So, the question of "who will be king" has not yet been decided. Both brothers went to war. Jason is filled with enthusiasm...

Jason quickly left the stuffy corridors and halls of the Segh-Teinarel castle and headed, surrounded by a small retinue of bodyguards, to the military barracks on the outskirts.

Around the castle huddled many poor huts - servants and peasants, satisfying the needs of the nobility, because they need to live somewhere...

Plebs respectfully plopped down right in dirty puddles on their knees before the young and handsome prince, whose fiery red curls and sly dark green eyes, emitting a faint mysterious glow, only strengthened the rumors about the special status of Jason.

Conflicting rumors have long been spread among the plebs regarding both brothers, heirs to the throne...

It was rumored that both Gellian and Jason bear the imprint of special favor from mysterious mystical forces on their appearance. People assumed that this was the legacy of the blood of the founder of the dynasty - Teinarel the Rockclimber.

Jason, walking along the streets, saw the obsequious and submissive looks of many plebs...

In his soul, all this gave rise to some special, previously unknown feeling...

And it was impossible to say that this feeling was unpleasant.

"Crowds of persons bow before you... It gives pleasure, doesn't it?" - a quiet ingratiating voice sounds in Jason's head, touching the periphery of his consciousness.

Since ancient times, even in the days when Jason himself and his brother Gellian were small children, they both sometimes visited the mysterious demiplane of their true father.

True father of the twins…

Renard the Trickster also known as The Grinning Fox.

He taught his two children many spells of the school of illusion and the school of transmutation.

This ancient deity has increased its influence in the Kingdom of Eborvair in recent years.

In addition to small temples lost on the western forest outskirts, his cult now has a number of temples in the central region of the kingdom.

More and more followers are joining the cult of this ancient deity of the forest expanses.

Even in the Regency Council of the High Nobles there are several priests of the Grinning Fox…

All this causes natural discontent among the clergy of the traditional church of goddess Fardenna in the kingdom.

But for now, its monks and priests are **** to put up with contradictions and seek compromises for the sake of ensuring stability in the kingdom, which is already surrounded by many external threats.

And right now, two prince brothers must deal with a couple of such threats that can potentially destroy the entire kingdom...

So, elite bodyguards clear the way for Prince Jason, pushing aside the crowd of commoners.

Jason approaches the barracks and sees long lines of armed warriors in chain mail with round shields and spears in their hands.

There are quite a lot of these foot soldiers...

Loud neighing of horses is heard nearby - probably, there are a sufficient number of war horses in the stables.

One of the knights of the royal guard, dressed in a steel cuirass and a cloak with the heraldic emblem of the royal dynasty Teinarelid (a sword of a gray-steel hue against the background of a flaming heart and an orange snake) approaches Jason and kneels, respectfully bowing his head:

"Your Highness… Prince Jason… Our troops are ready to move westward… There are not many mounted knights, but the foot militia and mercenaries are numerous. There are about two thousand of them. And one thousand warriors will go to the northern region under the command of your brother…”

Jason thinks: “He addresses me as a prince… “Your Highness”… Not “Your Majesty” as is proper for a king… Every little thing seems to emphasize the continuing uncertainty of the situation with the crown…”

A vague feeling arises in the prince’s mind that the elimination of this uncertainty could be pleasant…

Jason gives the order for the troops to move west as quickly as possible.

Already in the morning of the next day, numerous columns of foot spearmen and archers, along with a detachment of armored mounted knights, are heading along the road towards the western forest region. The troops are accompanied by an extensive baggage train, which transports provisions, arrow reserves and other useful things.

Sitting in a luxurious carriage, Prince Jason is a little bored.

The elite bodyguards of the royal guard do not leave him for a minute.

It's a chore...

The journey has been going on for almost a whole day now…

Jason had teased some of them a few times with a "minor illusion" spell (it was fun to spellcasting an image of a dung fly that flies around and lands on the forehead of one of the guards, forcing him to clumsily try to swat the insect). But soon even this got boring.

One of the noble knights tried to engage the prince in a discussion of strategic planning for the upcoming battle with the orcs.

However, Jason only yawned from boredom and commanded that his horse be prepared for a ride.

"A horse ride... But there is danger ahead! The further west we go, the higher the risk of encountering groups of orcish warrior-scouts!" - alas, all the objections of the bodyguards were in vain...

It seemed that the young prince treated everything that was happening as some kind of entertainment...

As if it was all a fun game...

A small cavalry detachment of elite warriors-bodyguards could barely keep up with the prince's horse, which galloped rapidly along the road to the west, ahead of the columns of warriors slowly moving into the region that was attacked by large troops of the orc tribal union "Spinebreakers".

Jason enjoyed the fast horseback riding...

He laughed merrily, seeing that his bodyguards could not keep up with him, being unable to show the same skill in horse riding as he himself.

Numerous columns of armed warriors march behind, carrying on their banners the heraldic emblem of the royal dynasty of Teinarelid…

On the sides of the road, the gaze of the dark green eyes of the prince noticed many fields sown with wheat and peasants who were **** to indulge in hard labor.

The prince's galloping horse scattered a lot of splashes from the muddy puddles along the sides of the road.

The spray drenched one traveling peddler from head to toe before he could jump back into the ravine, fearing to be crushed by the cavalcade of horsemen.

The frightened and dirty face of this commoner only amused Prince Jason...

Everything around Jason seemed to be just toys, tools for entertainment.

No wonder: after all, the childhood of both princes-twins was spent in an atmosphere of luxury and universal adoration.

The princes were protected from unpleasant things, the princes were forgiven for all their pranks...

All this, one way or another, should have influenced the formation of Jason's character.

It was as if the whole world was created only to amuse the prince.

Such vague feelings were only intensified by the quiet whisper of a soft voice in Jason's head:

"That's right... You are unique... You have the right to have fun the way you want... The conventions of this world, all sorts of stupid things like prohibitions, restrictions or laws - all this is nothing more than dust under your feet..."

Suddenly, Jason saw something suspicious far ahead on the road...

Perhaps it would be worth waiting for the bodyguards and sending one of them there to check for danger.

But Jason was too impulsive and impatient.

He spurred his horse and galloped forward even faster.

Soon the prince saw that a chestnut horse's corpse was lying on the side of the road.

Judging by its appearance, the animal simply could not withstand the rapid and long ride and broke its legs, falling from exhaustion.

A large puncture wound was visible on the neck of this horse, oozing blood.

It's not hard to guess: a horse with broken legs is useless, the horse's owner simply finished off the animal.

On the side of the road next to the horse's corpse lies a tall man on his back, dressed in very worn lamellar armor. His dirty armor shows many damages and traces of blood. Probably, this warrior recently took part in a fierce battle.

The man was breathing heavily...

Then he struggled to his feet and threw back the visor on his iron helmet.

On his belt, a bloody scabbard with a dagger inside is clearly visible.

The gaze of tired blue eyes, directed at the young prince, who prances on his horse...

Dark red shaggy hair, visible even from under the helmet...

Stubble on the cheeks and chin...

Dried blood on the forehead...

"Say your name, warrior!" - Jason said, feeling some confusion. For the very appearance of this man contradicted the atmosphere of joy that had taken hold of the prince's soul.

"Denric... Sir Denric Tahlane... That is my name. I am a knight... Although you would not know it from my dirty mug... I have been riding non-stop for three days... To... To warn... My family has lost everything... Our castle. Our serfs. Our lives. In recent years, the vile orcs "Spinebreakers" have occupied most of the fortified castles in the forest region. The lands of my noble family have been completely captured by them. My father Xander could not bear the shame. He died in a hopeless attempt to recapture his castle about five years ago. My brother Graham spent all his savings on mercenaries and organizing a military detachment to fight the orcs. And... All is hopeless... Veragzur the Horrendous, that cunning scum, easily defeated our armed detachments. My brother died recently, his detachment destroyed by the orcs. The few surviving soldiers simply fled in fear. They deserted. Only I was able to reach the central region of the kingdom. I want to tell you, Prince…"

The warrior coughs…

And he spits bloody clots of saliva onto the side of the road.

"I want to tell you, Prince… The orcs are moving deeper into the kingdom… While the court dignitaries in the capital surrounded you with luxury and satisfied your every whim, while you were having fun and enjoying yourself… All these years, in the western border was not life but just "bloodbath"… And you, the capital's assholes, didn't give a shit about all this… You ignored any pleas for help… Fucking shit… I'm going to die soon anyway… Eat shit now, arrogant capital degenerates! And you, the young prince-asshole! You will eat shit and most likely die because of your spoiledness, arrogance and stupidity!"

The mounted guards finally caught up with the prince and surrounded the strange man, who continued to curse and shout vile insults.

Jason was somewhat shocked by what was happening...

Over the years of being raised in the capital castle, he was used to everyone around him admiring his charm, his beauty and his intelligence.

One of the mounted bodyguards steed his horse closer to the cursing sir Denric and struck him on the head with the shaft of his spear.

Denric fell to the ground ****.

"This is some dirty criminal. His crime is obvious: insulting his highness Prince Jason, insulting the ruling royal dynasty... This vile criminal must be punished. Tomorrow, after interrogation, it will be quite appropriate, when our troops stop for rest and organize a temporary camp. Your Highness! Are you alright? This paltry beggar did not have time to harm you?" - the words of the commander of the elite royal guard's mounted detachment barely reach the consciousness of the young prince.

Hm... Probably, not everything will be as easy and fun as Jason assumed...

The thoughts in the young prince's head are confused...

"Something awaits me ahead... Something very dangerous... Perhaps I somewhat underestimated the seriousness of the situation..." - Jason thinks.