Four days later.
"Mark my words, this King is going to take our Kingdom to new heights! I saw his father myself… Never before had I seen someone so pa.s.sionate about our lives but still holding so much power as the strongest Fighter in the Kingdom! Even though his son is still a long way from having that tag, he is the best fighter at his level! I mean, did you see the way he beat that selfish p.r.i.c.k who sent my dear Jahain to death? May the Almighty Black Raven tear that man to pieces repeatedly in his afterlife…"
Her words devolving into sobs on remembering her son who had enlisted in the Army and died due to the selfish actions of the previous King, Mohara"s head drooped as she did not want her friends to see her cry again.
The two other women in the small house who had come to console their friend patted her on the back.
Controlling herself after a few seconds, she continued to speak.
"Anyway, I pray daily to our Almighty Deity that he takes care of our young King and keeps him safe. As for Jahain, I know that he died doing something he loved, even if it was on the orders of such a vile man."
"Mohara, don"t you blame that Lanthanor Kingdom who were actually the ones that killed your son?"
This question was asked by the woman sitting on the left, who was known as the gossip queen of the village.
Even though there were only 100 people, she somehow managed to find so many stories and things to talk about to keep herself occupied throughout the day.
As the other woman glared at her for asking the question, Mohara said, "Oh, I curse them too, but like the Mayor said, even we would kill someone if they came onto our land and tried to rob something that was ours. That"s why I blame that b.a.s.t.a.r.d the most. If he hadn"t been so selfish, those soldiers wouldn"t have had to die at all! Still, I really wish that I could see his face or even hold his body one last time… I miss him so much. I don"t even have anything to remember him by…Madar, what are you doing there?"
The man who was standing at the open door with eyes open wide was the husband of the other woman who had glared at the first for asking the sensitive question.
In his hands, he was holding one of those trinkets which were coveted in the village for being the prime source of entertainment and news.
"Mohara, it seems… The Almighty Deity has listened to your prayer. Listen to this."
Handing the trinket over, the man smiled as he saw the tears fall again from Mohara"s eyes after a few seconds.
Yet, he knew that these were tears of happiness instead of those caused by the pain of loss like before.
Immediately getting up with a vigor that didn"t match her age, Mohara ran to one corner of the house to find a rucksack into which she started to dump all sorts of things.
Seeing her actions, the two women who hadn"t yet managed to hear whatever it was on the network that had caused her to act like so were puzzled.
Unable to control herself, the gossip queen asked, "Mohara, are you going somewhere?"
Without answering, Mohara continued to pack a lot of stuff before determinedly walking to the door.
Just before leaving, she seemed to remember that she had been asked a question.
Turning around, she said, "I"m going to see my son," before walking away to find the Mayor to ask him when the next goods caravan would come so that she could hitch a ride to the Kingdom of Lanthanor.
Similar scenes could be seen all over the Black Raven Kingdom where the families of those that had pa.s.sed away in the Lanthanor Kingdom packed their bags and started to make a move towards the border.
All of this was due to one shocking news that reverberated throughout the entire continent.
"Unprecedented!"
"The most compa.s.sionate king in the world!"
"Lanthanor will forever be remembered for this!"
These were the comments that accompanied this announcement, which was actually in the voice of the King of Lanthanor himself.
"This is a message to all the families of the Black Raven Kingdom who lost their sons and daughters on my soil. First of all, I am truly saddened that so many precious lives had to be taken away due to the selfish actions of a truly deplorable man. As you may have seen in the display trinket, I truly had no choice.
You might not know this, but unlike all of the previous Kings of Lanthanor, I hail from a common military family and I have grown up seeing so many mothers and fathers who became broken because of losing their children. Hence, I know very well what all of you are feeling. This has led me to take a decision which many have counseled me against. They said that it would be an empty gesture, and that it would go unappreciated by the Kingdom with which we"ve had hostilities for a long time despite the brief period of alliance that has pa.s.sed recently. They told me that it was a waste that would severely impact Lanthanor"s economic growth. Except for calling me a fool, they said everything.
This did nothing to change my decision. So, I"m here to announce it to you all.
The land on which the brave soldiers of the Black Raven Kingdom have perished is hereby labeled as "The Raven"s Perch". Their sacrifice which led to a new era must not be forgotten. A memento has been erected there, and each and every soldier has also been buried with full respect and tombs have been erected in their names. I invite all of their families to come over to my Kingdom to reunite with their family. We have also set up lodging for all those who come to visit, and you"re welcome to stay as long as you wish. Lanthanor congratulates the Black Raven Kingdom and its new king, King Faxul Coronis, on his ascension to the throne. May his rise truly herald in a new age of peace and joy."
Said in an honest tone which resonated with the pain in the hearts of the families of those of the Black Raven Kingdom who were mourning for their loss, this message was repeated multiple times throughout the day until the entire kingdom was abuzz with the news.
It seemed that this had appeased the pride of the people of the Black Raven Kingdom, as they truly felt awed by such an action which was so thoughtful.
It really was something that had never been seen on the continent before.
After all, to build tombs for so many soldiers, a large piece of land was definitely needed. It was also known that the location of the soldier"s deaths was where the most fertile land of the Kingdom was present.
Giving up that land forever really would mean a dip in the economic growth of the kingdom itself, but the King actually hadn"t cared about this and gone ahead.
As public opinion slowly started to change, an emergency meeting was called in the Palace of the Black Raven Kingdom immediately after this news became known.
"Did you know about this before, Your Majesty?"
Being asked this question by one of the men in the Council, Faxul smiled before answering, "Yes. He only told me after he made the decision. Have you had any ideas about how we will dig out way out of the pit that the previous King has thrust us into?"
This made the man who had been angrily about to retort stammer, as he really had no answer to give.
Faxul had already given the responsibility to all those in the higher echelons of the government to make plans about how to address the huge deficit in funds that the Kingdom was currently facing.
So far, not one viable plan had been formed yet. Although some did have chances of success, they either sacrificed one thing or the other or risked too many things.
"I thought so. Along with this gesture, the King of Lanthanor has proposed something else to me. I do not want any of you to think that he"s doing these things because he was my friend. Both of us know clearly that such a relations.h.i.+p cannot exist between two rulers of two different sovereign kingdoms. This is merely a business deal, which will result in the development of both Kingdoms. Have you heard of this little thing he started called the Bank of Angaria?"