Chapter 1: The Young Arohk Lord

"My lord, are you sure about this?" stammered an uncertain voice at the doorway of an immaculate rustic study. A young boy stood by the doorframe partially hiding behind it. He watched nervously as the Arohk lord Sage Salvas scribbled vigorously with a weathered quill. As loose handwriting filled the pages before the young lord, a tense energy simultaneously was filling the once untarnished room. The early morning sun shone brightly through the large paned windows of the lords' study, illuminating the gold trim on the spines of thousands of books that rested in the lords' library. Despite the unwelcoming energy emitted from Sage's displeasure with his work, the room was pleasantly filled with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, which wafted from a small table in the corner of the room.

"I am." replied the stoic leader as he carved his signature impatiently into the delicate papers. He was dressed in a navy blue brush-knit doublet adjourned with white and silver details that formed a design that was both elegant and uniform. The shoulders of the thick military jacket were sculpted with sharp edges and dressed in a darker floral-embossed leather. The back of the doublet had a U-shape cut out for his large charcoal wings. Around the lords' neck was the fur-lined collar folded neatly over itself, fastened in place by a small button. Other soldiers wore a similar looking doublet but lacked the extra details that made the lord stand out. He sighed, looking over the documents he wrote up in a fiery, morning inspiration. His tired eyes glazed over the young council messenger. The boys' eyes met the young lords' for a moment, and he glanced away nervously. The lords' icey blue irises stared intensely under thick furrowed brows with a slightly threatening demeanor. With a heavy sigh, he freed the boy of his harsh gaze and leaned back into his chair, combing his fingers through his short raven hair. He stared at the ceiling with his hand locked at the back of his head, pondering over his schedule for the day. His attention turned to the voice of his loyal general Maverick, who hummed a cheeky remark in reply.

"Sage, don't condemn the young for their naivety, you were a fool once too" hummed the silver-haired man who sat in a chair by the large paned window of the study, basking in the morning sunlight. Stray silver strands hung over an open book that rested in his hand as his eyes of muted blues scanned the book's contents. The rest of his hair barely stayed tucked behind his ears, often hanging in front of his face which gave him a rugged appearance. He snapped the book closed and glanced to the side at Sage with a sly smirk, sipping coffee from a small cup before setting it on the ledge of the window sill.

Sage wasn't much older than the boy but his youthful demeanor deteriorated long ago after his father's passing. It was the start of chaos for Sage's world, as he was tossed to the throne at a very young age to lead the Arohk clan. Maverick, a friend of the late Arohk lord Ethan Salvas, stepped in to pull the troubled boy out from a deliberate decision of destroying himself. The scorn towards Sage that was received from the people only festered into a hideous plague of resentment. They disagreed that a malicious, troubled boy was fit to lead them and assigned a council of elders to aid the young lord. For some time, the elder council was helpful, but their old minds were unwilling when it came to shaping themselves to the changing future. Through some loopholes, the elder council managed to stay in power despite Sage being more than capable of leading in his adult years. Sage had a bitter relationship with the elder council and was far from patient with them. It wasn't uncommon for them to place blame on him to keep the approval of the people on themselves.

"B-But they're not going to listen to you, my lord" said the young boy. "They've already discussed this and it's better that we invest in the military" He had pushed himself to be a little further through the doorway and felt Sages' cold eyes pierce his skin like a sudden frost.

"I do believe you were assigned to bring word to me by the council and not your opinions" hissed the Arohk lord under his breath as he pressed his ring into a wax pool on the seal of an envelope. The emblem on his ring was a very detailed carving of a wolf on its hind legs surrounded by tiny runes of the Arohk language and mountain symbols. All kings that agreed to the royal alliance, were required special rings that were difficult to replicate the designs of. This was a method chosen to prevent any fraudulent attempts at creating official royal documents and misinformation. However, the ring was more of a unique relic given the alliance had not included Arohkae for many years after they had broken their promise to the alliance. He smacked the finished envelope onto the desk near the edge closest to the boy and rose from his seat. He assumed the boy was another like many, taught to disrespect him. Unlike other young men and women, he didn't sign up for the Arohk infantry. It seemed to Sage that the boy was trying to cheat his way to authority by riding the coattails of the council members. The young Arohk lord walked over to the young Arohk messenger and stopped in front of him, looking down at him with a stern scowl. "If you are to break terms of respect, then so shall I" sneered Sage as he snatched the letter from his desk and shoved the boy as he walked by him to exit the study. "Now take this and fuck off".

"Was that necessary?" remarked Maverick as he followed after Sage. He secured the book he was reading earlier into a leather pouch that was attached to a loose belt around his hips.

"I can't stand those old fools," retorted Sage, his voice tinged with bitterness. "They're always trying to tell me what to do, and they're teaching that boy to do the same" added the young lord as he shook his head. He continued his approach to the middle of the city, where an old church stood in its center.

Arohkae's elder council awaited in a large room underneath the weathered church. Certain buildings of Arohkae served as special landmarks that held history of times before. Ancient remnants of a civilization served as a foundation for the city of Arohkae to be built on. Some buildings were mixed with blended architecture of the old and modern. Meticulous embossing was preserved on stone archways, and eroded statues blended into neglected alleyways. Older generations remembered stories the artifacts told while others paid little acknowledgement to the history that now lay in the shadows. The church was built with preserved stained glass murals from a different era alongside sturdy stones and metals. It was very vintage in comparison to the newer refined metal-based architecture of Arohkae. The figures formed by the stained glass murals told the legendary story of a hero. That hero undoubtedly was Lord Ethan Salvas, presumably chosen by the gods to lead the Arohk clan from slavery to salvation. It was odd for Sage to see his father praised highly as if he were a god's champion. Walking in a chapel that was built in his father's name, while being scorned by the very generations that had built it was degrading.

Despite being the heir of such an astounding heroic warrior, Sage was treated with resentment and disrespect constantly. The common folk went as far to doubt he was the late lord's son, and this cut him deeply. There may have been a time where the young lord held his head high and responded with dignity despite the scowls, but that time had passed along with his patience for the place. He managed to continue on by displaying an intimidating, unwelcoming and unapproachable demeanor. The same that was given to him for years. He was used to being the scapegoat of their disappointment and thrived on meeting their low expectations purely out of spite. Truly, the young lord was often miserable and ambitionless when it came to striving for improvements of the city. If there was any motivation from him though, it was to end the elder council's reign and build a new system of authority that would take care of the people. His resentment for the council kept some of that ambition alive. He had always based his decisions around the wellbeing of his people, even if they didn't think so.

Sage never took a seat at the table with the council. He refused to. Instead, he would linger by the doorframe so he could leave the moment the meeting was over. With arms folded, he leaned against the wall nearest to the door, closing his eyes. He listened to the murmuring as elder council members caught up with brief, judgemental gossip. It was only a moment of chatter before the clearing of an older man's throat caught their attention bringing them all to a hushed silence. The older man stood in the middle of a large arch-shaped table setup, squinting at a paper in his hand to collect new notes before speaking. "My lord, I have reviewed this proposition of reappointed funds and I'm afraid that we cannot approve this." Sage scoffed with a bitter smile to himself.

"Of course you won't" he sneered.

"I beg your pardon?" replied the elder with poison to his tone. He spoke to Sage as if he were some disrespectful adolescent and looked at the lord with belittlement in his eyes. Sage sighed and looked over the entire council before walking to the center by the older man. The older man stiffened from the close proximity of such hostile energy and he stood quietly with an annoyed expression unmoved from his face.

"This time I'm not asking. We live in high altitudes of wind, snow and rock. Our only real resources are minerals and metal. It's impossible to farm anything here and my father knew this. He established an alliance with those further in the valley, trading our rich resources of metal for varying foods and products our people could use" explained Sage. "I don't want my people living on sustenance with poor nutritional-value and a lack of other essential resources. Hunting wild meats is not always an option and herbs of any sort are extremely scarce" he added.

"Lord Sage, there have been many reports on rogue mercenary groups throughout the valley, where our stores and reserves have been looted and raided. If we are to move funds, we should consider establishing a designated guard to patrol the valley, our people need protection before they need luxuries" replied one of the elder council members, an older woman with clouded, grey eyes. Sage gritted his teeth and stood in disbelief.

"And you're going to leave out the part where three of our soldiers stood watch in the valley and countered every mercenary attempt these last few months?" Sage stated accusingly. "They're just humans! They'll never make it to the summit, their bodies are built differently than ours and they can't handle the thinner air. We have the strongest military of all the continents, we do not need more weapons or soldiers. We are at a surplus of both and ready for a war that only exists in your shriveled, paranoid minds." Sage exclaimed.

"Perfectly stated by one who is unfit to lead such an important region, you will only make regrettable mistakes with an attitude like that" scoffed a voice in the back. The young lord's eyes shot passed the crowd to a short, bearded man that glared firmly back at him. The man's eyes were slightly bloodshot, and his skin was tired. "You've no patience with listening to reason and deciding what is right for this territory and its people.'' he continued. Sage's lip twitched in response and he sighed heavily, pinching the center of his furrowing brows.

"I'm not the patient type, I'll agree to that but my disputes have always been for the people." Sage started. "The outcome of this poverty results in them blaming me for these decisions when really, it's you lot" he added. "We are just barely getting by if we look at the common classes. Some civilians have even moved into the valleys due to the poor quality of life that Arohkae is providing." he added.

"That is their choice then. We worry about our own, not those who wish to abandon our city" argued the man, scratching his beard and sighing in annoyance.

"They may not have had a choice" Sage mumbled in response. "And in no means did I say you were given one to reject this reassessment of our priorities, what's done is done." stated Sage. "King Elias is a higher authority than any of us and has supported this as well in the past, rather than arguing your old opinions, discuss proper planning to go about this, that's why you're here" concluded the young lord with fire in his voice. The council members looked amongst each other and an overlap of murmured voices eased into Sage's ears as they discussed action. Sage sighed in relief. There had been many times where the council had convinced him they had better ideas. However as the young lord grew more experienced, he was able to recognize that they were only fixated on funding and feeding their soldiers. The results of such decisions were pushing the nation to impoverishment. While his thoughts tumbled through future outcomes, the voices concluded to a silence and the eyes of the council gazed upon him.

"Very well, we will make our best efforts to accommodate this into our plans" began an older woman, adjourned with bulk wooden earrings. "We will send word to confirm a plan forward, and discuss the amounts being redistributed, are we in agreement?" the old woman concluded as she looked around the room for the hands of the council. Sage nodded in approval and turned to leave the room, advancing upstairs to where Maverick waited. He found the quirky Arohk man recovering sheepishly from leaning in to eavesdrop at the door.

"That went better than I thought it was going to" he chirped enthusiastically. He stepped aside to let Sage pass and adjusted the collar of his coat.

"I'm trying to make this place better" replied Sage as he exited the church, fastening the door as Maverick followed out. "My father must have gotten the same treatment, they're so stubborn and stuck in their ways" added Sage with a sigh.

"Oh definitely, but he pursued his plans despite that and now there's a statue of your father at least in each avenue" replied Maverick, gesturing his hands outward to the city. His expression changed as he looked over to Sage who had a near permanent scowl on his face. "I don't think that pout has left your face for 15 years Sage, you're going to look like that wrinkle farm in the basement in no time if you keep wearing it" Maverick said with concern. Sage was hardly phased by Mavericks' comment and with a click of his tongue he swung his head to look towards the slowly moving city. The atmosphere was gloomy from what he remembered. People dragged their feet with uncertainty, weighing down any spark of ambition. There was hardly any real life in the city and it saddened him. This was not the Arohkae of his childhood and he was so desperate to restore it. "It doesn't help that the council burned bridges with the kingdom of Odran, we could have had more allies to trade with" complained Maverick as he walked next to Sage. "And maybe you could have married a lady with a dowry of resources and really benefitted" he added. Sage lowered his gaze and felt his heart seethe in a silent wrath.

"That's where it started didn't it?" He muttered bitterly, feeling nauseous as repressed memories flickered in his mind. "The council made a politically biased decision against my knowledge and the lives of the queen and her daughters were on my shoulders..." Sage sighed. Maverick's relaxed stance quickly stiffened and he snapped in objection, cutting Sage off.

"Don't you dare fall into that delusion Sage." Maverick said with a harsh tone."The council knew exactly what they did and they took advantage of a young boy to place the blame upon" he added with a raised tone. "You were used by them to wipe their gods damned hands clean of a broken promise, and it led to an unforgivable tragedy!" Maverick glared with a tightly clenched jaw, teary eyes quivering with anger and a deep sorrow. "Even if we had aided Odran, there was no guarantee Alstons troops wouldn't have slain us as well, they're extremely strategic and would have outnumbered us". Maverick gripped Sage by his shoulders and locked his gaze on him. "You were only a young boy when all this happened, just a child"

"I know." Sage replied as he pulled away from Maverick. There was a moment of silence as Sage's eyes met the worried eyes of his general, who had been both a friend and uncle to Sage. A heavy sigh escaped him as he turned to walk straight towards the city center "Our next shipment from the valley should be here soon" he mumbled. Maverick watched as Sage's energy seemed to deplete from the anticipated errands.

"I can meet with the merchants, why not go for a hunt at the lower summit and clear your mind?" suggested Maverick as he walked next to Sage. "I'm sure there's some game traveling back from the lower creeks." he added. Sage glanced at Maverick with an interested tone in his voice. "Are you sure?" he asked. Maverick nodded with a warm smile, waving Sage off to take his leave towards the eastern gate.

"Yes, go check the traps too while you're down there" replied Maverick as he split towards the north direction of the city. A short moment after he advanced the other direction, he turned and waved to Sage one last time before returning his focus to weaving between the crowds of the gloomy city. Sage felt an immediate sense of relief lift from his shoulders. After sending a servant to bring him his hunting bow and quiver from his main residence at the citadel, Sage began his journey down the mountain on horseback towards the lower summit.