"Politics."

"What is politics?"

"It is a question many have asked in history and will continue to ask in the future."

"A third-rate politician sees it purely as the pursuit of power."

"A way for them to use that power to benefit themselves, not realising the effect this pursuit can have on the country as a whole, whether it is for good or for ill, for the people under their rule." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

These are rulers not fated to last, for their grasp on the bigger picture is non-existent.

"A second-rate politician realises that politics is a means to change the world, rectifying what they see as injustices in the world while usually understanding the means for them to maintain their power, even if at times these two factors contradict each other."

"They can maintain a state and see through its flaws, but may not be able to act for fear of losing this power, whether it is gained through a bloodline or an election."

"But first-rate, truly talented politicians see through these superficial things, for they understand the true foundational essence of politics and what a political struggle represents."

"Is it power?"

"Justice?"

"Morality?"

"No, it is none of these things, though these can all be aspects of a political struggle, a means to justify a politician’s rule over the masses."

"The essence of politics is nothing more than deciding on the distribution of resources and control over them."

"In a modern context, this would be money which can be exchanged for any resource a man could want, whether it is food, water, or housing."

"And a ruler should always be wary for once the resources of a country can no longer "trickle down to the bottom of society...."

"Chaos and revolution follow."

James Larant, Creator of Dynasties Online and Ceo of Dynasties Inc.

20th August 4009 ASA (After Species Awakening, Nathian Royal Palace in Nathonia)

Crown Prince Kodjis Kendari was lost in thought as he stood in the grand throneroom in the Nathian Palace, the centre of power in the Kingdom of Nathia, while many of the other Nathian court ministers and nobles stood quietly chatting amongst themselves until the sound of a cane slowly came from the room’s entrance as the huge throneroom doors opened with a creak allowing a grey-haired, wrinkled man enter.

Tap, tap, tap.

The throneroom fell silent the moment the tapping of the cane registered in the ears of the Nathian royal court as the Prime Minister of Nathia and close friend to King Luther Kendari, Marquis Winston Lanwood, slowly entered, only two of his ever-present royal guard escort keeping a respectful distance behind him.

But what was remarkable was that, unlike many of the other courtiers and nobles in the room who stood worried, some even whispering about surrender, Prime Minister Winston was calm, just like Kodjis and the more talented and insightful members of the Nathian Royal Court; he knew this war was coming.

The only thing that surprised him and everyone else in the room was the scale of it and that of the army that was now marching towards them, and whose vanguard was only a month or so away from Nartook Fortress, if not closer.

Nathia was facing a massive army of 600,000 trained soldiers of those, half were elites either from the Chavarian Imperial Guards who are well known for their prowess in battle the Chavarian Imperial army one of the foremost military organisations in the world or belonging to the new Grand Marshal Amulius Lunaris a man who was a grand duke in his own right and able to call upon 100,000 swords if he fully mustered his strength.

Something that he did with no hesitation at all, the moment he was appointed as the Grand Marshal of Chavaria.

Amulius Lunaris was not a name that Kodjis expected to hear at the head of an army, but when he mentioned this fact or at his puzzlement as to why a minister who had spent 30 years in the court was suddenly given a field command to his father, King Luther, or to Prime Minister Winston himself, both had dark, worried expressions something Kodjis had never seen before.

Because while Kodjis didn’t know Amulius Lunaris’ past or capabilities, King Luther Kendari, the Shadow King of Nathia, and a man used to hiding his edge and influencing events from the shadows, did.

And he feared him, something the king made known to his son and close confidants, which left them stunned, a tiny spec of fear settling into their hearts.

Even when facing the nobles and their demands, Luther did not feel fear, as no matter how they complained, if it came to war between the crown’s loyalists and those with rebellious or selfish intentions, then the skill of Ranier Lantier and the Lion of Grucia two known crown loyalists would be enough to decimate any army commanded by anyone else in the kingdom.

But an invasion force led by Amulius Lunaris was different.

Because he could be argued to be the best and most dangerous general in the world, as there was no way that he would be any way inferior to either of his disciples when it came to the art of war, even if by the end of his life, Amulius believed Lucius Aurellion to at least be his match when it came to leading an army a compliment that he does not give lightly as even Drusus Dardinus never got such a high evaluation from Chavaria’s Grandmaster of War.

And Nathia would now face this man on the battlefield.

"Prime Minister Winston."

Crown Prince Kodjis respectfully addressed the old, loyal prime minister, who received bows from everyone as he passed, being the most respected man in the room and, at times, could even be said to be more influential than the king himself, even if the concept itself was treasonous.

"Your highness, we never expected Flavius to take this war so seriously."

Winston’s old voice rasped out as he bowed his head in respect to the future ruler of the kingdom, a man whom the king was doing so much to secure his reign and the royal family’s future, even if he was not aware of it yet.

After all, only the king and likely Thaddeus, his loyal royal guard commander, who would rather be turned into mincemeat before betraying his vows of loyalty, knew just how deep his schemes went.

But today, that was the last thing on Winston’s mind; instead, it was on the Chavarians and how in god’s name they were going to stop their invasion.

"And we never expected them to bring back the position of Grand Marshal. This alone gives Amulius and the Emperor more control over the nation’s military than a Chavarian monarch has had in over 100 years."

Crown Prince Kodjis said with a sigh.

Though Kodjis was right, no one thought that Flavius would want to win the war so much that he would bring back a position that no one had held for nearly 100 years due to the immense power that it could wield in times of war, showing just how determined the young Chavarian emperor was to break through Nartook fortress.

What made this even clearer was that an old minister who had served for over 20 years was dismissed over this matter!

Though exactly who the Chavarian Emperor decided to replace him with made both Prime Minister Winston and Crown Prince Kodjis admire the new ruler’s talent, using this matter to kill two birds with one stone.

The first bird the Chavarian emperor hit was the new ruler, using Minister Kline’s dismissal as a warning to the other nobles and ministers in Chavaria not to oppose the appointment of a grand marshal, as the emperor was determined to force the appointment through, giving the new Grand Marshal his full support.

The second bird was him using this to start to integrate his empire more fully, as he appointed Marquis Varn Destar as vice minister of personnel, who was a young Nadron-born noble who was only 30 years old and so had lived most of his life under the Chavarian Empire and was on bad terms with the Dukes of Plantara who were well known for their cold treatment of the Chavarian court and who were likely even now plotting to rebuild the destroyed kingdom of Nadron.

The message this sent out was that the days of the monopoly of imperial court positions by the original Chavarian nobility were at an end, and that as long as you were loyal to the emperor and Chavaria, you could rise high, no matter where you were born or your former allegiances.

A message that, in the long run, would make the Chavarian Empire more united than ever before.

As a result, the less stubbornly loyal, ambitious nobles would be more likely to support the empire as long as their interests could be secured through influence, wealth and power.

After all, the nobility of a nation is generally multifaceted and, in many cases, will put their families’ interests above those of the country, with only a few willing to sacrifice everything for their country and lord; otherwise, such loyal subjects and lords would not be so lauded or respected in history.

Chavaria was truly blessed to have one enlightened monarch after another, even if the man now sitting on the Chavarian throne came to power by killing his brother.

’How inconvenient for us.’

Kodjis mused internally as the silence stretched for ten seconds, the atmosphere in the throneroom growing tense, for nothing was more terrifying in this day and age than an empowered, enlightened leader supported by talented subordinates, even if the most talented were old men left over from a previous era.

An era of heroes that created an empire, even if only one truly talented hero still lives to this day.

A hero that was now marching to their doorstep with an army 600,000 strong to finish what Lucius Aurellion started all those years ago and would have accomplished if internal strife and sabotage had not cut off supplies, forcing the legendary Chavarian General and now legendary Chavarian traitor to retreat.

How ironic that it was now that very legendary general’s son who would now be fighting the hardest to keep Nathia’s most stalwart shield safe that his father spent so much time and effort attempting to destroy.

One can only be grateful that Flavius’ decision back then led to the downfall of House Aurellion; otherwise, the fallen noble house might not now be a Nathia helping to turn the tide.

"Let’s just be thankful that due to how hard it is to move supplies through the mountain passes, Chavaria can not send more than 600,000 men to attack us."

"Well, that and the fear of being attacked from all sides."

Prime Minister Winston said, elaborating on the main reason why more men were not sent, although the old ministers skill in military strategy was far from his skills in politics having served as prime minister for nearly 30 years now he was well aware just how important supplies were to an army and how hard it was to get them through a mountain pass as it was usually the old man himself who was in charge of these issues when war broke out.

After all, ’an army marches on its stomach’ was a famous quote for a reason.

"Who do you think we can reach out to?"

Kodjis asked the experienced prime minister for his opinion, a man his father, the king, trusted deeply.

"Otrua is almost a certainty, they are one of the nations most under threat from Chavaria, and the Krithan Dynasty may join if we can either do enough damage to the Chavarians or tie up their main army for long enough."

"As for the Beastman United States, well.... They have always done their own thing."

Winston said, though none of these nations were the most important, as the most they could do was prevent any reinforcements from being sent to the front lines, as they would be needed to defend the Chavarian heartland, which was why Emperor Flavius kept half of the Imperial Army behind.

There may be other concerns as well, but as far as Winston was concerned, this half of the Imperial Army was left behind to deal with any sneak attacks from surrounding powers.

"So we come to the Crux of the problem, the Iravian Confederacy."

Kodjis said with a sigh.

"Yes, they are the most important ally we must secure."

"Because, unlike the rest of our potential allies, who would only divert Chavarian resources at most, they are the ones who would have a direct impact on our warfront.

Winston replied, echoing the crown prince’s sentiment as the relations between the two countries were tense at the best of times. Luckily, Ranier Lantier had a good relationship with many clans and leaders in the Confederacy and made the Nathians seem like a trustworthy partner again, as too many times in history, promises have been made, broken, and then, because the two countries were still bound by common interests, forced to ally again.

"Will you be going yourself?"

Kodjis asked the aged minister, who chuckled slightly as if the very idea was amusing to him.

"I am too old to be going on such a journey, but it would be for the best if you go, your highness, as not only would it show our sincerity, but it would give you a chance to win over and build relationships with such an important ally."

"The only problem may be the price we will have to pay for their help."

"Don’t worry with this old man here; the matter should be as good as settled. His majesty is aware of your talents and how important it is for our negotiations to be successful."

The old minister reassured Kodjis, though the crown prince was well aware that anything could happen in the royal court.

"Brother!"

A sarcastic, young, playful voice shouted disdainfully from across the throneroom grating on Kodji’s eardrums as the Nathian Crown Prince truly did not have the energy to deal with his obnoxious younger brother today.

Striding through the middle of the courtroom with an arrogance that would make even the most evil tyrant blush was Kodji’s younger brother, Prince Rahlan Kendari, whose chestnut brown eyes gazed with disdain at the world, a prancing peacock who did not realise he was a chicken on the chopping block for the entrenched powers of the kingdom who would not hesitate to personally cleave his head off should it be to their benefit.

Following behind him were not his usual minions, a gathering of simpering fools, arrogant young masters who believe the world revolves around them and their family, but the competent opportunists or those who have, for varying reasons, aligned with Rahlan for their own gain or protection of their interests.

While the integrity of these people reeked worse than that of a blocked toilet, their competence and power were not to be underestimated, especially when their vested interests were involved, as they would go to great lengths to protect them, including the likes of Robar Rounten, the Duke of Ryre and vice minister of justice.

And a new recent addition who had further strengthened the second prince’s cause, Baron Flanders Florant, a god favoured who, if his intelligence was correct, had led other gods favoured to join Prince Rahlans faction.

A double-edged sword in Kodji’s opinion, though, unlike many, this one seemed composed without the arrogance many had and from what he knew, ruled well, which made his appearance by Rahlans side all the more perplexing to the crown prince, as most nobles like this sided with him.

After the Stator Rebellion, all nations in the world began to monitor the gods favoured more closely, and what they found was that many in positions of power were more arrogant, corrupt, and greedy than non-gods favoured, but also that many were talented and, more importantly, literate.

This massively changed the political landscape of the world, as in history, especially in ancient and medieval society, on which Dynasties Online was based, literacy and education had always been a privilege of the upper classes, and the main reason for this was the lower productivity of agrarian societies which didn’t allow education on a large scale as books were usually written by hand or copied by members of the clergy instead of being mass-produced and printed on a printing press.

Do not underestimate the importance of literacy as something that everyone usually has in a modern country to a medieval world as it was only when more people were literate that society could progress faster let alone when these people were players from a modern world in fact many nobles felt uneasy as the knowledge that used to be exclusively for them and their close retainers was now more widespread meaning that kings and rulers can find people to replace them.

In ancient times, the upper classes’ monopoly on knowledge was essential to their control over the people, and, alongside the technological limitations of the time, was a key reason the feudal system in Europe and the imperial system in China lasted so long.

So, suddenly having millions of literate, modern-thinking players enter a medieval world has the potential to shake up existing powers.

With the status of being talented gods’ favoured people, they could have used their knowledge to win the trust of kings and national leaders, which would have allowed them to gain wealth, land, and titles quickly and integrate easily into the game world.

Unfortunately, the players’ eagerness for power and wealth in Dynasties Online, driven partly by their poverty in the real world and their underestimation of the NPCs and their own abilities, led to the Stator Rebellion, after which the NPCs, who were as intelligent and sentient as humans were began to strictly guard against them especially when hundreds of thousands of players suddenly managed to co-ordinate and gather together to rebel.

Even nearly 2 in-game years after this event, the vigilance of the NPCs has not wavered in the slightest, though a few players have managed to gain access to the inner circle of powerful NPC nobles and monarchs, even if not many, with player lords being strictly guarded against and monitored by their liege lords.

It was a shame that Kodjis and many players would never be on the same page, and there was one simple reason for this.

Their interests were not aligned.

Kodjis was an enlightened and ambitious monarch who sought to usher in a golden age for Nathia, perhaps even expanding the ancient kingdom’s borders, even if such a path was fraught with danger and would further strengthen House Kendaris’ legitimacy as kings of Nathia.

However, for most of the powerful players who wanted to carve out a piece of the game and were backed by real-world organisations and business juggernauts, this was not a state they wanted to see.

Because such a kingdom was hard to topple, especially if most of the corrupt nobles and rotten parts of the kingdom were cleansed, leaving only the righteous, loyal and competent. In such an environment, even if these players gained a noble title due to their contributions, it would be hard for them to exploit weaknesses in the kingdom to rise higher or seize power.

While smart solo and less well-connected players like Railius have to build a strong NPC core and foundation to ensure their control over any potential lands they rule over in the future, to prevent friends they met in the game and other players from stealing their foundation due to being coerced or enticed by people or events in the real world, the powerful companies and real world organisations are different.

People like Lee Smith, the CEO of Emart, already have over 200 people he has hired to play Dynasties Online professionally in exchange for a stable income and other benefits, including protection, leading these players to serve him and the corporation behind him loyally.

This, in turn, results in a strong foundation, giving Lee Smith either 200 loyal ministers and generals that he can turn into landed nobles, forming a solid loyal power base that far exceeds that of NPC factions and ordinary players.

After all, every NPC nation has contradictions that can be exploited to bring them down or weaken them, making it easier to be conquered by these top player factions backed by billions of pounds and why these factions over time only ever get stronger and stronger.

In fact, if it were not because players who created characters before the servers started had such large advantages over those who did not, then almost every powerful player faction would be made up of these elites, especially when the various companies around the world realised the massive stakes Dynasties Online involved.

But Kodjis Kendari, an NPC in the game, could not understand this at all, leaving him perplexed and further prejudicing him against gods favoured, including even those who ruled well, because once his mind cleared and he began to think of possible reasons for this.

In Kodji’s mind, no lord who can rule so well and benevolently would be incompetent to see that under his brother, who had aligned himself primarily with morally corrupt people, would only weaken Nathia, which is why almost all these lords supported him as the crown prince in addition to his status as the eldest son of the king.

So the only reason in the young prince’s opinion for such a noble to side with his brother was if he wanted to take advantage of Nathia’s weakening to gain greater power and influence for himself, so compared to the others, the crown prince of Nathia gave a particularly venomous glare towards the unsuspecting player lord.

"Rahlan."

Kodjis said his voice filled with a bit of affection after all; Rahlan was his full-blooded brother, so he still had lingering love for him and hoped that, no matter what, he could survive the coming political storm he may not have realised he was at the centre of.

"What do you think of our current situation?"

Kodjis asked his brother to get a sense of what Rahlan might push in today’s court meeting, which was shaping up to be particularly important.

Noticing that the conversation had turned to serious matters, Rahlan’s expression changed as even he knew what a Chavarian invasion on this scale meant.

"Problematic but not overly thorny."

Rahlan said as if the matter of two grandmaster strategists marching on them, backed by 600,000 elite soldiers, was easy to handle.

"Just call the banners and have them go defend Nartook Fortress."

The young second prince said dismissively, making both Kodjis and Winston shocked at his reaction, and even some of his supporters behind him cringed slightly at the words, especially Baron Flanders Florant, the player lord behind him, as the last thing he wanted was for Chavaria to take over Nathia.

"That goes without saying; however, that may not be enough this time around, as we also can’t move the border nobles’ troops lest we allow ourselves to be invaded by others."

"It will likely also not be enough."

"Not against two grandmaster strategists."

Crown Prince Kodjis said, his voice sounding more like a king in that moment than even his father, slightly shocking everyone.

However, everyone’s attention quickly turned as a herald announced.

"All hail his royal majesty Luther of House Kendari, second of his name, king of the Narth and protector of the realm!"