Enlightened Empire

Chapter 285

At the time the wedding banquet in Saniya took place, another important meeting was being held over a thousand kilometers away. Stuck between the various main islands of the Verdant Isles sat a small piece of land, called Nakatara. This island was shaped like a bean, the sea being hugged by a long, concave beach. And in the center of that beach sat a solitary building, called Tullpuna Court.

For centuries, Tullpuna Court had been the place the Colored Kings of the Verdant Isles had used to settle their differences and plan their common future. It was a place that guaranteed them neutral ground for their talks, as it didn't allow for bloodshed of any kind within its walls.

Many generations ago, the first of the Colored Kings had met here with the local high priests. Together, they spoke an oath and formed the allied Verdant Isles. Through the ritual, they sealed their cooperation, and agreed to work together to repel all foreign threats to the Isles. At the same time, the Pacha priests spoke a curse. Should any of the Colored Kings, or any of their descendants, forget the ancient oaths, and should they spill blood within Tullpuna Court, the ancient oath of unity would reverse. The islands would be torn apart and the absolute rule of the Colored Kings would end in disaster.

Like many Yaku buildings, the colored court was built in an open manner, in harmony with the nature around it. However, the court took these ancient principles to the extreme. The large room was only supported on three sides. Its west-facing wall was missing, and the space opened up to the beautiful bay of Nakatara island behind them. Not only did this feature create a unique backdrop for the talks between kings, it also let the kings show off power in case of disagreements.

As a race of warriors, part of verduic negotiations had always been the show of force. Thus, the serene bay had been disrupted today by the arrival of many ships from the various different lords. Sometimes, if negotiations were especially stiff, the Colored Kings would settle their differences with fights between their respective crews. In those cases, the kings would watch the bloodshed in the distance from within the court. This way, the rulers were far enough away from the fight that no oaths would be broken. However, Taoco didn't intend to let his men fight today, at least not so long as the other kings knew what was good for them. Thus, the ships only formed a backdrop to the negotiations for now.

Thus, everyone was relieved to meet in this place even for heated discussions, knowing full well that none of them would dare to fight on this ground. Just the same, the Green King Taoco Hulpatec and his son Wacoca had no reservations to feud with the other Colored Kings here, especially with the blue king Raoman.

Although the green king didn't intend to start a fight, he had to get ready in the face of the blue king, who had already sold his soul to outside forces. Compared to him who only relied on foreign powers, Taoco had spent the last few years amassing his own strength. With it, he hoped to convince his peers to follow him, ally with the southern kingdom of Medala and move towards a bright future for the Verdant Isles. Thus, he had called this meeting in this place, where the current colored kings could negotiate without fear of bloodshed, just like their ancestors had done.

Though at first, the priests took the stage and once again swore all the kings into brotherhood. Once their seemingly endless rituals were done at last, the priests left the room and only left the colored kings behind. Now that they were finally alone, the rulers of the Verdant Isles took a seat on the colored mats on the floor, one each corresponding to each of the main islands.

According to old agreements, everyone was allowed to bring a servant warrior or heir, who sat behind them on the floor. As the first among his peers, Green King Taoco sat in the head position, with his son Wacoca behind him. Their backs were towards the open wall of the king's court, the bay of Nakatara and the Ships within.

“Fellow kings, brothers. Thank you for heeding my summons and assembling here with me to hear me blabber on,” Taoco opened. “Now that those antiquated priests are done with their song-and-dance numbers, we can get to the interesting parts.”

His rude words earned laughter from his fellow lords. After all, despite their adherence to traditions and their faith in Pacha, all of them were pirates in the end. They never put much value in ceremony or empty traditions, and instead valued more direct, personal connections.

Of course, these connections were always backed by concrete benefits and military might. Otherwise, any cooperation would be hollow. That was why Taoco was so convinced that he would succeed today. He had brought more benefits and strength than the other kings may be able to imagine.

“Surely you have all wondered why I called you here today,” the green king continued. “The Colored Kings haven't met in this place for a long time, and there is no immediate threat to the Isles that needs to be addressed. But that doesn't mean that we are safe. I argue that our current threat, while silent and hidden, is greater than any we have ever faced. Because times are changing. Everyone should have noticed it over the past ten years or so, how all our neighbors have been moving. Chutwa and its tributaries have become more active on the water, which restricts our actions and makes our raids more difficult and less fruitful. The Medalans in the east gave up their isolation and returned to compete for the waters of the Verdant Isles. Later, they even targeted our Yaku traditions. Even more, strange foreigners have begun to appear from Medalan shores, people from distant lands far away who bring with them smoke and fire.”

All the kings nodded at Taoco's introduction, even the blue king. Indeed, much had changed for them in the past few years, and it had been hard for them to adapt. Thus, no one had been surprised when Taoco had invoked the council, and neither would they be surprised by his next words.

“Now more than ever, if we want to survive, we need to face these changes, and change ourselves.”

Although Taoco's words were self-evident, most of the kings remained silent, seemingly unconvinced. Only one spoke up, and not in agreement. As expected, the first discordant voice came from the blue king Raoman.

“There is no need to change anything. We have survived for centuries without any adjustments to the land dwellers around us. Our ancestors have supplied us with the methods of survival within the Verduic Sea. Here, we are the only masters, now and forever. What reason is there to change?”

“We have indeed survived for long, and the old methods have served us well,” Taoco admitted, “but the walls are closing in. All around us are nothing but enemies, and they are gathering strength, each and every one of them. Even worse, they are targeting the seas more than ever before, trying to force their way into our domain. All mighty powers of the world are staring towards the Verduic Sea these days, and soon their forces will clash atop our green waves. No matter how well we know the sea, no matter how brave our warriors are, we cannot dominate the waters if most of the ships in it belong to our enemies. If we stubbornly adhere to our old ways, we will be pressed further and further, until we run out of living space. How can you not see that?”

As Taoco spoke, his voice became louder and louder. This was a threat he had been keenly aware of for years now. His fellow kings couldn't possibly be this blind and remain unaware, right? Still, the other kings remained quiet like the windless sea. Just as he began to lose his confidence, another voice chimed in to support his argument.

“I agree. We cannot blindly rely on faith to get us through the danger. And we all know that there is danger.” The one who had spoken up this time was the red king. Of all the Colored Kings, he had always been the closest to Taoco. Not only was he Taoco's cousin through marriage, the green and red islands also had a long-standing cooperative alliance which was much closer than those of the other islands.

“We all know that King Taoco is brave and worthy of our respect, and we are all aware of the troubles around us,” the red king continued. “So why not actively listen to his suggestion before we put his every word on a scale or condemn him for trying to advance the Verdant Isles?”

The red king's eyes brushed over the blue king, who had already opened his mouth to refute again. This time, the troublemaker was silenced. At last, Taoco could continue.

“Thank you, brother.” To Taoco's grateful words, the red king nodded back. “In fact, the solution to our troubles is simple. Everyone else is strengthening their forces and developing new weapons and industries, so we should just do the same.”

He leaned forward, closer to his fellow kings.

“Now the question is: How will the Verdant Isles develop to keep up with the changes of the outsiders? Change almost always comes from outside, so the fastest way to improve is to get foreign support. What we need in these times is a solid ally, with a military strong enough to with us stand against the strong powers who threaten our lands and seas. At the same time, we also need someone who can work with us in the future, and help us keep up with the technological advances around us. Because if we want to survive, we need to develop, and only with outside help can we speed up this process. Now then, who will we chose to ally with?”

He looked around, into the blank faces of the other kings. Even the red king had put on the mask of a politician. Only the blue king showed emotion. His sneer proved that he already knew Taoco's answer. Yet even so, the green king wasn't worried. There was nothing the little blue man could do to prevent the following words.

“Since we are surrounded by enemies, there are certain foreigners we can exclude as potential allies. We have fought against the Chutwa folk and their dogs for so long, don't believe they will forget their shame of defeat. Those arrogant bastards want us eradicated, nothing more. They will never work with us, no matter what we offer. Meanwhile, the Orientals from far away are unknown to us, and they are stuck across Yakuallpa. They are hard to talk to, harder to read, and they cannot help us much with their fleets stuck across the Twin Isles,” the green king explained slowly. “Thus, the most reasonable allies for us can only be our brothers from Medala. They are Yaku like us, and like us, they are under threat from the outside forces around them. Our alliance would be logical, and mutually beneficial. I believe there is no reason to hesitate any further.”

“And I imagine the Medalans in your mouth are those weaklings of the southern kingdom?” All throughout Taoco's argument, the blue king's sneer had never left him. Now he took the chance to ridicule Taoco's plans again.

“Weaklings?” the green king scoffed. “They won their war against the north, and have been developing well in the past few years. If nothing else, they have developed faster than the other two kingdoms, that much is guaranteed. They control the entire southern half of the Twin Isles, and parts of northern Medala as well. Their influence is also quite large in the other kingdoms, especially in eastern Medala. No matter from which aspect they are viewed, be it military, technology or political reach, they are in no way inferior to the other kingdoms, and they are on the rise. Even better, we already have good connections with them.”

“No, you, and your son, and your daughter have good connections with them.” The blue king looked over to Wacoca behind Taoco with a provocative look. “And you would be the only one to benefit from closer cooperation. As for us poor kings, we would remain on the outside even if we were to agree. All we can do is watch as you and those outsiders grow closer and closer.”

“I do not deny that we have a good relationship with the south,” Taoco said in a grumpy tone. How could this guy's mouth produce so much nonsense? “But there is no reason why you would not be able to get just as close as we have. You are free to work with King Corcopaca whenever you please, just like us. The King of the South is a reasonable man who prefers cooperation over bloodshed. He will never snub more allies, and will never treat them poorly. Whether you came early or late does not matter. What matters is your sincerity and the benefits you can bring to his kingdom. In that respect, the southern king is very simple, and very easy to get along with. Even better, his political reputation is immaculate, even among his enemies. Not only is he our only choice for an alliance, he is also the best ally one could imagine, by far.”

“Calling him the only choice seems a bit hasty,” the red king said in a careful tone. However, the other Colored Kings weren't that polite.

“Yes, calling the southern king the only choice is foolish when there are so many players in the game,” another of the kings argued. “For one, what about the other Medalan kings? Medala's north has always been richer than the south. Even split in half they should be viable options, should they not?”

“The other kingdoms cannot compare to the south.” Taoco's words came from the heart. After interacting with the southern kingdom for a few years, he realized more and more just how far ahead they were of everyone else. “Although they do not have the most impressive history, their current position lets them compete with all forces within Medala, and soon they will gain a total upper hand on the Twin Isles. The future will belong to them. If you care about the future of the Verdant Isles, I implore you to believe me on this.”

“What is there to believe? You are not the only one with contacts in Medala. All of us know quite well about the circumstances of the three kingdoms,” the blue king argued. “While the south has a lot of land, most of it is icy wasteland. They are the least prosperous and least developed of all three kingdoms. They managed to win the last war because the central kingdom's nobility was not unified and was stabbed in the back by the northern kingdom's armies at a critical moment. The outcome had nothing to do with the strength of the south. Even then, with so many great advantages, the southerners just barely managed to hold off the center, and gained almost nothing from their victory, if it can even be called one.”

Again, the blue king sneered towards Taoco to show off his bad manners, before he continued towards the other kings.

“As for the future? Not only are the center and the north far more populous and wealthy than the south, they also have much stronger contacts to the outside world. You are bothered by the foreigners from east and west, are you not? Well, the central kingdom has strong connections to the oriental foreigners, and the northern kingdom has strong connections to the Chutwa Empire. Why join that little southern kingdom in the hopeless fight against those powerful forces, rather than make good with the winning sides? Compared to the other two kingdoms, the southerners are far too weak. For the life of me I cannot see where their value lies.”

“Hah, that is easy to say for someone who won't even try to understand the new political landscape of Medala.” After his exaggerated laugh, Taoco showed off a wide grin to stimulate his rival. “But I am not surprised by your sudden blindness. We all know that you have been bought by one of the other kingdoms, or worse, by the foreigners. How else would you be able to afford all those new ships of yours?”

“How dare you slander me!?”

King Raoman slammed the ground and shot from his knees onto his feet in moments. After the conversation had broken down, Taoco was glad to do the same and teach the blue king a lesson in hand-to-hand combat. But before he had the chance to stand up, someone else chimed in.

“Brother Raoman, this is a place of oath!” The red king shouted in anger. “Do you intend to shed blood here!?”

“Am I not allowed to defend my honor!? This brother here spat in my face. How can I continue to ignore it?” The blue king glanced over to Taoco with a stony face. In response, the red king sighed.

“Indeed. Brother Taoco, your words were a bit excessive as well. Rather than being ripped apart by outside interests like this, we should work together.”