night.
Prince Allion Chavez Benet’ the Third hadn’t been as nearly impossible to deal with when Stafford had first joined the Crown Specials Services. Now Stafford often wondered if he would have tried to prevent the man’s assassination all those years ago, if he knew what he knew now back then.
Allion the Third hadn’t always been a problem. Most thought that he would follow his father’s footsteps and be a key factor in advancing the trade, study and solving of the mysteries of the artifact industry. Prince Allion had attended Wonstrowd and earned degrees in the social sciences but had also minored in Magetech. It was just after his graduation when on one of the many visits to the many crown owned archeological digs that he suffered a mishap with a never before found artifact.
The archeologists had found a sphere that emitted continuous pulsing red light. The sphere was found buried in the sand near the ruins of what appeared to be a caravan of remarkably preserved artifacts. Evidently the caravan had been caught in a sandstorm and had been covered and preserver for several hundred years.
After the artifact had been studied by the leading archeologists and magetechs it was decided that it must be a toy of some sort. They did agree that it was something unique though for it had no visible glyphs. Finding no purpose they offered it to the prince on his visit. After they gave it to the prince he held it in his hand and found he felt a strange feeling from it. At first he felt a slight twist in his stomach like falling from a tree; the sensation stopped and he thought he heard a voice. As he tried to understand the voice he suddenly found himself clutching the sphere tightly.
The presenting mages and archeologists gasped as they saw the sphere flare. With the sudden intense pain the prince flung the burning artifact from his hand and it shattered onto the ground. His hand was treated and as the device had been destroyed no one was able to determine what exactly had happened. The event was immediately the talk of the kingdom but the prince blew it off as one of those things that happen when you deal with magetech.
Two years after the sphere incident the prince was a changed man. He was spoiled, selfish and greedy and to the political demise of those that failed to pay attention, he appeared naïve; it was entirely an act that Stafford had noticed right away and was not taken in by the boyish face and pretended innocence. The two talents that the Prince did have that seemed to allow him to hide his now selfish personality were the fact that he was very politically shrewd and a devious planner.
Stafford had enjoyed working for King Allion the Second. Allion the Second and his father Allion the First had been largely responsible for the study and distribution of artifacts to the masses. More discoveries had been made during their reigns than during any other time since the “The Great Desolation”. Their philosophy had been that a better educated and happier population that enjoyed a higher standard of living would prosper more, live longer, and revolt less and be a significantly more loyal kingdom.
It was shortly after Allion the Second’s unexpected death when Shew announced his retirement and Stafford decided that working for Allion the third was not in his best interest as a career and he began setting things in place to pursue his own ambitions taking advantage of the ever changing the artifact trade.
T he Crown was no longer a protector of the people but an autocracy of a self-absorbed elitist that was power hungry and in Staffords opinion destructive to the kingdom. Allion the Third was nothing like his father and grandfather. It was abundantly clear that the direction of the crown was to no longer empower the kingdom with the uses of artifacts, but to control the people through the crown’s control of artifacts.
Two years after
Prince Allion Chavez Benet’ the Third hadn’t been as nearly impossible to deal with when Stafford had first joined the Crown Specials Services. Now Stafford often wondered if he would have tried to prevent the man’s assassination all those years ago, if he knew what he knew now back then.
Allion the Third hadn’t always been a problem. Most thought that he would follow his father’s footsteps and be a key factor in advancing the trade, study and solving of the mysteries of the artifact industry. Prince Allion had attended Wonstrowd and earned degrees in the social sciences but had also minored in Magetech. It was just after his graduation when on one of the many visits to the many crown owned archeological digs that he suffered a mishap with a never before found artifact.
The archeologists had found a sphere that emitted continuous pulsing red light. The sphere was found buried in the sand near the ruins of what appeared to be a caravan of remarkably preserved artifacts. Evidently the caravan had been caught in a sandstorm and had been covered and preserver for several hundred years.
After the artifact had been studied by the leading archeologists and magetechs it was decided that it must be a toy of some sort. They did agree that it was something unique though for it had no visible glyphs. Finding no purpose they offered it to the prince on his visit. After they gave it to the prince he held it in his hand and found he felt a strange feeling from it. At first he felt a slight twist in his stomach like falling from a tree; the sensation stopped and he thought he heard a voice. As he tried to understand the voice he suddenly found himself clutching the sphere tightly.
The presenting mages and archeologists gasped as they saw the sphere flare. With the sudden intense pain the prince flung the burning artifact from his hand and it shattered onto the ground. His hand was treated and as the device had been destroyed no one was able to determine what exactly had happened. The event was immediately the talk of the kingdom but the prince blew it off as one of those things that happen when you deal with magetech.
Two years after the sphere incident the prince was a changed man. He was spoiled, selfish and greedy and to the political demise of those that failed to pay attention, he appeared naïve; it was entirely an act that Stafford had noticed right away and was not taken in by the boyish face and pretended innocence. The two talents that the Prince did have that seemed to allow him to hide his now selfish personality were the fact that he was very politically shrewd and a devious planner.
Stafford had enjoyed working for King Allion the Second. Allion the Second and his father Allion the First had been largely responsible for the study and distribution of artifacts to the masses. More discoveries had been made during their reigns than during any other time since the “The Great Desolation”. Their philosophy had been that a better educated and happier population that enjoyed a higher standard of living would prosper more, live longer, and revolt less and be a significantly more loyal kingdom.
It was shortly after Allion the Second’s unexpected death when Shew announced his retirement and Stafford decided that working for Allion the third was not in his best interest as a career and he began setting things in place to pursue his own ambitions taking advantage of the ever changing the artifact trade.
T he Crown was no longer a protector of the people but an autocracy of a self-absorbed elitist that was power hungry and in Staffords opinion destructive to the kingdom. Allion the Third was nothing like his father and grandfather. It was abundantly clear that the direction of the crown was to no longer empower the kingdom with the uses of artifacts, but to control the people through the crown’s control of artifacts.
Two years after
Similar Books
