Book of The Dead

The Duke of the Western Province, Lion of the River Gate and hand of the Emperor, Raugrave Kenmor, strode the halls of his castle with dignity befitting his station.

As the Oracles had commanded, he had obeyed. Leveraging all the power of his station, the entirety of the province had been mobilised to hunt down and eliminate that which had displeased the gods. So far, things had been going well, yet the ramifications of failure were ever on his mind.

Trailing in his wake, a train of Servants, Attendants, Priests and Nobles followed, their muttered conversations reaching his ears easily. The usual mix of petty machinations, dutiful toil and ignorant gossip. Even in this state of danger, there were some fools who still refused to see the noose slipping around everyone’s neck.

Should they fail… the wrath of the Emperor would be swift, and final. Even the ruler of the Empire could do nothing but bow before the will of The Five.

Ahead of him, two vast doors were pushed open by the golden-armoured guards who stood on either side to reveal the lavish room lying beyond. The Duke did not spare a glance or thought for the details, only leading the procession of his court within as he walked around the long, gleaming table to take his place upon the lower throne.

He would have sat in the exact centre of the table, opposite the grand doorway he had entered through, were it not for the high throne to his right. In every province, a seat was maintained for the Emperor, even if the ruler of the Empire was almost never seen outside of the Central Province. Indeed, the favoured child of the gods was seldom seen outside the Divine Palace.

The various nobles and functionaries filed into the room, each finding their name-plates in short order and taking their places around the table. Without being obvious, the Duke kept an eye on these people, his people, nominally, but he would be foolish to believe there weren’t any manoeuvres being made in the shadows. Even under the eyes of the gods, their descendants would bicker and fight for power.

Normally, such machinations were in his favour, since it kept the various houses divided, squabbling amongst themselves. In the present circumstances, their bickering threatened his house and security, and so it could not be tolerated.

On his left, the Seneschal, a loyalist from the house of Chirn, rose to begin the meeting.

“The gods are watching,” he intoned, and gestured to the delegation from the Church of the Divines, who bowed solemnly. “We are gathered by the will of the rightfully appointed Duke Raugrave Kenmor to discuss progress regarding the revelation of the Oracles. Let all speak and listen with open minds and open hearts.”His words hung, ringing in the air and sinking deep into the minds of all who heard them. Powerful oratory abilities such as these could have a miraculous effect on the unguarded, but none in attendance were so vulnerable. Still, the man’s voice was extremely pleasant.

“Let us begin,” the Duke said. All eyes turned to him at once, and he acknowledged their gaze with a raised hand. “Much has been done since the revelation of the gods, and I thank all of you for lending your full and unflinching support to the cause.”

His eyes may have lingered on a few minor nobles who had been less than unflinching in their support, but the cowards would not meet his gaze.

“Despite our bright beginning, our work has only just begun. The rot has gone deep into this province, deeper than any expected, and it must be rooted out. I invite Mother Larily Chirn, the ranking member of the Church in the room, to speak.”

At one end of the long, rectangular table, the various members of the church sat together, their long, coloured robes accentuating the symbols of one god or another. Among them were several Cardinals, each with a five striped robe that honoured each Divine equally, one of whom rose to speak.

“I thank the Duke for his invitation and for the dedication he has shown to the words of the Oracles and his unwavering service to the will of the Divines.”

The Duke inclined his head, pleased with the statement.

That’s right, you snivelling curs, he thought savagely toward the other nobles, though his face remained serene, now is not the time for your fucking games!

“Yesterday, the Oracles gave a new pronouncement,” Mother Larily said gravely.

This caused a ripple of unease to pass down the table, but the Duke remained calm. He had heard this news already.

“The Western Province remains clouded by unholy influences,” the Cardinal continued, “blocking the eyes of The Divines from looking upon their children.”

There were audible gasps around the table at these words. That the Divines themselves would admit to weakness was… unprecedented. It was like the ground was shifting beneath their feet.

“Until it is fully excised, the Divines are unable to bring their influence fully to bear within the province.”

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The Duke allowed these words to hang in the air, weighing down upon the Nobles and officials in attendance. When he spoke, his deep voice echoed throughout the room.

A handy bit of enchanting work, not too heavy-handed, that helped reverberate any words spoken at his section of the table.

“I am permitted to reveal that the eyes of the Emperor are upon us,” he said gravely.

Faces grew pale, others openly blanched. Nobody wanted to fall under the gaze of the Emperor.

“The Empire is giving this threat its full attention. At this moment, we have not invited the Emperor to send the Imperial Blades to our aid, but I have been assured that such a request would be welcomed.”

Not welcomed by anyone sitting at this table. If the Emperor’s soldiers came, they would flatten half the province, and the Truth Seekers would come with them. Every drop of corruption and disloyalty would be squeezed out, and the Duke himself would not be able to avoid their wrath.

This statement was a warning to all assembled.

If we don’t handle this ourselves, then the Emperor will do it for us, and we will not survive the aftermath.

Unable to contain themselves, muttered conversations broke out around the table as the attendees absorbed this information. He could already see the changes coming over so many faces around him, and he silently cursed them again.

The noble houses had held themselves back, each one eyeing the other, trying to position for advantage, and all the while the sword of the Emperor was dangling over their necks! Short-sighted fools, the lot of them!

“I hope you now see the full gravity of the situation,” he said, taking no small amount of pleasure in the fear that had clearly gripped several of the more obstinate nobles. “What we are called to face is not something so small that we can afford to be divided, or fail to put forward anything less than our best efforts.

“Despite everything you have given so far, we need to do more to achieve the aims of our Divine Ancestors. Now, it is important that we have a frank and open conversation about our progress and capacities. Failure is not an option.”

Imperiously, he scanned the faces around the table, and there were several who refused to meet his eye. Those were the cowards, the incompetent, and the pawns. The real power brokers in his court all met eyes coolly, calm and in control, like butter wouldn’t melt in their mouths.

“Our Duke is wholly correct. When the Divines themselves have placed a task before us, it would be nothing short of blasphemy to hold anything in reserve.”

It was Contentia Shan who spoke into the silence around the table, offering her support. Not everything was as it seemed, however. Raugrave knew house Shan had withheld their Soldiers and kept them in reserve at their estate. Far from committing all they had, they’d been afraid another house would take advantage of the chaos to launch an assault, and so had moved to defend their ancestral lands.

The Lady of House Shan looked around the table, full of icy confidence before she turned her gaze toward the Duke.

“Duke Kenmor. In your wisdom, you have gathered us here to ensure everyone was as committed to the work of The Divines as they should be, which is only proper. But perhaps some among us would be more comfortable speaking in a more private setting? Lest they be too ashamed to reveal their lack of commitment.”

She was so brazen, staring contemptuously around the table, that the Duke almost laughed.

“The time when we could accommodate delicate feelings has passed us by, I’m afraid,” Duke Kenmor replied wryly. “I am sure you would much rather we didn’t discuss the loyal Soldiers of House Shan, and how they have remained at post within your estate, in such an open forum. However, I find under the eyes of the Emperor, my care for the dignity of my loyal Houses is less important than perhaps it was before.”

In other words, you have nobody but yourself to blame. With the threat of death hanging over the entire province, including the Duke himself, he would humiliate every Lord and Lady personally if that was what it took to stave off disaster.

“Before we fully embrace this open spirit of cooperation and lay all our cards on the table. I believe it would be in the interests of the court, and the Duke, to give my niece an opportunity to speak.”

Alastor Erryn bowed in his seat as he finished speaking. The Lord of house Erryn was seldom one to put himself forward at a gathering like this. Raugrave wasn’t sure if he should be worried or intrigued by this development.

“Your niece has been the court liaison to the Magister’s Tower, has she not? The Lady Recillia Erryn?”

“You are quite correct, my Duke.”

Yes, he remembered her. A driven woman, and sharp.

“She may speak. I trust she is present?”

“I am, your grace.”

Her voice came from somewhere behind her uncle, as she wasn’t considered important enough to warrant a seat. The Duke would have to discipline his staff. She was the liaison to the Magisters! During a crisis such as this, how could she not be seated at the table?!

“Please step forward.”

The Lady did so, and again he was taken aback by the hard edges she made no effort to hide.

“As you know, your grace, the Magisters have been lending their support to the teams in the field, sending mages to assist the Priests, Marshals and Soldiers making arrests.”

“Of course. The assistance of the Tower has been of great importance.”

Lady Erryn bowed her head to acknowledge his praise.

“However, it has come to my attention that the lack of personnel in the Tower has placed strain on several other duties the Magisters are expected to perform. In particular, monitoring the holy seals.”

The holy seals. Another name for the brands placed on the Slayers. The Duke began to feel the first stirrings of concern.

“Has there been any problem with the seals?”

She nodded, and he felt his stomach drop.

“It was brought to my attention only last night, and our investigation is underway, but there is reason to believe several Magisters may have been murdered. The possibility exists that there are unsanctioned Gold Slayers fomenting open rebellion in the far reaches of the province.”

The Duke raised his fist and smashed it down onto the table.