CHAPTER 148: THE ENVOY OF SOPHENTIA AND THE OTHERS’ MACHINATIONS

Having delt with all I could for the moment by the time the sun was making it’s belated departure, I decided to continue my divine training, and await tomorrow’s arrival with it’s companion, the Sophentian Envoy.

And thankfully the night did not dawdle, as it swiftly handed the sky back into the hands to the blinding sun, allowing Leonid to quickly find the man he was looking for, who thankfully arrived shortly after the crack of dawn.

But to maintain confidentiality Leonid’s visit was disguised as old friends coincidently meeting in the castle halls, before they quickly went their separate ways, which was when Leonid very subtly and almost vaguely referenced their time in Aporritos, a large town near the City State of Sophentia, that it controlled.

Though it sounded to everyone else as inconsequential reminiscence of two old friends that meant nothing more than it what the words simply conveyed, Leonid had assured me beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was no fool, and would undoubtedly understand the implications of his words; something I inclined to believe, since no self respecting descendant of the Goddess of Wisdom would ever hire an imbecile, let alone allow him to represent him in such an important event.

Unless of course, he intentionally chooses to turn a deaf ear to Leonid’s unspoken meaning, in an effort to avoid repaying his debt to him; but thankfully the man was not without honour, as he came in secret that night, ready to hear what Leonid wanted of him.

"I want you to accept my liege’s request." Leonid straight forwardly said.

"Your liege? The Ruinous Dragon?!" The hooded envoy’s voice unintentionally flexed in fright, before quickly regaining hold of himself, as he heard Leonid’s mocking snicker at his momentary loss of composure.

"Yes. Just agree to his request Rhema, and you can consider the debt you owe me repaid." Leonid affirmed after a few seconds, his countenance returned to seriousness.

"...What does he want?" The envoy, Rhema, asked after a slight hesitation, his eyes narrowing in worry and suspicion.

"My liege simply wants you to arrange a single, very much private meeting with the Strategus of Sophentia. An easy wouldn’t you say?" Leonid said with a casual air, making it seem as though such a clandestine pact and meeting were a casual occurrence, and not a matter of grave importance and weight.

"And why, pray tell, would the Ruinous Dragon desire such a thing?" Rhema now spoke with the poise of a well weathered quill, one that has endured many a perilous accords and concessions.

"For that, you would have to ask my master, himself." Leonid answered with a small smile, standing with an inviting gesture to lead him to me.

And the Sophentian diplomat did not dally, as he instantly rose to ascertain my true reason for wanting to personally speak to his king, despite the uncomfortable fact that he was very much apprehensive about meeting the infamous me.

Something Leonid also caught up on, as he continued flashing his insufferable smile at the man following him, much to Rhema’s annoyance, though he had to admit that slightly eased his nerves.

Once they were before my door, Leonid knocked twice and said "Sire, I have brought the Sophetian envoy, Rhema Metass, as you commanded."

"Come in." I dryly answered.

Rhema took a steadying breathe, before he entered and saw me sitting in the reception area of my allocated wing.

He quickly performed the customary bow, and professionally began "I, Rhema Metass, envoy of Basileus the second, Strategus of Sophentia; hail the Ruinous Dragon, the Bloody Emperor and the Mad Mo..."

"There is no need to continue with the pleasantries sir Rhema, as I’m certain both of us would like to avoid the disagreeable future in which someone knocks on your door, and discovers your impromptu disappearance, correct?" I interrupted his long winded recitation of my very many titles, as I wished to delve straight into the matter at hand.

"Yes, very much so my lord." He answered with a slightly strained smile, before he took the seat opposite me.

"The motive behind my visit is to enlist the aid of your monarch in finding the purpose of a certain item that came into my possession in the last few years." I truthfully told him, as lying would prove no more useful than the truth in this occasion.

Rhema paused for a moment, before he nodded, accepting my words though he was clearly still sceptical, as he calmly inquired "May I ask what sort of item we are speaking off, my lord?"

"You may, but that doesn’t mean I am obliged to answer." I replied with small smile, one that clearly indicated that I have no interest in divulging the nature of my great-father’s plaque, since I did not trust him with that knowledge, even if I still had no idea what uses, if any at all, it may hold.

He then paused at my words, before nodding a few seconds later, knowing it wiser to not push the issue, as a trace of hesitation crossed his eyes, before they gravely hardened, as he grimly said "...Pardon me my lord, but despite how offensive my coming words may be, please know that I only speak them due to duty’s demand, but how can I guarantee that this is not some thinly veiled plot to do harm to my liege, or my people?"

"Your guarantee sir Rhema, is the fact that I am speaking to you right now; as I have absolutely no need for some pathetic secret plot or to mask intentions to ravage your homeland and slaughter your entire ruling family at my leisure." I curtly replied, as my eyes discarded their cloak of sanity and mortality, as they eerily shone with divinity and madness.

"I...I understand!" He instantly replied, his voice coming out higher than he intended, not noticing how he’d instantly lowered his eyes the moment they met mine, or how his heart suddenly started thumping erratically, beating violently against his chest, making his ears start to slightly ring.

Once Rhema took his leave to return to his own quarters, before they notice his absence, he ran into the smirking Leonid, who mockingly remarked "You look even worse than usual."

"Shut up." He whisperingly shouted, as he wiped the cold sweat off his pale forehead, before he then unceremoniously ran back to his room, completely ignoring the taunting words of Leonid.

***Scene Change***

Meanwhile, still on the road from Solis Luxuria, the royal entourage heading to the Astrapi Kingdom, headed by Octavian, his wife Roxana, his son Aurelius and Marius Nerva, was currently camped for the night, a mere three days from their destination.

Yet while most rested, and the guards were quietly patrolling, a young man of fifteen with golden hair and eyes, emerged from his comfortable bed; unable to sleep and carefully made his way to the tent opposite his, not wanting to wake his parents, where he beheld the legendary Prime Minister of his nation, looking like a vigorous man in his late thirties, hunched over a map with a dozen, discarded pieces of parchment all around him.

Yet he seemed so engrossed with his work that he didn’t even notice him enter, until near his age, but with black hair and piercing blue eyes; bowed to him.

"My prince?! What are you doing awake at such a late hour?" He asked in surprise.

"Couldn’t sleep." Aurelius shrugged, before he made his way to side, wanting to know what has kept the mighty Marius Nerva up awake, burning the midnight oil.

"The empress will not look favourably upon you discarding your sleep, my prince." Marius remarked with a small smile, before returning his attention to paper in his hand.

"Mother worries too much. As a second gated demi-God, I’d be able to withstand a fortnight without rest and be minimally affected." Though he spoke harshly, he couldn’t resist the smile that emerged upon his lips for his mother’s care, even if it was slightly overbearing at times.

A smile shared by Marius too, as he greatly appreciated his young future emperor in the making; so much so that he was even beginning to grow a little excited for when he would serve him after he inherits his father’s throne.

"Still stuck pondering that same old question?" Aurelius knowingly asked, as he skimmed through all the contents before them.

"Yes. I’m ashamed to say that I have yet to confidently uncover the truth behind this enigmatic secret of theirs." He sighingly replied.

"Honestly, I can’t see why you and father are constantly fretting over this matter. We still maintain a comfortable lead over everyone else in economic power, especially after we have strengthened our unshakable hegemony over more of the western nations, forcing them to trade almost solely with us, catapulting our empire even further into the lead; so why worry so much over the Eclipse Empire’s economic expansion, when they have yet to even surpass the other two powers?" Aurelius argued, thinking it a waste of time, when they should better this time trying to further supress the Boreas Empire and Yue Dynasty, who far richer in comparison to the vast southern empire.

Smiling at his words, Marius like always, decided to educate his inexperienced future monarch, saying "Yes my prince, you are correct in saying the other two powers, especially the Boreas Empire is a greater threat to us economically than the rest, since the northern giant is always trying to snake their way into our trading routes, while the eastern beast is too far away to really compete with us."

"Then why..." Aurelius was ecstatic by Marius’ words, but before he could strike while the iron is hot, the legendary Prime Minister of the empire interrupted.

"Because it threatens the balance." Marius said. "We are the wealthiest, but our population is also the smallest. The Boreas Empire is vast, with nearly infinite resources, but they constantly struggle with growing and procuring enough food for their massive population. The Yue Dynasty is also vast with even more people under their care, but that is also their curse, along with the restrictive topography of their nation. And finally the Eclipse Empire is also bigger than us territorially, with strong warriors, hardened since birth by the cruelty of the Blistering Desert; but they are also ranked fourth in the world in terms of wealth. The poorest of the four great powers, that is their hinderance."

Marius didn’t need to finish for Aurelius to understand the ramifications of his words, so he asked "Alright, I understand. But how are we meant to halt their rapid rise if we know nothing from where and how they are creating this new found wealth of theirs?"

"That is what I mean to discover in this banquet." Marius lightly said, but Aurelius did not miss the cunning glint that passed through the eyes of the always gentle looking Prime Minister.