"They say 'Rome was not built in a day.'"
"An apt saying that is especially relevant to Dynasties Online."
"Because to build a powerful noble house."
"A truly mighty noble house."
"One that can stand the test of time."
"It must develop slowly."
"Embed its roots into the very fabric of society, the very core of the land, the very hearts of its subjects, of its people."
"And hide in the shadows when needed, being as quiet as a crypt."
"Only then can it survive the rise and fall of a kingdom."
"And who knows…."
"Maybe one day a noble lord will become a noble king."
Reginald Coulan, creator and head of House Aurellion in Dynasties Online.
….
May 15th, 4009 ASA (After Species Awakening)
Railius was riding through the dense woods of Nathia, reading through one document after another, having finished his little world tour by entering the Kingdom of Nathia via the Beastman United States, this route passed through the giant forest that dominates the northeastern part of the ancient kingdom that takes at least a week or two of traveling to get through from one side to the other then it was another two or so weeks to the royal capital of Narthonia.
On the back of his horse, a chest was strapped slowly bobbing up and down the clattering of its lock rhythmically clanging with the movements of Railius' fine steed was filled with documents that had been sent to him by Malwin, now that he was in an area deemed to be more safe by House Aurellions intelligence organisation which was now present in most major towns and cities in the Kingdom of Nathia in one form or another he had time to look over all the paperwork that he had been putting off or forcing Malwin to deal with.
Dynasties Online, despite being a game, had an extremely realistic side, as you only have access to as much information as your character knows or has read about and once you have it, your many menus update though just like a persons memories parts can be lost to time so some old information maybe as fragmented as a humans memory.
An annoying system that players have repeatedly complained about, only for their cries to once again fall on deaf ears, as Dynasties Online was a realistic game so close to reality that it was becoming harder for people to separate the game from the real world.
This update is constant to the point that many people wonder how the Dynasty Online servers deal with such a large amount of online traffic.
But that fact was irrelevant. What was important was that for Railius to know about what his noble house had been doing for the last nearly two and a half years, he needed to read through all this paperwork; otherwise, he would not have a complete, accurate overview of House Aurellion's current strength and assets.
Which he did finally have after days of reading through parchment after parchment, and after reviewing all the information on his character sheet, he realised that his character had only developed slightly slower than his noble house, as many aspects had improved thanks to the experiences he had endured during his long trip.
He brought up his character sheet to admire it once again, as it had filled out quite well over the last few in-game years.
….
Name: Railius Aurellion
Dynasty: Aurellion
Age: 20
HP: 55
MP: 55
Race: Half Dwarf
Faction: House Aurellion
Attributes:
Strength: 11
Agility: 10
Dexterity: 10
Vitality: 11
Intelligence: 11
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 11
Equipment:
Light Mail Full Armour Set.
Steel Barbute.
Railius Customised Ironwood Bow.
Righteous Wrath (Customised Longsword.)
High-Quality Warhorse.
House Aurellions Lord's Sigel
Money on hand:
Gold: 100
Silver: 100
Copper: 1000
Skills:
Administration (Intermediate) (Passive)
Archery (Intermediate) (Passive)
Battle Formation Adept (Passive)
Calculated Swordsmanship: (Adept) (Passive) (Specialized Skill)
Calculated Cut: (Active)
Calculated Defence (Active)
Combat Concentration: (Active)
Deception (Intermediate) (Passive)
Defensive Adept (Passive)
An Eye And Mind For Strategy (Active)
Insight (Adept) (Passive)
Intimidation (intermediate) (Passive)
Leadership (Intermediate) (Passive)
Negotiation (Intermediate) (Passive)
Polearm Mastery (Intermediate) (Passive)
Riding (Intermediate) (Passive)
Rallying Call (Active)
Untested All-Round Military Strategist: (Specialised Expert Skill) (Passive)
Vicious mockery (Active)
Race Traits:
Interspecies Humanoid Reproduction.
Stout of Heart.
Versatile.
Inheritable Character Traits:
The Rightful Lord of House Aurellion.
….
Compared to when Reginald first created Railius, his beloved character had come quite far, his attributes and skills being unrecognisable to anyone familiar with them at the start of the game.
And these changes to his character's stats also had a profound impact on his character's body, which had become much more muscular and agile thanks to his unrelenting training, which was designed to prepare him for the battlefield, a place Railius expected to visit soon if all the wars happening around the world had anything to say about it as by over half the world was engaged in one war or another.
These extra attribute points would serve him well in the future as they are the basis of skills as well as a character's health and mana, with mana becoming an increasingly important resource as your skills grow and more appear as how one uses their limited reserves of mana will be what separates the weak from the powerful.
But his characters greatest improvement was in his skills as finally his relentless training was paying off especially in the realm of military strategy as he had spent the last two years in game not only polishing his sword skills but his strategical skills too having spent hours learning at the side of the best military strategist House Aurellion had to offer.
Aldorus Balarion.
And it was due to his excellent tutor, as well as Railius' own natural talent, that led to him gaining his first expert-level skill. In contrast, his other skills lagged slightly behind, and his military strategy had even been specialised. He imagined that he would only further specialise and evolve in the future to suit his commanding style.
….
Untested All-Round Military Strategist: (Specialised Expert Skill) (Passive)
Description: Helps to dictate how well you can strategise. This can increase defence or damage in certain formations, as differing generals specialise in different types of units and formations. The higher your level of military strategy, the more likely people are to believe any strategy that you present will work.
Expert-level strategists are commonly employed as vice generals, capable of leading entire sections of an army or even an entire army in the absence of a master strategist.
Effect: 25% increase in damage and defence for troops under your command in any formation. 10% increase in damage and defence for all troops under your command.
All of your suggestions will be considered when planning a winning strategy, even by those at the top of the chain of command, though, because you are young and untested, there will still be some doubts.
Please note that if you perform below expectations, this skill can be downgraded as all of your experience is limited to minor skirmishes or theory and any other derived skills from this skill can also be downgraded or lost.
….
Looking at the effect of his expert-level skill, Railius could only imagine the power that the skill would have when it upgrades to the master rank, only scowling at the untested part of the skill, which allowed his skill to be downgraded at any moment.
There were also other skills derived from this new specialised skill that he had gained.
….
Battle Formation Adept: (Passive)
Description: You are skilled in all sorts of formations, able to change your army's formation to suit your needs in the moment.
This skill has been improved by the skill 'An Eye And Mind For Strategy.'
Effect: The bonus from military strategy that affects only a few formations now encompasses all formations, massively increasing your soldiers' effectiveness.
There is a 100% chance of you seeing through a formation set up by someone whose strategy rank is lower than yours, allowing you to find its weaknesses.
There is a 50% chance of you seeing through a formation set up by someone whose strategy rank is the same as yours.
There is a 1% chance of seeing through a formation set up by a master strategist.
….
Defensive Adept: (Passive)
Description: You are skilled at defensive battles; at times, your enemies feel like they are punching a brick wall, increasing the effectiveness of soldiers under your command when you are under attack.
Effect: When defending positions, all soldiers under your command increase their combat effectiveness by 10%.
….
An Eye And Mind For Strategy (Active)
Description: You have a unique mind for military strategy, usually coming up with weird strategies that seem mad, yet madness and genius are usually two sides of the same coin, leading to unexpected outcomes.
Effect: You have a certain chance of seeing through any strategy your opponent uses, and your strategies are harder for your opponent to see through as long as they are kept secret.
You will get a gut feeling when something does not seem right on the battlefield.
….
After gazing at his many strategy-related skills, he could see why master and grandmaster strategists are so feared and targeted by all nations in the game, as just the presence of one can turn the tide of a war and turn an army of raw recruits into a formidable fighting force capable of defeating many times their number.
But there was still one more skill that he had gained, a skill that he was sure was going to become one of his mainstays in the future.
….
Calculated Defence: (Active)
Description: You have been trained to defend yourselffrom multiple opponents and become a bulwark against your enemies' attacks with the ability to predict many of their movements or attacks before they even occur.
This skill is derived from Calculated Swordsmanship.
Effect: Can use the 'Combat Concentration' against multiple opponents on the battlefield who are attacking you, helping you to find ways to counterattack.
You can block the effect of one attack skill aimed at you if you are facing a single-skilled opponent.
….
The new combat defence-based skill emerged because of his months of training against multiple opponents with Aldorus. It was just what he needed to plug in the gaps, as now, instead of just having an attack skill, he also had a defence skill, which can even help him when facing multiple opponents, making it perfect for the chaotic battlefield.
Reginald's other skills had also improved, increasing their effectiveness and allowing his character, Railius, to maintain his position in the top few percent of the playerbase due to his surprising diligence in ensuring that he logged on whenever he was not in a lecture that he needed to attend.
Reginald even got slightly fitter due to having to run around more than he did before entering the game, rushing from his room to wherever his university lecture was and back again in an effort to maximise his time in this new game that had the potential to irrevocably change his life for the better.
After all, if Reginald decided to suddenly exchange all of his houses in-game gold for real-life money at this moment, then he could become a millionaire in an instant, not that he was stupid enough to do such a thing as Dynasties Online would only become more and more important to the real world over time as already many companies have invested in it which will then force others to join or be left behind.
Coming out of his mental stupor, he then turned to his Dynasty Screen, which had not changed much, only really adding a few factions that he decided to join.
….
Dynasty Name: Aurellion
Current Dynasty Leader: Railius Aurellion
Dynasty Members: 1
Dynasty Type: Fallen Noble House
Allies:
Mantalon Dynasty
Thornsworth Dynasty
Dynasty Inheritable Quests:
The Free Brothers' Request. (Dormant)
House Aurellion's Lost Heirlooms.
The Stigma of a Traitor.
Dynasty Secrets: (Please note only the secrets your character knows about will be listed here.):
The Exiled House Aurellion.
A Young Lords Plan.
Sigismond Security Solutions True Master.
Dynasty Titles:
Lord of House Aurellion:
Faction Affiliations:
Kingdom of Nathia
Crown Prince Kodjis Kendaris' faction.
House Aurellion
Family Tree:
Inheritable Dynasty Traits:
Fallen Noble.
Renowned Fallen Martial Noble.
Sworn Martial Dynasty.
Accused Traitor.
Secret Allies:
House Gallomour
Unique Dynasty Units:
The Pelican Guard.
Unique Inheritable Grantable Dynasty Traits:
A Dynastic Oath of Loyalty.
….
Finally, Railius opened the screen, which had undergone the most changes over the last two years —the faction screen for House Aurellion, representing his foundation and strongest support in the game, as it is for any other player who gains a noble title and joins the ranks of the nobility.
….
Faction Name: House Aurellion.
Leader: Railius Aurellion.
Faction Population: 6000 (Does not include subordinate organisations )
Faction Foundations:
Basic Education System.
Intermediate Intelligence Network (Covers most of the Southern Continent)
Pelican Guard Training System and manual.
Basic Martial Arts training.
Secret Subordinate Factions:
Sigismond Security Solutions.
Quentin's Quality Goods.
Secret Allies:
House Gallomour.
Enemies:
Chavarian Empire
Military Strength (Please note faction leader can also call upon the military strength of subordinate factions, both secret and public):
1500 Pelican Guards.
100 Pelican Protectors
8,000 elite mercenaries (Part of Sigismond Security Solutions)
1 Grandmaster.
1 Quasi Grandmaster
3 Master fighters.
Financial Assets:
1,000,000 gold
….
Railius was shocked when he saw all the gains his house had made in the game summarised before him. What made him even more shocked was that he had achieved all of this after only nearly two and a half years in the game, almost five months of real life since the servers opened.
If he could achieve this much in only a few years in the game, Railius could only imagine what he could do with one hundred years in the game, assuming Dynasties Online does not close its servers within that time frame.
He really had to thank his two main revenue streams, as both his mercenary group and merchant group had outperformed themselves, bringing him massive profits and financial resources, allowing him to expand so quickly.
Railius had always known that overseas trade was risky yet rewarding, but it was only now that he saw how much gold his noble house had in black and white that it truly began to sink in.
1 million gold!
This is a sum that only the wealthiest and most powerful nobles and merchants ever see, and something most players could only dream about but never touch.
No wonder, in the past, every nation was obsessed with sea trade routes, given their profitability!
And it was not just gold he had gained, either; it was military strength as well.
He had tripled his Pelican Guards, though most of these were younger soldiers the sons of the old guard who had never experienced the fires of war, as there were only a few hundred veterans left from the old days, mainly taking on the role of low- to mid-level officers to help oversee the training of the new recruits.
Of course, there were around 1000 in total if you added those who were in his mercenary group, but the rest have either retired or died in the line of duty, though Railius would never forget about these loyal men who had valiantly fought to get him out of the Chavarian Empire before their Emperor murdered him.
Then there was the true surprise.
The rise of a quasi-grandmaster and a new master fighter, alongside 8,000 elite mercenaries, created a military force equivalent to a powerful count or marquis, and not a single penny of it was funded by land.
Railius had known that Darius had expanded recruitment ever since he came of age, but he underestimated just how much he had managed to develop it!
However, considering the large amounts of gold that it and Railius' new merchant group bring in, it shouldn't be too surprising because as long as there is gold to be made and gear to be paid, there will be no shortage of people looking to join a mercenary group.
Unknown to Railius, there were quite a few players in his mercenary group, mainly those who had gotten bored with what they saw as a mundane lifestyle of farming, mining or whatever other job they had managed to get at the start of the game and decided to join a mercenary group to get some adventure.
Though it should be noted that many of these players' characters died while fighting and having to deal with the consequences that come with it.
There were, of course, many reasons why House Aurellion managed to expand so quickly, as it was not a two-year foundation that they worked off, but a ten-year foundation, as Railius did not count the time between his character's arrival in Nathia and his coming of age.
For 10 years, House Aurellion had been preparing and training the sons of the original Pelican Guards and just like Railius in the past few years, many had finally completed their education and come of age.
This is why there was a sudden influx of Pelican Guards, as many sons of Pelican Guards become Pelican Guards themselves.
Either way, House Aurellion was now far more powerful than before, and so there were only two things he needed to check now.
Who was the new quasi-grandmaster and the new master? When Railius saw who they were, it didn't surprise him at all once he heard about how the master assassin was killed only a few months earlier.
Quasi grandmaster: Aldorus Balarion
Master Fighter: Cedrick Merkertz
"My lord!"
"My lord!"
"Baron Malwin ordered this to be passed to the lord as soon as possible."
A messenger shouted as he rode towards Railius. In his hand was a letter, which he quickly handed over to Railius.
Upon reading the letter and breaking open the red wax seal, Railius let out a loud sigh.
He would now need to hurry up and get to Narthonia as soon as possible.
The message said that grain prices in Chavaria had increased and were being moved south towards the mountains.
Before troops are dispatched, the grain must be moved so that they can have something to eat.
This meant only one thing.
The Chavarian Empire was preparing to declare war on the Kingdom of Nathia.
And it was the perfect way for him to reveal himself to the world.
The days of hiding in the shadows would soon come to an end.