David was experiencing a lot of things, so many that he was starting to compartmentalize them into positives and negatives.
On the positives, he was in bed every night with Erin. Not always having sex, but he appreciated her company and felt like sleeping was less of a waste of time with how hectic his current life was. He’d also spent some time practicing with his attunement in his downtime, refreshing his skills and making sure he was as strong as he thought he was.
As it turned out, much to his surprise, the stress of his current predicament had given him a lot of deadly inspiration. He’d been underestimating himself in some regards, one of them being range. He’d even debated whether or not to reveal his own attunement to the public in order to dissuade attackers, but brushed off the idea rather quickly.
The negatives were simple. He was now under constant surveillance by his guard after the recent incident and had doubled the security at the castle. He was never going to be anywhere without some kind of security detail protecting him.
Erin was by his side at all times, since that was where she was the safest. Whatever the conspirators were trying to do, they intended for David to be alive for the foreseeable future until their plan could come to fruition.
If they wanted to get to her, they’d have to go through him. Several other allies of his Imperialos faction had been given a security detail as well for their own safety in case they were targets.
Another negative was the weight of the AM project on his shoulders. David wasn’t the one who proposed green lighting the project after the attack, but Erin. She’d also been the one to set all of the stipulations, to which David readily agreed. Solomon was a man both of them trusted, and made the guess that he wasn’t acting without reason.
Then there was the problem of Corith, and Elm Grayson. The last message he got from the soundline from Lieutenant Keagan sounded downright manic, never talking about Grayson and more about this North figure. Judging from all the information, North was one of two things.
He was Elm’s protege, a Corithian with a powerful attunement that could pick up where he left off and lead a competent insurgent group against Arlin. That one was closest to what Keagan was suggesting, at least from what David could tell.
Second, he was a sort of figurehead meant to appeal to the Corithian people while Grayson did the actual leadership.
Whatever he was, he was a problem that needed to be dealt with. Specifically, by another person who wasn’t trying to prevent a conspiracy from killing everyone they loved and cared for. David truly believed that if it weren’t for his current struggles, he would have destroyed the rebel group already.
David Arlin was a man of many talents, pulling his own sanity at the seams in so many disparate directions that he felt as though he were on the verge of tearing apart. And whether for good or ill, he wasn’t alone in that fact.
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As the morning sun began to peek through his bedroom’s windows, David marveled at Erin’s face resting on the pillow beside him. Her dirty blonde hair and petite face looked stunning in the soft light of an Arlinian morning. Much to David’s dismay, her body squirmed and convulsed in an unnatural manner.
She’s having another nightmare.
She’d been having them ever since the attack. She never talked about them, but the occasional whimpers of fear that she elicited every night were unmistakable. It tore at David’s heart to see her in distress. He wished he could suffer through her nightmares in her place, so at least she wouldn’t look uncomfortable everytime she closed her eyes to slumber.
He placed his hand over hers to stop it trembling and quietly sighed. Today was supposed to be a good day, something to be genuinely happy about. Yet no matter how much he tried to think positively, he still felt a pit in his stomach telling him that everything could fall apart at a moment’s notice.
Erin’s eyes shot open, filled with fear and confusion until she noticed David’s grip. His touch grounded her, helping her realize that David had never left her side and that the two of them were safe.
“It’s okay. We’re okay.” David reassured her, interlocking their fingers. Her panicked heartbeat would return to normal as the two simply laid in bed and held hands.
“I’m sorry.” Erin said meekly. David sighed again and ran his other hand through her hair.
“You have nothing to apologize for. I’m just as worried as you about the future.”
“I know you are. But I can’t kill people by pointing at them.” Erin responded.
It was something he didn’t think about often, but now that he had been practicing with his attunement once more, he could feel the power imbalance the two had. David treated Erin as an equal, but the divides that existed between them were stark.
“I point at the bad people, and you make sure I don’t get mauled by my political opponents. Wasn’t that the plan?”
Erin groaned at him and slowly sat up to stretch. David felt a bit better now that his idiotic statement had distracted her away from her nightmares. He slowly started to exit the bed, taking a quick peek beneath the frame to make sure it was empty. The habit wasn’t something he consciously decided to do, but now that it had started he couldn’t stop.
“Our plan, for now, is to get out of bed and put on our most regal attire. The new one. Can’t annex a country without looking good, can we?”
David chuckled and made his way to his closet, which was now filled with both of their clothes. She was correct, as usual, that they needed to look good today. After all, the eleventh campaign had just ended.
Hornel was now officially a part of Arlin.
----------------------------------------
To the people of Hornel, the eleventh campaign was an existential threat that endangered the soul and identity of the lands they called home. Arlin was an all consuming beast which had killed and eaten up their neighbors. It was more powerful than you could ever be and only grew stronger every single day.
War with Arlin was painful and bloody, always existing in tandem with the very simple question the Empire asked you the day it declared its campaign.
“What do you value more- your pride, or your life?”
The nation would declare pride, obviously, for it wanted to continue existing as it was. Arlin’s response was simply to force the nation through as much painful defeat as possible until they declared that they valued their lives.
The beast consumes you whole, and you become just another territory for Arlin to control.
To David, the eleventh campaign was simply the eleventh campaign. It was just another checked box off of the list of ‘nations to conquer to become Emperor of Sol’. Hornel’s culture and history didn’t matter to him, although he absolutely loved some of their food. They’d been cultivating a plant called a Pioco, a pink tinted cousin to Corith’s whitethorns, which made the best jam that David had ever tasted.
The jam wasn’t the important part. The important part was that Hornel was another step on the path towards unifying Sol. The refusal to give up on their national pride was a refusal to move into the future.
He couldn’t prevent it, he knew that. The only nation that had willingly given into Arlin had been Pluma, and only because it was allowed to become a piece of true Arlin. It was possibly one of the dumbest decisions the Third made, which was saying something. Now, Pluma’s corrupt oligarchy was a constant thorn in his side.
The final process of the annexation was simply him signing a paper which lined out the terms of surrender and the rights of the citizens. Hornel was a land of people who David believed could be integrated rather easily. Along with the proposal of surrender came an interesting proposal of government which he found value in trying.
The meeting was in the palace, specifically the Emperor’s war room. The public signing of a treaty would be done later in a large celebration held throughout all of Vyris.
After eating a quick breakfast with Erin, another thing he was happy about, he made his way through the long hallways of the palace. Erin was holding her notebook and packet of papers tightly to her chest like a shield.
The hallways of the castle had always felt large and extravagant, but now they felt suffocating. The extra presence of guard around them at all times certainly didn’t help that. It made them move a lot quicker than normal, ending up in the war room with Erin slightly out of breath.
The door opened, and those patiently awaiting their presence lit up like lamps.
On the table were three very important things to Arlinian diplomacy; documents, writing utensils, and food. Erin and David had eaten a lighter breakfast exactly for this reason, as they planned to snack over the discussion.
In the room sat David’s three major generals, all of whom had been essential in David’s last three campaigns. He had asked Solomon to come to the meeting to express David’s intent on using Hornel for research facilities, but he declined as he believed he needed to put his full focus on the AM project.
The fourth person was the emasculated queen of Hornel. David was wearing his full royal attire, the dense blood red mantle flowing down his shoulders and the crown shimmering in the sunlight. Meanwhile, Queen Laura Geben, standing there with her gray hair and sunken eyes that had long lost the will to fight. The palpable hatred behind her smile as David and Erin entered was but the embers of her pride.
“Good day, Emperor Arlin.”
“To you as well, Queen Geben. I’m sorry for the wait.” David apologized.
“It doesn't matter. Your generals are rather conversational, much to my surprise.”
The word she was dancing around was likely ‘braggart’, which he wouldn’t debate. The generals felt rather happy about this war, and the smug aura being emitted by the three of them was palpable.
“Well, now that we are here, you are open to eat. I find diplomacy is best done over food.” David said, picking up a mini sandwich off of the table. The food was a selection of small items, many of them originating from all over the empire. If he wanted to be extra petty, he would have included something with Pioco in it, but he felt the message wasn’t needed. Erin followed in his example and grabbed a sandwich and quickly finished it.
“I appreciate the gesture, but I don’t think I will.” The queen said, “I’d prefer to get the papers done as quickly as possible.”
The two of them sat down around the war table with the documents in front of them.
Fifteen pages, filled to the brim with Morathin, were all that stood between David and his prize. The queen was going to sign them, obviously, since she seemed to value her head.
Normally, the terms of surrender were around ten pages. This was different, because the Queen had proposed an odd experiment of sorts; in exchange for several concessions, including one that would allow for easy immigration into Hornel for Arlinian citizens, the Queen was to retain some control over her nation under the careful eye of a governor.
It would be, in a sense, a split government with one side from Arlin and the other from Hornel. The power would be heavily balanced towards the Arlinian side, and they would mostly treat the Queen as a figurehead, but she would retain some autonomy.
David had thought about this in the past, although the idea of ceding power to a subject was very much against Arlinian ideals. The governors of the territories varied across a spectrum in how they related to the lands that they were given. Most remained staunchly political, viewing the role as simply part of their service to Arlin, and not to the people of the territory. Bernard was the rare exception to this. Now that the Empire was spreading in such a large manner, delegation became a necessity to rule over these lands while maintaining unity.
“I presume you’ve already read over the terms.” David asked, taking a bite of his sandwich and pouring a cup of water from a nearby pitcher. He took an intentionally small sip and watched for the queen’s reaction. She took a quick glance at the pitcher and noticed an ornate silver cup specially chosen for her.
“I have. If I may be honest, I would have found the terms offensive if not for my circumstances.” She coyly remarked, returning her focus.
“Your proposal caught my attention. I rarely find leaders willing to compromise their own political power. It is, in my mind, a sign of humility.” David answered back. The queen smiled and grabbed the pitcher, pouring herself a glass. The two of them took a drink in unison, smiling the entire time.
“That tastes very pure. It’s far better than much of our well water.” The queen smirked. David had to stop himself from laughing at the extremely macabre joke. The generals next to him were struggling even more so.
“I believe we can fix that. Our researchers in Vyris have been revolutionizing technology in many fields, including water purification.”
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
“One of many things you are rapidly advancing in. If we’re to return to the treaty before us, you did say that you would likely be interested in putting facilities in some of our cities? Would you elaborate on what exactly that might entail?”
David’s smile faded as he took a quick glance at Erin, who was midway through a second sandwich.
“Yes, we did mention that. As you know, our systems of refinement for magore avoid using Arlinian citizens. We would rather use the labor of those who have harmed or wronged the empire. I presume there is something that you would like to change?”
“I would like to ask that you not use Hornel prisoners of war. Give them clemency.”
There it is.
“That is an ask that needs to be specified.” David narrowed his gaze.
“I ask that the prisoners of war from the war be returned to their families and be treated as regular territorial subjects. This would, of course, not apply to any future dissenters.”
“All of them?” David asked accusatively.
“I understand your need for the attuned, but my people need to rebuild. Both physically and mentally, if this new government is going to work. Surely you have enough to work in the magore mines in Hornel.”
“I would say that we have the numbers to do that. I would be willing to give freedom to the non-combatant attuned, but I will not give clemency to those who fought against us.”
“That contradicts your prior statement.” The queen noted, a bit of frustration peeking through the mask.
“It does not. In fact, we’ve prepared for this request. Erin, could you add the paper to the treaty?” David casually requested, and Erin pulled out a paper and slid it in the middle of the treaty.
“I would like to request that you explain yourself.”
David sighed and leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms like a disappointed parent.
“I didn’t believe one was necessary. You were a sovereign like myself, surely you understand the risks of such concessions. This may seem like a cruel action, but it is one necessary to express Arlin’s power. I cannot appear weak to the people of Sol, because it would put my empire at risk. Magore is also the lifeblood of Arlin, and although our mines and refineries are already well supplied, I expect our operations to expand over time.” David explained confidently, “I’m already putting my reputation at risk by giving your regular soldiers clemency.”
“The cruelty you’ve inflicted on my people isn’t enough? A third of the men in Hornel are dead or injured, and our infrastructure is in tatters.” She decried. David shook his head in disapproval.
“That was your fault. You had the chance at the start to embrace our rule, and your lands would be completely intact. Malice doesn’t motivate us. We only go to war because the rest of Sol refuses to embrace us willingly.” said David with Arlinian pride. His words were not his own, but the words passed down from his grandfather to him.
“Then what? We would have been like Pluma?” Queen Geben angrily asked.
David clicked his tongue and glanced off to the side. “No, you would not have. Pluma is only treated as an equal because of my predecessor’s foolish policy. Sadly, it is an action that I can no longer revert despite how much that nation revels in its depravity. Hornel would have been given preferential treatment and perhaps an exemption from the attuned tithe, but it would not be an immediate member of True Arlin. Truthfully, if you had proposed this system from the beginning of our war, I would have given you far more authority. Becoming a territory of Arlin doesn’t require warfare.”
“Is that really it? You expect nations to simply submit to your will?”
“I consider myself an optimist. Arlin never goes looking for war with the nations I choose to annex. We’re just really good at it.” David snarkily answered.
The queen scoffed, seemingly overwhelmed with David’s confidence.
“You could have signed this treaty without me, you know. You could have simply done the public ceremony and completely removed me from this process. Why do this?”
David raised up from the table to stand, looking down upon the queen in her shriveled, powerless form. All of the light in the room seemed to focus on him.
“I brought you here because I wanted to meet you. I wanted you to know that what you and your people are experiencing is far from the worst Arlin could do. The fact that you are allowed to stand in this room with me alive, and even to have the slightest bit of presence in your own government, is mercy. I could kill you this very second and raze your nation to the ground if I so desired, but I’m not going to because I am merciful.” David grinned, radiant and powerful. He stared deep into the queen’s fireless eyes. “I am giving you the chance to live and to see Sol’s future. And he is standing right in front of you.”
The generals and Erin stood in reverent silence. There was no response one could give to such a statement that would not make one sound either weak or disrespectful.
Queen Laura Geben gazed up at David, grabbed the pen, and signed every single page of the treaty.
“Thank you Queen Geben, for doing what is right for Hornel.” David said as he signed all the papers. He took another sip of water and headed to the door before the queen called out to him.
“Is it true that you wish to have Arlin control all of Sol?”
David turned back and gave one more prideful grin. “It is. I believe that only under Arlin’s rule will the world be able to prosper. Do you doubt my ability to do so?”
The queen exhaled and repositioned her dress, glancing at the generals that surrounded her.
“I used to. After meeting you, I believe my opinion has changed. Only a man like you, who would slaughter thousands upon thousands of men and call it mercy, could dominate all of Sol under one flag.”
“Is that meant to be a compliment?”
The queen shook her head dismissively, the first genuine smile he’d seen from her forming across her lips.
“No. It is very much an insult.”
“Then it is an insult that I will wear with pride.”
David and Erin closed the door to the war room, leaving the queen to sit and contemplate in the room where her downfall both began and ended.
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“That felt like a bit much.” Erin said as they slowly paced through the hallways.
David shrugged and repositioned his own mantle, as it was already becoming uncomfortable. The fancier his clothing got, often the more uncomfortable it would feel.
“She needed to understand her position. The fact that I gave her a seat at the table at all is beyond generous.” David said dismissively, He could understand the egos of Sovereign leaders, being one himself, but sometimes it still baffled him how much they expected from others even when they were being annexed.
“I don’t know. I think you get a bit into yourself once you start threatening. Saying you’ll raze Hornel to the ground? It’s a bit too unsubtle.”
“Arlin isn’t exactly known for being subtle. It might be a different type of government structure, but I doubt our diplomatic personality needs to change.”
“Or maybe you just love the sound of your own nationalism.”
“Or that. That’s also a possibility.”
David took a deep breath, letting out the tension that had built up in his shoulders. Transitioning from the ‘Indomitable Emperor of Arlin’ to ‘David Arlin’ took a moment. The air felt oddly static despite the fact that the tops of the massive windows on the hallway had been opened to let the air flow inside. He glanced out the window to check whether or not the flags that decorated much of the capital were still flowing, which they were.
He’d looked out these windows so many times before in the past, so much that the image of the city was burned into his mind. A brief and barely perceptible glint of reflecting glass stood out among the many rooftops.
His body began to react before his mind could as light began to form in his fingers. A thin string of powerful light exited from the tip of his middle finger. The light was so thin that it was nearly invisible to the human eye, but the power within it was still enough to singe the walls of the palace. He traced the line carefully over where he saw the glint, and watched as a corpse began to topple off of the rooftop and onto the city streets.
The air’s wrong. There’s more.
The guards around him were already readying themselves, some pulling out attunements or their own burners. David pulled Erin close and watched all of the guards around him arm themselves. One of the guards farther down the hall was lifting up his burner, but David could see his hand already pulling on the pole.
David strengthened the beam of light in his right hand, putting it in both his pointer and middle finger and firing again. He carved it across the man’s midsection diagonally. His body slid apart, his head and right arm sliding away from his left side and lower half. His hand let go of the pole and fired the burner directly into the floor. Erin was screaming at this point, but her voice still sounded off.
There’s one more that’s a wind attuned, but where?
David did a full scan around him, looking for any angles of attack as he continued to hold Erin close to his chest with his other hand. His eyes then darted upwards at the dark ceiling. With the light emitting from his fingers, he could make out the faintest outline of a human body. Dark eyes connected with his as the man dropped down to the floor and in front of David.
David began to step back, expecting the man to pull out a blade or burner as more light energy pooled into his hand. Instead, the man reached behind him and softly tossed an object in David’s direction.
His eyes recognized it almost immediately. It was a fruit sized metal ball that had been sectioned into square bits all over its body. The reason he recognized it was because it was an experimental weapon that hadn’t yet been given to the military.
It was a splinter bomb. A magore explosive that used the explosive reaction of refined and unrefined magore to blast its surroundings with shrapnel. And it was about to be used against Erin.
The world slowed as he turned to cover both himself and Erin with his mantle. Part of the reason why his most regal mantle was so uncomfortable was because it was also a form of armor. The inside of the lining was a dense fabric that was intended to protect against knives and blades. He couldn’t cover everything, but the mantle was large enough to cover the majority of both his and Erin’s skin.
The reaction occurred, and the splinter bomb shattered into hundreds of miniature blades that flew out in random directions. David immediately felt sharp pains in several parts of his back and his legs as the bomb exploded, the force of the explosion causing him and Erin to topple to the ground.
David’s ears were ringing as he tried to reorient himself. He slowly and painfully made his way upwards, lifting himself up with his arms. Erin stared up at him, eyes filled with terror and minor mana sickness.
“Are you hurt?”
Erin looked down, and David could see that a large piece of shrapnel had embedded itself above her left ankle, which was bleeding heavily. David was relieved that it was only a minor injury that she’d experienced, but he could tell that the danger wasn’t over.
“We’re going to stand up together, and it’s going to hurt.” David said. Erin nodded and clenched her teeth as he lifted her up from the ground. She screamed in pain as she had to move her injured leg, tears running down her cheeks. David’s back was pierced in several places, but none of the shards had entered it. There was only a single incision from a piece of metal which had pierced into his thigh, but not enough to impede him.
The guards around him were all dead, killed by the splinter bomb. He could hear running come down the hallway as two more men in guard uniform came with their burners already prepared to fire.
He could see beneath their helmets that their eyes had darted to Erin before David, which was enough. Before they could raise up their hands, David made a fast chop with another beam over their midsections where their burners were held and a second cut over their necks.
We need to get to a healer for Erin and away from the windows.
In a moment of quick thinking, David took off his mantle, shook off all the pieces of metal and wrapped it around Erin’s body. He lifted her up below her hips to carry her, having her lock her arms around his neck.
David began to painfully move through the halls until he felt a rumbling beneath him. The stone floor rattled and shook before crumbling under his feet, and the two of them started to fall to the floor below. The area beneath him was one of the many kitchens of the palace. The many cooks who were working inside littered the ground, with only three men standing alive under him. One of them was a stone attuned who was already building up a volley to launch at him, and two other attuned were ready with fire and ice.
David braced for a painful landing as his legs hit the ground, the piece of metal in his thigh hurting all the more. He looked up at the stone attuned, who was the clearest threat and also the closest to him. All of his volley was already beginning to target Erin. The man was too close for another beam to be useful and would only put Erin at risk.
David yelled out in pain and bolted forward towards the stone attuned who was shocked by the action. David’s free right hand straightened and became entirely enveloped in light as he raised it above the man’s skull before cleaving it downwards. The fast motion combined with the immense power melted through the flesh and split the man’s skull in two like a hot knife through butter.
He could feel the heat of the flames begin to grow as he wrenched his hand out of the man’s skull. He pulled Erin closer to his chest to cover her and ran over one of the many metal tables that were inside the kitchen to avoid the sudden blast of fire. As he landed onto the other side, he twisted his body around and launched another dense beam that covered the entire kitchen. It cleaved through the fire attuned man’s upper body and instantly killed him. The water attuned, now surrounded by ice, had ducked already to dodge the beam.
David kicked the table to flip it onto its side and crouched as the mage started to fire. One of them sliced through his left shoulder and narrowly missed Erin’s head before he was able to get to safety. The sound of shattering ice crashed throughout the room.
David placed Erin down behind the cover of the table once the volley ended and focused his light again, denser than before in his right hand. He stood up from behind his cover and felt a searing pain in his fingers.
The assassin had intentionally held back a blade in preparation for David’s retaliation, and had launched it directly at his hands. David watched in horror as his ring and middle finger were removed from his right hand and the mage dashed forward with one of the many knives from the kitchen.
Shock turned into pure rage as he relocated all of the energy from his right hand into his left. Through sheer will, he pushed through the pain in his left shoulder and slammed his palm directly on the forehead of the assailant. The flesh beneath his grasp melted and boiled as the man screamed. David only tightened his grip until he could feel his fingers melt through his skull and brain, and let his body topple to the ground.
Breathing heavily and standing through sheer force of will, David stood surrounded by the corpses of servants and foe alike. His focus wasn’t on himself, but on Erin. He painfully crouched down to check on her. She was barely conscious, but she was still breathing. The aura of immediate danger had disappeared enough for David to leave her for the moment.
He took steps over to where his fingers had landed on the floor. With his left hand, he placed both of them back on their respective stump. Searing energy filled the areas where they had been cut, and he could feel his own flesh start to melt and fuse. After a few excruciating seconds, the fingers were back where they belonged.
David felt the flow of mana throughout his system. Eventually, that flow of mana reached the reattached fingers. He took a deep breath, and then began to move the fingers he’d only cauterized mere moments ago as though they’d never been cut off in the first place.
He preferred to use these fingers for his attunement as someone who was right handed, so it was best that he keep them. Even if he didn’t reattach them, they might eventually grow back on their own.
Erin let out a whimper that caught David’s attention just as guards and staff burst through the door. Their eyes grew wide as they looked upon the Indomitable Emperor of Arlin, drenched in blood, only some of which was his own.
David immediately recognized the healer among them, a small woman in medical clothing.
“Sir, let me-” The healer began to move towards David.
“No!” David shouted. “Deal with her injuries first. I will be fine.”
“But sir-”
“NOW!” David screamed, and nearly all of the people in the room flinched. The healer complied and moved over to Erin as several other people brought in a stretcher to carry her to safety. David’s head was racing with thoughts now that the fight had died down, but one of them seemed most pertinent.
What the fuck is happening in Vyris?