River watched in horror ,as two black hounds ,each as big as a mountain goat pinned Wolfram on to the ground.

They panted, bloodred tongues lolling out of their lips and enormous razor-sharp teeth on full show. The monsters wore thick coats of gleaming black fur, and their eyes glittered murderously in soft golden light.

River felt his soul leaving his mortal body at the sight of them. They could shred him to fine pieces and gnaw on his bones. Now both hounds were swarming Wolfram , growling and barking ,the sound scarier than Lighting of Heavenly Retribution. They were seconds away from sinking their teeth in to his face ,tearing it off his skull.

You will be remembered and missed ..brother

"Buttercup! Stop that!!" Wolfram giggled loudly as the two hounds licked his face ,wagging their tails in glee "It tickles !Sugarplum! "

Were you dropped on your head as an infant? Or did you learnt those horrendous naming skills later in life?

"Dont give weird names to my gaurdians "

River  turned his head to see a man behind the deluxe ebony table ,obscured by a tall pile of parchments .

If West god transformed the most majestic snow wolf in Whiolf to a human, he would resemble this man.

His skin was as pale as marble,specially against the dark surface of the furniture. His neatly braided hair seemed to have gone snow white from stressing over his brother's shenanigans. The West king's eyes resembled Wolfram's pale gray ones, just few shades colder and expressionless.

This was Kaizer Schulz , King of West, Patriach of Devine Beasts.

River could see how accurate Wolfram's description is . The man, indeed looked like he suffered from facial paralyzis.

His back was as straight as a brush and the regal crown of West sat on his pale hair, gleaming in dark blue gems and white silver. His pale lips were tightly pressed together in a perpetual frown.

Sir  ,are you saving your smiles for after retirement?

Wolfram rose to his feet,still giggling .
"Hi to you too,Kai "

The hounds circled around Wolfram , wagging their tails,appearantly demanding to be petted. When they noticed River standing at the door they sniffed at him.River held his breath ,trying his best to make himself invincible .

The air crackled with tension as the hounds, playful just seconds ago, transformed into snarling beasts. River, frozen in place, felt the weight of their hostility pierce through him. The room echoed with the menacing cacophony  of growls and bared teeth.

River felt faint.

"Huh, thats weird " Wolfram knelt and petted their heads in attempt to calm them. "They are usually very sweet"

Please take Sugarplum and Buttercup away before I become their good boy treat.

"Sit"

At that single firm command from Kaizer, the hounds sat obediantly, like being pulled down by invincible strings. River let a shaky breath out that he was holding in anticipation  .

Kaizer Schulz regarded him , the gaze chilling River to his bones. "I dont believe we've been introduced "

River bowed as low as he possibly could go. This was a man not to be messed with "This lowly one is named River"

"He is my friend " Wolfram patted River with his fan.

Kaizer put away his quill aside "I welcome you to West " his voice held no welcome at all. "You will be escorted to your room. There are matters to be discussed in private "

River was about to step back when Wolfram held his sleeve "He is a witness "

Kaizer silently stared at him.

"So you dont kill me "

Kaizer's frown deepened if possible "I can kill you both "

Brother, keep me out of your family drama.

There was a soft knock on the doors and the muffled voice of the gaurd . Soon the eboy door opened and a face peeped in .

It was boy , around 5 years old .

The child was blessed with large innocent gray eyes that could melt the coldest hearts. He had a touseled mop of soft black hair and his chubby cheeked face excuded pure irresistible cuteness.

He exploded in to fit of giggles and scurried in to the room on his tiny feet , his darling little dark blue robe fluttering around him. He latched on to Wolfram's legs ,like miniature version of him.

Did you forget to mention that you had a child when you were courting me ?

Kaizer sighed, exasperated . "Who let you in ? "

Wolfram picked the child up, making him break in to a new bout of toothless giggles. "Did Emby missed uncle ?"

Emby nodded shyly , nibbling on his fist . Wolfram kissed his plump cheek "uncle missed Emby ,too"

Kaizer looked extremely displeased with this adorable interruption. He sat at his table, glaring at the tiny creature .

The door opened once again .

River felt his eyes widen as he saw the man step in.He knew it was impolite, yet he couldn't help but stare.

He wore the signs of being an extremely handsome man once. His bright eyes spoke of his spirited temperament .

But now his simple white robe hung loosely around his frail frame. His pallid skin clung firmly to protruding bones .The wrist and hand that grasped his walking cane was nearly skeletal . The man was a walking  bag of skin and bones. His sunken eyes betrayed weariness and the gauntness of his face hinted at the toll of illness.

"Im so sorry , Kai "  his voice sounded strained " Emby ran in , I couldnt catch him "

The Western king rose from his seat and approached him quickly. River was certain that it was a trick of light but it seemed like the ice  in his eyes was thawed at the arrival of the sick man .

"Einar ! "  he opened the door , which Einar was holding open with great effort. "Why arent you resting ? "

Einar ? Einar who ?

"Ive rested plenty " he joked "Wolfy , you are back !"

"Finally ! Someone is happy to see me" Wolfram rolled his eyes at his brother.

"Where is Narin?" Kaizer carried a comfortable  wooden chair to the door and beckoned for him to sit "Why are you running around with Ember ? Where are the maids ?"

"I was bored" Einer whined .His cheery disposition stood in stark contrast to his appearance.

The two hounds who sat motionless until now approached him ,wagging their tails . They  clung to his lap and whimpered like two clingy children begging for his  attention .Einar petted their ears as he smiled across the room.

" I tried teaching him the difference between a long sword and a scimiter"  he coughed a little . "And he took off. Little pest"

The child giggled again in Wolfram's arms .

"You are Einar Ashford?"  River asked in disbelief.

Everyone turned to look at him in question . Einer smiled and nodded "That would be me . Who is this ?"

"You wrote Art of Warcraft ?  And Illustrated catalogue of  Weaponary ?"

Einer gave him a sheepish smile and scratched his head. " I see you have read my silly little books "

River felt like crying . This was Einar Ashford ! His idol! The man who inspired him to learn design and forge weaponary !

Author has something to say

Please comment your ideassssss. And dont forget to voteeeeee.

Fun facts about this book!

* The original idea was about a Royal family on a mountain top who had an army of beasts that fight for them. So Schulz were main characters ! Later as the plot grew and they got demoted to side characters with mc vibes.

*Author originally wanted to write a sci fi , post apocalyptic story where the main character was named Ember Whitlock .

*Author takes a whole day to complete a single chapter

*Author has never written a story with this many side characters. She is very insecure about them.

*Auther predicts the story will run upto 100+ chapters

*Author strongly advices against checking out her other work. They are very cringey. The reason author does not delete them is because she likes to go back to them to see if she has improved.

*Author lives in constant fear that she will forget her own plot twists and little crumbs of plot . She fears plot holes so much.

R

aven Alistair