Chapter 30: 28 – [Judgement]

I sat on my war throne, surrounded by numerous tapestries and murals. My people had graciously produced a tent and trappings fitting for their King before I joined the war march, we could not have our allies and enemies looking down on us. However it looked like that would happen anyway, my eyes may have been closed but I could still see through the faint tremors in the earth. A party for negotiation had been dispatched toward our encampment from the Empire's capital, their confidence and ego obvious just from the way they leisurely approached our front line. I motioned to have Oswalt lean a little closer.

"Send word to our allied Kings, a party approaches with intentions to negotiate and we shall host them here. I shall preside as a representative of the enslaved by my right as a High Fey."

I turned my attention back to the group from the Empire, a small smile forming on my face as I recognized a member of this delegation.

—————

A group of 5 Empire men was lead into my tent about an hour later, the Chief of Novarus sat to my right and Raynard sat to my left. A man I assumed was to be the Empire's page and record keeper stepped sideways and bowed slightly before beginning to introduce the party.

"His Imperial Majesty Emperor Aelfric Byron Gecuria, the sixth of his name, wishes to deliberate with the war parties of Novarus, Traisan and Brimstone."

The short blond man he gestured to proceeded to sit in the center chair at the table before us, no bow or salutation of his own to the other leaders before him. While I didn't much care for people bowing and scrapping, I did particularly care about flippant egotism and breach of etiquette from an enemy seeking to negotiate out of a war brought about due to their own actions. I released a concentrated wave of Ether into the man's chest while morphing the stone chair underneath him in order to knock him out of it, he appeared rather unaccustomed to carrying himself in armor as he clumsily tumbled to the floor. I heard a very slight snicker from my right before opening my eyes and locking them onto the man I had just dumped into the dirt.

"You will be seated when I bade you sit, Emperor. I represent those you have enslaved on behalf of the Fey council, you will afford me the proper respect entitled to us as the caretakers of this world. You shall likewise still your compatriots before they find themselves at my mercy. Your delegation was accepted by my command alone and does not hold any power at this table, your rule is over regardless of the tokens or favors you have brought with you to this negotiation. Your power of rule is no longer recognized by the Fey or the Kingdoms of Men, as such, you shall display the proper respect to foreign leaders that is required of a displaced noble." I leaned forward slightly and narrowed my eyes. "Did I make your position here perfectly clear?"

I had to give it to the Emperor, he was either remarkably brave or incredibly foolish. He showed only a brief look of panic before controlling himself and covering it with a practiced glare. He waved to his men for them to remove their hands from their weapons and stood up while dusting himself off. He turned to each of the leaders beside me and properly addressed them with a greeting and a somewhat stiff bow before returning to me and repeating the gesture, the glare still present in his eyes. He then introduced his party, which included the lovely Duke Claudius who had been glaring a hole through my face since they entered moments ago. I finally gestured to the prepared chairs after the formalities were out of the way. Which was amusing in its own way as each of them sat very gingerly, as if to avoid the same shifting chair scene that their Emperor had just experienced.

"We shall first hear the demands of the Chief of the Novarus tribes, as their people have been impacted the most by the Empire's misdeeds." The man to my right shifted slightly forward in his throne as his page handed him a scroll to read from. 

"The seven great tribes of Novarus hereby demand the following recompense from the former Empire of Gecuria. Firstly, all slaves that are of Novarus blood are to be freed and returned to their homeland, regardless of generation or reason for enslavement. Secondly, the Empire is to pay a fine to the families of deceased or injured tribal slaves. Thirdly, they are to provide all accounts of trade with foreign countries or trading groups with regards to the trade of tribal slaves. Fourthly, they are to disband the lineage of any noble family that purchased or sold a member of the tribes. And finally, they are to deliver all those that participated in the buying or selling of tribal slaves to Novarus so they may be punished according to our laws!"

The Emperor remained silent, thankfully, but he managed to retain his egotistical glare even while his mouth turned into a thin sour line. I smirked slightly as his eyes met mine before I turned to my left and addressed Reynard.

"The King of Traisan shall proceed with his demands that must be met." Reynard took no scroll or list from his aids and simply leveled a sharp glare at the Emperor before him.

"The Kingdom of Traisan makes no particular demands of the Empire but shall enforce the demands already provided by the Novarus tribes, as their ally and friend. We shall, of course, be dividing the Empire's land with Novarus once the demands have been met, as the Gecuria Empire is no longer recognized as a national power."

I nodded to him before returning my gaze to the red-faced Emperor. "Your answer, former Emperor of Gecuria? Shall you meet the demands of the war parties and be removed from your throne peacefully with your life and name intact, or will you resist and cause your lineage to be erased while the cartographers redraw borders?"

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