The mountains that split the Argland Council State and Re-Stize Kingdom have always been considered a frosted wasteland abandoned by the rest of the world. The massive chain stretched for hundreds of miles, isolating the demi-human nation from its neighbours and serving as the greatest natural barrier in the known world. If one were even to consider traversing it, they would immediately be put off by inclines so steep no animal-drawn carriage could ever hope to cross over. And if not, the vast valleys formed by glaciers long since melted after the ice ages would discourage even the bravest of explorers that would have dared to cross it on foot. These bottomless abysses of death ran across the whole mountain range, like cracks in a window, dividing and destroying any possible path between them. Add to that the harsh weather that eternally embraced the area; with winds so strong not even the thickest of coats would be able to shield their wearer from its chill and snow falling so heavily one would find himself buried alive before he knew it, and the result was an empty void in which no life could possibly thrive. It was to the point that all the common trading routes between the nations have been built around avoiding this natural dead-end. So it stood to reason that a single old woman wearing a brown cloak leisurely approaching the base of the mountain made for a rather strange sight.
While her wrinkled face and carefully braided snow-white hair barely began to do her true age justice, her step still had that youthful sprint that would make one look twice if they were passing her on the street. Barely paying any heed to her surroundings, her steps carried her towards the grey cliff. Her hand reached for the cold hard stone, hovering over a strange symbol inscribed on its surface. It was such an inconspicuous little carving that it'd be almost impossible to find it if you weren't actively looking for it. With practised moves, her finger seemingly slid across its surface, tracing the pattern. As soon as she was done, the symbol started glowing with a bluish tint, causing a distortion in the rock around it. The whole area seem to twist in it of itself, the very space it occupied distorting under the sheer volume it was forced to maintain all at once. No matter how many times it happened, the woman never got tired of watching the phenomenon. The power held in these so-called 'runes' was a concept completely foreign to her. it was a thaumaturgy that existed beyond even what Wild Magic could accomplish. Even after over a century of researching them, she wasn't much closer to discerning the inner workings behind them. The closest she managed to achieve was replicating and improving upon the runes the dwarves had been known to create, but those were just shallow imitations next to the article in front of her. But as much as she would have liked to keep admiring it, she couldn't be late for the meeting that was about to begin so, with a slightly heavy heart, Rigrit Bers Caurau stepped through the wall in front of her.
At such a low altitude the cold hadn't properly set in, but her muscles did relax when she was suddenly blasted by the hot air from inside. She was greeted by a narrow, well-lit corridor stretching for about 500 meters in front of her. The inside of the base itself had always been rudimentary; only the private rooms of the attendants had been given any sort of proper care. It was built with the idea of practicality in mind; this wasn't a place that needed to be smeared by the need of maintaining the illusion of wealth or power, where the walls were adorned in gold and jewels that spoke of its glory and history. No, this was a place where decisions were made, where vanity was left at the doorstep for the sake of a greater goal. Rigrit always believed that was the message its creator wanted to transmit.
The senior necromancer couldn't tell how long she walked until she reached the large, wooden door; space here was as fickle as summer showers: you could never predict how long it lasts, beginning and ending just as suddenly. There were multiple entry points hidden inside of the mountain, every one of them a guarded secret only known by the allied nation it was built for. She wasn't properly affiliated with any nation, but she was using the pathway that corresponded to the Council State since right now she technically served as its representative. This wasn't something she was remotely happy with. Adventurers, by nature, tended to distance themselves as much as possible from the tediousness that came with the intricate and underhanded world of politics, and she was no different. It spoke volumes of the gravity of the situation that she let herself be convinced by Vaision to attend in his place.
The door opened before she had the chance to touch it, leading the way into the largest room in the facility. She had once been told it had been dubbed 'Melocat' but she had no idea what it was supposed to mean. The first thing that immediately stood out about it was the grandiose round table that took over most of the available space, leaving only three people's worth of space between it and the wall. In the very centre lay engraved a golden harp, the only proper decoration in the otherwise spartan-like room The table itself was evenly divided into six, made evident by the six different coloured sets of chairs, each occupying a different portion of the table. Each colour signified one of the six nations of this makeshift alliance. 'Alliance might be too strong a word,' she pondered. 'It's more like a pack of vultures that only works together because they couldn't stand the idea of a lion stealing their prey."
Rigrit had been far from the first to arrive. As she made her way towards her seat, one of the ones painted in luscious silver, she did her best to answer the inquisitive glares and half-hearted greetings with an amicable smile. It didn't help much, the tension in the air was palpable enough that she could have cut it with a knife. The room was encased in almost complete silence, safe for an occasional cough or a light rustling of clothes. It wasn't all too different to the only other time she had been seated at this table, but the difference was that this time she was completely on her own. Her age and experience prevented her from being crushed by the overwhelming pressure building up around her but trying to convince such high-profile individuals to put their difference aside and work with one another was still not something she was looking forward to. She would have rather faced again that Venomous Hydra that almost wiped out her entire party back in her days with the Blue Rose.
The allocated time for the meeting to begin was still a while off, so she decided to pass the time by observing the other participants. The ones closer to her were the delegates from the Slane Theocracy, whose designated colour was a jaded green. They were clad from head to toe in white cloaks, entirely concealing any discernable features. Even compared to the other delegates, they seemed to have entirely removed themselves from interacting with everybody else, only occasionally whispering among themselves. Their apparent reclusion wasn't all that surprising; as a nation that strongly advocated for human supremacy, that put them in direct conflict with the more demi-human-centric countries. Rigrit didn't have a hard time picturing the disgusted sneers hidden behind their hoods every time their gaze wandered towards the other people at the table.
Moving on, on the opposite side of the table, sitting on the crimson-padded chairs, the representatives of Re-Estize seemed by far the tensest out of everyone here. Most of them she didn't recognize, although she could safely deduce they were probably from the King's inner circle. What surprised her was seeing the narrow-jawed figure of Marquis Raeven amongst them. It seemed like the Second Prince has begun making moves to secure some more political power. Her burrows slightly furrowed, this was definitely not the place for some petty inner fighting. If they didn't present a united front, it would make it all the more difficult for the processions to run smoothly.
Further on the golden-coloured seats symbolizing the Karnsas City Alliance were occupied by only two people, the smallest delegation aside from herself. She only recognised one of them, Re-Kista Cabelia, the mayor of Bebard. The other one, probably her attendant, was an unassuming bespectacled man in a red suit. Despite looking as much out of place as the Theocracy, the woman appeared completely calm and collected, her face an impassable mask. Rigrit had never personally met her before, but she was glad to see that she seemed like a reasonable individual, the only one to properly greet her when she arrived. The two remaining sets of seats were still empty.
As time continued to pass by with little to no change, one of the Theocracy members finally stood up and addressed the makeshift council.
"I believe it is almost time to begin, there is little point in waiting for anyone else to arrive at this point. If everybody is in agreement we would like to start off by saying..."
"I apologize if you feel like your precious time is being wasted, but I believe I am still on time, isn't that right?" a gentle yet firm voice interrupted him.
Strolling through the newly opened door was a woman as beautiful as a freshly-bloomed flower. Her long vibrant hair of spun gold and lovely cyan eyes were a match made in heaven. She proudly held her head high as she walked with all the dignity befitting someone of her standing. 'The Treasure of Roble' herself, the Queen of the Holy Kingdom, calmly made her way towards the vivid violet seats, two of her attendants behind her. The only colour that now remained unclaimed was the navy blue of the Baharuth Empire.
"Of course, your Majesty." the white-clad man sounded as if he had a lump in his throat. "I was only eager for us to begin addressing this so-called 'imminent threat' that befalls our nations."
"Naturally, I understand and share your concern for your own country. We will make sure to come to an agreement that will ensure our people will not be threatened by any disaster that might befall us. That is, after all, the purpose of this council, a place where ALL of us gather and work towards a common goal." With only a couple of words, it was clear for everybody to see that the queen had, in all but name, taken charge of this meeting. There wasn't anyone that would directly oppose her and she knew it; while everyone was supposed to be equal at this table, she held by far the highest position out of all the people here. She was the only one who emitted that distinct presence of a ruler, something that was strongly felt throughout the whole room.
After this display, nobody else dared to issue any complaint, so they all resigned themselves to await for everything to begin properly. It was only after the shy song the small pendulum on the wall announced the passing of the hour that all the whispering stopped, their eyes moving unconsciously to the still-empty spot.
"It seems that the Emperor is a no-show" the Queen sighed, clearly unhappy with this result.
"It still hasn't been that long since the Great Purge, I doubt Jircniv trusts anyone enough safe for Flyudel to send in his place. And coming here is definitely not an option since Re-Stize is participating." Cabelia explained. Rigrit noted that she seemed fairly confident in her assessment of the Emperor.
"After attacking us every year that coward could at least show his face." one of the nobles from the Kingdom grumbled, before being silenced by the intensive stares of his peers.
"Anyways..." the Marquis quickly spoke up, "Lady Caurau, if you'd be so kind as to enlighten us to the reason we have been gathered here?"
"I would like to object!" a member of the Theocracy butted in. She couldn't tell if it was the first one who spoke or another. "This council is supposed to consist of representatives of the Allied Nations, a position that Miss Caurau clearly doesn't qualify for."
It was a reaction the old woman had expected from the beginning, so when all eyes turned towards her, she already had a rebuttal at the ready.
"For the time being, I have been granted the title of 'Temporary Advisor of The Arlgand Council State' " she said while unrolling a scroll from her pouch before displaying it for everybody to see the sigil stamped on it. "As long as I sit at this table, I represent the interests and goals of the nation."
"This is clearly an attempt of the Council State to undermine the rules laid out by the entire Council!" the man in white tried to argue.
"I see no grounds for such accusations." the queen intervened. "Every country is allowed to send any representative as long as it is unanimously agreed by the ruling faction. Is there anyone else who would like to object to Lady's Caurau presence?"
Met with complete silence, the man was forced to admit his defeat, slumping further into his chair.
"Well then, if you'd like to begin?" the queen prompted her.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" she respectfully bowed, standing up to face everyone in the room. Pausing to slowly breathe in, she began. "Another calamity on the level of the Evil Deities and the Eight Greed King is on the horizon."
As she expected, the whole room burst up. Everyone immediately started arguing and speaking over each other, disbelief or anger made clear in their voices. The only exceptions to that were the Holy Kingdom's and the City Alliance's factions. The queen's eyebrows slightly rose up, but other than that her regal mask was barely affected. The mayor girl was even less shaken up, appearing to find the ensuring chaos quite amusing. Even her attendant had to raise his hand to his face to hide the smile forming there.
"That is a rather bold claim" the Queen's tone didn't raise one bit, but it was still enough to drown out all other commotion. "I suppose you also have the evidence to back it up?"
"Please do not entertain such foolish notions, your Majesty." one of the Kingdom's nobles urged her. "Spouting such nonsense in a place like this isn't only distasteful, it borders on heretical!" The sentiment seemed to be shared between a lot of the people present, as it was followed by a couple of agreeing nods.
"I would not hasten to come to that conclusion." Cabelia chimed in. "The person in front of you is still a renowned adventurer that was once part of an Adamantium Class team. Her words ought to carry some weight to them, especially regarding the danger level of an opponent."
Rigrit inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Her declaration had actually landed better than she expected, so now all she had to do was work from there. 'I'm getting too old for such tedious things' she wearily thought to herself.
"This is information that was passed on by Mister V, and verified by Vaision himself. There is little to no doubt about its veracity" That declaration widened a couple of pairs of eyes.
"So we're just supposed to jump forward blindly just because that so-called V said so?" The Theocracy member's voice, a woman this time, was inquisitive at best and outraged at worst. As much as it annoyed her, Rigrit herself could agree with the sentiment. The ever-so-mysterious V, a man that seemed to just suddenly pop out of nowhere, bringing with him great knowledge and strange mystics. Even at the highest of levels, he was considered little more than a rumour, but every time humanity found itself in a time of need, his help had proven invaluable in overcoming the danger that presented itself. It was a name that carried great weight, a name not easily thrown around. The fact that it was mentioned clued in the more sceptical attendants to the seriousness of the situation.
"They appeared less than a month ago and had so far not made any major moves." she continued on, ignoring the woman. "Their base had been discovered in the very beginning, but they have since concealed themselves and any subsequent attempt at finding them ended in failure. Their strength and number could not be quantified, but it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that wiping out a town for them would come as easily as tying your shoes."
"So why are these supposed enemies only biding their time with such strength at their disposal." Marquis Raeven inquired. The man seemed slightly more open to accepting the ideas than his fellow countrymen, who appeared to be taking everything she said with a spoonful of salt.
"Not necessarily. There had been at least one known incident." She suddenly turned towards the white-wearing members of the meeting, trying her best to reign in the smirk on her face. "One of your divisions had suddenly disappeared without a trace, haven't they?"
Despite their features being completely covered, she could still tell that they had been taken by surprise. They shifted uncomfortably inside their cloaks.
"Are you implying that we have been attacked without our notice? There is no proof of such actions to be taken." one of them rebutted. Unspoken was what exactly the troops consisted of and where they were operating when they had been attacked. Going down that line of questioning could potentially become grounds for war between them and the Re-Estize Kingdom.
"Even so" the queen carried on "this is a possibility that cannot be lightly dismayed. I suppose the Council State has a specific course of action in mind, Lady Caurau?"
Rigrit blinked, before slightly chuckling to herself. It was to be expected, but she really was no match for the child in front of her when it came to playing the 'game'. 'Well, calling her a child is only accurate from my perspective.'
"Indeed." the 200 years old necromancer answered before taking out yet another scroll, longer this time. She pushed it forward, so that everybody may read it. "In short, it is an agreement of collaboration between countries. All parties involved agree to cease any hostilities between one another and set a network of communications for relaying intern between our allies."
"And the formation of a new shared active force to have at the ready in order to combat these new foes." the Marquis read out.
"Yes, that would be the gist of it," Rigrit confirmed.
"An army that consists of troops from multiple countries that are not in a formal alliance with one another, this is unheard of!" the Theocracy protested.
"How do you expect us to send you men when we have to fight it out with the Empire every year?" another noble spoke up.
"We will send in a delegation to try and convince the Bahamuth Empire to cease the yearly attack on Re-Estize," she answered calmly.
"I'm afraid I must decline as well." that surprised her. The queen seemed more than cooperative so far. "We are currently busy dealing with a powerful monster that has ravaged along the northern border." she elaborated. "Because of that most of the supply routes have become inaccessible. Until we deal with the threat that threatens our country any mobilization of troops is off the table."
"Have you tried contacting any high-ranked adventuring party? I could put in a word from Blue Rose if you'd like." the old witch offered.
"I thank you, but to my knowledge, the job has already been taken by an up-and-coming party. Darkness, I believe was the name. Maybe if they were willing to cooperate with Blue Rose, but I am not sure about how adventurers operate. I can only hope this incident will swiftly resolve itself." A small sigh escaped her delicate lips. It was sometimes easy to forget that such delicate shoulders bore on them the weight of an entire country. The elegant silver crown on her head never looked any heavier at that moment.
"What number did the Council State offer up for this newly formed army?" Taken by surprise, Rigrit turned her head towards Re-Kista, who suddenly entered the conversation.
"it was around ten to twelve thousand, I believe."
The mayor of Bebard brought her hand to her chin, humming contemplatingly for a bit. "I will need to discuss the offer with the rest of the leaders of the Free Cities, but as the delegated representative of the Karnsas City Alliance, I want to offer my support towards the initiative. "Miderouge, how many troops could we afford to send in?"
"As of this moment, it would be fifteen thousand if we got the approval of the majority of the Cities, eighteen thousand it's a unanimous vote. That is what we could be seeing a month from now on, if we have a year at our disposal we would be looking at nearly twice the number." Her attendant promptly answered, unconsciously arranging his glasses.
"There you go." What about the rest of our allies?" she asked, looking expectantly towards the other participants.
"We shall need to discuss this matter further." the Theocracy simply stated.
"If we are promised an end to the war, we could be persuaded to join in the effort." was the answer of Re-Estize.
"Once we could assure the security and stability of the country, we are willing to take up the offer." The queen declared.
Rigrit did her best not to slump back into her chair. Her legs were aching, her back was feeling stiff and she was ready to go back home and crash into her bed. In short, she was feeling her age, for once.
"If that matter is settled then let's discuss the rest of the contents of the agreement." Her Majesty said.
Of course, there was no way such a meeting would be over so quickly. What followed were three hours of gruelling debating and arguing over import taxes and border clearances. By the end of it, she was feeling like she was going to have to raise herself from the dead if she wanted to make it back to her house.
Needless to say, the man named Nicrus Vallante had been less than pleased with the progression of the meeting. The higher-ups had hoped to use this in order to manipulate the council to pin them against The Council State and the Free Cities, while at the same time consolidating the Theocracy's sphere of influence. However, the plan had immediately gone awry the moment that whore of a queen stepped in. Hearing her talk down to him like he was some common rabble made his eyes shoot out of his skull and his teeth to clench so hard he thought they might crack. If it hadn't been for the hood covering his face he wouldn't have been able to maintain his composure. And if that wasn't enough, the old hag had spun around her little web, entrancing all those idiots in her plans. She made everybody dance to her tunes, and they couldn't even do anything to stop her since she somehow had gotten information about the Sunlight Scripture's disappearance and she was smugly dangling it over their heads. When they got back, he was going to have to call an assassination order on her; they couldn't let someone run around with such sensitive information about their operations.
Taking in a deep breath to clear his head, he started to organize his thoughts in order. The situation wasn't ideal by any means, but it was still salvageable. The biggest thread of hope he had at the moment was those supposed 'invaders'. If what the hag had said was true, then if they managed to find them first and bring them over to their side, they would bring an indescribable boon to their forces. It was a risky gamble, especially since there was still a good chance they had proven to be antagonistic to the Theocracy once already, but the benefits if they succeeded were simply too high. For too long had they been forced to cover in fear, block their windows and hide in their cellars in order to wait out the incoming storms. No more, this time, they will be the ones that brought the storm.
Having set on a course of action, he and the rest of their companions headed to the exit, once more tracing the odd symbol in order for the pathway to show itself. They were greeted by a chilly breeze ruffling their cloaks, forcing them to hold on to their hoods in order for them to not be blown away. It seemed that while they were away the weather had taken a turn for the worse, as a thin layer of snow had already set all around them, giving the landscape a deathly pallor. Their entrance wasn't all that high up in the mountains, but it was foolish to trust the weather to function as it should around these parts. As they made their way through the gently falling snow, they were suddenly stopped by a man calling out to them.
They immediately recognised him as one of the delegates of the Re-Estize Kingdom, a plump man with pig eyes and a comically small moustache for his round face. Despite the ensuing cold, sweat was permeating the fine fabric of his clothes, his ragged breath coming out as steam left his mouth, a testament to his exhaustion.
"Ah...*huff* thank goodness I *huff* managed to catch you guys *huff*. I was worried you'd have already left." the man appeared to be close to vomiting, his hand on his knees as his back arched forward. He could feel the disgust radiating from his collages, but Nicrus was rather intrigued.
"Yes, it appears fate has deemed for us to meet here. What brings you about in such a hurry, my Lord?" he responded as cordially as he could.
After managing to get his breath under control, the noble straightened himself in a futile attempt to preserve whatever dignity might have been left.
"Wel, I must admit that the Kingdom has its reservations towards this agreement that was proposed. We feel like we would like to be able to...discuss this matter further with someone who might share our concerns." His face quickly switched between taking in all of them, obviously trying to hide the feeling of being overwhelmed by the numbers disparity.
Nicrus could feel a Chesire smile forming behind his white hood. It wasn't often that an opportunity so blatantly presents itself before him.
"But of course, my good Lord. We are touched by your initiative and the trust you have placed in us. We will make sure to live up to your expectations. How about we wait here while my comrades get the carriage, and then we can discuss at our leisure." Hook, line and sink.
"That will be swell." he quickly answered, a wave of relief washing over him.
Picking up on the obvious clue, his fellow ambassadors departed, their figures quickly blending in in the sea of white that extended as far as the eyes can see. Now left alone, Nicrus tried in to play as the amiable host, doing his best to hide his disdain towards the overweight man.
"My deepest apologies, but I seemed to have not picked up your name. Might you be so kind as to forgive my obvious blunder?" he courteously asked.
The nobleman didn't appear to have heard him, instead being content to gaze over the frozen scenery.
"Terrible weather we are having, no?"
"What? Ah, yes, of course, the snow really piles up around his parts," he answered, clearly being taken aback by the sudden shift in topic.
"It's not a sight I could have ever seen back home. A land where snow piles up endlessly, if someone were to have told me of such a place I would have thought they might have stayed in the sun for too long." His voice now carried a different cadence, an emotion Nicrus couldn't quite identify.
"You must have lived in the sudden parts of the Kingdom, isn't that right?"
"I wasn't originally born in the Kingdom. No, my homeland was quite a different place." His eyes had lost their lustre, looking past what was ahead of him, into a time now long forgotten. "An arduous place, where starvation and thirst haunted at every corner, where the white banners of the invaders were peaking over the sand dunes, their shining armour gleaming under the burning sun. It was a world where only the strong could survive."
Alarm bells were now ringing into the Theocracy man's head. His whole body had stiffened up, and it wasn't because of the cold. As he felt the hair on the back of his neck raising up, he suddenly realised that something wasn't right. 'How did he know how to find us? The entrances are supposed to be kept secret from one another!"
The man carried on, apparently oblivious to his companion's inner turmoil.
"Yes, this land was devoid of life, but it was not devoid of faith. We desired God's salvation and for that wish, we were willing to discard anything. Our possessions, our names, even our faces. And for our piety, we were rewarded. We became His servants, His dagger in the darkness, nameless shadows that could enact His will. We turned our weapons towards the invaders, we slayed those who have fallen to sin and corruption and were bringing suffering to our fellow men. To those lands that were forever bathed in the unforgiving heat and light, we brought about the cool relief of darkness. I wouldn't be so presumptions as to call us justice. But we were necessary. "
The man finally turned to face him. There was no life left in those features, only a lifeless husk.
"This world isn't all that different from my point of view. Perhaps that was why we were called here, to bring about an end to the lies and deceit, the abuse and exploitation."
Nicrus tried to scream, but a black knife sliced at his throat, quickly drowning out all sound. He froze, his eyes widened with terror as he brought his hands to his throat, hands that quickly became covered in blood. He crumbled to the ground, a cacophony of sounds leaving his mouth as he pointlessly struggled to breathe. With the last of his strength, his eyes looked up, desperately searching for his attacker. In the fat noble's place now lay a figure completely covered in rags, an outline so faint it somehow managed to blend in with the snow gently falling around him. The last thing the man ever saw was the image of a white mask, wordlessly staring back at him. Death gazing into his soul.
Then a pool of red dripped onto the white canvas.
Author's note:
10 chapters already, huh? *blows in birthday kazoo* This feels like a good chance to tell you all how grateful I am for everybody taking time out of their day to read whatever I spew onto the keyboard. I initially started this fic as mostly a writing exercise, but I eventually got really invested in this story, so I will try to run with it for as long as I possibly can. This story has always been, and will continue to be, something I write first and foremostly for myself, but I'll be lying if I said the dopamine doesn't kick in every time I see the view count go up. But don't take it the wrong way, it's not like I like you guys or anything... baka! *dies from self-cringe*