Trinefore Keep was Relgar’s biggest history book. Built before Paramount Strock Ward united the Relrin Vors into a single Gar, the Wards built the inner walls and great hall’s architecture to accommodate an outdated ideal of security. Constructed of hewn stone, mortar, and thick lumber beams, the inner walls still had rusted housings that told of archaic siege engines.
The history book changed when the Calviden Tribe eventually seized Relgar’s presiding seat and established Relgar as one of the great nations. After the Calvidens cemented their reign, they erected additional towers and outer walls more conducive to contemporary times. Compact yellow brick and mounted cannons made it a fortress. With the passage of generations without enemies approaching the walls, the keep evolved yet again. The Calvidens reoutfitted the fort with fine woodwork and polished glass, making it a luxurious palace.
Paramount Stuart stood in the dim Prime Hall with his back to the stone wall. He wore a loose grey shirt and a muted crimson doublet. He always sported crimson. He wore no weapons, Stuart was incapable of using a sword, yet no one thought less of him for it. Everyone present knew he kept his greatest weapon curled behind his teeth. They were far warier of his words than they would have been of a pistol. Undoubtedly, his tongue had slain more people than every shrye sword in all Relgar. Today, more would die because of it.
Next to Stuart, Demi-Paramount Votrig Durwin shot him sidelong glances. The shorter man looked anything but dangerous, even with a dirk buckled to his belt. Unlanded, Demi-Paramount Durwin was a master at administration and a vital tool in today’s play.
Paramount Stuart gave Durwin a subtle nod of encouragement, and Durwin’s eye returned to the prime table.
The Prime Hall was the heart of the oldest version of Trinefore Keep. Usually, it was a lively place where paramounts and esteemed guests mingled, enjoying free-flowing drinks and entertainment. Today, it was unrecognizable, without music, comics, jugglers, servants, or guards. The castle staff had not lit a single torch. Instead, the only light came from a pair of dim lanterns placed along the long oak table.
The twelve prime-paramounts sat motionless at the table, their jaws tight with apprehension. None seemed willing to break the silence and start the inevitable meeting.
Paramount Stuart himself didn’t have a seat at the table, but that didn’t matter. After years of his whispered secrets and hushed councils, each careful word cutting away and shaping this moment like a sculptor’s chisel. Finally, the time was right. This was not a time for revelry. It was a day to control history.
A few of the royals stole glances at Paramount Stuart. He met them with his twinkling eyes, which assured them that they were in the right place.
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“Well,” the aged Paramount Presìdent Calviden croaked, “Leoshawn is gone.”
Paramount Presìdent Calviden wasn’t a pleasant man to behold or hear. Bald, bent-backed, and covered with liver spots, his voice spilled out like tearing paper. Yet, no one so much as blinked. Every eye remained locked onto their ruler.
The Paramount Presìdent continued. “The Sharderin authorities are doing everything within their power to find Leidulf and Derian, but those Remnant Artificers have evaded them so far.”
Prime-Paramount Flemming slammed his fist on the table, the metals on the breast of his blue and silver uniform jumping with the motion. “Half of the Sharderin government officials sympathize with the brother Artificers,” he barked. “They’ll give us no real aid. We must strike into Shargar and flush them out ourselves!”
“We can not send a martial force into Shargar. That’s war,” Prime-Paramount Chapman protested, the lengthy man’s forehead glistening with perspiration. His light brown eyes quickly scanned each of his companions as he tried to gauge which of them would abandon morality for opportunity.
“Are your ears blocked, Chapman?” Prime-Paramount Flemming demanded, “Leoshawn is gone! Civility with Shargar no longer matters. They have the Fusillade Remnants, not us. Everything has changed.”
“The Sharderins are innocent,” Prime-Paramount Chapman insisted. His voice declared that he would oppose not only Flemming but the rest of the prime-paramounts as well. “We can not invade a sovereign territory because of two men's actions.”
Prime-Paramount Alred spoke up, keeping his tone civil. “Unfortunately, Prime-Paramount Flemming is right.” He said, “The Fusillade Remnants change everything.”
Each of the other prime-pramounts watched Alred intently. His black hair starting to turn grey in a prelude to him entering his mature years, he had developed a way of commanding the attention of his fellow paramounts when he spoke. Where some called him curt, others named him a realist. Either way, they hung onto his every word.
“Leidulf and Derian destroyed a nation in less than a day. Inaction is no longer an option.” Alred glanced sympathetically at Chapman, who looked sick. “We have no means of self-preservation.”
“No means but a swift and decisive offense!” Prime-Paramount Flemming proposed. “The Freven prepare to sail on Shargar. They recognize the threat. We’re close enough to stop Leidulf and Derian before the Freven cross the Lehnug.”
“Would seizing the Sharderin Remnants be prudent,” The Paramount Presìdent asked? The flickering lantern light made the liver spots dance across his bald head.
Prime-Paramount Alred tapped a long finger on the table. “The only way that law can maintain order with Colgar and the Freven is if we seize the Remnants first and issue a declaration that we won’t weaponize them. The rest of the world will demand oversight over their power.” Alred glared at Flemming to cut off a protest.” This goes beyond state security. It’s a matter of global safety. If we gain the means to destroy entire nations in one stroke, then every other kingdom and empire would be forced to descend on us as we now must stop the Sharderins.”
“The Sharderins haven’t weaponized the Remnants,” Prime-Paramount Chapman protested. “Only Leidulf and Derian have. If we take the Remnants from the Sharderins, we will breach their trust in a way that we will never be able to rectify. The Sharderins have been our neighbors for as long as Relgar has existed. They live among our people. How could we agree to occupy them?”
“War!” Prime-Paramount Flemming slammed the table a second time. “Don’t say it like it’s a bad thing! They have practically no military: only a scant police force and sanctuary guards. I don’t care if they have the Remnants; they don’t use them properly. How hard could it be to defeat a tribe of artists and poets? This is our chance to expand. Leoshawn’s sacrifice can easily justify Relgar’s development.”
“Bloodmonger!” Prime-Paramount Chapman cried. “Restrain your ambition. We are not savages!”
“War is coming,” Prime-Paramount Flemming insisted. “We have a duty to our people to be ready for it. Tomorrow, Relgar could share Leoshawn’s fate.”
“We must do something about the brother Artificers, but we have no right to attack our allies,” Chapman snapped.
“I hate this,” Prime-Paramount Alred prefaced. “But we have to ensure our people’s survival. We must act. We must win this war before it starts.”
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“I’m afraid you’ve already lost,” Paramount Stewart spoke. All eyes turned to the serpent of a man. “Leoshawn was the least of Leidulf and Derian’s crimes. They also created the Sarine Pestolance.”
“And now they can create disease?” Prime-Paramount Lucan moaned. “Will the nightmare never end?”
“That was two years ago,” Prime-Paramount Payne noted. “We managed to minimize its spread. It also turned out to be less deadly than preliminary reports indicated.”
Paramount Stuart shook his head. “That’s because when the Sarine Pestolance swept Chalsick, it only affected Sharderin women,” Paramount Stuart explained. “Almost every Sharderin woman had taken ill.”
Prime-Paramount Rowan paled. Having been content to listen up to this point, he nodded. “My grandson married a Sharderin priestess. She was quite ill for months.”
“You see!” Flemming gestured to Stuart. “When we take Shargar, it’ll be for their own good!”
“Why would they strike at their own?” Alred questioned, ignoring Flemming’s outburst. “Leidulf and Derian claim to be champions of the Sharderin people.”
“They don’t merely fight for Sharderins,” Stuart corrected Alred. “They believe that the Sharderin she-god has forordained them to inherit Momalgar.”
“How have they won, Paramount Stuart?” Paramount Presìdent Calviden asked.
Paramount Stuart bowed. “I’ve been conducting investigations for some time now. It seems most of the Sharderin women affected by the Sarine pestilence have made a full recovery, so clearly, the sickness’s intent wasn’t to harm them. I found that suspect, so I sent my inquisitors to conduct experiments. Despite recovering, the pestilence has changed the Sharderin women.”
“Changed them how?” Alred demanded, his voice sharp enough to cut maille.
“Changed their biology, Prime-Paramount,” Paramount Stuart said. “Leidulf and Derian changed the Sharderin women’s wombs, so any child they bear will be stronger, smarter, and more vicious than our posterity. We’ve studied several infants born after the pestilence. The brother Artificers have succeeded in realizing their ideal. A world where Sharderins are the masters.”
“Blasphemy,” Flemming barked. “As Posterians, this mocks our faith.”
“Is this possible?” Prime-Paramount Chapman choked. “The Sharderins couldn’t have agreed to this?”
“I do not doubt that the Sharderin women are ignorant about the change,” Paramount Stuart started to circle the table, looking from each paramount to the next. “It doesn’t change the fact that we have lost. It may not be this generation, it may not be for two generations, but shortly, the Sharderins will rule us.”
“Paramount Stuart,” Prime-Paramount Alred said. “I presume you have evidence of this change?”
“Yes, paramounts,” Paramount Stuart bowed. Because of my inquisitor’s experiments, I can prove beyond any doubt that this threat is real.”
Prime-Paramount Alred mumbled an oath and rose to his feet. “Paramounts, I’ll curse this day as long as I live, but we must strike. We must execute the brother Artificers and recover the Remnants, and we must….” Prime-Paramount Alred looked at his feet. “We must slay all of the Sharderin Women who this plague has touched.”
“Genocide!” Prime-Paramount Chapman cried, jumping to his feet. “Our plan gets viler by the word!”
“You think I don’t wish there was another way?” Prime-Paramount Alred snapped back. “What would you have us do, murder their children as they’re born?”
Chapman looked down. “How can we punish the innocent?”
“May these sins rest on Leidulf and Derian’s heads,” Alred said. “We have no choice.”
“May our sins rest on their heads,” Prime-Paramount Chapman said, flushing white.
Paramount Stuart could see a disturbed sickness in Chapman’s grimace. A few other prime-paramount visibly shared his temperament. Others, Prime-Paramount Flemming chief among them, had the gleam of greed in their eyes.
“How do we conquer Shargar without being annihilated by Leidulf and Derian’s new weapons,” Prime-Paramount Archard asked? “War is not easy. People will fight. Fathers will protect their wives and their daughters. Sharderins may be known for their pacifism, but not all Sharderins will submit.”
Prime-Paramount Durwin stepped forward from the wall and withdrew an envelope thick with documents.
Stuart smiled inwardly at his puppet’s ideal timing.
“I’ve drafted an initiative that could end all of this by tomorrow,” Demi-Paramount Durwin said as he began to pass out sheets of paper. “I’ll need to broker contracts with several teams of martial men to detain Leidulf and Derian and then seize the Remnants.”
Prime-Paramount Flemming failed to suppress the traces of a smile. The low light cast sinister shadows on his face, outlining his black sideburns that grew into dark mutton chops. “I’ll do it on my own, clerk,” he challenged, in no hurry to allow Demi-Paramount Durwin any credit. “I’ll take the Sovereign Host and subdue their state in less than a day.”
“You’re a prime-paramount, Irick,” Demi-Paramount Durwin deliberately used Flemming’s first name, and Flemming glowered. “We don’t know how The Freven Kingdoms or Colgar will respond to our invasion. There is a degree of political risk in all this.”
Demi-Paramount Durwin hurried to the Paramount-Presìdent and dropped to one knee. “I love my country and am no more than a servant. Let me serve. If this invasion has negative ramifications, you can claim I acted against your authority. You can give them my head in appeasement. Use me as a shield against your enemies. If the nations around us see our actions as justified, you can maintain that I acted under your command. There is too much risk to send a Prime-Paramount or the Sovereign Host.”
The Prime-Paramounts watched their presiding ruler as he contemplated the man groveling at his feet.
One-piece has made his move. Paramount Stuart thought, and now another.
On that inward thought, the Presìdent-Paramount opened his swollen lips, showing gapped teeth. “Do it, Demi-Paramount Durwin. Save your people. Do it for us, do it for me….” Presìdent Paramount Calviden took a contemplative breath. “Succeed, and Shargar is yours.”
“How do you propose to conquer a kingdom without an army?” Flemming demanded. “My Presìdent-Paramount, I am your sword! I’ll give you Shargar!”
“I don’t need an army, Senior General,” Demi-Paramount Durwin cut in. Then he held his paper to Presìdent Paramount Calviden. “All I need is your blessing, and this nightmare disappears.”
“What about my grandson?” Prime-Paramount, Rowan asked. You want me to murder his wife as well? I won’t.”
Durwin turned to Prime-Paramount Rowan. “We all must make sacrifices. If we make exceptions, our enemies can use them against us. Don’t worry, Prime-Paramount; I’m sure we can find your grandson a Ven Princess who could make a suitable replacement. This culling order is essential to our survival.”
“Genocide order,” Prime-Paramount Chapman leered. “If you’re actually considering this, have the decency to call it what it is.”
“They will fight,” Prime-Paramount Alred warned as he glanced at his copy of the document. “You’re sure this won’t lead to a prolonged war?”
“Please!” Prime-Paramount Flemming snorted. “We are talking about Sharderins. Those pacifists are so soft they won’t eat meat out of sympathy for animals. Animals!”
“You’re sick, Flemming,” Chapman wheezed.
“Prime-Paramount Chapman, surely you see we have no choice,” Prime-Paramount Alred said.
Prime-Paramount Chapman looked pale-faced, but slowly, he nodded. “Flemming could at least pretend to be disturbed by the idea.”
“If we do this, we must only slay those whom the pestilence has affected,” Prime-Paramount Alred said. “I can hardly call this a mercy, but we’re already taking too much.”
“And what about you, Paramount Stuart?” the Presìdent-Paramount asked. “I know you have no landholdings, but I want your counsel.”
Paramount Stuart smiled yet again. The only man not sitting at the table or kneeling before Calviden, he almost seemed to melt into the wall. The others would have forgotten him were it not for his dagger eyes piercing them in the back. “Presìdent-Paramount, I am only your humble servant,” he said. His voice soothed over the men at the table like a mother’s lullaby to a child. It seemed to calm them from the tension of the clandestine meeting. “I can only say Your Eminence should only do it if you have the total commitment of all of your Prime-Paramounts and their Vors.”
The Presiding Paramount spread his copy of the plan flat on the table and looked at the nearest lantern. “We are a tenacious people,” he croaked before licking his thick lips. “We don’t surrender to our enemies. This time is crucial to Relgar. These next days will decide if we fall or ascend. I hope whatever comes of this, we can stand together.”
Prime-Paramount Flemming jumped to his feet. “I stand with you, Presìdent-Paramount! We usher Relgar into a golden age!”
Demi-Paramount Durwin was second, rising from his knees beside the Presìdent-Paramount. “I’m no Prime-Paramount, but I stand with Relgar!”
The other Prime-Paramounts followed suit one by one, swearing to stand by the order.
When it was Prime-Paramount Alred’s turn, he hesitated. “I won’t pretend to take joy in this. I will carry the next few days with my deepest regret as long as I live. But we have no choice. It’s them or us; my duty is to our people.” He stood. ”I stand with Relgar.”
Finally, all eyes turned to Prime-Paramount Chapman. “Posterity, forgive us,” He muttered. “I have Sharderin friends. My children grew up with them.”
Prime-Paramount Chapman searched the room for some escape from his decision and responsibility. He didn’t find it.
“Damn Leidulf and damn Derian too. I will do what I must.”
Paramount Stuart wanted to laugh and leap for joy but didn’t even smile. Keeping his face neutral and expressions locked in, his eyes twinkled.
Presìdent Paramount Calviden tipped the paper into the lantern’s opening. “This assembly never happened.” The corner blackened and shriveled as the sheet took flame, causing an abrupt flare of heat and light. “Now, we will save our people.”