The party is a grand affair. The Arrian and Allonian flags are hanging on the walls. There is a feast fit for gods. I’ll be honest the Citririans know how to throw a party. Not surprising since any meetings between Arria and Allonia are held here. I look over to Harold who is loudly complaining about the unjust treaty and how Allonia lost its will to defend the Alton people. I just shake my head. He won’t get anywhere. 

“You seem to be enjoying yourself.” I look up to see two men approaching me. One is Rien and the other is Alton. Ah, the dual kings of Citriria. Such a strange system they have here. However, unlike Felworth they don’t have ethnic minorities rebelling, so I guess it is working. 

“As much as one can.” I respond giving them a slight smile. “Can I ask what brings you to my corner of the room?” 

“We need to talk to you about an important matter for the future of Citriria” The Alton King answers. “You know about the situation in Hertland. We were wondering if you were interested in assisting the restoration of the territory.” 

“Hmm, as of right now I am not interested, but I can promise to not interefer with the war if I receive a gift of 200 gold pieces.” I respond. In all honestly, I am not interested in the situation but if I can squeeze some money out of it for free, as the better. 

“If we are to give you money, we want your official endorsement and recognition that the territory of Hertland is rightfully part of Citriria.” The Rien king responds. I see, well that is perfectly fine with me. In fact... 

“I will be happy to endorse you; I will also inform the surrounding Alton countries not to support Hertland in the case of war.” I say happily. Money oh money, you make to world spin. You make plans begin; you make them finish. 

“We thank you for your wisdom. May the gods ever favor you.” The Rien king gives a slight bow. 

“I wish the best of you as well.” I respond. They nod and begin to leave. Probably to discuss their next moves. In ten years, the face of this continent will be vastly different. The question now, is how will Allonia weather this storm. In my opinion being the eye of the storm is the best solution. 

I walk over to Elizabeth who has been entertaining some nobles. They are hanging onto her every word. Honestly, I can’t blame them, still... that doesn’t mean I will like it. 

“Do you think we would have lost the war if it continued?” She asks me when I approach her. That is a serious question. If we would lose to the Arrians our existence might come into question. I can safely say that we wouldn’t have faced an Arrian invasion. They just don’t have the resources for such a venture. 

“We wouldn’t have been able to bring them down to their knees. If anything, we got as close as possible to such an outcome. Now that father is dead, it won’t be possible. Anyway, there is more pressing concerns.” I answer her. This war was completely pointless in my opinion. Actually, I don’t really think wars are conductive for prosperity. Though, they are useful for changes in the balance of power.  

“I see, I have been looking into a new weapon, it is the Aquebus. It is quite revolutionary. I think that it has some promise.” She suggests. I see so this is what her pet project has been for the last couple weeks. I can’t really say that these firearms are very effective. Bows are faster. Even the argument that the take little time to train is beaten by the fact that the crossbow is just as easy to train someone in. 

“I will look into the development of this new weapon. We will see how effective they are, after that I will decide if it is worth investing in them.” I tell her. Having said that, she is probably right.  I’ll just need to learn how to properly use these new weapons in battle. If I'm lucky they will be effective against heavily armored knights. 

“Good.” She says. I then leave her to continue conversing with the other guests. I need to move to other people. I can’t just rest and relax, even if this is a party. No especially since this is a party. One with many of the most powerful people here. There is also one man I need to talk to before I leave. 

“Greetings, oh God-Emperor, how has this party been treating you?” I ask the Arrian Emperor. He just gives me a look. I can’t tell if he is annoyed or if he is just ignoring me. For now I will just let it slid. 

“I have been enjoying it. I am wondering if you wouldn’t mind a duel with me.” He asks offhandly. I look at him. He holds himself like a master swordsman. There is also the fact that he beat my father. I don’t think I would stand a chance. 

“I think I will concede. I am not a match for you.” I back down. There is no dishonor in retreating. It just gives one the possibility to find a better position. 

“I am disappointed that you declined my offer. I was hoping that you would be braver.” He goads me. For some reason he seems to want to fight me. Not that I'm going to be influenced by his words. I am not someone who will get caught up in the moment. “You are very different from William; he didn’t seem like he was one to back down from a challenge.” 

“Yes, well I am not him. I am my own person. I won’t blindly run into a wall when I should have just avoided it.” I respond. I can’t say I like the way he slighted me. Then again it seems like he respects my father. I think I can forgive him for his slight against me. 

“All the more the pity. I must give you this piece of advice. As the emperor you cannot give up. If you give up everything will fall apart.” He gives me this point of advice. There doesn’t seem to be any malice in his face, then again it is sometimes hard to tell with these arrian faces. Still I am shocked that he would give me advice. I thought he didn’t have a high opinion of me. Though the advice might be because he thinks I am a poor ruler. 

“I will keep that in mind.” With those words he nods and leaves me to my lonesome. I look around at the party. Despite its grandeur and all the people, to me, it feels empty and hallow. I wonder, what is the meaning in life? Is this what people want? 

A/N: Hello, it has been busy on my end... it is always busy. James' opinion on his father is a mixed bag but what do you guys think he feels? He doesn't always say what he feels so I guess that leaves a lot of room for interpretation. On to the fact of the week, we will be talking about Felworth. It used to be the leader of the Alton culture until the Koryo invasion occured. Their inability to handle the situation made the nobles around the Tonsid river extremely worried. In the end they revolted and created the Allonian Empire. Today Felworth can be considered the 4th strongest nation on the continent. They border the Yanzhou dynasty as well as the Allonian Empire. Another important fact is they have a large portion of Hantzu in their country.