by Brent Tyman
“Get into more appropriate seating order once I greet them,” I said as I got up. Eliandra and Lunara did the same but headed off to stand beside the table, as well did the trio.
“Tessa, with me. You know what to do,” I said, and I saw her nod before I turned my direction to the throne doors.
They opened and a group of robed men stepped through, surrounded by human guards dressed in yellow chain mail. The human guards had a similar appearance to the Fulgremian soldiers we had fought before. The only notable difference was the color of their armor and their coat of arms, which was a pair of inter-coupled crescent moons over a blazing sun.
The robed men drew the most attention from me. Like their guards, their robes were also yellow. All of them had white hair and trimmed beards, with faces that were far more wrinkled than Flavious’s. I believed there were five mages in total and the one in front seemed to be their leader.
I stood with my shoulders back and with Tessa right behind me, ready for them. My own guards surrounded both the mages and me as they neared.
“Welcome to my domain, I am King Ordan Strix,” I said as I adopted a more kingly presence. Best to make sure these mages knew who they were dealing with.
As I thought, the one that lead the group stood out in front and gave me a quick sneer before his face settled into a neutral expression.
“I am Calexso Canis Vellesi, Arch mage of the unified mages council. I have come to discuss the disturbing events that have happened in Fulgrem of late,” the mage said.
Calexso had blue eyes and a head full of white hair that ran down to his shoulders. His demeanor reminded me of the pushy nobles that we executed once we had taken Fulgrem, and I took an instant dislike of the man.
“Let’s sit at the table, come,” I said as I turned back.
I saw that the trio had taken positions with the nearby guards and the only ones that sat were now Flavious and Eklis, at the far end. They left a seat empty between them, and I headed for that one.
Tessa quickly followed and pulled out the chair for me, and I gave her a quick smile. She did the same for each of the mages as they sat, before she returned to stand behind me.
“Can I offer any refreshments? Any wine?” I asked, wondering how long it took before humans got drunk.
“No, this will be fairly quick,” Calexso said as he nodded to one of his fellow mages. This mage took out a piece of parchment and placed it on the table before Calexso scooped it up. He made a show of reading the paper thoughtfully, with his lips slightly parted. This aggravated me, and I narrowed my eyes at the mage.
“Now, before I begin, let me introduce my companions. From my left to right are Brelnir, Nirkar, Eragina and Hasne. These are my fellow mages that all help the rulers of nations with magical solutions to problems,” Calexso said.
Each of the mages nodded in turn but I could tell that they each had a problem with me, I could see it in their eyes. Brelnir and Nirkar were two old men, while Eragina and Hasne were old women. Time had not been kind to any of them.
“A pleasure, I’m sure,” I said dryly as I raised a hand. “These are my advisor's, Eklis is the head of my military affairs while Flavious is a truth sayer, in charge of many domestic issues,” I said as I motioned to the pair.
Technically, Eklis handled the troops in the nation, but should also lead them against invasions too, as the former king of Frostburn rarely led troops into battle. I supposed I had just taken that duty as I was more akin to leading larger armies than he was, and he seemed to prefer it this way. He also helped Flavious with domestic matters, which allowed the truth sayer more time with his research.
“Ah, a truth sayer,” Calexso said with a roll of his eyes. “A trivial name for a mage, tell me, what truths should I know about?” he asked.
“Calexso, Calexso, the truth is right in front of your eyes. It is in the earth, the sky, the ocean. Me and my peers study our surroundings and present the truth of our nature to our people,” Flavious said. He gave Calexso a small glare as he stroked his beard.
“How quaint, I would ask for more detail but I’ve grown tired of waiting for so long for an audience,” Calexso said as he turned his attention to me. He raised that piece of parchment he had earlier and waved it in front of me.
“In my hand is a list of gross violations your people have committed to the people of Fulgrem. Each deed is a vile breach of the united mages council nation treaty and we demand reparations for each act,” Calexso said as he waggled the paper back and forth.
“Oh really? Please detail these supposed violations for everyone to hear,” I said with a sneer of my own.
Calexso glared at me as he looked upon the parchment.
“Now, first, you had pillaged and destroyed the former town of Kalis,” Calexso said. “Ordan Strix himself had been captured by one of our esteemed mages, Andra Lewis De Varistor, where he escaped justice. Worse still, you released a dreaded Zegari, a creature from when the old Gods once reigned. That creature wreaked havoc on the fair city of Croydra and has killed countless others to this date. You even go on to siege this very capital and killed Andra, who tried to defend it. The people of Fulgrem will not sit idly by as foreign barbarians rule over them.”
Silence loomed in the air as I contemplated these accusations. All of it was true, of course, but I was unsure of what this mage wanted.
“To correct you, Andra had gone mad and killed the former king of Fulgrem before I arrived, but I’m sure your own narrative is better,” I said.
“You lie!” another mage shouted. I think it was Brelnir, but I had already forgotten most of their names.
“Tessa, some water please,” I said, and I caught a smile from her as she nodded before turning away.
“Andra was an esteemed mage of the council. Highly regarded by the late king Doltra, why would he betray him?” Brelnir went on. I waited until Tessa came back with my water and took a sip from the glass.
“Power, immortality, maybe both. Who knows? The man had turned insane,” I said as I set the glass down.
“That is not important Brelnir,” Calexso snapped at his peer, and I smirked at getting Brelnir’s name right. “The truth of the matter is that Andra was still a part of the mages council and you had no right to slay him.”
I think they were trying to establish my supposed wrong doings. I didn’t think arguing about any of this would do any good, so I asked the question on everyone's mind.
“What do you want?” I asked, and Calexso smiled as he set that parchment down.
“Ever since your hostile invasion and rule of Fulgrem, the mages council has been kicked out of this nation,” Calexso said. “We want a mage assigned to Fulgrem. To help guide the nation back into alignment with the others that enjoy the council's attention. We also require monthly tribute to the council’s coffers for our advice and you must run any new laws imposed to the people through us before you enact them.”
I honestly couldn’t help it. I laughed as if he was joking. I grinned when Calexso face turned bright red in fury.
“Haha, what a load of drivel. What are you going to do when I decline these frivolous demands?” I asked as I leaned closer onto the table, my hands gripped the table edge tightly.
“I assure you king Strix,” Calexso said, with an emphasis on the king part. “You do not want to cross the mages council. We have our hands dipped in many nations on the continent and you would do well to acquiesce to our demands. This is a golden opportunity to stay our wrath and you would be making a good decision to step in line.”
“It is not in our people's way to bow down to others, especially weaker humans,” Eklis remarked and all the mages turned their attention to him.
“How dare you? How dare you treat us like inferior beings,” one of the old woman mages said. I wasn’t able to think on what her name was this time.
“We will never bend to knee to someone that isn’t our king,” Eklis continued with a glare.
“It is not an admission of loya
lty I require from you. All I want is for you to accept our guiding hand in your affairs,” Calexso insisted.
“Hmm, I must admit, I expected better of this so-called council,” Flavious said. “You have come to here to make demands and offer no real benefits other than a threat of your power. While I am partial to accepting human cooperation, I will not condone for you to have any say in our affairs like this. This is very troubling, very troubling indeed.”
I looked around and saw that the trio and my woman showed the same resolve that the three of us had. There was no room for doubt.
“It looks like you have your answer,” I said smoothly as I sipped more water.
Calexso gave me a glare before he absurdly stood up, as did the rest of his peers.
“We will not tolerate this. The council has been in Fulgrem for decades. You will not be rid of us that easily,” Calexso said as he turned and walked out the throne room. The rest of his group followed closely behind.
“Go make sure they leave the capital by sundown, by force if necessary,” I ordered, and some guards saluted as they followed the group.
I let out a breath and sagged into my chair.
“What a surprise, I never imagined the council would rear its ugly head so soon,” I said as I rubbed my temple. My women and the trio took a seat at the table again.
“Bunch of old farts, if you ask me. I think I’m on Lunara’s side, we should just kill the lot of them,” Lyan said.
“Ha, while the prospect is enticing, remember that they are powerful mages. They won't go down without a fight,” Eklis remarked.
“Indeed, indeed, what we require is more information,” Flavious said as he looked to Eliandra.
“I’ll see if I can get spies into their ranks, but it won't be easy,” Eliandra said with a smile.
“Nothing of worth ever is my dear,” Flavious said with a nod.
The council mages concerned me, but they were a problem I could put on the sidelines for now. More information on them would do wonders. It seemed that was one of the things we desperately needed these days. I had to put my focus on the much bigger problems we faced.
“If there isn’t anything else, we can finish up here,” I said. I glanced over at both Flavious and Eklis. It seemed they were out of problems for now, judging from their expressions.
“All right, lets work on the Vulenchian problem once Eliandra sends her letter to them and they reply,” I said as I stood up.
Almost immediately, Tessa wrapped her arms around my shoulders.
“Master, you have carried a lot of stress over the past few days, come back to your room to unwind,” Tessa murmured in my ear. I caught each of the trio grinning at me as they left the throne room.
“Yes, but first you have to help with the letter I need to send Ordan,” Eliandra said as she grabbed hold of my arm again.
“We also need to send a letter to my parents about the recent developments,” Lunara said as she pulled on my other arm.
I was pretty sure Eliandra could send a letter to the Vulenchians all by herself, and Lunara didn’t need me either. This was my lot for falling in love with three different women, and I did the only thing I could do.
I grinned and let them lead me away. I was really getting soft.
Chapter 13
Once Eliandra had sent a letter to the Vulenchians about the proposed ball, I spent the next few days learning about Lunarity. None here had any real knowledge of its beliefs, so I had to get all the information from a book in the royal library.
The faith was strange. Everyone in Vulenchia had to pray in public at a place called a Lunach, where priests could preach to the masses. They also needed to donate a portion of their wealth to the Lunach too, which explained part of the reason on why these priests kept their power in Vulenchia.
One thing that bothered me was that there were conflicting views on what a Lunarity worshiper prayed to. Some parts of this book mentioned that they prayed to the sun, while other parts claimed that they prayed to a God named Lunarity. It confused me since there was no God of the sun, as far as I knew, and praying to the sun would do nothing. If you didn’t honor a God explicitly, then they would get none of the prime that you create by worshiping them. Gods could only be part of a planet. There were no Gods of trees, bees or any other drivel. The sun was a star, not a planet, so therefore there could not be a God for it. It was as simple as that.
Other than learning about this religion, I spent a lot of time in each of my women's beds. Tessa had entered the mix as one of the regular women I slept with, and I split my time between the three of them. They still didn’t seem interested in sleeping together for now, but I hoped that would change soon.
A man can dream.
After a week had passed, Eliandra informed me that the Vulenchians had replied to us and would arrange for a ball in the coming days. It was signed by one of the high priests, a Nidola Angalis. They assured us in the letter that we would be safe once we reached the Vulenchian capital. No harm would befall us if we honored our part of the bargain and submitted to their religion. We had set the bait, and it was time to put our plan into action.
I stood outside in the palace courtyard as the few men I would take with me got ready. It was a blessing that Eliandra could portal to the Vulenchian capital, otherwise we would have needed to leave much earlier and walk a long distance.
Eklis sent the trio to the north border to help with the refugees that kept trying to get into Fulgrem. As I had suggested, most of the men I took east had gone with them. Eklis also sent Raina to the south border which I thought was strange. I could only hope another problem didn’t manifest over there.
This trip would be comprised of ten soldiers, all of my women and, of course, Zelenia when we picked her up from her camp.
“How do you like my dress, Ordan?” Lunara asked as she struck a pose. As it was a ball, the women had all worn expensive gowns for the occasion.
Lunara’s gown was a shade of purple that matched her skin and complimented her figure beautifully. It was a lacy silk material that had frills on the lower half. I was more interested in the fact that she wore a gown at all. Even though she was royalty, Lunara rarely dressed like one, which was fine by me.
“You look divine, Lunara. Like a beautiful princess,” I said honestly. That earned me a kiss as she wrapped her arms around my neck.
“Master, you haven’t said anything about my dress,” Tessa said with a pout as I pulled away from Lunara.
“Or mine,” Eliandra added.
I tried not to laugh as Eliandra mimicked a pose like Lunara. Eliandra lacked the sultriness that Lunara and Tessa exhibited, but I loved her all the same.
“All three of you are gorgeous. If I had all the time in the world, I would ravish each one of you for eternity,” I said with a smile.
I wore a doublet for the occasion, as I couldn’t go around with a full suit of plate armor at a ball. I felt naked without it, like the time I had spent in Asterlia alone, but I would tolerate it for now. It was in my color though, all black with our coat of arms etched on the chest. I wanted one with some of our peoples runes on it, like my royal garb, but Eliandra insisted that it would draw too much attention.
The three women grinned at me as the men signaled that they were ready to go.
“All right Eli, let’s do it,” I said, and she nodded.
A portal appeared a moment later after Eliandra summoned an orange orb of prime. I stepped through while motioning for the men to follow.
The calm chill of the void was soothing now, and I had long gotten used to traveling through portals. These ones were much faster and less strange than the portals the truth sayers created to travel between worlds.
A moment later, I stood in a clearing at Zelenia’s camp and not much had changed since our last visit. There were still multitudes of pods scattered around the area, inside decayed trees and the like. The air had that musky smell as always, but I was unsure if it was worse now.
Some Melasks and Ralasks gave me their attention as my women appeared out of the portal behind me. A group of Melasks approached me cautiously and sniffed at my doublet. I wasn’t entirely sure if I wanted to interact with them, but it seemed my women had no such reservations.
“Aw, isn’t it cute when it's like this,” Tessa cooed as she gave a Melask a scratch on the side of its neck. It raised its head to allow Tessa easier access.
Eliandra and Lunara tentatively joined in, giving a few Ralasks some pats and rubs.
I still felt wary. Before, I had come here with an army behind me, now there were just a few of us and there were many more of Zelenia’s spawn. No doubt she had increased her numbers even more in the time between our last visit.
Once the portal closed behind me and my men were ready to go, I waved an arm and headed towards Zelenia’s palace. I noticed that a few men carried a satchel on their backs and I tilted my head at that.
One satchel was nearly bursting with its contents, and I glanced to Eliandra. I think the soldier was carrying her belongings.
“Eli, how come you brought so much for the trip? You know we will just be at the ball, then head back right after. We only need provisions for emergencies,” I said. Eliandra smiled at me and pointed to her dress.
“A lady needs to look her best for the occasion, so I brought a few extra dresses in case this one is not suitable. I also brought along many outfits for Zelenia since she doesn’t appear to have any clothes,” Eliandra said. My eyes widened in shock as a realization struck me.
I had forgotten that Zelenia was pretty much naked before, and she wouldn’t have any clothes. I couldn’t bring her along anywhere at all like that, and this problem honestly didn’t occur to me. Eliandra grinned as she looked at my face.
“You’re a genius,” I said, and she gave me a quick peck.
“Don’t worry, Ordan, I know how to navigate balls. Everything will work out,” Eliandra assured me.
“Yes… you sure know how to navigate mine,” I said with a grin. Eliandra’s cheeks turned red as she frowned at me. I received a whack on my side, and she stared me down.