This comes after 5.2.

Interlude: Seveena

Viceroy Seveena smoothed down her dress and forced herself not to fiddle with her hair as she waited for the aetherscope magus to finish tuning the device. Her stomach churned with nerves. She wasn't exactly sure why the Empress wanted to speak with her personally; all the brief message that had come in that morning on the aetherscope had said was a time and 'to be there.'

Was she going to be dismissed? Recalled for perceived failure related to the slave break? The Greenskin attack? Was she going to be sent to the far north? Exiled? Executed?

Seveena gulped, and took a deep breath. She had talked with the new Empress before, once, back in the capital, under her brother's reign when the highborn lady had been the now deceased Emperor's spymaster, and, well, they weren't closely related, but they were related. That had to count for something? Right. Right?

The aetherscope flickered, and a moment later the image of a tall, middle-aged dhampir woman appeared. Unlike her brother, who had favoured long royal gowns and elaborate wigs, her Exalted Highness Empress Vikavir the Third, wore relatively simple if elegant clothes: a black coat stitched with crimson and gold, leggings, and riding boots, with the jagged Crown of Mecia the only thing that immediately identified her as imperial royalty.

She had blonde hair so bright it was almost white pulled into a neat braid, and her otherwise fair face was marred by a long, cursed, purple scar that ran from above her hairline to down just past her left, patch-covered eye.

"My Empress," said Seveena, falling to one knee and bowing her head. "You honour me."

"Yes, yes, yes," said the Empress, snapping her fingers. "Let us not waste time, hmm?"

Seveena blinked.

"Up!" said the Empress in an annoyed tone, waving a report. "I am not interested in grovelling, Viceroy; this is not court, a bow suffices. Up."

"Y-yes, Empress," said Seveena, hurriedly getting back to her feet. "How may I serve-"

"This attack, the natives," said Vikavir, flicking through the pages in her hands. "They damaged your wall?"

"Y-yes, Empress," said Seveena. "I have- I have ordered increased patrols, b-but we haven't yet found their base of operations-"

"Unsurprising, they are far more familiar with the terrain," said Vikavir, her eye flicking over the report again. "What is your plan to deal with them?"

"Well, ah, as I said, I plan to find their base of operations-"

"So more of the same failed strategy?" said Vikavir in an irritated tone. "Is that what you are telling me?"

Seveena's mouth went dry. She tried to clear her throat. "Well, ah, I don't know if that-"

"If you cannot speak plainly, Viceroy, you are of no use to me," said Vikavir, her remaining eye flashing. "Why have you not wiped out local Greenskins? What is the limiting factor? Your incompetence?"

"N-no!" said Seveena urgently as her heart began to pound in her ears and the thought of her losing her position loomed up like a monster before her. "We- I- I do not have the manpower!"

Vikavir cocked her head to one side, and motioned for her to continue.

"The- the jungle is too vast, too hostile…" said Seveena, trying to regain her composure. "If I send a force of less than thirty, then a third of the time I never see them again; if I send more, the Greenskins see us coming and abandon their camps. I have- I have been forced to rely on scrying, which as I am sure you know-"

"-is not particularly accurate," finished Vikavir with a nod. "Continue."

"With the two regiments I have, I have tried to strike a balance between patrolling the outer plantations, maintaining order, and sending expeditions out when we believe we know where one of their camps is."

"But this is insufficient?" asked the Empress.

Seveena gulped, and nodded. "The Greenskins, they use these… cart-tent things, they can reposition their settlements quickly."

"And what is this about a slave break?" said the Empress, flicking through the reports. "The Guild carried it out?" She growled. "And I see my brother did not see fit to pass this report to me earlier?"

"Y-yes, my Empress," said Seveena. "We are not entirely sure how, but… we believe that one of their healers might have been the ringleader, an Outlander. But the entire relief mission took part in the break."

"And your response?" said the Empress, looking at Seveena. "Why have you not stormed their little settlement? Put them to the sword?"

"Given our weakened defences, I did not believe I could both defend Port Imperial and take Guildport," said Seveena. "That, coupled with your brother's tragic passing, and your ascension… I did not wish to act contrary to your will, my Empress."

Vikavir gave her an annoyed look. "You are a Viceroy, Lady Seveena," she said. "You are expected to show initiative."

Seveena clasped her hands and bowed her head. "I can only apologise-"

"No grovelling," said Vikavir, tossing the report aside and crossing her hands behind her back.

"Y-yes, Empress," said Seveena.

"As it happens, I agree that the security of Port Imperial outweighs the need to punish the Guild for their gross impertinence; Port Imperial is too profitable to risk," she said. "But I have no use for Viceroys who cannot stand by their decisions, or who require me to hold their hand."

"Yes, Empress," said Seveena. "Although… Guildport has recently also come under attack, from the Greenskins. The amount of damage they suffered is unclear, although their wall was damaged, and they took casualties."

"So, you believe they are weak?" said the Empress.

Seveena's first response was to agree that, yes, they were weak, and that they should immediately attack the Guild. It was clear that the Empress did not share her brother's preference for treading lightly with the powerful organisation. But the Empress also seemed like she might dismiss Seveena if she did not prove herself worthy of the post. If they attacked, and were repulsed, it would be her head…

"I am unsure," said Seveena after a moment. "I have cultivated contacts within their ranks, in particular another Outlander who seems to be more civilised than the others… but reports are contradictory: some rumours say the wall was destroyed, but my contact says that it was only damaged, and that more adventurers arrive every week; the latter is something my own ships can verify. My forces are already stretched thin trying to deal with an upsurge in slave escapes, or… disappearances, we're still not sure what is happening. Regardless, they may be weak, but at the moment, so am I."

Vikavir tapped her foot for a moment. "How many more troops would you need?" she asked. "To take Guildport and wipe out the local infestation of Greenskins?"

Seveena blinked. More Troops? The last Emperor had rebuffed her requests for a larger garrison so many times that it hadn't even occurred to her that the new Empress might actually give her more resources, not after her repeated failures.

"I… I believe I could take Guildport with another two regiments," she said. "And- and another squadron of galleys."

"You shall have three," said Vikavir, waving to an aid who Seveena couldn't see. "And thirty more galleys."

Three Regiments? Another one and a half thousand soldiers? Thirty more ships? That was triple what she had now. Seveena smiled widely enough to reveal her sharp cuspids.

"Thank-you, my Empress," she said, bowing deeply. "I will not fail you."

"I should hope not," said the Empress. "Now, if that is…"

The Empress trailed off, her eye darting to the left. There was the faint sound of talking, but over the aetherscope Seveena couldn't make out the words. The Empress then sighed dramatically.

"My Chancellor has suggested that we give the Guild some 'wiggle room,' do a little theatre, give them 'an out,'" said the Empress in an irritated voice. "Do you believe that the Guildmistress would surrender all those involved to Port Imperial for trial?"

"I, uh, no," said Seveena. "I've already demanded it, my letter was ignored-"

"Good, then put out bounties on the head of everyone involved," said the Empress. "The Guildmistress too."

 "Bounties… on the Guild?" said Seveena, her mind trying, and failing to really grapple with the order she had been given.

One didn't put bounties on the Guild. If a Guild member was in your city they could be arrested, and if not you could try sending an extradition letter, which would need to be escalated it up the ladder towards the Board, as she had been doing—although communication had been glacial on that front. But bounties? Those were for outlaws, for escaped slaves, for rebels, not the single most powerful non-state organisation on the planet. "On the Guildmistress!?"

"Did I stutter, Viceroy?"

"No, Empress," said Seveena, a smile spreading on her face. A bounty on that half-blood mongrel's head? Oh, but this was sweet. "Of course not, Empress. Thank-you, Empress."

"Good," said Empress Vikavir, accepting another report from an aid. "I expect bimonthly updates. Moon guide you, Viceroy."

"And you, my Empress-"

The transparent image crackled and vanished as the connection was severed. Seveena exhaled, and took several long moments to stare at the space that the Empress had been.

Then she began to chuckle, slowly moving into a full, belly laugh that made a few of her aids who had been standing around ready to provide documents look at her a little strangely. But Seveena didn't care, because finally her hands weren't tied by the endless equivocation and insipid diplomacy and nauseating compromise that had characterised the Late-Emperor's reign. Finally, finally she would have not only the leave, but the resources she needed be able to crush anyone, and everyone who opposed her on her corner of this dark continent.

At last, Mercia had a real Empress on the throne.

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