The Union 230 Words in the Wind

"You have questions. Oh I can see it glimmering from your eyes. They say an unasked question gives constipation. Save your intestines, ask question without wince"

The baldy lowered his jaw. He paused and grimaced. He looked around and let a gulp slid down his throat. When he finally spoke, he stuttered.

"Is...is it true? Tales float around that you can turn into a lion at will. Not my tale, of course not mine, only caught wind of it. They say that you bit your first victory from the neck of General Sigurd"

"Fortunately, no. Praise the Omniscient I cannot" King Timothy grinned "But I understand. The wind carries stories fit to our curious minds. Castonians ride lions, Vanadians ride galleys and apparently Hadeans ride wine bottles"

Avery and most of the listeners laughed. She remembered that famous song composed by an unknown bard about a Hadean so drunk, he thought of a bottle of wine

as a horse.

'Oh he rode, he rode, he rode a bottle into battle. Bottle of wine he rode. Hadean what have you done? Riding a bottle into battle'

The King turned to another person. This time, it was a Servus on a striped toga. Avery remembered the Servus as a member of Magistrate Vedur's faction.

"You" King Timothy said "You have a question"

"I have" Straight to the point was the Servus' answer. He raised his chin towards the King "Why are you here?"

King Timothy slid off his horse. The royal guards acted fast and circled around the King. King Timothy looked around, tilting his head.

"Why am I here?" His voice was louder than before. But it wasn't a shout. It didn't felt that way "I am here to make peace"

"With an army behind your back" sneered the Servus.

"Said the man with a dagger hung on his side. What are you, a warrior or a statesman?"

"It is for protection" The Servus said "Too many thugs roaming around these days"

King Timothy turned to the masses "If a Servus carries a weapon around inside his own city, surrounded by the same citizens who voted him into his position, is it not just right for me to have my guards? Let's not mince words here. We are at war! The Queen and I are inside a city filled with thousands who want us dead. Now, do I still need to continue my explanation on the stupidity of the notion that having an army at my back betrays my call for peace?"

"You killed my brother!" came an angry shout from the crowd after a while of silence.

The King looked for the voice and pointed at a fat woman with ragged hair. "When did he die?"

"A month ago in the battle of Veil town. Your soldiers slaughtered the Cohort my brother belongs to. I didn't even got to see his body. You buried him like a pig!"

King Timothy nodded. He stepped towards one of his royal guards and put his hand on the guard's shoulder. "This brave man is named Wayne. He is from Solon. His father was a miner and his grandfather was also a miner. He comes from a family of miners. But Wayne did not follow the footsteps of his forefathers. He joined the Castonian army and became one of my royal guards. But Wayne's brother also followed him into being a defender of Castonia. Gale was his name, a good lad- small for his age but loyal, more loyal than most men. Gale was brave, always holding his halberd with grace. In the Battle of Veil town, Gale's legion, Goldentooth, was positioned to hold the Hadean and Inkish while the other three of my legions flanked. Goldentooth held. It was bloody. It was gritty. And by the end of it all, Gale lay dead, a spear penetrated his side and went through his guts. I've seen Wayne weep for his brother" He stepped closer to the woman with lowered head and hands tugged behind "We all have lost people, important people. Family, friends, lovers, people we respect. Thousands of them are now without breath, without warmth"

"That doesn't justify my brother's death"

"It doesn't" King Timothy's reply was swift "It doesn't. Nothing can justify the people we lost. Nothing can justify the pain and the suffering. But the pain and the suffering we all have experienced is a justification for us to end the violence. We have bled enough. I grieve with you madame. I truly do. But the Union didn't desire this war. Magistrate Chen betrayed us first and that encounter has snowballed into what we have today. We do not want anything from you except your friendship. Yes, you will become our vassal but so is Canton and Tulosa. Are the Tulosans and Cantonese suffering? No. Queen Emily of Tulosa is fixing her Kingdom with the help of the Union. Trade between Canton and Vanadis has resumed. Inkit too will experience great improvements under us. The Queen and I are monarchs. You hate monarchs, we know. Monarchs are the bane of equality and equality is the idea the Republic of Inkit is built upon. But we will show you that being a friend of the Union will benefit the Republic. We will talk again oh good citizens of Inkit. For the next two weeks, the Queen and I would try to persuade you to vote Yea. May the Omniscient guide us all to wise decisions"

By the time the King was done speaking and the procession of royal guards had resumed, everybody was more silent that before. Avery herself saw sense in the words of the King. Why prolong this war if peace can be achieved? There was no point in fighting. But the idea of being under a monarch still sounded painful to her. The Omniscient made all people equal. Monarchs are the enemies of equality.

She cupped the two coppers that remained of her money. She was prepared to throw the two coppers at the monarchs as they pass. The others too were holding various items like rotten apples and vials of foul liquid she hoped are not urine. But nobody dared throwing something at the monarchs now after hearing the King speak. Avery just clenched her hand and sighed. As convincing as King Timothy was, her vote still leaned on Nay.

*********

Vedur pulled the hood of his mantle down. His face was covered as he joined the crowd in dispersing.

"You shouldn't have asked questions earlier" He said to the Diplomatic Servus beside. Yave belonged to his faction and had responsibilities related to diplomacy. He was the equivalent of a diplomat in other nations.

"He didn't see you Magistrate. I shielded you earlier when stepped towards me"

Vedur sighed. The people elects rotten eggs from time to time. Unlike Magistrates who inherit their positions, Servuses were elected by the people every five years. Yave was one of those Servuses who won because of popularity and not of skill.

"The Queen saw me" Vedur scowled "She even smiled at me"

He and Yave turned a corner towards his home. It was just after a few hundred steps when Yave talked again.

"What do you think Magistrate? Maybe they will attempt something tonight. Three hundred royal guards and that giant riding a bear could ravage the city if they want to. With the chaos, their army outside could attack"

"No they wouldn't do that"

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because they are not idiots. They have been given the hospitality of Inkit. Breaking the unwritten law of guests and host would shame them. Even if they conquer Haubern with that trick, they would lose more. Swords and spears are not the only weapons in war. Reputation too has a sharpness to it."

Yave nodded but Vedur knew that he was nodding to nothing. Yave didn't understand what he said and he never would. The only redeeming quality about Yave is his loyalty and closed mouth.

Vedur's knees were aching when they reached his house. It was a small villa in the north side of the city that belonged to his ancestor, Mav the Strong, as it was customary for a Magistrate to inherit the ancestral house of his family.

The old gates creaked with the push of the guards. Vedur and Yave stepped inside. The garden was small and drab. Sliding his sandals on the stony path, he reached the door.

There were already people inside when they entered. All of them wore togas. Most had the striped toga of a Servus while two had the pure white toga of a Magistrate just like his.

"How was it?" Herberk asked

"Clean, peaceful and without a singe drop of blood. There wasn't violence like what we expected" Vedur answered.

"Stop this mewling, you two" Magistrate Bouvin's large body looked strange on his toga. Vedur understood why Magistrate Bouvin preferred armor than toga in their meetings.

Vedur nodded. After their last meeting in the Great Hall, Herberk secretly went to him and asked for a private talk. What Vedur didn't expect was this private talk to include Bouvin and more than a dozen Servuses.

"Now..." Vedur said with lowered head "Is it just me or does this private meeting of ours stinks of a brewing plot?"

Chapter end