Enlightened Empire

Chapter 114 Blemishes

If nothing else, at least the food was delicious. With a sigh, Corco looked over the various offerings of fish and seafood which were presented before him in dozens of bowls. Over the past few months, the king and his chefs had come up with a whole slew of new ways to prepare and enjoy the sea food Saniya was so known for. Garnished with sprigs of a diverse number of herbs and several whole lemons, the first major course of today’s banquet was both refreshing and enticing. As far as Corco was concerned however, the contents of the bowls and plates couldn’t hold a candle to the music on offer. To the great enjoyment of the lords seated within the garden, a number of musicians had taken center stage, where a large space remained reserved for artistic performances and of course the ubiquitous duels of Medala.

Luckily, there had been enough women capable of playing instruments within what little was left of his father’s warrior servants. Otherwise, Corco might have been forced to come to the fore himself. However, the rendition of the piece performed by the specialized musicians was in no way inferior to Corco’s own. Despite their inexperience with the style or the composition, a light, an ethereal melody danced among the guests and enhanced the sophisticated atmosphere even further.

Unique, delicious food, a novel approach to liquor, accompanied by delightful music in the most fantastical garden of the south. Yes indeed, everything about the king’s first harvest festival was perfect, or it would have been, had it not been for one or two troublemakers.

"King Corco, we need a final decision on the bandit’s status soon," Tama whispered into Corco’s right ear. Forced to focus on the very troubles he wished to ignore, the king followed Tama’s eyes to find Uchu, the commoner bandit, as he sat in his own private corner of the garden, a frown on his face. Even when the bandit was unhappy, he still managed to enjoy food and drink like no other man in Rapra Castle could. No wonder, as all other men in the castle had a modicum of decorum, at least. They would hold themselves back even when faced with good food and drink and wouldn’t shovel and funnel everything before them into their gullet as fast as they could. As evidenced by his own actions, Uchu had far fewer reservations than his new colleagues.

While he tried to force all the food on offer into his stomach, the bandit also managed to create enough noise of ungodly tone and proportion to even drown out the music in his immediate surroundings, intent on killing the mood for as many lords as possible. If nothing else, his lack of manners, together with his previous insult, had isolated the upstart from the other nobles, who had chosen to sit far away from the spectacle. Only Uchu’s new ally and attendant Guachimine Villca was still by his side, but shuffled around on his seat in discomfort as he gnawed on his fingernails, rather than the fish before him.

"What do you mean, ’decision’?" Corco asked back after he had looked over the blemish on his perfect banquet with sadness. "The decision has already been made, there is nothing to decide any more. According to the old Villca’s fourth son, who is a noble by status, the second son accepted a duel with this guy, which, by all right, admits him into the same status as any warrior, at the very least. So I had to let him in."

With a sigh, the king turned away and looked over to the opened walls, down onto the new town he had built atop Sillu Island. Down there, the commoners of Saniya would come together at this very moment to celebrate their year of plenty, the first of many if things went according to plan. In any other Medalan city, they wouldn’t even make it into the inner city wall, let alone so close. Corco wouldn’t risk his new reputation among the commoners by insisting on old rules.

"Then there’s the invitation," the king continued. "If the duelists agreed beforehand that the winner would take Khune’s invitation - and Uchu won the duel - then I can’t do anything about that either. If what Guachimine says is true, the bandit has a right to be here. What am I supposed to do, kill the idiot? In that case, I’ll break the very rules which have kept all the lords here, and their ancestors, in power for centuries."

"But... he killed a noble. Even worse, he brought the head here, into Rapra Castle. It’s an insult to the new king. We won’t let that stand, will we?" Even though Tama’s balled hands were trembling, her voice never became louder than a hiss as she retorted Corco.

"And play right into his hands? I’m not that stupid. Yes, he’s acting like a dick, and he’s clearly dangerous. But he hasn’t really attacked House Pluritac after all. Eliminating a challenger to my authority, one of the Villca heirs, could even be seen as a boon. I’m sure not many lords here would mind if I throw the literal bastard into jail right now, but once they go home and think about it, I’m sure the great masters of the south would realize that they rather not be ruled by a king who plays it fast and loose with the rules."

"But still-"

"You’re right." Corco raised his hand and interrupted the girl before any disagreement could develop. "Even though there are many reasons against it, he still spat on my authority. I won’t throw him out. That’s exactly what the bastard wants."

Rather than interrupt again, Tama turned silent to listen.

"Think about it, what reason does this guy have to insult me like this? Isn’t he just trying to impress all those eastern lords who didn’t show up? So he’s already achieved his goal, why would I send him away when he’s already won? Might as well make the bastard stay and let him suffer with me," Corco grinned. "Plus, while I have no reason to throw him out, I and every other noble in this garden have every reason to hate him for his actions. Once the banquet is over, we can just stop inviting him... or not support his succession. As for dueling the bandit to get rid of him... I’m sure that even if we don’t do anything, there will still be more than enough people willing to discipline the cheeky bandit for us."

With a modest nod of his head, Corco pointed out the young lord across the garden. Almost hidden by the long bamboo reeds, even more solitary than his supposed brother, sat the first young master of House Villca, Epunamo. Despite his strong claim to the title of Cashan’s lord, and all the power which came from it, he had chosen to sit by himself, only accompanied by his warrior attendant. As soon as he had arrived and understood what had happened, he had taken a seat far away from the other lords and done nothing but stare at the bandit who killed his younger brother.

As a result, the awkward atmosphere in the venue had reached its peak ever since Epunamo’s arrival. With the conflict between the Villca heirs at a constant simmer, they had stolen the spotlight from everyone else, including their host. None of the other lords dared be too loud or exuberant, for fear that they might miss an important change in the power balance of the north-east. In the ever-shifting politics of Medala, any slip-up could be deadly.

"No one else has come?" Corco asked. Though he didn’t have much hope, he still had to make sure.

"No, the western lords around the Mayura River are here in almost full number, but none the eastern lords along the Tunki River and the Weltalic coast has come. From among the east, only the Villca heirs have taken up their king’s invitation. Even then, the third son has still not made an appearance and the second son was killed by a bastard. It seems like the east will be much trouble in the future."

Another sigh escaped the king as he looked down onto the carefully prepared food in his bowl. All the work, ruined by some feuding pretenders.

"Man, this is some frustrating shit. At least the westerners have shown enough respect to hear me out. Half the south isn’t a bad start."

"King Corco, are we sure about the west’s loyalty?" the whisper turned into a wisp as the girl spoke of something the king had declared top secret information. In response, Corco’s eyes narrowed and he looked over to the central portion of seats, the ones before his own table and in plain sight. At least there, the prepared seats and tables were well-stacked with food and lords. If nothing else, the nobles in the center pretended to enjoy themselves, in defiance of the tense atmosphere. In their very center sat his cousin Mayu, the new Governor of the South, together with the old Lord Ogulno and a few more of his close allies.

"Let’s not start making trouble right this second," Corco replied. "There’s already more than enough trouble as is. Plus, there’s still some time left for the culprit to right his wrongs."

As his gaze went around the men in his surroundings, Mayu spotted the king’s observation in the background. Surprised for a second, the governor’s face soon turned to smiles, before he raised his cup of expensive wine for a silent toast. Although Corco replied the nod and toast in kind, he wouldn’t return the smile. Despite his best efforts, he wasn’t that much of a politician yet.

"But Mayu has had plenty of time to rectify his mistakes already. We already know how that town in the marsh is being supplied by the surrounding cities, Puscanacra among them. Of course the new lord of Puscanacra would know about it. Even so he still has made no attempt to confess his crimes."

Already exhausted by his burden as king, Corco just looked at the girl for a while. He thought that maybe things would be a bit easier with Fadelio left behind in Arguna, but this one was just as annoying as her big brother. At least her voice wasn’t as grating.

"I understand," Tama said after Corco’s answer of silence. "Lord Mayu will have time to confess until the end of the banquet. Even so, I will send some people to monitor the young governor and his attendant."

At last, a nod broke Corco’s silence. At the same time, he could feel his tensed facial muscles relax. Today had been tough, but of course he had expected nothing less. After all, the point of the banquet was to establish the king as the leading power in Medala’s south. Just as predicted, both the eastern and the western rulers of years past had come to make trouble, though they had done so in ways Corco had never expected. If nothing else, the king knew that he had people who could take of some of the heavy load he had shouldered. For Corco, there was great comfort in that thought.

"Shoot, the brooding one is on the move," another whisper from Tama returned Corco back to the world of the acting. He turned to find that the young master Epunamo had left his secret corner seat, followed by his stoic attendant. Uncharacteristic of his behavior so far, he stumbled up ahead, towards the center of the stage. With grand gestures and little coordination, he shushed away the disturbed musicians. Once the music had stopped, everyone realized that something big was about to happen, maybe it would be the indistinct ’something’ most lords had been waiting for all day.

"That’s enough music for now, I suppose," Epunamo began. "How can we sit here, eat and drink and play in blind revelry, when we are faced with such barbarity of the lowest nature?" His face twisted in a mask of disgust and anger, the young heir looked over the lords, before his gaze once again reached the corner he had eyed all evening. Whatever he saw there had to upset him, since he soon spat on the ground in response before he continued his talk, half an octave higher and a good bit louder than before.

"My brother has been murdered, in cold blood! By this barbarian commoner! Yet you all sit here, happy to indulge the fraud, rather than help a lord of Sachay, one with a place among you, find justice! I suppose if no one else is man enough to show virtue, then I will have to act myself. This lord, Epunamo Iqtana Villca, Lord of Cashan, will revenge the heinous assassination of his brother by a worthless stray. This lord challenges the mutt to a duel!"

Maybe it was the fact that House Villca had opposed most Lords at the banquet for decades; maybe it was all the alcohol the lords had already consumed, but after a short moment of expected silence, Epunamo’s announcement was greeted by cheers and claps. Under a flood of curses and well-wishes, the young pretender Uchu Villca stood, only armed with a smile, and strode towards the garden’s central arena.

"Make sure Epunamo doesn’t die. This could get ugly."

At last the atmosphere had lightened up, though not to Corco’s satisfaction. While every one else was distracted by the prospect of a hot-blooded battle, the king gave his orders to his attendant, who disappeared as quiet as a shadow. Saniya’s harvest festival had started on the wrong foot, but now it was about to stumble and fall flat on its face. At this point, the host just wanted to minimize the damage.