by Ryan McCall
Lawrence was the third son of his father and had only become emperor due to the deaths of his elder brothers. The first son had died in his teens, a victim of the Talon Flu Epidemic, and the second son had been killed while serving in the Imperial Army in the far off Vinacian colony of Hidan, fighting against the Arc.
Despite his youth and political inexperience, he was highly respected by the people of Alkos. He was every bit the dashing and roguish prince, his dark, red hair was cut short, giving him space to fit the imperial crown on his head and he had the deep green eyes that the McRath dynasty was famous for.
His face was long and smooth, with a few freckles on his cheeks. He was dressed in his royal outfit, a light purple vest covered by a yellow jacket, with fancy, black trousers. He had served in the army during the simmering border conflicts in the south. He was well known as a lady’s man, he made no attempt at keeping his numerous affairs away from the press, and in fact he enjoyed the extra attention it gave him.
When he was only a prince and not an emperor, he had spent time amongst the commoners of Alkos. He had enjoyed spending his youth in the markets and bars of the Promenade district, mingling with many people.
Now that he was monarch, he could no longer do that of course, it would not be proper. But his youthful escapades had made him popular with the people, in stark contrast to his father, who had been raised in a strict and regal environment.
The emperor had managed to demonstrate that he had inherited his father’s strong will though. A month ago he had refused to meet the demands of the Kordate Union and Silund on the matter of the nation of Estara. Since the ending of the Estaran Civil War and the exile of the royal family, Alkos had harbored the current Estaran monarch, Queen Clara Vicinus and her government-in-exile.
The emperor took his place on the throne and he raised his left hand as the sign to begin the council meeting and said, “By the Imperial Line of McRath, I, Emperor Lawrence the Second, Monarch of Alkos, Ruler of the Havens and Lord of Hidan and Naikos, convene the Second Council of Alkos for the year 1730.”
Minister-General Kodiak stood and spoke first. “Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty,” he said in his deep voice. Sanya was tall, even for a skylord and his white wings contrasted against his deep black skin tone. He moved around the table to take his place at the podium.
“The first agenda I would like to address is our current diplomatic relations with Galria. As you are all aware, since its formation fifty years ago, Galria has adopted an aggressive posture towards not only Alkos, but all of its neighbors.
The increase of its military has spiked an arms race the likes of which the world has never seen before. However we would do well to remember that our nation begun in a similar fashion, as an amalgamation of allied states whose goal was national unity under His Imperial Majesty’s ancestor. This is why I have been the strongest proponent for improved relations with Galria and the prospect of continued peace.
The foreign minister of Galria is scheduled to visit our capital at the end of the month and I would ask that we view this as the opportunity to welcome them as a brother and a neighbor rather than view them as an enemy.”
Tessa thought it was a nice speech, but like many in the room she was divided on the issue. The aggressive alliance of the nations of Trusha and Kalgorad had resulted in the Kingdom of Galria. Since then, it had absorbed all of the smaller Galrian states, swelling it to three times its original size and putting it on equal footing with Alkos.
While no one wanted to see a war with Galria, they couldn’t stand by and let it grow further. Especially when the position of the Galrian government was so expansionist. Galria had already fought three border skirmishes with Alkos, a short war with West Maceon and a much longer war with Tal Feros, which had resulted in the Talfey entering into a defensive alliance with Alkos.
This had set off political reactions across the entire continent, as every nation could clearly see there were two competing blocs of power and each of them wanted to side with the one that could benefit them the most. Fortunately, much of the Galrian military focus was on its northern borders, aimed at the agorid tribes, but that would not always be the case.
Tessa looked down the table to see the Minister of Security, Austin Blake, the oldest and longest serving minister, scowling slightly. His lined face evident with disagreement to what Sanya was saying.
He was the most hawkish minister and he had a small but loyal group of councilors backing him, particularly the members from provinces that sat on the border with Galria. He had not been able to convince the emperor of taking a hard-line however and Sanya’s invitation of the Galrian foreign minister looked to be a strong step in the direction of peace. Tessa personally hoped it would remain that way, Alkos had not been involved in a full scale war in her lifetime and she had no desire to experience one.
Chapter 11
The Alkos University library had the largest collection of books and scrolls in the entire country. People even claimed it was the largest in the world. Others argued that the House of Enlightenment in Weicarus was larger.
But being in here now, Reese could understand the claim. He was standing on the ground floor looking upwards, above him the circular tower stretched incredibly high. He could see each floor with oak banisters running along the sides and countless shelves of books. It went too high for him to count, but he had read that it was fifteen floors high.
There were many people on the ground floor, which held the catalogue guide-all of them determining where in the library someone had to go to find what they were looking for. There were dozens of file cabinets, indicating the wide extent of material that the library contained.
He was still looking up in awe when Cassandra nudged him in his arm. “C’mon stop gawking. We need to get to the eighth floor,” she said.
“We have to walk up eight floors?” he complained. “Times like this I wish I was a skylord, it would make life simpler.” He was not looking forward to walking up stairs after a long day of classes.
“We don’t have to walk, they have an elevator, over here,” she said and walked towards a set of wooden doors where a few others were gathered. There was the ding of a bell and the doors opened to reveal a small, square room, everyone piled in and the doors closed.
Reese looked around in wonder as they moved upwards and Cassandra asked, “Never been in one before?”
“No, we don’t have buildings tall enough to justify an elevator in Airdlagh,” he said, chuckling.
“How does it work?” he asked.
“It’s advanced pulley mechanics, powered by a steam engine, nothing too complex,” she replied. “You push a button here for your floor.” She reached out to push the button with the number eight on it. The elevator stopped several times before it reached the eighth floor, people exiting on their desired floors. When the elevator dinged and the eighth button buzzed, Reese and Cassandra stepped out.
“Useful device,” said Reese.
Cassandra nodded. “There’s predictions that it’s going to allow for much taller construction in the future. It could change the entire landscape of the city. Another money-making invention for the ingenious Alyssa Huntington.”
“I can imagine,” said Reese. “So it was invented by Huntington.”
Cassandra had a gleam in her eyes. “Yes, I was here during the opening ceremony last year during my visit to the campus. She said she wanted to her students to have efficient access to the materials they needed.”
“You were able to see Alyssa Huntington herself?” asked Reese, noticeably impressed. Everyone in Alkos knew the name of the famous inventor. She had created the first steam engine in her late-teen years, and its implementation for trains and ships and had made her incredibly wealthy and famous.
“Of course,” said Cassandra. “You do know she teaches mechanics part-time, here at the university, don’t you?”
“She does?” asked Reese.
“Yes,” replied Cassandra. “She doesn’t s
pend all of her time inventing anymore. She has an entire company to do that for her.”
The two of them made their way through the book cases until they arrived at the zoology section. “Ok, we need to find Historical Fossil Excavations by Harris Reddington,” said Cassandra. “According to the file it should be about halfway down this row.” She pointed down one particular row of book cases. They moved down the shelves searching for the book. Reese found the right category and alphabetical section but he couldn’t see the book anywhere.
“So do you have much planned for the weekend?” asked Cassandra as they rifled through the books carefully.
“No,” he replied. “I thought I’d explore more of the city. You?”
“I was thinking of checking out the new Night Circus out at Surrin, it’s been travelling north and meant to be good. Would you be interested in coming? It’s about an hour on the train to get out there,” she asked.
“Sounds like it could be fun,” said Reese. “You’re going with some friends?” Reese thought he saw her flinch, but it could have been the poor lighting
“No,” she said. “My other friends have already been to see it.”
“Ok then,” he said. “Mind if I invite Michael as well?” It was something his friend would be eager to see.
“That’s fine too,” she said. “So long as he behaves himself.” Reese had told her about their little adventure at the magic center.
Reese gave up his search for the book. “Not on this side,” he said. “Any luck?”
Cassandra stood up from the lower shelf she had been searching and shook her head. “Not here either, guess we’re too late.”
Reese grinned. “I have something better we can use.”
“You do? What would that be?” she asked, curious.
“Well my father spent his life doing similar work to Reddington. I have all of his notes and books in my room. Some of which they don’t even have here. He collected a lot of documents on paleontology.”
Cassandra’s face brightened. “Let’s see if we can grab the other books we need and go check out your collection then.”
***
As the sun was setting, Brenna and Snar approached the tojitsu academy operated by the kitsune, Mikono, the true mastermind behind the drug empire run by Barus Asulius.
“Best if I go in alone for now,” said Brenna. “We don’t want to attract too much attention. I need you to watch the entrance from across the street. If you see anyone that doesn’t look like a martial arts student, I want you to memorize their face.”
Snar nodded. “As you command sergeant, I will do my best to keep track of any visitors.” He walked off the road and into an alley opposite the academy.
Brenna walked up to the doors of the academy and narrowly avoided being bowled over by two teenagers. They were still full of energy from their class and dressed in blue training uniforms. She watched them run towards an extravagant carriage and climb inside.
She then turned back to the doors and pushed her way in. A pretty receptionist was seated at a small desk. She looked up at Brenna and smiled. To the right of the desk, the room opened up into a large area where dozens of students were training with wooden daggers. There was a circular raised platform with a roped ring around it where two students were hand-to-hand sparring.
“Can I help you?” asked the girl.
Brenna looked at her and in a flat and serious voice said, “I need to speak to the owner, Mikono.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
“No I don’t,” said Brenna. “Sergeant Brenna Moreland, Justice Branch,” and she showed her badge to the girl, who now stared at her with wide and fearful eyes. “You can tell her that I’d like to speak to her.”
The girl nodded, stood up and walked around the side of the training area, past the sparring ring and into a separate office. She came out a few minutes later and walked back to the desk. “She’ll see you in her office,” she said.
Brenna walked past the training area and admired the fighting discipline of the students. She had never trained in the Minakayan martial arts. She had studied Yarali and Wei techniques alongside her basic watch physical training. She knocked on the already open door of the office and peered inside.
“Enter,” said a high-pitched voice from inside. Mikono was sitting in comfort chair, her desk to the side of her and a set of drawers behind it. “Please sit,” said Mikono and gestured at the other chair in the room. Brenna sat down and took a measure of the kitsune.
She had the distinctive pale-white skin shade of her kind and a black serpent tattoo on her right cheek. She was dressed in the same blue outfit as the students of her academy, although hers had a black sash running across it, indicating her mastery of the tojitsu.
‘What can I do for the city watch?” asked Mikono.
“I’m Sergeant Brenna Moreland, Justice Branch,” replied Brenna “Do the names Connor Wallace and Barus Asulius mean anything to you?”
The kitsune shrugged. “Barus is a friend and one of my tojitsu instructors, the other name doesn’t mean anything to me at all.”
“I see,” said Brenna. She had expected an answer like this. “And you wouldn’t know anything about the tarcaine business that they are involved in together?”
“No I wouldn’t,” replied Mikono. “I run a martial arts school for youngsters, that’s the only business I’m involved in. It takes up a great deal of my time, I have many students. What makes you think I have anything to do with illicit substances?”
“Well Mr. Asulius is your employee; I would think that such a well-organized woman such as yourself would be aware of her employee’s background and actions,” replied Brenna. Now she was purposely goading the kitsune. She wanted to see how she reacted.
“Barus has a checkered past, but whatever you think he is involved in, I don’t believe it.” She was good, Brenna had to admit. If she didn’t know better, she would have said the kitsune was innocent of any crime and was exactly what she appeared to be. “He has proven himself to me and is not involved in anything I am unaware of.”
“I see,” replied Brenna. This was quickly going nowhere. “Well, when you next see him, please tell him to come to our station. We have questions for him.”
“Of course sergeant. Anything I can do to help the city watch.” Brenna nodded, stood up and exited the office. She had known she wouldn’t get any real information out Mikono, but she hadn’t expected her lies to be so smooth.
She walked back to the doors of the academy, but before she exited she took another look and saw an agitated man approach Mikono’s office. He wasn’t wearing a tojitsu uniform. After he went in the door shut firmly. Less than a minute later, he walked out and down the hall that ran past the office to a back exit.
She exited through the main doors and followed the side of the building as fast as she could. She came out the other side and saw the man walking in an easterly direction. She maintained a distance so that he wouldn’t notice her and followed him into Delkirk district.
After forty minutes, he came to a large three-story house and entered. She stopped, thinking about what to do. She didn’t know what the man did for Mikono, but it was clear that he was no tojitsu student
The best thing would be to head back to meet Snar. They could set up a proper shift on watching the house. In addition, there was Selim’s snitch, who could have more information about the house and how it related to Mikono’s operation. Either way there could not be much gained from standing here by herself and waiting for the man to exit.
She headed back to the academy, hoping Snar would not be annoyed at her diversion. Though he didn’t strike her as the type to get annoyed, so polite as he was. As skeptical as she had been initially, the last week had shown that he was an excellent watch officer.
His agorid senses were far finer than her own and he picked up on clues that even she missed. Whatever agorid savagery he may have been born with, had disappeared with his Alkon upbringing and education
.
Her time with Snar had made her question much of what she assumed about the beast-men of Kangur. Their savagery could be purely cultural and environmental phenomena rather than part of their inherent nature. If that was the case, then they could be dealt with in more ways than the standard show of force the Imperial Army used in western Naikos Province- Alkos’ main border with Kangur.
Matters like that were out of her hands though. She was a watch officer, not in politics or the military. Having an officer like Snar was a step in the right direction and if he proved to be as good as he appeared then he could help reduce the assumed prejudice towards his people.
Chapter 12
His loud voice carried throughout the hall, which was still full of the faithful, something which Cleric Isaac Gall of the Church of Varos was glad to see. The church’s numbers had been undergoing a decline for many years but he had managed to retain his flock. Unlike other branches of the church, Isaac had not remained mired in past doctrines, he had kept his membership up by adapting to the new shape of the world.
“And he let his head be still as the flames licked higher; his disciples watched as his body began to burn, but he did not scream out in pain. Varos did but stare at his accusers with solemn eyes.
He looked upwards at the sky and cried out in the name of the Creator. The guardsmen stepped back in fear. The fire suddenly leapt upwards covering the prophet’s entire body and yet he still uttered no sound of pain. He raised his hands and held them out towards his disciples, his brothers, his friends. The fire exploded and then as suddenly collapsed into nothing but ash. As Hedoric’s guards poked through the remnants they could see no sign of the prophet, no earthly remains.
The disciples were allowed to leave freely. Hedoric had completed his mission and saw no point in further death. The prophet leading his people into rebellion was gone.
