The throneroom was a chamber of titanic proportions, spacious enough to house all two hundred of the royal courtiers and their attendants at once. This was, of course, without counting the occasional guests and the retinues that followed in their wake.
Nine thrones stood at the center, the pillars rose from behind them to hold the illustrious tapestries depicting the heraldry and history of each of the nine houses. .The highest of them was made of pure crystal while the rest were cut out of marble and obsidian. Above the crystal throne fluttered the banner of the House of Fritz, a warhorn over the Eldian star. Atop its fur covered seat, King Elser the First reclined impatiently. He was a young man, despite not appearing so due to his burden, with a thin face and long platinum blonde hair that were braided intricately. A bright purple toga embroidered with threads of gold was wrapped over his velvet robes, but he wore no crown that day. The rage and agitation he felt would not allow him to do so.
His radiant violet eyes scanned the throneroom, gazing at his most elite retainers; the nine Titan lords. Moving from right to left, the king acknowledged every single one of them. Cressida Valerion, bearer of the Colossus, was a lean woman of an extremely tall stature, clad in long overlapping grey robes, and sat beneath the banner of House Valerion, a Stone tower on a blue background. Next to her was Wilhelm Tybur, holding the ceremonial polearm that was the namesake of his Titan and the crest of his clan. Beside him sat Linde Tyrasse, the matriarch of holders of the Female Titan, donning the vibrant robes her fiefdom was famous for. Her crimson hair was tied into an elegant braid that ran along the length of her back.
After her was the newblood, Wilmar Astelan, the bearer of Armor. He was just a boy, barely in his twentieth year. He had long dark hair like his predecessor, and was draped in a red toga. Aldo Kresinger, the lord of fangs, sat on the throne beside. A simple silk tunic was what Aldo had donned under a fur lined coat, and a neatly trimmed beard covered his charming face. He engaged in small talk with young Wilmar, which was a welcome distraction from the serious silence gripping the rest. Ludwig Druscher, who was the holder of the Cart Titan, was the best representation of this as he sat silently on his throne, drowned in deep thought.
Alessia Korswain, the bearer of the Beast, sat on her throne that was adjacent to the king's. She had a warrior's build, a trait uncommon among the Titan lords. Her muscular frame was covered with tunics of furs and raw pelts, her thick mane of ash brown hair being ornamented with rings and totems.
Still, thought the king, one is missing.
"Where is Theresa?" asked Linde, her voice stern as she eyed at the empty throne that lay between those of house Druscher and Kresinger.
"It seems like the Attack Titan no longer holds interests in affairs of state," said Wilhelm, "Or for that matter, even affairs of war. That makes the name 'Attack' quite redundant, don't you think?"
"Of course, Lord Tybur," Alessia sighed, "However, I am not so sure whether you are the one who should point that out. Especially after Drenivald."
The Drenivald incident was infamous for bringing the end to a three-generation long feud between House Tybur and House Cataegis. Eight years ago, Wilhelm's predecessor and Theresa Cataegis, who had recently ascended then, clashed in the town of Drenivald which was an important settlement in Tybur fiefdom. The battle between the titans destroyed the township and ended with the humiliating defeat of the War hammer. Those who witnessed the brutal brawl claim that the Attack Titan disabled three transformations of the Warhammer titan before disarming and impaling the fourth with its own weapon through the nape. After that incident, the hostilities between the two families had abated. However, the bitterness still remained.
"May I speak, Your Majesty?" said a man who stood at the pedestal of the empty throne. He had a slight tan on his flesh and curly blonde hair that was trimmed in the islander fashion. The colors he wore were of the heraldry of House Cataegis, which was a yellow thunderbolt on a black background.
The king waved his hand, thus granting permission to speak.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," he bowed, then turned to address the Titan lords, "My liege, Lady Theresa, remains in Mitras and shall continue to do so as long as she pleases. However, she assures you that when the crown decrees a call to arms, House Cataegis and the Attack Titan shall answer."
"How very much like her," the king spoke for the first time and his voice suppressed the fury inside, "Well then, let the session commence. Minister Bremen, please read out the reports."
An old man dressed in white robes walked to the podium and opened up a parchment scroll.
"Firstly, we have received confirmation from General Sigvald that his campaign to subjugate the Antari tribes of the west is mostly successful and seven of the eight chieftains have bend the knee to Eldia," read the Minister, "The general says that he will finish with the last tribe in a month and then is army will be ready to receive new orders."
"The Antari are a resilient people," remarked Cressida Valerion with a blank tone, her sculpted face mostly expressionless with subtle hints of amusement, "Their integration will be a fine addition to Eldia's manpower."
There was a low echo of agreements and nods. But the overall aura of the throneroom was still tense.
"That is excellent news," remarked Kresinger, "Is it not? Why the gloom then?"
"Because, my dear Aldo, this is not all the news we have received," said the king and gestured to the minister to continue with the reports.
"There have been incidents of insurrection from the province of Coheria," the minister informed, "The first riots began after governor Ferrik supposedly crucified a local priest on pretense of inciting sedition against the rule of Titans. Whether it is true or not is left to speculation, but the priest was an important member of the local workforce."
"A power drunk noble unintentionally triggering rebellions is nothing new," Druscher spoke for the first time in this secession, "Select a competent replacement and send in a couple of pure titans with the reinforcements to scare the populace into compliance."
"That is a good strategy," the king muttered as he nodded, "And also strip this Ferrik off his rank and send him to some backwater where he can spend his remaining days counting sacks of grain or something."
"Your Grace, I am afraid that is no longer possible," said Minister Bremen, "Governor Ferrik and his family, along with all Eldians in positions of power, were executed by the insurrectionists. We did brief you up on that."
"Yes, you did," King Elser ran a hand over his head, "It's just…" he sighed, "This does not seem real. Mere mortals rising against Eldians."
"Mere mortals rising against unworthy Eldians," Korswain corrected, "But you are right, my liege. This seems highly unlikely. Coheria has been a province for about half a century, they should have at least a significant population that contains the blood of Ymir."
"Not quite," Druscher added, "Coherian religion forbade commoners from mingling with other tribes, and since Coheria was brought under Eldian rule by the rite of Champions, they were allowed to preserve a few aspects of their culture. The only Coherian Eldians were their nobility, who now must be seen by the people as traitors."
"That is well and good, but how did those peasants organise such a decisive revolution?" asked Lady Tyrasse.
"Surely, they must have had some external assistance," suggested Wilhelm.
"I visited Coheria once," said Aldo, "With my aunt, back when I was a boy. You see she struck a contract with one of the quarry owners, it was a good deal...But anyway, what I mean to say is that the Coherians are a hardy people, they are usually tall and burly due to working at the stone quarries. Although Eldians are technically superior in martial prowess, if I were to bet on a fight between an Eldian quill-pusher and a Coherian quarry-slave, my bet would be on the Coherian."
The king noticed a hand raised, "You...you don't have to do that, Lord Astelan, you may speak your mind."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Wilmar bowed, "I simply wanted to ask one thing. What is the plan of action?"
The room grew silent as all eyes turned to the newblood.
"Well, my first instinct told me to send a couple dozen mindless titans to wipe out the vermin," the king began, "However, I am advised not to go on with that plan, because…" he looked at the minister.
"Because the quarries of Coheria are one of the largest sources of construction materials in the empire and the infrastructure is attuned for that sole purpose," Minister Bremen explained, "Also, as Lord Kresinger mentioned, the worker population is proficient in their craft and replacing them would be tiresome."
"The bulk of our forces are in the West," said Wilhelm, "and this kind of campaign should be prosecuted by fear rather than might. So, I suggest we send the most dreadful looking of the Titan lords," he glanced at Alessia, "With a smaller force of a thousand spearmen and a few hundred cavalry. What say you?"
"Aye," was the response of most lords.
"Who should we send then?" asked Druscher, knowing full well that he would not be in that number.
"I," Kresinger proposed, "Lady Korswain, and...how about you, Wilmar?"
"Me?" he asked, confused by the question.
"You are the Armored titan," Kresinger reminded, "Seeing a giant in shining armor can have terrifying effects on the morale of a common soldier."
"Lord Astelan," King Elser said, "Could you show us your form?"
Wilmar was dazed by the request, "Your Grace, here? Now?"
"Ah, of course," the king turned to Minister Bremen, "Evacuate the throneroom," and then looked back at Wilmar, "Do not worry, this chamber is made to withstand transformations. As long as your titan form is under forty meters, I think you will be pretty comfortable, Lord Astelan."
Within a few minutes, the throneroom was vacant with the exception of the king and his Titan lords. Wilmar rose from his throne and walked to the open space at the center of the chamber. Korswain drew a dagger from her heavy tunic and tossed it at Wilmar, who picked it up.
The triangular blade was engraved with old Eldian runes and the hilt appeared to be made out of bone, human bone. With a deep breath, Wilmar stabbed the dagger into his palm. A hot spike of pain resonated through his body as arcs of lightning enveloped him.
When the steam parted, a gigantic monster covered in carapace stood in Wilmar's place. Segments of grey armor lay over the steaming flesh of a pale pink hue. The design of the armor was similar to those worn by the northern auxiliaries, with overlapping plates that were adorned with defensive protrusions, which in this case were small spikes and bulges. The head, however, was the most petrifying. The mouth and nose were invisible under the featureless war mask that covered its face. Three thorn-like protrusions rose from its temple, imitating the ceremonial headdress of ancient warchiefs. A long mane of lush black hair hung over its neck, and the eyes behind the slits of the face plate were alight with a faint bronze glow.
Wilmar kneeled, the action resulting in an echoing thump, as King Elser got up from his throne and walked towards the Armored Titan.
"Beautiful, by Ymir's bones, you are magnificent!" the king exclaimed, "Lady Korswain, I am putting the lad under your command. He will partake in the campaign of Coheria, he must partake in the campaign of Coheria."
"Of course, my liege," Alessia yawned.
"Lord Astellan," the king said, "Will you carry my banner to war and victory?"
"MY KING," Wilmar spoke with the hollow yet booming voice of his titan form, "IT WILL BE MY SINGULAR HONOR."