94 EH had arrived at last, and it brought a much-needed glimmer of hope into Empyrea: the Second Coalition War had fizzled out after fourteen gruelling years of fighting.
The deciding factor had been the Battle of the Tears. Warden Chinggis-Dorj's sentient Ghost Fleet – EDS Kraken’s Fury, Leviathan's Rage, Khani Anu, Scylla, Lusca, and Rusalka – had been sent to the bottom of the Sea of Tears near Skála by a group of Vorantine research ships armed with experimental weapons (the V.R.S Pioneer, Researcher, and Scientist) and their escorts (ASDF Torque, Epicyclic, Big Cog, and Beaumont) in the final days of 93 EH. Peace talks had begun soon after the news reached the mainland.
The Empyrean Centre, an area not belonging to any region and the former site of a temporal anomaly, had been chosen for the signing of the Treaty of the Centre solely because it contained the abandoned headquarters of the Central Empyrean Defence Authority (CEDA) – dissolved in 60 EH after the formation of UEGNA.
Every line of the Treaty had been subject to scathing criticism and opposition by all eight sovereign regions – even Estrin, Glacier, and Pheasantine, despite having light terms compared to the other five – until a consensus had been reached.
The terms impacting all of Empyrea boiled down to resumption of trade, signing the Convention on Cryogenics (COC) to heavily restrict use of cold-based weapons of war, heavily regulating Biotechnological research, the resurrection of CEDA, all prisoners of war not accused of War Crimes being released, and the dissolution of both UEGNA and CVAPU.
The demise of the Archregion, which had given significant benefits to the four member regions for thirty-four years, had created a vacuum deemed unacceptable by the Northeast, Northwest, and West. UEGNA had been created because the ruling families had become extinct (in the case of Umbracrest) or merged (Narciss and Estrin); Glacier had joined because it was trapped between the other three.
To satisfy the demands of the people for stability in these regions, a Commonwealth known as Estrin-Narciss-Umbracrest or ENU had been created. It was essentially just the Archregion but with more independence for its members and no Glacier Electorate.
Individually, the Treaty of the Centre had finally managed to get all of the respective parties to the following terms:
● Glacier removes the power of the Clans (easily done considering eight remained of the twenty-one Clans), creates more provinces, and allows for the Adeotus Cryogenic to be tried for War crimes by CEDA.
● Narciss rebuilds the city of Eyraelynine in Pheasantine, restricts the Grand Fleet to sixty-four combat Airships weighing no more than one hundred thousand tons, reduces the Grand Army to one million active personnel, and allows for the assets of the Augereau family and Houses of Geldmäcker & Silbermächer to be seized and used to rebuild Cerulea
● The 3rd Pheasantine Republic bans Revolutionary Dawn / Aurora Party from reforming as a political party, limits its Aeronautical forces to eighty combat airships weighing no more than seventy-five thousand tons, and grants a 25% discount on grain exports to Ostrov.
● Aquiloria & Vorantis jointly provide compensation for the massacre of Northern V and VII Corps, Aquiloria pays for rebuilding Sai Province in Pheasantine, Vorantis pays for damage done to the Dioceses of Rumina and Teocrazia in Cerulea and must provide machinery for the rebuilding of
Biogi and By Rissau in Umbracrest, Vorantis must abolish the position of Technocrat pro tempore anymore, as the Directorate must have no leader. Vorantis must take measures to prevent rogue Adepti from causing chaos. Vorantis must allow former Technocrat pro tempore Thomas Norik to stand trial before CEDA for War crimes, and both must be more tolerant towards Celstialism and its sects (Fraternal Order of Heliomancers, Anemoism, Church of the Blackstar).
● Cerulea allows for Dragoon Sorcerers to be registered and rated by CEDA to prevent thaumaturgical terrorism, no longer claims the Großherzogtum of Golgi and the Vizegrafate of Squide (in return, Cerulea shall be granted a greater share of the River Ulrimaarin), sends diplomatic delegations to Umbracrest every 11 years, is more tolerant towards Techno-Spiritualism, including minor sects such as Orthodox Confabulationism or the Order of the Bloody Gear, and Celestialist clergy are to be limited to 0.001% of Empyrea's total population.
● Umbracrest significantly decreases the powers of the BCU, pays ₠33,000,000 Narcissian Egoni to Cerulea, must return the ossified Dragoons to the Order of the Dragoon, and accepts that lesser Nobility (Margrave and below) may no longer demand the traditional bow of respect from foreigners.
● Estrin never attempts to resurrect the Ghost Fleet and must designate all sunken crafts near Skála as war graves, shall govern the expanded Dependency of Ostrov as the population desires, and that Emir Tümen-Chuluun of Ilyn and Governor Ariun-Tulga of Ostrov shall be tried as war criminals by CEDA.
The Treaty had eight signatures on it:
Urlic Ego-Estrin-Romanakov, Archcount Khagan of ENU; Unka Noyanu-Astrin, Archcomital Viceroy for the Estrin Dominion; Sari Icicle, Vice Elector of the Glacier Electorate; Ennio Volare, Ecumenical Archbishop of Ecclesia (standing in for the Cerulean Council of Celestial Seers); Juno Titarenko, acting Prime Minister of the 3rd Pheasantine Republic; Cocci Farcin, Acting-Technocrat of Austerium; Ezra Mylo, Meritocrat of Artè; and Xuana Hessen-Rostova, Erzherzogin Regnant of Umbracrest.
The celebration after the Treaty had been signed was interesting to say the least.
A large hall had been erected, and the attendees had already decided who they got along with. Archcount-Khagan Urlic and Archcountess-Khatun Juana sat anxiously with their oldest child, Crown Prince Rionault (aged 14), and one of Xuana's twin daughters, Nika (aged 7), shooting glances at the two equally hostile cliques that had formed while Rionault curiously talked to the young girl, who wore flowers in her short brown hair.
On Urlic's right was his daughter Gloria (aged 11), Erzherzogin Xuana Hessen-Rostova, her son, Lothar (aged 11); Chinggis-Dorj, and – rather surprisingly – Great Grand Khatun Dowager Xarai Estrin. Tiber, wisely, had not shown his face to the Archcount-Khagan after being given his HOTE award.
The group on Urlic's left consisted of Ezra Mylo (who seemed on edge), Xuana’s other daughter and Nika's twin sister, Zara; Mary Larke's assistant, Roxelana Yanfei; Herzogin Victoria De Napton and her niece, Gräfin Xantha De Napton. The Aunt-niece duo were both wary of their mortal enemy's child.
That left Cocci Farcin, Unka Noyanu-Astrin, and Ennio Volare to converse politely among themselves, joined by Mary Larke.
Four groups, each filled with people with very strong reasons to despise each other, and a plot to take over what was now ENU. With so many moving parts and unpredictable individuals, just how much was about to go disastrously wrong all at once?
Let's find out....
[Note: chapter twenty-one works differently from the previous chapters in that we see things from the point of view of many characters at once – and yet all from a third person, the all-knowing reader strikes again :D Some of these events occur simultaneously, some do not. Feel free to message me with any questions, so long as they are NOT about art commissions, or leave a comment.
Thanks for getting so far, maybe have a look at my earlier, smaller works, ranging from 289 to 94 years before this book. This is intended as my last large-scale work...I do plan on writing a bundle of short stories in the future, though.
– DocOfCharts82]
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(POV of Cocci Farcin)
Technocrat Farcin was unsure why he, of all people – logical, calm, and careful – had managed to convince himself to stay and talk. Juno Titarenko, acting Prime of the third Pheasantine Republic, had sensibly left the moment his signature was on the Treaty, as had the unknown Meritocrat who had come with Erza Mylo.
Ashamed of Thomas Norik's actions as Technocrat pro tempore, the rest of the Directorate had chosen Cocci Farcin of Technologenisa to become Technocrat of Austerium. Managing the regional capital of Vorantis was easy compared to navigating the dangerous officials of what was once UEGNA and was now the ENU Commonwealth, so he had fallen in with the least threatening of those present. The Estrinite, Unka Noyanu-Astrin, and the Narcissian, Mary Larke, had isolated themselves from the others at the table.
Which left him a strange companion: Ennio Volare.
On paper, the two would be unlikely to bond with each other. However, that is what they did.
"We have never met before, you and I. We both fought against and suffered at the hands of the Umbracresti, both come from minor sects of our beliefs, and both got our stations in life by achievements." Volare was saying, his brows creased in thought. The small but ferocious Archdeacon who had given Seebhom Massaena so much trouble for attacking Rumina Province had aged into a deeply spiritual and thoughtful person.
Farcin considered what His All Holiness had said before replying with equally reflective words, "This is true; I hear you are the first Ecumenical Archbishop of Ecclesia, the lofty head of the Celestialist faith, to believe in Aemonism. What is it, though?" He asked politely.
"Aemomism is the belief in an older set of Deities, the winds. Aside from the regular eight cardinal directions, it teaches that there are eight half-winds, sixteen quarter-winds, and even ninety-six fractional winds. Aemonism is simply too complicated for most, leading to the main Celestialist faith as well as the Church of the Blackstar."
Technocrat Farcin nodded. He could relate to holding niche beliefs.
"Techno-Spiritualism can be split into Orthodox Confabulationism and the Order of the Bloody Gear; I follow the former." He said simply. Volare looked up expectantly from a small notebook he had produced from his pockets, waiting for him to continue.
"It teaches that everyone knows everything but forgets when we are born into Empyrea. It is our task to correct our fabricated, distorted, or misinterpreted memories of this lost knowledge through lifelong learning. It follows the same basic principles of sentient thought and creation being the same." He explained.
"Interesting," Ennio mumbled to himself before rising to his feet unsteadily, "As enlightening as this has been, I have other duties – that I didn't ask for – to attend to, so this is goodbye, Technocrat Farcin, but you will always be welcome in the Southwest. May the star guide you through these dark times." He said quickly, ending with the traditional Cerulean farewell.
He leaned in closer, his voice taking on a hushed, frightened quality as he whispered, "I would get out of here as soon as possible – Anaux Hessen's plans did not die with him, his daughter seems to be carrying on his schemes with even more efficiency than him."
"Everything seems calm, Volare. Are you sure?" He whispered back, his suspicion raised.
"I fought the BCU, your City was targeted by their spores...have you forgotten this?" He snapped, waiting for the shocked Technocrat to answer, but Farcin could offer nothing.
"All of their enemies are here," the Cerulean gasped, "and it will be a bloodbath. I implore you to leave at once!"
Farcin finally unfroze, brought back to reality by the memories of what Anuax Hessen had unleashed on Technologenisa. "Very well."
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(Pov of Urlic Ego-Estrin-Romanakov)
He looked at the retreating Archbishop and Technocrat with envy, wishing he could do the same.
But he couldn't, the chains of his stupid title were too heavy. So he had to sit with his wife, still recovering from being brought directly in the middle of the Sea of Tears on Chinggis-Dorj's ship, and watch these venomous snakes coil around the one thing that brought him joy: his children.
Urlic didn't dare avert his gaze from Rionault. If something happened to his only hope of passing his burden to someone who would willingly shoulder it...
Rionault, the Crown Prince of the ENU Commonwealth, was diligent, kind, and patient. The fourteen-year-old boy was mature for his age, and Urlic hoped he would make a great leader one day.
If he were to be spared when his enemies came for his father's unwanted crown, that is.
As much as Urlic loathed being Archcount-Khagan, he refused to allow the people who had corrupted his best friend, murdered his loyal officials, bombed his advisors, and deployed horrifying weapons behind his back to rule over three of Empyrea's eight regions.
The enemy had taken a truly bizarre move this time. They had not sent an Assassin but rather a seven-year-old girl with large, misty grey eyes and brown hair cut short. This was supposed to be their great Gambit? A child?
Nonetheless, Urlic felt uncomfortable. The enemy, the REAL enemy – not the Union, Urlic had sought no quarrel with Cerulea, Vorantis, Aquiloria, or Pheasantine – always did things for a reason.
The girl's name was Nika Hessen-Rostova, an Umbracresti Großherzogin and daughter of Xuana and Tiber. She had a twin as well, also present in the room, but Urlic had yet to spot her.
So he watched, and he listened.
"Crown Prince," She tittered energetically, "can I ask you a question?"
Urlic's son, blissfully unaware of the looming threat his father faced, smiled a little. "You just did, little Grand Duchess, but yes." He answered.
"Do you...like this flower?" She pointed at a bell-shaped, white flower with a sweet scent around it, attached to her hair.
Urlic peered at it, trying to remember what type it might have been.
"I do, what kind is it?" Rionault urged her.
"Lily-of-the-valley, of course!" She exclaimed.
The realisation dawned on Urlic's and he recoiled in horror. This was the same plant the Hessens had used to kill Herzog Varo De Napton and eleven Meritocrats.
It was then that a burning to do one thing consumed him: find Xuana and crush her before something terrible happened. He went to stand up, but a hand, soft and warm, pushed him down firmly.
It belonged to his wife.
"Wh-"
"Stay away from her, you'll only force her to show her cards if you do this." Juana scolded.
Urlic huffed and crossed his arms preluctantly. "Rio, get away from her!" He hissed. His son skillfully detached the young girl and obediently appeared at his side.
"If you see any more flowers, you must tell me." He ordered, fighting to maintain an air of control when he had none.
"Okay, but why?"
"My boy, are you so naïve as to think the Hessens are our friends?" He asked sarcastically, not expecting the Crown Prince to answer.
"They...are not?" I thought Tiber was your friend?"
"He was until that girl's mother corrupted him." He snarled. The loss of his greatest friend had cut him deeply.
But Urlic had made the mistake of assuming Nika hadn't been listening, and she perked up at the mention of her mother.
"She did what, Your Grace?" She asked sweetly, though were was little innocence within her words.
"She...helped my friend be less sad, child. Your dad was-" he choked on a sob, "I mean, IS a great man."
The girl regarded him with those eyes. "He told us you are a monster who stole something from us and killed Grandpa."
Urlic snorted in indignation. He wondered what Nika would think if she knew who killed Anuax Hessen.
"You are a bad man. You lied to me, I heard what you said!" She cried.
Urlic, having lost his temper with the spoiled, delusional girl, accidentally allowed his internal monologue to become an external one. "Get out of my sight, Nika Hessen-Rostova," he intoned as some cruel beast within him rose from its slumber, "or I will have the Ölŕun-Róta Valkyries burst in here, drag that liar you call your mother out, and beat her to a bloody stain on the ground."
The moment the words left his mouth, he felt immensely guilty.
"I'm sorry..." He mumbled when he noticed the looks of astonishment his wife and son displayed. Never before in his life had Urlic Ego-Estrin-Romanakov said anything nearly as brutal.
"His Grace was stupid to be so frightened of Grandpa Anaux. You should have been looking at Xuana, but you'll learn that lesson the hard way." She said coldly.
The girl glided across the room to join her older brother.
Rionault turned to him, "Gloria is with-"
"Xuana Hessen-Rostova and her son? Yes, I know. I can't do anything...there are only two Valkyries outside and there are Hessen loyalists everywhere."
"I'm not afraid of dying."
"I hope not because you, as the Crown Prince, and me, as the Archcount-Khagan, are both *royally* screwed."
Neither of them noticed that Nika's flower had disappeared.
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(POV of Gloria Ego-Estrin-Romanakov)
Gloria didn't understand why her older brother and father looked so angry; these people were nice to her!
"Your Serene Highness," She chirped happily at the Xuana, "Can I visit the West?"
Xuana Hessen-Rostova, Erzherzogin of Umbracrest, looked amused as she replied kindly to the Princess. "Of course. Your parents won't allow it, sadly."
The girl looked downcast until Xuana's eleven-year-old son (the same as her), Großherzog Lothar, moved closer to her.
"Don't worry about that paranoid idiot of a man. I'll deal with him." Xauna told her after Nika whispered something to her.
"He's a liar and an imposter," the sly woman began, "He pushed your real dad out of an airship and took his place when you were little!"
"No!" She cried. Gloria was always more trusting than her older brother, and so she stood no chance against a Master manipulator like Xuana, who had learned from her father, who was already regarded as worse than Rodney Limos (the Butcher of the Technates) or 2nd Earl Emeric Ego of Narciss (A sadistic tyrant).
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(POV of Mary Larke)
Mary Larke had watched the Technocrat and the Ecumenical Archbishop and waited for them to leave. Now she was ready to perform her role in the grand plan.
A plan that would see her become Grand Vizier and be rewarded greatly. Now she had found someone she wanted to share it with.
Unka Noyanu-Astrin came from a long line of Maleks (Governors) of Astrin Island – the Estrin Dominion's second-largest major island. She was just a Viceroy, though.
For now.
"Miss Noyanu-Astrin, I don't believe we have met?" Larke said, uncharacteristically cordial for her.
"No, but you must be the Conclave Bomber," Unka said dismissively.
The Estrinites hailed from the Northwestern Archipelago and tended to be blunt realists with strong ties to their proud martial traditions. The Dominion was, after all, Empyrea's oldest surviving Region.
"Er...yes. You are well informed, Viceroy." Larke spluttered, now on the defensive.
"Estrin once said something...Alli, þe sich underwerda, wurt sparid; hwæþer, þe ne underwerda ac ongeðæweð mid striðe and samewisan, sculon forðgan." She said fluently in the ancient language of the Northwest – it predated Khagan Estrin himself, who had died over nine hundred and eighteen years ago.
"Pardon?" Grumbled Larke in displeasure.
"Praetoriante Estrin told Regent Açaí the fourth that all who surrender will be spared; whoever does not surrender but opposes with struggle and dissension, shall be annihilated. He wasn't bluffing, he tore the Colestis Imperii – which had lasted for over two thousand years – down piece by piece." Unka explained, a note of pride had crept into her voice now.
"A great man. Just like Khagan Ertan the third, who gave Empyrea four daughters and five sons. The fifty was our Great Unifier of Narciss – Egonault Ego."
"I know who you work for," Unka said simply.
"Then you will know which side is going to win. Join us and be spared from the coming storm." Mary Larke retorted harshly, no longer bothering to mince words.
"Fine."
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(Pov of Xantha De Napton)
Gräfin Xantha didn't understand this at all. Erzherzogin Xuana Hessen-Rostova had poisoned her Uncle Varo, tricked Tiber into shooting Cousin Sophia, and forced Vice Commisar Zelle to execute Aunt Natsna.
Margrave Anuax Hessen had turned Uncle Baro and Cousin Blanche into statues made of bone and had Cousin Joana tortured to death.
Margravine Bortan Hessen, Xuana’s grandmother, was likely behind the murder murder of her grandparents.
Xantha had seen Nika Hessen-Rostova do something to greatly upset Urlic and the Crown Prince. Did her twin sister strut up to her with the same intention?
She had to play along to find out.
"Hello Großherzogin Zar-" She began cheerfully, but she never got to finish.
"Shhhh." The girl said.
'"I'm here to talk to... Mister Mylo." She explained.
What did she want with him?
Then she noticed the flower in her hair, the same as her twin was wearing. Lily-of-the-valley. The toxic plant that had killed the other Meritocrats.
Oh.
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(Pov of Victoria De Napton)
Herzogin Victoria did not particularly like Erza Mylo, but at least he was neutral.
"I think," he was saying, "that we should drain the swamps, mine the suspendium crystals near the Pheasantine border, and teach everyone about Berotian Meritocracy again."
Mylo must have lost his mind. Supreme Meritocrat Berote was an infamous would-be dictator of Aquiloria who had been brought to life again during the Age of the Æbyss.
Mylo was advocating for...Berote's purges? Even the BCU – under the leadership of Chairman Creutzfeldt Mao, who was a subordinate of Graf Gustav Hessen II – had turned against the genocidal Meritocrat.
"Meritocrat Mylo, are you SURE you are fine?"
"Positive!" He replied.
"Mister Erza? Can I ask you something?" Piped up Zara Hessen-Rostova.
"Don-" began Victoria and Xantha at once.
"Ignore them. Of course you can." He told the girl.
"Do you like this?" She said, pointing at the flower.
"I. Do. Not!" He screamed. The façade of sanity had crumbled, revealing the lunatic that had lurked beneath the surface for years.
Mylo went ballistic.
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(Pov of Rionault Ego-Estrin-Romanakov)
"Father, what do you mean by the era of hope being a lie?" He asked, worried by the defeated look on Urlic's face.
"Empyrea cast off the Cultist yoke only to be served up on a plate to the Hessens. Think about it..." He paused.
"Look!" He hissed, motioning towards the De Naptons.
Then Xantha De Napton collapsed.
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(Pov of Victoria De Napton)
Tears flowed, large and salty, down the face of the Herzogin.
She was the last of her family now.
Victoria looked up and caught the counterfeit look of concern plastered all over Xuana's face.
"YOU!" She roared at the woman, smashing through the room to reach her.
Tables were flung out of her way as the scornful Duchess recklessly ploughed through them like a tank. Chairs fell to the hard, cold ground and, like an unstable Alliance, splintered apart.
The solitary buglar from the Grand Army, a man named Captain Dorian Gemworth of the 6,125th Company (who had been promoted since his activities in 83 EH), blew a long, loud call to draw attention to Urlic, who had risen from his seat.
"Herzogin Victoria," he boomed, the air of grandeur from his youth returning to him.
All eyes were on His Grace.
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(Pov of Urlic Ego-Estrin-Romanakov)
"Speak your grievance, or cast it aside now," Urlic demanded loudly.
His gaze flicked to Xuana to gauge her reaction. The Umbracresti woman hid whatever she was thinking very well despite her miscalculation of Urlic's willpower.
"This woman...Xuana Hessen-Rostova," Victoria De Napton announced, voice quivering with the fury threatening to erupt out of against, "is not just a manipulative woman who has been playing the coquettish act for years, but a disloyal, traitorous whore who has tricked all of you from the start!"
Xuana still said nothing. Urlic was getting worried now.
Victoria turned her attention directly to him. "Why? Why do nothing while the BCU caused havoc and did abysmal things in your name? Why could the Crown not protect its most faithful, yet Aquiloria could?"
Urlic looked down in shame, every word was the undeniable truth. "I-I,, He stammered, trying to justify his lack of action without revealing the real reason he had done nothing.
He was a coward, plain and simple. Urlic, as Archcount-Khagan, had been too weak to even consider standing up to Anuax Hessen. He saw no way out of this trap, and anything he did would be judged as inadequate anyway.
"The House of De Napton, NOT the Hessens, made you! The fool born with three surnames yet worthy of none of them! What would your mother have been without the support of my mother and of Khagan Jiro?" She asked, revelling in the chance to confront Urlic with what she thought.
"Alive perhaps! Why don't you ask HER where Archcountess Regnant Vega went?" He bristled at the mention of his mother, who had mysteriously vanished in the seventy-seventh year of hope after her abdication.
Victoria whirled around to glare at Xuana, whimpering when she saw the body of her niece for a brief moment.
"Well? Is there even any argument to defend you, traitor?" She mumbled to herself, yet it was still heard.
Urlic looked at her again and saw a trace of the shy young woman she had been before the war and in that moment, understood everything. Xuana Hessen-Rostova was not, and had never been, a bad person.
A nice person, unable to fit in anywhere, who had suffered because of who she had been. It had toughened her, like leather, into the bitter woman before him.
"Of course, there is no argument to your claims, " she sniggered, "But there is to Urlic's."
Was this even possible? The answer turned out to be yes.
"Where did Vega go? She's been under your nose for seventeen years!"
Victoria looked at her, fuming that her confrontation had been turned into theatrics.
"That isn't possible..." She whined.
Xuana stood up, her chair clattering to the ground as she exclaimed, "Yanfei, Yanfei!" In triumph.
Mary Larke's ever-diligent Aide was by her side within seconds.
"Deal with her," She motioned towards Herzogin Victoria, "and bring in our esteemed guest." She called to the Hessen soldiers near the large main door.
Roxelana Yanfei already had her hands on the De Napton woman's throat in a vice-like grip.
No one was interested as she kicked and struggled, though, because a ghost stepped through the door.
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(Pov of Xuana Hessen-Rostova)
Right on time, she thought. As an older woman wearing a white cloak trimmed with gold, stode into the CEDA meeting hall.
The clasp affixed to her cloak could only have belonged to the Oitena of the North. Yet, as Xuana had confidently implied, this certainly wasn't Roxane "Roxy" Heather Ego.
The shock on Urlic's face confirmed it. "Mother...?" He said quietly.
"Hello, Dowager Countess Vega." Xuana greeted the new face, bowing elegantly.
Urlic tried once again to speak but couldn't. The lifeless body of Herzogin Victoria De Napton crumpled to the ground, coldly kicked out of the way by the killer. No one raised any objections now.
"I tricked you into believing I was my older sister when I supposedly went missing. Hessen offered me a deal...Roxane's life and my abdication in exchange for the safety of my future granddaughter; I shamelessly accepted, and my sister vanished as my doppelganger." She explained.
Xauna gleefully chimed in, "She knew that her son's reign had an expiratory date on it."
Rionault wobbled in the background. Only Urlic noticed him drain a glass of wine that tasted slightly sweeter to the Crown Prince than it was meant to. He lunged at him, trying to knock the glass out of his hand.
"Too late", Nika taunted as the empty glass shattered on the ground.
The fourteen-year-old lad, fated to carry the immense weight that came with the title of Crown Prince, slumped to the ground with a peaceful look on his face, as if he could finally rest.
Princess Gloria, Urlic's other child, hid behind the Archduchess of the West. At only eleven, she had seen so much death that when Lothar put a hand around her to comfort her, she leant into him with the desperate haste of those who craved physical affection but never got any.
Urlic fell to his knees. He couldn't bear to look at what Xuana had twisted his daughter into within moments of meeting her.
"Urlic, I'm not a monster..." Xuana whispered at him, her grey eyes locked onto him with something resembling pity within their irises.
The Archcount-Khagan could only laugh. He gave out great, full-belly guffaws at just how ridiculous all of this had been: fourteen years of impassioned fighting, all for nothing!
Empyrea was never the land of airships, plots, and spectacle, it was a place ruled by time above all else. It had NEVER changed throughout the six ages or twelve periods because the Empyreans were chained by their past. Archivists and historians were its unwilling jailors, recording the walls that would trap them in an unending cycle of pain.
"You may recognise the so-called great Grand Khatun Dowager Xarai, she will take you to live out the rest of your days on Skála with her as well as your mother and wife. I have not forgotten how you treated me with kindness, I only ask that you sign the abdication document in exchange for mercy."
Urlic knew he was beaten and deserved far worse than exile. He took the ornate pen the Erzherzogin offered him and signed with a shaking hand.
Gloria would take his place while Xuana and Tiber ruled as Regents.
So, who had won the Second Coalition War? No one, it was a Pyrrhic victory at best. Vengeance isn't as sweet as it seems at first; it turns bitter in your mouth when you realise what it cost you.
Why not let go of a little of the pain, the very essence of what it means to be human, we carry?
Life is a journey, and we should learn to travel lightly lest we trip onto the wrong path.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXjavf0Hsv0
*The end*
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