Morstosh scowled but kept his mouth shut, he knew arguing with Lorne was pointless. "Will that be all high commander?"
"Yes," said Lorne while stepping back and motioning towards the golden lake bridge. "You are dismissed Morstosh, however Kelgorun remain." The commander of the Blood Flows stormed off to the other side of the bridge to wait alongside Penstogor. When Morstosh was out of ear shot Lorne turned his attention to the handsome commander.
"I wanted to speak to you about two things. These two topics both relate to the same person. One of the questions will be business related while the other will be personal." Lorne paused for a moment and watched as Kelgorun's jaws clenched. "I assume you know of the topic I speak?"
Kelgorun shifted his stance in unease, his ornate and polished armor faintly rattling as he moved. "I do know of the topics."
"Good," said Lorne as he took a step closer to Kelgorun. "I have reports that a messenger was sent for Sielan so that she could attend this meeting. I also have reports that the messenger has been unable to find the imperial historian and her current status is unknown. Given your relationship with her, have you heard from her? Do you know if Sielan is safe?"
Kelgorun was clearly uncomfortable discussing the topic, the handsome commander looked in every direction but at Lorne. "No high commander. I likewise have seen the same reports, but I have not heard from her. I too worry about her safety given these troubling times."
"Disturbing indeed," said Lorne. "I pray to the Three that we hear from her soon. She has a wild spirit but a good heart. The personal question I'm about to pose to you I assume you are expecting as well since this is not the first time we've discussed this. However, I once again must suggest to you the topic of marriage. I know the two of you don't like to make public your relationship, but you are both good and outstanding citizens. I do not understand why you two do not make it official in the eyes of the Three."
Kelgorun cleared his throat and for the first time in a while looked at Lorne. His eyes cried for mercy though, it was painfully obviously that Kelgorun was uncomfortable discussing his relationship with Sielan. "High commander, as I've said before," Kelgorun stopped as the sound of footfalls on the grand staircase became apparent. Thankfully for the nervous commander, the other members of the meeting had arrived. "As I've said before," Kelgorun continued in a low whisper, "it is not that easy. Sielan and I love each other, but we are in unique positions. I trust you to respect our privacy."
Lorne wanted to continue arguing but he knew the opportunity was lost. As Kelgorun finished his sentence, figures appeared at the top of the staircase and glided towards the two military officers. At the head of the new group of Phlebos was Thelais, behind her trailed five of her subordinates. All of them wore the dark red robes of the pyromancer's guild. Due to meeting with Mielor, Thelais was dressed in full resplendent glory. She wore a golden tiara on her head which bore miniature carvings of Aun. Her bright red robes which matched her skin were laced with gold. From her sleeves hung small bells, also made from gold, which chimed as she gracefully glided across the floor. The guild master of the pyromancers came to a stop before Kelgorun and her husband while her underlings continued across the bridge.
"Lady Thelais," began Kelgorun as he bowed low while taking her hand and gently kissing it. "As always I find myself unworthy to be in the presence of your glorious beauty."
Thelais smiled warmly and did a faint curtsey to the western commander. "I might say the same to you good sir. As always it is a pleasure to be in your company."
"You do me too much honor milady," said Kelgorun. "Your husband and I just finished our conversation. If you'll excuse me, I'll go wait in the receiving area and let you two have some privacy." The commander bowed low again and then turned and walked across the bridge with his golden helmet under his arm.
Thelais and Lorne embraced each other, holding one another for several moments. When they released Lorne took Thelais' hand in his. "I brought up the topics with Kelgorun as you asked my love."
A look of concern fell over Thelais' face. It was a look that melted Lorne's heart for he couldn't bear to see the love of his life forlorn. For a moment he briefly contemplated lying just to make her happy, but he knew he couldn't deceive her. "What did he say?" The pyromancer asked with a hint of desperation.
Lorne shook his head sadly while squeezing his wife's hand. "There is nothing to say on either front."
Thelais opened her mouth but more footfalls could be heard on the stairs. She knew at the moment there was nothing more to discuss and the two turned to see ten figures in orange robes appear at the top of the staircase. The ten of them moved in perfect unison with hoods pulled low over their faces. They turned to glance at the husband and wife but said no words, continuing past and across the bridge. They were the blood priests, Mielor's most trusted and faithful servants who helped her run the Blood Church as well as the empire. With their appearance Mielor would be soon to follow. Lorne and Thelais turned and walked across the bridge over the bubbling gold and went to the front of the gathering in the receiving area. Around them were the ten blood priests, Kelgorun, Morstosh, Penstogor and the five subordinate pyromancers. Before them were two wide steps that spanned the length of the room and led up to a large dais whereupon Mielor's throne stood. It was a small chair, sculpted specifically for Mielor's slender figure. It was, of course, made of pure gold and studded with precious gems and diamonds.
Suddenly a rumble shook the hall and Lorne looked away from his beloved. The high commander had been expecting the doors along the back wall to open and Mielor to enter, however what occurred next astonished him. The back wall itself began sliding open; the smaller doors were nothing but ornamentation. As the massive wall parted, he could see Mielor, draped in an elegant red dress with various pictures and words written in gold filigree covering it. Her skin, normally a red color, was completely covered in thick paint made of gold. Her hair was likewise dyed gold and raised vertically, held together by wires of golden wire, atop her hair sat a statue of Aun. Her face was covered in an ornamental white porcelain mask with open slots for her eyes and mouth. The white mask, that of a female Vesnian, had trails of golden tears racing down from the eye holes. Mielor looked unreal, more statue or Goddess than Vesnian. Her figure and body shape were completely hidden inside the folds of her dress. Her exposed hands belied the fact that her body was rather petite compared to most Vesnians.
While Mielor's appearance was extravagant, her entrance was likewise as audacious. The wall itself had to part because Mielor was not walking to her throne; rather she lay on top of a large plush bed atop a platform draped in fine rugs. The platform rested upon the backs of a few dozen of her personal assistants. To each side of the mobile platform were dozens of hand maidens flanking their mistress.
It had been sometime since Lorne had personally seen Mielor in the flesh and, while she had been surrounded in splendor during his last audience, the display that was currently before him was a sight to behold. While some of the other high-ranking officials in attendance shifted uncomfortably at the spectacle before them, most appeared inoculated to the display. Lorne glanced towards the dais as the procession came to a halt. Guards from the far walls appeared and assisted Mielor in stepping down from her mobile lounging platform. Still holding their empress' hands, they escorted her to the throne where she sat down. Once seated, several of her hand maidens approached and removed the ornate Lunara mask. The skin on her thin face was heavily caked in white powder with golden tears painted down her face in an exact imitation of the mask she previously bore. Some might wonder why the mask was necessary if her face was painted in a duplicative fashion, but Lorne knew Mielor did it just for the sake of splendor.
From the massive crowd of servants behind the empress, a tall and lanky male Phlebos stepped forward. Surprisingly, he was plainly dressed in an all-black overcoat which was buttoned up tight and stretched to the floor. Not a single wrinkle could be found on the coat and he wore no jewelr
y or make-up. This man, despite his drab appearance, was well known: Xorn, the voice of the empress. Shortly after her last reincarnation, Mielor made the decision to stop directly speaking to her subjects. The Empress had come to believe that her subjects were not worthy enough to hear her actual voice, whether from the lower or upper castes. Xorn had been one of her most trusted servants and she promoted him to a newly created position: The Voice. His sole duty was to listen to Mielor's whispers and convey her wishes to the masses.
Xorn took his place at his mistress's side, his pale-yellow skin and long golden hair in contrast to the bright red of the empress' dress. Mielor gently placed her palm on his hand to signal that she was ready to begin. Xorn's voice, seemingly far too high pitched for that of a male, rang out across the hall. "Her glorious majesty, Empress Mielor, the light of eternal lights, extends her deepest gratitude to all of you for attending this most urgent of meetings."
Mielor faintly, almost unnoticeably, bowed her head to the assembled officials in greeting. In response, as protocol dictated, the crowd bowed low en masse to their empress. Once the ensemble had finished their bow in unison, Xorn continued in his speech. "This meeting was initially brought about for the obvious reason which all of you are aware of. Across the Red Empire, Phlebos have ceased reincarnating. The light of eternal lights hereby calls forth Thelais to step forward and address this meeting. Thelais, guild master of the pyromancers, mistress of the flame, was the first to assess the situation of failed reincarnations." Xorn stepped aside while broadly motioning with his arm to Thelais.
The Guild Master stepped forward, bowing to Mielor in the process, then turned and addressed the gathering of officials. "The Red Empire first received news of failed reincarnations several weeks ago. Whether by coincidence or not the first three that we know of which did not return after passing all lived in a small town in the middle of the Yellow Ocean known as Bleak Water. Sielan, myself and a contingency of red soldiers went to the town to investigate the rumors. What I discovered there was startling indeed. When I performed examinations of the physical forms, I discovered that they were indeed deceased. All three of the bodies had been dead for some time. Their physical forms had become somewhat hardened, their flesh was nearly translucent and all the blood in the bodies had transformed into some unknown powdery substance similar to sand. More troubling is despite both my physical and magical inspections I was unable to determine a cause of death. I do not know if the body died and thus the spirit was unable to return or if the Three held onto the spirit, thus causing the body to wither. As Rordun and I left to deliver news of this dire occurrence to the light of eternal lights we received word that a coastal town had likewise been afflicted with the malady and sought the Red Empire's aid. Sielan chose to head west in order to assess the situation in that city."
Having finished her speech Thelais turned, bowed to Mielor, then stepped backwards assuming her place next to Lorne in the front row. Once Thelais was back in line Xorn continued addressing the crowd. "Word has attempted to be sent to Sielan but she was unable to be reached. Her whereabouts are currently unknown."
Hushed whispers began to emanate from the crowd, Lorne noticed Thelais' throat tighten. He wanted to reach out and hold her hand. He wanted to tell her that everything would be fine and to comfort her. However, he knew he couldn't, to show any such open display before the empress would be a massive taboo. He was nervous, he knew Sielan was close to Thelais and he could only imagine what was running through his wife's head. He also knew Kelgorun must be reacting the same way that Thelais was. Lorne had been so lost in his thoughts about Sielan's disappearance that the high commander hadn’t noticed one of the blood priests was now up on the dais speaking. As soon as he realized he had overlooked the new speaker, the priest had bowed and was already returning to the crowd near the end of the line. Lorne knew he hadn't missed much; the blood priests were in constant communication with Mielor and thus she already knew what they would say. More than anything this meeting was brought about for Mielor to hear Lorne and Thelais' opinions.
Xorn's high pitched voice spoke aloud again. “The light of eternal lights now calls upon Lorne, high commander of the Red Army, who will address and brief the assembly on startling news that just arrived not long ago.”
Lorne stood as upright as he could while puffing his chest out in full splendor. He stepped forward, his ornate armor rattling as he moved, and bowed to Mielor before turning to address the crowd. “Not long-ago multiple messengers arrived from Aun’s Light bringing both good and troubling news from Corvul. The good news, if it can be viewed as such, is that the Tormos are indeed experiencing the same phenomenon as we are regarding failed reincarnations. Thunvold is dead. The former Tormos emperor never returned after passing and Duvold, previously Master of the Geomancer Guild, is now the acting emperor of the United Tribes. Duvold has reached out to us for aid. He wishes to convene a meeting between himself and the light of eternal lights to discuss the failed reincarnations.”
Snickers echoed out from the crowd. Lorne knew, without having to turn and look, that Mielor must have been grinning in jubilation at the show of weakness from the Tormos. While Lorne had no love lost for their brutish siblings to the north, he was shocked at how fast their spirit broke. While Lorne realized the failed reincarnations were of paramount concern as it frightened the masses, he personally did not see what the furor was about. If the Three wished for all Vesnians to return to the heavens then so be it, everyone would be better for it. Even being immortal, their time on Vesnia was not eternal, eventually the Three were going to call their children home. Whether the permanent return occurred now or ten thousand years from now, eventually all would end up in the White Watcher's warm embrace.
Lorne cleared his throat to signal to the crowd he had more to say. Once the whispers had stopped the high commander continued. “While I know such news raises your spirits, there is a second aspect of this story which is disturbing. A meeting was held between Tulinda, now acting Guild Master of the Geomancers, Gunvold and Corvul. During the meeting Gunvold made a surprise assassination attempt on Corvul, however the commander of Aun's Light was able to escape unharmed.”
Lorne was expecting mass hysteria at the news of an assassination attempt, but he was greeted only with gasps and low whispers. He quickly realized he should have known the reaction would be subdued, no one wanted to show unbridled emotion before the empress when none was shown by her. After a few moments, when the whispers had quieted down, Lorne continued his speech.
"The reason we are here is therefore three-fold. One is to decide how to respond to the masses about the failed reincarnations. The second is that we must decide if we wish to meet with the Tormos despite Gunvold's assassination attempt. The third is whether to take action against the Tormos for Gunvold's heinous crime. I must make it clear however that we do not know, and currently do not believe, that Gunvold was acting in an official capacity. It's entirely plausible he acted alone, for what reasons though if true, we do not know. I have already met with Kelgorun, Morstosh and Penstogor who are here in attendance as well. On the issue of addressing the masses, I have chosen to suggest to the light of eternal lights that we do not issue any statement. We should continue with martial law; the last thing we want is the masses thinking they have any power or right to protest the will of the Three. On the issue of meeting with the Tormos - the Red Army is in favor of such action and suggest we meet as soon as possible. As to the final issue of counter measures against the United Tribes, I suggest we wait and see what news the Tormos bring during said meeting and reassess our position afterwards."
Lorne turned and bowed to Mielor. The empress stared into his eyes with an intensity he seldom saw. It was a look of pure pleasure though; he could tell she was pleased with his hardline response to the peasants. After locking eyes with the light of eternal lights he turned and took his place amid the front row again. Next Xorn waved one of the blood priests to give his opinion on the course of action. The
blood priest, same as Lorne, chose to continue martial law and avoiding war with Juxton; however, he was against meeting with the Tormos. Lastly Xorn waved Thelais up who agreed with Lorne on all measures. When the Mistress of Flame returned to her place in line, Mielor made a slight gesture with her hand and Xorn knelt so that their faces were almost touching. Lorne could see Mielor's cheeks moving as she whispered in the Voice's ears, but what she was uttering was beyond him. She spoke for quite some time and then leaned back, waving Xorn off who stepped forward to address the crowd of representatives.
"The light of eternal lights has listened to your opinions. While traditionally she has delegated decision making to the heads of each ruling entity, the severity of the situation we now face forces her to exert the power bestowed upon her by the Three and issue infallible decrees. As to the first issue of how to respond to the masses and the recent failures of reincarnations, the light of eternal lights issues two decrees. The first is that martial law will continue until she proclaims otherwise. All protests or requests for aid will be subdued with force. This proclamation will state that Empress Mielor has personally conversed with the Three and has been assured that the lack of reincarnations has been committed on purpose. It was not made clear by the Three when reincarnations will resume, but the masses are to remain calm and respectful of the wishes of the Three."
Xorn briefly swept his gaze across the room to see if anyone had anything to say at this decree. Despite the lack of reaction from the gathered representatives he knew two things for certain. One was that not a single person present, even the extremely devout and dedicated Lorne, believed that Mielor had directly communicated with the Three. Never in their history had a Vesnian directly communicated with the Three after Lunara fled the mortal plane. The second thing he knew for certain was that even though everyone saw the decree for what it was, a fraudulent tool used to subdue potential rancor, no one would dare speak up against the light of eternal lights.
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