BT IV - Chapter 14

The Empress exuded both beauty and danger.  She looked like a snake, coiled and waiting for its moment to strike in the morning light.  As best Micah could tell, she was barely a couple of years older than Gwen, but he knew for a fact that she had ruled Sandrovok for at least thirty years.

Behind her stood her three husbands, a human, an elf, and a Durgh.  All were incredibly handsome in their own ways, and given their auras Micah suspected that the weakest of them, the human, was at least level 40.

One step below the Empress were four smaller thrones, each with one of her children sitting in them.  The first princess, a half-durgh sat with her back straight, a trident planted in a stone holder by her side.  To her left were a pair of half elven twins, a man and a woman, each with a scepter laying horizontally in their laps.  Finally, there was Gwendolyn, the youngest and only truly human daughter of the Empress.

“You may rise.”  The Empress’ voice came from all around him, an effect that would be much more impressive if Micah couldn’t sense the enchantments skillfully woven into the artwork all over the throne room, projecting the monarch’s voice from every direction.

Micah stood up, clasping his hands behind his back.  At the same time, 20 imperial officers joined him.  He recognized about half of their faces from the previous timeline, mostly generals and their seconds.

“Our daughter comes bearing dark tidings,” the Empress continued, her voice slipping smoothly around Micah and wrapping him in its coils.  He could practically taste the magic oozing off of her as she used a blessing to try and enthrall and captivate him.  “She claims that you have found a number of our enemies.  That Pereston is about to attack, and that only by preparing will Sandrovok be ready for their assault.”

He nodded his agreement, not wanting to risk a social faux pax by interrupting the monarch.  Mana welled up around her, encircling the Empress as it built in intensity.  The ability had already filled the room, but none of the guests seemed to notice as it condensed, turning into a ribbon of light that drew back its tip, as if waiting for some unspoken signal.

“So tell us, Micah Silver,” her words came out as a sibilant hiss.  “How did you come by this information, and why would we trust you?”

The blessing darted toward him, an aurora of color and magic that only he could see, striking with the speed of a viper as it tried to sink its fangs into him.

He closed his eyes, grasping hold of the Empress’ ability with his mind.  It was fascinating, almost like a being in its own right, crafted from a mix of magic with a hint of impossibly complex ritual power.  Easily Mythic if not an outright Chosen of an intermediate deity.

It jerked in his mental grip, squirming to free itself as Micah inspected it.  Finally, after three seconds of absolute silence he released it, satisfied with what he’d learned.

The Empress jerked back on her throne, sweat pouring down her face and gasping for air as she stared incredulously at Micah as he replied.

“My answer won’t be much different from what I’m sure you’ve heard from the gods.  A calamity is coming.  One that neither of us is likely to survive.  I have some knowledge of what is going to happen, but that knowledge is sorely incomplete.”

“Who, no, what are you?” She asked, shaking her head.  Around the room the guards and officers stirred slightly, finally noticing their leader’s beleaguered appearance.

“Just a man that has survived more adventures than I should have,” he responded, a half smile on his face.  “I have a knack for getting myself out of tough spots.  Unfortunately, there won’t be anywhere to run once Pereston attacks.  They aren’t going to stop with Sandrovok.  Their army will only rest once the whole world is in ruins.”

“Whose Chosen are you?” The Empress ignored his noncommittal answer, leaning forward in her chair.  “The churches know that we are to be informed of any chosen operating in our territory.  Tell us now or we swear on our bloodline that we will expel all of your god’s followers the minute we discover your origins.”

The room tensed.  It wasn’t like any of the soldiers drew a weapon, although they certainly had their hands on their hilts, but it was more a matter of all eyes focusing on Micah with a hawk-like intensity.  He could practically hear the creaking of the guards’ armor as their muscles bunched.

Each and every one of them was prepared for a violence at any moment.

“I am not a Chosen,” Micah said with a shrug.  “My blessing comes from Mursa, but that isn’t what let me escape your ability.  I simply have lived a long life and picked up a number of abilities.”

“What is this nonsense?” The half-durghish first princess asked, her hand half-closed around the trident next to her.  “Answer the Empress’ questions plainly.  Who are you and how do you know what you know?”

Micah bit back a sigh, barely able to maintain the courtly smile on his face under the withering glares directed at him.  It seemed like every time he encountered the nobility, he ran into the same distrust and suspicion.  To a certain extent he understood, they almost assuredly had a steady stream of supplicants and long lost relatives trying to take advantage of them, but at the same time he had actually provided evidence to back up her claims.

“I am sure the Fourth Princess has passed on my claims,” Micah replied, struggling to keep the impatience out of his voice.  “I am not entirely comfortable stating the nature of my abilities in such a public setting, but it isn’t like I’m trying to conceal them from you.  Moreover, I’m not exactly asking you to take my words on faith.  Any priest capable of communing with a god will be able to back up my story, and I have already rooted out one of the traitors.  If you need more proof, please tell me what you want, but be mindful that there isn’t a lot of time remaining.”

The durghish princess opened her mouth to speak again only to be silenced by the Empress raising a single hand behind her.  A hand that she had no way of seeing.

“Quiet Adelaine,” the monarch said, looking down upon Micah contemplatively.  “It is true that you have provided some evidence, but we are not going to punish a number of nobles with no more evidence than your say so.  At the same time, your warnings about Pereston are not without merit.  My spies have reported strange occurrences there for the last year or so.”

“Moreover,” the Empress continued, “the letters you brought back are troubling.  Count Arass was in contact with Pereston as you claimed, and it certainly seems that our neighbors provided him with a mentor and the tools needed to cast the summoning spell he used to attack.  Worse, he seemed to be working with a number of barons, knights and manor lords with Sandrovok, most of whom appeared on your list.”

Micah cocked his head to the side slightly, frowning for the first time in the conversation.

“I thought that Gw- the Fourth Princess said that the letters were written in code?”  Micah asked.  “How have you deciphered the documents I recovered already?”

She motioned behind her toward the elf as she replied.

“Many underestimate our minister of shadows, Lledaven, simply because of his race.  They are fools.  His skills and blessings make him a formidable man.  We have not seen a secret or cipher that remains beyond his reach were he to put his mind to it.  That is a large part of the reason why I married him.”

“Tell me,” she questioned. “Over the last month, your actions have benefitted Sandrovok greatly.  Do you feel it unfair that we still doubt your motives after everything you have done for our country?”

Micah didn’t reply, drawing a smile from the Empress.

“The real problem is that there are names in the encoded documents that were not on your list,” the Empress said with a reptilian smile.  “Our husband has pointed out that your sudden arrival and offer to help Sandrovok could be a ruse to cover for the newly discovered agents.  After all, what better way to conceal their presence but to sacrifice some other spies in order to gain our trust?”

This time, Micah struggled to contain a groan.  She was right after all.  He was in a new timeline, and the Third Prince hadn’t sat idle while he strengthened himself.  It only made sense that the daemon prince would have expanded its spy network to try and throw him off.  At the end of the day, it may have even been using him as an unwitting pawn to do exactly what the Empress was politely accusing him of.

“I hope you will forgive us for a small bout of royal paranoia,” the Empress remarked.  “We understand that it will be an inconvenience to indulge us, but it is what keeps us alive and our lands free of foreign control.  Especially when dealing with those that escape our gaze.  Not many have the power to do that, and it marks you as either one of our greatest allies or most annoying enemies.  We simply hope that it is the former rather than the latter.

“We would have you prove your claims once more,” she continued.  “Not regarding the weaknesses in our kingdom.  Those answers must come from Lledaven.  His agents are already at work verifying your warnings, and we will have our answers one way or another before long.  Until then, you will take part in an expedition into Pereston.  If they are preparing for war, we must know the nature of the forces arrayed against us.”

“I can do that your Majesty,” Micah replied, nodding slowly.  “My guild needs experience anyway, and I’m sure Pereston is up to something.  Sending in scouts to verify their activities makes complete sense, and it gives me something to do while you process the rest of the information I’ve given you.”

“We are glad that you can comply with our orders,” she responded dryly, “but it appears that you haven’t fully understood us.  Your guild will investigate Pereston, but it won’t be alone.  We would simply run into the same questions of trust a second time.  Instead you will operate with the help of a company of scouts.  They will be the ones in charge of gathering information while you keep them safe.”

Micah nodded slowly.  He wasn’t happy with it, but her order made sense.  Too many people would make it impossible to stay hidden, so the need to bring imperial soldiers along would necessitate some adjustments.  Already his mind was whirring as Micah tried to make the tough calls as to who would join him on the mission and who would stay home to practice their skills.

“General Kormassu,” the empress finished, inclining her head slightly toward the commander of the first legion.  “Make the arrangements.  We want Micah to be accompanied by your most decorated soldiers.  If he is telling the truth, he is a hero of the Empire.  If he is lying, we will put him to death for his artifice.”

Despite himself, Micah felt his throat go dry.  He hadn’t lied once, but that didn’t mean that the Third Prince was incapable of interfering.  Already the future had changed once, hopefully it wouldn’t happen again.

The general slammed a gauntleted fist to the chest of his breastplate with a loud clang that echoed through the throne room.  He took one step forward from his position with the guards lining either side of the approach to the Empress and bowed deeply to his liege.

“Very good your majesty,” he said before turning to address Micah.  “I will assign Captain Harris to work with the guildmaster.  The captain’s accolades speak for themselves.  If Mr. Silver is true to us, we will know it within the month.”