When the delegations of the priests of the four gods had gone out the gate in their long train, Jircniv did not waste further time. No sooner had he been dressed by the servant woman than he walked at a swift pace out of his room and in to the throne room, few people were there early except for guards, and a few of the especially talented and hardworking nobles, one of whom now held a special mental note in Jircniv's mind, Count Yves, who had been the first and only noble to object to anything Ainz expected, directly to Ainz himself, and who not only came away alive, but came away better than he went in in the first place.
His time with Ainz had opened up a whole new world of possibilities and realizations. His 'royal brother' was NOT just the evil human hating monster that reviled humanity and longed for their deaths...his collection of artwork, done by human hands, and his obvious reverence for what human hands had accomplished, had completely shattered that in Jircniv's own mind.
As he sat on his throne, drumming his fingers in thought while he waited for the prime minister to arrive, he completely revised everything in his memory when it came to the Undead King. Instead of seeing it in light of an undead monster out for death, he cast it in the light of a monarch building and securing a future for his people...and it began to fall into place in a way that it never had before. His actions as an undead monster made no sense, but his actions as a King were perfectly reasonable. Jircniv facepalmed and shook his head. 'I was truly blind, wasn't I?' He asked himself. 'I suppose I can't be blamed for it, but still, it should have been obvious, as it now is in hindsight, knowing what I know now, seeing what I've seen that I did not see before.'
A servant approached and placed a stack of reports on a table net to the throne, and Jircniv picked one up. It was a report from his observers in the Holy Kingdom, with a document attached from the ambassador. The report detailed the results of a three month expedition escorting Tinamoc around the country in a massive trade expedition to reestablish ties to the different communities, establish systems of production, and their actions along the way. Jircniv would have believed not a word he'd read, if he hadn't learned that they were personally backed by the Sorcerer Kingdom. Black Justice enclaves were now everywhere as a result of their exploits, and the group had openly declared that Ainz was a god. Tensions were rising north and south as a result, with no clear solution available to anyone. The ambassador noted that Caspond's handing of city guard tasks to Black Justice had been as divisive as it had been effective, the nobles and the paladins both objected, but crime and corruption were down, while the southern half of the Holy Kingdom, which was closely tied to the temples of the traditional six gods, was demanding that Caspond ban Ainz worship, and was reducing its relief supplies in retaliation...oh yes it 'said' that there were weak harvests and mines had collapsed, but these excuses were thinner than the paper they were written on to the political and experienced eyes of the bloody emperor. This was retaliation plain and simple.
Jircniv laughed out loud, startling some of his guards, he'd reached more or less the same conclusion as Black Justice had already, as far as he knew what real power was, compared to that which was in any human hands. Apparently Neia had been named 'Pope' of the Cult of Ainz, and the letters she'd written to her followers, along with the letters of Ainz and his guardians, were being combined into a single unified holy book. Jircniv didn't really wonder if the timing of this event, being almost to the day in line with the Baharuth Empire's priests sending out a call for a synod to settle the theological questions brought about by the rise of the Sorcerer Kingdom, was coincidental or not. 'Not a chance' He said out loud to himself, 'Now his worshipers will have to be represented or risk riots, let alone risk offending Ainz himself. Which should be their first and most obvious clue, because if the direct servants of the four or the six have to fear the wrath of this one...what does that make him?' He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply, the Southern Kingdom nobles were fools. True they had not suffered at the hands of Jaldabaoth as the Northern Kingdom had, but they should remember that they were not the ones to win the war either. If their goal was to drive the kingdom to civil war, or push the north further into the hands of the Sorcerer Kingdom, they were well on their way to succeeding. 'Stupid.' He said dismissively. Jircniv gave a sardonic chuckle to himself and picked up the next piece of paper.
A report from their observers in the Slane Theocracy, 'Marvelous.' he said and proceeded to read. The Slane Theocracy was responding to the Southern and Northern nobles complaints about the lack of priests in the Holy Kingdom, by sending out priests of their own, and, secretly, inquisitors to be put to the use of the nobles to uproot 'heresy' when they had established themselves in towns, cities, and villages. Jircniv clenched his fist around the report, 'Those fools!' he shouted and stood up, before catching himself, and gesturing for his startled gaurds to be at ease, and reseating himself slowly and forcing his heart to cease its sudden rapid beating.
'Don't they know what they're doing, how could they be so stupid?!' He thought to himself. He thought about the report of how Black Justice had handled itself against bandits, demihumans, and monsters, he imagined the cruel but pampered inquisitors trying to arrest even one of the elite Black Justice combat teams, for heresy, while the followers of Ainz were armed and armored with war gear directly from the Sorcerer King, and he wanted to laugh out loud all over again. 'The only way they'd have a prayer is if...' his mind began to race as he imagined how that would have to be done...'no...no...no.' over and over it turned in his mind. The Theocracy was made up of religious fanatics, their scriptures were on par with or surpassed most Adamantite teams, and the Paladins of the Holy Kingdom, while fewer in number, were still a force to be reckoned with and considerably better than the average soldier. In his mind he imagined Paladin and Scripture charging full tilt at one of the Black Justice shrines to take Neia Baraja into custody, and her veterans of the war equipped with gear and a fanatical will to power, ready to receive them with a unique combat method...he couldn't picture the outcome of such a struggle, or even there being only one. He imagined the devotees of the various temples dividing apart over the issue, with any slight straying from doctrine being treated as heresy, it was as if he could see one possible future unfolding, the soldiers of Ainz marching out of Nazarick to defend his followers, the Slane Theocracy, with their eyes on Heaven and not paying attention the world around them, finally declaring a crusade against the Sorcerer Kingdom, Re-Estize large population tearing itself apart or fleeing to one side or the other...
He saw the nations and leaders on the world stage, as if he saw dominoes, one falling in to the other, until all fell down and could not rise again.
'Could I be seeing a vision of the future...or am I being merely paranoid, I wish I knew.' He said to himself as he picked up another report, just as the prime minister arrived with a secretary.
The men bowed, but Jircniv waved it away perfunctorily to dismiss the copious greetings, 'We've got work to do, come into my office, we must settle on what to write to the Sorcerer King to seek his counsel and aid, because if we do not get it, I fear the human nations will simply cease to be. It may be that it happens anyway, but if it happens, it won't be because the bloody emperor sat back and did nothing.' He said and strode forcefully towards his inner sanctum, followed with trepidation by the prime minister and his servant.
AN: I know this is a little short, its really more about laying out the scene as Jircniv sees it and providing a little foreshadowing for both this story and the other, the next segment will be longer most likely, but none of these chapters for Memory & a Message, will be as long as those of 'God Rising'. Still, I hope you enjoy the ride along the way, a third story may be joining these two soon, but we'll have to see, it depends on what I do with the outline. And of course: REVIEWS WELCOME! :)