Post by StaolDerg on Dec 29, 2020 2:47:00 GMT -5
The warm sky warmed the edge of curtains in the conference Room, illuminating the hall with gentle glow. The ancient columns that held up the roof stretched from end to end, the likenesses of a dozen Inselni Queens meticulously carved into them.
Akel II sat at the head of the table in the center of the room, listening to the Crown and Inselni officers who surrounded her about the table. Each wore a crown of silver and gold, each one painstakingly kept to a fine shine of their own, patterns of intricate design carefully printed upon them.
Akel herself wore a comparatively simple crown of lapis and jade-bordered silver, her personal seal emblazoned on the front. Her seat was shielded from the light by the dark curtains, leaving only her decorated wrist clasps glittering on the table. She remained with her head facing the table, but her lower horns twitched to the movement of the others at the table receptively.
Standing was the Crested of Plenty, placing her hands behind her back as she made her report before the Queen.
“Your Majesty, the tax reports are in for the month. We met quotas- barely. Greatferns cooperative to the local tax collectors gave at least 80% of the required amount demanded- others either refused, sent death threats, or attacked the government officers.”
Akel was quiet, almost unresponsive. Quietly she asked, “And famine?”
“Your Majesty?”
“How many dead? A harsh winter was reported this year.”
The Crested of Plenty looked to the side momentarily before closing her eyes.
“At least two thousand from malnutrition. The relief shipment from Kumosenkan didn’t make it in time. A further fourteen hundred down from plague. Mainly rural in the south eastern region. Reports are still being filed- likely more unreported.”
The Queen was silent for a moment before turning to the Broken of Crowns.
“Why?”
The question sounded more like a statement, as if the words were already an answer by themselves. Her voice was faintly fractured, like the edges of a window beginning to crack.
The Crown straightened from their seat, facing the Queen with a pursed lip.
“We suspect the syndicates, Your Majesty. Smuggling operations seem to have stripped the first two emergency trains of their cargo before they departed port. Corrupt officials took part in bribery to conceal the actions, overwriting them as delivered. Further damage was prevented by an immediate stationing of troops to guard the station. An investigation is underway to root out those involved.”
A scowl formed on the ridge of Akel’s lips, threatening to retort angrily at the Crown before her. Instead she shoved back the fury as it cooled to a crushing guilt, placing her head in her hand. She shot a plume of dark smoke towards the side, her cabinet watching sparks die against the cold marble floor.
She rose from her seat, pacing behind her seat with crossed arms, staring at the wall.
“Have we made progress purging them at all- no, nevermind.”
She sighed, frustratedly shutting her eyes. She knew full well the hands of the crime families ran deep into the government. The officer had done all they could.
She nodded at the Broken of Crowns. “Thank you. Commend the officers who discovered the discrepancy. They have my gratitude- and I’m sure the honor of those who are still alive.”
With a fluid movement, she turned to Vaiseln, the Chief-of-Staff. “What’s the status on the forces armed with Kumosenkan outdated reserves? I want to pull military police units if they are available from the reserves.”
Api made herself presentable, keeping a uniform stare forward.
“Three regiments of military police are available for service, Your Majesty. Shall I have them dispatched to guard the stations?”
“Send them to rail smuggling hotspots. When more are available, similarly assign them to garrison and deter further such occasions. I will not have this happen again.”
“Very well, Your Majesty.”
The Crested of Blood suddenly spoke up, standing to the Queen.
“Your Majesty, I would like to request that this not be done.”
Akel almost glared at her. “And why is that?”
“The MPs will inspect every single worker and shipment, slowing down efficiency enormously. Taxes will have to be individually audited, delaying their transport to fulfill quotas. There is little other alternative-
"
The Queen burst out, slamming a claw against the table with a thunderous boom, making all the cabinet leap up out of their seats as the table shook. The few Crown members had never seen the relatively soft-spoken Inselni in such anger before, warily backing away. More experienced of the cabinet stood back calmly, but kept their mouths shut.
“Delay this, postpone that- you were among the number who argued for Elenria’s submission to Kumosenkan! You were among those who said that we would not grow to their level without sacrifice! “
The Crested immediately defended herself, quickly responding, “-And I stand by those points, Your Majesty. The road to a modern society must be done with blood and toil, ours most certainly necessary-“
“How much blood must we wash our hands with before we have reached ‘necessary,’ Opal-Wings? How many more of our people must die before we decide a last quota is finally fulfilled? Which number of graves will convince you and your group-“ she waved at the other High Crested in anger, staring them down “-that we have shot our own people enough? Do you not tire of seeing our soldiers fight their own kin over honor long dead because of a choice we made? Blood in the streets to the service for the Empress?”
“Honor demands our service, and so we must fulfill it to its entirety, Your Majesty! We cannot back out now. No empire lasts a thousand years before it collapses- why would Kumosenkan be any different? Blood dries in time and we can heal these wounds-“
Something in Akel snapped as she cast a finger towards the door.
“Out!” she roared, slamming her free hand in a fist against the table again. “All of you, out now!”
Her voice left no room for debate as the room emptied instantly, the guards outside shutting the door behind with a distant boom, leaving her by herself in the hall.
She set both hands against the edge, her furious breaths leaving her chest heaving. It didn’t last, crumbling into a choked sob, Akel slumping into her seat as she cupped her face. Hot tears streamed out as she broke down completely, herself shaking with each gasp.
I’ve failed, she thought. I’ve killed my own people with my name on their lips in war, divided them over honor and blood, starved them of so basic things as food and water.
It was ironic, really. A nation of ancient people, and yet she might as well have been a child- barely two hundred sixty years old, and without a heir. She’d sold her whole nation to a nation of foreigners on a whim, out of fear- or maybe out of deeper feeling of being clever, humbling her people to emerge stronger in the future.
But she hadn’t been humbled. She represented Elenria- a proud corner upon Touli where ancient spires marked the a home of sky-kissing mountains and scorching deserts, where the sea hugged the land in both violent and gentle embrace of sandy beaches and rocky cliffs.
She didn’t feel humbled. She felt violated- her rivers drenched in blood, plains sick with withered bodies of her people. The forests robbed of their wood, the mountains pillaged, and the sky choked with the clouds of industry, flowing towards the west in the direction of a land who knew her solely by the metrics it was presented each month engraved in a report.
“Why?” she cried out, hugging her legs.
But she knew full well that the factories were oiled in Elenrian blood, cooled by their tears- and none of it was the fault of the Kumo. No, it was her fault, and hers alone. She could’ve ordered the taxes underpaid, slowed the working hours, eased the stress in any way- but she hadn’t. The truth was that the Kumo had done less than issue a number to her and she’d treated it like a divine order, massacring her own people in the process.
Her people didn’t even blame her for it, did they? The reformists championed her figure like a savior, the greatferns a puppet of Kumosenkan, the royalists a prisoner of invaders. She was a criminal on a throne with the best treatment of any person in her homeland- the greatest liar in Elenria, promoted to the greatest fool Ouhiri had seen yet.
And the blame was pointed anywhere but her.
She could only wonder if she had any time, or opportunity in the matter left to fix things as she curled in her seat, her sobs slowly quieting down as the sun dipped beneath the mountain’s summit, leaving the room only illuminated by the electric lights above her.
Akel II sat at the head of the table in the center of the room, listening to the Crown and Inselni officers who surrounded her about the table. Each wore a crown of silver and gold, each one painstakingly kept to a fine shine of their own, patterns of intricate design carefully printed upon them.
Akel herself wore a comparatively simple crown of lapis and jade-bordered silver, her personal seal emblazoned on the front. Her seat was shielded from the light by the dark curtains, leaving only her decorated wrist clasps glittering on the table. She remained with her head facing the table, but her lower horns twitched to the movement of the others at the table receptively.
Standing was the Crested of Plenty, placing her hands behind her back as she made her report before the Queen.
“Your Majesty, the tax reports are in for the month. We met quotas- barely. Greatferns cooperative to the local tax collectors gave at least 80% of the required amount demanded- others either refused, sent death threats, or attacked the government officers.”
Akel was quiet, almost unresponsive. Quietly she asked, “And famine?”
“Your Majesty?”
“How many dead? A harsh winter was reported this year.”
The Crested of Plenty looked to the side momentarily before closing her eyes.
“At least two thousand from malnutrition. The relief shipment from Kumosenkan didn’t make it in time. A further fourteen hundred down from plague. Mainly rural in the south eastern region. Reports are still being filed- likely more unreported.”
The Queen was silent for a moment before turning to the Broken of Crowns.
“Why?”
The question sounded more like a statement, as if the words were already an answer by themselves. Her voice was faintly fractured, like the edges of a window beginning to crack.
The Crown straightened from their seat, facing the Queen with a pursed lip.
“We suspect the syndicates, Your Majesty. Smuggling operations seem to have stripped the first two emergency trains of their cargo before they departed port. Corrupt officials took part in bribery to conceal the actions, overwriting them as delivered. Further damage was prevented by an immediate stationing of troops to guard the station. An investigation is underway to root out those involved.”
A scowl formed on the ridge of Akel’s lips, threatening to retort angrily at the Crown before her. Instead she shoved back the fury as it cooled to a crushing guilt, placing her head in her hand. She shot a plume of dark smoke towards the side, her cabinet watching sparks die against the cold marble floor.
She rose from her seat, pacing behind her seat with crossed arms, staring at the wall.
“Have we made progress purging them at all- no, nevermind.”
She sighed, frustratedly shutting her eyes. She knew full well the hands of the crime families ran deep into the government. The officer had done all they could.
She nodded at the Broken of Crowns. “Thank you. Commend the officers who discovered the discrepancy. They have my gratitude- and I’m sure the honor of those who are still alive.”
With a fluid movement, she turned to Vaiseln, the Chief-of-Staff. “What’s the status on the forces armed with Kumosenkan outdated reserves? I want to pull military police units if they are available from the reserves.”
Api made herself presentable, keeping a uniform stare forward.
“Three regiments of military police are available for service, Your Majesty. Shall I have them dispatched to guard the stations?”
“Send them to rail smuggling hotspots. When more are available, similarly assign them to garrison and deter further such occasions. I will not have this happen again.”
“Very well, Your Majesty.”
The Crested of Blood suddenly spoke up, standing to the Queen.
“Your Majesty, I would like to request that this not be done.”
Akel almost glared at her. “And why is that?”
“The MPs will inspect every single worker and shipment, slowing down efficiency enormously. Taxes will have to be individually audited, delaying their transport to fulfill quotas. There is little other alternative-
"
The Queen burst out, slamming a claw against the table with a thunderous boom, making all the cabinet leap up out of their seats as the table shook. The few Crown members had never seen the relatively soft-spoken Inselni in such anger before, warily backing away. More experienced of the cabinet stood back calmly, but kept their mouths shut.
“Delay this, postpone that- you were among the number who argued for Elenria’s submission to Kumosenkan! You were among those who said that we would not grow to their level without sacrifice! “
The Crested immediately defended herself, quickly responding, “-And I stand by those points, Your Majesty. The road to a modern society must be done with blood and toil, ours most certainly necessary-“
“How much blood must we wash our hands with before we have reached ‘necessary,’ Opal-Wings? How many more of our people must die before we decide a last quota is finally fulfilled? Which number of graves will convince you and your group-“ she waved at the other High Crested in anger, staring them down “-that we have shot our own people enough? Do you not tire of seeing our soldiers fight their own kin over honor long dead because of a choice we made? Blood in the streets to the service for the Empress?”
“Honor demands our service, and so we must fulfill it to its entirety, Your Majesty! We cannot back out now. No empire lasts a thousand years before it collapses- why would Kumosenkan be any different? Blood dries in time and we can heal these wounds-“
Something in Akel snapped as she cast a finger towards the door.
“Out!” she roared, slamming her free hand in a fist against the table again. “All of you, out now!”
Her voice left no room for debate as the room emptied instantly, the guards outside shutting the door behind with a distant boom, leaving her by herself in the hall.
She set both hands against the edge, her furious breaths leaving her chest heaving. It didn’t last, crumbling into a choked sob, Akel slumping into her seat as she cupped her face. Hot tears streamed out as she broke down completely, herself shaking with each gasp.
I’ve failed, she thought. I’ve killed my own people with my name on their lips in war, divided them over honor and blood, starved them of so basic things as food and water.
It was ironic, really. A nation of ancient people, and yet she might as well have been a child- barely two hundred sixty years old, and without a heir. She’d sold her whole nation to a nation of foreigners on a whim, out of fear- or maybe out of deeper feeling of being clever, humbling her people to emerge stronger in the future.
But she hadn’t been humbled. She represented Elenria- a proud corner upon Touli where ancient spires marked the a home of sky-kissing mountains and scorching deserts, where the sea hugged the land in both violent and gentle embrace of sandy beaches and rocky cliffs.
She didn’t feel humbled. She felt violated- her rivers drenched in blood, plains sick with withered bodies of her people. The forests robbed of their wood, the mountains pillaged, and the sky choked with the clouds of industry, flowing towards the west in the direction of a land who knew her solely by the metrics it was presented each month engraved in a report.
“Why?” she cried out, hugging her legs.
But she knew full well that the factories were oiled in Elenrian blood, cooled by their tears- and none of it was the fault of the Kumo. No, it was her fault, and hers alone. She could’ve ordered the taxes underpaid, slowed the working hours, eased the stress in any way- but she hadn’t. The truth was that the Kumo had done less than issue a number to her and she’d treated it like a divine order, massacring her own people in the process.
Her people didn’t even blame her for it, did they? The reformists championed her figure like a savior, the greatferns a puppet of Kumosenkan, the royalists a prisoner of invaders. She was a criminal on a throne with the best treatment of any person in her homeland- the greatest liar in Elenria, promoted to the greatest fool Ouhiri had seen yet.
And the blame was pointed anywhere but her.
She could only wonder if she had any time, or opportunity in the matter left to fix things as she curled in her seat, her sobs slowly quieting down as the sun dipped beneath the mountain’s summit, leaving the room only illuminated by the electric lights above her.