Age of Heroes (Age of Heroes Chronicles)

DENTED SHIELD CASTLE

1014 AF LIGHTMONTH

Through the cold and the rain of the night, a messenger came banging on the castle gate.

His hair and clothes were sodden, but the letter he carried was dry as the desert sands, sheltered under his coat.

The castle guards spotted the man and reported him immediately to Henry Palais, but before they could exchange a single word the messenger fled, leaving nothing but the letter behind.

Alderam and his son Harald had left Dented Shield and traveled to the north to fight the remaining noble houses, and Henry had been appointed regent in their absence.

They had blocked the Vermont's trade to Vern, so they in turn had blocked Dented Shield's trade to the rest of the nation. Since the Vermont's controlled the west, south and east it wasn't hard to do.

And that also means they were cut off from Vangua and many other nations in the South.

Their influence across the continent was immense. And this is their counterattack.

The fierce nightly wind slapped Henry's windows, splattering them with rain. Henry shivered. The cold was brutal, but still not as harsh as Vorthy, the Land of Eternal Winter.

In Vorthy, the streets were blanketed in snow, and ice dripped from the skies.

The people were hardened and relentless from living in such harsh conditions, the frozen air burned like fire, never feeling the embrace of summer or autumn's kiss, extinguishing weak life like it could bury the flame of the Sun Emperor.

At least it is not like Vorthy, Henry mused. And he giggled at this thought. He once knew a Vorthy sailors and how shocked that sailor was when he felt the summer air.

"Ales," he said, summoning his page, "bring me the letter."

"Yes, my lord," Ales nodded. He is a page from a peasant house here in the North.

The night was stealing Henry's heat faster than his body could replace it, and in the icy dark he thought of his son.

Was he safe? Had he found refuge in Adrian's territory? They could not exchange letters, but Henry's heart would always be with West.

He always fear that West would be executed wit Adrian forces and as such he had hidden their connection and plans very deeply.

Henry lit a candle on his table and awaited Ales' return.

The letter must have great importance, considering the messenger's insistence in delivering it in such dreadful weather.

Thunder boomed and shook the windows, and a fresh torrent of rain splattered the glass.

"My lord, permission to enter?"

"Granted." Henry turned to face Ales as he held out the letter.

With one glance he realized why it was so important: the envelope was embossed with a dragon seal. The Vermont's.

Slipping the envelope open with his knife, Henry read.

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Duke of Arouen,

I am proposing a truce. For one year we will abstain from any act of war. If you desire the Duchy of Arouen, we can negotiate.

Respond swiftly if you are willing. Reject, and we will come for you with no mercy. This Succession War will bring ruin to this Kingdom and might give the other kingdom bold ideas. I ask you to see reason, Alderam.

Sincerely, Count of Acro, Regent of Arrandy, Arial Vermont.

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The Succession war, thought Henry with a sigh.

It was the name given to this conflict between the two brothers.

Adrian and Alderam.

They both wanted the Duchy of Arouen.

And since Adrian had proclaimed himself King, the stakes were higher.

The entire Dukedom under one rule. It is actually one of Alderam plan. Who would have thought the younger brother would do it first?

Adrian derived his claim from his father's last wish, but those who heard the last will of Lord Hadrian Alan is either dead or missing.

Alderam derived his from the law that the oldest child would inherit his father's title.

Adrian's forces had become known as the Spearers, Alderam's as the Alanists.

Henry sighed again. He never thought the conflict would grow to such an enormous scale.

He joined the Alanists because of his family that is under captivity by Alderam but he had never imagined that a simple claim war between the two brothers would reach to this point.

"Dear, are you in here?" The door creaked open and his wife's face appeared in the gap.

"Enter, Liana."

Liana stepped inside and clicked the door shut. Looking at her husband's expression, her face fell.

"What are you worrying about?" she asked, placing a hand on his arm. She looked down at the letter in Henry's hands. "Who sent you this?"

"The Vermont's," Henry said quietly. Liana lowered herself onto the bed, her face contorted with pain. After a moment of heavy silence, she looked up at her husband.

"How is our son?"

"I believe he is alright," Henry muttered.

"I told you that I—"

"I know Liana," Henry interrupted. "I know. I should have listened to you. But what's done is done."

"Yes, it is done. Your words, your laws, and now you have taken away my son." Liana slumped onto the bed. "I'm going to sleep."

Henry's stomach twisted. Liana was in pain with worry for her son. But does she think I feel no pain? Henry thought. He is my son too.

"I will sleep later," said Henry.

"Whatever you say," Liana huffed, and pulled her blanket up to her face. Outside the window, the thunder boomed again.

Henry sat at his table and began collecting his thoughts.

Alderam had promised he could end the war quickly. He had been confident of his victory when he had planned the attack at the feast, he was convinced there were no other forces in the Dukedom that could stop him.

He had been wrong. And that one wrong miscalculation created this mess right now

The Vermont's had rallied around the newly crowned King, raise their dragon banner and won him land and support from the south and the west, and sooner or later, if Alderam remained stubborn, they would march to the north.

The young lord was smarter than Henry had realized; he had secured his base before making any attempt to attack them in the north.

He was patient like a wolf waiting for the favorable moment before he would jump for the kill

Lightning flashed and Henry jumped, nearly extinguishing the candle on his table. He shook himself gently.

He had grown far too anxious.

He thought back to the current war.

It wasn't really like the wars of the past, the Subjugation or the Bastards War which lasted ten years.

This war is mostly sporadic battles around the Dukedom, in the north, south and west.

The east remained unaffected, because all of their noble houses were controlled by the Vermont's or their vassals.

The north and west were plagued with broken alliances, resistance from common folk, rebellions from greedy lords wishing to make their families the strongest and most glorious.

In time, the tension spread to the neighboring countries.

Dostov supported Alderam, but Dostov's neighbor Seren supported Adrian, due to the Vermont's loyalty to the King.

This could escalate and brought the Dukedom into other military conflicts though unintended.

The Succession war was on the verge of chaos.

The flame in front of Henry danced madly, and he looked once again at the letter. He is proposing a truce.

The Young Dragon is proposing a truce.

Alderam may have started the war, but he was not the strongest side on this conflict. Alderam had only managed to take the north thanks to Henry's connections here.

But Arial Vermont was the talented leader of a fierce force, the likes of which the Dukedom had not seen in many years.

He is a unifying force that Henry had rarely encounter.

When the war first began, rather than wasting his efforts fighting in the north, Arial had unified the noble houses in the east, consolidating his power and making sure that his rear would be defended.

That shows leadership.

Considering the East is loyal to his family, it is no surprise that they so easily listen to the Vermont's.

Even when he was done with that task, he still did not attack the north.

Instead, he persuaded the houses in the south and the west to join his side, and destroyed those who refused.

A mixture of negotiation and military force utilized perfectly and efficiently.

Henry had been right about the Vermont's power and influence even before he was exiled by the Council Lords.

He had seen the danger they posed and felt their strength, but even he had greatly underestimated Arial.

There wasn't a soul in the Dukedom who didn't know his name by now.

The young lord pacified half the West and sent the other noble houses loyal to the Crown to subjugate it.

His victory against the Whitetree, and the voluntary oath of fealty by the Blacktons only serve to consolidate the Vermont's position in the South and quickly the young commander of the family, Arial, his reputation soar high in the sky shocking everyone.

There is no one in the Dukedom who did not know who he is.

Arial, the Dragon, merciless to his enemies, generous to his companions.

Henry looked back to the letter and he sighed regretfully

He knew Alderam would not accept a truce. He didn't want the rest of the Dukedom to remain unified, so that he could find more allies for his cause.

At least he did not want it to be unified under his brother.

But since Adrian had been crowned King, almost all the nobles in the South had joined him and that number is increasing.

The reason is because Adrian was crowned as King under the blessing of the Grand Papnoticon in Cori who reside in Roma, on the Mirror Tower of Light.

All the noble lords have sworn fealty either because of their religion or their belief in the legitimacy of kingship that Adrian had claimed.

They have chosen their side.

It wouldn't be long until all the south was under his control, and then the young Vermont would undoubtedly march to Dented Shield with the entire force of his vast army.

Aries the Kingmaker and Arial the Dragon. Who would have thought that the Vermont can be so influential that their noble house would determine the fate of this new Kingdom?

The wind roared again and the walls shook.

Henry hastily closed the door.

He glanced over to the bed, where his wife was already in a deep sleep, and paced over to lie beside her.

He needed to show the letter to Alderam whether he liked it or not.

As Henry drifted into an unsettled sleep, he prayed that the next day would bring him some sort of solution.

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