Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 88: Origins I

CH88 Origins I

***

The guards receded into the background, leaving Earl Drake Fury to lead Alex through the grand halls of Ashen Castle, toward the back mountains.

This path didn’t lead to Alex’s former lodge on the estate. Instead, it veered towards a much more significant location—the place where the Furor Bloodline awakening ceremony was held.

The Fury Family was, for the most part, a disjointed one. Branches sprang up and crumbled into obscurity every year.

Though it was nearly impossible to rally every bloodline member under a single, united banner, there was still a hierarchy—and it was one dictated solely by strength.

The head of the family had to be a person of undisputed power. Not only personal strength, but the might to command an army. That was the qualification to claim the title.

To be the head of House Fury, one had to possess the strongest combined power among all competing family members, and use that power to seize and hold Ashen Castle.

In other words, Earl Drake Fury, the current holder of Ashen Castle at the heart of the fief, was considered by all to be the undisputed patriarch of the Fury bloodline.

This requirement—strength of arms and control over the castle—might seem odd to an outsider. But to a family forged in war and tempered by conflict, it made perfect sense.

Ashen Castle wasn’t just the family seat—it was sacred.

It housed the most important location to all who bore the Furor bloodline.

Every scion of the family had to travel here to awaken their Furor Bloodline safely.

A place of such importance must be protected by the strongest force in the family. And, in return, only the one strong enough to hold it could wield authority over the rest.

In a clan fuelled by pride, ambition, and rebellion, the only leverage that held sway was control over the family’s most sacred rite.

Typically, each Fury scion was granted two chances to undergo their bloodline awakening—once on their tenth birthday, and again at fifteen.

Technically, Alex had missed his second opportunity on his fifteen birthday. But as the son of the man who controlled access to the Awakening Grounds, that rule meant very little.

If this were any other noble family, one might scream abuse of power.

But in the Fury Family, it was simply considered a perk of being in control—of being the most powerful.

In Earl Drake Fury’s own words, ”Those who create the rules are often the first to break them. Rules are chains for the weak and tools for the strong.”

The Awakening Grounds were located deep within a cavern on the western side of the back mountain.

The cave was incredibly dark and brooding, but oddly... it felt right.

To those with the Furor Bloodline, it felt like home.

At the far end of the cavern, resting atop a stone pedestal, was the preserved head of a serpentine beast.

Alex’s eyes narrowed.

’Infernal Dragon...’ he thought.

”Do you know the history of our Virellian Empire and its connection to the Infernal Realm?” Earl Drake, who had been silent the entire walk, asked without turning around.

Alex gave a small nod. ”According to the history books, the Infernal Realm was the first external plane our Realm ever invaded.

”An army of Infernals was the first to attack us. That was how we became aware of external planes in the first place. After repelling the invasion, the founding emperor, Emperor Commodus, gathered an army of fifty million men from across the Pangea plane and launched a counter-invasion into the Infernal Realm.

”It took over a month just to transport the entire force through the planar gates. But once through, the strongest and bravest warriors of our realm laid down their lives to carve a path for the Emperor and his ten greatest generals.

”They reached the heart of the Infernal Realm and slew an Infernal Abomination—the highest manifestation of negative energy within that plane.

”That victory became Emperor Commodus’s proudest achievement and the foundation for the prestige on which he built the Virellian Empire.”

Alex paused, then continued.

”In the aftermath of the war, our mages studied the spatial magic used in the planar breach. Eventually, they developed ways to track and locate the coordinates of other planes. That discovery ushered in a new age of Interplanar Conquest, led by the nobility and the most powerful organisations of our realm.

”In other words, we have the Infernals to thank... for the prosperity we enjoy today.”

”Prosperity, huh...” Earl Drake smiled—disdainfully.

The expression took Alex by surprise.

A moment later, the Earl’s face settled back into its usual neutral mask.

”The history is written by the victors,” he said. ”What counts as prosperity—or calamity—is for the winners to decide.”

He gestured lightly toward the cavern walls as if the very stones held the truth of his words.

”Case in point. The history books only record the names of Emperor Commodus and his ten generals. The rest—the millions who bled and died—are nameless nobodies. At most, a few unit names remain. And even those have crumbled to dust over time.”

He looked toward the preserved head of the Infernal Dragon.

”The families of those soldiers lost everything. Meanwhile, Commodus and his trusted few went on to become the Royal Family, the Three Grand dukes, and the Five Duke Houses of the new Empire.”

He gave a soft snort.

”For Commodus and his inner circle, that war did indeed bring prosperity. But for the rest? The widows, the orphans, the broken bloodlines? Was it really prosperous for them?

”Even today, more than a thousand years later, the source of that so-called prosperity remains firmly in the hands of a few—though it was bought with the lives of the many.”

He turned to Alex, his tone calm but sharp as a blade.

”Do not be naive. Do not fall for their crafted narratives and patriotic propaganda. This is neither prosperity nor calamity. It is nothing but a game of power.”

Alex understood what the Earl was saying, but he couldn’t help frowning.

Not because he disagreed—but because of how his father was saying it.

There was something... off.

”Why do you care so much about this, Father?” Alex asked. ”Like you said, it’s just a game of power. According to your own lessons, this isn’t anything new or unusual. So why does it bother you so much? What does this have to do with us being here?”

***