...Re-Estize Kingdom...Renner's Private Quarters...
Renner sat quietly while the maid poured tea for her, her brother King Zanac, & the Marquis Raeven, she smiled as sweetly as she could, which chilled the two men quite a bit given that they knew the real nature of the golden princess, but silently they sat as the maid, who each of them knew was the daughter of a noble house that was part of the noble faction, did her work. They looked her over as she tended the task, she was a slender girl in her early teens, younger than the princess, with hair the brown shade of a field mouse and small equally brown eyes that looked rather dim. At first glance she did not appear to be all that bright, but as they knew very well...appearances deceived. So wait they did until she left them alone.
"What exactly did I just see?" King Zanac said in a hushed voice.
"I have the same question." The Marquis Raeven said.
Princess Renner enjoyed this part, when men were uncomfortable around a woman of uncertain ability, they were bound to be more pliant, more willing to reason and negotiate. Known quantities made them confident, brash, less likely to give way, their uncertainty in this was her ally. She sipped her tea as they spoke and set it down gently, the way a princess should. "She did a very good job with the tea." Her smile was sweet and polite as the cup moved from her lips, but when the little clink of the glass cup hitting the glass saucer echoed, her smile returned to the more twisted one they knew.
"That my brother, Marquis Raeven, was me returning from a private audience with the Sorcerer King." She said, and their faces turned pale.
"He can...how could...no..." King Zanac began, but could not finish what he was about to say. Largely because he himself did not know his own intentions.
"It can't be true." The Marquis Raeven added, shock in his voice.
"Now, stay calm, it isn't a bad thing, not at all." She said sweetly. "We talked about a lot, why he even let me see Climb." She said happily.
"He did what? He is behind the kidnapping?! Did he kill father as well?! Did he kidnap all our faction's heirs?!" King Zanac leapt to his feet, fists curled in outrage, while the Marquis Raeven ran his hands through his hair as thoughts rushed through his head.
"No...no he didn't, did he?" The Marquis said, his voice quivering as he spoke, he stared wide eyed down at the ground, "But he knows where they all are doesn't he, he knows exactly who has them, where they are, and how they are, he didn't take them...but they're still his hostages nonetheless!" He exclaimed loudly, freezing Zanac where he stood while the princess sweetly smiled in her seat and drank her tea.
"Are you two finished? Because I'd rather tell you everything before the tea grows cold." She said, and Zanac slowly reclaimed his seat.
"You are correct Lord Raeven." She said, "Very impressive. He did not kidnap them, but he knows where they all are and he can retrieve them at any time, I walked in to Climb's...quarters, without any effort whatsoever, spoke with him, and walked out the same way. Nobody knew I was even there."
"But...why didn't you rescue him? Leave with him I mean?" Zanac asked, mystified.
"Because while the kidnappers, the Slane Theocracy if you had not already guessed, have all of them, all of you and your other family members are completely immune to assassination, all you have to do is cooperate and do nothing while the traitors out themselves." She said, and began to pour another cup for herself rather than call the maid back and slow this business down.
Raeven and Zanac exchanged a look of uncertainty, and Renner watched as understanding dawned.
"So because they are hostages, they are safe and the enemy grows bold." Raeven said.
"Yes, his majesty intends to ensure that you remain on the throne brother, you will not lose the crown. There are however, some conditions, however he has promised that if we meet all these conditions, he will destroy the noble faction, erase the Theocracy threat, and he intends a comprehensive plan of investment and reconstruction of our kingdom. You by the way, Marquis Raeven, will be off the hook for having me marry your son, one of these conditions is that I be permitted without opposition, to marry Climb." They listened for the next two hours as she outlined the events predicted by the Sorcerer King, his timeline as he expected the war to unfold, the expected treason of the incompetents and the drawing in of the noble faction, the insight was shocking, but also heartening.
"Sister, I do not know if this will matter to you, but the Marquis & I were already discussing bestowing a noble title to Climb, the only real question was where it should be, though if events are to be as you say, we will have no shortage of places to offer him, perhaps we should simply allow him his choice as a wedding gift to him." Zanac said, and he saw the first indication of real affection on her face when he spoke.
"It does." She said, her smile sweet and dainty again, "So for now, don't worry, your relatives are all safe and will be kept that way, there will be some changes of course..." Her eyes narrowed, "I have worked well with the facade of powerlessness, weakness, and being the odd but beautiful daughter of the King. I have carefully ensured I am not thrown to some noble's bed as a broodmare in exchange for some political support, but I will not be so powerless again. I will never be in a position to have to maneuver my way out of such a situation, instead I will ensure I am in position that nobody would ever think to bring it up. Are we clear...your majesty...Marquis?" Renner asked.
"When was it?" Zanac asked.
"When was what?" Renner replied as the sweet smile replaced her dark expression.
"When did you join with the Sorcerer King?" He asked. "Really?"
"Oh brother, you're so funny." She gave an idiotic little titter of laughter.
"When?" He asked again, more forcefully this time.
Her eyes went narrow, "You've grown up, King Zanac. In different circumstances, you might have surpassed father in stewardship. The answer is...years ago, though he asked little more than to make me aware of any threats to his interests. This is the first time he has sought me out to pass terms on to you. Now, what do you say gentlemen? Will you accept his terms? I remind you before you answer...the royal faction is not in the best position to say no. When the younger nobles and their allies force us into the war, and the Slane Theocracy is holding so many hostages, if you are not on the Sorcerer King's side, and you are not on the noble's side, you will be caught in the middle and crushed between them both. You will obviously not survive that. So you need to decide whose forces you want to face. Do you want to fight for the Sorcerer King...who guarantees your lives, throne, estates, and future...or for some idiotic nobles with delusions of grandeur who promise you nothing, can offer you nothing, and will behead you when it is all over, if you survive that long?"
It wasn't even a question. The King & the Marquis exchanged a glance and said, "The Sorcerer King." Renner smiled brightly and poured more tea, and explained that they needed to host a ball, and as they nodded in assent as they listened to her explanation. When they consented, she was sure she'd earned a reward from her true lord, and she began to let loose with her mad laughter, chilling them to the bone, and swelling their hearts with pity for the boy, Climb.
...Black Justice raiding party, Northwest of the dead city of Wenmark...
Neia, Skana, & CZ rode on undead horses at the head of their unit of raiders, Between themselves and the Blood Miners, there were one hundred and fifty in total. This was not the entirety of their numbers, others escorted more refugees East, while still others went out to raid farms for food and other necessary goods. Those were the easy tasks, ones that a band of fighters that were poorly equipped could still manage if they took their targets by surprise. Their orders were simple. Start...fires...everywhere. When Remedios did eventually give up in Wenmark's ruins, Neia wanted her chasing shadows, finding nothing. Meanwhile Neia, Skana, CZ, & most of the remaining Black Justice elites, took advantage of their mobility to raid small mining complexes and free captives.
Though they rode in silence for a time, it could not last and eventually CZ turned to Neia and said, "Sorry."
Neia shook her head, "No, you were trying to help." And she smiled at the demon maid to show that it was alright.
"Cute." She said, and put a sticker on Neia's cheek again.
Neia rolled her eyes and gave a long suffering sigh, which drew a laugh from Skana that spilled back over to Neia, a feeling they badly needed.
"So...what happened?" Skana asked, "Can I even ask that?"
Neia turned her head back to the road in front of her. "The Sorcerer King...well he gave me a talking to, he told me things...I can't really explain it. Look...I don't really know how to say this in a way that makes sense, but he described me as having an invisible wound, and that it needed to be treated. I don't really understand it all, but...I know I don't have to think I am weak for feeling the thing I've felt, for...for wanting help, needing help." Neia didn't look at them, but they looked at her.
"I know that I have nothing to be ashamed of, though I guess that doesn't stop the feelings I've had, these are the risks I've chosen to accept, and these...invisible wounds to my mind are things I have to live with. His encouragement let me vent a lot, and his home...so tranquil...I didn't want to leave, but I have work to do. I can't stop this, but by knowing whats wrong I can, at least for now...cope with this." She shook her head, bouncing her now somewhat longer hair around in a way that might have seemed playful from the back, "But I'll need your help and support, I can't do this alone. We fought together through a lot, the three of us, I guess you could say I'm just going to need you to look out for me as I try to get better..."
CZ nodded. "War sister." She said bluntly.
Neia smiled a little weakly.
"If I'd help you walk when you're wounded with an arrow to the knee, well what kind of companion would I be if you had a wound in your head?" She asked rhetorically.
Neia swallowed and held back tears.
"I couldn't ask for better than what I have right now." She said, "But speaking of...how do you think Tinamoc is faring? He got out earlier than we did, but I haven't seen or heard from him." Skana asked.
That brought a worried look from Neia. "He's clever, I'm sure he's fine, if he were dead or captured that would have been used against us by now. He probably just took the long circuitous route to get to safety."
CZ didn't say anything, and anything she might have said was interrupted by the return of a scout. "The mining facility is just ahead, around three hundred slaves, one hundred guards. No wall higher than six feet, all we need is a ramp and we're in."
Neia's expression became predatory. "Good." She looked over her shoulder, "Bring the ramps and form up for the charge!" she snapped out, and her fighters began to prepare. "Remember, no prisoners among the guards, and burn whatever is still standing when we're done!" Her voice was vicious, made more so by the power of the evangelist, and as they drew closer, before the charge was sounded, Skana said softly, "No prisoners? Are you sure? That isn't the Neia I know."
She turned to her lover, her eyes went from terrifying to gentle, and reached out and touched Skana's hand and said, "That isn't who I was, but it is the Neia that I am. Are you with me Skana?" She asked.
Skana nodded and drew her sword. "I am, to the end." Neia's eyes turned hard again as the lines drew up and they closed in a few minutes later.
She took out her sword, raised it, and lowered it forward, her voice cutting through the peaceful air.
...Hoburns, court of the Roble Holy Kingdom...
The new King Astraka was in a fairly good mood despite everything, the council had uniformly voted him into position the death of Handor was of little note, he didn't much like the man anyway...and Black Justice was to blame. The formal extension of a request for aid from the Theocracy had been positively answered, and the capitol's population of heretics had dropped considerably as penalties increased in severity and criminal statutes expanded to create things to find them guilty of. He was practically giddy...up until the afternoon when he recieved word that Wenmark was a smoked out ruin. For a moment he wondered if it was the traitor Gustav, but that was to far away from his last known sighting, and burning such a city would require more force than he had at his disposal. Wenmark was an important city in the Southern Holy Kingdom, and many nobles were reliant on the metals and armor they produced.
He responded to this with yet more laws, stripping the priests of their status if they were thought to have heretical sympathies and even banning the formation of any priestly order without approval from the crown. Black Justice members responded by disguising their priests and remaining mobile...and also dangerous, more than one paladin had been cut down, and it was this that gave him cause to declare a national emergency because of the 'rebellion'.
Sitting on his throne, he laughed at the petitions delivered to him by blasphemous priests of an undead deity, it felt good to laugh, he tore up their petitions in front of them, and sometimes arrested them for heresy, other times he played the benevolent figure and let them return to tell their people what happened. But this arrogant dismissal changed when the old man came to court calling himself an ambassador of the Sorcerous Kingdom.
"So, what does the undead want with my kingdom?" He asked condescendingly. The man looked good enough, dignified, back straight, the picture of a perfect servant, more a butler than an ambassador, but he would hear the man out anyway.
"The Sorcerer King sends three messages to you King Astraka. Only two however, are to be read aloud, how you respond to the first is going to determine which of the other two is given next. The butler-like ambassador said formally.
Astraka stroked his beard and then nodded, "Very well, say on."
The ambassador drew a document from his breast pocket and read it, silence fell over the court.
"I, Ainz Ooal Gown, king of the Sorcerous Kingdom, send greetings and good tidings to King Astraka, yet also I come to you seeking to resolve troubling matters that have grown up between our nations since the defeat of Jaldabaoth. Aid I have dispatched to you has been stolen by those intended to use it to rebuild, those who follow my beliefs have been imprisoned and killed, those who would heal the people have been punished for doing so without the accompanying greed displayed by their rivals, and the practice of slavery has risen to prominence in the South, and a foreign power has been allowed to operate with impunity to harm those who merely speak positively of the aid I have rendered and the way of life that they have chosen to emulate in accordance with my ways. For peace to reign between our nations, these and other practices must change. The foreign military units and accompanying agents operating with permission of the crown must be withdrawn, those who follow my beliefs should be released from prison, and persecutory laws created solely to punish them for their beliefs, and all enslavement of elves and other intelligent beings must be rescinded and those responsible for these crimes against civilization must be punished. Alternatively, all those who wish to practice their faith and are willing to leave your nation to do so, should be paid fair value for any homes or other property left behind and they should be permitted to emigrate to my nation, in which case I should be compensated for all charter towns sponsored by the Sorcerous Kingdom up to this time." When he finished reading, Sebas returned the document to another pocket and looked at King Astraka, awaiting his answer. He got it.
Laughter, Astraka was laughing. "Absolutely not. The King of this nation is the only one to make laws for it. Nor will we allow our citizens to simply leave to make a new army against us, they will remain, the prisoners will remain, if anyone tries to leave, they forfeit their property for nothing, I refuse all of your nation's commands, killing one measly demon is no reason to give you such influence, nor will we."
"Very well. Second answer it is then." Sebas said and drew out the another letter.
"So you have refused, pity. Then we also demand the immediate restoration of Queen Calca to the throne, she has been wrongly deprived of it by death in the service of her nation, and the declination of her revival by religious authorities. I, the Sorcerer King, have revived the Queen to life and she should be restored to the throne immediately. If she is not, then for the purpose of restoring to her her rightful place, and other reasons pertaining to the crimes against the dignity of free intelligent beings, the Sorcerer King will consider this to be a declaration of war."
You could have heard a pin drop in the court of Hoburns.
Astraka was the first to speak. "Queen Calca is DEAD!" He stood up in outrage, "She cannot rule!"
"Was it not clear? My lord has recovered enough of her body to revive her, using a ninth tier spell, she lives again, and because my master knew you would doubt his words..." He put away the previous document and took out another, he held it up and opened it.
"My master has brought Queen Calca to each of the relevant diplomats and rulers of the surrounding kingdoms, the Baharuth Empire, the Re-Estize Kingdom, the Argland Council State, & the Draconic Kingdom. Each ruler has placed their seal on this document attesting under oaths to their gods that she is who she appears to be, and each diplomat who encountered her in the past was able to identify her as the true Queen. They further attest that they support her claim to the throne, as they have confirmed that she is not under any form of magical compulsion that would invalidate her rule. She IS the rightful Queen, you are sitting on her throne, and she orders you to remove yourself from it so that she may resume the rule of her nation."
The sound of cotton rubbing on cotton could have been heard, and a pin's drop could have been as loud as a thunderclap in a raging storm.
"If she is not undead, then she is a fake, if they say she is not a fake, she is under control, if they say she is not under control, then I say they are under your influence!" Astraka pointed at Sebas Tian and raged away at the declaration. "This is my kingdom, she had her chance to rule, and she nearly destroyed us by her failure, the best thing she ever did was die so that someone more competent could take over, and we will not have our nation destroyed because of the restless dead!"
"Very well." Sebas said, "Then war it will be. To that end, my master proposes a meeting to settle the terms of the war."
"Terms? What terms?!" Astraka shouted in utter fury.
"My master values the wellbeing of those who would not choose to be victims, to that end he is willing to trade certain concessions in the fight to come in exchange for certain behavior out of his opponents." Sebas said flatly.
This gave him pause, he sat back down on his throne. "Very well. We propose a meeting to take place in thirty days in a neutral location to be determined." King Astraka said, fury still boiling in his eyes.
"I suggest the Draconic Kingdom." Sebas said, "They have friendly ties to each nation and favor to none of them."
It was a quick answer, and Astraka narrowed his eyes, it was to quick, they knew this was going to happen this way, still it was a good selection.
"Very well." The King replied. "We will see you then." He snapped, "Now get out."
Sebas bowed politely and walked out of the throne room, resulting in a bustling of activity and communications running to the Slane Theocracy.
...Kami Miyako, council chamber, three days after the declaration of war...
"Can we win?" Berenice asked.
"To late to ask that now I think." Raymond said dryly.
"I say its about damn time we took the fight to the undead!" Dominic responded sharply.
"I prefer only fights we can win," Maximillion said, "but first thing first, what do you suppose he's going to offer at this prewar negotiation?"
"Unconditional surrender maybe?" Ginedine replied, resulting in a hearty round of laughter.
Yvon pondered the matter, his slender eyes going even more so as he stroked his chin in thought. "This undead persistently expresses his concern for the living, in contradiction to what we know undead to be like. This undead has tremendous power, yet he abides by the norms of diplomacy rather than simply ignoring them. He is also inordinately intelligent, it may be he intends to negotiate away the use of certain weapons..."
"Absolutely not!" Dominic snapped.
"Calm down Dominic." Raymond said with a measure of exhaustion, the man's temper was truly beyond the endurance of a saint. "Nobody has agreed to anything, but we will attend this meeting, and hopefully catch him offguard by our presence. Perhaps if he sees a united front, he will prefer to negotiate a peace favorable to us rather than risk a war?"
He knew it was incredibly unlikely, perhaps impossible, yet in saying something like that, Raymond had hoped to boost their spirits a bit and restore some rationality to the group.
It was hard to be the most calm of the lot.
...East of Kedyn...
Gustav Montagne stood over the body of a paladin, a paladin he himself had just killed. Nor was that the only one, his men and women finished mopping up another heretic hunting band. Since he had officially branded himself traitor and outcast over the pardoning of Remedios, everything had changed. New laws reached his ears, there were prison wagons to raid in great numbers, and heretic hunters moved openly. Black Justice fought back, and he with them, and they were not to be lightly taken. There were also adventurers aplenty to contend with, those of the Sorcerous Kingdom were quick to accept his pay and continue to operate privately, but now they were on poor terms with the local government, and that made communication and resupply harder. But all that was being topped right now as he finished off the last heretic hunter, he saw Blue Rose coming over the rise.
They had weapons out, drawn by the sound of fighting, but when they saw Gustav's banner they sheathed their armaments and approached. Gustav cleaned the blood from his blade and sheathed his in turn, and as he came close he held out his hand, and Lakyus took it gladly. "I wasn't expecting to see you hear!" He said with a grin, "I heard the King fired you."
Lakyus offered a return grin. "We were fired, the Sorcerer King decided to hire us to continue to protect his people, he even offered to hire us to help his army."
"You'd work for him?" He asked, "After the Katze Plains?"
Lakyus's face was somewhat conflicted, "Our...thinking on this subject has evolved, for now we're content to do our part to protect the people here. Having met his majesty though, I am beyond impressed with him. I admit the thought of working for him more directly has crossed all our minds."
That caught Gustav by surprise, but if he had anything negative to say on the subject, he didn't speak it aloud. "Well, good enough that you're here. I assume word has reached you about Remedios?" He asked.
They gave unhappy nods. "She was pardoned, restored to the fold, and I've heard of what she's been up to in the South, but more importantly we've seen first hand what she's become, we saw her. We were in the South just recently." Lakyus said, and Gustav's eyes went wide with surprise.
"What do you mean?" He asked softly.
"You've heard of Wenmark?" She asked.
"I have." He said with a grim expression.
"It doesn't exist anymore." Lakyus said bluntly.
"What happened?" He asked in a hushed voice.
Lakyus and the rest of Blue Rose began to fill him in on the events of the dead city, the horrors they found, the failed escape attempt lead by Neia, the way Remedios had slain fleeing slaves like they were putting down wild dogs. Gustav took that especially hard, he sat down and stared at the ground shaking his head. Lakyus touched his shoulder, "I know, who ever thought she'd turn into...this? But it isn't your fault."
"It is..." he said softly, "You know how she was arrested, how she was imprisoned, what her sentence was?" Gustav asked.
"We have heard stories about that..." Evileye added.
"I helped her escape, oh I had additional help as well, setting a few fires, distracting some guards, but I got her out, her and most of her core retinue. I didn't want this, I didn't see this coming about as a result...I was just being loyal to my commander, the one I bled and fought and risked it all beside. I just didn't want her to die that way, I thought she'd escape, and...I don't know what I thought she was going to do, but not this!" He said softly. "Never this."
Lakyus was surprised, shocked, but also understood. "I'll be frank, given what she's done, I won't be surprised if the Sorcerer King intends to hold you to account for her freedom to act as she has."
Gustav could only nod, "I can't deny it. If it comes down to it, I'll accept the judgement, I chose to save her, so I have some responsibility at least, for what she does with the life she got back. My only defense would be that it was done out of loyalty to a precious comrade, and that I did not know what she'd become. The only thing that is worth is a quick death as opposed to a slow one. I'll turn myself over when everything is said and done."
It was an awkward moment, one Lakyus ended by asking, "What are you doing now?"
"We were tasked with hunting Remedios, then we were tasked with rewarding her, we've abandoned that task and," he crouched down and began drawing in the dirt with his finger, "we've been making a circuit since our time in Kedyn, rebuilding our strength and numbers, we were planning to make a wide loop and pick up volunteers as we moved towards the border, with one final stop at Prart, and then move South to engage Remedios directly."
"Were you planning to swing by Kedyn?" Lakyus asked.
"I had, it is my last stop in this part of the country before the straight march to Prart, we've been going to the places where we were most likely to find volunteers. It has been hard going however, we're now the hunted ones, so we have to avoid patrols and others who would bring us down."
"Kedyn is fairly close by now, its why you've run into us, after our time in Wenmark, we visited the Sorcerer King's realm, and he sent us back here at our request, offering to pay for this continued service and to make us part of one of his armies if he we wished. You'll have a safe harbor in Kedyn for now at least, and you can move on from there after a few days, I'm sure you'll have many volunteers." She said encouragingly.
"Let us go out to the surrounding villages and towns and ask for volunteers for you, we have to visit those places anyway, and you can gain at least some recreation time before moving on." Lakyus offered generously.
Gustav did not have to think long before he accepted, and they mounted horses and began to ride back to Kedyn once again.
...Draconic Kingdom...Royal court...
"So the Sorcerer King wants our nation to host the prewar negotiations?" The Queen asked.
"He does, your majesty." Vermillion said politely.
"I'm not about to object." She answered, "Neutral or not, I'm hardly in a position to politely refuse, and more than that I actually want to see what happens up close."
The nobles who stood around the court seemed very small to her in that moment, petty concerns about marriages and trade and low politics, now she found her nation about to be, for a little while at least, the center of power for the world, as the leaders of the world's great powers came together. Privately she prepared to hire a few artists as observers, the moment would be captured forever, and she wanted it immortalized.
Messages came in over the next few days as the Baharuth Empire, the Re-Estize Kingdom, the Slane Theocracy, the Argland Council, and the Roble Holy Kingdom stating their attendance, and their purpose being to declare officially, their status in the war to come. There were no words calling for peace in those messages, it was far to late for that.
Preparations were extensive, the Draconic Kingdom, despite the breathing room they'd been given, had suffered much and was low on resources. However when it came to the matter of state appearances, she could not appear to be a failed nation, therefore they drew out the best of everything, the finest cooks were brought to the capitol, the finest meats were selected, the finest wines, drawn directly from the storage of the Draconic Queen herself, everything had to go perfectly. An empire could be won at dinner, a throne lost over wine, in this, politics was war, and banquets were the front lines where nations were born and died in a single moment.
Her nobles were of a somewhat hardier stock than many other nations could say of their own, they had to be, the threat of the beastmen was so ever present that few could forget it for very long, and though her nation produced its share of useless fops, it was also fair to say that she had a higher than average number of pragmatic ones, though their concerns might often be petty and personal, they would not lose sight of the importance of presenting a good face to their neighbors. National humiliation could easily become national extermination, and she did not want that.
So the Draconic Queen worked tirelessly, personally overseeing every detail and requesting information from the other countries as to who was attending, while she quietly sought information on their personal preferences in food and drink. It still seemed utterly bizarre to have to ensure a chef knew what to prepare for the 'late' Queen Calca, from what she knew of the Queen's death, it should have been impossible to return her to life. Yet here she was attending with the Sorcerer King. Power over life and death like that...it was enough to make her shudder, perhaps more so than whatever mysterious actions he'd taken against the beastmen, a few human witnesses had witnessed him simply standing there and watching as the beastmen fell over dead while he pointed at them. Even that scanty information dried up when it came to whatever he had done IN the beastman kingdom, of that she knew nothing, only that they had not returned. Was he truly a god? It was a troubling thought that occupied her nights before she slept, and it occupied her days while she set the management of the Kingdom into Vermillion's hands, as she herself continued to oversee the most important gathering she thought she'd see in her lifetime.
It was all so furitive and quick that the days and nights passed like hours, and carriages began to arrive, she'd ordered the streets completely cleared of traffic, and from her palace she could see the advance, the gates were opened, and one by one magnificent carriages came through, they were easy enough to recognize. The gilded gold and cherry colored carriage of the Baharuth Emperor. The white carriage of the Slane Theocracy. The green and gold carriage of the Roble Holy Kingdom...the green & gold carriage of the Roble Holy Kingdom...she blinked, she looked again. There were two...so which was...it hit her. "He's given Queen Calca a carriage modeled after the one she used as Queen, it was an impossible to miss symbolic act, one no nobleman or woman would miss. She was there as the legitimate ruler, not as a mere proxy of the Sorcerer King. King Astraka would not like that, but it was a clear signal to the allies of the Sorcerer King that they were not simply fighting to expand his power. "He really is brilliant." She said softly. Behind her came the Re-Estize Kingdom's carriage, aged wood, silver, and gold, their cultural love of their heritage and deep history had influenced the design choices in obvious ways. Argland, their carriage had carved scales all over it, reflective and shimmering, it was either very beautiful, or very gaudy, depending on who you asked...but if you didn't like it, you were unwise to let the dragons know. The elf kingdom, green colored wheels and a soft colored wood that looked almost like brass, decorated with painted white trees and branches around it.
Finally the black of the Sorcerer King, it was simple onyx color, carved from some unfamiliar type of wood, with golden wheels, ornate and enticing, it was impossible not to be impressed by the fine craftsmanship. But more impressive was that it was pulled by undead horses. The delegates had not skipped on their method of arrival. This was not a surprise to her, and she watched as the carriages slowly navigated the winding streets, drawing ever closer to her palace. She felt her breathing quicken with some measure of nervousness growing inside her.
By all the gods she desperately wanted a drink.
AN: Well here we are, war has been officially declared, what remains are the terms of war, and then the fighting begins in earnest. Its been a LONG road getting to this point, my INITIAL outline had this entire story arc ending in 50 chapters. OBVIOUSLY that is not going to be the case, I found I had to expand the outline considerably, and future chapters will probably take a little longer simply because I have to go back and reference earlier material and I don't want to create any conflicts.
Thanks to those of you who have been reading up to now, I know I lost a few readers along the way over the whole Neia/Skana relationship being a thing, but for those who stayed, I hope that added, rather than detracted from the story as it added a humanizing element to a complex character's growth and maturity. A few of you caught on to Neia's growing darkness, her comfort with killing, a few of you even impressively caught on to the increasing evidence of mental trauma that she suffered, and wrote in to say it either helped to see how it was presented, or in one case, that they were going to get help for someone else because of it. So...yay. Nice to know this is having an impact. I was particularly touched by the people who said they shed some tears over a scene or two, well I guess that means I'm doing something right. :)
Now as far as Neia's damaged mental state goes, some things I should make clear. I'm not going to throw a mcguffin in there to solve the problem. (I fucking hate those contrivances) she's got shit to deal with, and its going to change her behavior as a result, how she will develop long term as she struggles to see the war to its end, I will not tell you. Arcs within arcs, you'll just have to wait and see. The actual war will be...lets just call it large. I know some have pointed out that I've boosted a few numbers, and yes, its true, I have. A battle of 2,000 is just not very enjoyable for me to write, a battle of 200,000 on the other hand, is. So, I took some liberties there, and in the end I hope you think I made the right literary choice.
Also, I know I said I wasn't going to post again for a few days...but this was ACTUALLY supposed to go up yesterday, and I forgot about it, so...here. Plus...ALearningMan posted today, so 'I' have to as well. ;) If you haven't read his fiction 'Brave New World: The Summit' you should. You really, really should. You should ALSO tell him to stop taking things out of my brain because 'I' had a story like that planned and now I can't write it because I don't think I can do it better. But seriously...if you're reading this man, keep it up, I want the next chapter already.
Alright, well that's all for now, I'll be back in a few days with new chapters, and there is no waaaay you could forcibly drag me back early by getting it up to 900 reviews, that's impossible, I don't know how often this particular story is read, but it can't be that much, so ha ha ha, I've now set an impossible measurement to force an early chapter release so NOW you'll just have to wait.