Thousand years have passed since the fall of the Royaume Empire.

In the Heart of the Ject Kingdom, In the rear side of castle Holt, there were hundreds of small houses reserved for visiting dignitaries, servants and low ranking members. These humble homes would hardly ever attract one's attention because of their simple and unadorned facades and measly sizes.

However, today In the courtyard of one of these houses stood four men. Of course seeing four men stand in a courtyard still does not warrant the attention of anyone, however, what was amazing about these four was the fact that they were unequivocally the most powerful men in the Ject Kingdom.

The road outside the small house was currently being occupied by at least two hundred knights of the royal guard and all the roofs of all the small houses around the area were occupied by archers. This intense gathering of soldiers caused the area to feel almost like a battlefield.However, the atmosphere outside the courtyard of the small house could only be considered mild compared to the atmosphere inside the courtyard.

The first man, who appeared to be in his late fifties, wore a golden shirt with similar golden trousers. His hair was blue almost like ocean with a tint of green which contrasted against his blue hair. His face was pale and his jawline defined. His eyes, however, were the most captivating feature of his face with their jade green color which gave people a sense of familiarity.

Slightly to the man's right was a large, muscular man wearing full body armor with two giant swords crossed on his back. He was at least half a head taller than the first man, and his eyes although jade green as well, were far sharper and more fierce than the first man. If the first man's appearance made one feel calm, then this man's appearance made people feel true dread in their hearts.

The third man stood to the left of the golden man, but unlike the first two he seemed more amiable. He wore a white robe that glittered in the sun which gave him the feeling of a scholar or doctor of some sort. His eyes were obstructed by his long dark hair which went all the way to his shoulders almost covering his entire face.

Finally the fourth man stood behind the other three. He was an old man with short gray hair and a short but stubble gray beard. This old man almost seemed like a shadow, his eyes were closed and he stood slouching with a dark cane in his left arm and a thick book in his right.

All four men stood in that small courtyard motionless, so much so that one could easily mistake them for four statues. They were all staring at the small wooden door of the house in front of them as if waiting for a judgment from a god. As they stood there, they exuded an air of royalty around them, invisible to the naked eye but enough to make one's heart tremble and their head lowered. They stood there for minute upon minutes with each second feeling like an eternity and no one daring to make a sound.

Ever so often, as the men stood there, a shrill scream full of agony would come from within the door. Normally it would be ignored without a second thought, but as the four men stood there motionless, each scream was like thunder and each scream made them flinch.

After half an hour of a soundless sermon only interrupted by the occasional scream, the small door of the house creaked and slowly opened. At that moment the all four men looked up. And as they kept staring at the slowly opening door, they felt time grind to a bloody halt. But eventually, after what felt like an eternity, the door fully opened and a small maid walked out.

As the small maid approached the four men, one could notice a bright smile on her a face. As the golden man looked at the maids smile, he felt his heart tighten, and he slightly trembled. As soon as she stepped out the golden man almost lashed at her:

"Speak" His voice was melodious but firm and held tremendous amount of authority, but one could still notice the excitement in his voice.

The maid simply kept walking towards them slowly until she was at least three feet away from the golden man. When she was certain she was within speaking distance she spoke:

"It is a boy your Majesty"

The golden man felt euphoria spread throughout his body. How many years has he waited and waited but with no success. But now he finally had a son. After forty years on the throne, three queens, and dozens of concubines, he finally had a son. His joy was visible on his face as he felt the weight of the world disappear from his shoulders.

The man immediately walked towards the residence in a hurried but dignified manner which further emphasized his air of royalty. While he was walking towards the small house, millions of thoughts swarmed his mind and he couldn't help but show a jubilant, bright smile.

The golden man was King Edmund Holt, the thirty first king of the Ject kingdom. He was known throughout the Ject kingdom for his fairness as well as his kindness. The other three kingdoms also recognized his ability to rule and his clear-minded and diplomatic approach to conflicts. During the forty or so years of his reign, aside from minor border skirmishes, there has not been any major wars.

However, Edmund was often criticized for his inability to produce an heir. He was called the aimless king behind his back and most of the influential people in the royal court starting currying favor with his younger brother, Robert Holt, whom they believed was destined to the next king. This caused Edmund no small amount of stress, but today he has finally achieved his ultimate goal. he finally had a son.

While engrossed in his thoughts, Edmund found himself standing besides a bed with a pale tired lady in it. The thing that caught Edmund's attention, however, was not the lady but the crying little bundle in her arms. He looked at that tiny bundle as if he was looking at some godly treasure and his eyes showed a small glint as they started watering.

After barely managing to collect his thoughts, Edmund reached towards the little gray bundle and almost tore it from the lady's arms. The young lady was ghostly pale with beads of sweat rolling of her forehead and one could not help but feel a hint of sympathy for her, but Edmund payed her no attention for his mind was warped by the little baby in his arms.

Holding the child, Edmund felt incomparable happiness. He looked at the child with his eyes glittering as he saw strands of the Holt family's traditional blue hair on the baby's head. He felt like he could almost fly, and perhaps he would have tried to if he was not afraid he might break little treasure. Behind Edmund stood the other three men. The armored warrior and the white robed man both had brilliant smiles on their faces, only the dark robed old man was stoic as always, and as if to bring Edmund out of his daze, the warrior spoke:

"Brother, what will you name him"

Edmund hearing his younger brother's inquiry was startled. He had been so overwhelmed by the happiness in his heart that he forgot to think about a name for the child. after a short moment of thinking, he suddenly had a spark of insight, and with a smile and a proud said sound he announced:

"Wesley, His name will be Wesley Holt."

As soon as they heard the words out of Edmund's mouth, the armored warrior and the white-robed man, both instantly frowned and the brightness on their faces turned ghastly dark, only the black-robed old man remained the same.

The name Wesley was not an uncommon name. However, in the known history of the world there has only been one Wesley who stood above anyone else who shared his name. That was Wesley Royaume, the founder of the Royaume Empire, its first emperor and the greatest conqueror in the history of the world.

This was the worst possible name for a child from a family who tried for the last thousand years to distance themselves from any association with the Royaume Empire. However, as they were about the voice their objection to the name, the dark robed old man walked forward towards Edmund.

The moment he was next to Edmund, the dark book in his right hand started floating in the air. This was an amazing sight because while mages are not too uncommon, they still only constituted about a millionth of the whole population making them rare enough. As for this seemingly feeble old man, he is considered the most powerful mage in the ject kingdom and some even argue the four kingdoms. He is monikered throughout the world as Rale the keeper.

The old man started writing something in the dark book that was still floating in the air and after a short while, he spoke in a soft voice:

"By giving him the Holt name, you now legitimize the child"

While his words shook the hearts of both the armored warrior and the white robed man, but they did not dare retort, so they simply shook their heads in resignation and tried their best to smile. Seeing that there were no objections, Edmund smiled and nodded his head not turning away from the baby in his arms.

..................In year 8134 of the Common Calendar, Wesley Holt was born...................