Greyhawk

* Prince
* 30s
* 50s

## [source]

**Greyhawk** was a prince of the Millennial Empire and Mountainsea’s father. He is the most favoured son of Empress Gelan.

After his failed invasion in Klandor, he became a prisoner of war who slowly fell in love with his captor, the guardian of the Azuresnow Shrine. In the end, Asa and Greyhawk married which would lead to Mounatinsea's destiny.

Not known to many, but he was previously a High Scholar of Soremburg codenamed: Sleeping Hawk.

## Overview

has been in Klandor for 20+ years [6;49]

The Land of New Heroes was really powerful, a number of experts hidden within its depths. Greyhawk had been a generational prodigy himself, but his landing force had been completely subdued in one engagement.

A middle-aged man slowly stepped out from where Richard had first looked, neatly trimmed beard and brimming with mature charm. One could tell at first glance that he must have been radiant in his youth, not losing to the elves despite being human. Looking at Richard turn back, he smiled and nodded before disappearing as quietly as he had come. 6;50

“… We have always been roughly balanced in terms of powerhouses, but in recent decades Norland has been producing a number of legends faster and faster. If this continues, we will be no match for them in less than a century. We are different from Lithgalen, we are much closer to Norland; so long as they wish to pay the price, the Norlanders can always send an army here.”

“My father really scared you.”

“Yes,” the elder admitted, “If not for your father’s expedition, we wouldn’t have realised our problems. An explorative force of a single prince of one of Norland’s three empires razed the first few tribes he came across with no issue. If not for us gathering all of our best forces and your mother subduing him personally, we would not have made it as far as we did. If all three empires join hands, they will completely overwhelm us.”

“My son-in-law is an amazing boy. My daughter’s nose has always been very powerful as well, I believe in her.”

The woman snorted, “As if she’s not my daughter.”

“Is she?” Greyhawk shook his head, “Would a mother allow her daughter’s life to be destroyed like this?”

## Plot

### **Invasion**

His powerful wife was always straightforward, leaving him to think about things while she solved issues with the most direct and violent method possible. The same had occurred during his attempted invasion of Klandor. His preparations had been flawless, but she had taken a hundred totem warriors and charged straight for the core of his troops and captured him.
One had to know that he’d had enough rune knights to kill her with one combined volley, but he had chosen to distribute two-thirds of them to his flanks. His core was indeed weak, but if he could last even a few minutes the wings would have wrapped around her small force and destroyed it. However, the trail of blood she left behind had shocked him beyond words as she appeared right before him in the blink of an eye, knocking him unconscious and capturing him.
The former prince had asked his new wife to explain her reasoning to him moments after he awoke, but her answer was such a simple one that he felt like slamming his head into the wall of his prison. She had charged at him simply because she’d felt like she could capture him, all of his strategy being destroyed at the hands of her intuition.
It was only when Mountainsea was born that Greyhawk understood that this both was and wasn’t something as simple as intuition. While not to as great an extent as Mountainsea, Asa was closely linked to the power of fate itself, being able to passively divine many things.
However, their enemies this time were the mysterious Scholars of Soremburg, a group of maniacs who believed they could control destiny. They weren’t the strongest faction in Norland, but they were certainly the most dangerous. As a former High Scholar himself, Greyhawk knew just how difficult this opponent could be.

### **Countering the Undercurrent**

In a valley not far from the Snow Cliff, a middle-aged man with greying hair was practising his swordsmanship under the morning sun. His skill with the blade wasn’t much to speak of, and without any bloodlust his moves simply looked like stunts, but he was repeating a small set of movements repeatedly to try and perfect them.

“Breakfast is ready,” a barbarian woman with toned musculature walked out from a nearby house, pausing as she saw the man’s face, “Hmm? Something on your mind?”

“Nothing,” the man laughed it off, “Just feel like some old friends will come knocking on our doors soon.”
The woman immediately frowned, bloodlust radiating from her body, “I can kill those annoying cretins this time, right?”
The man smiled and shook his head, “Rash as ever. They might just be planning for that, but… I guess this is why you’re stronger than me, you never worry about these things.”

This couple seemed content with their small house in the valley, but the woman was once known as the ruler of Klandor and the man was a former prince of Norland’s oldest empire. The two looked up in unison as birdcall rang through the sky, a common black hawk fleeing from a number of grey falcons that were hunting it. A few of its feathers fell off amidst its flight, with one being brought into the valley by the wind to land on one of the stone tables in the courtyard.

Greyhawk walked over and started examining the feather while Asa frowned at the side. It looked common to even the epic warrior, but Scholars of Soremburg could extract the information contained within. This enigma was what allowed the Scholars to communicate effectively.

“They want me to join the Castle again, and take up the position of a council member. They also want me to promise to take over the position of the castle lord in the future.”

“And if you disagree?” her expression turned icy cold, the entire valley freezing over as a result of her wrath.

“They’ll trap our daughter in Faelor forever.”

Asa inhaled sharply, shooting up into the sky while raising a whirlwind around her. Everything within a hundred metres of the house was levelled in an instant, but Greyhawk himself sat calmly in the middle of her rage with not even a hair lifting up. He motioned for her to calm down after a moment, but even as she grunted and returned to her seat, the distant eagle exploded into blood and flesh.

Greyhawk chuckled, “Our daughter carries the blood of the Beast God and has a grasp on fate itself. She isn’t someone those maniacs can touch, and she’s with Richard as well. We don’t have to worry.”

Asa nodded, “Mm, he’s strange. I can’t tell the direction of his destiny, even the Grand Shaman can’t.”

“He’s someone out of the grasp of destiny itself. I’m not certain if it’s a good or bad thing for Mountainsea to be with him, but it is what it is.”

“I don’t care as long as he treats her well. Right, how do we deal with the bastards?”

### **Nearing Final Battle**

Asa was an epic being, while Greyhawk with his now jet black hair was somewhat of a mystery even to Richard himself. The addition of the two would definitely be a huge boost in the battle against the reapers, but knowing what he did about the Prince’s background he simply couldn’t take on the risk.

Greyhawk flashed a dry smile, “I’ve come here for knowledge. The reapers hold many secrets of the universe.”

“Spoken like a true High Scholar,” Richard’s eyes narrowed.

“I know you want all Scholars dead. I was indeed in their order in the past, even a potential successor to the castle lord, but I have withdrawn and am a free individual. My thirst for knowledge is far more pure, the same as your desire for power.”

“Why did you leave?” Richard pressed on.

Asa frowned at this insistence, snorting as she pulsed her bloodlust into an aura. However, Richard smiled calmly as a red glow shot out from his own body, crushing her aura immediately before fading away. The barbarian’s eyes went wide in surprise; his killing intent actually surpassed her own! How could someone so young have more combat experience than her?

Greyhawk allowed the tiny contest to play out before tapping his wife’s hand, calming her down as he turned back to Richard, “I understand why you are so resentful; I would be the same. Of course, I have my own ways to deal with them, but that doesn’t affect you. I left Soremburg because I found something more important than chasing the root of existence, something more meaningful.”

The Prince lifted Asa’s hand as he said this, his gentle expression immediately melting the heart of the cold warrior as she pulled him in for a hug. Richard found himself speechless at the sight, but after a moment of consideration he decided that their involvement would be a benefit to Faelor. The two would need no support, capable of hunting down reaper squadrons all on their own. He would only need to assign messengers to them.

### **Extradivine Items**

Richard’s heart started racing with the very first item he took out of Greyhawk’s bag; it was a fragment of a fallen star, extremely useful when crafting spatial equipment. He quickly estimated it to be worth about 200 reward points, and this was only one of more than a dozen items!

The next item was a set of bones that contained the soul of an ancient beast, usable for the extraction of a magic soul to form the basis of a saint rune. With his gifts as a soul hunter, he would even be able to analyse the basis of that entire soul, crafting into countless smaller ones. More than half a dozen other items were quite similar, and following them were special herbs and ores that he wasn’t as good at evaluating. The only thing he could confirm was that they were full of energy.

It was when he picked up what resembled a red ruby that he was immediately pulled by what felt like a primordial conscient, almost enchanting him for a moment. He focused and examined the thing closely, finding the silhouettes of fierce beasts flickering within. Activating the Field of Truth, he found that most of the laws defining this crystal were so foggy that they were clearly beyond his current abilities. From what he could tell, the only laws more complicated were the ones that governed Sharon’s library.

He gasped with admiration, “Laws that exceed mere planes… No, there are some fundamental laws of the void in this. Just what is it?”

Greyhawk smiled, “A drop of blood from the Beast God.”

### **Entering the Battle**

Richard chuckled at the joke; if the duo had truly come here with good intentions, his prospects in this war would improve greatly. It would also act as a huge deterrent against any schemes and conspiracies. However, the request for points quickly drained him of all emotion, “Fifteen thousand points, and we can add to the list immediately. I’ll have someone send you the weapons.”

“15,000? Does that mean I can buy a full version of Midren? It should make me near unkillable!”

“Hmm…” Richard frowned, “Technically? But the requirement on capacity is too great, Your Highness; I do not believe you can use it as you are. If you were to try, you would be paralysed the moment you activate it.”

“What?” Greyhawk was stunned, “Even I can’t wear it?”

“Not even you.”

“Err… Then who exactly can deal with this rune beyond sainthood?”

Richard pointed at Asa, “She can manage it, but she wouldn’t be able to use any other runes.”

The Prince started stroking his short beard, “So that’s why you put them on offer one by one. Those people who get a few won’t let go even if they can’t wear it. They’ll just think of ways to increase their capacity again and again. But then, isn’t it only obvious that an epic being would be suited to a rune beyond grade 5?”

### **Lithgalen**

ichard set out and inspected the ships before beginning his journey towards Lithgalen. The Millennial Empire had come through on its promise of envoys as well; in addition to Greyhawk, he was surprised to find Princess Mina coming along. It was a little annoying to have someone so frail wanting to come to Lithgalen, but he didn’t complain.
Greyhawk was a very useful companion. Even Richard had to admit that a former Scholar was of great help. This was the same reasoning he had given himself for keeping Raymond alive at first, but despite the unfortunate turn of events he now knew just how much of a boon that was. Had everything with the soul repair project not gone awry, the broodmother would have succumbed to the reapers immediately.

## Abilities

As a legendary mage, he optimized his battle prowess depending on which opponent he fought. Greyhawk wasn’t as ordinary as he appeared on the surface, possessing strength close to the epic realm that would allow him to tie down four legends alone.

Greyhawk was fighting like the standard legendary mage, constantly blinking around, strengthening his ally, cursing his opponents, and bombarding them with high-level magic. It was all textbook, but his casting speed and barrier penetration were just frightening. He routinely managed to slow some of the princes down by as much as 30%, giving Waterflower the chance to slash at them and retreat.

## References

1. ↑ Book 9, Chapter 52
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Book 9, Chapter 51
3. ↑ Book 9, Chapter 70
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Book 9, Chapter 71
5. ↑ Book 9, Chapter 87
6. ↑ Book 9, Chapter 97
7. ↑ Book 9, Chapter 96