Galizur left the same day, determined not to waste any time. Hazelmere, on the other hand, had no choice but to wait for three weeks to recover her energy fully. She wanted to go sooner, but both Mizette and Cybil would reprimand her as soon as she started talking about it, each in her own way. At least she was surrounded with books on all sides, which proved to be far more interesting than anyone hoped, even though nobody had any idea what was written inside. The lack of any understanding was compensated by the fact that there were plenty of disturbingly realistic paintings and magnificent sights to look at.
On the fifteenth day, Natle finally agreed that Hazelmere was ready for the trip. She wasted no time, bringing Vukasin and a small host of soldiers with her. It went as usual: as soon as she would reach the palace, the familiar, well-rounded guards-commander would greet her and take her to see the Emperor as soon as he was available. And, just like the last time, she was taken to the throne room. But, there was one huge difference this time.
The royal advisor, Rowena, wasn’t wearing simple clothes and a slave collar anymore. She was standing right next to the Emperor, dressed in a luxurious dress and decorated with all kinds of garments.
As Hazelmere approached, Rowena gave her a confident smirk. There was no hostility in it, only the pride that stems from one’s confidence in their abilities.
“Ahoy, royal archmage!” Rowena said in a loud, official voice, “What brings you here? Hopefully, you aren’t bringing us bad news?”
“It’s… it is nothing that poses an immediate danger, but it is bad news nevertheless.”
“Oh?” Rowena extended her arm, “Well, please, state your case to his majesty.”
Hazelmere bowed respectfully before she started.
“We have learned more about the demons on the other side. In a surprising gesture of goodwill, they have sent us their books. In those books, some of their forms are painted.”
“Oh?” Both Rowena’s face and voice acted exaggerated surprise.
“There was an angel in our camp who has helped us identify what kind of demons these are. He is confident these are the cubus demons.”
“And that changes the situation, how?”
Hazelmere noticed the Emperor hasn’t said a word so far. He was slumped in his throne, looking uninterested, as if he could fall asleep at any time.
Still, she knew it wasn’t her place to point anything out.
“The cubus demons are the most intelligent demonic race. While the other demons focus on strength, the cubus demons focus on knowledge and cunning. The gifts they have sent us are proof of it. We expected the demonic armies and instead got the demonic books …”
“What’s in those books?” Rowena interrupted her in the middle of the sentence.
“It’s… each book is different, and those books are written in a language we don’t understand.”
“Maybe someone with the knowledge of the demonic language could help?”
“Umm … are there people who know the demonic language? I have never heard of them.”
“The inquisition certainly has some. I bet knowing the demonic language comes in handy when dealing with their magic. Maybe they could help?”
“That would be much appreciated! If they could send someone, that would be a great help!”
“There’s no way they’ll agree to that. It’s too dangerous, which is why you’ll have to send all those demonic books to the palace.”
Hazelmere gave Rowena a perplexed look.
“But … but we are right in front of the demons! Surely, having some inquisitors with us would help us deal with them!”
“The purpose of the inquisition is not to fight on the front lines but to discover and fight the demonic corruption within the realm. Their skills would be wasted in your camp. Since we’re facing a possibility of the demonic invasion, their lives are too valuable to be put at risk.”
“Surely, the inquisition’s knowledge of the demons would help us understand them and their motives better!”
“Which is why you’ll send all the books you’ve received to the palace so that the experts can take a good look at them! Any useful information they find will be delivered to you as soon as possible.”
Hazelmere hesitated before agreeing: “Understood. I will send those books to you as soon as possible.”
“Excellent! Is there anything else you need?”
“Yes, there is one more matter to discuss.”
“Please, go on ahead!”
“There is an angel in our camp. He has been indispensable to me, offering good advice and unique insight when needed. He thinks that, considering what we have learned recently, the other races’ armies must join us as soon as possible. He argues that, since we are dealing with the cubus demons, they will try to divide the people of Greadinall, making their conquest easier. He thinks these demons may deceive us with tempting offers, which may trick us into fighting the other people for them.”
“But, isn’t that exactly what’s happening right now?” Rowena’s face became stern all of a sudden, “Isn’t that exactly what has been happening for several centuries now? Haven’t all the other races of Greadinall turned their backs on us, uniting against us in an unjust war?”
“But … this is different …”
“If that angel of yours can convince the heavens to send the angelic army to help, we’ll gladly accept it! We’ll accept them with open arms! However, if the angels refuse to help us, we can hardly consider them our friends, can we? If they prefer to hide on top of that mountain, while the fate of the world hangs in the balance, then how can we take them seriously? Tell that angel to either bring the angelic army with him or to get lost because, if they aren’t willing to help, then they clearly don’t have our best interests in mind. Isn’t that right, your majesty?”
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“Certainly,” there was no change in the Emperor’s expression at all.
“As for the other races,” Rowena continued, “do you honestly think it would be wise to let the armies of our enemies in? Do you really think they’ll just help us against the demons and then return peacefully?”
“But, as you have said, the fate of the world …”
“Are there any demonic armies approaching at the moment?”
“No.”
“Not only that, but you’ve just told us they’ve sent you books! Would you send books to the people you want to invade? Maybe the people on the other side aren’t as dangerous as we think? After all, they’ve shown no hostility towards us yet, isn’t that right?”
“But, we are talking about the demons here! They may be only doing it to trick us!”
“And what have the high-elves been doing all these centuries, if not indulging in trickery? Isn’t that how they’ve turned everyone else against us? Even if that’s true, and the people on the other side are trying to trick us, they’re still better than the high-elves! At least they’ve sent us some gifts. As for those gifts, the inquisition’s experts will study those books in detail and determine how much of a threat the other side really is.”
“But, the angel himself said …”
“Have the angels had any goodwill towards us, they’d have forced the peace in the entire Greadinall! They’d stop our enemies from attacking us! Alas, that’s not the case. Not only that, they haven’t done a thing to help us! They talk and talk, demanding that we do as they will, while making no demands whatsoever from our enemies! I’ll consider what that angel of yours has to say once his side starts showing it’s willing to negotiate, instead of making one-sided demands! As far as we know, he may be sent to your camp to sabotage us! Tell him that, unless his side changes its attitude, he isn’t welcome in the Empire! There’s no way we can consider those who have sided with our enemies to be our friends! Tell him to fly off, back to the heavens, and not to return until the angels force the peace all over the continent! Then, we may consider letting the other races in, as long as the heavens have some good guarantees to offer.”
“Why are you so …”
Suddenly, Hazelmere stopped talking and focused on thinking. Rowena, for her part, said nothing. She waited for Hazelmere to compose her thoughts coherently, with the nose high up and a stern, almost reprimanding, look on her face. She looked at Hazelmere in the same way a teacher looks at those students who are obviously out of their depth.
The Emperor did nothing but look at Hazelmere with bored, tired eyes.
“What has happened at the summit?” Hazelmere finally asked.
“What summit?”
“There was a summit to which all the rulers of Greadinall have been summoned. The angel told me about it. What has happened there to make you so … irritated?”
“Oh, that summit. Who cares? Nothing would happen there beside them plotting against our Emperor.”
“Wha … excuse me for asking such an obvious question, but have you participated in the summit, your majesty?”
“No, and why would I?” The Emperor responded, “I’m not a fool to jump into their trap.”
“Trap?”
Rowena cleared her throat: “It’s so convenient for our enemies to hold such a summit in the high-elven lands, where they can do as they please. It was clearly a trap, designed to lure his majesty in, imprison him there, and then carve up the Empire the way they see fit. They’d then claim they did it to protect all of Greadinall, presenting themselves as the heroes. How can we trust them when they’ve started a new offensive as soon as they’ve heard about the portal opening?”
“But … clearly, we must all work together! Certainly, a unified Greadinall has much better chances of fighting off these demons than a divided one! Yes, they didn’t attack us yet, and they have sent us gifts, but the negotiations can go sour at any time! We have had that happen before, with the people who are much closer to us than these demons! Therefore, we can’t write the possibility of demonic invasion yet!”
“As I’ve already said, if the heavens force the peace, we will welcome the other races. But, they’ll have to come here to negotiate! The high-elves have fooled us too many times! It’s their own fault for making the other races mistrustful of them! Their deplorable actions have made the other races question their honor and their promises! Therefore, if they want to negotiate, they have to come to us because we have no intention of going to them, just to be fooled once again!”
Hazelmere hanged her head low.
“I see … you are right to be mistrustful of the high-elves.”
“Meanwhile, the angels do nothing! Not only that, but everything suggests they’ve sided with the high-elves once again! That’s why we can’t trust them either!”
Hazelmere raised her head, looking at Rowena with conviction: “But, surely, the heavens …”
“Then why do they refuse to force the peace? Both ours and hosagian forces are getting weaker with each passing day, losing soldiers to each other instead of fighting the real enemy! How will the ongoing conflict between our realms help us fight the demons? The angels are perfectly fine with that, which is why we can’t trust them anymore. And you shouldn’t either!”
“There has to be some explanation! Maybe they need time to force peace? Maybe they have been trying to do it the whole time while the other races, the elves for sure, are doing their best to sabotage their efforts?”
“If that’s the case, they didn’t even bother to let us know. So far, we’ve received nothing from them but one ultimatum after the other. That’s why I want you to give them an ultimatum in return, to the angel in your camp. Tell him to either bring the angelic army with him or to get lost! Considering the complete lack of goodwill on their part in these uncertain, critical times, the angels aren’t welcome in the Empire! If they become reasonable again, we’ll gladly accept them back. But they haven’t done a single thing for us so far! They did nothing to make us think they are our friends and have done everything to prove they’ve sided with our enemies!”
“But, Galizur has been indispensable to me! He even risked his own life to save mine!”
“A person at your station should be motivated by reason, not emotions!”
“What I am saying is that, considering he has risked his own life to help the timkik royal mage, we can hardly consider him to be our enemy!”
“Hmm …” for once, Rowena made a pause in her rhetoric, “perhaps some angels disagree with what the heavens have been doing. They’re supposed to be just and reasonable creatures, so I bet a lot of them realize that the direction the things are going isn’t right. Still, we can’t write off the possibility that he’s an agent sent to spy on us, or to sabotage us even. Having the people who refuse to side with us near the portal is asking for trouble, even if they’ve shown us goodwill. Until the heavens themselves prove they are on our side, we can’t trust the angels. Not a single one of them! Because, while they are just, they are also zealously obedient to the heavens, and they’ll do whatever the heavens want, even if they disagree with it. Which is why I want you to kick that angel out of your camp!”
Rowena cleared her throat all of a sudden: “I apologize, your majesty. I meant, we want him out.”
The Emperor nodded his head slowly: “That’s granted.”
“Have I understood you right? Are you really telling me we can’t trust the heavens?” Hazelmere’s tail rose in alarm.
“What have they done to earn our trust?”
“Well … we are talking about the heavens here!”
“Whose side are you on, Hazelmere?”
“Wha … what do you mean?”
“Are you on the side of the Empire or the side of its enemies?”
“I’m… I just want to stop the demons from murdering us all!”
“Then you’d do well to listen to his majesty’s orders because, what the heavens are doing right now, or rather what they aren’t doing, is only weakening the Empire! And only the Empire is strong enough to stop a demonic invasion! But we can’t stop it if we do as the high-elves demand and submit to their will. And make no mistake: they are the ones in charge, not the heavens! For some reason, the heavens have sided with them and won’t explain why! This’s why, to stop the demonic invasion, we have no choice but to do things on our own! Is that clear?”
Hazelmere lost the plot somewhere in the middle.
“I … I guess I don’t see the bigger picture.”
A satisfied grimace appeared on Rowena’s face: “I’m glad you understand. Clearly, you’re the royal archmage for a very good reason.”
“Yes … that’s for sure … well, ok … I have nothing else to report.”
“Good. In that case, you’re dismissed.”