Setting Up For The Future

"I would postpone that if I were you."

Kye looked Justin in the eyes and realised there was something more afoot here. His eyes shot to the others at the table. Hammel averted his gaze, clearly relaying the message that he wasn't involved in whatever was going on but Heather and Lucia met his gaze with difficult looks. Kye turned his head back to look at Justin.

"And why exactly would I do that?"

Justin sighed heavily and pulled out a small notebook from his inner jacket pocket. He tossed the notebook over to Kye and motioned for him to read it. Kye took a look at the pages and was shocked at what he saw. These were battle plans for an invasion of the recently occupied territory of the separatists in Maruva.

"So a civil war is brewing?"

Justin nodded.

"It's unlikely to be resolved diplomatically now that a separatist tried to assassinate my sister. If you hadn't been there, things would have been much worse for us. However, your implication in all this means that the Runewalkers will almost certainly take up arms with the Central Territory's army this time as a way to square away some unpaid debts. If you go into service now, there is a high likelihood that you'll be sent to war."

What Justin was saying made sense to Kye but there was something that confused Kye. Why did it matter that he would be going to war, is that not what soldiers did? Kye wasn't under the impression that he would coast by easily in the army and that he would see combat at some point in his enlistment. War was the Runewalker's trade and while his original life was that of a scholar, Kye was no longer his old self. He was a Runewalker.

"I appreciate the sentiment your highness but that is of no concern to me. I will still be enlisting when I return to my home province."

All of those at the table raised their eyebrows at Kye's declaration. Justin lent forward and placed his elbows on the table.

"Why? Is war not something you should aim to avoid?"

"I didn't start it."

"Yes, that much I understand but I mean the general fighting of wars. Is that not something you would rather not get involved with?"

Kye looked Justin in the eyes and narrowed his eyes slightly. He then stood up as he continued to stare at Justin.

"What is my name?"

"You are Kye Runewalker."

"Exactly, I AM a Runewalker. For my family, war runs in our blood. We are the sword and the shield of this kingdom. To suggest that I would lay down the weapons that my family have wielded for generations simply because I am scared is not only an insult to myself but my ancestors as well."

At this point, Kye was getting worked up about this and had raised his voice a level higher.

"I will not shirk my responsibilities as a Runewalker because of my age, nor the threat that these enemies pose. If I am to die in combat before my 15th birthday because of my duty not only to this kingdom but also to its people, then so be it. My ancestors were given the responsibility to safeguard this kingdom from internal and external threats, we have not failed in this duty since we were given it and I will NOT be the one who does for such a petty reason as my age."

Justin stood up after Kye's speech and met his fiery eyes.

"I am not saying this to belittle you nor your lineage. But you are the marriage candidate for my beloved little sister whom likes you a lot. Your death would break her heart and I am advising you to think about those around you before you make decisions like going off to war."

"As much as I like your sister, I was a Runewalker before I was in love with her."

"Yet now that you are, should you not factor that into your decisions?"

"I am not well versed in matters of romance, I admit, but if you don't think I realise the pain I would bring to her should I not return, you are thinking too little of me. I know that she would grieve heavily over me should I perish but that does not mean that my responsibility can be put off."

Justin scrunched his face up slightly before continuing to rebuke Kye.

"Responsibility? Your responsibility is to the kingdom. Should the words of the first prince not matter to someone like yourself?"

Kye gave a short bark of laughter.

"HA! You think the throne is where my responsibility lies? While part of it does, a large part of my responsibility is to the citizens of the Alioth Kingdom, not to the Alioth bloodline itself!"

"You are making no sense! The people of our kingdom toil for the betterment of the kingdom, and by proxy the Alioth bloodline!"

"Then you fail to see through the veil of nobility. We are people, exactly the same as them and with that fact true in our hearts, the Runewalker family vowed to keep them safe so that they may live without fear. If my blood has to be spilled in the place of the commonfolk for such a vow to be upheld, then it will be so!"

Justin took a step back and then sat back down in his chair, seemingly shaken up by Kye's words. All of the nobles in the room were observing their argument but now that it seemed that Kye had won their verbal spar, the other nobles were chatting between themselves in hushed whispers.

"If this civil war is going to take place, there will doubtlessly be people displaced and affected by the battles. Is it not our duty as nobles to ensure that their lives remain peaceful so that they may be useful members of our society? Even from the most selfish perspective of being a noble, protecting the people is the only logical conclusion."

Kye followed up with this in a lower tone of voice. His bubbling emotions now settled and his point haven gotten across, he entered a state of calm. Justin sat in his chair for a few moments in silence before raising his head and looking at Kye.

"Then... how do you propose we help the people?"

Kye looked around the room and scanned the faces of the noble children in attendance.

"Leave the war to us. Runewlaker soldiers will win but for the rest of you, we need to make the transition for those refugees displaced by the war as easy as possible."

"How?"

Kye looked back at the notebook Justin had passed him.

"The war will likely take two or so years to fully actualise. There will be skirmishes but right now the Ardenal Family is having a hard time stabilising crop production now that one of their most verdant territories has been claimed by these rebels so that will be their main focus. As for what we can do, Hammel, you said that your family owns a large port?"

"That's right."

"Then we turn to the Free Merchants to stabilise the food problem for right now. Using Hammel's family's ports, we can set tariffs low to get as much excess food as we can to stock up before the war really kicks off. As for the people, as I recall the Barco family was setting up a large port city along the Hourglass River. If we invest in the city to increase the available housing and focus on sending refugees there, we could avoid the worst of the war for the people."

One of the nobles who disliked Kye stood up.

"The port is in Runewalker territory, how does that help us?"

"I said investing, not donating. Say you purchase some land and build a block of small houses big enough for a family of four on them and charged a small fee per month for a family to live in the house. By renting out property we own, we give the people a place to live as well as set up a future asset for once the town is prosperous."

Many of the merchant family children were nodding at Kye's proposal. Not only would it make them look good for helping with the refugee effort, but they would also set up a very lucrative asset for the future they stood to profit immensely from.

Yet, many of the other noble children still remained unconvinced at Kye's words. Kye closed his eyes and thought about his prospects briefly.

'I can keep my cards close to my chest and just take what I can from them... but if I play a few of the cards at my disposal I can secure much more support. This town will be the perfect test for the weavetech generator.'

"There is another thing. With the construction of this new town, I've decided to use it as a test for a new invention powered by my spellweave crystals."

Everyone's ears pricked up at the mention of the special crystals Kye had invented.

"This town will serve as a test for the cities of the future. I will not only be investing my gold into this town but also several new prototypes of weavetech. My dream is to make this city a slice of the future. By investing in it, you're not just investing in some houses, you're investing in spellweave and what it can do. That also means that your families will be first in line for any new advancements in my technology."

With this powerful bargaining chip now on the table, Kye watched as all the nobles began chatting loudly amongst themselves about how important this deal was for their futures. Eventually, Justin stood up and stopped next to Kye. He shot him a glance out the corner of his eye and nodded slightly. He clapped a few times bringing everyone's attention to himself and Kye.

"The young master of the Runewalker house has done more than offer you all an opportunity. He has offered us a chance to be remembered as benevolent leaders of the people and to restore the faith of the people in us. I know that I will be standing behind Kye's plan and that his words have touched me deeply."

Justin swept the crowd with his gaze.

"Responsibility. Not something we chose to have but something we must choose to uphold. If not for our sakes, for the people who rely on us to do so. We may be nobles, but we are human! We should act with compassion as humans do to one another in times of need."

Justin put an arm around Kye's shoulders.

"I will stand with Kye. what about you all?"

There was silence for a few brief moments before Heather stood up.

"I will stand with Kye. It breaks my heart to see the people my family were entrusted with declare that we weren't good enough. I will fix my territory and my family's name!"

Lucia stood up after Heather.

"This conflict has started because of my family's negligence in the management of their territory. I will bear the weight of my family's responsibility by siding with Kye on this proposal."

Hammel rose from his chair.

"We have gained much from the people of this kingdom, we should endeavour to give back."

Slowly, people around the room put their hands up to signify that they would participate in this plan until everyone in attendance was committed to Kye's investment plan.

"Now," said Justin. "Let's get to work on how we make this happen."