CHAPTER 140: THE BANQUET OF CONCORDIA AND THE ISSUE OF CONTINUED WAR

Taranis’ words were a thunder clap in my ears, as a bellow of roaring wrath and rancid hate rattled my mind, silencing all the other voices within me, as the tyrant screamed for the liars blood. A tempting offer I would have accepted, had I not bitten my tongue to hold back my surging madness with the last bastions of my fleeting sanity.

For how could this man be anything other than a fraud and a charlatan, since even though I was not a participant of the two hundredth and nineteenth Banquet of Concordia in my past life, as I was still neck deep in civil strife and fraternal war, I had still paid attention to it, as it was the first Banquet that was held in my lifetime, so I was certain that it was meant to be held in the lands of the daughter’s of beauty, the Omorfia Isles, this year.

But more importantly, the two hundredth and nineteenth Banquet was where I was planning to finally find her, as that was the first place I could’ve been sure she was, since she herself had told me that she had attended that celebration.

’Could my actions have led to such an unexpected variable to occur? Could I have inadvertently caused the future to become so twisted already that even the venue of the Banquet of Concordia to change? Does... Does that mean that I have lost my chance to find my Eve?’ Like a devil’s vicious mockery, my paranoia whispered in my ear, corroding my final vestiges of reason within me, when suddenly before I could further delve into the depravity of my thoughts, Darius’ voice reached my ears, as he hesitantly called out "My emperor?"

Bursting from the shell of spiralling frenzy and delusion I was being slowly confined in, I cleared my throat and replied, though my voice was undoubtedly colder than it was a few moments ago "The Eclipse Empire is as always, happy to honour and participate in the long and fabled legacy and tradition of the Banquet of Concordia."

All the while I kept repeating to myself, in a soothing gesture to calm the agitation of my rampant thoughts ’It’s fine, she said she joined the celebration because she was curious and interested in this once in a century occurrence, so it shouldn’t matter if it was held in the Omorfia Isles or the Astrapi Kingdom, or the anywhere else; she should still go there. She has to.’

"Thank you for your kind words my lord. I’m certain my king and all those who shall attend this year, will also be delighted by your presence as well." Taranis politely added, as he presented the scroll to my ministers, who took it from him with a minor bow as well.

He then, along with his two other companions, quickly took their leave, probably sensing the souring air around me, and they probably did not dare to over stay their welcome, and remain to test the authenticity of the more menacing aspects of my ruthless reputation.

Once they had exited, Ashtad, my minister of justice asked "My lord, what must we do?"

"About what?" I dryly asked in return.

"The Banquet of Concordia, of course!" He quickly answered, his tone near the threshold of exclamation. "By law, all nations must stop all wars, or any martial conflict, during the year it is held, or risk the ire of the rest of the world!" He finished as a slight hint of unease slipped into his voice, betraying his true feelings.

"Do you mean to halt our current war with the Murathicus Tribes?" Darius swiftly understood his meaning and worry, as he directly asked him.

"Indeed." Ashtad unwaveringly confirmed.

"I disagree." Rhett, my minister of commerce then announced, his voice impassioned yet measured, as he clinically dissected the current situation we were in "Our ongoing commercial and economic boom is a product born mostly from our winnings in the south. To halt the war is to also halt the continued development of our nation’s rising wealth."

"But is it not also a fact that his lordship, the Grand Marshal has mostly spent the last few years quelling the rebellious spirit of the conquered Murathicus tribes?" Ashtad was not convinced, as he retorted to Rhett’s words.

"Are you insulting our lord, sire Ashtad?" But then an enraged voice echoed through our ear drums.

"You speak as though he has done nothing of use in the last few years, which is utterly foolish if you know the first thing about war, for how could an army boldly attack his enemy when his back is unprotected?" And then a second, less impetuous voice, sounded out.

"Besides, though our lord has not led an invading force to sweep through their middle lands just yet, it is undeniable that he also commanded several smaller campaigns against them that profited us several new vassals and tons of yearly tribute and resources in exchange." Finally a third then added to the argument of the second.

These were the three officers who upheld Hamilcar’s place in the Council Room and performed some of his many duties as Grand Marshal while he was on campaign, and they generally remained pretty passive in most times, as they understood their place, but they could never stand before their most respected lord again with heads held high, if they allowed a slight on his merit to pass unanswered.

Everyone was shocked by their unprecedented outburst, as the three were known to generally be well natured, mild mannered men. Who were as diligent as they were soft spoken, so this side of them was a surprise indeed.

"You misunderstand me, my lords." Ashtad quickly defended himself with his trademark stern face and voice, as his years of toiling as a lawyer and later a judge, shined through at this moment, as he calmly explained "I did not speak my words in an attempt to sully the honour and achievements of the Grand Marshal, but merely in an effort to highlight the fact that our war in the south is already in a state of relative quite as we deal with what must be dealt with; so even though we have already basically finished the pacification of our new prize, and are ready to continue south, we should wait another year in accordance to laws of the Banquet of Concordia." He finished as he bowed in apology for any offense given.

His words and actions easily managed to convince the three, as they too bowed in regret, having jumped to conclusions.

But before they continue their previous quarrelling, I asked, my tone still haunted by the chill of my unsettled mind "What is your take on the matter, Grand Vizier?"

"My mind is of the same as minister Rhett on this issue, my liege." Darius unhesitatingly stated, which brought another round of shock to the gathered men, none more so that Rhett himself, since these two were like water and oil, always on differing sides and always nit picking the other’s choices and decisions, even if they were completely sound and with very little risk or downside.

"Explain." I ordered, my eyes narrowing in confusion, as even though I am of the same opinion as them, I had thought the more cautious and pragmatic Darius would lean more to the suggestion of Ashtad.

"Though I completely comprehend lord Ashtad’s concerns," He began "as well as seeing the wisdom in waiting for our foes to exhaust even more of their strength against each other before we pounce, I still believe that to delay the southern offensive by more than a year would simply be a greater disservice to our country, because we would be burning even more valuable time." His tone was grim as he uttered those words of warning.

"You fear the other powers will unveil our secret and aid the Murathicus tribes." My uncle calmly stated, figuring out what was on his mind.

"I do not simply fear, my lord Archduke; I am sure they will discover the truth, and it will be sooner rather than later." He gravely stressed, as he delivered an appreciative nod to him. "The others are not blind to our rising prosperity, and you can be sure that they have already dispatched their spies, to try and uncover the root of it all; so how long do you think it would take them before the ludicrous theories they had quickly dismissed earlier on, become to sound more and more plausible? How long before they realize what is happening by the simple way of elimination?" He said mainly to the other ministers, before he said the final phrase that froze them all "And that’s just the first of my worries."

"You’re troubled by the thought that the Murathicus tribes might settle their differences, or worse unite if given enough time." I was the one that spoke those words, as a cunning smirk stretched across my lips, impressed that Darius had managed to predict the events of the future so well.

"Indeed, my liege." Darius answered with a gleeful glint in his eyes, as he always enjoyed conversing with intelligent people.

"The Murathicus tribes have been a fragmented pile of waring clans for thousands of years, it’d be near impossible for them to converge under a single banner, They have too many grievances to resolve, too much bad blood between them; too much history." One of the three previous generals sceptically stated, not truly convinced that our words were that likely to come to pass.

"The same was said about my family and that of the house of the Forge Lord, yet look at us now." I calmly said, making them all look up at me in surprise, but I was not done "And the same was said about the Gryphon Knights being able to defeat our own Chimera Knights, yet you all remember what sort of tragedy transpired four years ago. And if any of you have forgotten you can to the Hill of Genesis and ask my father to refresh you memory."

Their eyes only grew wider in shock at my frigid words, that were delivered on the wings of my haunting voice that dripped with unnatural authority and malevolence, as I decisively said "This is not an age where we need to take heed of the status quo, as it will not survive it."