Enlightened Empire

As the ox trotted through the wide roads of Arguna at a leisurely pace, the crowds parted before it like the waters before a ship’s bow. Within the crowd, a man with a green headband stared at the cart driver behind the ox. On any other day, the driver might have considered that it would be because of her looks. After all, Antaya di Pluritac’s beauty would always garner attention from her surroundings. However, this time she traveled in a long cloak that covered her entire figure, and this was Arguna, the old center of the ghost warriors’ power. With a casual motion, she raised three fingers of her left hand towards the man to show her allegiance. After, she continued on into the endless crowd, as if nothing had happened.

*Nothing much has changed since last time,* Antaya thought as she observed the people around her. Although it had been several years since she had last been in Arguna, the city was still the same as ever: Large, loud and chaotic, with the people running around in the open all day, just to show off their own greatness. Of course, this was only true here, in the central parts of the city.

Since the great nobles in the inner ring were far too important to spend time out in the sun and commoners weren’t allowed inside the interior walls, the roads around the palace remained abandoned all year round. At the same time, the unskilled laborers who lived in the slums outside the outer walls were far too exhausted from constant work to do much shopping or showing off. They were already content with a warm meal and a bed of straw for the day.

Thus, two solid rings of silence surrounded the lively heart of Medalan life. Despite the city’s chaotic nature, Antaya felt a calmness wash over her, one she hadn’t felt in a long time. After all, back when she had left the capital, she had believed that she may never come back here. Not long after the death of the emperor, her husband had been executed, on false charges from the silver palace. His death had made her the de-facto leader of the former emperor’s remnants. As a result, she had become the main target for further attacks from the Empress Mother and the Ancestral Hall. Faced with such powerful foes, her only choice had been to flee the city and leave the core of Emperor Titu’s troops in the hands of her daughters.

However, by now the Emperor’s legitimate heir had taken control of the southern peninsula, while the remaining two pretenders had also left the capital to deal with issues within their own lands. For the first time in centuries, Arguna wasn’t the political center of the empire. Thus, she had decided, it was finally time to return home and look after her daughters. Though of course, she had also brought important information with her. In the intelligence business, it was always best to accomplish several tasks with a single move. Otherwise, one would risk falling behind one’s foes.

Enthused at the thought of her imminent family reunion, she turned her ox cart into a side alley. This was where the real heart of the city lay, far away from the eyes of the lords and warrior servants. This was where only commoners lived, and where they ruled. Soon, she reached an old, run-down tavern, thinly disguised as a chess shop. However, Antaya had no interest in games, or in alcohol. With great routine, she parked her oxen cart in a niche along the wall and covered it with a tarp. Others would take care of the animal. When she turned, the chess shop’s keeper was already waiting for her.

With a bow, he held out an old key towards her, servile gestures only possible in the alley that was under total control of the emperor’s ghost warriors.

\"Welcome home, Lady Antaya,\" the warrior said.

\"Thank you, Olacu,\" the lady replied and grabbed the key to the shop’s hidden back entrance. Soon, she had disappeared in the backrooms of the ’Stone’s Throw’. Before her eyes could readjust to the darkness, a shadow already charged towards her. Though even now, she felt no threat. After all, she was home once more.

\"Mother!\" the shadow shrieked. In the dim light of the torches, the shadow soon turned into Antaya’s daughter Inti, the young lady in charge of the capital’s ghost warriors. With a hug, the daughter greeted her mother back into the city, just like she had done for her brother several years prior.

\"Good girl. Have you been well-behaved?\"

\"Of course, mother,\" Inti answered. After she had calmed down a bit, she let go of her mother and stepped back, in an attempt to strike a ladylike figure. Before her husband’s death, Antaya would have gotten angry over her daughter’s poor etiquette. After all, Inti had always lacked the ladylike qualities her other sisters had shown. However, in their new position, manners mattered little. Instead, they needed the old qualities of a warrior now more than ever: a calm mind, bravery and strength. At least in that regard, Inti had never been lacking.

\"Mother, please sit here,\" Inti said and showed Antaya to a chair at a small table in the dim room. Soon, mother and daughter had taken a seat across from one another.

\"Mother, wasn’t your trip here dangerous? What was so important for you to return all by yourself?\"

\"Well, the city is no longer the bed of coals it used to be. Now that the danger has been reduced, I thought it was time to return home and see my daughter again.\"

Of course, it had been a long time since Antaya was a careless person who would act based on her feelings. At least since her husband’s death, she had been forced to become careful and calculative. As expected, the most disciplined of her daughters understood right away, and got straight to the true reason for Antaya’s visit.

\"You did not come here for a family chat, did you?\"

At this point, the enthusiasm from their meeting had disappeared from Inti’s face.

\"Of course I did.\" Antaya smiled. \"But I also brought some news from the western front lines. Our people have been stretched thin. Even after we hired some outsiders for minor tasks, we are spread out too far, all over the empire. Since we were short on men already and I was in the area, I decided to take the message and inform you myself. In the meantime, the ghosts can remain on site and watch for further developments.\"

\"So what’s the news? Did Pacha finally lop off Amautu’s head?\" Inti asked, and simulated a horizontal axe swing with her hands.

\"Nothing so fortunate, I’m afraid.\" Antaya’s smile disappeared. \"Quite the opposite in fact. The two kings held peace talks. And since then, they have not fought for almost an entire triumvirate cycle.\"

\"What? How did they come to an agreement? I thought they were worse enemies than Pacha and Lord Corco?\"

Even surprised, Inti remembered to add her master’s proper title. It was enough to make any mother proud.

\"Apparently, Pacha is willing to accept Amautu’s hegemony over the two estates in question. In return, he demanded free passage through and across the Argu River, free from controls or tariffs, for anyone directly affiliated with the southern kingdom.\"

\"That... is a smart move,\" Inti said after a second of thought. Antaya nodded her head, since she thought the exact same way.

\"Maybe the plan came from King Amautu, or maybe from one of the Pluritac advisors like Pallatio, but I doubt any of the details were Pachacutec’s idea. After all, he is not known for his intricate thoughts, and yet both kings get just what they want in this deal. Amautu gets to expand his kingdom’s borders. He also proves that he can defend the lords under his crown from foreign invasion, despite his very weak image as a warrior. Pachacutec gets the trade along the Argu River flowing again, something his new allies from the Orient will be very grateful for. Even more, he will force his uncle’s ships to field the flag of House Pluritac if they don’t want to be taxed or robbed. It is a clear outward signal that House Ichilia stands beneath Pachacutec within the central kingdom. For Pachacutec, it is a massive expansion of his political power.\"

\"In that case, this seems to be bad news overall.\"

\"Nothing but, I am afraid,\" Antaya replied. \"Now that the northern kings are no longer fighting each other, they will soon ready another attack on the south, in one way or another. How has Prince Corco fared so far?\"

\"*King* Corco, mother,\" Inti corrected her.

\"Yes, of course.\" Her smile returned as she remembered the clever, but gloomy boy who would spend all his days in the general’s mansion. \"You should know more about the situation in the south, and you have already met the king after his return. What do you think, how bad is our position if the northerners launch another military offensive? What about a trade war?\"

\"At least in that regard, there is no need to worry. From the letters Tama has sent back, the king has a firm grasp on his lands and has led a swift and efficient development of his estates. And that is confirmed by many sources. It doesn’t come just from my sister, who can play it a bit loose with the truth sometimes.\"

*The two never got along all that well,* the mother thought. However, she didn’t interrupt her daughter’s explanation.

\"Much seems to have changed in the southern kingdom, and especially in the southern Pluritac estates. At this point, we won’t even need to travel to see all the innovation out of Saniya. The influence of the southern kingdom has already begun to affect the capital.\"

\"Has it?\" Antaya raised an eyebrow. \"Why did I not notice any differences when I came here?\"

\"The changes are mostly hidden behind closed doors or restricted to the commoners. But they are definitely there. Among the craftsmen of the city, word has spread of the excellent treatment they receive in Saniya. This year, three major caravans of craftsmen have already left Arguna for the south. While that is still only a small percentage of the city’s overall population, rumors about better treatment for the lower classes down south have spread fast. And that commoners have a chance to learn the new, secret techniques of Saniya if they travel there. Some of the most talented craftsmen may soon leave the capital, or they will no longer be able to compete.\"

\"Because of the new products the king has brought from the orient?\" Antaya guessed. \"After all, young master Brym’s shops have been a great success as well.\"

\"Just that.\" Inti nodded. \"The soaps of Saniya have already become a staple in many public bathhouses of the capital, while many of the wealthier citizens are using Saniya’s scented waters every day to appear sophisticated. In private, many also use the south’s clear glass, though for now most nobles hide their preferences from the public eye. No matter how good their wares are, liking Sachay is still not chic.\"

For a moment, Antaya stared into the dancing fires of the candle on the table as she put together all her new information. It didn’t take the leader of the ghost warriors long before she came to a conclusion.

\"Even if they dislike the southerners, and even if they dislike the commoners, the lords are no idiots. At least not all of them,\" Antaya said.

\"What do you mean, mother?\"

\"They will surely realize the value these products hold, if only for the political power such a display of luxury can bring them. Soon, lords from the north will send their own people to Saniya, to uncover its many secrets. Maybe they already have.\"

Shocked, Inti jumped out of her chair.

\"In that case, we should send word south right away.\" She paced back and forth a bit, until she turned to her mother again, with a face as if she had only just remembered something important. \"In fact, we needed to send a message either way. Just earlier, we have received extraordinary intelligence, something King Corco needs to hear right away.\"

\"More bad news?\" Antaya asked.

\"No, this time it’s good news. The best news.\" Inti smiled like she used to whenever her father had praised her. \"In the palace, it’s now an open secret that Grand Ancestor Viribus has fallen ill.\"

\"Is the old man finally about to receive his just dues?\" Antaya asked, half in shock and half in elation.

\"We still don’t know how serious his illness is.\" Inti shook her head. \"But at the very least, it was serious enough for the hall to leak the information. At this point, the Ancestral Hall is scouring the lands for Medala’s greatest physicians, in search of a man who can heal the Grand Ancestor’s ailments.\"

With this last explosive message, Antaya felt like a difficult decision had been made for her. She stood up and walked over to her daughter again. With another hug, she already had to say goodbye to her daughter again.

\"These messages are too important to be sent by just anyone,\" the lady said. \"I will personally travel south, and bring them to King Corco.\"

\"Mother,\" Inti began in a weak voice, but her mother interrupted her in a warm tone.

\"No need to worry, my child. I needed to meet our lord sooner or later. He has already requested a face-to-face meeting a long time ago. At this point, I cannot prolong it any longer, or I will risk the king’s suspicion over my motives.\"

Despite the mother’s light-hearted tone, her daughter still appeared worried. No wonder, since a meeting with her master carried some unusual risks for the leader of the ghost warriors. However, Antaya herself wasn’t worried. At this point, she was willing to accept whatever fate had to offer her. And she was eager to see all the wonders the south had to offer.