Chapter 24: The Emperor
Emperor Noah Zarak sat atop his throne, its luxury adornments conspicuously missing since shortly after he took the title from his uncle a few years ago. Several advisors attended to him as a pair of messengers entered the chamber.
“Well?”
“Zirar reports the monsters departed southwest, bypassing both Zirar and Adzah!”
“Is anyone tracking them?”
The messenger turned pale. “I do not…”
“One group, Emperor Noah!” the second messenger shouted, drawing a thankful gaze from the first messenger.
“Oh? When will we find out where they’re going?”
The first messenger turned to the second expectantly.
“We do not know, your Imperial Majesty. The group following the monsters is a party of adventurers.”
“Adventurers? Well that’s not very helpful…” The Emperor paused to think, causing everyone else to wait silently for his next words. “We must learn as soon as possible whether the monsters are approaching a northern city or crossing into the central region.”
“Emperor Noah, what shall we do if the monsters assault a town or city in the central region?”
The Emperor turned to his senior advisor who asked the question. “Oh, I have to decide that right now?”
“O–Of course not, Sire.”
The Emperor turned back to the messengers. “Any visible changes over in Adzah?”
“None, your Imperial Majesty.”
“Does anyone know just what the heck is going on?” The Emperor could have heard a pin drop. “Are Vosk and his buddies going to lay siege to the capital?”
Another advisor attempted to answer the question. “As I explained previously, your Imperial Majesty, it’s unlikely the southern lords would assist in that endeavor. As such, Vosk, Burger, and the other central lords are unlikely to succeed if they attempt to unseat the throne. Surely they realize that too.”
“I doubt the Union has much time to mess with my Empire, but what about the Theocracy? Could they be manipulating events here?”
“That could explain why those monsters approached the beach between Zirar and Adzah!” a lesser member of the court shouted out, drawing incredulous stares for even daring to enter the conversation.
“L–Let’s not idly speculate.” The senior advisor attempted to paint over the previous suggestion. He turned to the messengers. “Were there any signs of a connection between the monsters and either the lords of the central regions or the Eranamean Theocracy?”
Both messengers shook their heads. “None, my Lord.”
He turned back to the Emperor. “Sire, while it’s too soon to say what the cause of the aberrant monster behavior is, I advise we not jump to conclusions that aggression is eminent.”
“What about wyvern sightings?” the Emperor asked the assembled group.
“None recently, Sire, and no reports from anyone else in the central region.”
The Emperor knew the term anyone else was just a euphemism for any spies down south. The Emperor detested spying on his own people, but given how unpopular his ascension to the throne was, his advisors assured him it was a necessary precaution. So far, it wasn’t bearing fruit, though. “Do we have a way to—“
The doors slammed open and another messenger ran into the room, interrupting the Emperor with shouting. “Your Imperial Majesty! A message!” He was so winded his words were a bit difficult to make out.
Two guards grabbed the man by either shoulder and slammed him into the floor face first. “You dare interrupt the–“
“Wait.” The Emperor gestured, causing the guards to relax their grip on the messenger. “Speak.”
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The man was helped up to his knees as he spoke. “I carry a message bearing one of the special seals. All I know of its contents is that an army of monsters was sighted marching north from the gates of Nabilgat.”
“What!?” The Emperor formed a map of the Empire in his head and imagined the positions and movement directions of the various monster armies he was aware of. “Bring the message here.”
A guard collected the sealed message and handed it to a separate guard, who presented it to the Emperor.
Emperor Noah ripped open and read the message while everyone else waited quietly. His eyes widened as he reached the end of the message. “That’s a lot… And they’re marching in lock-step with humans…?” He turned back to the original messengers. “Tell me again… How many monsters were at the beach?”
“More than fifty, your Imperial Majesty. We do not know their levels.”
“This here says even more than that are marching north from the central region. If they intercept the monsters from the beach–“
The doors, which guards had recently shut, swung open again. A soldier rushed through the threshold and lowered himself to one knee, waiting for permission to speak. Still, the abruptness of it had interrupted the Emperor, causing him to stop mid-sentence.
“Oh, what now?”
An advisor pointed to the soldier, gesturing for him to speak.
“Your Imperial Majesty, Emperor Noah, an army of monsters was spotted crossing the border from the Union just south of Naralaragz. The monsters were proceeding east and numbered at least forty. Their levels are unknown.”
The Emperor buried his face into his palms. “Tell me you know something about this.” The Emperor didn’t reveal his face, but everyone knew he was now speaking to the Gazahanar Guild Master who had been silent until now.
“No. There may be a connection to the monsters which were seen during the Union’s attack on the Twin Cities, but I have received no specific information.”
“Guild Master, don’t the branches share information? Especially about monsters?”
The Guild Master hesitated before answering the Emperor’s question. “The Twin Cities Guild Master and I aren’t on the best of terms.”
“Have you received any information from the branches in the central region?”
“We aren’t on the best of terms.”
“Guild Master, who are you on good terms with?”
“Some of the southern branches, the Union’s eastern branches, and the Shemlielo branch in the Theocracy.”
“A–Anyway,” the Emperor announced in a raised voice to reset the conversation. “Judging from what I read in this report, the monsters, if they are all connected, are working together with the central region Lords. Do you all realize what that means?”
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“Sister, as we approach the critical moment, it’s more important than ever that we keep an eye on the creature.”
“You’re such a worrywart, Jonathan. If the creature was going to rebel somehow, it already would have.”
“Even so.”
Karen grunted. “Fine. You can just assign some guards or do it yourself for all I care. Just be sure the monsters are ready to leave when we are.”
“All right.”
Jonathan approached the collection of monsters near the campsite where the humans were eating lunch and taking a break from their travels.
DM rearranged the monsters so that Jonathan and the morphling would be obscured from the others.
“This is our only chance to talk for a while…” Jonathan mumbled.
“…Good job. As I said before, I want to know what your faction is up to and why.”
“I don’t know everything myself. I’ll admit, I’ve tended to focus on training rather than politics. My sister is the more adept one at matters of State.”
“…Do the best you can.”
“All right. The Empire is generally split into three regions: north, central, and south. The Emperor exerts influence over the northern region, whereas the most influential lords of the central region dominate the territory from approximately Nazibarar and south. The southern lords control Shathargun and everything south of there, but they’re the most detached from the capital politically.
“…Go on.”
“A few years ago, the previous Emperor and his only son both died at about the same time. The single surviving member of the Zarak family at that point was the Emperor’s nephew, Noah, the current Emperor. Noah’s father was a social outcast for some reason, or at least that’s what I heard. As a result, most people hardly even knew of Noah until he took the throne.”
“…I see.”
“There was talk around the Empire of unseating him even before he truly began to rule. He was accused of a conspiracy to seize the throne for himself, although I have no idea if it’s true. He’s been surprisingly bold in his reform efforts, further straining relations with the central region. Lord Andrei Vosk is leading a secret effort to conquer Gazahanar and probably put some puppet on the throne. My family has been close to his for generations and are supporting.”
“…What’s wrong with what this Andrei Vosk is trying to accomplish?”
“Oh, I guess I just assumed you would be against whatever we are planning on account of how you’ve been treated. I agree the circumstances regarding Emperor Noah’s rule are suspect, but that’s no reason to launch a major war within the Empire. Even if Karen’s efforts to integrate monsters into the central region’s offensive are successful, many people on both sides will be harmed or killed.”
“…And monsters.”
“Y–Yes… And monsters.”
“…Make no mistake. I take very personally your family’s efforts to control and use me. …However, that’s a separate matter from what should happen in the conflict between the central and northern regions of the Empire.”
“That’s true, I suppose…”
“…Keep your sister in the dark for now. I will investigate the Emperor and determine how to proceed.”
“You have a way to investigate the Emperor from here?” Jonathan shuddered. “If doing what you say will protect her…”
“…For now, that is what you must do if you want to maximize her chances of surviving what is to come.”
Jonathan lowered his gaze to the ground. “I trained my sword arm because I thought that was the best, or perhaps only way for someone like me to help my subjects and serve the Empire. Now I find myself conspiring with an outsider against my own family, all while powerless to fight for what is right with the one skill I cultivated.”
“…I trained my mind to become an academic and now I’m a tentacle monster. Your problem seems bad too, though.”