To the north of the [Megaceris Endless Labyrinth] lies the Empire of Daceli. Unlike a conventional country that one might find on Earth, the capital city is not sequestered away, in the centre of the land. No - the capital city of Rodania borders the unclaimed land which houses the [Megaceris Endless Labyrinth]. This land is unclaimed by any nation not for lack of trying, but as a result of the three-way brinksmanship held by the nations bordering this land. The Empire of Daceli is the largest of these three nations with the greatest resources, while the Technocracy of Intia boasts the greatest magitech of the three, and the Rict Warpath commands the greatest fighting force of the three. Should any of these nations decide to move in on the unclaimed land, the other two would immediately coordinate a pincer attack on the audacious nation, resulting in naught but defeat.
Over the past few hundred years, this has been the only agreement that these three nations could arrive at. A new wind, however, has begun to blow. The newest Empress of Daceli, Freya dis Rodania, sits in her chambers, poring over records of reports and contracts hundreds of years old. Her race is betrayed only by the iridescent scales scattered on her forearms - she is a dragonkin, the rarest of all [Rochur]. [Rochur] are a race of people who for the most part look like the humans of Earth. However, they always have an indication of their closeness to nature. Some have animal-like ears, some have tails, some have paws instead of feet, some have fur on parts of their bodies, some have flowers, some have leaves, and some, like Freya, have scales.
It is said that the [Rochur] were descended from a race of ancient people who lived among nature and harmonised greatly with the mana of the natural world. Over a long period of time, various species of flora and fauna became attuned to different tribes of prehistoric [Rochur], and blessed each tribe with a hereditary blessing. To this day, [Rochur] are the only race of people in this world born with a
Freya grunted in frustration as she glared at the records, lamenting the stupidity and hard-headedness of the previous heads of state. For what reason would they not seek a cooperative relationship with the other two nations that bordered the [Labyrinth]?? It was a veritable gold mine, an endless source of resources, and it was only greed, the desire to monopolise the whole of the [Labyrinth], that led to this centuries-long stalemate between the nations. In the hundreds of years since the policy of mutually assured destruction was agreed upon, the only source of resources came from the adventurers and mercenaries who accepted commissions from their respective guilds to gather [Mana Cores] and precious materials.
In the aftermath of all of this, the political power and economic sway the Adventurer's Guild and Mercenary's Guild held had ballooned on the Megaceris continent. With power comes greed, and sure enough, corruption began running rampant in the higher echelons of both of these guilds. Politicians and officials were bought and paid for by the guilds, planting them in the governing bodies of all these nations, encouraging the continuation of the stalemate. For years, this balance was maintained.
But Freya was different. Her ideologies were far different from many of her predecessors. By and large, the head of state of Daceli had long become a puppet position, relegated to ceremonial functions and a symbol of the wealth and power of the empire. For that reason, the head of state was always selected through a contest of intellect and strength. Freya herself had won third place in the national selection test, and first place in the royal skill showcase. She was an A-ranker, one of the strongest people in the nation save for its special forces, which boasted a full roster of S-rankers, and a handful of legendary adventurers and mercenaries, all at the over-S level. Of course, she also hailed from a high-ranking dragonkin noble family.
While most of Freya's predecessors were content to languish in the riches of being the Emperor, or cash in on the corruption rampant throughout the officials, Freya had been laying the groundwork for her plans a long time ago. Ever since her debut into polite society, she had been gathering like-minded allies amongst nobles, soldiers, and commoners alike. The society in which she grew up in was deeply unequal and deeply hierarchical, with nobles standing at the very top of the pyramid, followed by knights and soldiers, then commoners forming the bulk of the work force, and finally slaves and slum dwellers at the very bottom, suffering the worst of the Empire's excesses.
"This nation is bloated on its own filth."
She muttered hatefully, staring at a new report that she had been reading. This report was a culmination of two years of work by her own secret service, enumerating and elucidating the slavery market in the Empire. Local thugs and kingpins would often be in the employ of high-ranking knights or nobles of any rank, and would often raid villages, small cities, and towns, capturing children, beautiful women, and strong-looking young men to be sold into slavery. These slaves would often be bought by high society, and there was no shortage of them even in her own home. Needless to say, the Palace of the Empire was filled to bursting with slaves.
A pattern of knocks sounded at the door.
"Come in."
A woman with dark blue skin blurred into the room, the door barely seeming to open and shut. She whispered a word, and the surroundings blurred and darkened slightly.
"Jessa. What do you have for me?"
"Freya-sama. The people you have asked for have been gathered. They are willing to enter the [Labyrinth]. We should expect them back within the next six months."
"Excellent work, Jessa. It's been tough on you. Please, take a seat."
The blue-skinned woman's eyebrows raised almost imperceptibly. Muttering another word, the room darkened further, leaving an untouched zone surrounding Freya and Jessa.
"Uwaaaaa I hate all of this!! This country sucks so much I really want to raze it to the ground right now!!"
"Freya, please continue to be patient. The groundwork we have laid will only bear fruit when the time is right."
"Demo demo, there are so many people suffering right now! I hate that we have to think in such utilitarian ways that requires the sacrifice of so many lives."
"Freya's feelings are entirely correct. However, if we do not do this, there is no way that we can cleanse this country from the inside out."
"Jessa...I'm so glad you were my maid back home. If I didn't have you, I might have tried to rebel immediately and ended up dead by now."
"Freya, please do not speak of such inauspicious things. I am only thankful that you have placed your faith in me and given me the ability to dream of a better future."
The two women gazed warmly at each other with the familiarity of old friends and close family. Before Freya became the Empress, she had been raised by Jessa, a Nocturne maid. Nocturne are a race of people whose skin colours range from blue to black, and have an affinity for [Dark Magic]. Bought as a young slave, she was raised as a combat maid to protect Freya from the shadows. Having raised Freya since she was a little girl, Jessa held an immense amount of familial love for her. When Freya started thinking about the inequalities of the Empire, Jessa was at a loss.
Torn between the aristocratic upbringing she was contract-bound to aid Freya in and the conditions of her own slavery, she did not engage with Freya on these matters. When she finally decided to speak with Freya on the issue, it was already a foregone conclusion. Freya was convinced that the Empire needed to be overturned and scoured clean. Jessa never contradicted her. Instead, she taught Freya how to seek allies and like-minded folks, how to present the veneer of a well-bred aristocratic woman while nurturing the embers of rebellion, and single-handedly forged a path for Freya to bring herself to the very top of the Empire.
It could be said that the reason Freya was holding this office was Jessa. Likewise, the moment Freya had accumulated enough power, she broke the slave contract that bound Jessa and gave her freedom. At that time, Jessa reminisced, she had said "Jessa. You've done so much for me, much more than I can ever repay. This is what I can do for you. You are free to go anywhere you want, do anything you want, live the rest of your life however you want. Please don't be tied down by me." She then bowed deeply, ignoring a cardinal rule of aristocracy.
Jessa, of course, stayed. She wanted to see the dream that her young mistress was forging come true. In that time, she raised her own strength as well, climbing to A-rank alongside Freya, no longer her mistress, no longer her superior, but a comrade, a confidante, a partner in rebellion. They were too perfect for each other. While Freya was hot-blooded, brave, and childishly idealistic, Jessa was calm, working behind the scenes, and deeply practical. In any other circumstance, these two might have butted heads, but working under a common dream with the bond they shared only served to highlight their strengths and cover for each other's weaknesses.
While Jessa worked on organising the secret service that she was in charge of and running covert missions and espionage, Freya continued strengthening her relationships with like-minded nobles and researching ways to attack the fundamental structure of governance in the Empire. Like day and night, the two worked seamlessly with each other, one aboveboard, one undercover.
After chatting carefreely for a few minutes, Jessa departed the room, and the darkness receded. She blurred into the shadows of the palace, and settled in to begin her espionage shift.