The next few days things were quiet for a change, without any weird or complicated situations occurring. Vuthe used that opportunity to spend a lot of time with her sister, talking about the things that changed and the political situation. While Scarlet wanted to give her sister some time to relax, Vuthe couldn’t stop herself from worrying about her people.
Castaphiel and Corellanium talked a lot with Blake and their parents, pretty much using every bit of free time for family. When Castaphiel introduced Calagrophy his parents were a little shocked and didn’t really know how to react, especially since they also met their two grandchildren, Zwers and Sheer. Both were around four hundred years old, so youngsters in dragon terms.
It was probably the weirdest family reunion, or rather family meeting, that probably ever happened. And while his father had some issues accepting all of it, his mother was quick to dote on the two Dragons, as much as she could over the magical phone connection.
Two days after the first meeting between Vuthe and Scarlet the Paranormal Council finally showed itself, sending a messenger with some bureaucratic things to discuss, such as paperwork to clarify the rules and regulations, as well as territory claims and similar issues.
The Government, Vuthe learned, actually had no say in such matters, with the Paranormal Council entirely in charge of such matters to enable equal opportunities worldwide, considering that there were a lot of demi-humans who were by nature extremely territorial. It was a big relief, especially since the same day the government Liaison arrived and immediately made things more difficult. It was actually so bad that Scarlet used her influence to get the annoying man replaced with someone else, who was supposed to arrive the day after.
With the Territory settled, Vuthe and her group had a claim to the Industrial district in its entirety, in addition to a small portion of the forest to the south, Vuthe went ahead and immediately informed her people of the new changes.
The most interesting aspect of the rules they had been told was how Territory was managed. Anyone who entered another group’s territory without permission was liable to be captured, but not harmed or killed. Often groups set up trades to exchange permissions to enter the respective territory, all of which could and often would be discussed with the Paranormal Council as the middleman.
Vuthe made sure they understood the rules and gave each of them chances to ask questions over the upcoming days to quell all troubles. It was things like this, her open ear to everyone no matter the race, age, or gender, that had been part of the driving force behind her people‘s loyalties.
Vuthe and her friends decided to talk about the use of their new territory in the upcoming days. While the government had no say in the matter of territory distribution, things like building permits and such still had to be discussed with them, mainly since they would still work within the German economy.
The next day the government liaison finally arrived in a luxury sedan that looked entirely out of place in this environment. Vuthe and Tizanta stood at the gate of the, by this point rather impressive-looking, encampment to welcome this newcomer.
Truth be told, Vuthe didn’t have high hopes from the car alone, biases did die hard, so she was pleasantly surprised that the woman who stepped out looked professional and without the never-wavering sneer most politicians, she had the displeasure to run into, wore.
The woman had professional beauty, but only to the extent to be pleasant and not overdone. She carried herself with dignity, but in no way alluringly. From her first impression, Vuthe figured she had perfected the art of being formally polite and pleasant, without inviting any untoward actions. A feat that could, if performed properly, be a huge boon on neutral negotiation grounds in which you want to look both amenable, yet also capable.
Walking up to the group the woman stopped three steps away and gave a small bow, „Greetings your Majesty. My name is Chell Bartner. I have been assigned as the replacement for the rude gentleman assigned to you earlier. You have my deepest apologies for his behavior and assignment, there appears to have been an error in the logs.“
Vuthe knew all of it was bullshit, of course. They had sent him deliberately trying to get a reaction out of her, but it backfired badly for them. However this Chell Bartner seemed much more pleasant to talk to, even if she could feel the ulterior motives floating around the woman‘s aura. It was of no matter to her, however, since, as she had learned a few days ago, she held all the cards.
„It is a pleasure meeting you, Miss Bartner. I accept your apologies and consider the matter dealt with. Would you like to take a rest before our discussions or do you prefer getting straight to the point?“, Vuthe asked in the dignified voice of a benevolent monarch.
The woman looked straight into her eyes, which could be considered rude in Satien politics. However, Vuthe could see in her amber irises that it was not meant to offend, but to show respect by not diverting one‘s gaze. „If it is not too much trouble for you, I would like to proceed with discussions immediately. We have been keeping you waiting for long enough, and I would not allow myself to keep you waiting even longer.“
This was a very clever response in Vuthes‘s mind. She had admitted to a fault and immediately followed it up with an offer that would be rude to decline. That way neither of them would have time to prepare further without seeming rude. Should Vuthe and her friends not have already finished their preparations, they would either need to resort to being rude or forgo any further preparations.
From the corner of her eyes, Vuthe could see Tizanta’s face showing a predatory smile. Despite being the Queen in name, Tizanta was the one who handled the political battlefield. And Vuthe knew that her girlfriend thrived when she had a challenging opponent. Vuthe gave Chell a kind smile, „By all means, I am more than happy to start immediately. If you would follow us we can retire to our Council accommodations.“
Perspective: Chell Bertner
Chell wasn’t really sure what she expected from this Dragon Queen. She had been briefed as thoroughly as possible about everything they knew about her, including the tale of the Outworlder that depicted her as the Mad Queen, a genocidal mass murderer who had butchered millions of people.
So, she was quite surprised by the amenable appearance of the girl in front of her. She hadn’t expected someone who looked to be around fifteen years old to have such an air of majesty and age about them. Although she did suppose it made sense when she considered that she had supposedly been in the other world for three thousand years.
However, all these good first impressions vanished when she saw the predatory smile on the woman with the night sky dress, displaying all her considerably sharp teeth. It appeared that this girl wasn’t the one to handle these kinds of situations. And the woman next to her knew exactly how to play the game and would rip Chell out of all her live savings if given the chance. Chell had worked in this field long enough to understand when someone was competent, and this woman was far more than that. Beautiful enough to be distracting, yet cunning enough to exploit her opponent. She was a political Apex predator.
Chell already knew this was going to be hard.
They wandered through the camp to a small and unassuming tent. Vuthe explained to her in passing how the camp worked in general terms and apologized for the lack of luxurious accommodations. Chell was quite curious about the Queen‘s claim to keep all her charges on the same level, without any preferential treatment, including herself.
She had worked with multiple high-standing people and monarchs over the years, and all of them were incredibly obnoxious and selfish. However, so far she couldn’t see anything that would contradict her statement.
That was another thing she found curious. People in power often lied through their teeth, it was second nature to them. But this time she had the feeling that the person she was talking to was genuine with everything she said.
They arrived at the tent which had been prepared for their meeting. Inside was a simple sofa next to a low table, as well as free space on the opposite side which left her kind of confused.
„Please, be seated“, Vuthe said with a wave to the sofa, before she made to sit down in the open space in front of the table. To Chell’s shock a throne made out of pure blackness appeared under her, just as she sat on it.
Hiding her surprise, she had been doing this job for long enough to be able to control her facial features, after all, she sat down, „Thank you. I must say that is one impressive magic trick“, she said with a smile, waving at the throne.
Vuthe gave her a pleasant smile, „It is, isn’t it? In a position such as mine, you learn the little things to leave lasting impressions. Although, it would be amiss for me to take credit for this myself.“ She waved at the woman in the night sky dress, „This here is Tizanta isk Thesekar. She is the one most apt in the political scene, and the one who came up with a lot of the little tricks I used in my position as the Queen of Thelvadore. She will also be the one to handle this negotiation, as she has a much better understanding of the current political and geopolitical climate on Earth.“
That much was expected at least, considering the way the woman had held herself so far. Chell guessed that she was the one to pull the strings from the background, with Vuthe being the symbolic leader. Something that was rather common with monarchs, if often not known by them.
„It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance“, Chell told Tizanta with a polite smile, which Tizanta returned in kind. Chell could see a hint of the predatory grin in it, however, and it didn’t bode well.
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„Likewise. I was curious to see whom the government would send for these negotiations. It should be no surprise, but that anticipation left me quite disappointed with your predecessor. But considering that my Queen has already forgiven your superiors for that slight, I shall not take that into account with the current proceedings. However I am quite happy to see that you carry yourself with much more dignity and professionalism,“ Tizanta said as she too settled down, with a much more alluring graze, a much smaller chair forming beneath her, this one translucent, looking almost like it didn’t even exist.
„I thank you for your kind words. Rest assured, I will most definitely not repeat his foolish mistakes. That being said, where would you like to start? As I am sure, you were already informed about the rules and regulations concerning the magical world, but you have yet to comment on how you would like to handle your return. We can reinstate your legal identities if you so wish, however, we did notice that you prefer to use your new identities. As a personal sidenote, I would very much like to know why that is if you don’t mind explaining it to me.“
Vuthe settled herself more comfortably on her throne, „Personally I have no intentions to return to my previous life, in either name or status. While it would be easier in legal situations, I much prefer to keep the status quo.“
„I agree with my queen“, Tizanta added, „I have long since accepted my fate and I do not intend to change that now“, she said with a small nod.
After a moment‘s pause Vuthe spoke again, „As to your personal interest. That is a personal preference that I find hard to describe. We all experienced a lot over there, and I’m sure we all agree that it changed us in pretty much every way possible.“
„And far more“, Tizanta added with a small smirk, „Personally I believe it is impossible to convey our feelings on the matter, as it is something one must experience by themselves.“
Chell wanted to ask further, but she had heard the undertone in Tizanta’s voice, a tone that said that this matter needed no further discussions. Despite her confidence in her own capabilities, the last thing she wanted was to offend beings powerful enough to ruin nations.
„Thank you“, she said, therefore, continuing with the next item on her list, „It should be of no surprise that the different parties have differing opinions regarding your presence. I have been tasked to ascertain your goals and motivations. I will be frank with you, Your Majesty, there are a lot of people who are uneasy, considering what we know of this world you visited and the Outworlder that arrived here to warn us.“
As she spoke Chell watched both of them closely, looking for a reaction. It surprised her how openly Vuthe sighed as if it was of no consequence that Chell could easily read her mood. However, it was Tizanta who spoke to answer.
„Our current goal is relatively simple. We want some time for our people and ourselves to relax and leave behind the battlefield we have been on for so long. While we aren’t happy with the totalitarian approach the majority of current governments have taken, displeasure I would like to be known I might add, we have no intentions of starting a new war or some such. Should we decide to act we will limit ourselves to political or economical approaches. The last thing on our to-do list is to continue fighting, both to limit inevitable collateral damage and the mental well-being of our people.“
While she did smile as she spoke, Chell could clearly see the seriousness in Tizanta’s night sky eyes. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t shocked by the straightforwardness the woman showed.
Uncertainly Chell spoke, careful not to offend or to agitate them, „Might I point out that this particular statement won’t win you any friends? I am sure that a lot of people won’t be too happy about what you have said.“
„Good“, Tizanta said, which surprised Chell even more, „We draconics don’t do things by half measures, and we are honest to a fault. I much rather you note that we are not happy with the status quo, to avoid any unnecessary scheming and discussions. We are open to negotiating and hearing your side of the story, as we are too limited in our knowledge to form an informed opinion, but we do have our opinions. If there is a good reason as to the way you reformed the governmental structure, we are willing to listen and perhaps change our views, but as it is right now this feels too close to the slavery-driven authoritarian structure widely popular on Satien. And I do not need to tell you how we viewed that, now do I?“
To say Chell was shocked by the sheer forwardness of Tizanta’s words would be an understatement. She was used to political scheming being done with sugared words and flowery language. It was shocking and somewhat refreshing to have someone just straight up voice their view of the world without any consideration as to how the party would view that statement.
After a moment of silence, Chell smiled faintly, „I must admit, it is refreshing not to have to listen to overly sweetened words to convey an opinion. However, I’m afraid that you make your own situation much worse with this blatant hostility. While we of course had to deal with rather biased races before, you set a new benchmark in that regard.“
To her mild surprise it was Vuthe who chuckled and spoke, „Miss Bertner, we draconics see the world in a different manner. Useless squabbling that leads to misunderstandings is not desirable. To us, a statement of this sort is not a hostile move, but rather an honest approach to make sure both parties understand the current situation to make it easier to find a solution to the differences in opinion. When Tizanta said that we are honest to a fault, she meant it. She in particular is unable to lie, as Serpents value honesty above all else. Dragons are a little more lenient, but the worst thing a dragon would do is omit the truth, not speak a statement they do not mean. If you would be negotiating with Hydras you should be careful, alas none of the leading positions are filled by Hydras for that very reason. To keep a Kingdom running smoothly, with no chance of corruption infesting your ranks, you must be vigilant. And in our case, this vigilance is shown in full transparency and complete honesty, even if that means antagonizing someone. This way our people always know where the wind blows and must not live in uncertainty and fear. It is unconventional, I agree, but it works.“
Listening to the Dragon Queen‘s words and recalling their conversation predating this meeting, Chell got a new appreciation for how they dealt with their people. Again, she did not detect any lies or ill will in the two women in front of her. While she would not deal with anyone in such a way, she had to admit that it made it very easy for her to understand the baseline situation and see the possible outcomes quite easily.
„I see. Thank you for the explanation“, she said with a small nod, „Now then, with that being said, how should we continue? Is there any way you can assure us that you mean it when you said you do not want war, or is there any gesture of cooperation you would like to see from us? Understand, while I am here to negotiate I do not have completely free reign in what I can do or promise.“
Vuthe and Tizanta exchanged a few sentences in a language Chell had never heard before. It could be considered rude, however, she doubted that was the intention. It seemed draconic politics were quite different from human ones and in all honestly, the more she spoke to the two of them the more she warmed up to them. That isn’t to say that all her doubts and uncertainties vanished, but she got a better understanding of them and how best to deal with them.
Even if these negotiations led to nothing, she still learned a lot about how these people dealt with issues, which could prove very valuable in the future.
A moment later Tizanta spoke, „We are willing to offer a little bit of knowledge as assurance that we do not mean to start an open conflict. For the time being, we will limit this knowledge, however, until we can have a more detailed understanding of the governmental body. You must understand that we know a lot that could prove disastrous on a global scale.“
That was no surprise to Chell, considering what these people were. She had no idea what knowledge, in particular, they had but considering what they learned from the Outworlder they should have a vast amount of knowledge regarding magic.
However, she was interrupted in her thoughts when Vuthe continued, „As for what we would like to see as assurance on your end…“, she said, her face losing a bit of her friendliness, „We want the noble from Satien delivered to us.“
That did confuse Chell for a moment, not entirely sure why they would demand that. The Outworlder was being held in confinement for the time being, as there were a lot of questions raised once he appeared, and he had taught them a lot when it came to magic.
„I… am unsure if that falls under my authority“, Chell said carefully, watching them closely for a reaction once more, „Matters regarding the Outworlder are handled very closely by the upper echelons of the Government.“
„This isn’t up to discussion“, Tizanta added, her expression turning more serious as well, „If you want to negotiate with us we want him right here in this camp“, she said with a stern voice.
Chell sighed inwardly, this entire conversation just turned a lot more complicated. „I understand. Once I return this will be the first thing I will inquire about. For the moment I cannot in good faith promise anything“, she said, shaking her head slightly.
The Dragon Queen nodded once, „That is acceptable. We will meet again once that matter is settled.“
It was a dismissal, as expected. However, Chell Bertner decided to do something of her own, after weighing her options and the current situation. She didn’t like to admit it, but she would love to win their support in the future, as she felt that these people could prove quite important in the long term, regardless of how things went from here.
„Of course, Your Majesty. There is one last thing I would like to talk about, however, not in my position as government contact. I would like to do you a small personal favor, a warning of sorts“, she said as the three of them got up.
Vuthe raised an eyebrow, making even that gesture look majestic, „Oh? And what warning would that be?“, she asked.
„You see, I deal with a lot of different people from all walks of life, which is why I hear a lot of rumors but also opinions“, Chell gave the Queen a small smile, „I just thought that it would be good for you to know how the Church views your return. I expect a lot of issues in the future, they are much more hostile than even the most conservative parties in the government.“
There was a moment of silence, then both women started chuckling, bordering dangerously close on a full belly laugh. Chell was surprised by that reaction, having not expected that whatsoever. She wasn’t sure if this was a good sign or if she should be offended.
A moment later Vuthe calmed down, „Ah yes, the Church. I appreciate the warning, Miss Bertner, however, we already knew that would be coming. There are multiple reasons why the Church would not like us, and me in particular.“
„Oh? Might I ask what those would be?“, Chell asked, settling for disappointment for the moment. She had hoped to get more out of that small favor.
Vuthe and Tizanta exchanged a glance, before Vuthe spoke, „Well, to put it bluntly, we met gods. My draconic Grandfather is the True God of Shadows, and my draconic mother is a local goddess of Shadows. I personally met Altis, or Death if you prefer. Calagrophy is distantly related to the Goddess of Light, Sha’gath. And those are the less blasphemous things I could say to the Church“, she said with a small smile.
While she spoke Chell’s eyebrows rose to her hairline, „There is more? I must admit I have trouble believing you.“
Truth be told, she was almost certain that the Dragon Queen was merely joking, but she did sound genuine enough. Chell had never been a believer, only interacting with the Church in passing, so maybe that’s why it sounded so ridiculous to her.
Ridiculous, but not impossible. She was almost tempted to say more, however, Tizanta beat her to it.
„And that is ignoring your own history with worshippers“, she joked with a smile, glancing at her Queen like it was an inside joke.
„Oh, shush you. You know exactly I don’t want that to repeat itself“, Vuthe said, her tail flicking in a dismissive motion that nearly clipped the other woman’s horns.
Chell didn’t know what to say to that. This just got a whole lot more interesting, but also terrifying. If true, why would people worship her? Was she really that extraordinary?
No matter the answer, her superiors would not like this one bit, should they find out…