Diplomacy
Once Pontiff Sulyvahn had returned to Irithyll, the region had grown silent once more. Each and every emissary that Lothric sent reported the same thing: as soon as they reached the bridge that led to Irithyll, they were simply stopped, just as before.
Clearly it was a sorcery of some sort. But one that could protect an entire city? It was truly powerful. Lothric knew he was fairly talented in sorceries but he was decades away from being able to accomplish such a feat. Though he was well aware he would never be able to achieve something at that level, not if his condition continued to deteriorate.
He had not quite let Lorian on to the whole truth during his brief return.
"Another bad day?" Gertrude asked as she let herself into his room.
Lothric was sitting on his bed, various letters and missives strewn about him. With his mother gone and Lorian tending to matters outside the kingdom, Lothric had come to rely more and more upon Gertrude.
"One of the worst in many years," Lothric lamented. "I had thought, once, that I might have even been recovering. Do you remember when I went hunting with Lorian?"
"I do." She said, perching on the edge of the bed beside him.
"We were away for nearly two weeks, and though much of the time Lorian assisted me and at times carried me, I was able to make it through most of it on my own two legs. Now look at me," he scoffed, "as crippled as when I was a child, unable to even leave my bed."
It had started creeping up on him slowly at first, when they returned from the hunting trip. Then in recent months it had begun to rapidly progress until Lothric was back to being bed ridden more often than not. He wondered if he would be cursed to get worse and worse until he was nothing but a wisp of his former self. No one knew what ailed him, or why it affected him the way that it did. There were whispers, of course. Whispers that spoke of his mother eating petrified, rotten dragonflesh and primordial crystals before his birth.
At the rate things were progressing, whatever rotten curse he was born with would kill him before the First Flame could claim him.
"High Priestess Emma cared for you back then, did she not?" Gertrude asked, pulling Lothric out of his thoughts. "Why is it she is not around as much?"
"Contrary to how it may appear, I have in fact become fully grown, dear Gertrude. She has long since put aside her role as my wet nurse and tutor and now serves solely as High Priestess."
Gertrude leaned over and plucked a letter at random from his pile. "You're keeping Emma at a distance so she will not interfere when you don't link the flame?"
Lothric said nothing, reaching over and pulling the paper from her hands and setting it back on the pile. He knew Gertrude's belief lay more on the side of heresy, but he was certain he had not told her anything regarding his decision to link the flame.
"I still intend to link the fire."
"For now," she said, tone deceptively sweet, "until you find a compromise you're satisfied with. That's why the Pontiff brought you the eyes, isn't it?"
"How-?"
Gertrude reached into her robes and pulled out the small black box. The same one the Pontiff had given Lothric with the eyes. "You should truly be more careful with such things, it was still lying on the table in the council chambers, beside the strategy maps."
"Why did you not return it to me sooner?" Lothric asked. He reached over and snatched the box from her hands, holding it gently in his lap.
"Why did you not inquire about it sooner? For something so important, you must have been quite distracted to forget about it."
"Even so, how do you know what these are?"
"I ran into the Pontiff shortly after I found them. He was rather eager to explain their origin to me as well as what they could be used for." She placed her hand on Lothric's knee. "He has such magnificent ideas. He believes, like I do, that there is something greater than the First Flame. Something more magnificent than the ancient dragons. We existed before we found the flame. The world existed before the dragons. Surely there is something greater out there to explain why."
"You would do well to be wary of his words, dear Gertrude. I suspect Sulyvahn does not speak what he believes to be true, but rather what he believes you would like to hear the most."
"Maybe so." She pulled her hand back, folding them in her lap. "Have you received any word from Prince Lorian? He has been gone for several weeks now. Surely you would have heard something by now."
"Neither from Lorian nor Wynfrith, but I have received word from several smaller villages towards the outskirts that they have been sighted in the area. Apparently Lorian is assisting the villages with the Evangelists' threats and also helping to relocate the hollows."
Gertrude frowned in thought. "Why would he prioritize the villagers over the Demon Prince?"
"Lorian pretends he does not understand the intricacies of governing; most of his lapse in understanding my management of Lothric is simply because he is away so often and I prefer to handle such things myself. But he has surely noticed how sparse food is becoming, and he understands that the outskirts must be protected. I have already dispatched knights to assist and establish patrols in the villages Lorian has cleared."
"You two complement each other quite well." She smiled and picked up the same letter from before. "Need help with these? I have no true duties since the Queen left other than to help you however I'm able."
"Are you able to write?"
"Quite well. The Queen taught me to read and write at a young age. It was important to her."
"Almost like a mother might." Lothric probed. She had not admitted to being his mother's daughter yet, but he was interested to see if she ever would.
"Perhaps." A small smile. As telling as if she had confirmed it directly.
"Very well. Leave room at the bottom of each letter. I will sign and seal them appropriately."
Lothric reviewed her letters as she wrote them. He was impressed by her handwriting and command over words - it was reminiscent of the few letters he had received from his mother in the past. He suspected that at least a handful of them may have been written by Gertrude in her stead.
She replied to most of the letters to the commoners, focusing on placating their concerns. Lothric had the less desirable task of sending yet another letter to the Cathedral of the Deep. Though what Lorian was doing would be beneficial in the long run, it also placed them in a precarious position with the Cathedral. None could say yet whether the Evangelists were a splinter group of the Cathedral or if they were fully sanctioned, and therein lay the problem.
If the Evangelists were acting as a splinter organization, then Lorian would be in the clear to handle them as he saw fit. But if the Cathedral acknowledged and legitimized them, then Lothric would have to retaliate accordingly. Stopping any aid being sent to them. Withdrawing any knights stationed within. It would be a nightmare of policy to deal with on top of everything else.
x
Thankfully, after several weeks, Lothric stopped receiving reports of Lorian in the villages. The last he received was from the Watcher, Hawkwood, who they had encountered in Farron's Keep. He confirmed a handful of other demon sightings in the area as their activity increased. Apparently, since they did not show signs of abyssal corruption, the true Watchers were neglecting to deal with them.
Hawkwood had strongly recommended that Lothric send more knights. Apparently the situation was more precarious than they had all previously understood. From Hawkwood's description the demons were moving as a collective group, which meant this was not simply the case of a handful of demons fleeing the Demon Prince. This was coordinated.
Lothric had full faith and confidence in his brother, but even he was just one man against a potential army of demons. If he was to succeed in taking out the Demon Prince, he would require support. Knights that could focus on taking out the lower ranking demons to allow Lorian to focus on reaching the Demon Prince.
In order to move the troops on such a scale, Lothric would need approval from the Three Pillars. He detested dealing with their politics, but since he was not officially the King he did not have the sole authority to command them. Dealing with the politics of the Three Pillars would need to be done carefully.
Leading as the High Priestess was Lady Emma. She would be the easiest to deal with since she raised Lorian, even before she raised Lothric, and he knew she had a soft spot for him. As long as the maneuver would ensure his safety, Lothric was certain he would be able to convince her.
There would be no chance to convince the Head Scholar Wulfred as he along with the other scholars had committed to assisting Oceiros's studies of Seath the Scaleless and were quickly succumbing to the same madness that had taken his father. He would be sure to be present for the vote but Lothric knew it would only count against him. After all, if they were swayed by his father's logic then they would hold firm in their belief that their troops and resources were better used elsewhere.
Knight General Godwyn was a loyalist to King Oceiros as well and had been tasked to devote his time to training the wyverns and their riders, neglecting his duties to the rest of the kingdom. He disliked Lothric in part due to his condition which prevented him from ever wielding his sword, and in part due to Lothric's political maneuvering over the years. Several times Lothric had bypassed Godwyn's permission and leveraged Lorian's good standing with the knights to accomplish his goals, which was indeed a disrespect to the man, but Lothric did not deem the man worthy of his respect.
The last, though not a true pillar known to the commoners, was the Pillar of the Hunt led by Master Hunter Gotthard of the Black Hand. The hunter's vote was not formally counted but it was weighed into consideration and often held a very influential sway over the final decision. The others knew the Black Hand had spies in every facet of the kingdom and often had additional information which could occasionally sway decisions.
After Lothric placed the summons that he was seeking to convene the Pillars, it still took several days before they all arrived. Gotthard and Godwyn had each been out of the kingdom's territory on business. They convened in the council chambers, the same room where Lothric had met with Sulyvahn only a short time ago.
Lothric sat at the head of the table with Emma and Gotthard to his left and Godwyn and Wulfred to his right.
"Thank you all for your prompt response to my summons," Lothric began, looking around the room. Emma and Gotthard seemed relatively relaxed and curious about the meeting while Wulfred sat stoically avoiding looking at Lothric, and Godwyn fidgeted in his chair, clearly upset at being summoned.
"And why exactly are we here?" Godwyn asked, leaning forward on one arm.
"As you are all aware, Prince Lorian took up the task several weeks ago to deal with the demons approaching our border accompanied by Knight Captain Wynfrith." He paused, waiting for everyone to nod in understanding before continuing, "I have received word from a trusted source in the area that the demon's movements are not only more in number than we had anticipated, but I believe are also coordinated."
"We've never faced a coordinated threat from the demons before," said Emma, "what cause could possibly unite them?"
Gotthard leaned forward in his chair, placing steepled fingers to his chin. "The Demon Prince?"
Lothric nodded.
"Demons aren't intelligent enough to coordinate some infernal attack," Godwyn sneered. "Dispatch the ones that have dared to crawl out of their caves and that'll be the end of it."
"In the past that may have been the case, Godwyn, but not this time." A subtle jab at the man's inability to adapt from his old mindset. Lothric watched the man grind his teeth together. "There have only been sightings of a handful of demons above the surface, which I'm told Prince Lorian has taken care of already. But for each one killed, more appear to replace them, and their destination is always the same: our borders."
"Let them come. We'll spare ourselves the effort and kill them from our borders." Godwyn said. "There's no need for anything else."
"No. demon's are not like us, Godwyn, you of all people should understand this." Lothric fought back a smirk. Emma always had a way of making people feel like a child being scolded. "They are false creatures, created from Chaos, the false flame. Kill one and they can replace it with two more."
"We have no proof of that." Wulfred said. "What we have learned over time is that the Chaos Flame cannot create demons, it can only transform existing creatures into demons. The Witch of Izalith learned this first hand, as according to the texts, her body was morphed into the terrible figure of the Bed of Chaos and her children were all mutated as well. All occurred because of her misuse of her Lord Soul which she foolishly sacrificed to create the Flame of Chaos."
"It is still far more of an option to create more soldiers than we have, Scholar Wulfred. The Lord Souls as they once were are but a shadow of their former strength, having been fragmented as gifts as in Lord Gwyn's case, or corrupted and destroyed as happened to the Witch of Izalith." Emma said. "We can never create more Godkin, and the lineage of the Lord's Soul, it seems, has its limitations as well."
Everyone in the room cast hesitant glances at Lothric at those words. He smirked, knowing the discomfort he brought to them, "I pity the thought of any children born to me. Though I suspect the flame will claim me long before that is a reality, so perhaps I should consider them blessed instead."
Emma's face twisted into a sorrowful look of regret. "Prince Lothric-"
He held up his hand. "Emma is right, Wulfred. We do not have an endless supply of soldiers. The nobility has driven their families to near extinction, the commoners are too fearful to bear more children, and the peasants are hollowing at a pace we simply cannot keep up with. Even if the demons cannot replenish their troops as fast as Emma fears, they still have the option."
"So you would rather we risk everything on this damned suicide mission? Unacceptable!" Roared Godwyn as he slammed his fist into the table. "All you would do is bring us to our deaths faster."
Lothric sat back in his chair, hands folded in his lap. He knew the calmer he appeared the more riled up the general became. "What would you have us do then, Godwyn? Cower in our kingdom and await death? Not a heroic way to die."
"We wait for them to come to us. We fortify our defenses. We continue the work on the High Wall."
"With what labor? You have already allocated the majority of the slaves to the task," said Gotthard.
"Bring in the peasants."
"That risks our entire food supply," Emma countered.
"Surely there are peasants that aren't farmers."
"They will die long before the wall is complete with the amount of labor still required," said Wulfred.
"Prisoners then. If we're forced to keep them alive we may as well put them to work. Or does that disagree with your sensible nature, Prince Lothric?"
Lothric bit back a smile as the man, now desperate for any sort of a victory, haggled with him. "And who will oversee these dangerous prisoners?"
"Bring out the wardens, and I will supplement their authority with a selection of my Knight Recruits."
"Very well. You may use the prisoners for the labor on the wall."
"And the Demon Prince?" Gotthard asked. "No matter how high we build the wall, no matter how reinforced, given enough time a demon will break through. I can send a scouting party to confirm that the Demon Prince is the cause for the demon's activity and if it is true we can guide teams of the Knights in to begin the process of his removal."
"I can send priests to assist. They can heal the scouts and knights should they need it to ensure we do not lose more lives than necessary," Emma added.
The two turned to Godwyn, who had turned a marvelous shade of crimson realizing he had been cornered. "Fine. Have your damned war. I will allow the knights to provide support in whatever capacity you require. However," he pointed at Lothric, "I will not order them to engage the enemy until the scouts have confirmed what you say is true."
"You will be overseeing the operation then?" Lothric asked.
He watched in delight as Godwyn sputtered over his words, face growing redder and redder as he was forced to agree. "I suppose I will."
"I will be going as well." Gotthard announced, offering Godwyn a small smile.
"Excellent. Then all those who give their support?" Lothric asked.
Emma and Gotthard agreed immediately. Godwyn hesitated before also giving his support. That only left Wulfred. Technically he did not require the Head Scholar's permission, but he could be punished if the operation failed and it was revealed there had been a dissenting vote.
Wulfred tilted his head as he faced Lothric. "You should consider using the wyverns, Prince Lothric."
"Do you have sufficient control over them?" Lothric asked, focusing on both Wulfred who had led the effort from the theoretical and Godwyn who had been overseeing the rider's training.
"They're stable and will get the job done. Like training guard dogs it was," Godwyn proudly boasted.
"They will be useless for the demons that remain underground, but they should be more than sufficient at destroying the ones that make their way to the surface," Wulfred added.
Lothric nodded, "That will ensure the troops do not overexert themselves before they reach the Demon Prince and his main forces. What is the state of the riders?"
"They will serve their purpose. Both of them." Wulfred said.
"Both of them?" Lothric asked. "I was under the impression we had four wyverns and four riders."
"You misunderstand," Godwyn interjected. "We have two riders per wyvern now."
Lothric narrowed his eyes at them. This was the first he had heard of such a decision being made. "When was this decided and for what purpose?"
Wulfred folded his hands on the table in front of him. "Stability. The wyverns were beginning to overpower the bond with their riders. We determined a second rider should be designated for each wyvern to control them."
"Who? Knight recruits?"
"Commoners."
"A commoner would not have the necessary experience to lead a wyvern into combat."
"Correct." Wulfred said. "You remember the first experiment King Oceiros conducted where you witnessed the Pus of Man emerge?"
Lothric nodded.
"Our riders were beginning to show the same signs and symptoms. By leveraging the commoners, they will be the ones to bear the burden of the Pus of Man rather than the rider."
"If the commoner dies, so does the wyvern." Godwyn added. "Just like with the riders. So we've got them quartered within the barracks near the castle under my protection."
"Will they need to travel with the wyverns?" Lothric asked, choosing not to focus on the fact that he was not consulted about this decision. It appeared his father had had a hand in it and he would not win that argument. Not yet at least.
"No. They will be safe to remain here." Wulfred said.
"Then I permit the use of the wyverns."
"Excellent. Then I freely give my support for this endeavor, Prince Lothric."
"Thank you. Begin making the necessary arrangements to depart as soon as possible. Time is of the essence. You are all dismissed."
They each stood and began to leave, but before Gotthard left the room, Lothric caught his eye. The Black Hand lingered after the others left, shutting the door behind them.
"You require something from me, Prince Lothric?"
"You said you will be going along on this mission."
Gotthard nodded.
"I have a message I would have you deliver to my brother, if you are able and willing."
"It would be my honor."
Lothric hastily scrawled a brief sentence on a piece of parchment and rolled it up before handing it to Gotthard. "For his eyes only."
"As you command," Gotthard said with a salute before he disappeared from the room.
What he wrote in that message would likely change all of their futures should Lorian understand and carry out the order. The way it was written was not a direct form of treason - in fact to the casual observer it would almost appear to be a genuine comment which is why Lothric risked writing it at all. But Lorian would understand, as he always did. Provided Gotthard could find him in time.
If all preparations went well, Lothric expected they would be able to depart before the week's end.
x
It was the day before Godwyn and his men were scheduled to depart that Lothric was summoned from his chambers and all but dragged out to the construction site of the High Wall by a handful of the general's knights. There the man stood, large and ruddy faced as he stared at the prisoners that were being guided by the wardens. There was a distasteful look of glee on his face as he watched the wardens use slightly more force than strictly necessary when the prisoners stepped out of line.
"You requested my presence, Knight General Godwyn?" Lothric used the man's full title in an attempt to placate him and have this meeting done with as quickly as possible. If things went as he intended, he would not have to deal with the man much longer regardless.
"Yes, I did." The man never turned to face Lothric, still watching the prisoners. "We've got a problem. At the rate this construction continues, they'll be out of supplies long before the wall is complete."
"What supplies do they need most to continue their work?"
"Primarily? Rocks. But large rocks are a commodity hard to come across, and even more difficult to transport in large amounts." He turned at last to face Lothric. "If I can't be guaranteed that the wall can be finished without me and my men's intervention, then I might be forced to keep my men here."
Lothric clenched his fists in the sleeves of his robes, out of sight of Godwyn. He would kill the man where he stood if Lothric knew he could get away with it, and that he could accomplish it. "You intend to neglect your duties you swore to in front of the Three Pillars?"
"I agreed on the condition the wall would be built. I would be neglecting no duties, at most I'd be delaying my support in taking care of the Demon Prince."
"I will acquire the supplies they need to continue their work."
"How can I be sure of that if I am out fighting demons? To ensure these men have the supplies they need to construct the wall, my men and I will be more useful here.."
"You flirt with treason, Godwyn," Lothric cautioned.
"As highly as you regard yourself, you're not King, and you never will be."
Lothric's mind raced for an eloquent solution to the problem. He had a handful of sorceries at his disposal but most were offensive, and Lothric was not intending to kill the man or incite a coup. The last thing he needed right now was for the knights to be divided in their loyalties.
But he had to make a show of strength somehow.
"Let us come to an agreement then and talk in the meeting chambers. Bring a handful of your men to guard the doors." Lothric didn't wait for the man's response before heading back into the castle. He stood next to the table, breathing heavily from the effort of even such a short walk.
Godwyn followed shortly after, saying something under his breath to the knights that remained outside, before closing the chamber doors. "It'll be impossible to find the suppliers needed anytime soon. If you were smart you'd call Prince Lorian back and wait until we move in force to support him."
"You intend to neglect your duties and let Prince Lorian die, is that correct?" Lothric hardened his voice. They were alone in this room after all, it would be Lothric's word against Godwyn and Godwyn had a reputation for being irritable and sadistic whereas Lothric did not. It was a bet Lothric was willing to take.
"His recklessness will get himself killed. I won't even need to lift a finger." Godwyn crossed his arms over his chest and smirked.
"Even if you get my brother out of the picture, how do you intend to deal with me?"
"I'll outlive you."
"Perhaps." In an instant Lothric lurched forward grabbing Godwyn's armor from the front, teleporting them both. In a blinding flash of white they were out of the chamber with Godwyn precariously perched on the edge of one of Lothric Castle's highest rooftops adorned with Gargoyles. "But you will go to the border, and you will provide support for Prince Lorian. Is that understood?"
Godwyn struggled to keep his footing, grabbing onto Lothric's outstretched arms like a child clinging to its mother. "You wouldn't dare!"
"Not right now, no. This is simply a warning. If you continue to defy me, you will eventually find yourself in a rather tragic accident."
"My men will turn against you! I'll take you down with me!" he desperately prattled off every excuse he could think of.
Lothric grinned, cruel and malicious. "Why, Godwyn, what would your men think to see you so fearful of a cripple?"
"All right, all right! I'll do what you want! Just take us back!"
"If I hear a single word about you conspiring against myself or my brother, I will not be lenient. Do you understand?"
"Yes!"
"Good." Lothric teleported them back, tossing Godwyn to the ground as soon as they were back in the meeting chamber. "I will continue my work to acquire the necessary supplies for the High Wall. I am counting on your support for a successful deposition of the Demon Prince."
The man nodded, face still red from anger and exertion. Lothric mimed, holding a hand up to his ear. Godwyn sighed and grumbled," As you command. We will depart at first light."
"Very good. You are dismissed."
He waited for the man to leave, delighting in the slam of the door as Godwyn exited before collapsing into one of the chairs in the room. Walking out to the edge of the wall and back combined with the effort it took to teleport another person such a distance seemed to have put Lothric at his limit for the day.
Gotthard had the letter that would neatly solve several of his problems. He only hoped news made it in time and that Godwyn did not choose to simply hide in a tent for the duration of the campaign. The man was many things, but he was usually not a coward. And that was exactly what Lothric was depending on.
Morning came quickly with Lothric still as exhausted as the day prior. He was here only as a formality, and to ensure that Godwyn held true to his word.
It was a magnificent thing to witness, and it had been too long since the knights had assembled in such a fashion outside of drills. They stood in rows with Captains and Commanders on horses at the front. Behind them were the priests in the bleak black robes with their chimes in hand. They were few in number, but a single good priest could easily heal a whole regiment of knights. At the back were the work horses carting the various supplies that would be needed to feed the troops during the campaign, flanked by another regiment of knights for protection.
Godwyn sat atop his massive black steed in front of all the troops, shouting to be heard. He was giving a speech about how they would be heroes for defeating the evil Demon Prince. Lothric could respect his ability to rouse his troops despite knowing the man did not believe in the cause himself.
After the cheering died down, Godwyn gave the order to move out. Slowly, row by row, the knights began their march out of the courtyard and out of the castle walls.
The die had been cast. Now all that was left to do was to wait and see where it fell.