6 Osiris Realm (2)

Edward soon learnt that he was currently on the Osiris realm.

If the heavenly realms were laid out like a circular disc with the Heavenly Kingdom in the middle. Osiris was on the outer fringes of the Heavenly domain. It could be considered a backwater place with no major heavenly influences on it. Osiris was considered a minor realm and had only one continent that was surrounded by endless seas.

The continent was in a "U" shape with the northern ends being covered in cold frost throughout the year. As one proceeded south, the temperature gradually warmed till the southernmost tip of the "U" where the lush tropical forest could be found.

In the southernmost part of this forest, was the Green Green Forest and this was the domain of the gnomes. As Edward found his bearings in the realm, King Tata prattled on with more information.

The north was divided into the western and eastern tips due to the shape of the continent and they were occupied by Froskar and Kingforge respectively. Moving down to the middle of Osiris, the land connecting the two tips, was where Stormedge was situated. The forest dwellers occupied the different parts of the southern forest.

Froskar, the land of the barbarians, was located in the cold western tip of Osiris. They were a nomadic tribal civilisation that was governed by the rules of the strong. They moved around the western tip mostly in search for food, resources and gentler winds. Stormedge stood as a deterrent to Froskar's endeavors southwards.

Froskar consisted of fearsome fighting warriors. It was tradition where the fiercest and strongest of them would be named chieftain of Froskar. The chieftain's role was not inherited. Strong warriors frequently would challenge for the position should they sense any weakness in the current chieftain. This was also the weakness of Froskar. They were currently bogged down with survival and infighting ever since the Strong King Babaro died.

It appeared that King Tata did not know what the current situation was in the western north.

Kingforge was the kingdom of the dwarfs. They lived in the mineral-rich mountains of the eastern tip and like the name of their kingdom, they were mostly master forgers. However, as food and other resources were scarce, they frequently raided Stormedge.

From what King Tata knew, Kingforge was in a current state of unrest. Prince Racard Shadowforge who was relatively unknown till he suddenly came out, raising his hammer in rebellion to the current King of Kingforge. Racard had gained swift support with many factions of the dwarves. His revolutionary vision garnered support from those that felt that the traditional King Honorsmelt was holding them back from true dominance in Osiris.

"Prince Racard Shadowforge… It's most definitely Prince Colin," Edward thought in his head. Anxiety grew within Edward as it meant that Colin had already made moves, bringing a greater sense of crisis.

King Tata paused as he saw Edward in deep thought. "Don't worry about the dwarves my son. Stormedge stands between them and us. The despicable humans are the true bane of Osiris." Thinking that Edward was worried about the dwarves.

Edward shook his head and gave a gentle smile, "Do not worry, papa. I was merely arranging the information in my head."

King Tata smiled and nodded, "You are maturing! I'm so glad you are no longer speaking dreamy nonsense."

King Tata continued with his information on Osiris.

Stormedge, the kingdom of the humans. They were the most populous race on Osiris and occupied the most land area. They were also the faction that post the most threat to the races of the Southern Forest. Humans were a prideful race and believed they were meant to rule the realm.

The humans fought a war against the various races just years ago. This would be known as the Great War. Although they did not manage to conquer Osiris, all sides suffered huge losses and an uneasy truce was eventually reached. The races agreed to keep to their domains and although minor scuffles for resources happened, no major battles had occurred just yet.

Stormedge was currently ruled by King Thesius who managed the kingdom through a loose monarchy. This meant that the various aristocrats maintained nearly full autonomy of their lands. Due to the truce with the other races, Dukes, Counts and Barons played a political game amongst themselves frequently to vie for more power and lands and as long as the yearly tribute was given to the royal palace, King Thesius did not bother much of the power struggles in his land. This unstable power struggle was the only reason that no imminent threat was felt by the other races in the past year.

"Papa, are there any recent news from Stormedge that seems out of the ordinary?" Edward asked, with an uncanny inkling that this would probably be the place that sounded fit for Prince Basil.

King Tata pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "Hmm.. Not really. Other than a surprise defeat of Count Douglas to Baron Kads in single combat with Kads gaining a huge portion of Douglas' lands, there aren't any unusual things that happened recently. These power struggles are common among the nobles of Stormedge."

"Basil might be Kads. I need to take note of this Baron Kads in addition to Racard Shadowforge," Edward made a mental note.

King Tata tapped the shoulder of Edward and said, "Like i said my son, worry not about the other kingdoms. Now closer to home, we have to worry about the other races in the forest and the potential challenge for the throne in the coming of age."

Before Tata filled Edward in on what was to come in the coming of age for him, Edward managed to learn about the status of the gnome tribe in the southern forest and its relationships with the other races who filled up the remaining parts of the forest.

The current gnome tribe located in the Green Green forest had nothing much to boast. It had a population of twenty thousand with a measly fighting strength. Moreover, most of the male gnomes were hunters and craftsman, unskilled in the ways of combat. The current army of the gnomes was a mere two thousand, including those of the royal guards. The state of weaponry and fighting style did little to ease the growing gloom in Edward's heart. The gnomes mainly used spears and shields in combat and simply charged into a fight without much strategy.

The only relief to Edward was that the races in the southern forest, although not allies, lived in a non-aggressive manner to one another after the Great War. Any aggression was generally channeled to the humans of Stormedge who frequently intruded into the forest in search for resources.