Chapter 21: War Comes Back

Everything was falling apart around Elincia. Whatever feeble optimism she had felt a week ago had proven unfounded, treacherous even. Once again, Crimea was beset by the scourge of war.

It made no sense, none of it. Lekain's strange demand during his visit three days earlier? Nonsensical. His insistence to start a war over it? Positively insane. If he had wanted war from the beginning, why the charade with the treaty and the blood? Madness.

The ravens of Kilvas ravaging the eastern provinces, burning and pillaging without restraint and killing all who opposed them? Not much of a surprise in and on itself, seeing how King Naesala's greed for gold was legendary. But him refusing to defect from Begnion, even after being offered double the price the Empire paid him just so he would leave Crimea alone? That was against all rational self-interest.

And worst of all, Daein. Like a swarm of black ants marching across the Riven Bridge, they had re-enacted the invasion from three years ago, with no rhyme or reason as to why. Was King Ashnard's son out for revenge? Was Daein, too, on the payroll of Begnion? Was it some kind of religious crusade led by the 'Maiden of Dawn'? There was no way to know. The only thing Elincia knew was that most of Delbray was already under control of the invaders.

There was no way to relieve Delbray, or to aid the people under attack by the ravens, for the Begnion Central Army was still waiting just beyond the border – waiting for Geoffrey to withdraw even a small portion of his strength, so they could surge out from behind the walls of Flaguerre and crush the defenders with superior numbers.

Kilvas in the east, Daein in the northeast, and Begnion ready to strike in the south. That was the predicament Elincia found herself in. Within three days, the damage done to Crimea had already exceeded that of the Ludveck Rebellion. The nobles, particularly those whose lands were being affected by the invasion, were up in arms against the queen, calling her ill-prepared and incompetent. Hundreds, if not thousands of people had been killed, and that was before a major battle had even been fought.

But in spite of all this, Elincia had to face the onslaught of despair that was threatening to overwhelm her, had to stand strong, even as things fell apart around her – because there was nobody else who could. Who would she entrust Crimea to? Alm or one of his cronies? Not unless they dragged her cold, limp body off the throne.

The knowledge that it was up to her, and her alone, to save Crimea, was perhaps the one thing that helped Elincia through the first three, dreadful days of this war without losing herself to despair. During that time, she had done what little she could do to soften the savage strikes under which her country was trembling.

She had instructed the magistrates of Melior to accept any and all refuges from the east, so that they could at least save their lives, if not their homes and crops and livestock. She had also arranged for enough foodstuff from the western provinces to be brought into the capital – the Duke of Albore, a cold-hearted miser, as well as the despicable Duke Alm himself had agreed to help, though both of them had made it clear that they expected compensation in the future. Let them worry about the future, Elincia thought – she had to worry about the present.

She had sent missives to Gallia and even Phoenicis for help, hoping that King Caineghis saw the danger of a Begnion-occupied Crimea, hoping that King Tibarn's hate for Naesala outweighed his hate for her. None of them had answered yet, and Elincia knew that the chances of either laguz nation rushing to her aid were slim. But it had to be tried, even if the answer was only a regretful shrug in case of Gallia, or a contemptuous laugh in case of Phoenicis. Pride meant nothing to Elincia now that the very existence of her country was at stake.

And even before supplicating Gallia and Phoenicis, she had sent for the one best hope remaining to her – the one who had fought for her when nobody else had dared, who had toppled kingdoms in his wake, and whose very name would strike fear into the hearts of those attacking Crimea...

"Your Highness!" A member of the palace guard pushed through the door into throne room without knocking, for protocol had little meaning in times of crisis. He sounded excited, almost elated, and he was bringing the first piece of good news in three days.

"Sir Ike has arrived! The Greil Mercenaries are outside the city!"

I knew he would come! Elincia thought and rose from the throne. "Send him to me immediately!"

"He is already on his way," the guard announced proudly. "I thought it would be unnecessary to ask you if you would see him."

"And you were right," Elincia said, happy that someone other than her had dared to take the initiative for once, even if it was only in such a small matter. "We have no time to lose, after all." The guard left the throne room, proud to have been praised by his queen, and Elincia awaited Ike's arrival with growing impatience. It was a bit frustrating to depend on him and his mercenaries once again, but there was no helping things – and of all people, Ike was least likely to take advantage of her dire situation. The fact that he had brought his men with him told her that he would help, and defer questions of payment until after the country was saved.

When Ike finally arrived, perhaps ten minutes after the guard's announcement, he found Elincia calm and composed. She quickly explained the situation to him, sparing none of the disheartening details, and he agreed to fight in the defense of Crimea.

"Now the question becomes: Where do we go?" Ike asked. He was standing before Elincia, who had risen from the throne and met him below the stairs so that she would not tower over him like an authority figure. He looked as if he was ready to move out at any moment, the large sword at his side the only thing he needed to fight. "Reinforce Geoffrey and try to attack Begnion head-on? Chase King Kilvas out of your lands? Or go up against Daein again?"

"Geoffrey has assured me that he can keep the Empire out of our borders, or at least make any attempt so costly that they would lose half their army in the process," Elincia said. "Yours is a comparably small, elite force. You can make more of a difference elsewhere."

"Agreed." Ike nodded. "The ravens, then? They are closer than Daein and are wreaking more havoc."

"That is true," Elincia said, "but they are also far more mobile than you. They can retreat and attack somewhere outside your reach, and be gone again before you've caught up. You could slow them down, but in the meantime, the Daein army would make its way to Melior while it is almost completely undefended. Kilvas won't be able to take the capital, not without heavy armor, which they don't have. Daein, on the other hand, could."

"So we will ignore the raven tribe and halt Daein's advance," Ike nodded. "That's probably the best idea, although it will mean more damage to the land in the short term."

"It can't be helped," Elincia said bitterly. "Besides, I've grown quite used to choosing the lesser of two evils and living with it."

"The two of us really need to talk," Ike said, his voice suddenly rife with concern, as it had been during the negotiations about Leanne's release. "You can tell me about your problems, and your fears."

"Right now, my problems and fears center around the various armies trying to destroy Crimea!" Elincia snapped. Ike, of course, was not impressed by her outburst.

"I didn't mean right now, of course," he said. "But after this is over..."

"After this is over!" Only Ike could make victory appear so certain, defeat so out of the question... but Elincia could not share his optimism without reservations. "Either of us may be dead after this is over! Perhaps both."

"That is possible," Ike conceded dismissively, as if he was acknowledging the possibility of something as severe as a sudden rain shower. "But I don't believe it. We both know how to survive, you and I." He grinned. "Also, you don't have to yell at me. My hearing is fine."

"I... I yelled?" Elincia frowned. "I suppose I did." She sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, Ike, but as you can imagine, this situation is taking its toll on me."

"You've been through worse," Ike said simply. It was a very Ike-like thing to say, Elincia found.

"I suppose I have," she said with a cautious smile. "But that doesn't mean I should have to go through this every couple of years."

"If I understand the situation right, I am partially to blame for this," Ike admitted. "My company participated in the war against the Empire, and if not for that, the Central Army would never have been mobilized."

"That is true," Elincia said, satisfied that Ike was not denying his responsibility. "However, the damage is done, and berating you won't help Crimea." Although she knew that Ike could take harsher criticism than this without overreacting, she decided to leave it at that – time was too precious to waste for dwelling on past mistakes.

"Let's get back on topic," Elincia said. "Which would be Daein's army."

"How strong is their invasion force?" Ike asked. "They just fought a war of liberation against Begnion. I don't know much about the details, but their army can't be that large, since Begnion pretty much kept them demilitarized."

"You're correct," Elincia said. "Their numbers are much smaller than during the war three years ago. But so are Crimea's... not to mention that Daein has a new supreme commander."

"The 'Maiden of Dawn'," Ike said. "We've had a run-in with her back in Begnion."

"You did?" Elincia asked in surprise. She had never been interested in details about the war between the laguz alliance and the Empire, but perhaps that had been a mistake. "So Daein was supporting Begnion even back then?"

"Looks like it. They tried to cut off our escape route after we lost against General Zelgius. They failed, but they inflicted heavy losses on a Gallian regiment."

"So it is true what they say about her. She is supposed to be a formidable tactician."

"Well, we did beat them in the end... even though they fielded the Black Knight against us." Ike frowned deeply. "To be honest, I wasn't really that surprised to find him alive. It turned out that he had been fighting for Daein earlier."

"The Black Knight?" Elincia could not hide her surprise. But that means Betram was wrong! Unless... was Zelgius crazy enough to don his black armor and fight for Daein while abandoning his own army? The warp powder would have enabled him to do just that, but... it seems totally insane.

"His armor had lost his blessings somehow," Ike mused. "So even if he's with the invasion force, we'll be able to beat him." His hand wandered to his sword grip. "I'll be able to beat him. Again."

"I'm sure you will," Elincia said cautiously. She knew that Zelgius could not be with that army, but she decided not to tell Ike about his secret identity at this point in time. "So you've faced the Maiden of Dawn before," she said instead, "and Soren was able to out-think her. That's good to know."

"But she commands fanatical loyalty among her soldiers," Ike said. "Many of them died with her name on their lips." He shrugged. "Then again, fanaticism isn't actually a very good trait for a soldier to have. Overwhelming emotions will just get you killed on the battlefield."

"That sounds like something Soren would have said," Elincia remarked casually.

"I suppose," Ike growled in response. "I've been told before that he's rubbing off on me."

"One could think of worse influences," Elincia said. "Though perhaps not many."

"That was mean."

"Then it's a good thing Soren didn't hear it." Elincia smirked. "But please warn him not to underestimate the Maiden. Just because he defeated her once doesn't mean he'll defeat her again."

"I always hear 'he defeated her'," Ike complained. "But we warriors did the actual fighting, you know." He sighed theatrically. "I will relay your warning," he continued before spending a moment in contemplation. "What was Daein's last known position again?" he asked then.

"They were approaching Delbray Castle. But I doubt they'll waste time trying to take it, since their objective is probably Melior."

"Delbray," Ike nodded again. "That's where we met Geoffrey and the others."

The others... Elincia could not help but shudder. Fortunately, Ike did not notice it. "I still remember the terrain around there, and I'm sure the others will, too. That should give us an advantage."

"Uh... yes, sure."

"Well, that's everything I need to know," Ike said, then hesitated. "But Soren will want to gather as many details about the enemy as possible. I think it would be best if he could speak to someone who has seen the Daein army."

"Marcia," Elincia answered immediately. "I sent her to scout their position several times. She's three times faster than a scout on horseback, since she can just fly over the Marhaut mountains."

"Marcia? That's good. Her observations were always reliable. Where do we find her?"

"Just ask the guards to look for her," Elincia replied. "They're uncannily good at finding people, and they'll be happy to assist General Ike."

"I'm not a general anymore," Ike growled.

"You try to tell them that."

"If people could just stop thinking of me as some kind of hero," Ike sighed. "I just do what I think is right."

"That's more than many other people do," Elincia replied earnestly, and the unwilling hero had no retort to that. "If that's all, then I'm ready to go," he said instead. "No, wait," he changed his mind. "Actually, there's one more thing."

"What is it?"

"Lehran's Medallion," Ike said bluntly. "I think you should give it back to the herons."

"This is not the time for such discussions," Elincia said harshly. By neither glimpse nor movement did she betray that the medallion was actually in her belt pouch at this very moment, where it had been been ever since she had taken it from the hands of the slain guardsman Caros. She knew that it would probably be safer in her vault, next to the bag of warp powder, but that was the first place somebody would search if they tried to steal it. No, she would rather keep in on herself, preferably without letting anybody know that she did.

"You're wrong," Ike contradicted her. "This is precisely the time."

"How so?"

"Right now, this war is still in an early stage, but it could spin out of control very fast. During the laguz war against Begnion, Leanne and her brothers used seid magic to keep the dark god locked inside the medallion. But they can't do that as long as you have it."

Ike's words made Elincia frown. What he said had merit – and he would not say it merely as a ploy to get the medallion back for his heron friends. He was truly concerned about the dark god awakening... and since such an event would mean doom for all of Tellius, she should be concerned about it, too.

"But during the war against Daein, the medallion was in Ashnard's possession," Elincia pointed out, trying to convince herself as well as Ike. "The herons didn't have access to it, either. And still nothing happened."

"But something could have happened," Ike said with a frown. "We have no idea how close we came to disaster at that time."

"Every single nation on Tellius except for Goldoa was involved in the war to liberate Crimea, and the dark god did not awaken. This war, on the other hand, only involves half of them: Crimea, Begnion, Daein, Kilvas. According to simple logic, nothing bad should happen."

"You're making this too easy," Ike disagreed. "We don't know the exact conditions for the dark god to awaken, only that the continent has to be embroiled in war. It could be the size of the armies, or the number of the fallen... or anything. Can we really take that risk? Remember, if the dark god awakens, Crimea will be destroyed, too."

Elincia found herself wavering between agreement and reluctance. One the one hand, Ike was speaking nothing but the truth... but on the other hand, the medallion was an object of enormous power. In a world with no guarantees, where war and calamity could strike at any moment, without much in terms of warning, she felt she could not give up such an object, even if she could not find an immediate use for it. But of course she could also not run the risk of destroying the continent...

"I'll keep a close watch on the overall situation," Elincia decided. "If this war approaches the Mad King's War in scope, I will invite one of the herons to the palace so they can–"

"That's madness!" Ike interrupted her. "They would never agree to your 'invitation'... not after what you did to Leanne."

"Is that so?" Elincia asked, her tone sardonic. "Then I suppose the threat posed by the medallion isn't so big after all..."

"I don't like that reasoning," Ike said. "It's callous and selfish."

"You've never been one to mince your words," Elincia replied. "I appreciate that. But my decision is final."

Ike sighed and shook his head. "I don't know what's going on inside you, Elincia."

"Maybe I don't want you to know." An awkward silence followed and was only broken when Ike cleared his throat. "Well," he said, "if that's how you feel about it, then that's how it is." That, too, was a very Ike-like thing to say, Elincia thought. "I'm leaving, then," he added, "unless you still have something to tell me?"

"Don't get yourself killed, Ike," Elincia said, determined to end their discussion on a conciliatory note. "That is all."

"That should be easy enough," Ike grinned. "Even with the Black Knight returned, Daein is still just a shadow of their former selves. We'll beat them all the way back to Nevassa as long as you foot the traveling expenses."

He surely is self-confident. Then again, he always was.

"That's it, then," Ike said, as weary of long goodbyes as ever. "I'm on my way." He turned around, walked briskly toward the door and left the throne room.

That went reasonably well, Elincia thought as she watched him leave. Good luck, Ike.

Feeling somewhat relieved and far less desperate than a mere half-hour ago, Elincia climbed the stairs to her throne and seated herself. Ike was taking care of Daein, and Geoffrey would hold off Begnion; that left only the pillaging ravens to be dealt with. But she had absolutely no forces to spare other than the palace guard, who consisted of mostly older soldiers, and of course herself. Dared she make a sortie against Naesala with such an inadequate force? No, the risk was too great.

Even Bertram went with Geoffrey to the border, she thought with dismay. He would be a match for at least a dozen ravens, picking at his armor until their beaks go blunt.

Then there was General Zelgius, of course, a warrior even more powerful than Bertram. Could she perhaps trick him into going up against Naesala somehow? No, out of the question. Zelgius was no fool, and the moment she handed him back his sword would be the moment he turned it against her.

I'll just have to accept that there's nothing to be done about it at the moment, Elincia. thought. Perhaps if the Greil Mercenaries are victorious sooner than expected, they can–

"Your Majesty!" A guard had entered the throne room again. "There's a Gallian warrior here who wants to see you as soon as possible."

"A Gallian?" Elincia's interest was roused immediately. "Send him in." The man nodded, left, and a few moments later, a large, broad-shouldered beast laguz entered the throne room. He wore a blue shirt, had light blue hair and a gentle expression on his face that contrasted his imposing physique. He looked as if he could not hurt a fly, unless the fly attacked him, and even then only reluctantly.

"Mordecai! What brings you here?" Had he come as an emissary from King Caineghis? To tell her that Gallia would send help... or not?

Good grief, I could at least let him say something before I start worrying!

"Hello, Elincia," Mordecai greeted her and approached the throne. "Are you well?"

"As well as the circumstances allow," she replied and rose to meet him halfway. "Did you see Ike on your way here?"

"Yes." Mordecai nodded. "But he was in a big hurry. He said there was no time to talk."

"That's because I just gave him an important mission."

"I understand." Mordecai shook his head sadly. "You are at war again."

"It looks like I just can't catch a break," Elincia jested, although she was hardly in the mood for jokes. "So what brings you here?" She hesitated for an instant, then asked the question she really wanted to ask. "Will Gallia fight with us?"

"No." She had prepared herself for that answer, but it was still a bit of a shock. "Our elders... they are angry at you," Mordecai elaborated. "They say you helped the Empire."

"And King Caineghis can't go against the majority of the elders," Elincia sighed. It was the exact same scenario as three years ago. "I understand."

"The king is very sorry," Mordecai stated. "He said: 'This is the second time I cannot help Crimea'." He suddenly grinned widely, in strange contrast to the sobering news he had just brought. "But I had an idea."

Hope returned to Elincia. Mordecai was earnest and sincere to a fault, and she had virtually never see him grin like that. "What do you mean?"

"It is difficult to say in beorc language. But I will try." Mordecai scratched his head, then spoke carefully. "Gallia's soldiers obey the king. They only go where the king sends them. They cannot choose where to go." Mordecai explained. "But the... the not-soldiers..." He frowned at his own inadequate choice of words. "They can go where they want." He grinned again. "And King Caneighis said: The soldiers who want to help Crimea are not soldiers anymore." With a turn of his hands, Mordecai concluded. "So we came here."

"I... I think I get it," Elincia said, though the tiger laguz' account had been somewhat confusing. "King Caineghis dismissed those of his soldiers who want to aid Crimea so they could come here as... as private citizens?"

"Yes, private... citizens," Mordecai said, finding it difficult to pronounce the words. "That's the beorc word for not-soldiers."

"I... I don't know what to say," Elincia stuttered. "So you left your service to the king... and your rank and standing... just to help Crimea?"

"We helped Crimea in the... re-construction," Mordecai said, referring to the period just after Ashnard's death. "If you lose the war... all will be destroyed again." He shook his head resolutely. "We don't want that. And so, we will fight."

"Thank you," Elincia whispered and averted her gaze because she felt moisture well up in her eyes. "You didn't have to do this... and still you came. Thank you so much. All of you."

"We are not so many," Mordecai said apologetically. "About three hundred."

"That's more than enough to make a difference," Elincia said and looked at Mordecai again. "So where are the others?"

"They wait outside the palace. They said I speak for them." He smirked. "They said I speak the beorc language best."

"What about Lethe?" Elincia asked for some reason – perhaps because the female warrior was almost always around Mordecai. "Did she..."

"Lethe did not come." Mordecai lowered his head in regret. "She said: Elincia betrayed Gallia!' and 'Crimea deserves this!' and... other bad things."

"I understand." Lethe was a woman who spoke her mind, Elincia knew, especially when she was angry. "I don't agree with her, as you can imagine, but I see where she's coming from. I only hope she wasn't mad at you for helping us."

"That is not important," Mordecai said curtly, indicating that Lethe had, in fact, been very mad at him. "We are here. We want to help you."

I hope he and his friends won't become outcasts in Gallia for helping me. But if they do, I'll offer them to stay in Crimea. That's the least I can do in return for their loyalty.

Generous gestures of gratitude, however, would have to wait until later, and so Elincia forced herself to think in purely strategical terms now. Three hundred beast laguz were a force to be reckoned with, each of them easily worth three average beorc soldiers. Then again, the place where they were most needed was not under attack by beorc...

"The ravens of Kilvas are pillaging the lands to the east," Elincia told Mordecai. "I have no spare troops to drive them off, and they are causing terrible damage. Would you be willing to go and fight them?"

"Yes." There was no hesitation in Mordecai's voice. "Most Gallians don't like the raven tribe," he explained. "They fight only for money. They cannot be trusted."

Whatever Naesala is fighting for this time, it's not money, Elincia thought, recalling the unsuccessful attempts to buy the Raven King off. But he could just be currying favor with the Empire. That's almost the same thing. Out loud, she said: "Then it is agreed. You will travel east as soon as you can and engage the ravens."

"Laguz are better for fighting laguz than beorc," Mordecai agreed. "But we are not as fast as the ravens. If they fly away, we cannot catch them."

"But if they fly away then they're also not doing any damage," Elincia pointed out. "As long as you chase them around and keep them from plundering, that would be a success."

"We can do that." Mordecai spoke with the solemn honesty of a man who never promised more than he could keep. "We will keep them very busy."

"That's more than I would have prayed for ten minutes ago." Elincia extended her arms and put her hands into Mordecai's. "Thank you again."

"Gallia and Crimea must defend each other," Mordecai said and squeezed her hands, careful not to crush them. "I must go now." With that, he let go of her hands and turned to leave.

"Good luck," Elincia called after the departing tiger laguz as he vanished behind the door. An instant later, the sound of two people bumping into each other and one of them falling to the ground with a painful cry reached her ears.

"Careful, little beorc," she heard Mordecai say. "Have I hurt you?"

"N-no... ouch," Count Silok's voice came from beyond the door. "I'm sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going. It is my fault."

"You lost your eye glass." There was a sound of something being picked from the floor. "It is not broken."

"T-thank you v-very much," Silok stuttered. "I... I must go to the queen, so, uh... farewell, dear laguz sir."

"Yes, farewell," Mordecai replied, and Elincia could hear him walk away. A moment later, Silok entered the throne room, furiously polishing his monocle as he walked (perhaps with good reason for once, since it had fallen to the ground). He was still wearing the same orange robe as during his appointment ceremony, and Elincia only now realized that she had neither seen him nor thought of him in the three days since then.

He couldn't have...

"Your Highness!" As soon as he saw her, Silok was seized with great excitement, almost tripping over his robe as he hurried toward her. "Your Highness, I've got it!" he exclaimed proudly – and loudly.

"Stop yelling," Elincia said gruffly and extended her arm to stop the young count from crashing into her. She usually liked Silok, but right now, he was making far too much noise for her liking. "This damn war is giving me enough of a headache already."

"War?" Silok was looking at this queen as if she had just asked him to fly. "What war?"

"This isn't funny in the least," Elincia growled. "What do you want?"

"Forgive me if I've angered you, Your Majesty!" Silok took a step back and fell to one knee. "But I don't know what you're talking about! I... I spent the last three days in the library!"

"You... spent," Elincia said stupidly. "The last... three... days. In the library." She raised her eyebrows and stared at Silok who squirmed under her gaze. "And you didn't notice that we are at war?"

"Nobody told me," the young man said in his defense. That was too much for Elincia, and she burst out in laughter.

"Goddess, Silok, if anybody else had told me this, I'd be convinced that they're trying to be funny, and failing miserably. But with you..." She shook her head and wiped a tear out of her right eye. "Does the library see so few visitors?"

"Actually, it does," Silok replied, his expression reserved, his tone cautious. "But to tell you the truth, I prefer it that way. I don't enjoy large crowds, and–" Elincia raised her hand, cutting him off. "I see," she said simply. "I see."

For a moment, Silok's obliviousness made her doubt his qualifications for a position of responsibility. Then again, he had locked himself in the library for three days straight, presumably eating nothing and drinking little, for the sole purpose of investigating something that might help his queen. That kind of devotion, though slightly embarrassing on a personal level, was something she could appreciate.

"Let me tell you the bad news, then," Elincia said to Silok. "Oh, and rise, for Ashera's sake!" Silok heeded her command, drawing himself up to his not very imposing height, almost a full head shorter than his queen. "Begnion has declared war on Crimea," Elincia told him. "And somehow, they have enlisted the aid of both Kilvas and Daein."

"So that vile Lekain made good on his threat?" Silok asked, his expression one of righteous anger. "How dare he! Crimea has done nothing wrong! And Daein! Those... those treacherous dogs! They... they..." He broke off and stared into space, no doubt reliving the horrors of the first Daein invasion in his mind.

"The situation is dire, but not hopeless," Elincia said, hoping to make Silok snap out of it. "We are not without allies, and–"

"But this doesn't make sense," Silok interrupted her. "Daein and Begnion just fought a war! How did they agree to an alliance so quickly?"

"That is one of the key questions of this conflict. If we can answer it, we might be able to sever the pact between–"

"Of course!" Silok suddenly clenched his fists and stared at Elincia with his eyes almost glowing. "That's it! It does make sense after all! Perfect sense, in fact!"

"Indeed?" Elincia asked with unconcealed doubt. "Enlighten me, please."

"Don't you see?" Silok looked as if he was about to seize her shoulders and shake her – something Elincia would not have tolerated on principle alone. "They have a blood pact!"

"A blood... pact? What's that supposed to be?" She thought back to the last time the word 'blood' had come up in recent days, and a particular memory surfaced in her mind. "You mean it has something to do with–"

"Ahem," Silok interrupted Elincia for the third time (it kind of irritated her that she was keeping count). "Please forgive for not making myself clear sooner, Your Majesty. I should begin from... the beginning."

"Sounds good," Elincia smirked. "Go ahead." But in her mind, she could already guess that this 'blood pact' had something to do with Lekain's strange demand three days ago – after all, it had been these events that had prompted Silok's research in the first place.

"According to a book I've skimmed several years ago, and that I only managed to find again after three days of searching, some fifty years ago the magical researchers of the Begnion Empire came up with an ingenious method to compel other nations to do their bidding. They called it a 'blood pact'." Silok became visibly excited as he spoke, but managed to keep his voice slow and comprehensible. "If a treaty is written on a special kind of enchanted paper, and the obligated party signs it with their blood, they can never violate the terms of the treaty again." He took a deep breath. "If they do, the other party can use the power of the pact to kill as many citizens of the disobedient nation as they want to."

"What?" Although she knew Silok to be very intelligent, Elincia could not believe his words. "That's insane! No magic is that powerful. You can't just kill people on the other side of the continent with a piece of paper."

"The author of the book disagrees," Silok said firmly. "He does not give his name, but judging from his writing style, he hailed from Begnion, and was probably a deserter who sold the secret of the pact to other nations." The young count frowned. "Unfortunately, nobody in Crimea seemed to have believed him, or else his book would not have vanished in the farthest corner of the library." He directed a critical stare at Elincia. "I suppose they did not believe it because they did not want to believe it. A very dangerous attitude."

"You have a point," Elincia admitted. "And it perfectly explains what happened three days ago. Lekain wanted to trick me into signing one of those blood pacts."

"That would be the obvious conclusion," Silok said, "but we're getting ahead of ourselves. According to the book," he continued, "the Apostle at that time was appalled by the idea of ever using blood pacts, and forbade her researchers to create them at the pains of death. I believe the author of the book fled the country because of that ban – because he did not want the result of that research to be lost."

"Then why didn't he just prove that the blood pacts worked?" Elincia asked. "And why did the knowledge still survive in Begnion?"

"The book leaves a great many questions unanswered," Silok shrugged. "It's always that way with history. At any rate, if the author was old enough to be a knowledgeable researcher fifty years ago, then he is most likely dead by now. Perhaps he tried his luck in Daein, too, only to be ridiculed there as well. As for Begnion, it seems the ban died with the Apostle who had decreed it, or perhaps the Senate simply became powerful enough to ignore it. And considering that the current Apostle is still a child..."

"Sanaki might not even know about these blood pacts, since her grandmother was murdered, probably without a chance to pass the knowledge to her successor." Elincia had to admit that it all seemed to fit together rather neatly. "And if Daein signed such a pact with Begnion... and Kilvas, too... that would explain why they follow the Empire's lead. Someone like Lekain would not hesitate to wipe out half a nation as long as doing so would ensure the obedience of the surviving half."

"All right," Elincia said and clapped her hands together. "Let's assume that these two pacts exist, and that they are compelling both Daein and Kilvas to obey Lekain's every whim. Let's not dwell upon the circumstances under which they were signed... it would take a very foolish or very desperate king to do so. The important question is: Can the pacts be broken?" She directed the question at Silok, seeing as he was the 'expert'. "Does the book say anything about that?"

"It does," Silok said eagerly. "It will take the destruction of the physical document as well as the death of one of the signers... or both, of course, but only one is necessary, it says."

"Lekain had already signed the pact that would have enslaved Crimea," Elincia said. "If not for my refusal..." She suddenly felt very relieved about not signing it. Her nation of Crimea bound to the will of the Empire forever – what a nightmare! War, even though it was terrible, was preferable to such slavery. I made the correct choice after all. I really should stop being so overly critical of myself... She shook her head, afraid that her exuberant self-criticism might just as easily become exuberant self-praise.

"Lekain had signed the pact intended for Crimea," Elincia repeated, "so he probably also signed the the ones with Daein and Kilvas. So if we kill him and destroy the documents, both Daein and Kilvas should be happy to go home."

"But how should we do that?" Silok asked. "Even if we assume that he's carrying the documents on himself, he's still the Vice-Minister of Begnion, sitting at the heart of the Empire! How are we supposed to get there?"

"We?" Elincia smirked. "Why, Silok, are you volunteering for a suicide mission?"

"What?" Silok made an involuntary step back. "I... was speaking of 'we' in the figurative sense," he babbled. "I mean... of course I would die for Your Majesty, but..." He raised his lanky arms into the air. "I'm no fighter!"

"Relax, I was just teasing you."

"Oh. How very mean."

"You have no idea how mean I can be to those who deserve it," Elincia growled. "Rest assured, Vice-Minister Lekain is a dead man." Silok stared at his queen with both awe and fear, though thankfully enough awe seemed to be prevailing. Having a rather critical mind, he was probably wondering how she was going to go about killing Lekain, and Elincia already had an excellent idea...

Stop. I mustn't rush things. I must think about the consequences first, or I'll make the situation worse once again!

"The Senate will not take the death of their leader lying down," Elincia said, more to herself than to Silok, who was listening raptly. "They will be dead set on retribution against Crimea and try to overwhelm our southern defenses by sheer weight of numbers. Geoffrey said they would lose half their army if they tried that, but if the Senators are burning with anger over losing their leader along with their leverage over their press-ganged allies, they may be willing to pay that price. And if they break through, Crimea will be finished."

"That's quite a predicament," Silok said. "And I'm afraid I don't have any ideas how to solve it."

"But I might just have one," Elincia said, struck by a sudden inspiration. It was a rather unpleasant idea, even by her recently lowered standards, but the danger for Crimea was too grave for her to be squeamish now. "However, it depends on how exactly the blood pacts work. Tell me, Silok... according to the book, what would happen if..."

Elincia asked her question, and Silok replied. She bade him fetch the book from the library to confirm his answer, just to be absolutely sure. He did as his queen had asked, and when the written words of the long-dead Begnion researcher confirmed her ideas about how the blood pacts worked, she finally nodded and decided on a course of action. Silok raised moral objections against her plan, but once she had made it clear to him just how precarious Crimea's current situation was, he retracted them.

"It need not be forever," Elincia told him to assuage his worries, though she was not willing to make it a promise. "But for the moment, that's what we'll do."

"I understand, Your Majesty." Silok had said his piece and had been convinced that Elincia's view was right, and was supporting her wholeheartedly now. "Is there anything else you want me to do?"

"As a matter of fact, there is," Elincia replied. "Leave the palace, go into the city, visit the first inn you come across and tell the barkeeper that the queen is in need of a fireman."