Jackal Among Snakes

What did mortals possess that the gods valued?

The ‘why’ of divinity wasn’t always something that could be precisely measured, but by and large, gods like Kirel Qircassia or Erlebnis valued mortal people only for what use they presented. Argrave had chosen his godly allies wisely, yet even they helped largely because they hoped to make worshippers out of Vasquer’s populace. They hoped to secure a permanent presence and a stable alliance that controlled an entire continent more than they thought of benevolently aiding its citizens.

The mortals of the Great Chu were staunchly anti-divinity, however. They believed in a concept of the heavens—an impermeable will encompassing the entire world, from which all things stem—and the reigning emperor was this heaven’s son. While Great Chu emperors had become gods, they were all viewed as traitors to the heavens rather than proponents of it.

This culture and way of thinking was so absolute that none of the deities of the Qircassian Coalition could make true believers of the whole populace here. Small sections, perhaps. Small towns, even small cities. Yet the wider culture would persist, as it always had. The people would accept no gods. They would exist only as the Great Chu, as had been the case for many millennia.

It made sense, then, that Kirel Qircassia’s sky tower changed its target from Vasquer to the Great Chu.

The skies themselves caught fire over the Great Chu, shimmering with heat and flames of uncountable color. Blasts of hellish purple fire descended from above, targeting the cities of the north—and indeed, the north alone. Arcs of electricity, vast tornadoes, and colossal water snakes rose up to meet attacks that rained like a shower of meteors—the works of S-rank spellcasters or the enchanted constructs defending cities. In Vasquer, all attacks ceased, focused now on the Great Chu.

Elenore’s information lines, elegantly constructed over the past weeks, completely shattered from the chaos of this total war. Small, rural towns in the north, without defense, suffered absolute destruction. The cities themselves were capable of defending against the sky tower’s assault, but all flow of goods and communication ceased as a siege across the continent began.

On the far north, meanwhile, the Great Chu’s so-called barbarian hordes began a full-scale invasion into the north almost as though coordinated—and perhaps they were coordinated by Erlebnis’ machinations. The defending armies were ready for them, and the invaders fell by the tens of thousands. Nevertheless, it strained the north further yet.

Hell became manifest, hiding sunlight and moonlight indiscriminately in wake of its power. Yet even despite this unprecedented calamity… the Great Chu resisted. It did not break, did not fall. Not a one of its cities burned to ash, and though the death toll on the citizenry was high, the armies did not break.

Argrave’s forces in the south, meanwhile, experienced something infinitely worse than the north: nothing at all.

As the Argrave’s new allies witnessed their country light aflame while they were spared, collective suspicion arose. Who else did this benefit but the invaders? Was ‘Grand Commandant Sun’ responsible for this? The prospect of fighting countrymen was already a daunting one, but to have civilian centers assaulted? To rest warm and happy while others faced a calamity beyond reckoning?

“This reeks of Erlebnis’ doing,” Argrave said, standing on the deck of the Sea Dragon. “This sort of cold, callous move…”

“They waited for the Great Chu to fracture in half, then began their assault.” Anneliese sounded pained as she watched. “It may have been their goal to shatter this empire as much as our kingdom. Just as we sought to slay Erlebnis and Kirel Qircassia both, they sought to slay Vasquer and the Great Chu both. It would not be the first time Erlebnis has destroyed empires for his aims.”

“We could prevent this by calling over Almazora, but…” Argrave lowered his head, leaving something unspoken—calling Almazora would expose Vasquer to risk. To risk his own populace to save another, even though the damage to their movement was essentially irreparable… frankly, Argrave could barely consider the notion. His duty to his people came before his duty to all people.

Argrave heard clanging metal behind, and turned to see a Veidimen guard rushing forth. He kneeled down and said, “Your Majesty! Ji Meng is being incredibly insistent. He has repeatedly requested to see you.”

#####

“There’s only one way that this invasion makes it through this calamity decisively,” insisted Ji Meng, at the most forceful he’d been in a long time. “Return my weapon. Restore my magic. Restore my honor guard, with all their weapons and glories. Let me lead these men into battle to save their countrymen, destroy and excise the imperial court like the tumor it is, and then together, we can destroy that tower in the sky.”

Argrave crossed his arms. “That isn’t—”

“It is,” Ji Meng interrupted, loudly yet evenly. “They think you will not trust me. If you do, we can turn this disaster into a great boon as their malignant action propels us into both legitimacy and righteousness. You, Anneliese. I know that you can tell if I lie; I reveal that only to earn your trust.” He slammed his fist against his heart. “I will not betray you. Not immediately after, not ten years after, not a century after. If you back my emperorship completely, I will obey completely. Anything you want, I shall provide. You will be my liege, King Argrave, and I your vassal.”

Argrave looked at Anneliese, doubly in shock that Ji Meng knew of Anneliese’s talents and to verify if Ji Meng was being honest. She looked back at him and whispered with the slightest nod, “He…”

“I’m being truthful, aren’t I?” Ji Meng placed his hands on his knees as he sat cross-legged.

Anneliese looked at him squarely, her amber eyes intent. “You have no intention of changing your mind, or otherwise deceiving us?”

“None at all,” Ji Meng shook his head.

Anneliese’s face was cold as stone. “And if we ordered you to kill yourself?”

Ji Meng smiled, and did not answer for a time. “I can’t say I’d do it, no. But do you remember what I said, Argrave, Anneliese? If you juice me, you’ll find the taste the most pleasant you’ve ever had.” Argrave grimaced at the mental image, yet the emperor continued. “You’ll find me an utterly bottomless well of resourcefulness. You would never give such an order—of that, I am confident.”

Quiet reigned before Argrave thought of the most important question. “Why the sudden change? What do you want?”

“What do I want?” Ji Meng repeated. “I want my children to know, for Governor Zen to know, what I chose. Now, and forevermore. I want them to know…” Ji Meng seemed to struggle to gather himself—he was very clearly uncomfortable with his emotions. “I want them to know that it’s mine. I claimed it, I built it over decades, and it’ll remain mine, no matter in what form,” he said venomously. “No matter what compromises I needed to make, I was willing. I want all of my children to keep living, and to see what comes. I want them to contend with you to earn their place in this land, just as I had to do.”

Argrave narrowed his eyes. “You’re doing this… what, because your daughter betrayed you? Because she was ready to work with Zen instead of you? It’s petty vengeance?”

Ji Meng stared for what seemed to be like a minute, clenching his hand against his knee tightly. “You’ll understand, someday. What it’s like for your children to look at you, and their only thought be the hope you’ll die so they can take your place. For them to bicker, to squabble amongst each other, like infants never grown. Born in the most luxurious seat imaginable, yet utterly…” he turned his head away. “I love them. And I’m doing this because I love them. They’ll be worthless, otherwise. No hardship, no struggle, jumping from one lap to the other like nothing more than high-class prostitutes. They should not sit upon the throne just because they were born of my seed. Nor Governor Zen’s, for that matter.” He looked at Argrave. “You have my cooperation. My children will live under my terms—that’s what I want.”

“And if we kill those that try something, will you stay loyal?”

Ji Meng said resolutely, “I won’t tolerate wanton slaughter. I want my children to live—even if they are worthless, a lot of them.” He nodded. “But yes, you may kill the fools that try to rebel and fail. But they won’t, because they’re my children.”

Argrave stared at Ji Meng with a mixture of contempt and respect. That he would do this, out of some twisted and possessive affection over his children… it certainly played to their benefit. But it was a rather disgusting thing to deal with.

Far more disgusting, however, were the actions of the Qircassian Coalition. Argrave was willing to put his feelings aside.

“Anne?” he looked to her.

“I’m of a like mind with you,” she nodded, knowing his intentions.

Argrave consulted with Elenore, who was busy frantically performing damage control. After a long conversation with her explaining the problem, during which Ji Meng waited uneasily, Argrave looked at the emperor.

“You’ll need to restore your magic,” Argrave said quietly.

“The largest issue,” Ji Meng nodded. “I’ve not had that drink. How many days will it take for the Ebonice to leave my bloodstream?”

Argrave grabbed at the Ravenstone on his chest, empowering it to call and release the Alchemist. His huge frame filled the room at once, kneeling down to fit. He compressed himself down to something more suitable.

“I was in the middle of something,” the Alchemist said, his voice like splintering ice. “You might’ve contacted me another way.”

“You’ll be busy again soon,” Argrave dismissed. “This is incredibly urgent. You need to remove all traces of Ebonice from his system, and recharge his magic,” he pointed to Ji Meng, who was admirably composed in wake of the giant suddenly appearing in this room.

The Alchemist looked at Ji Meng, and as the giant’s eyes glowed green in examination, the emperor inquired, “Who is he?”

“You asked me how many days it’ll take,” Argrave continued. “Wrong unit of time. How many hours will it take, my favorite Alchemist?”

#####

Argrave sat at a table, looking down at his heart that glowed a brilliant purple as it pumped and bled copious amounts of black blood into small tubes attached where veins ought to be. Elenore sat across from him.

“We’re going to prepare for a mass mobilization,” Argrave explained, looking up from his heart to look at her more clearly. “I want everyone ready to move—all the Veidimen, our own forces, even the gods. Their forces are extremely distracted. We need to come in and assist them. Ji Meng assures me he can assure our assistance blossoms into a more complete alliance; it’s the only way we can salvage things. Spread the word—Grand Commandant Sun is going to protect his countrymen.”

“I’ve, uhh…” Elenore swallowed, then put her hand to her mouth as though to stifle rising bile. She prudently looked away from his beating heart splayed across the table, only to encounter another grim sight.

The Alchemist handled vast amounts of Argrave’s blood, extracting the liquid magic from within it and drip-feeding it to Ji Meng as the indomitable emperor was trying his damnedest not to become petrified from terror. He was cut open, too, and the emperor pulled out tiny essences of Ebonice with extreme precision.

“Gods, I wish I was blind again…” Elenore exclaimed, covering her eyes and shaking her head to dispel the sight. “You didn’t need to bring me here. I’ve already done most of what you said. Galamon is working hard as we speak.”

“Good,” Argrave nodded. “I’ll be going with Durran. We’re going to make the push to the Palace of Heaven, while Ji Meng handles a lot of the other stuff on the ground. Isn’t that right, emperor?” he called out.

Ji Meng instead asked, “How long will this—"

“Argrave did not bar me from removing your ability to speak,” the Alchemist interrupted him coldly. “Silence yourself if this sounds unideal.”

Argrave smiled broadly as the emperor ceased all movement. “Well… it looks like things are moving faster. I think now’s the time to make our move on Governor Zen, too. Find out who the mole is.”

“Alright,” Elenore nodded. “I agree, it’s past time. I’ll cooperate with Stain on that.”

The door opened, and Durran came in. “Hey, you call—" he paused, looking around, then quietly crept to Argrave’s table. “You called?” he whispered, casting glances at the body horror in the room.

“We’ve got a quick counter prepared,” Argrave held his hand up. “You’ve gotta give the sword back to the emperor. And I need you to help me armor Ji Meng’s guard again. It’s ‘go mode.’ We need to look alive. If we do, we might actually stay alive.”