Rathlands : Chapitre 16 : Astalian POV
Two brief knocks were heard through the heavy throne room's door.
"Your Majesty, I shall deliver to you a letter from the Emperor of the Skypiercers," Astalian announced from the other side of the door.
"Come in, Astalian," she heard the reply, as two Seltas guards opened the door.
She walked up to Khryselios and greeted him with a respectful bow.
"Hello. A letter, you say? What would he want from me?" the monarch wondered, his eyes filled with confusion.
"Teostra alone knows" said the general while rising and holding out the letter in question. "But it seems unlikely to be a demonstration of hostility."
The silver Rathalos nodded thoughtfully, then opened the envelope which bore the Skypiercer seal. His eyes gazed intensely at its content. His face showed no particular emotion, but the Astalos sensed the perplexity of his sovereign.
"It is a ... cordial greeting" he declared, pretty lost about the whole thing.
"A ... Greeting?" the general repeated curiously.
"In any case, it is the only thing that one can affirm" resumed the king, frowning slightly. "He looks like he wants to propose an agreement, but he is only suggesting the possibility. He's strangely cautious, that's my feeling. I know very little about Emperor Etrapanob, but I think I can say that he is not fully innocent. He is looking for something, but does not wish to make it explicit for some reason."
"If I may say so, Your Majesty, why do this?"
"I don't know, would he be so suspicious as to fear espionage? The hypothesis is relevant, but honestly, I believe that Rakurians are more caught up in military preparations. It is true that Rakurai proved his baseness by the murder of my daughter, on the other hand, which could support Etrapanob's unstated argument... Perhaps we should invite him to discuss this directly... If he accepts the invitation, not only will it tell us that he indeed feared enemy's espionage, but it will also allow us to obtain further information. The Skypiercers have a lot to offer, it seems... "
"About the war?"
"For example."
The sovereign rose slowly, then asked for a quill and a sheet of paper which he put on his desk.
"I will write this invitation" he declared while returning towards her. "But before that, I need to have this meeting about the current situation, hm? Do you think you can tell me when Tinarg will arrive, Astalian?"
"Soon, Your Majesty. I was only a little early to deliver this letter."
"Well," he sighed quietly "it seems that this time we have been saved by some kind of providence," the monarch breathed, thoughtfully, his gaze wandering on the ground. "I doubt we'll be so lucky next time," he added, raising his garnet irises.
Astalian swayed from one foot to the other.
"It was... It was Gamala, wasn't it?"
The king of the Rathlands nodded imperceptibly. Astalian looked down, confused.
"The outrage he spoke of... It's that mutilated soldier we're talking about. The one they found at the bottom of a precipice in the Rathien plains. So it is indeed the work of a Rakurian. We also now know that it is one of Rakurai's sons."
"One more proof that confirms the guilt of this damn rotten dog! grumbled the silver Rathalos. "And he dares to deny responsibility for my daughter's death? What an infamous individual... He stirs up the knife in the wound, and worsens his case, to persist thus to humiliate us!"
Despite the words of the sovereign, his eyes remained tired and already defeated. It wasn't anger that showed through him, but a deep spite, an infinite weariness that was only partly due to age. More and more, one could feel it.
"The king is exhausted," Astalian thought bitterly.
There was a double knock at the door. They both turned, their attention suddenly caught by the newcomer.
"Good morning, Your Majesty," Tinarg said as he stepped forward, the large door left open in anticipation of his arrival.
"Good morning, Tinarg. What news?"
The Gravios bowed quickly before answering.
"The Rakurians have begun to retreat. The air patrol has confirmed that they have crossed the border. They seem to have been hit hard by the Fury…"
"No collateral damage during their retreat?" Khryselios inquired.
"None, my lord. The urgency of their situation must have pressed them."
"I can guess, but as I said earlier, this miracle is not likely to happen again. We must remain pragmatic. If it weren't for the appearance of the Misery Spreader, Teostra knows what would be left of Ignis as we speak," the Rathlands' king reminded.
Both generals nodded gravely.
"While it is confirmed that the Rakurians are in a retreat, I believe it will not be long before they are back in action. The Fury will only be a minor inconvenience for them in the long term. They just need to renew their troops, which Rakurai is capable of doing with his numbers." Tinarg added. "We should keep up the industrial pace to anticipate this attack in the near future."
"I think we need to reassure the people, and our soldiers, first," Astalian offered. "Hope is what drives them, hence the need to act on their morale. A speech of His Majesty is what seems to me the most logical, if my king does not see any inconvenience in it."
Khryselios appeared again pensive.
"Yes, I am counting on it. And concerning the Rakurians... Let's not pursue them. A defensive strategy seems wiser to me." he decided. "How many monsters do we have left, General Tinarg?"
"Two thousand three hundred and fifty seven, Your Majesty."
"I don't know how long we can hold on like this," the silver Rathalos sighed audibly.
Astalian exchanged a look with Tinarg. They shared the same concern.
"All the more reason to make contact with the Skypiercers... Only they can help us out of this mess." the king thought aloud.
"The Skypiercers? What do they want from us?" asked Tinarg, who arrived a little too late to follow the conversation.
"Astalian just got me a letter from their emperor," explained Khryselios, holding up the said letter. "We don't know what is driving them, but something must be of interest to them. It's up to us to guess what... Tinarg, you shall declare twenty-four hours of rest for our soldiers, but no more. I also trust both of you to keep up the morale of the troops. As far as the people are concerned, I will proclaim a speech along the same lines. Not a word about this letter, it remains a state secret for the time being." he told them.
The two generals nodded respectfully.
"Understood!" they answered in chorus.
Two more knocks sounded against the door. Astalian saw the ruler's pupils rise, then shrink noticeably, as if in a fit of fear. It was brief, and easily missed, but visible. She then turned around to discover what had stunned him for a moment.
Zenith.
It was Zenith standing in the doorway.
"Good morning, Father," Zenith said in a neutral, almost cold tone, his amber eyes piercing across the room
Was the king afraid of his own son?
"He must have been surprised, he looks so tired afterall ... I must be imagining things" she thought.
"Would you have a request for me?" his father asked humbly.
"Not really, actually." he answered in an almost detached tone. "I was passing by, and I thought that as a prince, I should probably take an interest in the affairs of the kingdom. I hope you don't mind my zeal, Father," said the Dreadking Rathalos.
Astalian studied the king's face as he stared at his son. There was something implied that she could not read. It was particularly disturbing, and even more so given the clue she had picked up a few seconds earlier. She glanced at Tinarg. He had not felt anything, and was content to present a proud expression to the heir of the Rathlands. No doubt he hadn't seen Khryselios' eyes either.
"What is happening before my eyes, and yet escapes me completely?"
"That is a very respectable attitude, Prince Zenith." Tinarg commented, "You truly are the pride of the Rathlands."
The prince gave the Gravios a look and a tender smile.
"I only do what I think is right, General Tinarg. And speaking of right, I just remembered why I came here," Zenith said, his brows furrowing slightly. "I wanted to know your decision Father, do we go after the Rakurians, or not?"
There was a short silence during which Astalian felt such a growing tension that she wondered how Tinarg could be unaffected.
"We cannot afford to go after them now. They'll be back in Voltarr in two days at most. They are already in their territory, it would be pure madness." Khryselios replied. "It's even more suicidal with the amount of troops we have left."
"Wouldn't it have been a way to prove to the people the remaining valour of our Nation, and to put pressure on the Rakurians? We could just organize sabotages or an ambush," Zenith suggested, his eyes glowing with dangerous sparks.
"The value of such a deployment of resources is, I fear, limited, Your Highness," Tinarg explained, "and it would be a shame if a blitzkrieg like the one you propose did not result in an assault that took sensibly advantage of the situation."
Astalian didn't dare to speak. Zenith nodded thoughtfully at the Gravios' argument, but she could feel the dull anger rumbling and repressed inside this Rathalos. Tinarg could act as if nothing had happened, but not her. And she was afraid it would show if she ever spoke up. So she watched.
"... I understand," Zenith said, raising his amber irises to his father. "I hope you're making the right choice," he said with an aggressive look, "it would be a shame to make any more mistakes... " he then looked down at her and Tinarg with a much more affable expression. "Thank you for your explanations, General Astalian and General Tinarg." he greeted them. "Father, I take leave." he announced without leaving time for silver Rathalos to speak, having already turned back to leave.
Astalian glanced discreetly at the king. He looked deeply concerned.
And above all, distressed by genuine fear.