Tyrant of the Ruined Sun

The ladened silence that encased us following Horus' words could rival that of the dead, as we all stood there in muted apprehension. Our unnatural stillness mirroring the harbored dread of the possible ramifications of the future should what Horus said come to pass.

Though we all thought about that possibility at one point of our discussion, we had all shelved it to the back of our minds pretty quickly, believing it too fantastical to be realistic. But having now heard it uttered out loud seemed to have made it far less outrageous, thus forcing us to confront this variable immediately.

I don't how long we remained in our wordless state before Abraham spoke calmly "Though we can't completely disregard the chance of those rats colluding with our enemies, I still believe that this operation of theirs was done not out of any clever scheme they have concocted with foreign powers, but in the spirit of vengeance. After all, the stated goal of these Heretics is to replace the ruling class of not only us but the entire world, and weakening our country alone would only benefit other nations who they would then have to face, if they still desire to achieve their ideal."

"True, but we can't forget the fact that these rats' favorite breading grounds are desolate lands who've been ravaged by grief, misery and despair. And what could possibly be a greater catalyst for these things than war. Even more so if it's a losing war with no foreseeable hope of victory on our own land. After all we should all remember the state of the people after the fall of the previous late emperor and the decimation of the northern army no more than a year ago." Isaac argued.

"Then why would they only attempt to destroy our western provisions and not even attempt to destroy them all simultaneously? If they truly wanted to cripple us and allow others to invade, then why would they only focus on the western provinces, meanwhile the northern, eastern and the imperial armies are all perfectly intact?!" Abraham countered.

For the second time in this short meeting, we were once again all rendered silent in a contemplative state, but this time with an added edge of haste, as we could all smell it now. The illusive yet rancid stench of a well aged conspiracy.

It was a while before I felt as though a button had suddenly been clicked in my mind, as I absent mindedly muttered with my eyes gleaming ominously, half in rampant madness and half in frigid thought "They never wanted to cripple us but only weaken us."

Breaking out of their thoughts, they all looked at me with bewildered eyes, before Horus asked "What do you mean, sire?"
Continue your adventure with empire

"What Horus said earlier was correct, these plague ridden rats can only grow in destitute lands, but even then a certain balance must still be kept, or they risk completely ruining their chances of achieving their bloated ambitions. So assuming they are indeed in cahoots with a foreign nation, what would I do in their stead to gain the most advantage, all the while risking as little as possible?" I asked myself, not minding the other's questioning looks for now, as I continued delving deeper and deeper into my thoughts, feeling as though I was inching ever closer with every passing second to my desired answers.

"Oh?" I uttered, as my eyes gleamed in a ruthless light, while a mocking smirk began playing across my lips, believing myself to have reached my targeted explanation, yet I couldn't shake the feeling that I was still missing something.

"Sire? Have you thought of something?" Isaac asked, curious by what could have brought out such a wide array of expressions from me.

Taking a moment to recollect myself, I refocus on them and begin by saying confidently "First of all, the assumption that the Heretics have allied with our enemies, is a near certainty at this point and we should begin taking that into consideration whenever something that involves them comes up again."

They all understandably frowned as they heard this, since this just elevated their threat level by a few notches in their minds. But I wasn't done yet.

"Secondly, I suspect the alliance these rats have with our foes is most likely a newly founded one, that's purely based on current benefits and threats, with absolutely no semblance of trust between them. Something we might be able to exploit in the future." I offered my second conjecture.

And before they could think or say anything else, I continued "And finally, the reason they only targeted our west is most likely an act done for personal interest and not for the alliance as a whole, since the complete paralysis of our armies would lead to us losing large swathes of land that would go exclusively to our rivals, at least until the next year's harvest, or if we decided to recall Hamilcar and his expedition." I paused momentarily to emphasize my point, before continuing.

"But if they only eroded our strength to give themselves a slight advantage in the early stages of this conflict, then it would change their plans from a sweeping conquests to a meat grinder style battle, in which we desperately attempt to hold our territories from their invading armies, while they throw as much man power as they can at us to take full advantage of this limited time span of dominance..." I stopped, as Abraham cleverly said.

"This will increase the causalities on both sides tremendously, thus by not only affecting only us but also the morale of our foes, whom ever they may be."

"Literally doubling their profits, since gain more opportunities to expand their influence across both states." Horus uttered with shock.

"Hitting two birds with one stone." Isaac concluded with a heavy sigh.

"Exactly." I nod with appreciation.

"That just leaves the question of the identity of these snakes hiding in the brushes." Abraham stated.

"Isn't it obvious? It has to be those scum from the Luminous Empire." Horus said with a hateful tone.

"Not necessarily. The western realms that are across the channel from Bathisma have been eyeing it for generations." Abraham reasoned.

"...Or it could be someone else entirely." Isaac muttered softly, in a voice oozing with doubt. Something very uncharacteristic of the old man.

Seeing this I ask "Do you feel as though we are still half blind to the truth?"

Whipping his head to me, he asks with incredulity hidden in his words "My liege, you feel so as well?!"

I calmly nod as I make my way to my desk, leaving him behind in a state of absolute astonishment, of how a young man, who's no different than a new born babe in comparison to his ancient self, could be able to equate him in political instinct, something he has spent centuries cultivating, while working in the revolting underbelly of society.

'He simply refuses to stop surprising me.' Thought the old Grand Chamberlin happily.

"Isaac." I called out to break him out of his odd stance.

"Yes, sire." He turns towards me hastily.

"Our first order of business is to ensure this sort of thing never happens and will never happen again, so for now as a temporary solution the Shade Corps will in secrecy transfer most of the extra supplies of not only the western but also the eastern armies to the capital for safe keeping." I order.

"What about the northern army, sire?" Isaac asked.

"We will leave them alone for now. Our other two armies have no need to march out for the foreseeable future, so we can leave them with just enough supplies to defend our homeland, but the northern army is our first line of defense against Luminous Empire and under the current dubious circumstances I'd rather them be ready at a moments notice for deployment..." I pause momentarily to think, before continuing boldly "We will leave the issue of the safety of the northern supplies in Hasdrubal's capable hands."

Hearing this Horus showed a joyous expression at the trust I had in our mutual friend, but both Abraham and Isaac showed skeptical looks, believing this responsibility too great to leave in the hands of the talented yet still inexperienced young commander.

And to be honest, it was a doubt I too shared, as the current Hasdrubal was indeed too wet behind the ears in most matters. But it was a risk I was more than willing to take, if it would accelerate his growth into the unbridled beast I remember him as.

"After you're done securing the supplies..." I continued without bothering to address their concerns, since it would be pointless to do so now "You will refocus your efforts on these rats and their associates. We need to confirm from where the hidden dagger will strike."

"Understood." Isaac replied while lightly bowing, before vanishing from our sights to go perform his duties.

"Horus, go to the stables and make sure that our finest stallions are ready for a long and demanding journey." I ordered.

"Right away." He answered immediately.

And in the same breath continued "Abraham go fetch your most adept riders and have them prepare immediately." I said as I grabbed a pen and parchment from my desk and began to write down missives of the highest priority.

"Is this a covert or overt operation, sire." Abraham calmly asked.

"Neither. There is no need for any extreme precaution, but any unnecessary fanfare is also useless. Just make sure that these letters find their recipients." I answered.

"Understood." He replied, before also swiftly vanishing from the room in blaze of golden light, leaving me with the sole companionship of the swift rhythmic beat of my quill slashing the parchment in my hand with gashes of meaningful ink and my own mad thoughts.