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| Author | Malady. Blight |
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The heavy clatter of iron heels echoed between the bare palace walls as the brawny silhouette walked down the empty corridor towards Her Majesty's resting room. His frowned face was giving out his utmost concern.
He already grabbed the doorknob about to step into the bedchamber when he suddenly remembered he was missing an item of etiquette. The warrior pulled the red epaulet out of his pocket and secured it on his right shoulder. An item of past military power above all barbarian subdivision, it was now all but a motley accessory, seemingly useless, at least to the Military councilman.
"How will it go this time?", Thutkra thought anxiously. "Last reunion went so bad, She couldn't get a grip on what the Council was trying to deliver..." He hung his head sorrowfully, thinking how important it was for Her Majesty to hear, to understand, and to act.
He slightly pushed open the door, walked in mildly and closed it after himself almost without making a noise. Every other councilman was inside, lined up in front of the bedridden Empress.
Thutkra took his place in the line, and the feeble yet imperious voice commanded the healers to leave. | "Ah, I should really make our meetings more frequent", Her Majesty attempted to discharge the atmosphere of anxiety and mourning arisen in the bedchamber, - "Don't you all look like a lovely rainbow".
Thutkra spread a panicked look around him. Was the sickness on the new stage, pushing the ruler of the Empire towards the abyss of insanity? Or were the court healers stuffing Her with medicine of dubious side-effects?
He realized quickly enough that it was about their epaulets, coincidentally ranged from purple to red, and that the Empress was trying to joke. "Right", he forced a smile up on his face.
"Report, dear councilmen. What has been discovered about the invasion threat of these bearded pygmy creatures."
Thutkra painted a truly painful grimace on his face. "Your Majesty, you have had a full report before, of which Your Highness has been reminded the day before yesterday during our last..."
"Which is to say," Councilman Kalirosh interrupted, discharging a heavy reprimanding glance at the barbarian, "A series of scouting expeditions let us believe the dwarves we were warned about dwell on different continent. Constant lookout is held over the Ridge of Hope and the area North from there. The Seraph Stronghold is upgraded on a regular basis to match the most recent advances of the Academy. I consider the threat level minimal." The human councilor blurted out the speech already learned by heart, soft and careful, without any sign of annoyance or despair.
"Very well. Will you then remind me of any breakthroughs the Court has made on finding the source, or remedy, for my sickness?"
Thutkra bit his tongue, full of shame and repentance. He knew right after the old veteran picked up speech that he went as far as he should not have.
"Our brightest alchemists and spell-weavers are working day and night, Your Majesty." Bilir retold humbly the message that had already sounded in the resting room. "Good news is, we have promising leads on both."
"Pleased I am. One more question before I pass it to you, dear councilmen. How is my Empire? What are the sentiments of my people?"
Feurlis cleared his throat, then took a deep breath. The breath, however, went out without turning into words, he just stammered. It gave the necromancer out, but the Empress knew even then, that She would not get an answer She was hoping to hear. | "Your Majesty seems to be feeling well today, and we all rejoice. In fact, the matter questioned by Your Highness is the reason of our worries, each of us. And we consider it vital for Your Majesty to attend to our concern as soon as Your Majesty is able to."
The Empress pursed her whitened lips, and nodded, stimulating the Internal Affairs councilor to proceed.
"Your Majesty has not stepped out of the palace for quite a long time, and the healers dissuade us from offering to. The Empire has taken after Your Highness' malady, I am afraid."
"It is no secret how this land is tied with Your Majesty's bloodline", Arabat spoke in somewhat of a dampened bark. "I hate to say it, but my councilmates will confirm: the Empire is in depression. It is felt in everything, economy, warfare, social activity... The people are falling inert, clouded by the very realization of Your Majesty's sickness and by the suffering it causes to the land."
"New creatures, dangerous ones, organized and threatening, appear on the borders, Dominix. Before, the combined efforts of then-Warlord Kalirosh's troops and the Mercenaries' Guild forces were more than enough to hold this threat stable, more and more cases of neutral activity are left unattended."
"Right. There is more to it. The military clan system that Your Majesty had conceived as a measure to increase the military potential of all seven factions, has now led to degradation. The Military clan leaders and their high-ranked members are much more willingly engaging in political clashes and influential disputes. Right, I am afraid that if that continues, they will soon forget how to unsheathe a blade! An alternative must be brought up immediately!"
"The Empire consists of many layers, many aspects and elements, your Majesty, but in the end, there is no Empire without the rule", the elven diplomat concluded. | The Empress kept silence staring interrogatively at her Council members. "Please, go ahead. I have heard from each of you, and so far all I have heard were objectives. I am sure this council has not been sitting on their hands." There was some preliminary praise heard in her voice, the Empress understood well that solutions had to have been sought and the only obstacle so far should have been her ongoing lethargy.
All seven councilors shone with happiness. The Empress seemed animated and willing to act, just as they had hoped. A heap of scrolls migrated from the tallboy towards the bed. The councilors presented new reformation projects, argued with each other and took up others' arguments. Some projects were rejected, while others, accepted and even emphasized on. It was decided that, despite the recommendations from the Academy caretakers, the Empress, taking the opportunity of Her well-being, would honour the Central Square just outside the palace with Her presence on the morrow, when the changes would be announced.
"One last thing. I do believe I must speak of the following. As some of you have undoubtedly recollected over the last few months, I have no heir..."
"Your Majesty!", councilor Kalirosh gasped in horror, "We do not have any reasons to be speaking about this! Please let us amend the announced problems."
The Empress frowned. As She did, councilor Kh'Everst remarked clearly how the light in the room went out a little, as if a dark curtain had been cast on the window.
Kh'Everst inspected the faces of his colleagues but didn't find any indications that anyone else made the same observation. He decided to share it later with Bilir.
"I do not recall myself ordering that I may be interrupted while not in good health and not in control of my voice", She said coldly, with a sense of bitterness on Her lips. "Fine, we might get back to this conversation when next I hold council." | TL;DR version is to be posted in a new topic upon arrival of the actual update.
"Malady. Blight" news block is to be continued. | "Unacceptable!"
Kalirosh furiously slammed the cabinet in front of him with his hand. It was rather rare to see the knight councilor driven out of his wits, and now, his rage was unmeasurable.
"How... dumb..." Kalirosh's chin shook at these words "Does one have to be to kill a potential interrogation subject?!"
"Councilor, please take to account that they were lords, not our regular army. It is the way of living for our nobility, they hunt, and they often compete at hunting. To them, all that matters is another great trophy, they have no orders of military men."
Kalirosh desperately rose his hands to his head, rubbing it emotionally as he started walking hence and forth around his office.
"Besides, councilor, some of the opponent armies were inadequately strong to even consider taking a captive. One of the Lords in question described the enemy not at all as the foreign archmage had described before. According to his reports, the enemy was giant, moved to any part of the battlefield in an instant and wielded a strange instrument-like weapon that cast lightnings out of air around lord's troops. That lightning went on and on from one creature to another, ravaging any who stood close enough!"
"Yes, I have just read the reports. Even the creatures of solid fire that the Archmage spoke about are here. As well as the expected short ones."
Kalirosh stopped for a while right in front of a mirror hanging on the wall. He contemplated himself thinking about what he had just learned. It was very inauspicious for him indeed, since the core of this news implied that he failed at his most responsible task. A potential enemy of unknown intentions and most probably unseen strength had appeared in a dangerous vicinity with the Empire... unnoticed.
It was time to act, it was essential to regain control of the situation, and at least even out the reconnaissance. Becoming one step ahead of the possible enemy was just too huge an advantage to wish for.
Kalirosh quickly made his way to the desk and plumped down, seizing a quill and a stack of command sheets. In a quarter of an hour a pile of envelopes gathered up in front of him. He sealed the envelopes and half-rose while still signing them for destination. Finally, when the envelopes were handed over to his attendant, and the latter was about to leave, the knight yelled him to halt. He threw a mysterious look at the attendant, turned around quickly on his heels and reached for one of his bookshelves extracting a sealed envelope out of one of the tomes.
"Have all those delivered with pigeons, but this one..." Kalirosh seized the attendant's hand to make sure he catches the importance of the order, and lowered his voice, "Deliver personally, in secret, to Feurlis, no mediators. Oh, and do not return unless you have news about us having a captive."
The attendant uttered submission and rushed his way down the stairs and towards the dovecote. | In the meantime, the thin shady figure of the dark elf councilman passed the Academy gates and directed its steps towards the entrance. Kh'Everst was glad to receive the reply to his missive to Bilir so quickly, but his biggest surprise came when he read its contents - the wizard replied he wanted to meet him as eagerly.
"Ah, councilor, welcome to my workplace." Bilir giggled amiably, opening the door into his study and asking the dark elf inside with a wide gesture.
"I remember what a wonderful taste you have, councilor. How does el'Atrazhoul tea with barley muffin sound? Just the tea?" The wizard addressed a short nod to the gremlin attender. The latter bowed and left the study without a sound.
"Please, my friend, speak." Bilir made himself comfortable on the arm-chair in front of a large walnut desk buried under all sorts of magical devices, experimental materials and heaps of tomes and scrolls on both edges that, no doubt, reached a demon's height. He showed the dark elf his seat on the sofa right across the desk, and sat patiently waiting for Kh'Everst to collect his thoughts.
"Fine, I shall speak first. It is about something I observed in the palace yesterday during the Council."
"Her poor Majesty. I Was so glad she was sane and animated again yesterday. I just hope our efforts are crowned with the final success soon."
"You weren't entirely sincere yesterday and before, speaking about the Academy successes, am I not right?"
The wizard half-smiled for an instant, then let a surprised expression on his face which was as promptly driven out by fright. The peering look cast by the dark elf produced a most uncanny feeling within his chest.
"How did you know?", he asked cautiously, still unsure how to react to his interlocutor's words.
"I can tell it when someone tells a lie", the dark elf shrugged unpretentiously while keeping his piercing look. | "I am afraid you are right", the wizard regained composure and started narrating. "We are successful at producing the medicaments that are keeping the malady from progressing. But we are still missing something in our search for a way to revert it. Just as we discovered where the source was, but any expeditions to that place led to fiasco, there was nothing there, blank spot... Virgin nature and not as much as a bug around. Was that what you wanted to talk to me about?"
"Not really. There was something peculiar in Her bedchamber yesterday". The dark elf shared his findings with Bilir. The latter listened most attentively, biting his fingertips at first, then nodded on almost every other word he was saying displaying sudden revelation on the situation.
"Curious phenomenon indeed... I have a theory about this. It turns out, the matters that we wanted to discuss with each other appear to have one root."
The Wizard pushed an ancient-looking manuscript laying on the table and turned it so that it faced Kh'everst. "And speaking of theories, this is exactly why I invited you here." He paused a little before continuing. "Tell me, my dear friend, what do you know about the fibers of Darkness magic?"
The Dark elf closed his eyes for two seconds, then slowly opened them again. Of course. It was all coming to him now, everything was becoming clear as noonday.
"You mean the Unholy."
The wizard choked. After a minute of a coughing bout he still stood perplexed, with his startled eyes staring at Kh'everst. | "I am very impressed, dark one. When I asked my question I meant it rhetorical, I was certain you would not know the answer!"
The dark elf was flattered to hear such a praise from the brightest person of the Empire, but managed to keep the feeling inside him.
"Yes, the fiber responsible for Darkness counteracting the Holy magic. The darkest art, the sinister within the evil. It is a forbidden subject within the Empire, and only academics who research ancient darkness arts may have some knowledge. May I ask how have you learned about that, and how far does your knowledge extend?"
Kh'Everst let a sad smile seal his face and spoke with a sigh: "Let's just say magic was not exactly treated as a science in places where I grew up."
"Us, wizards, are more apt with science than any of our others, three schools are welcoming us!" The wizard quickly changed the subject, knowing that Kh'Everst didn't like to expatiate on that one. There was unconcealed pride in his voice. "But darkness is the one school we have no such natural aptitude for. Perhaps it is the Nature's way to keep the balance, but again, it is only theories."
Kh'Everst plunged in examining the scroll, then a minute later suddenly exclaimed:
"So, if even you cannot affect the surroundings in similar way, how can Her Majesty? She is no magician and the only reason She ever stepped into the Academy was to attend the Magical sciences lessons when She was a scholar!".
"But you are forgetting, my dear friend", the wizard gave Kh'Everst a cunning wink. "Her Majesty belongs to Knights! I am much less susceptible to Darkness magic fibers than She is. Cannot say the same about you, though". A most significant look was thrown at the dark elf which required all his effort not to manifest his confusion. "That is what I need you for. I have something in mind that I need to check, and I need you to volunteer to aid me in this."
"How exactly?" Kh'Everst asked suspiciously.
"By taking part in a safe and purely scientific experiment!", the wizard tossed out quickly with an innocent look, corroborating his most eerie concerns. "Before you answer, remember that it is needed to help Her Majesty. In fact, that might just be the breakthrough we are looking for."
Did the councilor have an option to refuse...
"Brilliant!" The wizard rubbed his hands, noticing the vague signs of consent on the dark elf's face. "I will let you know when everything is ready. We will need someone else to perform this experiment, a Lord acquaintance of mine. I will summon you both when everything is ready. Have a nice evening, councilor". Bilir unceremoniously rushed out of the study, humming merrily and leaving poor Kh'Everst to his own worst premonitions. | TL;DR version, posts 6-9.
Events: The Dwarves have made their way to the continent, having been spotted in a dangerous vicinity of the Empire. Kalirosh feels his guilt about having had no information about this possible intrusion. He sends several orders to capture any Dwarven creature able to talk for interrogations.
On the same evening, Kh'Everst arrives into the Academy to discuss the phenomena observed in Her Majesty's Bedchamber during the Council with Bilir. The wizard concludes that Kh'Everst innate susceptibility to Darkness and his perfect knowledge of Darkness magic school might be used for achieving a breakthrough in Academy research concerning the Malady. He assigns an Experiment to be held with the dark elf, leaving the latter horrified. Whatever Kh'Everst bore witness to in his younger years might just pale before a crazy magician and his wicked devices!
Updates: None.
Interesting facts: Among all orders sent by councilor Kalirosh, one was written in forehand and had to be delivered to none other than Feurlis. Considering their long-during antipathy, as well as his current uneasy situation, one might wonder what the contents were.
So far, Magic is described as an analogy of science, often interchanging the two words. Bilir introduces the "fiber" concept as a subdivision of a magical science. The Unholy fiber is mentioned to oppose the entire Holy magic arts, hinting on the nature of Overlay mechanics and latest changes in the two schools.
Again, Bilir mentions a Lord to take part in the Experiment. He seems to be the one with really precious acquaintances! |
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