"Ah...my son, I apologize for interrupting your lessons, but this is of utmost importance." This is my father, King Michael Randall, to him the man was known as a caring person that has always looked out for him. He is around 6 foot and has a rough but caring personality that a person would not be able to tell he had. He is a strong man with aging blonde hair and sharp blue eyes, and is currently wearing clothes that are similar to mine. Navy blue dress pants and a decorated royal garb that is also navy blue and decorated with medals and designs that are silver in color. I've been told I look exactly like him. Which has always filled me with a sense of pride.
To everyone else he is the ruler of the Randall dynasty and current king of the Zarran people a strong and prosperous society. However we would never have made it this far if it wasn't for one advantage we have over the dangers of the world, the ability to fly. Our people have, for as long as we have existed, have had large white feathered wings that grew out of the small of our backs.
I show my sign of respect by looking down, placing my fist on my heart and spreading out the wings on my back, a sign known we simply call a 'Kabeem'. As his only son, Prince Stephan Randall, he is the heir, but this does not mean that Stephan would treat him any differently than anyone else. I was raised to be respectful and honorable, so he was not excluded from giving respect to my king. When Stephan looked back to the throne he notice that his father seemed to be deep in thought.
"There is no need for apologies Father, you requested my presence so I am here. But if I may ask is this about the new lands we have discovered?" As Stephan said this he took a look around the Throne Room. It was perhaps one of the most decorated places in the palace. The walls were filled with pictures of important people of the past. The windows were designed with such elegance and care, it almost made a jewel look dull. But the most astonishing thing had to be the mural behind the throne. It depicted an ancient battle between the gods fighting giant black birds.
The lands that we have recently discovered has brought about knowledge we never would have expected. Apparently throughout this world there were 4 other kingdoms, but instead of being made up of people like us, the world is full of different forms of humanoids. Knowledge of these other lands and people are still a bit unknown to me, but he still understood the importance of this discovery.
"Yes, and it has come to my attention that the other royal families have a desire to send representatives to these lands." What is he getting at, does he want my help with choosing a representative. Surely he can make such a decision on his own, we have plenty of responsible diplomats that can fill this role.
"I have not heard of this, but what this have to do with me Father?" When I asked this question, I was not expecting what my father answered with.
He laughed and responded,"You are still quick to the point aren't you son? Well, I have decided that I want you to go to the kingdom known as Vale to represent the Randall Family." Hearing this made me speechless. It took me a whole minute before I could respond.
"I am honored Father, but surely someone else would be far better suited for this task than I. I have yet to complete my lesson on diplomacy, besides I am only 17 years of age." Surely my father hasn't gone mad, he's only in his 50's.
"Yes! But your age is exactly the reason I have chosen you for this. For you see, apparently there is a combat school for people of your age. And since I have had you trained by a mentor since you were a young lad, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get to know how they train and learn more about their history." Oh...this makes more sense now. Father, while you may not say it out loud, I am aware of what you are doing. He wants to show that we trust them enough to put his own son under their protection. This should help reduce any level of distrust between them and us. Besides if anything were to happen he was perfectly capable of defending himself. While our family may not be as good at diplomacy as the Drole family, we can do just fine.
"There is one thing that does concern me however." This sentence quickly brought me out of my thoughts. What could possibly concern him?
"What would that be? Surely you don't think they would do anything hostile towards us do you?" That would be crazy, they would have the hardest time reaching us in the first place. It took us forever to even find a safe path to their lands in the first place. What with the giant sea creatures infesting the oceans.
"No no, nothing like that, they seem to be trying to maintain a peace between each other right now, the last thing they would want is conflict. What concerns me is the creatures that have plagued these kingdoms. The ones they call 'Grimm'."
"Why would these monsters be of concern? These 'Grimm' resides on their lands, and they are on the other side of the world." The gaze he gave me afterwards made me feel a bit nervous. What in Rendel's name could be bothering him?
"I'll forgive you for being ignorant son, but do you remember from your history lessons how our ancient ancestors had to defend themselves from wild and vicious beasts?"
He nodded. Of course he remembers, it was our family who were finally able to eradicate them from our lands. But that was centuries ago...wait, he isn't saying what he thinks he's saying is he? The look on my face must gave away what I was thinking, because he then went on to confirm my thoughts.
"Yes, we believe the creatures they are facing and the ones that we faced long ago are one in the same." Looking away from my father in disbelief, he was made speechless for the second time today.
"Bu...But how is that possible. Surely if we were able to dispose of them so long ago, then they would be able to as well." This doesn't make sense, we were able to do it back before we even had projectile weaponry, yet they are hindering these 4 kingdoms.
"I don't know. But the Grastel family is looking through their records to see if they can find anything that can help answer our questions, but for right now I want you to prepare for your journey to Vale, a ship will be ready at the docks to take you in the morning."
My eyes widened in surprise. For my father to seek help from the Grastel's, this must be bigger than he imagined. However, I quickly recompose myself. I can't show signs of weakness when I am needed for something this important
"Yes, Father." I show him Kabeem and make my way through the large doors of the Throne Room. The doors lead to a large hallway, as he walked down it, he looked out the windows as they passed by allowing him to see the massive city the palace resided in. The tall buildings of the city reaching to the sky. This view of the city has always gave me a sense of peace. However, Stephan looked back forward so he could see where he was going. 'Wouldn't be good to walk into someone due to a lack of awareness.'
I continued down the maze of hallways that only someone that was here regularly could navigate. It took a while but I eventually reached my room, which was full of books of the Randall family's history, war tactics, and biographies of famous warriors. Unlike those arrogant and snobby Sev's, the Randall's wasn't about having a ridiculous amount of things, so my room only consisted of things I think I needed.
I began to pack my things, as I did this I picked up a photo I had on my desk. The photo contained a family of three, a man, a woman, and a child. I looked at the woman, she was a head shorter than the man and had had one of the largest smiles someone could have.
"I miss you Mother, if only you could see how much Father has accomplished. It would make you so proud. The city is so beautiful, it's everything you dreamed of." After gently putting the photo in a pouch, I quickly finished packing. After seeing that it was getting late, I prepared for bed.
"Tomorrow is going to be quite eventful isn't it" After wrapping my wing around my body, I fell asleep.
xXx
"Lord Grastel, has your family's agents found anything of importance?"
"Yes King Randall, agents in Vale have shown an increase of incidents involving a group known as the 'White Fang." replied an old man covered in a dark blue robe. The king was not fond of relying on the Grestel's, but he needed to know the environment he was sending his son in.
He knew he was making a risky move, but Stephan was the only high class warrior he could send in without raising questions. That being said, he would have to set things up just right or his plan would fail.
"White Fang? What are they doing in Vale? Weren't they terrorising the Schnee family in Atlas?"
The old man sighed, "Reports shows that they are working with a criminal named Roman Torchwick. They have been stealing large amounts of dust for a while now." The king still didn't know what to make of this dust, much like he didn't understand many things about the four kingdoms beyond the sea.
"Dust? What do they need of dust? Are they trying to decrease Vale's supply or are they trying to arm themselves?" He needed to figure this out, he had a bad feeling that something bad was going to happen, but he just needed to figure out what this 'something' is.
Lord Grestel gave a look that he couldn't describe then started to speak, "We have yet to discover what their plan is, as of right now we are...interrogating...people who we believe to have information regarding this, but if you would give me permission i could have agents…" The man didn't get to finish his thought before the king interrupted him loudly.
"NO, I've already discussed this with you, we can not risk exposing our presence. This would only make it more difficult for me to execute my plan." The older man flinched and was about to say something but before he started speaking the door to the room open to reveal a man who appeared to be in his late thirties. He was was dressed in expensive clothes and had a sort of confident, if not slightly arrogant look on his face.
"My king, I do apologize for interrupting but it has come to my attention that who made the choice of sending your son to the new lands." As he continued to walk closer to King Randall it became easier to see his features, he was around 3 inches shorter than himself, and although he tried to hide it, the man could be seen to be slightly on the heavier side. He had short black hair and brown eyes, and always appeared to be carrying a smile that, to the trained eye, could be seen as one that looked like he was trying to obtain something..
"Stop with the banter Lord Sev, I do not have time for it today." This is the last thing he needed right now, he was already trying to do something that could very well put people in danger, so he didn't need this man to start meddling with his affairs.
"Ouch, that isn't the way to treat an old friend is it?" The last thing he would consider him is a friend. "I only mean to voice my concerns, you see my family has been trying to start trade with the other nations, I was worried that you may be planning something that could jeopardize this."
"..." This is seriously the last thing I need. "What do you want?" The king asked without bothering to hide his annoyance. Lord Sev was taken aback, it appears he wasn't prepared for the king to give in so quickly. So much so that he lost his signature smile.
"Excuse me?"
"What do I need to do to keep you out of my hair?" He felt very pathetic for doing this but he had no choice. This plan had to go through without having a very stubborn feather from bothering him.
After getting over his initial shock, Sev's smile returned nearly as strong as the punch he so rightly deserved. While the people Sev dynasty aren't malevolent, they surely aren't exactly saints either. They always seemed to be trying to obtain something.
"I am so humbled to see you, the Lord of the Randall family, be so cooperative. You can be quite stubborn you know." This is beginning to get aggravating.
"Get to the point, this may be the only time I'll be this generous, so hurry and make your demand." Just how insufferable can this man be? Probably not a good question to ask.
"Right, I'm sorry i got ahead of myself there." Then suddenly he removed his smile and took an expression unusually serious for the man. "I am aware that you are sending your son to the combat school Beacon, which happens to be the school that a teenage girl named, Weiss Schnee is attending. What I want is for your son to become friends with her so that our nation can become closer to the Schnee family."
Should have expected this from the beginning. "Fine, it shall be done, what I want in return from you is a guarantee that you and your family stays out of the way. While I don't feel you need to know what I'm doing, I can tell you that this is more important than any trade deals you hope to create with these kingdoms." He made sure to say it in a way that told him there would be severe consequences if he goes back on his word.
"Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way." With this he made his leave. It was at this point that Lord Grastel, who has remained quiet since Lord Sev's arrival made the decision to speak up.
"Are you sure it is wise to indulge the Sev family? You know that they will begin to feel confident enough to make more demands." He didn't need the old man to tell him this, he was well aware of the consequences of his decision.
"I understand your concerns, but as of right now the Sev's are the least of my concerns." The king then gave the old man a soft expression. "But I must thank you for taking the time to leave your temple to have our discussion. I know how important it is to your family to remain in as much as possible. I am finished so you may return, just be sure to stick to the plan we have laid out."
He bowed, "It is no issue, and I will make sure my family completes their mission."
After he finished speaking he left the king alone on his throne. It was at this point he let how a heavy sigh he didn't know he had. He really needed to get some rest, but this is too important, there would be plenty of time for rest after this is over. But first, " GUARD!" Immediately an armored knight flew in from one of the entrances on the roof. He quickly showed me Kabeem and stood ready to hear what the king had to say.
"When my son wakes up in the morning, I want you to escort him to the docks and serve as his bodyguard. I also want you to tell him to try and be friends with a person by the name of Weiss Schnee by my request." "Yes Sire." Then he quickly left the way he came in.
This is going to be one of the most tiring things he will ever do. But it had to be done, The Randall dynasty has protected the Zarran people for centuries, and he plans to keep it that way.