The Storm King

Chapter 971 - Peace

Leon impatiently tapped a finger on his chair’s armrest as he waited for the outstanding delegates to arrive. It was a fine chair, more than suitable for his high standing, but he didn’t pay it any attention as he slowly wore away a depression with his incessant tapping.

He wasn’t alone in the grand room he now sat in: his family stood around his chair, his retainers just beyond them, and his closest Tribal allies on his expedition around them, save for a few who stood by with the ark fleet, just in case. They, however, only made up a third of the total people in the room; three additional chairs had been set up in the room facing each other in a circle. To Leon’s right sat the Grand Druid sitting prim and proper in a magnificent golden dress, while to Leon’s left sat the Lord Protector in white robes and a vibrant purple sash. Their adjutants and assistants surrounded them, while the Director, Penelope, and the rest of the small Heaven’s Eye delegation hovered around the periphery.

The room they sat in was in a large country estate that had been owned by the Sunlit Emperor and was as well-appointed as an estate of such august ownership demanded. It had been only a week since the Emperor’s body had been paraded through the streets of Thunderhaven, and it was almost time for it to be brought on a tour of the Empire so that all the citizens of the Empire could lay eyes on and mourn for their Emperor—but before then, Arcaion had sent Leon an invitation to finally sit down and formalize their peace. This estate was the locale chosen, being not too far from Thunderhaven to necessitate a long journey, yet not so close as to offend any of the city’s citizens. As close allies of Leon’s Kingdom, naturally, the Lord Protector and the Grand Druid had been invited to sit in and represent their Empires in the proceedings.

Leon was both surprised and unsurprised that the Keeper wouldn’t be attending, though he’d quietly hoped the man would make an appearance, if for no other reason than to finally bury the hatchet and let their peoples move on from this ancient conflict. But he wasn’t holding his breath for that to happen, and if he walked away with only one peace deal with an Emperor, then he’d consider it a job well done. The Keeper could hardly launch an assault on Kataigida all by his lonesome, after all.

Just as Leon’s impatience was about to get the better of him, he noticed with his magic senses an approaching band of flying mages, numbering perhaps two hundred, and he recognized Arcaion in the lead. It was only a few minutes more before the man himself led the way into the meeting room for his party, though most remained in adjacent chambers.

“Apologies, apologies,” Arcaion said as he took a seat in the last remaining chair, his immediate subordinates—including Apollonios—taking their positions at his side. “You can imagine that I don’t exactly have much free time, and getting away from trying to keep this Empire stable even for a meeting this important is no easy task.”

“Worry no more about it,” the Lord Protector said with a booming laugh, his pink nebulous eyes quickly darting to Leon and the Grand Druid as if daring them to make a big deal out of a little tardiness. “What’s important is that we’re all here!”

Leon gave the Lord Protector a thin-lipped smile. He supposed the man was going to play mediator; he had no problem with that so long as he got what he wanted—and he didn’t want much.

“Let’s cut to the chase, then,” Leon said as he locked eyes with Arcaion. “I’m eager to make peace, so let’s do that. Right here and now, let us declare that our respective states cease all hostilities.”

Arcaion blinked in surprise but quickly recovered. “While nothing would please me more, there are a few… issues that I would like addressed before we make such declarations…”

Leon’s smile shrank as his eyes narrowed. “Such as…?”

Arcaion’s pleasant expression became slightly strained, and he averted his eyes from Leon’s for a moment before visibly steeling himself and meeting Leon’s gaze again.

“This Empire is solid and united,” Arcaion said, his tone indicating the opposite. “I have no doubt that the generals of the Empire will abide by the terms of this treaty, as befits their loyalty to the Empire and its wellbeing. However… if some of them were to… not keep this Empire’s wellbeing in mind and attack those that I have made peace with… I want it known that I disavow them completely. They are traitors to the Sunlit Empire, and can be destroyed without official reprisal from Thunderhaven!”

Leon’s eyebrows rose, and he could sense quite a few others in the room reeling from that announcement. He wasn’t quite sure how to take himself—Arcaion could be planning something and preemptively laying groundwork to deflect blame, but Leon didn’t think that he was the sort to do that. On the other hand, Leon knew that Arcaion was loyal to the Sunlit Empire, if not to its Emperor, and now that he was in control of the Empire, he might do something unwise.

Even worse, he might feel like he must attack Leon’s Kingdom as revenge for the Sunlit Emperor’s death and the attack on Argos and Thunderhaven.

Leon stared intensely at Arcaion as others in the room filled the air with the sound of whispering. He didn’t glean any new insights into Arcaion just from staring him down, so after a moment, decided to just take the statement at face value and make contingencies later. It wasn’t like his people weren’t expecting Sunlit troops between them and the Argonaut Sea to resist them if given the chance.

“My Kingdom,” Leon finally responded after Arcaion’s face started to twitch, “will answer all attacks made upon it in a manner that we deem proportional to the offense.” He left it at that, not wanting to elaborate and carve a response into stone.

“We also wish it known,” the Grand Druid added, “that the Sacred Golden Empire recognizes Arcaion as the legitimate head of the Sunlit Empire’s interim government. We wish for our southern neighbors to know peace and stability, and encourage everyone to rally to this new government and follow its directives—so long as those directives continue on the road to peace.”

“Your support is well-received,” Arcaion said with a respectful head nod.

The Lord Protector quickly made a statement of his support as well, which Arcaion responded to similarly.

“My other major concern,” Arcaion said, “is the repatriation of all prisoners taken by both sides.”

Leon blinked. He didn’t think the Sunlit Empire had taken any prisoners—all those who had fallen into Sunlit’s hands had been executed. On the other hand, he’d taken hundreds of thousands of prisoners, and he certainly didn’t want to keep them.

“My Kingdom will transport all prisoners of war to Argos,” Leon said. “From there, I hope that you can take it from there.”

“That is a judicious proposal,” the Lord Protector said. “Surely no one would have a problem with that?”

Arcaion gave the Lord Protector a hesitant smile. “That would depend on the status of Argos going forward…” He turned expectantly back toward Leon, waiting for him to state his terms.

Leon answered with a brutal smile. “Argos is to be completely demilitarized. The citadel torn down, its city walls dismantled, its garrisons returned to their respective Empires—not more than five percent of the city’s population may be garrisoned soldiers. You have nothing to fear from my Kingdom, but I would put my people’s minds at ease by removing this dagger at their throats.”

Arcaion didn’t immediately answer, but the Grand Druid said without hesitation, “Done. The Sacred Golden Empire has no problem pulling out of the jointly-administered city.” Her ruby eyes flitted in Arcaion’s direction before turning back to Leon.

“The Ilian Empire agrees,” the Lord Protector added. “No more Ilian defense forces shall be stationed at Argos!”

“We… agree,” Arcaion said, though in truth, he had little choice. Leon wasn’t going to leave it to chance, so before he and his people turned back across the Argonaut Sea, they were going to tear down those fortifications themselves. If Arcaion—or any potential successor should Arcaion fail to maintain his position—tried to have them rebuilt, then Leon would revisit the issue.

“In that same vein,” Leon continued, “the cities of the Shield Mountains are to be subject to a similar restriction. We will not demand that their defenses be torn down, but they are to receive no Imperial garrisons at all.”

The responses were a little less immediate this time, but all three of Leon’s counterparts agreed.

“Finally,” Leon said, “the Sword is to be formally acknowledged as belonging to us.”

“That won’t be a problem,” the Lord Protector responded, “but I must insist that the cities of the Pegasi States be free from raiding.”

“All cities must be free from raiding,” the Grand Druid clarified. “I would prefer it, Leon my boy, if your Kingdom doesn’t engage in raiding at all.”

“So would I,” Leon replied. “And I’ll make it so. No one anywhere has anything to fear from the people of my Kingdom, save for our wrath if violently provoked.”

As Leon finished, he looked at Arcaion again, silently asking if he had anything to add.

“The Sunlit Empire’s last condition for peace,” Arcaion said, “is similar. We would have the complete removal of all of your occupying forces, King Leon. From both our Empire and Argos.”

“Done. We were never planning on sticking around anyway,” Leon answered with a half-smile.

Silence descended upon the room for a long moment before the Lord Protector loudly stated, “That sounds like we’re all in agreement! Let us finalize this peace, then! And then celebrate!”

“I won’t have much time for celebration, I’m afraid,” Arcaion said, “but I’m more than eager to finally get this peace set in stone.”

Leon gave him the most genuine smile of the day and rose from his seat. Arcaion rose only a moment later, and they met in the center of the room. Leon clasped Arcaion’s wrist and the two shook on their agreed-upon peace.

It was a bit of an understated affair as far as Leon was concerned—a short negotiation period followed by a mere handshake that saw the end of a conflict that had been ongoing for eighty thousand years. He’d have figured that the actual end to the war would’ve been a far more dramatic affair with long ceremonies and the exchange of many rituals. But he and his people wanted to get home and he was sure Arcaion had his own problems to deal with in securing his legitimacy and position in the Sunlit Empire. There was no mood to drag this out.

Their negotiations were recorded by the scribes and there would soon be a complete document for all parties involved, but until then, the handshake would do. However, before they parted, Leon gripped Arcaion’s arm a little harder and said, “There’s one last thing I want. An unofficial favor just for me, you could say…”

Arcaion froze, his expression almost cracking as Leon’s fingers locked around his wrist. “Yes… Your Majesty?”

Leon fought the urge to chuckle at the sudden use of his style. “There’s something in the Sunlit Empire that I want to look for. Something left behind by my Clan that I’m interested in. I will want to look for it in the coming months or years.”

“You will… not be bothered by me or mine when you decide to begin,” Arcaion said. “So long, of course, as our peace is maintained…”

“I have no intention of breaking this peace—certainly not while trying to find something in this Empire. In that same vein, I’d also hope that if you were to… ‘find’ anything else that belongs to my Clan, you would return them to me.”

Arcaion bitterly grinned and said, “I-I will do my best. Though I do not currently believe that the Sunlit Empire has anything remaining of the Thunderbird Clan.”

“I’m sure something will fall out of the Empire’s pockets at some point,” Leon said in a pleasant tone even as he stared holes into Arcaion. “Anyway, here’s to peace.” Leon shook Arcaion’s arm one more time before finally releasing the not-quite-Emperor.

And like that, peace had been established between his Kingdom and the Sunlit Empire.

---

Not long after negotiating peace with Arcaion, Leon and his ladies met with the Director and Penelope aboard Silver Spear.

“You know,” Penelope said as she and her father got themselves comfortable in the meeting room, “when Argos was first sacked and we came to its defense, I didn’t think this was where we’d be ending up.”

“Neither did I,” Leon admitted. “There have been some close calls, I could’ve easily never been declared King.”

“I’m happy everything turned out well,” Elise said as she took Leon’s arm and gave him a glowing smile. “My husband proving his moral fiber by making peace just puts me in a good mood!”

“Just a good mood?” Cassandra asked with a teasing smile. “The way you’re clinging to him, I expect you’ll be tearing each other’s clothes off the moment our guests leave.”

Penelope gave them an embarrassed laugh while the Director hardly reacted beyond a shallow smile.

“Anyway,” the Director said before they could move down that particular road of discourse, “Leon. In these past few months, I’ve been focusing on bringing the arks of the Thunderbird Clan in my possession into my soul realm.”

All trace of levity in Leon’s demeanor vanished as he turned all of his attention to the Director.

“I’ve finally finished,” the Director announced. “I’ve managed to squeeze all five arks into my soul realm; they’re ready for transport to Kataigida.”

Leon burst out laughing, glee pouring out of him in every possible way. “Fantastic!” he boomed. “I made peace with the Sunlit Empire today, but Director, I’m tempted to say that that is the highlight of my day.” He paused and glanced at Elise. “So far.”

His first wife grinned back at him with unmistakable heat in her emerald eyes.

“Ahem,” the Director cleared his throat. “I’m hoping to get these arks dropped off as soon as possible, and then I can return to Occulara. I’d rather not be gone for long.”

“That’ll be a journey of at least a few weeks,” Leon informed him. “Are you prepared to be gone that long?”

“Yes,” the Director swiftly answered.

“I’ll be heading back,” Penelope said without too much enthusiasm. “I’ll be filling in for a while in my father’s absence.”

“Don’t sound so excited my dear, you’ll give them the wrong impression,” the Director said sarcastically.

“Or maybe the right one,” Penelope responded. “I’m perfectly fine with being one of your Hands, but running the whole Guild isn’t something I find enticing.”

The Director gave Leon a look of faux dejection. “Where have I gone wrong as a father?”

“Hah! Where haven’t you gone wrong?” Penelope shot back. “You’re doing fine these days, but let’s not get too carried away, now.”

“All right, that hurts. Perhaps we ought to begi—”

A knock at the door interrupted the Director. One of Leon’s eyebrows shot up as irritation flooded through him. However, he knew this was serious—he’d given explicit instructions that they weren’t to be interrupted for anything less than spectacularly important news.

So, Leon contained his irritation and rose to answer the door. He wasn’t surprised to find Gaius standing there with a subdued but still recognizably nervous look.

“We have… some other guests,” Gaius said. “They… insisted on coming here.”

From behind Gaius stepped two figures, both of whom Leon recognized. His blood froze for a moment as his eyes traced the Keeper’s plain features before the Thunderbird’s lightning flashed through his veins. He wasn’t going to start anything yet, but especially with his family behind him, he wasn’t going to take any chances. Thankfully, the other figure was the far more reassuring figure of the tau.

“Leon,” the tau said as he stepped past Gaius. “Have you a few moments to discuss peace?”