Stahlia

“... let the games begin.”

The words echoed in my head, and based on Giogi’s own incredulous expression, he heard them as well.

…Seven of the Hell Kings, versus three champions, an annoying Ancient Spirit, and me. And Envy was listed, despite Aaron claiming he killed her. So he either lied or got his information wrong. Speaking of Aaron, his faction wasn’t listed. Only the Champions, Hell Kings, and Chaos were specifically named. And what the hell is the Writ of Names? I’ll have to question Tlaloc when she returns.

“Did you hear that?” I asked Giogi, just to confirm he had indeed.

He went wide-eyed, “I did; it said, ‘To those chosen by the gods to defend this world, the war is now.’ Sta, Your Highness, what does it mean?”

It means I was given a lot more information than you. Because I’m the rulebreaker?

“It means,” I began, “That I need Franklin here now. Lord Alriss and Captain Benji as well, but Franklin first.” Jacqueline had already left the room by the time I’d finished giving the order.

“As you wish my lady, may I ask what has occurred?” Sasha inquired.

So it was only me and Giogi, and probably Franklin as well, who heard anything. I could have assumed but having confirmation is good.

“Giogi and I have just received a message from the ones claiming to be gods; we are officially entering the next stage.” I answered her in brief. She would get more details by eavesdropping the conversation to follow. Sasha’s face tightened in seriousness.

Franklin must have been making his way to my chambers already because it did not take him long to arrive. When he entered, he spared Giogi a glance, then refocused on me, “Your Highness, I take it you also…?”

I nodded, “Yes. Shortly after establishing that Giogi here is our Champion of Spring. That places three of us in the middle of the ocean at the start.” Both of them nodded, and I continued, “Now, just to ensure we three are on the same page; ‘To those chosen by the gods to defend this world, the war is now.’ That is what you heard?”

Franklin shook his head, “Mostly. I was addressed as ‘The warrior from another realm’ in mine. Everything else is what you said.”

“Alright then. Mine was nothing of the sort.”

Both of them looked at me with surprise. It would have been easy just not to tell them the differences, but I wanted their trust, and I knew I was already on thin ice with Franklin. There were areas I couldn’t bend, things I could not compromise upon, on which we would never agree. But that only meant I should do what I could. If it came down to it, a battle between me and Franklin would result in my victory. But that wasn’t a desirable outcome. He would be far better as an ally.

After the war… Well, I would help him find a way home if he still wanted that. If not, I would offer him a place in the courts or kingdom reflective of his contributions to the war effort. If he acted against us at that point… I would do as was necessary. But now, now, telling him the truth was the best choice.

“The short message was the same, but I got a lot of additional information.” Franklin crossed his arms, while Giogi merely looked confused and overwhelmed. He was only a squire until maybe three days ago. I told them what information had been contained in my message: that Tlaloc was a full player and the list of Hell Kings who were fully manifested. The only thing I left out, was that Tlaloc wasn’t the ally of the Champion faction, but was an ally of Chaos.

That I myself wasn’t a champion was not part of what I was willing to share. My sister, Rosial, was the current Champion of Autumn and my own status was “The Rulebreaker.” I was a fifth-column force, serving the God of Chaos to keep my family safe. Working with them was one thing, but Rosial’s safety was my top priority, and if I could fulfill all the duties of the Champion of Autumn without revealing I was not, then I would do just that.

Franklin took it all in, then shook his head ruefully. He pointed at Giogi and raised an eyebrow, “Does he know?”

I frowned. Franklin meant my status as a reincarnation. The people who did know could be counted on two hands, and Giogi wasn’t on the list. Truth be told, I didn’t want him to. Not even because of the security risk, though that was a factor. I didn’t want him to know.

“Sir Franklin, Squire Giogi Sutvenson’s status as a Champion was established only in the recent battle. There is much he does not know.” I beamed a smile at my old friend, then turned to Giogi, “That being said, I do not wish to overburden you, but I must ask; where do your loyalties lie?”

Franklin looked put out by my response, but I would deal with him later. Giogi looked offended.

“My loyalty is to Drakas, to His Majesty King Rupert, and to Your Highness Queen Stahlia.” 

He looked for all the world like a boy attempting to appear mature. But he was still a child, and one raised in a rural village. I shook my head, “You did, but that was before the gods chose you as their champion. Please consider carefully; do you still wish to place your new duties and your honor in my hands? If you do, then I will wield you well, but you must know the import of such action before deciding. Leave us and spend a few days thinking; it is not as though we will do battle any time soon, confined as we are to these vessels. Whatever your choice, I swear on my name and my title to honor that.”

Before he or Franklin could add their own opinions, I waved Frieda over, “Inform Champion Giogi’s duty officer that he is to be removed from the roster and given one of the guest quarters and a guard detail of his own. Pick one of your subordinates and assign her to ensure he is taken care of such that he does not need to roam the ship. Expect these to be the circumstances for the foreseeable future.”

I know the men are loyal, but I won’t take any risks.

Giogi was escorted out, his body language betraying the inner turmoil at the whirlwind his life had become. Franklin crossed his arms in his seat, “So we’re going to leave it at that?”

I nodded, “I said it before, but I am who I am now, and that isn’t George. Giogi doesn’t need to know about that, and all the people who do need to know, know already.”

He didn’t respond verbally, but his demeanor softened slightly. At the very least, Franklin wasn’t going to circumvent my wishes on the matter out of some misplaced sense of justice. I let the silence stand for a few moments longer before broaching the next subject.

“So, we are at war. We were before, but it’s official now. Where do we stand?”

His arms stayed crossed, “What do you mean?”

I frowned and leaned forward, “You know what I’m talking about. We don’t see eye to eye; I know you think my actions as of late are amoral. You’ve killed people too now; I need to know if you can live with me, and with yourself. If you have a breakdown in the middle of the war, it will cause a lot of problems. If you decide to act against me, even more so.”

Franklin frowned, then made what was clearly a conscious effort to uncross his arms. That was good; it meant he was aware it was a defensive gesture, “I’ve killed people, yes, because I agreed that the pirates were a threat. I wasn’t aware of the history between Drakas and their species though. You didn’t tell me.”

I waited, sure he would continue now that he had started. Sure enough, he did, “You though? You’ve done a lot more than that. When does it stop being about murder and turn into a statistic? When you wipe out a fleet singlehandedly? A city? Or what about the demons? Are you going to stop at defending this world?”

He was wrong, but I could understand where he was coming from. When he paused for breath I raised a hand, “Kill a man and you’re a murderer. Kill a dozen, a killer. Kill a hundred, and you become a statistic. Is that where you’re coming from? Because I am already that. Before you met me, I killed enough Goblins to earn a title, ‘[Goblin Calamity].’ I’m pretty certain it doesn’t go any higher. If I handed, they would have wiped out my home town. I have another one, ‘[Human Exterminator].’ I do not have recognition for my efforts with the beastkin. I am eminently aware of how many people, as a general term, I have killed personally. This isn’t Earth, and I’m not a member of modern society as you know it.”

If we were going to judge me by earth standards, then I would be ranked in the top hundred in terms of deaths I was responsible for. Possibly first if you only counted deaths I was personally responsible for. And by the end of this, I would probably be pushing the top ten. Only Ghengis Khan, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Zedong would still be ahead of me. I didn’t want to be compared to people like that, but I would be damned if I was going to allow my personal gripes to get in my way. As I had emphasized to Franklin, this wasn’t Earth.

Franklin shook his head, “And most of the pirates would have died regardless, be it by your hand or the soldiers and knights under you. But great power and all that; I don’t know much about the fundamentals of magic, but you could have destroyed all of their ships if you were less showy about it. It’s well within your power to devastate a major city. And if you go to far, who the hell will stop you? Anyone strong enough would be a far worse tyrant.”

And there it is. ‘A far worse tyrant.’ It’s implicit in the phrasing, he already considers me a tyrant, and he knows he can’t do anything to stop me.

I sighed and looked away. At this point, I knew where we stood and I knew that nothing I said would change his mind. Only my actions could do that, and that would depend on Franklin being open to having his mind changed. Probably, it wasn’t. But he wasn’t going to get in my way. The most he might do would be to refuse orders.

“I do not hate you, Franklin. But, I think it will be best for both of us to consider our friendship to have ended when George died. I will help you how I can in his memory, but unless you live ten years in this world, I do not see a way we can ever truly reconcile. As the Champion of Summer, you are not under my authority as a monarch. The same as I just relieved Giogi. But I hope you will continue to work with me. We’re facing what amounts to seven gods with an army of personal demigods. If the four champions do not work together, we’re fucked.”

He stood abruptly, and I caught a glimpse of tears in the corners of his eyes, “The fact you can say all of that is proof enough that the words are true.”

Franklin turned for the door, “But, so long as you are the lesser of all the evils, I’ll work with you.”

At that, he departed and left me alone with Frieda and Sasha. Shortly after, Jacqueline ushered in Lord Alriss and Captain Benji. I fixed my face and prepared to move on.

I never thought I would miss [Cold Hearted].

“Captain, Sir Alriss. Thank you for coming. There has been a development.”

Psycholor

Now that we're through the weekend, I'm going to return to the original 2 per week schedule from before the hiatus. It will be Mondays and Wednesdays going forward.