Kingdom Building Game: Starting Out With A Million Upgrade Points!

Arval glanced down at his own notes before replying, "Lord Vassian oversees the general operations, but he's having difficulties keeping the merchant coalition in check. Meanwhile, Lady Calthera is in charge of the guild's military affairs there, but her methods have been… heavy-handed. Some merchants are already seeking alternative routes to bypass guild regulations."

Arkanos's expression darkened slightly, his jaw tightening as he considered the implications. "Vassian is too lenient, and Calthera is too aggressive. A poor combination." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk. "Send word to Vassian—tell him that if he can't control the merchants, I'll replace him with someone who can. As for Calthera, remind her that our goal is control, not chaos. If she forces merchants to turn against the guild, she'll only weaken our hold in the east."

Arval inclined his head, his lips curling in approval. "Understood, Your Majesty. I shall see to it personally."

Arkanos nodded. "Also, inform the entire royal council that there will be a meeting before the execution today. There are matters that require immediate discussion."

A knowing smile played across Arval's face. "As you command, Emperor. It will be done."

With a respectful bow, Arval turned on his heel and left the study, his steps light yet purposeful.

As the heavy doors shut behind him, Arkanos exhaled deeply, rolling his shoulders. Just as he reached for another report, a faint emerald glow pulsed from the ring on his right hand. The energy shimmered and coalesced, forming into the familiar figure of a regal woman—his mother.

She emerged effortlessly, as if stepping through a veil of light, her presence ethereal yet commanding. Draped in elegant silks, her long silver hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her golden eyes gleamed with amusement as she rested a hand lightly on his shoulder.

"I must say, my son," she purred, her voice carrying the refined elegance of a former empress, "you manage the capital far better than I expected."

Arkanos smirked, tilting his head slightly but not looking away from his documents. "Surprised, Mother? I would have thought by now you'd have more faith in me."

She chuckled softly, her fingers tracing idle patterns along the fabric of his coat. "Oh, I have faith in you. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy watching you prove me right."

He shook his head, a rare chuckle escaping him. "Then stay and watch. The day is far from over."

His mother's gaze flickered toward the reports on his desk, a knowing glint in her eyes. "Oh, I intend to."

His mother's touch was light yet deliberate as she leaned closer, her golden eyes sharp with curiosity. "But I have heard whispers, my son," she murmured, her voice laced with quiet intrigue. "The winds carry rumors of war. Shouldn't you be preparing? I cannot imagine your father would have turned down such an opportunity. Nothing excited that man more than the battlefield."

Arkanos's gaze remained steady, though he briefly glanced at his mother. He knew she wasn't simply reminiscing—she was testing him, gauging his thoughts, his intentions.

The late Emperor had been a man of conquest, a ruler who believed that the empire's might was measured by its ability to dominate others.

He had spent decades expanding its borders, waging war after war until he met his end in the very chaos he thrived in.

He leaned back in his chair, clasping his hands together as he gazed at his mother.

"And unfortunately, it was the battlefield that became his grave as well."

She arched a brow, but said nothing, allowing him to continue.

"I do not shy away from war, Mother. But unlike my father, I will not charge headfirst into battle while my empire teeters on the brink of disorder. An emperor who abandons his throne for conquest only returns to find it stolen from beneath him."

His fingers drummed lightly against the desk, his expression trying serious.

"What use is seizing another's land if my own is left in disarray? Before one marches upon another's gates, they must ensure their own walls stand unshaken."

A slow smile spread across his mother's lips, a look of apparel on her face. "Ah, wisdom beyond your years. Your father would have scoffed at such a notion."

Arkanos exhaled, a slight smirk on his lips. "And yet, I sit upon the throne while he lies beneath the earth."

It was a simple truth, yet one that many war-hungry rulers failed to grasp. The history of fallen empires was littered with the corpses of those who thought conquest alone made them untouchable. But Arkanos understood the delicate balance of power—his reign would not be defined by reckless bloodshed, but by calculated dominance.

His mother let out a soft chuckle, shaking her head. "Indeed. It seems my son has truly become an emperor in his own right."

Arkanos met her gaze, his expression unreadable once more. "I was always meant to be."

He leaned forward slightly, his fingers idly tapping against the smooth surface of his desk.

"But I am curious about something, I've read through several records in this study, and one thing continues to stand out mother. The Bloodbanes once ruled over a single kingdom. Now, we command eight lands—territories that took my ancestors generations to subjugate, assimilate, and rule."

His fingers stilled, and he turned his gaze toward his mother.

"I cannot help but wonder... what drives this... relentless need for conquest? I've only recently began to notice it as well... this instinct. An instinct compels us to take and take, expanding beyond what we once thought possible? Was it necessity? Ambition? Or simply an endless hunger for more?"

Selene's lips curled into a knowing smile. There was a look of amusement in her golden eyes.

She lifted a delicate hand and twirled a strand of his silver hair between her fingers. "Tell me, my son," she said lightly, "what is the flag of House Bloodbane?"

Arkanos arched a brow, momentarily caught off guard by the question. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Selene chuckled softly. "Just humor me," she said, the corner of her lips twitching in amusement.

"Tell me, what does our banner look like?"

Arkanos exhaled slowly, his fingers tapping rhythmically against the armrest of his chair as he leaned back.

"The flag of House Bloodbane, bears two silver dragons intertwined, breathing fire into the sky, set against a black and crimson background."

Selene, lounging against his shoulder with an almost feline look on her face, smirked.

"And what do you think it represents, dear Emperor?"

Arkanos leaned back, folding his arms across his chest. His jaw tightened briefly as he jumped briefly.

"Power," he said. "The dragons breathing fire into the sky signify dominance—our house has always been about reaching higher, seizing control. The black and crimson represent blood and war, the foundation upon which our empire stands."

Selene's smirk widened as she lifted a delicate finger and flicked his forehead but it didn't hurt him.

"Close," she teased, "but not quite."

Arkanos furrowed his brow, more from mild irritation than confusion.

He rubbed the spot she had flicked but remained silent, waiting for her explanation.

Selene's expression softened in that moment it brought a warm moment from his childhood flashing in here eyes, that irritated yet obedient expression, it was nostalgia.

Her usual playfulness slowly faded giving way to something deeper. She hiverd above him, crossing her legs as she rested her elbow on some sort of imaginary armrest and placed her chin in her palm.

"The Bloodbane family is not merely a line of conquerors, they are the descendants of dragons—silver dragons."

Arkanos stiffened, his green eyes widening slightly before narrowing once more.

He turned to fully face her, his fingers tightening around the armrest. "That... Is a bit hard to believe."

Selene merely laughed as she reached out to him and gently traced a finger along the back of his hand.

"Is it?" she mused, raising a delicate brow. "There is an old myth, one rarely spoken of in these times."

She leaned forward slightly, her voice dropping as if whispering a dangerous secret.

"It tells of a time when dragons were the true rulers of this world, their power so vast that even the gods themselves felt threatened. The rulers of the heavens feared that one day, a dragon king would rise to challenge their dominion. And so, to prevent such a fate, they struck first."

Selene's golden eyes darkened, as if recalling a memory from ages past. She lifted her hand slowly, her fingers weaving through the air as if painting the scene before them.

"The gods drove the dragon race to the brink of extinction, scattering their remnants to the winds. But the dragons would not be erased so easily. Some say that, in their final act of defiance, they sought revenge not through war, but through blood."

Arkanos remained unnervingly still, his gaze locked onto her.

"It is believed that the first Bloodbane was not just a man," Selene said, her voice dropping to a near whisper.

"He was the child of a dragon and a human. And the dragons, thirsting for vengeance against the gods, wove a curse into his very bloodline."

She leaned in slightly, her lips curling into a knowing smile.

"A curse of conquest."

Arkanos placed a hand thoughtfully under his jaw as he considered her words.

Selene took note of it and chuckled softly, reaching up to brush a stray strand of silver hair from his forehead.

"That, my dear son, is why you are the way you are," she murmured with a teasing smile. "Why you cannot rest, why you always seek more. It was never just ambition—it your our nature, shaped by a dragon's dying will to see the world swallowed whole, to cast the gods from the heavens themselves."

A long silence stretched between them.

Arkanos finally released a slow breath, his fingers relaxing from their clenched state.

Then, just as suddenly as the mood had shifted, Selene laughed, light and airy, as if she had merely told him a bedtime story.

She waved a hand dismissively. "But of course," she said, reclining lazily against him once more.

"it is all just superstition, nothing more."

Arkanos turned his head to glance at her, his expression unreadable. But she simply smiled, resting her cheek against his shoulder once again, as if the conversation had never happened at all.