Surface- Twisting Hills Region
Empire of Night- City of Uldon
Central Keep- Guest Suites
Jacob stared at the women, he could understand why the late High-Lord Daniels had married and stayed with her. Lady Daniels was very statuesque. Brown-red hair, six feet tall, bronzed skin, grey eyes, weary of Jacob but from what he had observed, very much loved her daughter. The daughter was two to three years old and was very cute in a childlike way. "What do you want to do Lady Daniels?" Jacob asked her from the doorway as she sat and played with her daughter.
The women didn't look at him when he asked and Jacob was not offended because he was sure she was considering her options and her daughter, "Can I go home?" She asked.
Jacob responded promptly, "If that is what you want, then yes.' Jacob stated causing her to look at him and study him. Cathrine took that moment to join him in the doorway gazing at the little girl as Jacob had been before grabbing Jacobs' hand and squeezing it. 'Yes dear wife, I know you want a little girl, but if you conceive is not up to either you or me." Jacob stated as he looked at her.
Cathrine frowned before nodding and leaning into Jacob who hugged her gently but firmly. "I am sorry your husband died, I tried to get him to surrender, but..." Jacob stated but the Lady Daniels snorted in disgust.
"Don't waste your compassion on him, Gregory Daniels was a worm and bastard that only cared for himself. If he wasn't who he was, he probably would have been killed years ago. I only married him to cement the political and trade alliance between him and my father. Our marriage was not of love or any other warm feelings, if I could have killed him and gotten away with it, I would have gladly slit his throat myself.' she stated with venom and rancor. 'The only good thing that came from our marriage was my daughter."
Jacob frowned and nodded, "Well if you don't want to go home, you can stay here if you want. Take time and make a decision, now if you will excuse me, I have to deal with envoys from the Free Cities." Jacob stated leaving Cathrine there to talk to the woman.
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"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome and please sit down," Jacob stated as he entered the council room. A dozen men and women were present from various Free Cities and merchant companies. They had been the ambassadors to the former High-Lord Daniels court. With the Empire of Night now in control of Uldon, their status was unknown presently. Right now though they were scrambling to salvage whatever deals they had made with the previous High-Lord. What he had been ok with, Jacob might not allow, it all depended on what the previous agreements were.
"Now as you all are aware, the High-Lord Daniels is dead, any agreement you made with him is now void. If you wish to make a Trade Agreement with the Empire of Night, you can submit your proposals and they will be reviewed and considered on a case by case basis. Whatever your proposals are, you will receive a response within 24 hours after you have submitted them. Are there any questions?" Jacob stated.
"So all the efforts to get our treaties was wasted?" one of the men growled out.
Jacob smiled at him, "To put simply, yes. All your bribes, ass-kissing, and sucking someone's dick or eating some women's slit was a wasted effort. Your gifts, ass-kissing, or dick sucking will not help your cause with me. Write out your proposals including any Tariff rates your people have on trade, and they will be reviewed. Oh and one more thing...if your city has extensive ties to the Slavers Union, you might as well leave, the Empire does not support slavery in any form or those who support the practice of it. Now, any other pertinent questions?"
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Surface- Shinning Hills Region
Nation of Arang'mor- City of Arkburn
Citidal of the Light
"Are we sure?" King Othgad Lightbringer asked the Inquisition leader.
"Yes, we have multiple reports of an Avatar of Light traveling due south and through the Free Cities. The Archon should have reported it, but failed to do so." The man replied as they walked through the gardens surrounding the central Citadel.
King Othgad asked quickly, "Where was the last sighting of the Avatar?"
"Heading south out of the Free Cities Alliance territory and toward the Empire of Night." The Inquisition leader responded.
Othgad cursed inwardly, "Arrange a meeting, I don't care if the Archon comes here or if I go there, but he will answer our questions of why the sighting of the Avatar was not reported." Othgad stated as he glared around himself. The Inquisition leader did not leave though.
"Some of the more senior leadership are wondering if you have fallen out of favor with the Light between the loss of the book and the Archon flaunting your authority...this could create problems." The Inquisition leader stated before turning and leaving.
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Surface- Crecents Plains Region
Free City Alliance- Athesas
Alliance Council Chamber
"What are we going to do? We have to respond to the Empire deliberate act of aggression." the representative of Cliphis stated.
Several other representatives agreed, all of them were well known to be in the pockets of the Slavers Union. The question is if this was just the Unions words or was it the Union and the cities themselves.
"Enough, Uldon was expelled from this alliance for their unilateral decision to assist in the invasion of the Empire of Night. They have paid for doing so with their admission into this alliance and now their city is under siege by the Empires armies, we will not compound their error by attacking the Empire." The representative from Stormsurge stated.
"And what does the honorable representative of Athesas believe?" another member prodded causing Lord Devinshire to smile in amusement of the blatant manipulation, but one he could not ignore.
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"I agree with the honorable representative of Stormsurge. The Free City Alliance will not march to war because Uldon is now paying for their greed and for supporting the Slavers Union agenda. Unlike Cliphis, Athesas is free of their manipulations and we will not be used by some slavers just because they are afraid to face judgment for their continued actions." Lord Devinshire replied while smirking at the representative from Cliphis and her close allies.
The Slavers Union representative glared at Devinshire but could say nothing unless called upon, he was part of an organization and had only the power of those cities that were in their pockets or too afraid to stand up too them.
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"Well played Lord Devinshire, but you should be careful not to overreach otherwise the consequences could harm more than just you." The Slavers Unior representative snarled as he left the Council Chambers.
James snorted in disgust at the threat. "The man is correct, you should take their lead." The representative from Cliphis stated.
"We both know you and the leadership of your city are firmly in the pockets of the Slavers Union, so excuse me if I don't believe you when you speak. Your words are what they want you to say, not what is best for your people. If the Slavers Union told you to go to war with the Empire with or without the majority of the Alliance support, we both know your people would. So take this advice, the time of the Slavers Union is coming to an end, you can fight and delay it, but eventually, the Slavers Union will be destroyed. So do the right thing for your people." Lord Devinshire stated before turning and walking away. James already knew the other man would ignore his words. Fools.
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Surface- Twisting Hills Region
Empire of Night- City of Uldon
Central Keep- Dining Hall
Jacob was having a working lunch, Ezekial, Nadal, and Eiloma were with him. Cathrine was sitting at the table with former Lady Daniels, her real name was Tiffany Winters and her daughter. The Seekers that were going to be heading to the Obsidion Kingdom with Jacob were already back at Eternal Night getting their equipment repaired from the siege of Uldon or resting. "We are going to shift the Third Legion to the Wall, for now, the First, Sixth, and Eighth Legion will be staying here for now to garrison Uldon, to help with repairs to the city, and fortify the Empires presence here in the area," Jacob stated.
"I assume you will be going down under to continue there?" Ezekial asked.
Jacob nodded, "Yes, I will be heading back too Eternal Night tonight, I will be heading back there within a day or two. It's too important to leave a threat like that too close to us." Jacob replied.
"What about us? Are we going to be moving with you or will you be keeping us here?" Tiffany asked. Jacob looked at her confused, he saw Cathrine trying not to laugh and Eiloma coughed.
"As I said before, you can do what you want. Go home, stay here, it's your choice." Jacob replied slowly.
Lady winters studied Jacob, "Words and actions are two different things."
Jacob studied her right back, "Eiloma, could she do that job we were talking about earlier?" He asked as he considered the former wife of the High-Lord. His Seneschal started going through her interface and looking up information before nodding.
"What job?" Tiffany asked.
"How would you like to be Regent of Uldon?" Jacob asked causing Cathrine to smile and nod her head.
Lady Winters frowned, "What would be required of me?"
"Do a good job, run the city on a day-to-day basis. Oversee the Empires interests here. General Brox would be the ultimate military authority, but you would be the civilian authority and would be responsible for enforcing the laws of the Empire. General Brox would answer to you, but he does have the authority to contact me if he does not believe you are serving the Empires interests and working against us." Jacob informed her. Eiloma coughed into her hand again while Cathrine's smile grew once he was done with listing all the most important facts of the position.
Tiffany looked away blushing for some reason which left Jacob confused until Ezekial started whispering in his ear and enlightenment dawned on him, "NO!!' Jacob yelled out causing the women to blush even more. 'Umm, no. Nothing like that would ever be expected of you Lady Winters. If I appoint someone to a position, its because I think they would do a good job there or its what is best for everyone. You fulfill both criteria. I do not expect any...favors, in return except maybe a thank you. This, of course, all hinges on you wanting the position though." Jacob finished in a rush.
Cathrine is openly laughing now at Jacobs abrupt way of diffusing the situation and it seemed Ezekial caught whatever Eiloma has and coughed into his hand as well. Nadal and Eiloma are both openly grinning at Jacobs embarrassment. Jacob mock glared at Cathrine before flicking a slice of apple at her. Cathrine quickly intercepted it and started eating it, "Brat, you knew what she was talking about and let me walk right into it." Jacob fumed at her.
"Well I hardly get to see you flustered anymore and I know how eloquent you can be when flustered, so I wanted to see what would happen," Cathrine responded.
Tiffany looked back and forth between the two, "How did you two meet?"
"It was an arranged marriage for the both of us, and I lucked out. I got an amazing woman that puts up with my quirks, oddities, and my position while still seeing the man beneath." Jacob replied to her question. Cathrine smiled and blushed slightly at Jacobs praise before she pulled Tiffany closer and started whispering in her ear. Whatever they were saying, Jacob was sure he did not want to know as he got back to work reading reports.