Age of Heroes (Age of Heroes Chronicles)

Chapter 523: An empire divided (2)

ARRANDY

It's the month of Augustine, the eight month of the year in the Edenian Empire. 

It has been about five months since the Emperor has disappeared from Eden and with it comes the chaos in his Empire.

Dark clouds are gathering that portends a bad omen

A man is sipping wine in a castle, looking very pleased with himself. He was reminded of the evening today as his son turns three.

There was a feast held for his son, and his only heir to the Perigord house. Aleph came to congratulate and many of his distant relatives comes to send their congratulations.

His councilors, treasurers, marshals, constables, stewards, secretaries, heralds, pursuivants, pages, guards, trumpeters—all had a day off and come to join the feast, to laugh and enjoy the festivities. 

It is said that Light bless those who came to celebrate the beauty of life.

Whole bands of minstrels, mimics, jugglers, tumblers, rope-dancers, and buffoons to entertain, Sein was to ignorant and could not understand the jokes yet it provides laugh to those old nobles. 

A large company of priests and monks were also present to speak common prayers to bless his child on his third nameday.

Smiling and then shaking his head he tries to forget the festivities of the evening as he is faced with troubling developments in the Empire.

On one hand he was holding the wine, the other holding the report, his eyes shines with intelligences as he read the report 

With a smile he put down the report and takes another sip.

He is taller than a year before, and a little bit rounder than the year before. 

The luxurious life suits him. He was never a martial art type or a warrior that could fight in battles. 

He was a politician, not a merchant like his father or a pig farmer like his grandfather.

He is a politician and one of the best and influential in the empire. 

Lord Silas Perigord. 

This is a name that everyone in the Empire knows. The report on his hand informs him of another assassination attempt on his life being foiled yesterday by the Arrandian Guard.

The Arrandian Guard was formed by Lady Adriana to combat the soldiers of Princess Ariadne who is intent on waging war.

But Silas looking at the report was calm as a still lake and he doesn't seem to be unnerved at all.

How many assassinations he has survived, how many strikes and shots that seems impossible to escaped have he avoided by only slight stooping aside?

Nothing could be hidden from him, the serpent slithering on the tall grass. 

He could only shakes his head and sigh as he contemplate the chaos that has been brewing since the Emperor journey to the Shadow Lands seems to have a bit of snag.

Not to mention that the seafarer reported that the New World is unapproachable and the Thirteen Tribes that usually resides on the islands and pirates ports all return home to heed some calls.

Silas remembers Mikael stories but he shakes his head. He doesn't believe in fairy tales and mythic lore

He could only regret that the peace that Arial visualize and succeed to achieve is easily crumbling without him to lead the empire.

In the days of the Kingdoms, in the days of Kings and Queens of nobly stock lives, the kings, princes, nobles, and knights who flourished in the realms of Arrandy and Vangua, though they were, relatively to the mass of the people, far more wealthy, proud, and powerful than their successors are at the present day, still lived in many respects in a very rude and barbarous manner. 

They had few books and very little advantage of instruction to enable them to read those that they had.

They were no good roads by which they could travel comfortably from place to place, and no wheeled carriages. 

They lived in castles, very strongly built indeed, and very grand and picturesque sometimes in external appearance, but very illy furnished and comfortless within. 

The artisans were skillful in fabricating splendid caparisons for the horses, and costly suits of glittering armor for the men, and the architects could construct grand cathedrals, and ornament them with sculptures and columns which are the wonder its time. 

But in respect to all the ordinary means and appliances of daily life, even the wealthiest and powerful nobles lived in a very barbarous way.

But now, under the Empire, books are everywhere, literacy is high, roads connecting the North and the South, where merchants and traders could do their business along the long stretching roads of the empire.

The Imperial Palace was lauded as one of the most beautiful creation of its age with grand and picturesque appearance external and internal with every comfort imaginable

Silas take another sip of the wine and he could feel himself feeling inebriated. Then he picks up another report

This time he reads about the nobles in the South. The south is now controlled by mostly factions that supported the First Princess.

He sighed as he squints his eyes to read the report. For some reason, Silas believes that his mind is clearer after ingesting a few drops of wine. 

It has always been his habits when he has to burn the midnight oil or when he is occupied with stacks of documents.

Politicians fight with words in the court but to speak requires knowledge. Knowledge requires information. 

Most of Silas success in manipulating or exploiting someone hinged solely on his information agency.

Most night he did this boring job, pouring each document and reading between the lines of the information that was gathered.

And when he has the information, then he can plan. Then he can trap.josei

Eden, Rome, Venicia is the stronghold of the First Princess. 

A month ago, Princess Ariadne raises her banners and the lords of the South all heed her summons.

It was almost like they were impatient to rise

They forgot that the current prosperity of the south owes to the relentless First Emperor efforts in abolishing many of the customs of the past.

In the past the mass of the common people was held in state of abject submission to the will of these lords.

The great ambition of every noble and knight at the time was to have as many of these retainers as possible under his command. 

The only limit to the number which each chieftain could assemble was his power of feeding them. 

But the Empire abolishes these practices and gathered all military power under the Emperor with the noble family was limited in their procuring of troops and men.

Anyone defying this Imperial Edict, then the Dragonguard will move. 

What terrify Silas was the fact that the Twelve Great Generals will move again which will only add chaos to the already chaotic political situations

There is also the matter of Nur Aci soldiers. 

They have broken the encirclement of Aetherland to finally rides their camels and warhorses across the Arrandian lands before they were lead to safety under the protection of the young Bonaparte, Edmond Bonaparte.

This only worsen the situations as the Imperial Sister is grieving after her fiancé, Crown Prince of Aetherland, Lord William Alan

He suffered a heavy injury after being struck by Nur Aci in a duel in the Drum River at Whitehill.

Lord Oliver, Lord Bourgnon, the great high lords of the South all have raises their banners and supports the claims of the Princess.

And thus the whole empire is divided now between the North and the South with Southern Tai and Northern Chu both who were in the northern part of the Empire is still on the fence.

The only thing that makes Silas calm enough to weather the troubles ahead is because Silas is confident that the nobles will not be powerful enough to band together and put down the Imperial family at their pleasures. 

They are all bound by the Imperial Laws. 

If they recruited troops above the limits they were allowed to, then Lady Adriana the smart woman she is, would call upon the Imperial Army and the Hall of War to support her. 

And knowing how loyal Lord Leander is towards the Laws of the Empire, he would mobilize the entire Imperial Army to suppress whoever that dares to violate the rules. 

A million man troops will sweep the lands of the South. No amount of soldiers that these nobles could accumulate could witstand the onslaught of the Imperial Army

This is the same reason why Silas urged the Imperial Sister not to violate any of the Military Laws of the Empire no matter how tempting it is. 

Silas knows firsthand the power of the Hall of War to determine the fates of this War of Two Flowers.

'Heh' he chuckles. 

'War of Two Flowers, they sure have some odd naming sense' he mused.