"Forward!" Cried the Archmage as his men surged forward, sending the Umbracresti Regional Guardsmen in their path scattering in all directions.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdiOMn1Nfca
Erato Dacamini, Dragoon-Mage (Archmage) of the Order of the Dragoon, had been placed in command of Operation Butcher, the combined Cerulean-Vorantine counteroffensive on Umbracrest. Anyone worthy of being respected by Cerulea AND Vorantis simultaneously was nothing less than extraordinary. Four years ago, in 79 EH, the Cerulean Council of Celestial Seers had voted unanimously to select him as the successor to Archmage Drasè.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpdgPsC6YAu
Since then he had been a sharp barb in the side of the Grand Army as it invaded the Southwest. Dracamini had managed to push the UEGNA forces back into Umbracrest halfway through the current year, 83 EH.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Wlp1lAGw3
With the full support of Technocrat pro tempore Thomas Norik, Archdeacon Altan of Celestia Province, and even of His All Holiness (Archbishop Vance of Ecclesia) behind him as he crossed the fast-flowing River Uurimaarin which cleaved the Diocese of Worshi in two, captured Bronch - a fortress town situated between the two branches of the smaller River Kaijan - and especially as he had marched towards Mestae: subregional capital of Mestae and by Rissau and, more importantly, the seat of the House of Hessen.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT1BRtqLPZS
The sister cities of Mestae and Rissau had emerged as powerful city-states when the Colestis Imperii had collapsed in 689 YBP (917 years before 83 EH). They later united with a plethora of other microregions to form the modern Margravate that had joined Umbracrest in 300 YBP.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡShRahOhUyS
The Sorcerers of the Order of the Dragoon were the most advanced users of what is called Thaumaturgy (Miracle Working) by the Academy of the Adept. In layman's terms: Magic.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡopvs2TSjsJ
Sorcerer Dratov was proud to serve Cerulea and he fought harder when he caught sight of the respected Dragoon Captain Dracozo.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPU7IoZJdaV
A troop of twenty-five men led by a one-eyed Lord Sergeant-Major turned their attention to Dratov
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIuFBRicxRf
"Lads!" He snapped, "Take that Thuamaturge down for me!"
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpTbRjWjG1m
Sorcerer Dratov had studied Létt galdur (Light Magic) under Dragonlord-Commander Bright and did not hesitate to use it offensively. He pulled out his staff, topped with one of Cerulea`s fiercely protected Veilstones and began drawing patterns in the air with his free hand.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ115NnMzNmG
"By a olpirt c a aoiveae, ol aldon a radiant lance de quansb a enemy!" He intoned in a grave voice.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡySw4RDCL2D
["By the light of the star, I collect the radiant lance to destroy the enemy!"]
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqUt81BUuGU
A long pole ending in a vicious point immediately manifested in his right hand. Its glow was luminous enough to be painful to look at.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbs73Ru8NgZ
Cerulean magic / thaumaturgical sciences worked on piety: the more sincere the belief of the user, the more powerful it was. Dratov had prayed every morning to Africum of the Southwest, directional Goddess of faith and protector of the Order of the Dragoon.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj1sb3gLZD5
The Radiant Lance Spell was no exception to this rule.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRwmoXgrM5
With one quick stab, the entire troop burst into flames.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmrNUMwzNi3
Their cries of anguish as heavenly flamed seared the flesh from blackened bones that crumbled into a fine dust would stay will Dratov for many years.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡClUGC8A9nF
Dragoon Captain Dracozo fell to the ground beside him, his armour riddled with enough holes to function as an oversized cheese grater. Blood poured from these wounds as the knight tried and failed to speak, his words coming out as muffled gurgles.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDvY609NqFZ
"O meridians c a southeast, mend unal wounds! heal ol brothers, restore c blans ugear!" The sorcerer called out.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbY6TZ1k68r
Nothing happened.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXM7swKUr0k
The Dragoon felt an intense pain spreading outwards from his chest.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH3hBqXmi3p
A steel bayonet, seventeen inches long, now jutted out from him. He struggled to breathe the air he had lost from the gasp back in. His inhales came out as ragged rasps while the exhales had become weak, high-pitched squeaks.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVlc2JPV1iK
The soldier behind him, a young Narcissian private, had an expression of shock on his face.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBoCRMhQf24
The sorcerer returned his stare sadly as he silently prayed.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGPXb2HycTj
"Oh." The private muttered as the Dragoon slid onto the ground.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmK0IyldupM
Everything went black for Sorcerer Dratov as he bled out on the ground next to his fallen comrade.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcysxeDvxvl
Hoping that the daughters of Occidens would take pity on him and let him die quickly.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJo9oNINrPG
________________________________________
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaPnjEeG0eB
"Erzherzog," Tiber said aloud, rolling the new title around in his mouth to get a feel for it.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡafzSUcoNtA
He decided it had a ring to it.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWzQUvEpIvU
As did his new look. He had chosen to remind everyone around him by wearing the colours of the House of Hesse with a purple suit worn under a shimmering silver cape. They all bowed even lower to the new Erzherzog Consort of the West. The Umbracresti people celebrated their new archducal family, for it had been over three decades since the extinction of the House of Ego-Westerling, which had reigned (though only in name after the death of Erzherzogin Regnant Ursa, the 6th ruler) until 51 EH
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9TRuzcWnbs
Tiber had successfully carried out one of two tasks given to him by Aunax Hessen to prove his worth. His friendship with Archcount-Khagan Urlic had been valuable in persuading him to confirm his newlywed wife, Xuana Hessen-Rostova, as the 11th Erzherzogin of Umbracrest and the first to hold the title since Delphine Eala Noyra Ego-Westerling.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM38pgPKMNf
Hessen-Rostov. His new, double-barrelled surname was still alien to Tiber. Was he part of a new archducal house?
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6exfgPXg0p
Tiberius Atticus Hessen-Rostov was not sure he was ready for fatherhood, but he had no choice now; his son, Großherzog (Grand Duke) Lothar of Greater Biogi, had been born three days ago.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfhoBPr6Fds
Anuax had written him a letter about his daughter`s joy at Lothar`s birth, and how motherhood became her. That same letter had also contained a mildly threatening reminder that he still had to kill someone to gain his trust.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBdmdF7mggD
As luck would have it, an opportunity to carry out this order presented itself the moment the airship provided by the BCU touched down in Noctè.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVYdoUeIZ7s
Noctè - sometimes spelled phonetically as Noctae - was the de jure Regional Capital of Umbracrest. Before the Western Reunification, Noctè had been a Free City aligned with the Free Western Enclave and then with the Ad Coelum Federation of Syndicates. The city's defiance towards the De Naptons as the sole remaining cadet branch of Ego-Westerling (itself a cadet branch descended from the youngest child of Earl Emeric, Lord Thallo Ego) had led to the De Napton seat of Météore becoming the de facto capital.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfX52Ek6zzw
Tiber had been contacted by Margravine Sophie De Napton, second daughter of Herzogin Victoria, asking for his protection as she feared her life was in danger.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL4XVXiJTEc
It was. The only difference was that it the threat was not Hessen himself, but his son-in-law. Sophie`s younger sister, Joanna, had already been tortured to death on the orders of the Chairman and disguised as her volunteering as a test subject in an experiment gone very, very wrong.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUG9LTZdvTH
Unbeknownst to the Margravine, she was walking into a trap. Her older sister Blanche and Father had scrambled to reach the agreed meeting place in Biogi, but they were far too late.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjidVIItuI8
Tiber forced himself to look at Sophie as they ate lunch as agreed.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuOLgfbpe7Q
She was exactly the sort of person that his mother would have wanted him to marry when he was younger: lithe, graceful, and emotional.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCjtmqIsfFq
Such a person bored him now.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJxEYay0AIF
"Erzherzog," She began politely, using his new title to flatter him, "I'm so glad you could meet me at such short notice. I imagine you are eager to return to your new family, yes?"
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnLaLVckHSY
Tiber paused for a moment, watching her visible discomfort at the sudden silence. This was a person who liked the sound of her own voice, it would seem.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO1vzaqao8O
"Yes. What is it that you wanted to ask me?" He said bluntly.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrHJTJB454C
"I fear my life is in danger! My uncle Varo and my younger sister both died under...suspicions circumstances." She whispered, failing to hide the note of terror in her words.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPUQh1lI8Zi
"Nonsense! Who would dare to attack the most noble House of De Napton? You are all popular with the Jassaus, Kleists, Lünders, and the Occids. Who would wish harm upon your family?" He replied, his upbeat and jovial tone contrasting with what he really knew.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuHAap73Jgw
"It's those damn Hessens, they hate LOATHE us!"
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbho3YQgyIW
"Loathe is a strong wor-"
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdAHImQYVKP
"I know it was Margrave Anuax who killed my uncle! His niece, Vizegräfin Xeina Hessen-Archaea of Eukaro, tried to meet with me last week. I'm his next target and I need your help!" She shrieked, her calm façade breaking as she lost her nerve.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzf6mVMv6KU
"Please..." She begged, all shy and sweet.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7X8zgsVT2j
Tiberius was not fooled, his inlaws had taught him that the beautiful, sweet, or colourful things were often the most dangerous. 'Take honey for example,' Xuana had explained, "It's sweet and delicious, but will give infants botulism!"
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhax08TcUXI
"Margrave Hessen is indeed targeting you," he admitted, "but my good freind Uric can protect you from him."
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZOvdpbyLv5
The Margravine burst into sardonic giggles. "The Archcount-Khagan? We both know that Anuax would eviscerate Urlic Ego-Estrin-Romanakov in seconds. We have a word in Umbracrest for people who act like him: Schadenfreude, it means pleasure derived from the misfortune of others."
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1YgIt98XKL
Tiber remembered something that Margravine Sophie had done to his older brother. She had left his older brother (who had been promoted from Diplomat to Ambassador for UEGNA by 83 EH) for his infertility. A Master Adept of Urology had diagnosed him with Y chromosome microdeletion after Marjorie Rostov decided to seek specialist help to uncover the mystery of her first child's inability to conceive.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdqXmI1okOE
"Do you remember my elder brother, Louis?"
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR0a5l0VZwM
The Margravine`s hazel eyes widened in horror. "Faintly, why?"
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9nzsEUpfGT
"Do you regret it?" Tiber asked darkly, reaching into his Cape to produce a shiny æther pistol. It was snub-nosed and compact, but still packed a powerful punch. He levelled it so that he was aiming directly between her eyes.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwp5hTr39o2
"I...why?!" She squeaked.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyykQEzXSyH
"Did you regret it?" He repeated menacingly.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwd8hkGDbRC
"I did after a while. But why would you want to do this, Tiber? You've always been a kind man, whatever happened to your disdain for politics?"
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIreqytY73d
"I got older and wiser. I'm done letting people stab me in the back. Aunax didn't kill your Uncle, his daughter did." He explained coldly, his trademark sly smirk had disappeared and left a venomous scowl in its place.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8TOhtx5TqG
"Is she really worth all of this? Are you going to sit and watch idly as they tear a family apart for their own gain? Whatever Anuax wants, we'll give him it!"
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjdeJDlE0Bg
"Yes, I will do all of these things, because MY new family will not be safe until we controll it all. This is just the beginning of his plans, do you know who Gloria Ego-Estrin-Romanakov is?"
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe9Z6AU79RM
The Margravine let out a sob. Her sadness at seeing such a moral and good person become so corrupted was written all over her face.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHvCfFxS9ps
"The...the princess? What could he possibly want with her?"
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzEeKS8tiLP
"It's quite simple actually: when the time comes, she will be paired with Lothar, Rionault will suffer an...accident and UEGNA will be ours."
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCGt4faT4ro
"The BCU did a study on snakes once, they put specimens of every western snake in a pot and closed the lid. They found that Gustav`s Viper was the most venomous and would nearly always emerge from the pot. It was named for the progenitor of the Hessens."
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCnigBy0ZDU
"Very apt, I suppose you imply that I am a snake?"
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqOT7Pclnp3
"All of them are." She muttered.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS5gACKXlVT
There was a flash of blue light and an acidic smell as the pistol decorated the wall with the contents of Sophie De Napton`s skull.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3IZ74f3arr
"That was for Louis Rostov." He snarled at her remains before gathering up his silvery cape and leaving. On the way out, a gaurd bearing a silver snake on his uniform called out to him, "What does His Serene Highness want us to do with the traitor?" He asked respectfully.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZHQxmnXaad
The Hessen-Rostov placed his arm the guard`s shoulder carefully, "There was an attack, the traitor locked herself in the building that was bombed. I believe you know what to do, Master-at-arms?"
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKEJACes3sz
"Proceed!" He snapped at the gaurds next to him.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvOprig1Qda
"This way Erzherzog Tiberius, we don't want you in the blast zone." He said with a grin.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxGM6V2Eo52
Tiber nodded.
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjAaTWY6NGw
