[Empire] [Private] A Check Under the Hood

[TheWombatOfDoom]

This is a thread for TheWombatOfDoom and QuintonBeck only, for the game Empire. Please keep out if you are playing Empire.

[TheWombatOfDoom]

Myrida Serendel took the familar road from the capital of Lyradis, Delberelle, to the depths of Razdis. Her mission? To speak with the leader of Razdis. First, to personally thank him for his aid. Second, to ask about his reactions to Kina being introduced to his kingdom. Third, to discuss the ongoing peace correspondence of demands that the Concordat and Salterri were impressing upon her, and his opinions in the matter. As such, she was waiting patiently to be given entry to the royal hall.

[QuintonBeck]

When the news reached Mormaer Ogier of Empress Myrida's arrival he had immediately demanded all but his most loyal inner council be dismissed from the hall and had sent a delegate to speak with the Empress and guide her to the hall. Now that she was here he prepared himself to meet the Empress, a descendant of a line of great friends. The doors to the Palace in Kalpraz opened and the Empress was guided inside where she met the Mormaer who stood from his throne and came to greet her, grasping her arm in a formal recognition of friendship before encircling her in a friendly hug.

"Empress Myrida!" he exclaimed with a smile, "So glad you could spare the time to venture to my realm. The surface world seems to have become a much less friendly place to your Empire and myself as your ally. I must admit I was shocked when the reports came of the Razdisi losses. Are so many truly opposed to the values of the Dawn? I am sorry Myrida, I do not mean to fill your mind with vexations of the surface while you are my guest, come, let us retire to a private room where we might eat and drink and speak as friends."

The Mormaer led the Empress to a small side door that led to a luxurious lounge area set for about four people, inside, the the surprise of the Empress, was Hilja Sam Rivitar, the half-elf bastard of Li Gun Huang who had accompanied Queen Kyria Varinel to the Quorum on the Pax Varinel.

"Empress Myrida, allow me to introduce you to Hilja. Hilja, Empress Myrida,"

The woman bowed to the Empress.

"Hilja is my emissary from Faedas and a scholar of Kina who I've been learning much about. I trust her here, but I know your relationship with Faedas is less than cordial so if you prefer I can ask her to leave before we discuss anything further?"

[TheWombatOfDoom]

When the news reached Mormaer Ogier of Empress Myrida's arrival he had immediately demanded all but his most loyal inner council be dismissed from the hall and had sent a delegate to speak with the Empress and guide her to the hall. Now that she was here he prepared himself to meet the Empress, a descendant of a line of great friends. The doors to the Palace in Kalpraz opened and the Empress was guided inside where she met the Mormaer who stood from his throne and came to greet her, grasping her arm in a formal recognition of friendship before encircling her in a friendly hug.

"Empress Myrida!" he exclaimed with a smile, "So glad you could spare the time to venture to my realm. The surface world seems to have become a much less friendly place to your Empire and myself as your ally. I must admit I was shocked when the reports came of the Razdisi losses. Are so many truly opposed to the values of the Dawn? I am sorry Myrida, I do not mean to fill your mind with vexations of the surface while you are my guest, come, let us retire to a private room where we might eat and drink and speak as friends."

The Mormaer led the Empress to a small side door that led to a luxurious lounge area set for about four people, inside, the the surprise of the Empress, was Hilja Sam Rivitar, the half-elf bastard of Li Gun Huang who had accompanied Queen Kyria Varinel to the Quorum on the Pax Varinel.

"Empress Myrida, allow me to introduce you to Hilja. Hilja, Empress Myrida,"

The woman bowed to the Empress.

"Hilja is my emissary from Faedas and a scholar of Kina who I've been learning much about. I trust her here, but I know your relationship with Faedas is less than cordial so if you prefer I can ask her to leave before we discuss anything further?"

Myrida cracked a tired smile, an expression that had not graced her face in quite a number of years. Even while surrounded by allies, she often felt alone as Empress of Dawn empire, or New Dawn, as the case has allowed.

"Mormaer Ogier, it is ever my pleasure." She embraced the dwarf happily, and remained holding him as she bent back to look at him. "It has been some time since we have met. Are you well? I heard rumor of an outbreak of Psudeath..." She listened to him as he led her to their meeting place, and sagged under the remorse of losing so many of her ally's troops to the war. "It is indeed not a safe time. The old ways have begun to falter, it seems. Though, I may be able to secure peace, to end the war. That is in my best interests."

She turned to Hilda, and nodded respectfully. "Ogier, I respect your trust, and so I am inclined to trust Hilda. I expect to be signing a treaty with Faedas for peace at the centenial celebrations, but even still, would you mind terribly if this discussion were between us? I thank you for your understanding, and Hilda, you must forgive me. I would be pleased to later enjoy your presence."

[QuintonBeck]

"Exaggerations by over-concerned courtiers," he answered to Myrida's question about his health, "A bit put under by a series of health complications but no Psudeath, no."

At the Empress' request the Mormaer raised his hand to Hilja, "You'll excuse us Hilja?"

The young woman nodded, "Of course Mormaer. Empress, I should look forward to it," she said and departed the room.

"Would you like something to eat? Drink?" the Mormaer asked, inviting the Empress to sit in the comfortable chairs sitting around a table and offering a selection of diced mushrooms and shroom tea, "What was it you wished to discuss? We've been apart by the necessities of politics for too long it seems."

[TheWombatOfDoom]

Myrida smiled politely to Hilda, thanked her, and watched as she left. After the door had shut, Myrida nodded appreciatively at the offer. "I would very much like that, yes. It is rare I get authentic dwarven food, afterall." She settled into a chair, and breathed a sigh of relief. "I am glad to hear that these rumors were exaggerations. That's all we need with all the hostilities of late - a plague." She shook her head.

"Firstly, I wanted to thank you for your support in the war. Without your brave soldiers, a few essential battles could have sung quite a different tale." She slumped, "I am very sorry that more could not come back to your halls. The feracity of the Concordat's attacks left us quite out numbered, and the Salterri reinforced them in some key areas."

"Secondly, I wanted to gain your opinions on Kina. It was a few scant years ago that Faedas took the magical storm out of Guilder and set it upon the Straight of Ethelos, and it now ravages the lands of Maos. My lands have because of this, cast a hard eye at the religion of Kina, and as your nations have begin the start of worship, I felt it best to discuss it with you as to how to best quell this disparity of opinion. After all, the war did not involve religion until Kyria called Kina to set the storm upon us. I trust your judgement, and I raise no qualms for accepting the faith of Kina, but as a ruler of my people, I felt it best to come to you before public opinion on it has fully formed."

[QuintonBeck]

The Mormaer nodded, taking a sip from his tea as the Empress spoke. It was a woody flavor, very natural in its tone. Some liked to add surface spices but the Mormaer liked it plain.

"I believe it was when the Dawn League was discussed that theories of friendship and relationship building above war were posited, yes?" the Mormaer asked, "I have only the Razdissi records to go on which are sorely lacking after our periods of upheaval in the past few decades, but I believe above all else our League stressed extending friendship to all who might be willing to accept it and striving for peace between as many nations as might be allowed? Did you wonder why the Freehold did not send the troops belonging to the regions of Sanctuary?"

"After the Quorum I spoke with the Queen Kyria, or rather, her representative Hilja. She approached me to speak to me about the war and my plans regarding it as well as my view on Faedas. I told her mine and she told me her Queen's and we began to talk. Eventually we came to an accord, for though we were on opposite sides of this war between our allies we were of rather similar feelings regarding it in general. Faedas would not send its troops from Sanctuary, I would open my lands to conversion of the willing, and I would send my troops to aid you with recognition that the Queen would pray to Kina to aid her allies in the war. If I had known the prayers would be answered and be so powerful perhaps I would not have agreed, but the storms did not kill anyone, nor have they caused suffering, only attempted to block passage which was not blocked. To me it was a sign, Kina was powerful, but she was merciful to those with just cause such as yours."

"I had thought you might understand as I was given the impression you had made a similar arrangement with the High Priestess of Sycia at the beginning of the war? I know you fought on opposite sides of the war to those who worshiped Kina, but the texts, the Call of the Mother and the writings of the Eldests, they are revelatory. They speak to principle held by the Razdissi and she embraces the darkness we know as our home. I should not wish this cause stress with our relations, but having spoken with the Eldest of Kina and learned of the Mother's ways from Hilja I must say I believe I have found my calling. I would hope you might understand. I know neither of our realms have ever paid much heed to the world of the gods and spirits, but look around Myrida, the gods are acting on this world more and more. Is it not better to embrace them than reject and shun them and invite their wrath?"

"Faith cannot be the game of politics it was in our forefather's age, given as a negotiation token. I have just tried and seen the very act of the Mother turn against me for my hubris in doing so, only through the goodhearted will of your own people was it not a greater disaster. The time has come to find the truth and to pursue it Myrida. I found the truth of the Mother in an accident, in a political ploy, but I believe in Her now, I truly do, and I cannot forsake Her. Equally I cannot forsake our friendship, so I beg of you your understanding in this."