The victory parade consisted of tens of thousands of soldiers marching in column formations from the castle to the capital square ending near a site dedicated to a future memorial planned to depict Xenia’s triumph over Pope Gregory.
The columns of soldiers had drummers beating an intimidating and powerful tune as the parade marched on, and the various rows of soldiers alternated between those wearing black and those wearing red uniforms creating a striped red and black formation.
Xenia herself rode in a convertible black limo at the epicenter of the parade. She sat on the body of the car with her feet in the seat below allowing her adoring fans to see her better as she rode by waving, smiling, and blowing kisses.
The people of the BloodStar Empire were emphatically in love with Xenia. She was beautiful, powerful, and intelligent. She was the heir to the empire and represented their future. She cared for her people, and she fought for them. Culturally, she was a God amongst even the less bloodthirsty of citizens. She all but guaranteed their prosperity through force. Should anyone defy the BloodStar Empire, the people felt safe and invincible with her leading the armies.
Xenia embraced the warm welcome from her people. She knew she had the personal strength to do whatever she pleased; however, she now also knew she had the people’s backing to do as she pleased. Her agenda would become magnitudes of order easier to accomplish with her empire at her back.
The parade came to an end in the capital square where a tall platform awaited Xenia allowing her to address the crowds that had gathered to see her and celebrate her victory. For so long the BloodStar Empire had been threatened and outcast by the Masters of the world. Xenia had just turned the tide of their standing in the world, and they were a proud empire today as a result.
Xenia swung her legs over the car door and jumped off the car as it came to a stop. She wore her signature black leather military outfit complete with knee-high boots. Her long flowing hair was down at her back, and she beamed with the confidence and grace of an empire’s leader.
She ascended the platform to a roar of cheers from over one hundred thousand people who had turned out to see her. Even more were tuned in to the live broadcast in the empire.
The roars and applause continued for several minutes as Xenia took it all in. She finally calmed the lively crowd with her hands and grabbed the microphone.
Xenia slowly paced on the stage, “We are here today to celebrate our re-emergence as an empire on the global scene. No longer will we be ignored and sanctioned over our history. No longer will we be threatened into isolation. If someone wants to fight us over it… they now know what will happen!”
The crowd went wild with cheers once more. The Earth underneath them began to quake from the uproar, and Xenia once again silenced them with her hand gestures.
She then continued, “Pope Gregory was a strong opponent. He was no fool either. He served as the perfect example for our empire. It doesn’t matter how strong you are. It doesn’t matter how smart you are. You will lose in the face of the BloodStar Empire’s might!”
After every few sentences that Xenia spoke, the crowd went absolutely wild. The empire was one of fervor for their resurgence in the world and with it would come pride and wealth.
She continued to pace and please the crowd with her words, “As your Warlord, I plan to protect our growing empire, and I also expect some to threaten us, to attack us, to do everything in their power to stop us. But just as I have taken the Holy Light Empire, let it be a warning to anyone who would dare to stand in our way… if you attack the BloodStar Empire as we expand into the world, we will add your territories to our empire and run you into the ground!”
The people of the empire loved their Warlord with all of their hearts. Mothers loved her for the protection she offered. Entrepreneurs loved her for the trade routes and resources she acquired. Men loved her for her appearance and strength. Politicians loved her for her brute power in accomplishing any and every task she set forth to do. Ladies loved her for setting a strong example and exemplifying the power of a woman in the world. The elderly loved her for embracing the old culture of war and violence. Only those who found their interests at stake against Xenia couldn’t find a reason to love her.
Xenia concluded by announcing, “Construction at the center of the capital square will soon commence. A memorial depicting my victory over Pope Gregory will be built to immortalize our empire’s move towards expansion in the world.”
Xenia had experienced a taste for victory on an international scale and although she couldn’t start another war, she was certainly keen on aggravating others into open conflict with her in order to take the battle to them. She had a hunger for domination and expansion that she hadn’t felt before, and she loved it.
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Elsewhere, the major powers of the world had convened remotely to discuss the fallout of Pope Gregory’s death. The ripples were far and wide even for those uninvolved in the skirmish. Every Master, regional leader, President, Vice President, and many others had joined the remote call. The conference call had well over 500 people in attendance from around the world.
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Having been the main organizer of the call, Jarek started the call off, “Welcome everyone. Thank you for joining me today to discuss the direction of our world as we find our way in the wake of the surprise outcome of the recent battle for the war between Pope Gregory and Warlord BloodStar.”
He then paused to allow major leaders from around the world to chime in with their welcome statements. He then continued, “The ultimate outcome of the battle is such that Xenia was victorious. Gregory has fallen, and with his fall, the Holy Light Empire is now technically a part of the BloodStar Empire. Luckily, Xenia has appointed St. Michael to rule on a daily basis, avoiding utter chaos. She also seems to have embraced an inactive role in the country’s interests thus far. The question is… do we need to take further action at the moment against the BloodStar Empire. Or. Do we bide our time and let things run the course as they may, for now?”
Erika was the first to speak after Jarek, “The battle between Gregory and Xenia had clear and well-defined terms. Gregory made the terms himself, and the winner-take-all nature of the terms doesn’t leave much room for discussion as far as if Xenia is in the right to rule the Holy Light Empire under the larger heading of the BloodStar Empire. Let me be clear, I do not like the outcome. However, if we are to set a good example for our people around the world, we must uphold the rule of law. We cannot afford to erode the trust in our institution of law at such a critical juncture in the world.”
President Monroe countered her immediately, “That is easy for you to say. But from my perspective, she will be knocking on the door of the United States any day now. I respect the rule of law. I do. But the people around the world are scared. They want us to act! They need us to act!”
Lady Starfallen assumed the floor next, “I quite agree with President Monroe from the United States. As a neutral power in the world, I hate to advocate for more action against the BloodStar Empire, and I hate to disregard the terms of their battle; however, the battle was not clean. Xenia killed Gregory in the most unethical of ways. It was grotesque. It was unnecessary. And she should be swiftly punished for that alone. A monster such as she will not stop at one death. She will come for us all.”
Master Karasu offered his perspective next, “There can be no question Xenia is a monster in terms of both power and action. However, she is not the only one at fault here. Gregory used the spiritual power of his ancestors in that battle. He created an unfair fight of one person against many. He bent the rules, and if he were standing here today he would admit he did it for the greater good. The bottom line is that Xenia acted unethically, but it was in an arena in which both combatants implicitly agreed such acts were okay. Until she acts in such a way outside of that instance, we should not act.”
King Ramses inserted himself in a frustrated tone, “Oh come on! Everyone here knows the bottom line! The bottom line is that it is painfully obvious to see the natural course of what comes next. If we do nothing, the BloodStar Empire will begin its conquest of the world. It will be a second Great War filled with bloodshed and heartache. We may not be able to justify it within our framework of law and order, but we all know we need to kill Xenia now! She will only get stronger and stronger. Such is the nature of my sister. She is a monster in so many ways, none of you could fathom her strength and talent in war or what she can become.”
Jarek cut off the multiple voices that followed Ramses commentary and said, “Everyone! Everyone! I think we need to allow a voice to the man currently under Xenia’s rule. St. Michael, what is your opinion on the matter?”
Michael cleared his throat and unmuted his microphone, “It is an unusual situation unlike any of us have encountered. Xenia lusts for war and violence, yet she also cares for those under her rule. She is happy and excited to commit unspeakable crimes to random individuals on a regular basis for her own pleasure, yet she places a high value on the population as a whole seeking to improve their lives. She indulges in her own cravings at the expense of the individual while attempting to better the whole of her empire.”
He paused allowing for commentary; however, the call was silent, and he continued, “Her unspeakable acts of torture, rape, murder, and most of all bloodbending are all carefully hidden from the world in most instances. These acts alone are reason enough to take her down. In particular, her bloodbending ability should be forbidden. Have you ever felt her pull on your own blood? She can force you to commit atrocities in her name while being completely helpless to stop her or resist. No person should have such power.”
He paused before continuing, “I would agree with Ramses that if you do not act now, you will never be able to defeat her. Not because of her own power, but because the people she rules generally learn to love her for the prosperity she brings. The people under her rule love her hands off approach, and they love her because she doesn’t seek to rule so much as she does defend and provide. However, one thing is for sure. She hates us. If we are to preserve our own empires and our own cultures, we will have to act sooner or later. Sooner gives us a better chance at preserving our way of life.”
Jarek concluded by saying, “We have had a great discussion here today. We have heard points and counterpoints. We have heard from different leaders in different places. The question of whether to act or not is still not clear, so we will put it to a vote. Everyone, please vote, yes or no to acting against the BloodStar Empire in the wake of Gregory’s death.”
Jarek then set a timer for everyone to vote with 60 seconds on the clock. Time passed quickly as leaders and politicians from around the world cast their vote.
After one minute, Jarek made the result of the poll visible to all members in attendance. The results read:
Action: 371 --- No Action: 129
As the results flashed before her eyes, Erika assumed a face of sorrow. She knew Xenia was an enemy who needed to be dealt with; however, she also knew Xenia had won against Gregory fair and square. She expected more of her global leaders than to pounce without just cause.
She shook her head and thought to herself, “A drop of patience would’ve sufficed. Xenia serves up reasons to ‘deal’ with her every other week, and yet we can’t wait for her to give us a just reason? Instead, we risk giving her leverage against us when she sees we are planning an affront that would violate her deal with the global community regarding her victory over Gregory.”
Jarek’s voiced then boomed, “It has been decided then. The highest-ranking members of each empire will meet in a smaller committee setting to decide what kind of action to take going forward whether it be as simple as sanctions or as aggressive as all-out war. We are all sworn to secrecy regarding the details heard in this meeting today. Godspeed to you all. Godspeed to our future.”