In the heartland of the Grandom continent, just south of the father mountain Niyeton, lay the city of Emporus, the capital of RAM. It was at this location that the central government for Grandom resided its leading members, and base of operation.

  Emporus was considered the oldest and largest city on the map, due to being the first foundation of human settlement when the ancients first departed from Niyeton. In comparison, its size was triple that of the other leading kingdoms and cities at the time.

  The crown jewel of the city though, was its metal behemoth of a fortress, Irongrip. It was located in the center of the city, and could be seen for a hundred miles. The sheer size of it alone made Nocturne Castle look like a playhouse. No one could comprehend why the ancients built such a gargantuan fortress of protection – or how they were even able to so, for that matter – but it led many to believe that perhaps great dangers had once wandered the earth that no longer do.

  Irongrip was vast enough to house and support an entire population of a city alone, with its many towers, walls, and buildings all connected of crude, cold iron. Yet, the city had grown past even its impenetrable walls, to erect wooden buildings, and housing with straw roofs. Plots of farmland formed a ring around all of that, totaling a massive area size of a city.

  Within the many ringed walls of Irongrip, in the high towers of iron near the center of the city and fortress itself, was the great palace and headquarters of the widespread nation, RAM. It was here that the high council and directors of the government made their decisions and dictations for the rest of Grandom.

  There was no head-figure for RAM that ruled the world. Instead, the high council and directors balanced power among themselves, though not always peacefully.

  Due to this, a grand meeting room with a long table replaced the singular throne that once reigned. RAM had originally overthrown the one ruler hundreds of years ago when it’s rebellion war was successful.

  Inside the meeting room that overlooked the rest of the world, several members were seated at the table of power, discussing current events.

  Sitting in the center, equally distant from both the north and south ends of the table, was High Council member Hugo Duropolis. It was his favorite spot to be stationed at, making sure that his loud opinion would be heard by all who were present in the room.

  His meaty fingers, each adorned with a golden gem ring, drummed the table rhythmically as he pondered the situation presented to him.

  “And what if Orhome is gearin’ for an attack against Kybervald?! I say let them fight. Both Kingdoms are too big as it is! We should withdraw our troops and let them squabble. In the end we will have one less kingdom, and a weaker one at that!”

  Hugo’s booming voice echoed the hall as he stroked his gray beard which did a decent job hiding his fat features. The only thing that did a better job with doing so was his luxurious robes, that were too fancy to be ignored.

  “You’re overlooking one important detail, Hugo,” another council member named Belmont began. “If Orhome wins, their acquisition of Kybervald’s territory will strengthen them in the long term. Gaining control of their mine will supply their soldiers into a strong enough force to contend with the entire northern region. What’s to say they then don’t claim all of Tresdor and White Forest in several years? We have no other holds in the north to oppose them.”

  Belmont Kruse was a council member who constantly opposed Hugo’s hands-off approach to the kingdoms. It was no secret that Hugo benefited the most from kingdoms at war, as he held ownership in many weapon and armor manufacturing companies.

  Belmont was a thin man in comparison to Hugo, who sported much more conservative clothing in comparison to his colleague. All the high council members were rich, but Belmont felt no desire in brandishing the fact.

  “So we increase their taxes! They WILL pay us for the privilege of winning! All the kingdoms answer to us, and they’ll count themselves lucky to even be allowed to conduct a war,” Hugo sharply countered, not letting his idea be so easily defeated.

  Hugo and Belmont continued their typical verbal sparring session under the spiky cast iron lanterns hanging from the top of the meeting room. Irongrip was in no way designed as an elegant castle of royal proportions. No luxurious décor or warm interior comforted anyone who lived there.

  The rough presentation of black iron and rusty chains that composed most of the stronghold gave hint to a world that the ancients had to contend with. Either that or the sinister master who used to rule with an iron fist, made Irongrip into his likeness.

  Regardless of the reasons that Irongrip came to be the brutal-looking structure that it had been molded into, it gave RAM a fierce appearance, and they had decided to stick with that brand, rather than spend large amounts of money to redecorate.

  As Hugo and Belmont continued to argue, a third council member, along with two RAM directors, sat on the other side of the table, listening.

  “You’ve missed one consideration, Belmont.” Lucy Gorma, the third council member intervened. “There is a new kingdom thriving in the north that you’ve forgotten about. Nocturne.”

  Belmont chuckled, halting the debate with Hugo.

  “Nocturne Castle is hardly of any influence at the moment. We’ve just recently sent out some agents to inspect the place. We can’t trust what the press is spreading until our own people can verify its existence,” he easily explained.

  Lucy shrugged. “All the paperwork checks out. The reports from our mail service have confirmed that there are well over three hundred citizens living in that castle.”

  Hugo slammed his fat fist. “That’s just the size of a medium town! Nocturne is not ready to become a kingdom. I say we tax Orhome for winning! Tax! Tax!”

  Hugo was throwing a tantrum, eagerly hoping his stance would win the vote, earning him even more coin to his already uncountable stash.

  “It is quite shocking though,” one of the directors finally piped up, after sitting quietly for so long. “Out of nowhere, that abandoned castle in the inconvenient Murok Mountains sprang to life so suddenly. And with a ruler named the same as the former; I’m not sure what to make of that…”

  Director Garren Forlee had been the one to make the statement.

  Unlike the decorated council members who wore whatever clothing they saw fit for themselves, the directors all had a strict dress code. Both directors who sat at the table – Garren Forlee and Perri Virette – wore orderly black suits. Perri had a dark overcoat on over that, and Garren sported an extra top hat with a golden band.

  “In fact, the whole situation is so suspicious, Director Hegris has elected to take a trip there, along with our two RAM agents who are verifying the castle,” Garren added.

  “Hegris is interested in what is developing out there, since he’s had a fondness for the empty castle for so long. If anyone knows any history with that mysterious Kingdom in the far north, it’s him,” Garren explained.

  Director Nathan Hegris had been keeping close tabs on Nocturne for a while, and finally made the time to visit the kingdom personally out of his busy schedule. Naturally, he was not present for the current RAM meeting being held in Irongrip.

  “Regardless, if the Nocturne Kingdom keeps developing at the current rate its at, we will indeed have further influence up north,” Lucy Gorma rationalized. “When it’s verified, we can install troops there and finally have a presence in the mountains.”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “Fine. Then the pressure Orhome will exert in the north will be limited with a new rival kingdom overseeing the region. War it is!” Hugo Duropolis exclaimed. Whether Nocturne had power or not mattered not to Hugo. If Orhome grew too big for its britches, he would just levy new taxes to keep it in check.

  The other leadership figures at the table were not so ready to allow Orhome to conduct its effort to acquire new land, however. The war would cause a lot of civil unrest, including economic instability. Many would wonder why RAM didn’t intervene.

  “We’ll hold a vote on it. We should have everyone’s choice recorded by the end of the week,” Lucy Gorma announced.

  Hugo grumbled to himself, half-knowing that the vote would not pass, and RAM would not withdraw their troops from the kingdoms. If that were the case, the two rivaling kingdoms could not attack each other without attacking RAM soldiers, which was an act of war against the central government itself.

  Unless both kingdoms mutually agreed to remove their RAM troops, the war would not happen. The chances of that happening were slim to none.

  “Are we done talking about the kingdoms throwing fits now?” Director Forlee spoke up. “There’s more important matters to discuss.”

  Everyone looked to the suit-and-tie director. After a moment, Forlee opened his suit jacket, and threw a tattered notebook onto the table in front of everyone.

  “What’s that?” Belmont asked.

  “That, my power-hungry council members, is Wizard Kole Sarvoro’s skillbook on Magnetism. The one we asked John Reech to obtain for us, since that ‘sensei’ in Arkari refused to give it up,” Forlee explained.

  Hugo Duropolis choked. “He actually pulled it off? How in the world did Reech get it from him?!”

  “With the power of his servant, that electrician freak, Ryno. You know whom I speak of,” Forlee said with a serious tone.

  The room fell silent. Everyone knew of the reckless elemental. The man who harnessed so much of the power plane in electric form, most couldn’t understand how it was possible. Ryno had earned a reputation for himself to be an unstoppable force, through his infamy of slaying powerful elementals left and right.

  “How Reech even got that nut job to work for him, that will forever be beyond me,” Belmont stated to himself.

  “I hate him! That bastard John Reech! He acts like he has more power and influence than us! He taunts us from the shadows, outplaying us left and right!” Hugo exclaimed, slamming his fist into the table again.

  “You’re the one who keeps conducting deals with him!” Lucy Gorma finally said. “Your greed and desire for more power enables him to keep profiting. In fact, I disapprove of any business with him. You all should just leave him alone.”

  It was something easier said than done, however. John Reech had power in getting tasks done that were too shady for RAM to conduct themselves. What Reech’s organization accomplished was beyond the legal realm of the government, so the high council in secret conducted deals to get what they wanted.

  While most of RAM’s leadership resented Reech, they couldn’t deny the services he provided. He could never be tracked down, either. Reech’s base location was unknown to anyone outside his organization, so he could never be arrested for the crimes committed.

  Council member Belmont Kruse leaned forward and picked up the notebook. He leafed through the pages of seemingly incomprehensible nonsense. All the notes written were only understandable to one who had mastery of the electric element.

  “Has this been confirmed to be real?” Belmont asked Director Forlee as he continued to study it.

  “Yes. It is indeed the method to manipulating metal by giving it an electric charge. Arkana would pay a fortune to have this in their hands,” Forlee replied.

  “I would expect that to be the case. Here we’ve thought all this time that metal was immune to any elemental skill. Now its been discovered that metal can be magnetized through the electric element, giving them access to a whole new realm they hadn’t possessed before,” Belmont stated.

  “Ha! Imagine what Arkana would give up to us in exchange for that book!” Hugo said with gold coins floating in his eyes.

  “Or Neo,” Belmont added. “With this notebook in my hands, we have leverage, and that’s the most important thing. I have some ideas what we can do with it.”

  “You all realize, that if the knowledge in that book becomes public, Irongrip won’t be immune to elemental control anymore. You all understand what this entire fortress is made up of, right?” Lucy Gorma stated with concern.

  Council member Gorma had brought up a good point. Everyone pondered it for a moment. The crude notebook in Belmont’s possession could very well become a weakness for the impenetrable metal palace of RAM. If a talented electric elemental mastered the contents in those pages, he potentially could magnetize Irongrip’s structure, ripping it apart sheet by sheet.

  The notebook from the outside looked to be nothing of importance. To most, it would be. Belmont tried to imagine what the cost was for him to be holding it now. Knowing that Ryno had been personally responsible in retrieving it, he imagined that more than a few people died as payment.

  Belmont then looked to the two directors sitting across from him. “So, what story has the press come up with, pertaining to the strike at his monastery?” He asked them.

  Perri Virette sat with her legs crossed, and hands on her lap. She shook her head disappointingly. “The Arkari Monastery experienced an unfortunate event in which a member revolted against the order and killed the other students. What happened to the master is unknown.”

  Virette was a righteous and honorable Director who hated seeing the corruption of the government she served transpire right before her eyes. However, she kept the negative feelings to herself. RAM was struggling to keep its relevancy in a world where Arkana and Neo continued to grow in influence and power. If events such as these needed to occur for RAM to be able to contend with the other world factions, it would do more harm than good in trying to fight it.

  “Very well. Let the story run. Arkana’s Grand Wizards will know what truly happened, and that is the only point that matters,” Belmont responded.

  It became silent in the meeting room as everyone pondered what was said.

  “Anyone else have something to bring up?” Belmont Kruse spoke after a moment. “...Then we’re adjourned. We’ll reconvene next week with more information, as well as the vote result in the situation pertaining to Orhome and Kybervald.”

  Everyone stood up.

  “Belmont, just do your best not to anger Arkana or Neo again,” Lucy scolded. “They’ve already forced our hand to restructure once, I’d hate for them to come together again and rid us of our position entirely!” She turned away, and left the room promptly.

  “That would never happen,” Belmont responded without her presence, almost as if he was reassuring the other figures. “They both share such different philosophies on the elements and life in general. They could never peacefully rule together. That’s why we’re here. We are the mediators.”

  Directors Forlee and Virette talked among themselves for a while before finally exiting the meeting room as well. It left just the two other high council members.

  Belmont stood besides Hugo as he continued to leaf through the rustic notebook.

  “How much did you end up paying Reech for this book?” Belmont asked Hugo after closing the cover.

  “He didn’t want money this time. The fool asked for all our documentation on Nocturne’s history, and the current paperwork its filing for kingdom status!” Hugo had a grin on his face, believing he had received the better end of the deal this time.

  Belmont did a single chuckle. “That’s interesting. What would Reech want with that lousy kingdom out there? To ask for files on that instead of the gold we usually pay him makes me think he knows something about it that we don’t.”

  Hugo went from a grin to a lowered eyebrow as his thinking gears began turning.

  “What are you tryna’ say?” Hugo asked.

  “I think we need to keep a closer eye on that distant northern kingdom. I’ll have Director Hegris brief me on what he finds out when he returns. I don’t understand the significance that Nocturne holds. It’s a mystery that is currently beyond my field of vision. I’d like to uncover the truth.”