Nova terra kingbreaker t.., p.1
Nova Terra: Kingbreaker (The Titan Series Book 3), page 1
Nova Terra: Kingbreaker
SETH RING
Nova Terra: Kingbreaker
Copyright © 2019 by Seth Ring.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
1st Edition
Contents
Nova Terra: Kingbreaker
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
CHAPTER FIFTY
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
CHAPTER SIXTY
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
Afterword
Acknowledgments
CHAPTER ONE
Growing up as the wealthiest child in the world, Thorn had seen his share of ornate buildings. And yet, standing in the entryway to the Palace of the Shining Sun, his breath caught in his chest. The huge, gold covered double doors had promised ostentation from a distance, but they proved unable to adequately prepare Thorn for what lay beyond them in the entry hall.
Stopping dead in the middle of the doorway at the sight of the hall that stretched out for the next half a mile, Thorn’s sudden pause blocked the trickle of people trying to enter behind him. A foppishly dressed gentleman started to make a snide comment to his companion only to swallow it when his companion silently pointed to Thorn’s 8’ 9” figure dominating the doorway.
Paying no attention to the grumbling of the nobles behind him, Thorn only snapped out of his stunned wonder when he felt a sharp pinch at his waist. Looking down in time to catch Mina rolling her eyes, he simply smiled and resumed examining the gold-plated reliefs that covered the twenty-foot walls. Each wall showed part of the glorious history of the ancient empire of Angoril, stretching back to the time before the continent split in half.
Above them, delicately painted murals depicted the pantheon of the gods and the dragons that came after them. While the gods were portrayed as relatively benign, Thorn was unsurprised to see the dragons depicted as greedy and cruel despots. As they neared the other end of the hall, the mural changed as humans began to emerge, fighting the dragons. A human woman was pictured alongside a male Demonkin, leading them in driving all the dragons back into the earth. Eventually, the humans triumphed and established the empire of Angoril. At the very end of the mural, a human figure sat on a large, golden throne, a crown on his head.
Having arrived at the other end of the long hall, Thorn made a mental note to talk to Velin about what exactly had happened to the empire. As far as he knew the first emperor had been a half Demonkin, half human that married a human queen and that their children had split the continent into the northern human empire and the southern Demonkin empire. With each successive emperor being either more Demonkin or more human, and this led to mistrust and civil war. It was not until they came to an uneasy truce that the situation stabilized. Yet the mural depicted the first emperor as a human.
“Thorn, quit spacing out!” Mina’s concerned voice drifted through his thoughts, bringing him back to the present. “You look dumber than a doofus about to put his finger in an electrical socket!”
“Hmm? What’s up?”
“We’re about to meet one of the three ministers! You need to pay attention when you talk to him. The nobles are all about following protocol, and if you don’t pay attention you might get into trouble.”
“Right. I’m paying attention.” Thorn smoothed a wrinkle from his shirt, catching sight of his smartly dressed form in the polished gold wall. When he had arrived at the human capital a few weeks ago, his aunt had rushed him to a well-known tailor to make a suit of court clothes.
Despite feeling slightly foolish dressing up, he had to admit that the tailor had done quite well in dressing his massive form in the span of a night. Thorn would rather have worn his armor, but apparently, that would be a massive faux pas. The nobles of the human empire took their clothing very seriously. Sighing to himself, Thorn took comfort in the fact that he would not be here long.
A month ago, Ouroboros had led an army against Moon Wolf Citadel, finally falling before its gate in single combat against Thorn. When Ouroboros died, Thorn recovered a [Nobility Upgrade Token] from his body that would allow him to increase his noble rank by a single level along with four legacy deeds that granted control of imperial property. Accompanied by Mina, Oberlin, and his aunt’s mercenary corps, Thorn had made his way to the capital of the human empire, leaving Velin back in the valley to take care of their fledgling guild. Athena had matters of her own to handle while Oberlin soon disappeared to work on some project, leaving Mina and Thorn to try and navigate the confusing bureaucracy.
The city itself was magnificent, built upon an island suspended in the air by powerful magic. Runes, thrumming with power, carved intricate paths along the gargantuan stone base of the city, holding it steady a hundred feet above a glistening lake. Water continually poured from the four gates of the city, thundering down into the lake below, creating an everlasting mist that shrouded the city in rainbows.
Standing on a curious half boat, half pagoda, Thorn and his friends rose through the air to the edge of the city, entering through a large gate. It was obvious that Thorn was the only one who had never experienced this before, and everyone found great amusement in his wide-eyed staring.
Progress had not been smooth, however, and after arriving at the floating city, they had done little besides wait. Though he expected some level of bureaucracy since it was the capital city of the human empire, he had to admit the endless forms and waiting rooms were really starting to grate on his nerves. Athena, Thorn’s aunt, had warned him to be prepared for some opposition from the other nobles, but so far it seemed as if the gears were just moving slowly.
Finally, they had been granted an audience with the Interior Minister, thus the reason for Thorn’s new wardrobe. After passing through the grand entrance of the imperial palace, they were directed by a guard through the winding gardens to a three-story building where the Interior Minister held his offices. At first, Thorn had assumed that his business would be handled at the Empire’s administrative center in the city, but upon seeing the token that he presented, the clerks had referred him to the offices of the Interior Minister.
Thankful that everything in the palace was built on a grand scale, Thorn was happy that he did not have to duck as he entered the Minister’s offices. Sadly, that scale did not extend to the furniture, so Thorn stood in the waiting room as the flustered secretary ran to tell the Minister that he had arrived.
“This should be it, right?” Mina was taking the wait even worse than Thorn, a fact she made no pains to hide.
“In theory.” Thorn’s deep voice easily filled the room, even when he tried to speak quietly. “The clerks at the administrative office said we have to talk to Sir Trishem, the Minister of the Interior, to redeem the legacy deeds. Hopefully, he can handle the token as well.”
“If he can’t handle it, does that mean that we are going to have to wait another week?”
“Who knows? Honestly, I’m not sure I understand this whole nobility thing anyway.”
Hearing the door open, Mina and Thorn both looked over, seeing the secretary had returned.
“Please follow me. His Excellency will see you now.”
No one paid attention to the secretary as she entered but Thorn was too large to miss, and at the sight of him walking through the double doors the clerks faltered and stared. The abrupt cessation of movement caused silence to fall over the room, and Sir Trishem looked up. Pushing his half-glasses up on his nose, he examined Thorn’s massive form. At a wave of his hand, the clerks exited the room and the secretary closed the double doors, leaving Thorn and Mina alone with Sir Trishem.
“They told me you were large, but I was not prepared for how large you actually are.” Sir Trishem adjusted his glasses as he examined Thorn. “Some sort of barbarian blood, no doubt. Mmhmm. I would invite you to sit, but we don’t have time for that. As busy as I am, I’ve carved out ten minutes for you, after that you will have to leave since I have much yet to do today. My clerk tells me that you have an inheritance token?”
“Yes, sir.” At first, Thorn was taken aback by the Minister’s brusk way of speaking, but a quick glance at the piles of paper on his desk showed that he was not just being rude. Stepping forward and carefully placing the [Nobility Upgrade Token] and the four legacy deeds down, Thorn stepped back to his former position to avoid looming over the seated minister.
“Mmhmm. It has been some time since I have seen one of these.” Picking the token up, Sir Trishem examined it closely. “See here, this shows that it is from one of the first mintings. A total of one hundred of these tokens were created in batches of ten. I would guess that this is from the second or third batch. Most likely when the empire was fighting against the Orcs of the southern deserts. All but three of them have been recovered, either here in the empire or in the cursed lands to the south. This will bring the count down to two tokens left.
“And I see that you have the accompanying deeds. Well, you certainly hit the jackpot, didn’t you? My records indicate that you are currently a baron, which, to be frank, barely qualifies you as a noble. In fact, your rank is so low that, technically, you are not allowed to use the deeds, since that would cause you to exceed your allowable resource points.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand.” Thorn’s brow furrowed when he heard Sir Trishem’s words.
“Ah, in the empire, every noble rank is limited in the number of resources they are allowed to possess. Every resource is worth a certain number of resource points, and the sum total of the resources attached to a noble title must be within that rank’s limit, otherwise the empire will consider the noble to be rebelling. It is an antiquated method, I admit, but it is the law of the land.
“The breakdown is relatively simple to remember. A baron is entitled two total points, and every noble rank above it doubles the number before it. Hereditary titles allow for an extra two points, military ranks contribute a point per rank and being a racial representative grants a flat three. Special status can also be considered on a case by case basis depending on how helpful it may be to the empire.
“Overall, considering you are a newly appointed baron, have no military rank, but represent the Wolfkin race, you have a resource point limit of five. This creates a bit of a problem for us as the valley you are currently residing in counts as six points due to the capital improvements you have made.”
“You mean the citadel?”
“Correct.” The corners of Sir Trishem’s mouth curled slightly in a mocking smile, and he leaned forward, waving a paper at Thorn. “To tell you the truth, I’ve already had two officially filed complaints accusing you of rebellion and demanding that you turn over control of the fortress to the empire.”
“Oh?” Thorn’s tone was bland, yet Sir Trishem’s smile abruptly fled and he sat back in his chair as Thorn’s eyes met his. “Good thing I have this [Nobility Upgrade Token], huh?”
“While that will certainly help, the reports of treason have been filed and an investigation has already started. Consider this warning a mark of good faith, Baron.”
“Thank you, sir. I will make a note of it. Now, I don’t want to take up more of your time than necessary, so I’d like to use this token and redeem these legacy deeds, if you don’t mind.”
Frowning, Sir Trishem took off his half-moon spectacles and placed them on his desk.
“Maybe I was not clear, Baron Greymane. You are in no position to be redeeming this token or the legacy deeds. Until this issue of treason is resolved, you would be well served to avoid drawing any more attention to yourself. The most I can do for you today is to begin the process of applying to have your rank upgraded. Until the charges are cleared, you will simply have to wait. Now, I must get back to my work.”
“If that is the case, it would be best if I held onto the token and the deeds, huh?” Stepping forward, Thorn held out his hand.
“Are you sure you don’t want to leave them with me? After all, if you are convicted, you will need someone on your side, won’t you? It would be wise for you to find a backer to help you weather this storm.”
“That’s alright, I think I’ll manage just fine.”
Annoyance flashing in his eyes, Sir Trishem hesitated for a moment. His hand tightened around the token as he stared at Thorn, who smiled blandly back at him. Just as the tension in the room grew unbearable, the minister smiled humorlessly and handed over the [Nobility Upgrade Token] and legacy deeds.
“Do be careful, Baron. The world of nobles is not an easy one to navigate. It can be a thorny path.” Sir Trishem’s tone was decidedly less friendly.
“Haha, don’t worry. I’m big enough to push my way through.” Thorn chuckled at his own joke as he put the token and deeds in his inventory. “Thank you for your time. Hopefully, the next time I visit, you will be able to help me.”
Obviously irritated by Thorn’s choice, the minister simply waved his hand, calling in the clerks who resumed their scramble. After Thorn and Mina had left, Sir Trishem stood and walked to a window that overlooked the building’s entrance. Watching Thorn’s large figure leave, he scowled and spoke to a clerk standing behind him.
“Tell the captain to proceed as planned. If the good baron is not willing to take the easy route, I don’t mind bringing some suffering to his life.”
“Yes, sir. How far should he take it?”
“Just enough to put some pressure on the baron. Let him spend a few days in jail.”
“What should we do about the Ironhold Duke, my Lord?”
“Hmm. If he cares to get involved, make up an excuse. I want the baron to spend at least three days in jail. It is unlikely that the duke will care about a new baron, especially one that is a traveler, but if he does for some reason, tell him that the baron is suspected of having ties to the Demonkin. After all, a greater devil was spotted at the valley.”
“It will be as you say, sir.” Bowing, the clerk left the office, making his way to a back room where he sat down at a table covered with runes. Using a special pen-shaped stick, he wrote a short message on the center of the table and, tapping on the runes in a particular order, watched as the words burned into ash, dispersing into the air.
