New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Astaroth couldn't believe the answer.

"Today?!" he exclaimed.

"How am I supposed to travel to the center of the continent in one day?!"

Rodney looked at the king with a raised eyebrow.

"The… teleporter?" he said, confused how Astaroth had forgotten the immense cubic structure that dominated the south plaza of the outer ring.

Astaroth took a second to register the response.

"Oh… Right…"

Rodney shook his head slightly.

"But that is beside the issue here. Even if making it there fast is not a problem, that means you can't go with a proper escort. We will never have time to prepare a contingent. Bringing soldiers anywhere requires a massive amount of supplies and preparation.

"I'm sure the matriarchs did this exactly for this reason. They probably expect you to go alone with the queen, and maybe two or three escorts. This way, they have the upper hand. Their slyness hasn't diminished one bit in two decades…"

Astaroth could see the unease on Rodney's face as he said those last words.

"Phoenix told me. Is going there too much for you? I can ask another commander to come if you prefer not to be there. Or I can ask Leon, who I am sure will complain, but he'll obey."

With a tired sigh, Rodney shook his head again.

"No. I am the commander of the Royal Guards. It is my duty to protect the monarchs, and mine alone. I will go, even if going back displeases me. I'm sure the queen told you what I used to be. But even she doesn't know why I left."

"Rodney… If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to."

Astaroth was trying to dodge a possible uncomfortable subject. But Rodney looked at him with determination.

"I can't. It would be preferable if you knew everything before we go. It'll shed light on the situation a little, and allow us to go with more confidence."

There was no use in denying it, he thought.

"As the queen must have told you, I used to be Themiscus nobility. At least until I reached the age of twenty-one," he said, leaning back in his chair.

"My father, Ulrick, married into nobility, as many men do in Themiscus. Women occupy the largest roles and functions of society in that kingdom, as many know. Although I'm sure your kind doesn't know much about this.

"He was picked by a Matriarch, for his excellent magic ability and his physical prowess. He used to be a mana knight until the day he was picked. To him, it was a great honour to join the nobility of the kingdom, even if he knew he wouldn't be the Matriarch's only husband.

"As time passed, and the Matriarch in question grew older, she picked out more husbands. But my father was her first, and thus, he held a higher status. So when he birthed a son, it was his and her first disappointment. And time would only make this worse."

Astaroth could feel the bitterness in Rodney's voice as he recounted his tale.

"The birth of a girl soon outshone the first child of the new Lorhen Matriarch and pushed him to the back of the family, where men often ended. But that was only the beginning.

"As years passed, the boy's inability to use magic came to light. And in a kingdom that values magic as much as money, this came as a great disservice to his already poor treatment.

"The rest of the family, be it his brothers, sisters, father, and mother, all pushed him so far aside that they practically confined him to his room inside the Lorhen manor. And when he reached twenty-one years of age, a decision was taken.

"Since the boy could not become a Mana Knight, due to having no mana, they threw him out of the house, bound to become a commoner. His father did not even bat an eye at the order, and could only offer the boy a surname from when he was a commoner himself.

"So, with only a sword and a name to himself, the boy chose to leave the kingdom altogether. This boy was I. I left Themiscus with a cheap training sword, and the name Levine, to remember the shame of being mana-less, in a kingdom that valued magic over everything else."

Astaroth sat there, listening to him, and he could feel every emotion that passed through the man as he told his past to him. Despair, anguish, fear, anger.

"Rodney, I don't want to force you to come. If what you say is true, and I don't doubt you, then you would have to meet with your mother. The woman who cast you out for not reaching her expectations… That would be insensitive of me…"

But Rodney looked at him with resolve.

"You are not forcing me, King Astaroth. I want to go. I want to show my mother and father what I have become. Show them that even without their precious magic, I became someone important. Someone powerful. Please, allow me this chance."

From the look in his eyes, Astaroth understood this meant a lot to him.

It meant a chance. A chance to redeem himself in the eyes of people who thought nothing of him.

He could never take this away from him.

"Okay. Then, if you are to come, you will still lead men. But not your own. I don't want to let them wait too much, in case they take it as a sign of weakness. I will have a group of adventurers from Paragons be ready to depart in a few hours.

"You will lead them to defend Phoenix and me. And you will prove Rodney Levine is not a nobody. He is the proud commander of the Stellar Woodlands Royal Guard."

Rodney's face changed to a proud smile.

Slamming his fist into his chest, he rose to his feet.

"I shall not disappoint you, my king! I shall make Themiscus' Council of Matriarchs understand, that our kingdom is not one they can step on as they please!"

Astaroth only smiled in response.