The Martial Unity

And thus, the meeting was swiftly arranged in haste. The two parties agreed upon a neutral public place outside of their domains of influence and agreed to bring three Martial Sages each. Prior to the meeting, each party sent a Martial Sage to verify that there were no traps or anything of the sort. After all, both sides would have loved nothing more than to genocide the other side and wipe them all out.

Although the Martial Sages would undoubtedly survive, the political power base would be destroyed if important leaders like the two consuls and the legislators of the House of Commons fell.

“Your Excellency, there is at least a fifty percent chance that this is a trap,” her advisors insisted. “There is a decent chance that Consul Sergenilius will be trying to kill you!”

“I am aware that this may very well be a trap even after the token of good faith that he took the effort to give us,” she replied with a sober and measured tone. “I’m not under the illusion that we are best friends all of a sudden. However, there is also a chance that he is operating in at least a smidgen of good faith. That alone is worth pursuing.”

While she was very determined to pull off a Martial Revolution, she would rather avoid a bloody civil war that tore the nation in half. She was more inclined to go for a bloodless revolution where she put enough pressure on her opponents, getting them to concede and ultimately fold to her demands. This was the ideal way to change the Nest of Terra in the Era of Darkness when they were being bombarded by the Beast Incursion. Part of this meant that, eventually, the other side would reach out for negotiations after being pressured enough.

In her mind, there was a good chance that this was precisely that. In other words, as long as Consul Sergenilius was operating in good faith, they would have succeeded in their goal.

“Still, we shall be prepared for the worst but hope for the best,” she continued with a determined expression. “We cannot allow our hopes to blind us from the truth that there is a real chance that Consul Sergenilius will try to kill us. We shall leave no precaution unturned and ensure that our safety is paramount.”

From powerful artifacts designed to protect them in addition to the protection of Martial Sages, Consul Notera was confident that they would be safe and secure with such heavy-duty protection.

With each passing hour, the tension in the air escalated.

Consul Notera breathed a deep breath, trying to relax her nerves.

She was understandably nervous.

This meeting could lead to them coming to a peaceful concession from the non-Martial side to take concrete steps in the direction of a Martialocracy and a Martial Supremacy. It could allow them to make the first real hints of progress in a political objective that had been centuries in the making.

“What is the progress of the Dawnbringer across the Nest of Terra?”

“After months of traveling, he’s almost done in his journey across the Nest of Terra,” she replied. “Assuming that he will have found the Scriptures of Terra after he travels across the entirety of the Nest of Terra, it means we are very close to success.”

She heaved a shaky sigh. “I hope.”

The others frowned at her words. “You… aren’t confident in his success, Your Excellency?”

“I am confident,” she replied with a calm tone. “But I also recognize that anything is possible. It is possible, as excruciatingly painful as it would be, that he simply fails. That is also another reason why I’m eager to take this meeting and have the opportunity to squeeze as many gains out of Sergenilius while the threat of the Scriptures still hangs in the air.”

They understood what she meant. “If the Dawnbringer turns out to fail in finding the Scriptures, then it would be best to gain as many concessions before that comes to pass.”

She nodded. “If he succeeds like I’m confident that he will, then we can continue to make even greater and stronger demands. But if we don’t extract concessions now and he fails, then we have nothing.”

That was why this negotiation talk was important to her.

She needed to make sure that, as unpleasant as it was, she accounted for the possibility of the failure of the Dawnbringer. Simultaneously, she needed to account for the very real possibility that this was just a trap where Consul Sergenilius would try to kill her and her fellow leaders.

It was an extremely difficult balancing act that only an experienced leader could pull off.

“It’s time, Your Excellency.”

The air grew severe and solemn.

Consul Notera narrowed her eyes. “Let’s depart, then.”

Accompanied by no less than two Sages with her at the time and two Sages already at the designated venue, she had spared no efforts to guarantee her safety. Thus, she and her legislators departed from the stateroom, entering highly secure and safe armored carriages while the Martial Sages remained on high alert to anything of danger.

Her Martial Masters remained on the outside, monitoring the entire area with their powerful senses as the flying carriages departed towards the venue in the City of Nagara. A meeting that would change the future of the Nest of Terra was coming together as both parties came together in the designated venue.

“Consul Notera,” Consul Sergenilius smiled at her perfunctorily as he extended a hand. “I’m pleased to see you here.”

“I have come here with the hope that your intentions of negotiating were sincere, Sergenilius,” Consul Notera’s tone was measuredly neutral. “I hope we can come to an accord. I, too, would rather avoid a civil war if possible. That is the only reason why he has yet to trigger a violent revolution. If you are engaged in good faith, you will find that we are quite amenable to reasonable limits.”

He smiled at her even though her words made him sick.

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