Chapter 9: The Lord of Tolbibi and his Mistress
Author's Note: Hope you loyal readers enjoyed the last chapter and the curveballs I threw, and I am looking forward to what you think of this addition, which adds even more curves. Also, I would like to observe that this chapter is very kin to an old concept I had for an RPG conversation that takes place in a cut-scene. Enjoy and review!
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Nevo sighed, streatching as he entered the luxurious chambers that practically spoke of his status. Being the Lord of Tolbibi, his room was laced with silver-engraving along gold-encrusted walls, furnature, even the floor.
And never mind the comfort the chairs, bed, and clothes offered. Long before Nevo's great, great, great, great grandfather was born, the town of Xian had long since been annexed by the Empire, and his ancestors had been carting the loads upon loads of silk to provide the rich with comfort.
How ironic, him whose family until a year ago had never risen above grunt work in the army, had become the leader of the largest empire in the whole existance of Weyard. Or since the Anemian rule, according to his "ally."
Ally. Nevo scoffed at that thought. She may think that she controlled him, but he did not bow to some woman, especially one that led the Ascendents. He remembered that she promised to "allow" him to rise rapidly through the political chain in exchange for replacing the entire army with "nulmen." He was not particularly crazy about replacing loyal, potentially useful political allies with soul-less creatures that were controlled by useless Jupiter Adepts.
Course, he never told her that. What did he care for some absurd cult seeking to return Anemos to the whole of Weyard? He was more concerned with the hunt for the rumored Inubal tribes said to reside somewhere within the Leminian Confederacy. If his source was correct, they represented a grave threat to allowing his "mistress" to suceed in returning Anemos. Though he could care less about her sucess, he saw hunting them as a significant challenge. The damned "wolf men," as some rumors called them, were not of the same breed as the "werewolf" tribes that Bibidi slew centuries ago, with the ability to change physical shape. No, the damned Inubals were bipedal men-like canines, rumored to be protected by the Lemurian Confederacy's inner council. The fact that Tolbibi's largest and most powerful rival was able to keep such an anomaly hidden from his "ally" was one thing, but the leader of the world's largest empire? Heresay!
Opening a drawer, Nevo removed a small doll from beneath some cloths and rags. The doll was dressed much in the same way as the Lerrans did ages ago, just prior to when the then-Tolbi Empire conqured some town called Lalivero. The doll's mop of blonde hair was actually an intricate lacing of psynergetic crystals meshed into the fabric. While the crystals themselves were hardly a rarity as in the early days of the empire and not exactly a rare commodity, these crystals had a unique purpose:
They allowed him instant communication with his so-called ally.
Patting the dolls head as one might a dogs or a cat, Nevo watched the now-familiar violet glow of the doll's eyes bathe the room in an odd mixture of gold and purple. Odd that two color symbols of royalty could somehow give off a reddish glow.
"What?"
Frowning, Nevo ignored the femmanine voice's arrogance, deciding to play nice - for now. "I have recieved word that Yul's troops have reached Ima," a brief pause as he swallowed his thoughts, "as ordered."
A pause, one that was a deliberate attempt to test him, he had learned early on. "Has there been any word on the mission's sucess?"
He winced at the tone in her voice, of the genuine lack of care for the well-being of one of the best military minds in the whole army. "No, not that I would expect any from what you told me of the quarry. Yul is far more powerful than any of my-"
"Shut up, just shut up. You are not one to even BEGIN to speculate on what the "quarry" can do. He and I have been fighting for a time long before your family line was even concieved."
Every time Nevo talked to the leader of the Ascendents, she always implied that she was infinately older than he was, and he always dismissed it as her meager way of trying to sound spooky. He was as phased by that as he was by the rumors that a coup was being plotted against him.
"It is a fair guess that, even if Yul survived the battle, it would not be for long. And if he failed, well, it is of no consequence. And before you even THINK it, he was a problem waiting to happen, Nevo. He and that whench of his were plotting against you from the start."
For the briefest of time, Nevo considered smashing the damned doll, furious that this...inhuman trash would degrade his best soldier so. Damned if he cared that some slave girl was conspiring against him; Annetia hated him, that was a fact. The whore had been raised in the slave chambers of the Collosio, until Yul had taken her into his care. Nevo was not crazy about the idea, but given Yul's status, it was tolerated.
Yet where did this animal get the gall to insult his best soldier so?
"Annetia aside, I will inform you when I hear results of the battle."
"Assuming you even find their bodies." Another pause, this one fixated on Nevo's irritation with the woman's lack of care for life. And Nevo knew it, knew she knew what she was doing. Moving to his bed, Nevo pondered for the first time that day if he had gotten in over his head.
"Sheba out."
Bit of a mind-bender here, plus some insight into Yul's character, and the "nulmen," which will play a wee bit of a key role in the near future.
Did I also mention that it was a bit predictable? But then, if you read any of my works and used your brains, you KNEW this would happen...
Be sure to review your thoughts, as I am motivated by reviews and feedback. That, and it gives me something to read when I am thinking of what to do and while I seek to find time to write thi-
Wait, who cares about me? You just want the next chapter.
Please read and review.
Mikaa