All alternatives we proposed, had been rejected. The masters had tried to raise Titan to the rank of a master, but his mind wasn’t built to pass the rigors of their tests. The Order of Seven did not want to expand into the Order of Eight. It was an institution that had existed from before the time of the seven great kings. They did not want to alter their numbers. Altering their numbers was not a call the Imperium wanted to take, given its legacy. Transferring Titan to Final 100 was also out of question. Nor could we just ask him to retire. Both would be insults to the Order. The masters were really obstinate.
I knew we had exhausted all possibilities, but for this one—giving Titan an honorary position on the Imperium, allowing for Order of Seven to take in the most powerful of the Final 100, Draconair, as a fresh member.
But this was also a difficult a call to take. If Titan got elected, would our lives be in mortal danger? How will such an election change the balance of power between the Order of Seven, Final 100 and the Imperium? If one of the Order of Seven was elected to the Imperium, would the power of the Order of Seven grow beyond the Imperium’s control, even with the Final 100 and the Elite Units? Would the counter balance of the Final 100 gaining entry into the Order of Seven be enough to check their influence?
On the flip side, if Titan wasn’t elected, would Draconair revolt? He certainly had hinted as much. His defiance was unprecedented. Any other warrior would have lost his life for even raising his eyebrows in front of us. But this man’s strength was unprecedented as well. He was, by far, the strongest among the Final 100 and definitely stronger than all of the current seven. His loss would be a big hit. More importantly, he was the Imperium’s best bet against Varishtan, whenever that beast emerged from the mountains.
Another alternative, however was, unfortunately on the table. Get the Final 100 to eliminate one of the Order of Seven. Titan was merely a shell of his former self, after his defeat at the hands of Varishtan. Despite that, he was still capable of damaging multiple strong opponents before he went down. Plus it wasn’t the best of thing for the public to witness such a fight. There was no way to keep such an attempt hidden from a large audience. Unless, the location was desolate enough. Which was still something to think about. There were other options as well, in terms of poisons, but it was too risky to test. No one of his caliber had ever died of poison, and we couldn’t try and fail.
With a heavy heart, I proceeded towards the Imperium chambers. The other grey beards were there as well. I felt disgust when I looked at them, the same sentiment I felt, when I looked in the mirror. This council needed fresh blood. “The current rules, which basically imply you are on the council till death, should be changed. I wish we changed it to say, compulsory retirement at sixty. Like in the days of the seven great kings,” I thought.
We all sat down, waiting for the head of the Imperium to turn up. Brenin was always a couple of minutes late. I wonder if a commoner even noticed if someone came a couple of minutes late. Their time was far less important than ours. There was considerable impatience as Brenin was almost four minutes late. He finally arrived, looking apologetic, but more so, sad.
“My apologies, my brethren. As late as I am, you will all soon empathize with my delay, when you hear the decision I was thinking of taking. A decision I will announce now.
You have all been kind and cooperative in my rotation as the head of the greatest council of leaders in this world. I have presided over one of the most peaceful times in our land. The revolutionaries have stayed limited to the Devian region in Üzilis Mountains, due to the continued success of our blockade. Our advances in technology continue at an astounding pace and we will be ready to break down the last revolutionary bastion soon.
I feel I have been selfish in hogging all the good times. It is time for me to step down and allow one of you to enjoy leadership, in times of such great peace.”
None of us reacted. We didn’t know what to say. This had never happened in this Imperium’s 300-year history. Brenin didn’t seem the sort of person who would break tradition so easily. But I realized what could be a part of his reason. Not the nonsense he just spewed. The reason was mostly completely opposite to what he said. Brenin had been getting perturbed by the happenings in the continent so far, particularly by the rumors of the sage’s appearance. He wanted to abdicate, so that he was not the one presiding during potentially tumultuous times ahead. The other part of his reason I was sure of. He definitely did not want to take on himself, any of the consequences of the decision on Titan, which was to be taken that day.
I was almost tempted to insult him, by asking him if he was sure of his decision. But I refrained. All of us got up and did what we do when a rotation formally ends. We bowed in unison for all his services. After that, all of us sat down, unsure of how to proceed. We had never decided anything without a head. The next rotation was to be with Magnot, but it was two years before his time. Do we move his rotation up? Or do we elect someone else temporarily?
Magnot rose. “I thank you, Brenin, for your leadership. I am up next for rotation. But, I feel I am unready for this. I propose we elect a temporary leader.”
I agreed. He was not ready. We had to select one of the other five eligible for leadership in our council of 14. The new seven wouldn’t be eligible for seven more years. There was a quorum vote on the proposal. It won, 8 to 6. Thank god it wasn’t a tie. Without a head, there was no one with two votes to break it.
Then, there was a call for nominations. No one stood up. Every one of us was unsure of taking up this abrupt opportunity. But we couldn’t dawdle. Zequn soon resolved this. He stood and proposed that we vote assuming all candidates are standing. That passed easily—9 to 5. Clearly the five eligible candidates, including me, didn’t want this, while everyone else did.
I then proposed that we take a month to decide who we must vote for, as this an important decision. There was some debate, with the discussion gravitating to the other important decision that lay in front on us. Inclusion of Titan. The decision everyone was dreading to make, but was important to make fast. My proposal was shot down 12 to 2. We proceeded to vote for the head of the Imperium right away.
I didn’t want to be the head, not in these times. I voted for Ashwatthama. My guess was that Ashwatthama would win, given his vociferousness on the Imperium of late. As the results were read out by the royal scribe, I held my breath. So did the other four:
Asahi—1
Ashwatthama—4
William—1
Raphael—4
Vikraan—4
This was surprising for me. I didn’t see how or why anyone voted for me. Maybe it was coincidence that the four other members in the running voted for me. Anyway, there was no way for me to know.
Three of us were in the next round of voting, including me. I wasn’t happy. I really didn’t want this job. My vote in this round would also go to Ashwatthama, and I hoped the people who voted for Asahi and William would go for him as well. Although I felt William’s supporters might go for Raphael. They were a better fit, personality wise.
As the scribe started to read out the results of the second round, I felt increasingly worried that my name would come up.
Raphael—5
Ashwatthama—5
Vikraan—4
I let out an internal sigh of relief. The final battle did not include me. Two people just did me a huge favor and did not vote for me. The last round would be between Raphael and Ashwatthama. I was safe. Then we voted again. As the papers were handed to the scribe, there was a large commotion. Azani and Géant, number 17 and 25 of the Final 100 burst in.
Azani spoke. “Peace through stability, honorable members! We must evacuate you all. Titan is on his way as well, along with nine others of the Final 100. There are reports of multiple intrusions in the Imperium chambers.”
Intrusion in the Imperium chambers! It was unprecedented! After the creation of the High Seat, Imperium chambers had never been attacked or infiltrated. Even at the height
of the revolution, no one could even think of attacking the Capitol Hills, let alone the High Seat.
Then the doors opened. Instead of Titan and the other members of Final 100, there was just one person who walked in. None of us recognized him. Was he one of the intruder? He seemed harmless. He was tall, maybe above six feet. He was dark in color, but had handsome features. He was wearing simple garments which seemed exceptionally bright and shining. They were garments that the ancient sages would wear. A chill ran down my spine.
“Greetings, oh great ones!” said the intruder. “I am Anirved. My apologies for the state of alarm that I seemed to have put everyone in, but I did not think I would be allowed to meet you all if I had asked for permission. I do not wish to interrupt you all for too long, but I did want to talk to you all.”
I was outraged. No one could intrude upon the authority and security of the Valantian Imperium the way this stranger had. I stood up and spoke. “There is a proper way, if you do want to speak to us. We will not entertain such lawlessness. Leave at once. Azani, Géant, arrest this man!”
Azani and Géant moved to attack. Azani was known worldwide for his speed. Géant swung his massive club and let loose a volley of darts from it, and Azani instantaneously reached Anirved and punched him with his Azmoqian knuckle knives. The man didn’t even move. Both attacks seemed to just… phase through him.
“What was happening?” I thought to myself.
Azani and Géant seemed to have similar thoughts. Géant had also reached Anirved in a second, and both of them let loose a series of attacks from different angles. They tried for a few seconds. And then retreated. Not one attack had landed. The man hadn’t moved.
“What are you? Some kind of illusion?” asked Azani in frustration as both of them fell back.
“I am no illusion, my friend. At least not in the sense you mean.” Anirved said, in an extremely calm and laidback manner.
Géant thought otherwise. He moved towards the door to check if the real person was hiding behind and somehow projecting an image of himself ahead. Anirved seemed amused.
“These attacks are of no use. Let me proceed with the topic I wanted to discuss…” said Anirved as he moved forward. At that moment, nine of the Final 100 entered, along with Titan.
Whenever I saw Titan, I wondered how he could lose to anyone. He was a true beast. Over eight-foot-tall and built like a bull, he looked like the legendary Minotaur. His splitting maul was gigantic, at least seven-foot-long, with a large crimson stone, the weapon’s Maktsten, its source of energy, embedded in the blade. I would then remember that he went up against Varishtan, who was supposed to be one and a half times this man’s size.
Titan roared, drowning out any other sound. He then unleashed a torrent of hot magma from his blade right where Anirved stood. The splashes of magma spread everywhere. Even with his broken body, Titan’s strength eclipsed everyone else’s power. But as with the other attacks, it didn’t even touch the intruder. Members of the Final 100 who had ranged weapons also attacked, and ones with melee weapons closed in to strike a blow. Anirved, as before, wasn’t hit even once. Then, he started to walk again, casually towards the council. The Final 100 formed a human wall in front of us, with Titan getting in front as well.
Anirved smiled. “It looks like we will not be able to have a discussion without this distraction.”
Saying that, he walked up to Titan. The beast swung his weapon at Anirved. It was useless. The axe started to phase through the man. As it did, Anirved reached out and touched the forehead of Titan gently. The might warrior collapsed, instantly unconscious. All other warriors reacted by taking a collective step back.
But they soon recovered their courage and tried to attack. Each and every one was touched on his or her forehead by Anirved, leading to them falling unconscious. Even Azani, the human lightning tried to dart in and out. The instant he closed in, Anirved rendered him unconscious as well, in the same manner as others. He was clearly faster than even Azani.
This was scary for me and rest of the council. All of our brave defenders, some of the strongest warriors in the land, were down, defeated in a matter of minutes. We had never faced or seen an adversary of this might.
“What do you want?” I asked, speaking through the fear I had felt for the first time in my life.
Anirved walked up to us and sat on the council table nonchalantly, legs hanging in the air, hands on the table.
“As I said, I just wanted to talk. And about these soldiers who have fallen, don’t worry. They haven’t been harmed in any way. They are just sound asleep and will wake up soon, completely refreshed. Sorry if I made you anxious. That is not my intention.”
He looked up at the infinite ceiling of the Imperium chambers, as he continued.
“I wanted to talk to you about the state of this world which you have helped create, you control and whose future you shape. Things have changed a lot since the time the world came closer and became one. Since this Imperium came to power, you have segregated the world, enslaved many of its people and used them to fund your own opulent lifestyle. This has to end. You have to make amends. That is the purpose of my visit—to request you all to make amends.”
I was outraged at his insinuations. “What are you babbling about? The world we have created is near perfect. Almost everyone is happy here. And you must be mistaken if you think we have enslaved anyone. Slavery has been abolished since before this Imperium came into being and we have stuck to those principles. All men are born free.
That is why the revolution didn’t succeed. If there was slavery, if there was oppression, there would be widespread anguish— they have succeeded! They would have been able to reach the people, garner support, especially after the Battle of the Bloody River. But they didn’t, because the people are happy under this Imperium’s rule.”
Anirved replied with the same twinkle in his eye, as if he was correcting a child. “There are many forms of oppression. The cow that tills the land doesn’t think it is oppressed. It gets beaten only twice a day, and its masters tell it repeatedly that its forefathers would get beaten every hour. Its master convinces the cow that its life is amazing. It believes its master. Is it oppressed? I would like to think so. Especially when the master knows at a fraction of extra cost, he can replace the cow with a contraption that can till the land. The cow can relax and help its master only by providing milk. That is oppression by exclusion.
What about a man who is working hard, eating three square meals a day? He doesn’t seem oppressed. He believes that he is getting enough food for the amount of work he puts in. What he doesn’t know is that he is able to buy the food he eats for cheap, because there are slaves working on farms. The price of the wheat he buys is the profit that the land owner makes. The man is not oppressed. But isn’t the slave?”
He seemed to be hinting at things that were not known in the continent.
“There is no such thing. Didn’t you hear me before that the continent has no slaves?”
Anirved said, “True. To the best of everyone’s knowledge, this continent has no slaves. But think about what I said. Please change yourselves. Before the wheels that drive the world, that bring balance to the world, start to churn it again and crush you, in the process.”
With that he got off, started walking towards the door.
“Let’s stay in touch,” he said as he reached the door.
In a minute, he disappeared behind the door. I seemed to be the only one with my wits about me. I immediately summoned the scribe. “Ask the spies in chamber of intelligence to follow him. Then ask for these useless warriors to be removed.”
The room was quiet. Many soldiers, of multiple elite units poured in within a matter of minutes. They started to clear the fallen warriors from Imperium chambers. The hall returned to normal, but for the scars that Titan’s magma attack left on the floor. In that time, the leader of Imperium security stepped up, saluted us and gave her report.
“Peace through stability council
members! The criminal named Anirved, entered the High Seat’s Imperium Chambers out of nowhere half an hour back. None of our sentries and guards saw him enter from any of the entrances in the High Seat. He then proceeded to the Imperium Chambers, with multiple men trying to attack him, but failing. None was even able to make contact. All members of Final 100 available in the High Seat were alerted and five of them converged upon him within 15 minutes.
Couple of them, Azani and Géant rushed towards the central chambers to evacuate you all, followed by Titan and nine other members. The intruder managed to defeat them all. The spies positioned outside the central chambers attempted to follow him as soon as he left… but he suddenly… disappeared.”
Ashwatthama suddenly found his voice. “Disappeared? What do you mean? How could he just disappear?! Find him. Search the city, grid by grid. Also round up all sources of the rumors that the sages of silence have started to appear. We have to trace this man. And at the express command of this Imperium, all those involved in this incident are forbidden to discuss this topic at all.”
With those words, he acknowledged what we all felt. This man was, or at least pretended to be, one of the three sages of silence. Now we knew his name. Anirved. While their legend was sketchy on the detail, the message of the legend was well known—these sages appeared at times of great change.
We had to discuss this. We needed a head immediately. Although we were extremely shaken by our brush with death, we still had a lot to do. We were the leaders of this great continent. The scribe was asked to read out the vote by Magnot, when he was stopped by Zequn. The fear and strain of the attack was visible in his shaking voice.
“Things… have changed dramatically since the last vote. I propose that we restart the process in the light of the events of last half an hour.”
Age of Azmoq: The Valantian Imperium Page 13