“I will keep it brief then,” Torneus said. “Afterward, all of you will be able to see the correspondence from Emperor Gorthal.”
He cleared his throat, then continued, “Following their unjustified invasion across the Gharrick Mountains, the Empire has declared that Bastion Theus has committed heresy. Their demands are that we hand him over to undergo trial within the Empire, and that the war will continue until their demands are met. They have made no efforts to remove the forces they have placed within our territory and have increased the number of Champions located in Fort Taubrum.”
Everybody in the room stared at Torneus. Narime had a good idea why.
An accusation of heresy was unprecedented. It meant that the Empire was accusing the Federation of going against the will of Omria. Heresy by a Bastion was far graver still, as they were servants of Omria and protected nations from demons. If a Bastion committed heresy, it raised doubts about their ability to defend Doumahr.
Furthermore, Narime hadn’t even heard about this war to begin with. Or that the Empire had occupied Federation territory.
“Based on the contents of the correspondence, we believe that Emperor Gorthal has no intentions of returning the territory that they have wrongfully seized from the Federation,” Torneus continued. “Between their baseless accusation of heresy and their unjustified aggression, it is my recommendation that we amass an army and—”
“Now hold on a fucking second,” Ilmarn interrupted. “I may not have been involved in this nonsense to begin with, but you’re missing a few parts, Torneus. Unjustified? You invaded the Empire! You sent an army through Gharrick Pass, and now you’re screaming about how we should be shocked that the Empire struck back.” He scoffed.
“That is the Empire’s story, but we did no such thing,” Torneus said. He glared at Ilmarn.
“Save your breath.” Ilmarn rolled his eyes. “Many of us know that you’ve been building up an army on their borders all year. I may not trade in weapons, but I can spot food shipments months in advance. You’re not as stealthy or as smart as you believe you are, Torneus.”
The two regents glared daggers at each other. Eventually, another of the regents waved the conversation on.
“Fine, we’re at war with the Empire. Let’s move on,” Ilmarn said, rolling his eyes. A few of the regents grimaced but said nothing. “The problem is that they’re throwing heresy around. The hell are we doing about that?”
“Nothing, I imagine,” another regent said. This time, the speaker was Grand Meister Korvell. A balding man in his young forties, Korvell was extraordinarily wealthy and ran a city-state within the Federation. Narime found it curious that he appeared to be defending Torneus.
“Nothing?” Ilmarn asked.
“What are we supposed to do?” Korvell asked, looking at the other regents with a sarcastic grin on his face. “Hand over one of our best Bastions to the Empire and say ‘well, you got us’ and then move on? What if they keep fighting us? We’re at war, Ilmarn.”
“Don’t pretend that’s all it means,” Ilmarn said. “We have defense pacts with our neighbors. Neighbors who aren’t honoring those pacts because the Empire says we’re harboring heretics.”
“It’s part of their strategy,” Korvell said. “It demeans them to falsely accuse us of heresy, but we all knew the Empire would use every weapon against in a war.”
The regents grumbled and glared at each other. Almost all of them glared at Korvell and Torneus. Minutes passed, and many objections were raised. They argued and bickered back and forth.
Ilmarn leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed. He had remained silent since he last spoke. His eyes set off into the distance. Another regent had also remained silent, and Narime knew this man much better. He was Duke Terrius, a wealthy merchant who ruled a coastal province.
“Are we going to debate all day?” Torneus asked, his tone exasperated. “Or do we plan to make a decision?”
“Is there any point to a Regency Council other than to debate over our decision?” Ilmarn asked. “We are all regents here, Torneus. We do not serve you.”
“There is no need to such pointless anger,” Torneus chided. He hid his smirk, his eyes curving in delight at Ilmarn’s growing fury.
Ilmarn threw his hands up into the air. “And there wouldn’t be a need for me to be angry if you hadn’t dragged us into this mess. You haven’t even described how you stuffed everything up to begin with. Why even invade the Empire?”
“As I said—” Torneus tried to say.
Another regent scoffed. “Do not waste your breath pretending that we did not attack first. Ilmarn is right. We attacked the Empire first. This is the Regency Council, not a public forum. Excuses merely insult us and yourself.”
Torneus grimaced, but without missing a beat, he said, “Very well. As I believe all of you are aware, we have been in debate with the Empire regarding the tariffs into their territory for some time.”
“You must be joking,” Ilmarn said. “You started a war with one of the most powerful nations in the world over trade taxes?”
“No. We started a war to ensure future profit for the entire Federation,” Torneus said, anger leaking into his voice for the first time since the meeting is started. “If the Empire reinstated tolls at Gharrick Pass, many provinces and merchant companies would be unable to meet their anticipated profit goals. Profit that we need to fund our Bastions and military.”
“Wonderful. I’ll be sure to tell everybody how easily they’ll meet their profit goals now that we’re at war with the Empire and nobody can trade with them at all,” Ilmarn said sarcastically. “They can use that profit as a down payment for the armies they’ll need to recruit to fight the Empire.”
“Sarcasm does not become you,” Torneus said coldly.
“And acting superior doesn’t take back the damage that you have done to the Federation with your stupid scheme,” Ilmarn said.
“Now, now.” Korvell raised his hands and leaned into the table. He looked between both regents with an open expression and a gentle smile. “As we argued about earlier, the fact is that we are at war. Shouldn’t we be focused on how to deal with that fact?”
The regents slowly nodded in agreement, although a couple looked at Ilmarn before they did so. For his part, Ilmarn remained motionless. His eyes flickered between Korvell and Torneus, as if he realized what was going on.
Watching from the side, Narime realized that the meeting had slipped beyond any point of argument. Something had shifted in the meeting, as the regents began to debate how to amass a military force with which to stop the Empire.
The other Champions looked at Narime in confusion. No doubt they wondered why none of them were being asked to contribute to the meeting. It was highly unusual for the regents to talk about military matters without involving the Bastions or their representatives.
Normally, Narime would step in anyway. But when she took a step forward, Duke Terrius shot her a look and shook his head. She took that as a warning and remained silent. Not all of the regents were trustworthy, but she knew Terrius well.
Ilmarn continued to ignore the other regents, and a couple of other regents joined him in his silence. Narime saw the growing division within the Regency Council. At her side, Lucia became calm. Attention had shifted away from the cause of this war, and that meant her Bastion had escaped punishment for now.
The meeting wrapped up shortly. At no point did the regents ask the Champions to provide any information or intelligence. To Narime, this seemed like a gross oversight. Or possibly a sign of something more dangerous.
Later that night, she traveled to the residence of the regent who warned her during the meeting. It was a small villa that sat atop a man-made hill within the city. A privacy wall built of black granite surrounded the building. Outside, lamps lined the generous walkway of the estate. Each villa occupied a substantial plot of land.
Every villa here was worth more money than most merchants handled in their lifetime. Just to ent
er the street, Narime had to show proof that she had a meeting with someone who lived here. Guards patrolled the streets in pairs and kept an eye out for any criminals.
A butler met Narime at the gate of the villa and escorted her to the front entrance. She spotted the runes glowing dully on the ground as she walked. Long familiar with this place, Narime knew that the servants could activate them at any time. They powered defenses hidden within the grounds of the villa.
Once inside, Narime was escorted to meet the regent. He sat at a table, doing some paperwork. Duke Terrius didn’t look up when they entered and continued to scribble away at the papers. He was noticeably balding, and his figure had long gone past pudgy. The expensive furs that cocooned his body were a reminder that winter had set in.
After a few minutes, Terrius looked up. He waved for Narime to sit down and handed his paperwork to the butler, who left the room.
“I’d say it’s good to see you, but this is not a great time for anyone to see each other,” Terrius said.
Narime nodded but remained silent. She watched as a pair of maids entered the room and placed down a tea set. They poured tea for both Terrius and Narime—carefully adding tea and sugar as desired by each person—and stood off to the side.
Both maids were beastkin. They had horse ears atop their head and long tails full of fine hair behind them. Beastkin came in many varieties, such as horses, cats, and wolves.
Duke Terrius had an entire household full of horse beastkin. His family had long maintained a clan of horses as servants, and his personal preferences were that they served him as maids and butlers.
In the Federation, the crucial difference between beastkin and mystic foxes such as Narime was simple. Mystic foxes were considered an independent race with all the rights of humans. Beastkin were not. While slavery was normally illegal, an exception remained in place for beastkin. This was standard across most of Doumahr, with the Empire being a notable exception that banned beastkin slaves.
Terrace waved away both beastkin maids, and they left the room. Several moments passed in silence after the door closed.
“I take it you have concerns over today’s meeting,” Terrius said.
“Concern doesn’t begin to cut it,” Narime said. “But few of the regents seemed to share my worries. Nobody even asked the Champions for input on military affairs, even though that’s why we’re there. Duke Ilmarn was the only one pushing back against Torneus, and he clearly gave up halfway through.”
“Ilmarn has power that few regents have. Most of us need to worry about retaliation if we stand up against Torneus. Although that’s less of worry now.” Terrius took a long drink from his cup of tea and ignored the look of confusion he received from Narime. “Tell me, how much do you know about what’s happened so far in the war against the Empire?”
“Almost nothing. Today was the first I heard of it,” Narime said.
“But you can hazard a guess, correct?” Terrius said. “We attacked the Empire, lost, and now we’re trying to deal with the aftermath. But some elements of that stick out like a sore thumb.”
Narime frowned. “I assume you are referring to Seraph’s absence.”
Seraph was a duogem Champion that had been assigned to assist Bastion Theus in the west. Like Narime, she hailed from the Kurai Peninsula. Unlike Narime, Seraph was human. But a duogem Champion held immense power no matter what race they were.
And Seraph had been a highly capable Champion. On top of that, she had been a highly efficient political operator and close to Torneus. Her absence had been curious and somewhat alarming.
“And what do you think that means?” Terrius asked.
“That either she’s very busy covering up Theus’s mistakes, or she’s dead,” Narime said. The possibility of the latter alarmed Narime greatly.
“Close, but not quite.” Terrius drained his cup and poured another. He took his time adding milk and sugar. “She defected to the Empire. Along with another Champion from the Kurai Peninsula, Sunstorm.”
Narime sat in silence for several long seconds, barely able to believe what she had just heard. “Defected?”
“That’s right. We don’t know the circumstances, but we know that both Seraph and Sunstorm are now fighting for the Empire. They’re under a new Bastion that the Empire has just recruited. A Nathan Straub.”
“Then why wasn’t that a major topic of today’s council meeting? This is the sort of thing that is of extremely high importance for the Bastions. In the end, we will be the ones to do the actual fighting.” Narime tried to keep her scowl off her face, as she knew that Terrius didn’t mean to insult her.
Narime had a long history with the Terrius family. If it weren’t for this man’s grandfather, Narime might not be here. The trading relationship that the Terrius family had built up with the Kurai Peninsula—and specifically with the mystic foxes of Narime’s tribe—had been crucial to escaping the Kurai Peninsula when demons overran it.
So, although Narime had many issues with the Federation, she did her best not to throw them in Terrius’s face. She owed him, and the Federation was slowly becoming a home. Not her true home, but a home.
“Two reasons,” Terrius said. “The first is one that I thought you would catch onto right away. Two Champions in the Kurai Peninsula have just joined the Empire.” He pointed a fat, stubby finger at Narime. “You are also a Champion from the Kurai Peninsula.”
Narime stared at Terrius. After a long moment of silence, she spluttered, “Are you joking? The Regency Council believes that I will defect to the Empire, with no basis whatsoever?”
“I wouldn’t say no basis.” Terrius raised a hand to stop her from continuing. “Losing two of his favored Champions rattled Torneus. Everything he planned fell apart when he attacked the Empire, and he doesn’t know why. That’s an unusual situation for that old bastard. So he’s trying to draw patterns. Make connections where they may not be connections. An obvious one is that you, Seraph, and Sunstorm all come from the Kurai Peninsula.”
Narime rolled her eyes. “Fine. Let’s allow Torneus’s delusions, and the rest of the Regency Council their unwillingness to challenge him. What is the other reason no one would raise the topic of this new Bastion?”
“Because every time you talk about him, Torneus gets the shits.” Terrius chuckled into his cup.
“I thought you were joking earlier, but now you really must be joking.” After several moments, Narime realized that Terrius was not joking. “By Omria, you aren’t. So, we can’t talk about a major threat to the Federation because Torneus is upset that he lost to him?”
“More or less. Fortunately, I’m good friends with old George. His spies provided information on this Bastion. Apparently, Torneus was the one who ignored Nathan after receiving this information,” Terrius explained.
George was another regent, formally known as King George II. He governed a province in the south-west of the Federation. Evidently, he had been involved in this foolhardy war against the Empire.
“And I assume we have no idea why Torneus felt that Nathan Straub was so weak,” Narime said.
“Of course not. But we do know that his assessment was horribly wrong. Nathan’s defeated the Federation in three separate battles, converted two of our Champions, and captured a large portion of our territory. On top of that, he levied the accusation of heresy against us. As a result, our allies have abandoned us.” Terrius drained his cup again and glared off to the side.
“Of course not,” Narime said. “No nation would accuse another of heresy so lightly. And especially not the Empire, who cling to their status as Omria’s chosen country. Korvell is spouting nonsense. Whatever Torneus and Theus did, it was highly questionable.”
“And that is the problem we find ourselves with.” Terrius sighed. “We know about the Empire. We know about Torneus. And on both fronts, things look questionable. We attacked first, which is the main reason that both of our allies will not intervene. Even if the heresy accusation goes nowhere. The dark
elves in the Aurelian Spires don’t want to give the Empire a reason to invade them. While the fairies in the Republic of Arcadia are looking for any excuse to weasel out of an agreement.”
A difficult situation. The entire reason that the Federation had signed defense pacts with its neighboring nations had been to protect itself against the rising aggression of the Empire. Now Torneus had ruined the best laid plans to defend the Federation. The Empire had managed to find a way to expand its territory without angering other countries.
“How do things look questionable in the Empire?” Narime asked. “Beyond the fact that they’re the Empire.”
“I told you, George gave me his information on this new Bastion. Perhaps you know of him from his last name,” Terrius said.
Narime blinked, then focused on the name. “It can’t be. You mean he’s related to Bastion Tharban von Straub? The Crimson Warhound?”
Terrius nodded. “I don’t know the specifics, but Nathan is Tharban’s son. And appears to be as terrifying a Bastion as his father is, given his string of victories.”
“Fantastic. So the Empire has sent an imperialist dog to tear us apart.” Narime shook her head, a grimace spreading across her face.
“We don’t know if he shares the same political views as his father,” Terrius admitted. “But it’s a bad look for the Empire. Our greatest fear has been an invasion led by Tharban’s Nationalists. Now his son has broken down our door.”
“Given I’m suspected of being about to betray the Federation, what do we do?” Narime asked.
“We still have time.” As if to signify this, Terrius poured two more cups of tea. “It’s winter, and only an idiot would continue a war in the shadow of the Gharrick Mountains at this time of year. Despite Torneus’s proclamation, we have time to negotiate. I doubt the Empire wants to fight a two-front war.”
“Of course,” Narime said. “I forgot that the Empire has just started the war again with Trafaumh to the north.”
The pair of them talked long into the night, and Narime gathered what information she could about what happened during the conflict between the Empire in the Federation. She still had large gaps in her knowledge, as Torneus knew little about the battles. Even George had been unwilling to tell his friend much about them.
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