Book of The Dead

Merigold had never imagined that she would ever be the target of an assassination attempt. After all, the Herimar family were, by the standards of the Imperial Court, a weak and unimportant branch family possessing thin blood and little wealth. She’d been lucky to study at the Twin Goddess Academy on a scholarship, and her grades had earned her a minor position within the bureaucracy. That was supposed to be her lot in life. And she would have been very satisfied with it!

She was never supposed to experience… whatever this was!

“How many were there, Honoured Stennis?” she asked hesitantly.

The Imperial Knight looked at her, his gaze holding all the power of a mule’s kick. She restrained herself, barely, holding her trembling smile.

“Three, my lady,” he said, his deep voice a perfect match for his dark hair and well-defined features.

The man was a stunning specimen of a human, from a strong bloodline to boot, but Merigold couldn’t bring herself to care. Even looking at him was difficult. He had to be higher than Gold rank, which more or less confirmed the Imperial Knights were allowed to reach platinum. At least platinum.

Tasked with guarding the capital, they were among the finest warriors in the Empire, with the exception of the Divine Army that guarded the Palace of Ascension itself. They were important people who did important things, and she had never in her wildest dreams imagined that one would be assigned to guard her.

Or that it would be necessary!

“Have they all been… dealt with?” she said, flinching at her own words.

“With prejudice. I believe two will survive long enough to receive healing and be put to the question. Though I doubt they will be able to give us any useful information regarding who sent them. Much like the last lot, they always act through intermediaries.”“I… see,” she said faintly.

To think that, so far, eight people had died because of her. It… she simply wasn’t able to process it. Who would do something like this? Why?

Stennis placed a hand on the back of her seat.

“It is not your fault, my lady. You have faithfully executed your duties. It is for that reason that the Emperor has seen fit to place me by your side.”

Merigold took a few deep breaths, then nodded. He wasn’t wrong, she had done the right thing. She was given a task, and she had done what was necessary to ensure it was done, for the good of the Empire and the people who lived in it.

The more time passed, the more she realised that her goals weren’t shared by everyone. The enchanted globes of light were muted at this time of night, but it was more than enough to work with. The dozens of pages scattered over the desk in front of her were filled with tables, reports and her own neatly organised notes regarding the rebellion.

The Grand Duke Isholn, who had previously attempted to have her instructions overthrown and the thousand-strong expedition launch their attack into the rebellion without support, had been temporarily suppressed by her manoeuvre, but he would eventually be allowed to return to his duties. In the meantime, his allies within the Military Administration, or perhaps he himself, seemed insistent on having her killed for daring to usurp their authority.

As if the Emperor himself hadn’t given her this job!

Feeling vengeful, Merigold snatched up a handful of paper and crumbled it into a tight ball, her unkempt red hair falling over her face as she smushed it as best she could. When it was as tight a ball as she could make she flung it across the room with force. As luck had it, the paper smacked into what looked like a rather expensive bust of a long dead High Lady, which began to tilt rather precariously as a result of the impact.

Filled with regret, Merigold squawked and tried to clamber over the desk to save it, knowing she wouldn’t be in time, only for something to blur out of the corner of her eye. There was a gust of wind, and then Stennis was there, righting the bust with one hand, his eyes never ceasing to scan the room.

“No harm done,” he assured her.

She sagged back into her chair, brimming with relief. Goddess knew what family she would offend if she broke something so old. The last thing she needed was more enemies.

What she really needed was some good news. Hopefully, the two coming in downstairs might be able to deliver.

A few minutes later, Esmer and Dolan walked upstairs looking pleased with themselves.

“We’ve done it, Lady Herimar!” Dolan declared, triumphantly holding forth a sealed scroll in both hands.

“They approved it?” she gasped.

“They did,” Esmer nodded. “The full council voted on it in the afternoon session. Signed and sealed with the Emperor’s own name.”

Merigold froze in the act of reaching for the scroll. Handling documents with the name of the Emperor on them was hazardous business, as Grand Duke Isholn well knew! She withdrew her hands and carefully folded them in her lap.

“Any chance you could open it for me, Dolan?” she suggested.

Her subordinate rolled his eyes and broke the seal with confidence. With sure motions, he expanded the scroll and placed it flat on the table before her. Covered in gold filigree, ornate, enchanted ink that danced on the paper and emitted its own light, the document was so official it was practically blinding. After a few moments to collect herself, Merigold was finally able to read the relevant sections.

“Finally,” she sighed, falling back as the energy flew out of her body.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

All she’d had to do was endure death threats, assassins, political manoeuvring, get a stubborn old man thrown in prison and generally make a nuisance of herself, but finally, finally, the Golden Legion was approved to attack the rebellion.

Five thousand strong, they couldn’t possibly fail.

They’d argued it was overkill, an unnecessary expense, profligate waste at a time when revenues were down. Hadn’t she heard of the devastation of the Western Province?

As if they could ever repopulate the west if the rebellion wasn’t dealt with!

Ploy after ploy, excuse after excuse, delay after delay. They refused to allow anyone to order the deployment of the Golden Legion who didn’t fall under their Administration. However, after countless arguments in front of the council, the proposal was finally approved.

If it had taken any longer, she would have had to increase the numbers to ten thousand. She refused to underestimate the Necromancer, regardless of how others seemed to think.

At least it was finally over. Five thousand strong—the rebellion wouldn’t be able to stand against that. When the fighting was done, she could pick through the pieces, document what she found, have her work placed within great vaults of the Empire and resign her commission. Hopefully she could disappear back to a tiny desk in some backwards administration, sanitation maybe, and nobody would try to kill her.

Perhaps it would be worth petitioning to have Honoured Stennis remain with her for a time….

“Have you… finished reading it?” Esmer said, stepping up to the table.

Merigold waved her hand.

“The attack has been approved, isn’t that all we need?”

Doran and Esmer exchanged a long glance.

“There was some pushback from the Military Administration at the last second. They insisted on a number of amendments to the proposal, but only one of them was approved.”

She frowned.

“What did they do?”

Sitting up again, she pulled the official document closer and quickly scanned the text again.

There was a brief pause.

“What?!” she squawked.

According to this, a ranking member of the special Administration for the Rebellion would have to travel along with the expedition!

“They argued that since our Administration was behind the proposal, we should send someone along to ensure it is carried out in accordance with the will of the Council,” Doran told her. He shrugged. “It’s not an easy proposal to counter, since it is fairly standard.”

Merigold shuddered.

“But I’m the only ranking member of the Administration,” she protested. “That means I have to go!”

Esmer nodded reluctantly.

“It’s a clever move. They remove you from the capital and effectively hamstring our Administration. Without you here, our ability to propose any policy changes is almost completely destroyed.”

No wonder they were finally able to get their proposal through. The Military Administration had finally caved to pressure and gotten out of the way, but not without making sure they stuck the knife in on the way through.

“They will doubtless try to assassinate you in the field,” Stennis said, eyes cold as ice. “With you dead, they could then rescind the orders signed today and recall the expedition from the field.”

Merigold wanted to scream with frustration.

“Are these people trying to keep the rebellion alive?!” she cried. “Everything they do is making it harder to restore peace.”

Doran shrugged.

“It’s possible. Some would rather see it continue than end on someone else’s terms. Others would gladly let the four outer provinces burn to the ground if it meant they could advance a single step within the court.”

Esmer nodded in agreement.

“The chaos in the Western Province has cast several families low already, allowing others to step up and take their place. Many would much rather see the fighting continue, especially in the Military Administration. If you are able to resolve the conflict, then their authority is diminished. They would much rather undermine you so the Special Administration fails and then solve the crisis themselves.”

“This Administration is under the seal of the Emperor himself,” she protested weakly. “How are they so defiant?”

It was Stennis who answered.

“If someone was caught interfering with the business of the Special Administration, they would be put to death immediately. The seal of the Emperor is the only reason you are still alive and able to go about your business.”

“They interfere constantly,” Merigold protested.

“Raising concerns through bureaucratic channels is not interference, it is how the Council works,” Stennis told her. “The Emperor is able to override the Council, but that authority is used sparingly. Divine Blood runs through many families and it cannot be disrespected.”

“They also send assassins.”

“Which cannot be proven.”

Merigold slumped onto her desk, defeated. She’d always known that the bureaucracy was… cumbersome… liable to manipulation and politicking, but this was… absurd. Insane! The entire Western Province was a smoking ruin. Millions were dead or dispossessed. For how long were they going to play games?

“For what it’s worth, I believe the Emperor feels the same as you do,” Stennis told her. “Why else would he intervene and tip the scales so far in your favour? I do not presume to speak for the supreme ruler of the Empire and Servant of the Gods, but I believe he is attempting to use as light a touch as possible to push the bureaucracy in the right direction. Should a more direct intervention become necessary, he will act, and things will get messy.”

Oddly enough, that made her feel a little better. Dolan and Esmer both nodded in agreement, which also helped. At least someone was on her side and trying to do the right thing. It would have been nice if the Emperor could just issue some direct orders and tell certain people to pull their heads in, but she supposed that wasn’t how the court worked.

Even under the eyes of the gods themselves, they would still stab each other in the back to try to take a single step forward.

“Fine,” she sighed. “If this is what it takes to resolve this situation, then that’s what I will do.”

Going into the field was… a nightmare she never wanted to experience, but if she had to do it for the rebellion to be ended, then that’s what she would do. All she had to do was survive the experience long enough for the expedition to actually do its work. She checked the dates on the scroll and confirmed that the Golden Legion would be setting out in only a day. There was no time to waste.

“We will have to set things up so that our office isn’t completely useless while I’m away,” she said, pushing her hair back with an exhausted groan. “I’ll need to delegate some responsibilities to the two of you and draft proposals you can submit to the council in my absence.”

The more she thought about it, the more she realised they had to have done before she left. If her recent experiences had taught her anything, it was the sheer volume of tricks and traps buried into the many layers of the Administration. Even if she wasn’t here, she could make life difficult for her foes, as long as she was able to predict their moves.

Stennis bowed and interrupted her thoughts.

“With your permission, Lady Herimar, I will leave my men in place and depart for a time. I expect I will return in an hour, if that is acceptable?”

She nodded absent mindedly.

“Sure, sure. See you soon.”

In an instant, he was gone, vanished out the window, perhaps. Merigold paid it no mind as she, Dolan and Esmer began to plot and plan. If they were going to kick her out of the capital, then she was going to make them regret it.