Zias meets Nathan Raven-II
"What is the price?" Zias asked, his curiosity intensifying. "Oath to never reveal the information to anyone, if received," Nathan said with a smile. "If received, which means you found out," Zias exclaimed. Nathan was in shock of what Zias just said. "He is sharp," Nathan thought while looking at a 5-year-old making a dubious face. "Correct, which is why I can share it," said Nathan, who was amused by his grandson.
"Drachenwald, the kingdom of dragons, which is hidden from the world of Eldoria," Nathan said. "Dragons do exist," Zias said, his mind filled with questions and imagination of how dragons, elves, and demons look. "They do, but show themselves rarely to this world," said Nathan, making Zias recall information shared by his maid that the king of the human kingdom had a dragon to ride.
"With so many races, how does Eldoria not become a war ground?" asked Zias. "A few hundred years ago, there were a lot of wars between different races with humans being treated as fodder in the wars, but that changed when Alaric Stormborn rose to power with your grandfather, Arthur Alverian. They represented absolute strength. Alaric, with his dragon, set despair across all the races, whereas your grandfather's sword instilled fear in them, and thus, Starfell was born. But the peace was still far away. Demons, vampires exploited the human realm, which your grandfather and the king defended. Then came the day when the dragon king appeared and instigated a peace treaty among all races," Nathan said with a satisfied smile.
"What was the peace treaty about? How is it still in place?" Zias asked curiously. "Despite small breaking of laws, the peace treaty is absolute. No kingdom can wage war without the consent or agreement of the Guild Association. Guild Association is absolute, with representatives being the kings of all races," Nathan said. "Guild Association, but vampires and demons are violent beings. How did they agree to this?" Zias asked with a surprising look. "They had to; the Dragon King is a strong guy. But the Dragon King knew their antics, which also matched his interest in fighting people, exciting them. Thus came the Guild Wars, an event across all of Eldoria where people of different races compete to improve their strength in the world," said Nathan, which was soon interrupted by a follow-up question by Zias.
"Who takes part in Guild Wars? What is the requirement? Can anyone take part in it?" Zias asked excitedly. "Strength is absolute in Eldoria. Those who have it find their means to participate in it. On the contrary, even royal blood joins and makes a guild to prove their worth. But the only price they pay is to lose their thirst for the kingdom itself. A ruler cannot compete in Guild Wars; neither the one aiming for Guild Wars can compete for the throne , two sides of a coin," Nathan said while looking to see the depths of curiosity of his grandson, which was not stopping.
"The fun of fighting and peace both intact," Zias exclaimed, puzzling his doubts altogether. "The Royal Academy of Eldoria also plays a role for peace, a place to nurture the youth of all races in a cohabitation format. A place which makes interracial fights, interaction for the royalty of all races come together. It's the most prized possession of Eldoria, and also the safest, where leaders of all races teach the student and nurture them to grow into the pillars of the world," Nathan said. "Royal Academy, huh. What type of dangerous world am I in?" Zias thought while combining everything he heard today, which resulted in more questions coming to his mind that he needed answers to. "Guild leaders who stand tall in the rankings are no less than kings, as they hold great political power. Guilds don't support kingdoms, but some guilds do, while some guilds have different races in them, which makes it difficult to support a given race. A game of strength laced with political planning is what excites the leaders of this world."Nathan said with a sly look .
"Do dukes and kings have their guilds?" Zias asked, questioning the man in front of him. "Yes and no. Kings cannot form a guild because they are the part of the guild association which governs the guild wars but they do support it without showing it. Dukes, counts, or elders have guilds which are not directly connected to them, but they do it, secretively," Nathan said with a smile and a look that was giving answers to Zias. "You have a guild," Zias said without thinking too much. "You don't think like your age, Zias, but to answer your question, I do have a guild, The Assassination Guild," Nathan said, the name which surprised Zias to his core.