large bodies and poor night vision."

As he said that, two people returned from the forest and kneeled in front of them.

Berg introduced the tallest of the two first.

"Sire, this is Ferlin, he is our chief hunter, and he has a bit more than 200 ex-soldiers acting as hunters."

As he said that, Ferlin lowered his head in respect.

"He was under me in the army and followed me after our defeat. He is currently in charge of the biggest troop of our Five Cave Village. We manage to feed everyone thanks to his efforts."

Chris found Ferlin to be rather outgoing. He was tall and muscular. He looked both tough and competent and gave a proper officer aura. He would look quite impressive if he were equipped with a bow made for hunting. Chris could see a lot of scars under his leather armor. Those were probably earned during his time in the army. He had a square head with short curly blond hair that exuded cheerfulness.

[Good. He looks quite approachable.] Thought Chris.

"Nice to meet you squar... I mean, Ferlin. I will be counting on your efforts in the future as well!" Said Chris in the best magnanimous voice he could manage.

"Yes, Sire!" Shouted Ferlin.

Berg smiled and turned to the second man to introduce him.

"This is Titus, he is in charge of threat detection. He has two dozen scouts under him. He was also in the army but under another general. We met up in the chaos after the capital was lost and stayed together."

He was smaller and thinner than Ferlin, had long black hair and a calm expression. He was quite the contrast when standing next to the outgoing Ferlin. He wore dark green clothes, which made good camouflage in the forest and the only weapon visible on him was a dagger on his waist.

[He would make a better assassin than sentry... And what's with his good looks?]

"Nice to meet you Titus. Let's work hard for our people," said Chris, this time with a slight twitch.

"Yes, Sire!" Shouted Titus.

"Alright, everyone, at rest." Titus and Ferlin stood up as Berg said this. "My Lord, they are two of my three lieutenants. Unfortunately, the third one was injured while doing his duty and is resting. He is in charge of the defense troops, in case of attacks."

"How are his injuries?" Asked a worried Chris. [Lieutenant types are supposed to be tough right? What could have injured him?]

"Do not worry my Lord he should be fine in a few days. A group of Gnolls got too close to the village and had to be dispatched. Cid was injured from behind, but it is not life-threatening."

Chris nodded but was still worried. [Aggressive Gnolls, whatever they are, patrolling the woods? What other dangerous beasts are roaming around? What if I need to pee? Should I ask for an escort?]

Chris followed Berg absentmindedly for the rest of the tour as he was lost in his thoughts.

The sun was setting when the tour ended and it was time to go back to the caves for it was dangerous to stay outside. Berg and his two lieutenants escorted him back.

Chris finally settled down in his first "castle." The cave was shared with others, but his quarter was separate and allowed him some privacy. Well... it was just a tent in the corner of the cave.

His bed was made of leaves piled up on the ground, and his pillow was a rock covered by a thin fabric.

Chris touched the pillow and sighed. [This is ridiculous... A rock pillow?!]

Chris sighed and sat on his bed. He finally had time to think, and he finally felt the weight of the situation.

[Lost in another world and one filled with monsters and strange creatures, huh... Well, things could have been worse, at least I don't have to survive alone. I would have been eaten in five minutes otherwise. I also have a bunch of subordinates who believe I am their messiah... Is it thanks to this thing?] He gently patted his white robe. [I've got to take good care of it]

He sighed again. [And it's not like I have many people waiting for me on the other side either. I lost my parents a few years ago. And for some weird reason, I was not that popular with the ladies.]

He finally pulled out the map Berg gave him.

[Let's see. This village is in the northern part of the old human kingdom. The Kunalls are based in the east and only a few of them patrol around here.]

He thought for a bit.

[Well, there is good and bad news for us...]

[Let's see... First the good news.

We "only" have one enemy. The Razor Hides in the south should not be a problem as long as we don't bother them. The dwarves in the west are neutral, and the Kunalls are the only ones openly aggressive.

Furthermore, those Kunalls are most likely in another conflict right now. Something serious enough they had to call back their armies.

The second piece of good news is that most of the humans probably survived the war. The human armies suffered the most casualties, but the Kunalls made a rush for the capital and ignored most other settlements. Which means that with the proper preparations we should not lack for people and manpower.]

But his enthusiasm was curbed very fast.

[But this all for the good news. The Kunalls did not go on a killing spree, but those bastards did something just as damaging. They destroyed every building they found! Where is daddy's castle huh?! Where are my industries? Defenses? Where do we get our weapons and armors? And how do I feed my people?

If I want an army, I need food, if I want food I need fields and to protect fields... I need an army!]

[Haaa... It's like I am starting in hard mode from someone's failed save. What a headache.]

[!!] Light suddenly came back to Chris' eyes. [Wait, Berg said there were elves right? Should I ask him if the girls are cute?]

[Ahem...] Chris' attention was grabbed by someone clearing his throat.

It was Berg's. He was still standing there with Titus and Ferlin as they had not been dismissed. They had been enjoying the many changes in the expression of their new king.

Chris was startled. "I-Is there something you need?"

"Nothing my Lord. We are waiting to see if you had any orders for us."

Chris snapped out of his thoughts and said:

"Oh, that's right! This is very important Berg."

"Please say, Sun King."

"Prepare a list of everyone in the village and their talents. I also need a list of our weapons, the amount of food we have, the different resources available in the surrounding mountains and forests. I am also interested in the numbers of Kunalls in the region."

"Very well, my Lord." Answered Berg.

But they still did not leave.

[W-what's going on? Are they expecting me to tip them?]

"Is there something else?" Asked Chris.

"Not at all my Lord. May we be excused if you do not have any need of us?" Asked Berg.

"O-Of course. Thank you for everything. See you tomorrow." Answered Chris. [I have to catch up on Royal etiquette...]

"Very well. Good night Lord." They said in unison as they bowed and left.

"Hey, Berg..." Said Chris slowly.

Berg and his lieutenants stopped in their track and looked at Chris' wondering expression. "Yes my Lord?"

[Is our Lord missing his home?] They thought as they were expecting him to ask if there was a way back.

"Are the Elves cute?"

"..."