Ferodias POV

The feline Emperor's ears twitched with mild annoyance, yet his face was as calm and serene as he could be as he listened to another noble drone about their pledges of allegiance to the empire and the throne. This should have been, and was, a proud event for him when this all began… About three weeks ago. While he certainly appreciates their grand gestures, pompous performances, and ornate gifts to prove their loyalties. It all gets just a bit annoying hearing the same things over and over again. Yet niceties must be observed, especially if he doesn't want a ring of nobles to form in order to overthrow him or something like that.

Who is he kidding? A third of these nobles turned on their previous kingdoms and nations after his show of force in their homelands. Another third is probably loyal, coming from lineages or cultures that respect power and authority. All the rest are a mixed bag, some from households he's had to eliminate and replace, others are merchants with good backgrounds that were ascended, and the remaining nobility is… Well, they're necessary evils he hopes to be rid of eventually. It's all he can do to hope that a group hasn't already formed against him.

When he focuses on the moment, he looks down upon a Count who is essentially parading himself back and forth before glancing over to Regan.

The half-elf seemingly met Ferodias' gaze at that exact moment before looking over the crowd of courtiers when he spoke up. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the land, that will be all for today. His Majesty, Emperor Ferodias Leinhart, will not be seeing anyone else today." At that, Regan glanced back over to Ferodias for a moment, who discreetly flicked his tail a couple of times. "In fact, he shall not be available for the next two days."

Ripples of murmuring echoed about, but nobody would dare to say anything against the word of the man who was second to the throne. Slowly they all file out, and before long it's just Regan, Ferodias, and four royal knights standing in key places along the throne room.

Ferodias sighs softly, slumping back into his throne with a huff. Resting his chin on one of his clawed hands being propped up by the armrest while his tail slowly flicks and sways behind him. "Just how many more of these nobles must I entertain before properly focusing on other things?"

Regan suppresses a bit of smirk as he walks over and pat Ferodias' shoulder, shaking him gently. "Thankfully, you seemed to have finally passed through the worst of it, Milord. Only 17 more displays of loyalty, and you can finally have your afternoons back to yourself… Only then you'll need to begin plans to host a huge banquet, celebrating peace after the last five years of war." He mused mischievously as he pulled his hand away, clasping them both behind his back. "And then, and only then… You can start on your plans to finish the unification of the continent."

Ferodias only grew more exhausted as Regan listed out what he had coming. His ears flicked before shaking his head and sitting up somewhat reluctantly. "I suppose the work will never really be done." He said before pushing off his throne and descending the steps leading up to it. "Anything new I should know about?" He asked curiously as Regan followed closely to Ferodias' left.

Regan hummed momentarily as he opened a folder with documents that he had pulled from the inside of his coat. "Well… Contact with the isolated tribes and clans in your new territory is slow… Half of them are stonewalling but not openly hostile. There's a clan of lizardkin in the Drizan Hotlands who seem to be open to trade and relations. They have access to a unique mine of some kind with stones that put out heat. I don't know the specifics yet, but apparently, it really helps on those cold nights." Regan shrugged a little. "Something to keep note of, apparently the Saintess of Gaia received some sort of major revelation. Whatever it is, it's got a lot of money and supplies moving around all of a sudden. Our people are doing their best to ferret out the details, but they've only just begun and haven't made any headway yet." He explained, closing the folder and tucking it away once more.

Ferodias nodded intently as he scratched the back of his ear. "If only we could just get a handle on those religious fanatics… I mean, I know it's not everyone… But it doesn't take a lot to sway the nation. Peace is always an option, but I don't know how I feel about the way they treat beastkin there. Again I know there are probably many good, kind, and generous people that live there and love all life, no matter the race… But it only takes a few infected vica berries to ruin the orchard."

Regan nodded sagely as they neared Ferodias' room, opening the door for the feline Emperor and following him in as they settled upon the opposing couches in Ferodias' sitting area, a squirrelkin maid soon arriving just moments later with a tray of seasoned dried meats, wine, and bread. Dismissing herself with a pleasant bow of her head, she turns and leaves the room, her fluffy tail swaying in time with her hips with each step as Regan follows her with his eyes. "Is it just me, or was that girl trying to show off?"

Ferodias was massaging his temples, in the middle of reaching out to snatch up a piece of meat with one of his claws. "Hm? Showing off? I hadn't realized." He said before taking a bite of the meat and tearing off the piece. "It certainly wasn't for my benefit." He mused, focusing on the moment a little more before meeting Regan's gaze as he offered a very mischievous-looking feline grin. "I do remember Tori mentioning that her ladies-in-waiting were asking about you." Ferodias finished the piece of meat he was working on before sitting up and leaning back against his seat after taking up the chalice of wine. "Who wouldn't be interested in the mysterious, aloof right-hand man of the Emperor? You're still single, aren't you?"

Regan blanched at that before sighing as he took up his own chalice of wine and had a rather large swig before leaning back into the couch, keeping the chalice close to his lips as he nursed it. "Milord… You're an ass." He said tiredly before smirking a bit as Ferodias snickered with amusement.

It was only a few quiet moments between the two brothers in bonds before they were interrupted, their ears simultaneously twitching moments before there was a knock at the door.

"Enter." Ferodias sounded out before sipping at his chalice.

Upon receiving permission, one of the Royal Knights made his way inside, saluting Ferodias while standing by the doorway. "Your Highness, the Mage Reyvyre and her ward Reonim have returned; they request an audience with you."

Regan and Ferodias exchanged another glance before the two of them stood. "Bring them to my office," Ferodias instructed before stepping past the knight.

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A few minutes later, Ferodias was seated at his desk, Regan standing dutifully to his left while Tori sat on the armrest of Ferodias' chair to his right. A few moments later, the doors opened as Reyvyre stepped into the office, with Reonim ducking through the doorway and standing behind Reyvyre.

Ferodias' ears flicked thoughtfully as he looked over the two of them. "Well… You two certainly look well… I err… Like the tattoos and um… What you did to your eyes."

Reyvyre looked a little bashful at that as she scratched her cheek. "About that, your Majesty… I have something to report; however, I request that you clear out this entire castle wing. I would request the utmost secrecy from you until after you hear what I have to say."

Regan and Ferodias shared another glance, at which point Ferodias looked to the knight that was standing by the open doorway after escorting Reyvyre. "Do it, not a soul in this wing."

The knight saluted in response before breaking his rigid stance, shutting the double doors behind him, and hurrying off.

While they waited, Historietta was the one to break the silence. The human woman spoke gently as she broached a subject that she deemed sensitive. "You died, didn’t you? The both of you."

Reyvyre was somewhat taken aback, glancing back up at Reonim, who looked down at her in response. She cleared her throat before looking back to Historietta. "Y-yes, we were slaughtered quickly, brutally…" She gestured to her thigh before running her fingers along her throat. "And efficiently…"

Reonim pitched in at that, the massive warrior shuddering as he remembered that day. "She was a powerful being; she laid me low before executing me like some defenseless animal."

Ferodias glanced over at Historietta with mild surprise, his whiskers twitching with curiosity though he remained silent.

Reyvyre looked slightly offbeat as she touched her throat thoughtfully before looking back to Historietta. "Your Majesty, if I might ask… How did you know we died?"

Historietta averted her gaze, clearing her throat a moment before running her fingers along one of her braids. "Your eyes… I don't mean the color, but the look in your eyes… They're the eyes of someone who's gone through death."

Reyvyre blinked with mild surprise, meeting Historietta's gaze and seeing something for herself. She held her tongue, however, and looked over to Ferodias, feeling that enough time had passed. "First things first, your Majesty Ferodias… I must state that I am no longer your servant."

Ferodias looked vaguely taken aback but leaned forward on his elbows as he interlocked his fingers. "I see… Well, I must assume you have your reasons."

Reyvyre nodded as she reached into her satchel and procured a full-looking pouch, gently setting it down on Ferodias' desk. "As you know, we died, but Vitmori dragged our souls from the aether and gave us another chance in life. He's made us his vassals in this world and has expressed that he wishes to align himself with your efforts."

Again, Regan and Ferodias share a glance, Regan reaching out and taking up the pouch as he examines its contents. Ferodias was about to speak before Regan had a little outburst. "What the fu- are these real? Look at the size of them and the purity!"

Ferodias' ears perked with intrigue as he looked over, Historietta peeking around Ferodias as well; all the while, Reyvyre and Reonim looked pleasantly amused, if not pleased by their reactions, as Reyvyre spoke up. "Diamonds, every single one of them. Vitmori created them himself."

Regan goes on to carefully pour out the pouches contents on the table, the gems gleaming from the light of the evening sun. "Forget making any kind of basic, mundane jewelry… With gems like these, we could make any number of magical tools." He gushed, his mind racing with the possibilities as he started to pace to run with his thoughts. "We could actually get started on a number of projects the folks over at the Tower have been contemplating… Gosh, artifact-grade tools, armor, or even weaponry aren't outside the realm of possibility. Ferodias, we need to-" He suddenly caught himself mid-speech as he looked over the room to see that everyone was staring at him. "S-sorry about that…"

Ferodias couldn't help but flash a smile at seeing his life-long friend act in such a way. He glanced back over at Reyvyre, unsure what part of her declaration he wanted to address. His ear flicked a couple of times before meeting Reyvyre's multicolored eyes. "I accept Vitmori's offer; at this time, we need all the allies we can get." Ferodias then glances at a nearby wall with the continent's map before returning to Reyvyre. "Especially since he's situated in the middle of that no-man's land known as Lichtdren's Folly. Neither the Theocracy nor the Hegemony has any claims on that land, and it was previously deemed an inhospitable and cursed land for over 600 years."

Reyvyre considered that the Emperor had stirred some memories of something she was told a long time ago. "You're right… My mother told me stories of that place, it was before even her time, but there was supposedly another dungeon core way back when. It grew so powerful that it tainted the very land itself, infesting it with undead, aberrations, and constructs." She recounted slowly, gently touching her own throat. "It took the entire continent to unify in order to assemble and outfit a group of heroes to invade the forest, descend its depths, and destroy the dungeon. However, those heroes never returned, and thus the continent fractured for another couple hundred years over the supposed failure." She said softly as she then glanced over at Ferodias. "Of course, when the core's influence on the land finally waned, it was too late for your short-lived peoples to reconcile, and thus you remained fragmented."

Ferodias looked fascinated, as did the others to varying degrees. It was one thing to read about the vague details of events from centuries ago; it was something else entirely to hear a secondhand, or rather a thirdhand, account of events from a long-lived person.

Reyvyre was reminiscing over the memory of her mother, and it had been a good fifty years since she's last seen her. Though she very suddenly had another realization as she looked to Ferodias and cleared her throat. "I do want to mention, for clarity, that Vitmori is nothing like Lichtdren. While he is indeed a brutal and perhaps vindictive being, he only reacts in such a way towards people like bandits and slavers, he considers them scum and for a good reason."

Ferodias nodded intently, leaning back into his seat again, leaning in towards Historietta as she began to absently run her fingers through his head fur.

Reyvyre swallowed in contemplation, continuing to speak as she looked over the Emperor and Empress. "Vitmori is a kind and generous soul. He has faced hardships I could never have imagined… These last several days, I've dreamed of memories that were not my own, dreams I could recall so vividly only due to my abilities as a Mage to be able to dreamwalk… I've watched Vitmori grow up, watched as he witnessed the fall of his home, and saw him fight with everything he had to save the strangers around him in the face of apocalypse. He fought hordes of beings that could only be called demonic, yet he had a word for them, a simple word that meant the end of things… Zombies. He fought them for decades, cutting them down as if they were fields of wheat. Yet as he marched into the abyss, those he loved could not follow. He became a wanderer, a hero who walked alone, and in the end, he died a hero, alone with no loved ones by his side." Reyvyre was in tears by the end of her speech, these memories were so vivid for her, and her heart could not help but shed tears for him. Sniffling a bit, she gingerly wiped her eyes before looking at Ferodias. "I implore you to take Vitmori seriously and do not consider betraying him. He needs people to trust and for people to trust him. If he cannot have them, I cannot say as to what may come next."

Ferodias was again taken aback, surprised by the usually cold and stoic elf woman being much more emotional than he had ever known. "I see… I'll… I'll take this under serious consideration. I uh… I do have a question for you." He mentioned while sitting up and pulling away from Historietta's touch. "You said you watched him grow up, and you mentioned an apocalypse I have never heard of… Who or What is Vitmori?"

Reyvyre nodded slowly as she recollected what she knew from her dreamwalking and looked Ferodias into his eyes. "Vitmori is… He was a human. He lived in a world called Earth. It was a world populated by only humans; they had no magic but had technology that could still make us seem like primitive savages despite our magic. Then his world fell, yet he survived for many years before eventually, and finally succumbing to the zombies that brought his world down." She glanced over at Historietta, though the woman was seemingly lost in thought, gazing into the middle distance when Reyvyre turned to look back to Ferodias.

Ferodias was rather deep in thought; his brows furrowed while his tail lashed behind him. "Stick around for a couple of days, Reyvyre. I need to come up with a suitable gift in response to Vitmori, and I want to make sure that I see him as equal in our alliance."

Reyvyre nodded, lowering her head in respect before looking to Ferodias again. "Yes your Majesty, we'll wait." With that, Ferodias dismissed the duo, Reyvyre leading Reonim out into the halls. They had only been walking for about a minute when they heard footsteps behind them, the sound of heels on carpet. Turning to look, Reyvyre was surprised to see the Empress. "Your Majesty? What is it?"

Historietta looked somewhat hesitant, but gathered herself as she locked eyes with the elven woman. "Reyvyre, I'd like to speak with you more about Vitmori… If it's not too much trouble."