Conquering His Cold Heart

The Northrend empire was a long standing nation with a rich history. For centuries they were one of the foremost leading countries on the Yangmir continent, housing vast riches, diverse land, high population and a terrifying military. Few could hold a candle to the many regiments that guarded its borders. Their neighbours unable to compete directly with Northrend chose to ally with them instead.

Trade alliances, non-aggression pacts as well as the occasional defensive alliance almost guaranteed the empire's security, at least directly.

Each and every one of the empire's allies even those that they were closely intimate with desired on some level to supplant the mighty empire that had reigned over the continent for so long. Their spies constantly siphoned mountains of intelligence that allowed them to keep abreast of the empire's state secrets and use them to their advantage.

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Therefore despite Northrend developing its riches and truly entering what could be considered an economic golden age its current internal political strife was leading to an unseen and devasting opportunity that may very well see the once mighty empire crumble and become a mere shell of what it once was.

While Frost and his Dungeon continued to grow and develop Northrend was being torn apart by the actions of its crown prince and second prince. These two brothers held no love for one another in fact hatred was all that remained.

The two of them or their subordinates would argue vehemently during court sessions, disparaging each other's actions and doing their very best to stop any agendas the other side had. The court was constantly divided in two as was the military. Those who sided with the crown prince and those that sided with the second prince.

Of course there was a third group, the neutral party but they were small in number and weighed little on the future outcome but from the seat of the emperor it was this small and insignificant group that truly cared about Northrend.

While Randolph and Sedrick did their best to pull members of the nobility and government into their circle it was this small group that cleaned up their messes and enabled the empire to keep running despite the carnage the two sides wrought. This small group of officials were the only ones actually doing their jobs properly and for that the emperor was not only grateful but filled with guilt.

Randolph and Sedrick fought in court disrupting important proceedings, they fought in the dark leading to a sharp increase in crime as well as deaths among the officials and nobility. More than one or two entire clans had been annihilated, with not even the children being spared.

Military leaders and garrisons chose to follow their preferred prince, ignoring the needs of the nation as whole to the point that it jeopardised the safety of the citizens.

The war of the princes is a dire time with every generation even Franz's was no exception. He fought with his brothers for the throne and even had to kill two of them but even, so he was starting to find the actions of his own children deplorable. In his opinion it was as though they cared not for the nation or its people, all they cared about was sitting on the throne regardless of the cost.

As time passed Franz could see his own influence waning as more and more officials migrated to the princes. Very soon the situation would grow beyond his reach and the son would supplant the father. This was a natural event, an inevitability but upon seeing the situation with clear eyes especially the true face of his eldest son Franz felt that he could no longer allow this to pass.

One son had the support of the old and established noble families, he engaged willing with the dark and had committed great crimes but there was always a clear agenda. Whereas the other originally had his full support, the backing of the emperor and the long established ministers. A son that was once destined to lead the empire into a new age of glory, an easy passing of the fabled torch.

All he had to do was live up to expectations and the throne would be his.

Sedrick the second prince was never really favoured, and boy did he know it. His father never seeing his potential warped his mind and personality. He wanted the throne, to finally prove that he was superior to his elder brother in father's eyes, and he was willing to do whatever was necessary to ensure that outcome and to be honest after looking without bias Franz didn't blame him.

His son was dealt a losing hand from the start, so he had to take extreme measures in order to win.

Sedrick pulled the oldest noble families to his side; they would support him in the race for the throne and in turn would be rewarded with even greater authority. With their deep pockets and long standing connections Sedrick was able stand somewhat evenly with Randolph. To surpass him however he needed more.

His elder brother was skilled at masking his true personality and thanks to their father he was born with a golden spoon in his mouth. He never had to fight for support, to risk his own future to ensure their loyalty. He had it easy but even, so he was still capable thus Sedrick failed time and time again to draw him down from his pedestal. That changed however after Frost openly threatened him.

The impenetrable exterior started to crack, and Sedrick wasn't one to let go of such an opportunity. So despite being assaulted on all sides by the Furano household, Randolph's allies and even their father to some degree he recklessly went after his brother's image. A decision that paid off in spades.

The war for the throne began and Randolph lost the protective bubble their father had placed around him, now it was truly a level playing field.

Originally Sedrick had a plan that would improve his legitimacy for the throne, a plan that was suggested by and agreed upon by the old noble families that supported him. Sedrick was the second born and had the same mother as the crown prince thus there was nothing he could do to change his natural standing in the pecking order, at least not naturally.

However there was an old tradition, a fable that involved the early years of the Northrend empire from over a millennia ago.

'If a member of royalty could command the loyalty and respect of a true blooded ice phoenix then the throne would be in safe hands under their reign.' It was said that the founder of the empire was close to an ice phoenix, so close that he decided to use their image as the symbol for his empire thus establishing a link between the royal family and ice phoenixes.

If one could create a bond with a true blooded ice phoenix they would be seen as a second coming of the first emperor.

Sedrick and the noble families behind him desperately scoured the land in search of such a creature but came up empty. An ice phoenix especially a true blooded one was very likely to be an S-rank monster, not something that could be easily handled by Sedrick and his subordinates.

One would have to travel to the core regions of the Glacial mountains to even think about finding such mythical creatures.

Since that was a bust they went after the next best thing. Through interacting with the underworld and a certain slaver they managed to track down two phoenix kin with relatively pure bloodlines. With the aid of the church of Light's slave crest they planned to forcibly use these two to support Sedrick's legitimacy to the throne.

Unfortunately they failed to take into account the actions of a recently born Dungeon core. Their hard work in finding them and their efforts to keep their identities an absolute secret, hidden from the eyes of their enemies went up in smoke the moment Frost aided Leo Furano in taking down his uncle.

With Frost's actions Sedrick's plans had to change, the two phoenix kin would pose a substantial threat to him if they ever fell into Randolph's hands. Sedrick and the nobles families supporting him thus attempted to assassinate Frost, their master killing three birds with a single stone. But again that plan went awry, Frost was too well protected.

Emperor Franz understood the situation after an in depth investigation but failed to uncover enough evidence to convict his second son of any crime. In retrospect however it did reveal something he was blind to for so many years.

Randolph was not the man he thought he was. His eldest son who was always the one he was most proud of and who he envisioned as his future successor, who he had protected and trusted was now akin to a cancer in his eyes. The young man that held so much promise started repeatedly failing after his encounter with Frost.

Under the attacks of Sedrick and his own attempts to at least give his second son a decent opportunity Randolph revealed his true nature, his incompetence, his pettiness, his complete disregard for those below him.

His eldest son had a superiority complex that could not be challenged, any attempt to do so would bring down his unbridled wrath. There was his way or death. Randolph had been getting his way for so long that this characteristic never really showed up. Now however it was all he could see.

Even his wife who doted on all her children as evenly as she could despite their faults struggled to recognise the man as the same boy that used to chase after her.

The war of princes brought out the worst in people, hearts would be shattered, images torn apart and betrayals a common occurrence. But in the end a necessary part of any empire. The die was already cast, Franz was powerless to stop it no matter how much wanted to.

A choice between two evils, the question was which one would do the least harm.