Chapter 12: The Expansion of Aelaranthae Empire

When Ae mercenaries expressed their desire to leave the area, The lord mocked them for their cowardice. However, their contract was done anyway. Velryne could only sigh at the behavior of these entitled nobles. Nevertheless, their goal is to kill the champion so the future of the Aelaranthae Empire could be secured. They didn’t care what these nobles from foreign nations said. Ever since Aelaranthae City-state has begun colonizing the ruins of Lucianne, a city state no longer suited them and people began calling them Empire or kingdom instead. Many neighboring towns also expressed their desire to join them.

The mercenary left Antheria. They had two choices for the next destination, Silvaris or Petraea. Silvaris was a forested region while Petraea was a desert nation with several oases. The Ae mercenary chose to defend Petraea first. Desert was preferable for their new weapons for they had a good line of sight. They contracted the local lord who asked for help and quickly set up a camp. The council of the craftsmen at the town they protected agreed to support the new Aelaranthae Empire. However, their stubbornness knew no bounds for they refused to listen to anything the young engineer said. Different countries have different troubles.

Velryne scoffed in the corner for these old men behaved like elders in LeAestas even though they called themselves master craftsmen or foremen. They thought they had protected their crafts, they had experience to improve it. And yet, old age made them blind for the ingenuity of the youth. They thought they trained the young, while in reality they enslaved them, putting their minds into prison.

Nevertheless, Velryne had done what was needed to defend the town according to contract. A simple encampment with trenches has been made around the town. If the cultist were coming their way, they could fend them off. Nevertheless, their new weapon had but one flaw.

“Esteemed Aelaranthae, I can’t help but worry that our ammunition runs thin.” Bellarion expressed his concern when he ran the list of their available supplies. Food and water, they can buy. But Ammunition? They could only be brought from Aelaranthae Town’s major factory.

“Ae Nae had said that another batch of supplies had been sent yesterday. They should be arriving any day now.” Ae Zir answered.

However, even after three days, the supplies did not arrive. Ae Zir was confused. However, just then, a wounded soldier ran towards them, saying that their supplies were stolen by the lord of the next town, in a province called Doomfador.

“What?! How could you lose the supplies? We should never have trusted these nobles in the first place” Bellarion roared. ”I couldn’t believe Petraea’s nobles were as corrupt as Antheria!”

“They are called foremen, Bellarion.” Velryne sighed.

“I don’t care what those dogs are called. What are we going to do now?” Bellarion roared.

“We have to retreat. We can’t possibly defend this place without supplies. Unless…” Aelaranthae turned to Ae Zir.

“Hm… If the champion comes, we will lose. I need to learn some swordsmanship before I face him. Like me, he was blessed by a god—albeit a different one.. I don’t think I could face him and all of his cultists alone. He is strong.” Ae Zir answered.

“We should evacuate to the neighboring city and steal the supplies back.” Bellarion said.

“Wait a minute. That city has a master foreman. If you attack it, that means war with Petraea, besides, we pay you to defend this town! We don’t want to leave.” one of the foremen complained, but Bellarion scoffed at him.

“So be it! I will not stay here without supplies.” Bellarion roared. The cultists were tough. He knew he wouldn’t make it without the supplies. They feel secure because an Aelaranth was with them, but when the Aelaranth herself said she might lose against their champion, they started to doubt themselves.

“We have disobeyed our council’s advice and hired you! And you left us here to fend for ourselves?”

“That council has betrayed you! It has stolen supplies meant to defend your town!”

“Velryne , Headquarter asked what we should do?” Ae Zir asked Velryne . The general of this mercenary group was actually Ae Zir. So, in terms of rank, Ae Zir actually outranked him. However, Aelaranthae has no such vanity to deny advice from an experienced general, taught by Lotharine.

“We should offer to guide this town for evacuation. We should evacuate to towns that are trustworthy to our cause.” Ae Zir nodded.

“Curse you and your foremen. I thought we were on the same side. I heard bad news from the young craftsmen that immigrated to Aelaranthae town. I would never have thought you were actually worse than the rumors!” Bellarion didn’t even try to hide his curse. ”Let’s leave. You may follow or die in the hands of the cultist!”

“... let us discuss it with other foremen beforehand…” The town’s chief said defeated.

Some of the foremen were dissatisfied and claimed that the Aelaranthae were lying. They asked to be escorted to the nearest neighboring town and the mercenary agreed. However, not all townspeople blamed the Aelaranthae , they believed Ae Zir and chose to follow them.

Alas, the cultist came at the worst time. They chased the fleeing residents and mercenaries until they were cornered at the neighboring town of Lughfendor, near the province of Doomfador. The foremen begged the town's guard to let them in. Surprisingly they let them. Velryne thought they would leave them to fend for themselves after their neighboring town had stolen from them.

“See? Those who chose the wrong path, those who disobeyed the way of the elders are doomed!” A foreman said to Ae Zir and the rest of her mercenaries. They gawked at the foremen who mocked the refugees and the mercenary. They extolled their own tradition and greatness, blind to the evil that lies inside them. Yet, they were the losing sides, they had no choice but to be silent.

“Damn it! If our supplies were not stolen!” Bellarion cursed. Ae mercenaries have failed to do their duty. The pristine reputation of the Aelaranthae Empire would forever be stained with this failure.

“I have messaged Ae Nae. Petraea will be embargoed,” Ae Zir replied.

“Let us not overstay our welcome. We shall leave at dawn after we purchase food.” Velryne said.

And so, the mercs gather and leave at dawn the next day with a lot fewer people. Most of the refugees chose to stay at the neighboring town, Velryne pleaded that this town wasn't enough to fend off the cultists. However, they said they will receive reinforcement from Doomfador. Bellarion cursed once more at the fact that Doomfador was stealing their supplies and used them to reinforce this neighboring town of Lughfendor.

Velryne filed a formal complaint to the foremen’s guild about this behavior. However, it would take months for it to settle. Ae Zir could feel the pain in Lotharine’s heart. The bitter sense of loss and the saltiness of sadness. It was mixed with the spiciness of rage from Bellarion. The foremen looked at the Aelaranth, words of condolences and care were spoken. They kept saying they mourned for our losses and kept saying that they would get their hands on whoever stole the supplies. However, Ae Zir knew they lied from their feelings, The cloying sweetness of honey born from victory filled their heart. They rejoiced for they finally had something to mock the Aelaranthae Empire with.

And so, Ae Zir made a curse, not quite as harmless as it sounded. “Foremen, craftsmen from Petraea believed that goods have souls, right?”

“Of course! We craftsmen took pride in our work. We pour our soul into each of our crafts, they are like children to us.”

“And so do we. The goods that we made with our utmost care were lost by bandits, those unworthy of wielding it. They shall be cursed. Our goods will betray their wearer at the time they need it the most. For they never respect it.” Ae Zir declared before the foremen’s guild. Her words chimed like beautiful bells, however, her words spread fear to each corner of the foremen’s heart for she had exposed their lies..

Aelaranthae could read feelings. She had lived with people from Petraea for several days. That's enough time for them to learn about the nature of these people. They took pride in their way of crafts. They believed it was the best. So, when a new, better way was crafted by young craftsmen, they feared that their way might become irrelevant.

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Fear and despair filled their hearts. Such feelings corrupted them, compelled them to do things that were despicable even by their own belief. Their justification to protect their way beautifies their malevolent deeds.

And so, mere harmless words from the Aelaranthae will become a real curse, whispered among the populace. The curse festered even when the mercenary left the very next day. A few days after the Ae mercenary went home, reinforcements from Doomfador came. The arquebus stolen from the Aelaranthae gleamed upon the sunlight.

Yet the curse persists. Words spread upon the townspeople as the cultist came upon them. The reinforcement came victorious as the cultists marched on. Volley after volley from the stolen musket were fired upon them, countless cultists died. The reinforcement reveled in their victory, but the townspeople’s feelings were lukewarm. They all know this was not the decisive battle yet. The curse still haunted them.

Rashandur looked upon the town. His rage burns even harder. He now viewed people as food for his god. The mark of Falfarus itched for yet another blood. The swarm of powerful cultists were unleashed upon the town of Lughfendor. Cultists came to them like flies, and the reinforcements fired their shots.

The unease spreads. Guns need ammunition. Sometimes, they could also jam. Those who refused to learn and train will eventually show. As waves after waves of cultists unceasingly came, the guns started to fail one by one. The reinforcement went into panic as they clumsily fixed the jammed gun. The rough handling method soon wore the guns down and it further deteriorated.

Alas, the town fell. The residents all fled in panic while most were caught by the cultists. Seeing there was no hope, many chose to join the cultist, bolstering its number further. And so, the curse became true. Whispers of the curse still haunted the foremen of Petraea to this day. Luckily, The cultists halted their advance after they took down the town of Lughfendor. Rashandur felt something on the horizon. He transformed. Bat wings grew out from his back as he led the cultist to their new destination. Antheria’s capital.

Meanwhile, Antheria was in a predicament. The cultist has pushed them right to its capital. Nobles, who fled to the capital all begged the queen for salvation. Those who abandoned their brethren, those who left their populace to the wrath of Falfarus all survived in the capital. The queen was disgusted at their behavior. They ridiculed the Aelaranthae, However, as soon as the Aelaranthae left, their incompetence was in full view.

Altressia pondered, was this empire worth protecting? This empire always belittled her. Her people never respected her. She was a knight, but she soon realized she was not very good at it. As the capital grew more gloomy day by day, she chose to go incognito to the city for a change of pace. She wanted to spend time lounging at the town, forgetting the looming problem at her empire.

“Greetings, waitress. Did you know about Aelaranthae company and Aelaranthae Empire?” Altressia asked.

“Of course, who in the entire plane of Terra didn’t know about Aelaranthae? Any kind of merchant who dined here always talked about them without fail.”

“What do they speak of?”

“They mostly speak about how their goods were banned and targeted by nobles.” the waitress spoke.

“I see.” Altressia sulked, knowing her nobles acted like bandits. She sighed. Dreading her future. Her head will definitely roll at this rate. She cursed her fate for she felt like she did nothing, yet people blamed her. She realized the wicked heart her empire harbored. They needed a scapegoat. A sacrifice so their sins could be forgiven. And the sacrifice would undoubtedly be her. “I wonder if Aelaranthae Empire and their company will took in Antheria’s nobles?”

“Ah, are you destitute nobles willing to change sides? As long as you have never betrayed or dismissed Aelaranthae openly, you could sneak in letters to them.”

“Really?” Altressia gawked at her answer. She was happy but she held her feelings down. She thought that was too simple. If it was that easy, why won’t nobles go there? Surely these nobles weren’t that loyal to the empire. If they did, she wouldn’t be in this state otherwise.

“But you have to start from the bottom, ah hahaha!” The waitress laughed when she saw Altressia’s expression. Altressia finally understood why they refused the Aelaranthae. However, Altressia was still interested. As long as she didn’t start as a slave, she would love to move away from here.

“How low does one have to start in Aelaranthae company? Was it like slaves in the mine?”

“It depends on your education. Starting at the very bottom such as maids, serfs, or foot soldiers and guards only applied to those that never had any education. If you can do math, you can apply to become an accountant. Interested? It will definitely be better than here.” Altressia could do math and she didn’t have such noble arrogance. She was willing to bow down to someone smarter or higher ranked if that meant saving her own neck. Even now, she was practically doing everything Lanfeinne said.

“Why are you still here then?”

“Well, I have no education, so my letters were put off. I didn’t want to work as a dishwasher or sweeping streets in Aelaranthae town and left this house. The rent there is expensive afterall. But now, I am not so sure. I have lost my chance.”

“Why?”

“There was a rumor that we will lose to the cultists. So…”

“Are you saying our Royal knights will lose to some cultists?” Altressia’s tone rose. She was mediocre, but she knew how hard the Royal knights trained. Their skills were real.

“If it was Lucoria or King Luferia who led them… Ah. I am sorry. I shouldn’t talk like that. The guard will scold us.” The waitress bowed and stopped the chatter.

The incognito walk only made Altressia depressed even further. She went to Lanfeinne’s house to ask him what his plans were. She knew these events were far from the ideals Lanfeinne hoped. But he had served her grandfather. Before he was called the mad king, her grandfather was called the Golden Lion. Altressia was sure Lanfeinne would have a backup plan or two.

However, Altressia found Lanfeinne’s home empty. She then went into the castle and couldn’t find Lanfeinne either. Fear surged within her. How could he be gone in times like this. What will she do without his support? None of the nobles listened to her. Without Lanfeinne, the chain of command had crumbled.

She then went to her room and grabbed all her gold coins. Tied it to a purse and then she went to her office to write a letter. After stamping it with a royal seal she went to her royal stable. She couldn’t wait any longer, she has to flee the capital now. She refused to die here.

“Queen Altressia. May I ask what you are trying to accomplish?” Lilianne, her crown’s guard spotted her when she went to the royal stable to get her mount. Her tone was not pleasant to the ear. Her tone was polite but Altressia could feel the accusatory look on her face. She feels the guilt on her shoulder. But she dismissed it. She wanted to live. She wanted to survive. She refused to die with the people she hated.

“You know what I was trying to do, Lilianne. I should have done this years ago.”

“Are you trying to abandon your duty? We need you!”

“No, You don’t need me. They don’t need me. They never listened to me. All they thought about was that I am Aelaranthae’s puppet. So be it. I shall go to Aelaranthae Town and serve them instead. Why should I serve this kingdom who never acknowledges me? Who scorned me. Now there was no one. Lanfeinne has gone, only the traitorous nobles are left. We have no hope. Now that things have gone this way, they must have plotted for my death so they could usurp the throne. Let them. Let them take the throne! I don’t care!”

Altressia held on to her sword, Lilianne was one of her nicer subordinates. She never voiced her dissatisfaction against her. Altressia didn’t think Lilianne would draw her sword against her. But she no longer trusted anyone in this kingdom. She couldn’t be sure. However, Lilianne then teared up. She didn’t draw her swords, but her words did cut like one.

“I knew you never wanted to become a queen. You always wanted to be a knight. We studied together. But due to the mad king, your grandfather deeds, he purged all of his heir, leaving only you. I had hoped you, who are free from the greed of nobility, you who are pure of heart could change this empire for the better. I was wrong. You are not fit to be a queen. I was disappointed.” Lilianne said.

Altressia held on her feelings and continued releasing her steed. Tears caressed her cheeks as she released the tether for her horse. “If you want to follow, you may do so. I have written a letter. I don’t know how Aelaranthae town will react to us emigrating there, but it should be better than here…for your question… Yes. I am not fit to be a queen. I never was.”

“Do you think we will lose to the cultists?”

“You feel it, right? Some high ranking officers had fled. Lanfeinne too. Do you think you could win? Even if you win, what next? Will you continue your life as a knight? Those nobles will blame you for your incompetence. They will blame you, for their province has been ravaged and we did nothing. You will be stripped of your position and become beggars.” Altressia cursed. She knew these nobles too well. Even when Lilianne survived the siege by the cultist, she doubted Lilianne would stay safe. Nobles who were left behind here would undoubtedly accuse her for being Altressia’s royal guard.

“.…” Lilianne was silent. She understood what Altressia meant. Altressia smiled, she would like it to have friends in Aelaranthae town. She heard good things about the Aelaranthae, but she was merely a guileless girl in foreign town. Deception will come to her swiftly. If she had a friend, a trusted one like her, then maybe…

However, as she reached out her hand to Lilianne, she pulled back.

“My apologies. I will not go with you.“ Lilianne bowed. Altressia was shocked.

“Why?”

“I have family here. And I will not save myself by sacrificing others. I will defend this capital. And so, when you return, I hope you can lead us properly.” Lilianne answered. Her faith, her loyalty lies to the crown. Even when these nobles were vile beyond reason, she wanted to save this nation for she is a royal knight

“I will not return.” Altressia said, her scorn was visible through her scoff. “This country always ridiculed me. At first they hated me because I was invalid, then, once I was healed, they treated me like a clueless girl. Now, they scorned me as Aelaranthae’s puppet.”

“I see. We studied in the academy together. I knew you harbored such feelings. I am sorry for being such a useless knight. I couldn’t help you. May your life be blessed in the Aelaranthae Empire.”

“You too. If you win this war, the throne is yours. You deserved it. You are loyal and incorruptible. This country will be better off in your hands.”

“I am no queen. Merely a royal guard.”

“The throne is empty. Rather than those vicious nobles. I would rather it be yours.” Altressia answered. This was the first time she ever talked heart to heart with someone else. She felt the connection between her and her subjects for the first time. It was sorrowful that they had to part like this.

“I will safekeep it for you. May your kin return to claim it.” Altressia and Lilianne hugged. Then, Altressia led the horse through a secret passage out from the capital.

Her steed was giddy. The cramped tunnel didn’t help much. A lot of nobles knew the existence of these tunnels. Altressia knew Lanfeinne also escaped through here after he sensed he had lost. Moreover, Lanfeinne was the treasurer. He must have brought a lot of money out from the capital. The dark feelings grew within Altressia as she knew she was no different than the greedy and selfish nobles.

“Lilianne, please win. Prove that I am wrong to lose hope.” Altressia prayed as she reached the end of the tunnel.

She then rode her horse. Her study at the academy finally bore its fruit. The besieging cultist spotted her, but without a horse of their own, she managed to evade them. She was no longer a queen, merely a girl in a dress trying to escape. The cultist ignored the inconsequential girl. Altressia was lucky that she had abandoned her pride, she brought neither crown nor crest of her house. Only a letter and a pouch of gold. Her seal was left to Lilianne.

Altressia then came to Aelaranthae town three days later, battered, dirty, and hungry. Her horse was exhausted and lay down as soon as they reached the gate. The gate guard offered her food and rest. She then held on to her pouch of gold and the letter, asking to meet with whoever has high standings.

And so, she met Alantuile, son of Amantuile.