Hegemony in the North ( Agar of Nalat ).

 " I still think it's too early for him , " Vivian started , sitting cross legged in the arm chair opposite the one priestess Agar was on . The plump cushions held under the smooth leather of the chair eased her back , subtly relieving her fatigued muscles of the long day she had had. She reached out for the smoking hot cup of coffee on the table placed between them and quietly enjoyed a sip of it.

 " If you gave them the instructions that I left you with , he will be brought here . If that doesn't happen , then just know that our plan has failed , " Agar who had been drinking her coffee all along now put the cup down to cool off her mouth . The stinging sensation of a hot drink always gave her a kick she somehow had never gotten over in her exceptionally long life.

 Vivian remembered something and started smiling , " He tried to have you arrested . "

 On hearing that , Agatha chuckled softly , " Well I was already filthy guilty of the crimes . And besides , he had no way of knowing that we are on his side ."

 Vivian took another sip of the coffee , " I never expected to hear a priestess say the word filthy , but now I see the way things are . You are not angry or vengeful of him , it's the exact opposite , he makes you proud."

 At this , Agatha could not help beaming up with a smug smile . The two were in an empty underground room lit up only by four wall mounted torch lights that kept flickering from time to time with the repeated slow sway of the air currents . The walls were not plastered , unprofessionally abandoned by their masons once the rocks and cement took hold . The massive network of spider webs hanging from these walls and the ceiling as well was confirmation that the place was rarely ever used . Despite this , Vivian and Agatha felt quite comfortable and right at home.

 " But I still insist that you don't get carried away with him . We must continue to remain alert , " Vivian quickly insisted after unintentionally praising Agatha .

 Agatha had now finished her coffee and felt a little disappointment seeing that her moment of hot-drink ecstasy was over. She took a moment to sigh before answering Vivian with a question of her own , " Are you trying to ask me what kind of person he was before I brought him into our world ?"

 " You're right on the money priestess , " Vivian grinned , sliding her cup of coffee over to Agatha .

 " And if you thought bribing me with your drink would work then you are very correct . But when I finish telling you , I will ask you to do something for me. It will concern the prince and I need your word that you will do it , " she said seizing the cup for herself .

" You have my word , " Vivian sat upright and got attentive.

 Agar started narrating ,

 " When I got into power , this kingdom was under the rule of Prince Lan's grandfather. He was a harsh and greedy man whose only motivation was to enrich his family even if it meant bleeding the kingdom dry . When he died , a succession dispute arose between his two firstborn twins . The law did not have a remedy to this and so the church was called in to mediate the problem. I chose to back Prince Lan's father as the next ruler because he was known to be kind , gentle and compassionate. At the time all I knew was that the kingdom needed someone who was understanding and could listen to the cries of the people . 

 Everything was going on just fine till I came to realize that the man was nothing more than a weak pushover . He was unable to hold his own against the other nobles , and allowed them to walk over him. It did not take too long for the other kingdoms to realize that our house was not in order and they leapt at the opportunity to exploit us for resources and political dominance. I knew that if we continued on in that path , our kingdom would collapse and one of the Great Five kingdoms would come and colonize us.

 To fix the problem , I turned to what I knew best. Divination is a secret art passed down amongst the women of the House of Nalat . Since childhood my mother had trained me hard in the arts , making me a master at the age of thirty . At forty , I was already proficient in the rarest of all divination arts , human reincarnation. 

 My plan was to use this skill to change who the Prince was by giving him the soul of another person. I needed a subject who was either dead or yet to be born. Knowing that I was only going to get one shot at this , I decided to look for a soul that will come to exist in the far future . It was the better option because on top of having the knowledge of our time , this person would know of things that are yet to be discovered . 

 Eventually I found a man who met and exceeded all of my expectations , a political figure of the future named Boris Web . He was the ruler of the most powerful kingdom of his time , keeping it at the top with sheer brilliance , foresight and ruthlessness. 

 The person inside the prince's body right now may look kind and easy going on the surface, but his inside contains a darkness that goes so deep none of us can dare comprehend . In my divination , I saw a very disturbing vision of him . Having accumulated so much power for his kingdom , other nations became envious of him and started demanding he step down and the capacities of his kingdom be reduced. All the kingdoms of the world came together under a united front and threatened to wage a world war on his kingdom. He did not step down.

 After that , all I saw were entire continents engulfed in flames , and he on top of a flying vehicle cruising above it all. He watched it all with a blank look on his face , his silver eyes taking in every detail without blinking. He was what monsters fear , an entity so dead inside it was beyond darkness itself . 

 But then I saw a woman stand next to him as he gazed upon the carnage . The moment she hugged him , his face came to life and he returned her smile . I could sense the strong connection she had to him and knew right there and then that she was the key to the heart of the monster. 

 When I finally summoned him at the wedding , I felt that same connection overflowing around him trying very hard to find her . "

 " You want me to find the person who can control Lan Montreal ?" Vivian asked after noticing that the pause Agar had taken was a que for her to engage in the conversation.

 " When he eventually conquers this world , she will be the only thing that stands between him and the possibility of him rampaging all the other kingdoms to dust , " Agar spoke , her words sounding more like a foreshadowed prophecy that would inevitably come to pass.