𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧

EXTRA: THE THRONE

ALEXEI VALKOV WAS BY no means perfect, especially not in his father's eyes. However, Alexei was the heir to his father's throne, groomed to be the perfect king from a young age.

He knew how to rule the way his father wanted, although he knew his father was a tyrant. He abused his power and manipulated the Lords and Ladies of Russia to do his bidding. He wanted to be able to help the suffering mages of Russia, but there was little he could do without King Vladmir Valkov watching his every step.

The thing was, Vladmir hated sharing power. Vladmir was power hungry, and would stop by no means to get the power he so "rightfully" deserved. Vladmir wasn't even a Valkov by blood, no that was his mother's right, the former Queen, Valerya Valkova, whom died by poisoning.

Everyone knew Vladmir murdered his mother, just nobody had the guts to speak up. This act was the first piece of firewood to fuel Alexei's anger towards the Great King Vladmir.

Vladmir killed anyone who dared stand in his way. During his rule, he killed members of several Houses in order to keep them under his thumb, and brought more bloodshed then one would see in war.

Alexei Valkov was tired and he wanted to avenge his mother and several others. And so the start of a rebellion was on the horizons.

THE HOUSE OF BELSKY had always been the House of Valkov's strongest ally, since the two houses had political marriages every few decades. The Valkovs and Belskys were the strongest Houses in the world, followed closely by the British House of Black and the American House of Sayre.

While the Valkovs had many people in their family and tended to intermarry with their own to keep the power, with a few odd ones out, the Belskys made several political marriages with other Houses in order to build their power, and always were allies of House Valkov, since the immense power of their magic were not somebody the Belskys wanted to cross.

The House of Belsky nearly called war on the Valkovs when the Lord of House Valkov murdered Valerya Valkova, but he murdered Demetri's father as well, bringing a frightened Demetri Belsky into power as the Head of House Belsky. Vladmir threatened to kill the rest of Demetri's family if Demetri didn't comply with his orders, and Demetri, being young and inexperienced, complied.

But as Demetri grew older, he realized that Vladmir wasn't the good king Demetri thought he was. Demetri was constantly forced to do things that violated his moral code, but with his family being threatened, Demetri had no choice but to continuously act as the King's executioner.

He was done and he would find a way to give his family freedom from the tyrant's rule Russia suffered from.

THE TWO MEMBERS OF the nobility, Prince Alexei Valkov and Lord Demetri Belsky, had first met when they were children. They had grown up in the Grand Valkovian Palace together, learning from the same tutors and in the same social circles.

However, the two could not be more different, as Alexei was more outgoing, a people person, while Demetri stayed in the shadows, observing others. Alexei preferred fists, while Demetri preferred words. The two, however, were suffering from the same problem in the form of King Vladmir Valkov.

A night of drunken confessions about their mutual hate of the tyrannical king, which brought them even closer. And so a small resistance was born, once again allying the Houses of Valkov and Belsky.

They were going to tear down the dictatorship of Vladmir Valkov, and bring Russia into a new era. One where they had freedom. Freedom was something that many heard of, but never had the taste of it.

Gathering forces weren't the easiest, but luckily, they had managed to rope Lady Walburga Black into the fold of their plans. Sure, she was only power-hungry for an alliance with the House of Valkov, but there was no denying she had connections, bringing in powerful wizards who could help them, since no Russian House would consider turning against the tyrant on the throne.

Vladmir Valkov would fall, if it was the last thing Alexei or Demetri did.