Oliver sighed as he got out of the tavern, finally done with the work he needed to do for the day as he looked up at the sky. 'Still high noon, huh?' Oliver thought as he rested his hand on where his dagger should've been, having left it in the room that Oric had loaned him. 'Well then, if I want to live in peace, the best option should be out in a field to farm or hunt on. But the question is if the request for land will be accepted.'
Oliver then decided to walk through the town, his gaze overlooking the area again as his mind went to his knowledge from Myrkr. 'the darkness I control spans back before the dawn of your universe, before life and what you believe as time existed. However, that does not mean it only bears ancient knowledge.' Echoed the voice of Myrkr in Oliver's memories. 'They also grant you the ability to understand and respond to other cultures, as well as understand who they are and the realm they belong to.'
Oliver then smiled as he saw the same sign he had trouble reading the day before as he walked into the plaza, his mind concentrating on the letters as his eyes started to hold a light orange. 'Along with the control of my abilities being ambition, the reasons of the ambition may change over time, and are different given different circumstances. As such, you could have an ambition to complete the yard work, or to make your own ice cream, or even to build an empire.' Oliver thought as his eyes glow vanished, being held back as his eyes saw the words on the sign change into English in his head. 'Dragon's Tail, huh? Sounds rather good…'
He then heard horns blare near the castle, causing him to look over to see a group of elite guards marching out of its gates. What caught his attention, however, was the symbol on their shields and banner held a dragon circling around a red-and-white-checkered shield, a man standing at the front of them with dark silver hair. He then felt a tap on his shoulder before he turned around, seeing the girl from the barracks behind him. "Hey, Oliver, I see that you didn't take your dagger today." The girl spoke, Oliver only looking to her confused as she talked to him.
"Indeed I didn't, miss city guard." Oliver responded, looking back to the man standing in front of the soldiers. He had royal robes on, but his look and the symbol on the shields looked like a realistic visualization of something he had seen a long time ago. "Tell me, who is that man in front of the guards? Someone important?"
"You really don't know?" the girl responded as she walked in front of him, looking at him confused. "That's Arlus, the crown prince of our land. He's may not be in the field as much as his siblings, and he may only be at the age of twenty-four, but even the elders are amazed at his intellect and wisdom on matters, despite his experience mainly coming from books and reports around the country. He even came up with some strategies that were tested by his siblings which caused tremendous victories against invading armies or bandit groups."
"Is that so…" Oliver replied, looking to the symbol as he tried to understand it's similarity, his mind going through what could be the possible solutions to it. The symbol still ringed in his head, trying to drag back a distance memory: a country whose symbol was a dragon circling around a red and white checkered shield... Then, just as it had been ringing in his head, the knowledge suddenly hit him like a rock. "Say, is there a mountain that's fake despite it looking like a real one?"
"No, there isn't." the guard responded as she looked at him confused, Oliver's mind starting to ease up, though it kept a bit of paranoia as he looked on at the man. "But there is a part of the forest a quarter days travel south that's covered in creatures that look as if they're really the plant life, even some rock types that have been moving in herds with the tree beasts."
'So it could still be the same place…' Oliver thought, a smirk coming up on his face as he looked to the man again. He could see the similarities more vividly, even if it wasn't confirmed for him. Despite that, the symbol and the man were two too many to be simply coincidence. 'Well then, I guess this means that my own form of peace will not be around if I try to go for a job in the palace, or even in the city for that matter…'
"You know, I just realized something," Oliver spoke as he directed his attention from the man, soon resting his gaze on the girl beside him. "You already know my name, but I've yet to even hear yours."
"Really now?" the guard asked before she sighed, extending her hand out as she smiled. Oliver then noticed that her age seemed to be at least sixteen or seventeen, though her eyes had more fire in them than any teens he had seen at that age. "Serphia, one of the twelve guards assigned to the plaza during the festival."
"Well then, Serphia, I'll give you my full name in response to yours." Oliver spoke as he reached his hand out and shook hers. "Oliver Wolcott, a wanderer hoping to find a home in this land."
"If you're searching for a home, you can ask either Arlus or King Indras." Serphia spoke as she let go of his hand, looking back to the prince as he walked up the steps to the throne Oliver had seen people lined up to yesterday. "The festival gives the chance for the people to speak of their troubles directly to the king, prince or any of their trusted advisors since they're normally busy with the wars around them."
"Thanks for the information. " Oliver responded as he looked to Arlus again as he was walking up the stairs, Serphia soon hearing commotion further out and moving to deal with it. As he continued to walk towards the area however, his eyes rested upon the symbol of the flag again as he muttered to himself. "So then, not an empire yet but a kingdom that is clearly on the rise, and with the creature known as Tyrant still alive and rampant throughout the kingdoms here... What kind of hell of a retirement area did I choose?"
Twenty minutes had passed since Arlus had sat on the throne and started listening to the requests and problems of the people, each person asking for a different thing. Most of them asked for normal things, such as new items for their people or a look at their taxes to see if they were fair, while travellers from other countries just came to meet him or his father in order to present gifts. His mind started to wander through these things as the last person moved, the line pausing as they waited for him to call for the next person.
"My lord, are you alright?" came the man beside him, snapping Arlus out of it as he looked over to them. The man was one of the advisors of his father, Lorthas, and had been there to help Arlus with some matters that would be shown.
"I'm fine, Lorthas, call the next one." Arlus spoke as he waved his hand, resting on his right as he looked at the next person in line. They were a man with short black hair and wearing foreign clothes, his own face looking foreign in it's own regard as he walked forward. 'No gifts on this man, though...' Arlus thought as the man walked forward, soon kneeling down with his head low as Arlus thought through what he could be here for. "Tell me, why is it you've come?"
"Honestly, it may seem as a rather strange request." The man responded as he kept himself kneeled down, his speech fluently in their tongue as Arlus watched him, leaning forward as the man kept his head low. "I've traveled through many lands for a few years, and I'm looking to settle, and seeing as it's the time of the festival, I was hoping that I'd be allowed to have a bit of land in the outskirts of this city."
Arlus kept his gaze on how the man looked, his mind going through what he had requested. His clothes were long sleeved and able to hide the man's physique, but the way he held himself showed signs of physical prowess. Along with it, the man had an accent that was clearly foreign, none that he could think of around them, which lessened the chance of him being a possible spy. Arlus thought through the options to tell if the man was a spy or not when his mind settled on a single trial.
"Tell me, have you learned to hunt for yourself while traveling along the roads?" Arlus asked, the man looking up as a smile appeared on his face and he nodded. "If so, then I'd like to know what kind of creatures you hunted for food?"
"I mainly hunted creatures that came along my path, mainly grounded creatures such as deer or elk, though they may be foreign in these lands." The man responded, the people behind him moving around as they waited for their turn, Arlus soon snapping his fingers before one of the guards walked up to him. Arlus then murmured a few words to him before he nodded and left, soon turning back to the man as he returned his gaze to the ground
"Tell me, then, what is your name?" Arlus spoke as he leaned back in his chair, the guard running down the steps and towards the barracks.
"Oliver Wolcott, My lord." The man responded as he kept his head low. Arlus contemplated the name of the man as he kept his gaze on him.
'Two names, that means that he is or was part of a noble family wherever he came from, or gained that second name from a feat.' Arlus thought as he looked over to the barracks. 'In the meantime, I believe I've found a way to be certain of what he is.'
"Well then, Oliver Wolcott, you will be allowed your land under one condition." Arlus spoke his gaze returned to Oliver, who lifted his head to stare at the prince. "You will hunt the lands in our name and will bring back at least three animals out of the ones you hunt for three of each month for four months straight. You fail this at any point, and you'll lose your land in itself. If you do manage to bring three edible animals within the next three weeks, we will find a way to aid you in making a house in a location of your choosing."
"Thank you, my lord." Oliver responded as he looked back down, a smile clearly visible as the guard ran back up holding a slip of paper, soon walking up to Oliver and setting the paper in front of him.
"Since we cannot grant you weapons during the time of the festival, that slip will grant you access to the barracks to get a bow and thirty arrows." Arlus spoke as Oliver picked up the slip, standing up as he looked at the guard and nodded to him in a form of silent thanks. "However, you cannot take anything else within the barracks besides those items, and are unable to refill on arrows as well. If there is anything missing then we will immediately confiscate any items you have taken. Now be off, and let the next person in line."
"Understood, my prince." Oliver replied as he turned his gaze back to Arlus, bowing in full before he turned and walked down the steps, the next person in line soon walking up to give their own request.
"My lord, why did you give him such leeway on the matter," Lorthas asked, looking to Arlus confused as the man leaned back in his chair. "The fact he has two names yet isn't of a noble standing seems concerning. Are you sure it's safe to give him this kind of aid?"
"His words seemed genuine to me, and something tells me it'll be good to give him some aid in the event he may help in the future." Arlus responded as the next person knelt down before him, waiting for Arlus to speak. "Welcome, sir. What is your name?"
-fifteen years ago, Oliver-
A fifteen year old Oliver was training with his father as the sun started to set, facing his father in a mock sparring match and pressured completely as he found himself kicked straight out of the ring. "Keep your foot position up, and your mind set on the battle ahead of you." his father spoke, walking over to the edge of the ring as Oliver got up heaving, every part of his body sore from the training. "You let yourself wander through your thoughts to try for strategy while in the thick of it, and you'll be killed. You have to learn to think in the thick of things."
"Easy for you to say, you've been training in this longer." Oliver spock as he felt a new welt forming on his chest, his father sighing before he looked straight at Oliver with a stern gaze.
"It's because I've been training in this longer that I know how you need to train now, so get back up here." his father replied as Oliver pushed through his own soreness and moved back into the ring, his father returning to the center of it and waiting for his son to get there. "You took a deal that threatens your life, be it by death or servitude if you fail, so you need to have enough of an open mind and determination to be able to see where your path lies, and that requires the strength and thought process given from our training. Now-"
His speech was interrupted by a timer going off, making Oliver sigh in relief as he fell back on the mat of the ring, his gaze staring up at the ceiling as his father walked over to a set of books, soon picking them up and taking them over to a table at the edge. "You can go back to reading your books now, if you want." his father spoke as he set the books down, Oliver getting up and walking to the table as his father picked one of them up. "'Imperial Warlord'... You're finally reading outside of European historical figures?"
"I ran out of any that seemed interesting to me after Carolus Rex." Oliver replied as he took the book out of his father's hands, his eyes showing a glint of excitement. "Out of anything I read, be it about jobs or events, I always find myself going back to stories and tales of those who took the path of the conqueror, and what they did in them that made their paths end either incomplete or back to square one."
"They are interesting, but in this day and age men of that form aren't required outside of business." his father spoke, Oliver only nodding as he opened the book, opening to a quarter way through where a bookmark resided. His father then smiled as he patted his son's shoulder. "But who knows, the present is always changing, you may yet see something that can call to you which may be similar."
"Let's just hope that day doesn't drag straight into us." Oliver responded as he began reading through the book, his mind still processing what his father said. Something that may be similar to the events that occurred in the history he read... does that mean that he thinks something terrible will happen to this country soon? Or if something will pull so drastically that it may cause the world to shake? Oliver then shook his head, snapping out of those thoughts as he continued to read the book. No point in hovering over the future, all he needed to do now was prepare for what he planned to do.
alrighty, reworking part's I've already wrote into this since I realized the stories are rather short and with less expansions to my liking. Please feel free to R&R on pages, and tell me what I need to do to change anything, especially in the first chapter since it apparently needs the most reworking.
