Tens of thousands of kilometres from the land of elves.
“Aim for their horse!” Shouted the seasoned centaur. “Riders are nothing without their mount.”
Spears and horse-slayers from the centaur side awakened. These long-reach weapons unleashed their sharp end at the war horses of the human kingdom. Despite their enemy sturdy armour, the centaurs’ blades soon found the weak points in the barding. The kingdom’s knights hurriedly alerted their comrades. Wariness soon thwarted the heavy cavalry’s aggression. Unfortunately, such favourable sight was confined only to the veteran’s leading group. The other centaurs didn’t fare as well against the experts on horseback.
“Found him!”
Like a scorned beast, the human cavalry extended their wings tearing at the centaurs around the veteran. He was separated.
Trying as best as he could, the centaur couldn’t break off from their cage. While defending against the attacks from all sides, dread chilled his spine. Something was moving behind the enemies. Before long, the answer has found him.
As their leader was engorged by the heavy cavalry, the left company crumbled. Broken elements disintegrated into the invading army.
“Chief. The left wing is lost. We need to retreat!”
“You tell me to run from those two-legs? Me?”
“At this rate, we will be killed.”
“Silence! Tell them to hold their ground. Any idiot that tries to run will be hunted.”
“Bu-”
“Now get lost!” After the messenger returned to the field, the pudgy chief threw the few fruits on the plate into his mouth. “Useless, all of them! Damn it! If I lose this land, they will throw me to the wolves.”
“CHIEF!”
“What now?”
“They’re-”
A large crumbling sound interrupted the messenger. Rushing out of his tent, the centaur chief managed to catch the last sight of his camp before it being trampled by a tide of metal. The humans have arrived.
“Stop them!”
“Run away! Run away!”
“Stop running you idiots! Stop the enemies!”
As he stopped the futile shouting to get some air, the battle cry drew ever so closer. Red banners grew in his pupils as realisation painted the face only his mother could love. On the banner, there were golden patterns forming a vertical rectangle. Inside the shape was a mallet holding upright with a diagonal axe similar in size. This image was forever imprinted into his eyeballs as his head violently collided with the ground.
“…and with this, the reclamation of Lionheart is complete. As your order, Your Highness, border fortification should be started by now.” The female attendant neatly folded the letter and presented it respectfully to the sitting lady.
The pleased beauty gracefully accepted her subject’s good work. “Well done, Cajam!” The lady broadened her smile at the figure the female attendant was standing behind.
“I but carry out your order, Princess.” Solemn was the palace of might and metal that was the female officer. Such grand and dignified existence vibrated the very air of the garden with her tune. This maturity surely didn’t fit the youthfulness of her face which should be no older than the ruler she served.
“Oh, stop it, Cajam. There are only you, me, and Veronica. Just drop the stoic act already.”
“Princess. You know I try very hard to get in character.”
“Here it goes, again. I know. I know. It’s your idol’s, but that’s not you, Cajam. Also, those are just tales from children’s books. You don’t even know if they really act that way. Anyway. What is your thought on the centaurs?”
“I think whatever I got there are but useless to us. That army barely know how to move as an army does. The soldiers looked starved, ill-equipped, and inexperienced. I surmise they are but rag-tag militia being conscripted. We still have no idea what the depth of their military would be.”
“Now, now, everything has its use. This knowledge by itself tells us quite a bit about the state of the Khaganate.”
The land they just reclaimed is captured territory of their rival country, the Lionheart. For decades, it has been under the rule of the northern centaur nobles. It’s private knowledge that a large portion of the nobles opposed the reign of the new khagan with the leading nobles concentrate on the north.
“With how easy it was to retake Lionheart, we can say most of their resources and attention have been southward to the Khaganate’s capital to the point that corruption has done the number for us. It also tells just how much they underestimate us.”
“Princess, what do you think how that Khagan would react?”
“Except being delighted that his political enemies are in a precarious situation? His “eyes” and “ears” in our kingdom probably get more active. He may even look at our direction right now wondering what our next move is.”
A servant carefully approached from behind. “Your Highness. Vice general Silverfort has returned.” To which, the princess made a small nod without breaking eye contact with Cajam.
A few seconds later, the supposed officer made her entrance. “Vermillia Silverfort greets your Highness.” Receiving acknowledgement from the princess, she turned to salute Cajam. “General.”
“What do you have for me, Vermillia?”
“Your Highness. The Grand Duchy of Lionheart has requested to be our vassal.”
“Vassal, huh?” In contrast to Vermillia’s prediction, the princess exhaled boredly. “They still want to keep their seat, I presume.”
“They… they sure are, your Highness.”
“At ease, I am not going to do anything to you.”
“Yes, your Highness.”
“So what now, Princess? Should we beat them up?”
“Are you trying to turn me into a warmonger, Cajam?”
“People have already called you the War Empress. I don’t see any problem.”
“General. That is just vulgar gossip. Implying the Princess to be… that wouldn’t be any difference from saying Her Highness only knows to make war.”
“Really? My mistake, Princess.”
“Calm down, all of you!” Having the girls’ attention, she admitted. “Those loud mouths didn’t get it wrong. After all, I only intend to deal with this period of chaos. My little sister can take the hassle of being the queen for me. But that doesn’t mean I want war, Cajam. Not now, and not without proper justification.”
“Sorry to you, Princess. Then what are you going to do?”
“This vassalisation… There is no way I accept it. Letting those failures on the seat of power will just cause problem down the line. If I was to allow my little sister to inherit the throne, that thing better not be some fragmented junk.”
Vermillia suddenly remembered another important matter. “Your Highness. High-priority message’s just arrived from Arkiderion.”
Finishing the content, her lips formed a smirk. “Cajam. There’s something for you to do.”
“Me?”
“Read this.”
Watching Cajam received the envelope with one hand, both Veronica and Vermillia had to furrow in aversion. The way their general could get away with her lack of manner was truly eye-opening.
“In Rion. The Land of Elves?” Cajam’s pupils dilated with excitement.
“It’s still too early, but yes.”
“I got to visit the hometown of my idol? Yes!”
“Probably not. The arena situates in a city of the old Tezmahuichi. It is territory of an old god named Tezma’gunth. Your idol, what is her name?”
“Anna Relic Barrack Shanrah.”
The Princess looked at Cajam’s parrot-like answer with an imaginative facepalm. To be able to spell out that name like a chant… this is why barely anyone can get close to her. “Yes, her. Isn’t she a hero of Ensha the tree goddess?”
“No worry, Princess. As long as I am in Rion I will find the way!”
“Oh well, just finish the job and you will have all the time you need.”
“Thank you, Princess.”
Officials made haste to attend the morning court. Despite their speed, each kept their manner in the golden hall, carefully treaded after another. In the front was the chancellor of state, who stood alone. Behind him are those of immediate lower rank and behind them are ranks even lower.
As it ticked on the right time, the plump eunuch that has been attended to the left side of the throne announced. “His Majesty has arrived!”
A small child in decorated eagle-pattern robe made his way to the golden throne with the chief eunuch served close behind.
Trace after the small footsteps, the chancellor timed his next act. When the emperor stopped at the royal seat, the chancellor dropped down to his knees. Other officials took it as the cue and followed suit. They all joined up in their chant. “Eagle spreads wings, reign high, reign wide.”
This rite of greeting has only existed for a few decades. The old greeting was “Emperor, long life, long life, long long life” which is translated into “May Your Majesty live forever”. The first Ying emperor, however, claimed that none of the emperor has ever lived more than their mortal life. A subject that tells his emperor to live for tens of thousands of years is nothing short of spouting lies and mocking the emperor. As a result, a change was made. Using his family name, Ying which means Eagle, the first emperor decided on the new greeting.
After the rite was a long silence. Knowing something was not right, the chief eunuch quickly found out the emperor has fallen asleep. This detail was, of course, oblivious to the officials who eyed at the tiles below. Noticing the small child has fallen asleep, the eunuch carefully whispered. “Your Majesty. Your Majesty.” Getting a response from the emperor, the eunuch continued. “Your Majesty, please acknowledge the officials.”
Barely able to fend off his sleepiness, the child whispered back. The eunuch then obediently announced it to the kneeling officials. “His Majesty’s will, you all can stand up now.”
“Grace the emperor!”
The officials divided into two lines on the sides of the hall. The chancellor, however, took his place on the right side of the throne.
The eunuch announced. “His Majesty’s will, if there is no report, the court will be disbanded.” In reply, there was only silence. Judging it was right, the eunuch announced again. “His Majesty’s will, the court is disbanded.”
The eunuch then led the emperor away while the officials were on their hands and knees. After the emperor has left, the officials too took their departure.
Initially, there was only the chancellor left. A few minutes passed by, and the chief eunuch returned to join him. The official business of the royal court is finished for today. From this point on, it would be the more private discussion between the Ying dynasty and their neighbouring state. A centaur in formal clothing stepped into the golden hall.
The centaur was the first to start. “Chancellor. Chief.”
“Ambassador.”
“Ambassador.”
On paper, the dynasty was under the rule of the emperor. In reality, the emperor was too young to handle such duty. As a result, the chancellor took on the regent mantle dealing with internal and external issues. Meanwhile, the chief eunuch took care of the inner palace and protected the emperor.
“Let's discuss the matter. May I ask what is the dynasty's reaction to the latest news from Arkiderion?”
Truth be told, when they first received the news, there was minimal enthusiasm in the court. It did arouse some gossips among the populace, but they were all but wishing talking along rumours and tall tales of what the prized artifact could do.
To be a realist, the dynasty had no mean to compete in that tournament. They had lost a lot from physical wealth to talented individuals, and they had yet to recover. To the point, it was miraculous to keep their sovereignty. If the Khaganate, their most powerful neighbour, didn’t fall into an ascension war and dragged other countries within their sphere of influence into chaos, the dynasty would had been consumed. The unrest from the previous courts was that deadly.
“Thank you for being straight to us, Mr Ambassador, but the court had decided to forgo this event. There is no merit for the dynasty when we held no chance of winning the competition.”
“I see. Even so, His Majesty wished the dynasty to partake. We believe a satisfied agreement can be reached.”
The ambassador managed an audible response from his hosts. “Truly?”
"It is, chancellor."
"And would there be any string attached?"
"We have but one condition. We hope the dynasty would make room for a group of ours to tag along."
“Are they humans?”
“Yes.”
“Very well, Mr Ambassador. Let us discuss in greater details later.”
“Indeed.”
Leaving the golden hall, the chief eunuch asked. “Chancellor. What are you thinking?” Serving the dynasty together for decades, the chief understood the way the chancellor’s pupils were moving.
“Just… things under heaven.” The chancellor casted his gaze onto the cloudless sky. “Chief eunuch. I might have told you this before, but I don’t like the fact that this Khagan is sitting on the throne of the Khaganate. Having that True Blood on the reins will spell centuries of prosperity to our greatest oppressor. Our dynasty may be in good health for a few generations from now but there is no telling how the far future would be. We may be swallowed if an incompetent emperor sits on the Eagle Throne.”
“Even so, I don’t think there is a better option.”
“At the moment, yes. He is a more sensible option than the arrogant nobles that are his opponents. Also, I rather the Khaganate not being a mad stallion that would kick on whatever its eyes deems wrong. Our dynasty needs its most influent source to be stable.”
“You are correct. If it was not him, but those nobles or puppets of them, I can imagine them giving us ultimatum to send reinforcement to their territory on the north.”
“Such a shame.”
“What is it, chancellor?”
“That candidate for the Khagan throne. He was a promising one and he is a mortal too. If he could have won the ascension war, we would have the stability we want without the dread of future on our back.”
“The one you supported?”
The chancellor made affirming nods.
"It truly is a shame.”
“Let’s not think about it anymore for we have a different matter at hand.”
“That tournament.”
“No. The secret behind his demand.”
“Secret?”
“We are not the only one who received such demand, other states under the influence of the Khagan’s faction too.”
“What? He wants other expeditions to Arkiderion too?”
“They are all humans. His loyal servants, no doubt. The request was also made in the same private setting as ours.”
“But… why? Is that artifact really that important? Or… is he planning an invasion to the home of elves?”
The chancellor slowly shook his head. “As you have known, the land of elves has no discrimination to other kinds. If he wanted to have eyes for future occurrence, he could do so from the front gate. Centaurs are skilful warriors. He can hire several parties to disguise as independent participants, and no one can complain. Even if he really needs that many eyes, agreeing to satisfy our demand and other states just to let in a couple of people just make little sense.
More importantly, the Khaganate or… his Khaganate is not in the position to squander. The Wyvernblade is becoming the new Holligraph. His struggle against the opposition also hasn’t finished. Using this much just to install some spies… I can’t understand his intent.
An invasion is even more unlikely. Before you became a eunuch, you were a warrior studying the arts of war. I believe you understand this better than me.”
“I am. In the past, the land of elves was already a formidable territory to take. After that much time, their power could only be accumulated to an even greater height. The land of elves is an enigma of a country. Despite not engaging in active warfare, they haven’t slacked on building up their might. The amount of fortification and soldiers could only have grown even more by now. Taking over that land with half the strength of the Khaganate is impossible, let alone holding it.
Rather than making enemies from such faraway land, they should focus on their rivalry at home. Furthermore, they have an eyesore to the northwest.”
“The Band of Heracles.”
“Indeed.” The chief recalled the diplomatic mission five years ago where he tagged along the ambassador to eye the muscle on the opposite side of the continent. Visiting a kingdom unbound by the Khaganate’s influence at that time was an unapproved act. Thus, instead of traversing through the safe land guarded by the Khaganate, they had to sail around. What they gained was worth every painstaking step. An all-female army, the new might of the Wyvernblade, under a red banner with hammer and axe. “It was valour that shakes the very world.”
“And yet he would turn away from such sight to gaze beyond the horizon. Whatever occupied his attention, we better uncover it.”
“Welcome to my humble abode, Count Hemmick.”
The nonchalant formality raised an eyebrow from his esteemed guest. “Are you mocking me, old friend?”
“Certainly not, my lord. How could a commoner like me attempt such blasphemy?”
“You are still angry at me, aren’t you?”
“Surely you jest, my lord.”
“Surely you hear the news.”
“Absolutely, my lord.”
“Is referring to a commoner as lord the new way of speaking these days?”
“Before the rumour becomes official, this commoner dares not make any blunder, my lord.”
Surely, you just want to rub it into my face. For it’s this trick of mine that costed your son, his future. “Call me whatever you want.”
“Certainly, “Lord”.” Hemmick could feel the full brunt of the disdain from that word.
As they settled down, the aged host poured him a cup of hot tea. “Tea, my lord.”
“Thank you.” Hemmick brought the cup of fragrance near his mouth. Its wonderful scent awakened his sentiment. “The kingdom has scored a great victory against the Khaganate.”
“Good for them, my lord.”
Yes. For them. Not us.
Rewinding a few centuries and they could see emblem of the Holligraph decorate the tower afar. This hegemonic power of sea routes and coastline exerted mankind’s domination across the north of the continent. For the first time in millennia, there existed an entity that could challenge the absolution of the Khaganate. This fact stayed true for five hundred years until its inevitable demise.
From its ash, three houses swore to uphold its will.
The Grand Duchy of Lionheart controlled the largest territory but is also the only one borders the Khaganate. Every year, its people migrated closer to the sea as its land was slowly chewed away by the centaurs. Its geographic location was its own doom. The once “land of the strong” is at the mercy of its neighbours.
The Kingdom of Wyvernblade situates to the west. Its islands, scattered. Its people, few. There were only so much it could grow to feed its people. While fishes are plenty, storms frequent its sea. Of the three, it was always thought to be unwanted land. To think that it would ascend into its position of today… truly no one could have foreseen.
We, the Kingdom of Griffinbrave, was limited in territory but rich in natural gifts. The Griffin’s dream believed that one day we would unite the broken empire. After all, we hold the favourable land that were once the old capital. People don’t know that beside the good, we too inherit a deadly poison. As they said, sweet fruit attract worms. It isn’t weird that we have all sorts of rotting diseases at our core. The first few rulers of our kingdom managed to hold off the diseases, but after the tragic death of the young third king, power had fallen into wrong hands.
“Old friend.” Hemmick knew the name of this man… just… he was unworthy of using it. “This kingdom is finished. On the outside, those “elders” bathed lavishly in comfort and luxury but those with the least bit of intelligence can practically see its end.”
“Surely you jest, my lord. This country managed to prolong its wretched existence thanks to all the immoveable lords.”
Or you can just say thanks to all those weights this kingdom is a sinking cage.
How many times young and ambitious people petitioned to renew the way we select people. Those vain glories, those founding principles… all but attempts to reject changes. Those old greedy bastards stalled their time at the cost of this very country’s lifespan. How many times changes were denied, how many times blood of the patriots has bled all because of those rotten nobles.
All those years, he has been patient and careful with his footsteps. He had hoped to crack them down, those diseased flesh, from his beloved motherland. In the end, all was for naught. He had fought for twenty years, and his goal was far from in sight. The last few years when situation became direr with army of both the Khaganate and the Wyvernblade on the move, Hemmick had had to discard his usual strategy. His vocal criticism was not received well by those old pricks. They had sent him a letter pressing him to relinquish his property if he still treasured his son. He was done.
“Say. What do you think will happen in the future?”
Long ago, he and this guy were friends. They wanted to carve a new path. Their differences soon pitched them against each other. Long story short, he was the winner. He thought he would take over the will of his bitter rival.
“How could I, a commoner, know, lord.”
He was exhausted now. He couldn’t see worthwhile future to believe in…
“Just drop the act and tell me.”
…to live on…
“I don’t know, lord.”
…anymore.
I came here wanting to see a vision of future, wanting to hear from “the revolutionist” of a future for my children, for my legacy, for this country.
“Ugh!” What the heck is this? Blood? Mine? Why blood coming from my mouth?
Hemmick fell chest first to the floor without being able to take a step.
Instead, I saw my own sins caught up to me. I told myself that what I did I did for my kingdom, but it was just me being stubborn, selfish. I am a coward that didn’t dare to admit his wrong.
“Plea…se…”
“Do you know how long I have been waiting for this moment? Do you? YOU BASTARD!” He kicked Hemmick. “Now you will understand what it feels to be betrayed.”
