Jack watched from the crowd as B'arthon got up to speak. S'haar was close behind the noble, ready to "deal with any complications," which was really just a polite way of her telling the noble he'd better not try anything stupid. Judging by how close she kept her hand to the hilt of one of her swords, she'd meant it too.

B'arthon looked over the crowd. Those closest to the stage were mostly the warriors he'd brought into the mountains, but they were watched closely by almost as many armed guards and hunters. Given the blood oaths sworn, it was unlikely they'd try anything, but S'haar had insisted they be extra cautious.

Finally, after a moment of gathering himself, B'arthon began his final speech. "I am Lord B'arthon, the taken son of A'ngles and, upon his death, inheritor of his empire, which we lost in the battle of a few days ago. That much many of you know or surmised, but none of you likely know, is that in my youth, I was a slave."

That quieted everyone down and grabbed their attention. It was well known that B'arthon had been chosen by A'ngles to be his successor, but the part about A'ngles' death was definitely new information, even if it wasn't surprising. Not to mention their curiosity about where the noble was going in talking about his past as a slave. Taking advantage of the silence, B'arthon continued. "I learned a lot in those early days. I learned the strong survive and the weak are prey. I learned the strength of the mind can be greater than the strength of tooth and claw. Then, when the guard of my new village saved me, I learned that properly unified people can stand up to and overcome even the greatest of threats."

Nothing he'd said was particularly surprising to anyone who'd listened, but they eagerly awaited more. Perhaps it was the glimpse into the past of a noble that had them so enthralled, or maybe it was their uncertainty of the future, but the crowd was utterly silent and waiting for more. "Then, when I met Lord A'ngles for the first time, I met someone who'd learned all the same lessons as me. Those lessons united the two of us and drove us together toward a new and ambitious goal the likes of which this land had never seen. We sought nothing less than a unity of people that extended beyond the borders of any village. And for a brief time, we succeeded!"

There was a little grumbling, but most still listened intently as he spoke. "While not all villages joined willingly, the benefits of a united people should be plain for all to see. When they accepted our rule, the villages by the southern waters had been undergoing a food shortage due to storms wreaking havoc on their farms and herds but were easily saved by the abundance of the villages in the north! One village had even had its population decimated by the terror of a mated pair of wolgen stalking the forest around its borders, but with the aid of the argu'n of nearby villages, they were quickly restored and thriving again. We first united into villages to overcome the weaknesses of individual tribes and families, but even a village can be brought low by the whims and ferocity of nature. No strength of arms can prevent drought, storms, or freezes, but with the power of many villages united in a common purpose, we can finally fight back! No longer will a single bad storm, a poorly timed raid, or even a mated pair of wolgen endanger a village to a poorly timed deep freeze!"

Now there were numerous nodding heads. While A'ngles' empire hadn't lasted long, it had evidently impacted many who witnessed it. The noble held up one claw. "But there is one catch. This new civilization can only work if the best and brightest among us rule. Squandering the food, people, and resources of villages to aid themselves the way many nobles and warlords have done to those they rule will only lead to unrest and division, and as proved here not long ago, even the greatest strength of arms can be overcome."

Now the mumbling was audible. For all they'd achieved, B'arthon and A'ngles had lost to a much smaller and less united army. What did that say about the strength of unity he so loudly professed? "Lord Angles and I were so sure that we were the best to rule this new empire that we bet our power, our lives, and our very life's work to that end, and we lost."

Nodding in acknowledgment to S'haar behind him, B'arthon continued. "Lady S'haar and Lord Jack, who many of you have heard of even before this war, overcame everything we had with a small group of loyal followers and a precarious alliance led by their untired might, mind, and compassion, something I believed to be a weakness, until now. A final lesson I learned too late. Now I believe that if anyone can succeed where A'ngles and I failed, it is those two. To that end, I use my authority as ruler of the empire to raise S'haar and her partner Jack to the rank of full nobility and name them my successors."

There was a sudden outbreak of murmuring. While it was natural for a conqueror to assume control of the conquered, it was usually done begrudgingly at best. Often times the previous ruling family was done away with altogether. Then, there was the unprecedented complexity of the many villages, leaving no one certain how things would unfold. But for the conquered voluntarily to take the conquerer into their line of succession like this was unheard of.

B'arthon raised his hands again to establish some semblance of quiet as he continued. "But one truth remains. Blood calls for blood, and with all the blood spilled on this ground, a price must be paid. Having named my successors, I now abdicate my rule and voluntarily go to pay the price of my aggression so that the villages may be spared the worst of the wrath of the victors."

At that, a surprising amount of shouting broke out, but B'arthon did not reply. He merely turned and walked away, followed closely by a rather conflicted-looking S'haar.

-

After Jack's collapse a day ago, Em'brel had completely taken over the treatment of the injured warriors. Jack was back up and about, available for emergencies, of which there were far too many, and did the occasional inspection, but for the most part, it was simply easier for Em'brel to speak directly to the various healers of the different tribes rather than just act as a translator. At first, many had resisted answering to such a young female. Still, it quickly became apparent that even though Jack and Em'brel focused their attention on the most grievously wounded warriors, many of who the other healers had deemed unsavable, they had a much higher success rate in stabilizing and healing their patients, many of whom were now walking about helping to tend to other wounded warriors.

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Still, the long days and nights were wearing on the young argu'n. However, at least Em'brel had her meals at night to look forward to. As befitted her new station, S'haar had taken over A'ngles' tent. It was thick and spacious enough to give their little family a decidedly familiar comfort in the middle of this tragedy, with Jack, S'haar, Em'brel, Sare'en, To'brel, and even Lon'thul meeting every night to relax among friends and family, though one person was noticeably absent.

Em'brel noticed Jack in his usual corner as she walked into the tent, sorting through Angela's remains. Apparently, Em'brel was the first to arrive other than the human, so she crouched next to Jack, trying not to stare too long at the damaged remains of her friend's metal face. "So what are you going to do with Angela's shell? I don't know if a funeral pyre would work well with..." The younger female petered off, unsure how to keep going with that thought.

Jack only shook his head. "It's not all that simple, really. Death for an AI is very different than death for you and me. There might very well be remnants of her still on some undamaged hard drive, but I can't say how much, if any, is left without access to tools and equipment from my people. Right now, I'm just trying to make sure everything that might possibly contain even the least trace of her is stored carefully to prevent any further degradation..."

Em'brel furrowed her brow, not fully understanding what Jack was saying. It was almost as esoteric as one of Angela's lessons when the AI would get off topic and talk about things too far beyond Em'brel's ability to grasp. "So...you're saying you might be able to save her?"

Jack shrugged. "With enough time, luck, and resources, maybe. But even if I do, she won't be the same as the person you knew. At best, she'll have lost vast amounts of her memory, she may even be a fundamentally different person like Vox'thon, or maybe she'll only be an echo of herself, not really an AI, but rather just a collection of memories, unable to really think for any longer. It's impossible to say, but it's something I have to try, even if it takes me the rest of my life..."

Grim walking into the tent was the unofficial announcement of Sare'en, who came walking in after the wolgen, carrying a large pot of what smelled like a stew. The herder girl was followed by Kunes and Kunshee, the two females rarely leaving her side in the aftermath of the battle. She looked over her two friends, crouching over Angela's remains. "Oh, um, am I interrupting? I can come back in a bit..."

Em'brel stood up and shook her head while wiping any dust off her hands onto her pants. "No, I think we're okay at the moment, and beside's S'haar gave us strict instructions that we weren't allowed to let Jack work himself half to death again!"

S'haar was not far behind, and her voice only slightly preceded her into the tent. "And I meant it too." As she walked in, the warrior woman, now lord of the empire, fixed the human with a glare that would have cowed lesser warriors on the battlefield. "If you don't take at least two meal breaks a day and get at least six hours of sleep a night, I'll tie you to your bed and force-feed you between naps!"

Jack stood up, smiling for once, even if it looked exhausted and a little pained, and holding up his hands in surrender. "No, no, you win! I'm doing...better. I won't work myself into that state again, I promise."

S'haar nodded, and her scowl faded into a more affectionate, if still somewhat concerned, smile as she did so. "See that you don't!"

The three wolgen made the tent seem considerably smaller, but they'd learned to situate themselves around the outside, forming an almost protective barrier around their pack, leaving just enough room for the argu'n and human to sit around the fire. The poor murder puppies were all in various stages of healing. Grim had shouldered the brunt of the damage, so now he mainly rested and ate unless he was padding after Sare'en or Jack. Kunes and Kunshee were starting to get a little of their rambunctious energy back, but whenever they got too restless, a loud "whuff" from grim was all it took to settle them back down again. All three looked up eagerly when Lon'thul walked in, carrying the better part of a churlish. "Heya all! I hope I didn't make you all wait too long!" He tossed pieces of his kill to the eager wolgen, who wolfed down their meals as he spoke.

He had his signature grin fixed in place, though Em'brel noticed his usual exuberance was slightly muted compared to his normal self, as it had been ever since he came back empty-handed from that long hunt a few days ago. She suspected something had happened in the forest, but the hunter wasn't telling anyone, and she wouldn't pry if he wasn't ready to talk about it. Instead, he quipped, "So when are they deciding B'arthon's fate?"

The hunter had apparently been friends with the noble, as much as B'arthon was capable of being anyone's friend, so it was a little odd that he was being so casual about B'arthon's imminent execution, but when Em'brel had asked about it a while ago Lon'thul had merely shrugged and answered, "He chose his path, and I chose mine. It could have easily ended in either of our deaths. I'm not necessarily happy about it, but ol' B'arthon seems surprisingly at peace with this end, so who am I to argue!"

S'haar simply nodded to Lon'thul but turned her attention back to Jack as she spoke. "The chiefs have agreed. He'll be put to death tomorrow. Originally, they'd planned on a rather nasty execution, but his honorable behavior at the end has earned him at least a rather clean beheading. As the alliance's leader, they decided I should get the, ahem, 'honor' of performing the execution. Although, before that, he said he wanted to speak with Jack one last time."

Jack looked confused. "Again? What else could he have to say?"

S'haar shrugged. "No idea. As usual, B'arthon is playing his games and keeping his secrets. He just seemed to think it was important."

But before anyone could respond, To'brel walked in, looking for a place on a bench next to the tightly packed group of friends. "Sorry, I'm late. We've been sorting what supplies will go with what tribes as they're preparing to leave. Having combined everything out of necessity, it's a nightmare to redevide it back up!"

Em'brel merely smiled as she and Sare'en scooted closer together to give the young noble some room as she spoke. "No worries! Get in here!"

As they sat down to a meal by firelight, with Lon'thul occasionally "sneaking" morsels to the three wolgen, occasionally by tossing the meat over protesting heads, the evening passed into night, reminding Em'brel of more peaceful times long past in Jack's ship.