Egea, Sophianopolis, Imperial Palace
A crowd of journalists had gathered at the entrance to the palace. All the curious had gathered in the palace square, awaiting an official announcement from the emperor on recent events. The emperor's concordia, returning from an emergency meeting of the Organization, landed on the palace's spaceport, not far from the large square open to the public.
Crowds flocked to the craft, but the imperial guard waiting for the emperor prevented them from getting too close. The cameras recorded the emperor descending from the concordia, commenting on the various possible avenues for his statement, which he hoped would be forthcoming.
Aroslan dismounted and followed the path opened by the guard that led directly to the palace gate, keeping the crowd at bay. Although he looked as haughty as usual, his gait was stiffer and his face more drawn than usual, but these details were only perceptible to those who knew him well. To the rest, he seemed the same dignified, princely emperor as ever. He wasted no time in fielding questions from all sides and entered the palace grounds. There, Jibaru awaited him and walked with him, the head of the imperial guard at his heels.
-Your Majesty, I've drawn up a first draft of your official declaration," he said, holding up a tablet on which a text of a hundred lines was scrolling. I think you need to be as concise as possible so that your declaration is not interpreted, either by the allies or by Stellarios.
He quickened his pace to match the Emperor's and looked at him inquisitively. Aroslan did not blink. His stone face was impassive. Jibaru shivered. He didn't like it. The emperor's pout, the way he didn't let a muscle move in response to his questions, didn't bode well. He glanced at Anetti, the head of the imperial guard, but Anetti was looking at him with the same questions. Something was wrong.
He decided to remain silent and followed the emperor, who led them to the meeting room where they held their daily proceedings. They found themselves alone in the room, since the guards and palace staff had stayed outside. Aroslan went straight to a window and stood in front of it without saying a word. Again, Jibaru and Anetti exchanged worried glances.
-If there's anything we can do for you, Your Majesty," said the chief of the guard in his deep voice.
But the emperor remained staring out of the window. He didn't move, he didn't say anything.
-Your Majesty, I understand that you're upset after doing everything possible to avoid a full-scale war, but there's nothing more we can do," the head of the palace administration tried in turn. All we can do is intervene as soon as possible and have a thorough diplomatic strategy to anticipate and thwart the majority of attacks...
-I quit," the long-silver-haired emperor finally said, turning to face his top dignitaries.
-Huh?" said Jibaru, looking at him in confusion.
-Your Majesty..." turned Anetti, who wasn't sure he'd heard correctly.
-Zorkiel wants to attack Niris directly, and there's no way I'm going to stand by and watch him do it.
-But...we can lead a counter-offensive to prevent him from carrying out his plan, and then we have enough power to beat him in real combat... replied Jibaru, who was trying to understand what was going on while displaying his best analytical skills.
-He's going to send assassins after Niris, or even put a bounty on his head to send every mercenary in the intergalaxy after him," cut in the Emperor, who had started to pace back and forth. Niris is not safe.
-Your Majesty, the Prince is with the Master of Blades in a very remote part of the intergalaxy, so there's very little chance of anything happening to him," Anetti tried to temporize, struggling to understand the Emperor's sudden declaration.
-In any case, if he leads the war on several fronts, there's a great risk that Niris will find himself in danger very quickly. I refuse to let anything happen to my son! And as the emperor is forbidden to make personal decisions in the course of his duties, motivated by the protection of those closest to him, I resign as emperor and concentrate on protecting Niris.
Jibaru and Anetti tried to protest, but a female voice interrupted them before they could say anything.
-I hope you realize there's no chance of Parliament accepting your resignation?
A sixty-something angel with salt-and-pepper hair held in an intricate bun with precious pins, and whose round glasses held by a chain gave her a stern look, stepped into the room, arms crossed over her torso. She planted herself between the two angels, who were watching her with intrigue.
-Don't tell me you're thinking of resorting to martial law to do such a thing, Aroslan d'Egea," she threatened, glaring down at him from a height of 6'2".
The emperor didn't reply and looked away.
-Your Majesty! said Anetti, shocked. You wouldn't consider something like that, would you? If you resort to martial law, you'll be considered a traitor and banished from Egea and from high public office! You can't do that!
-I'm ready to commit any crime to protect my son! retorted Aroslan, who, for the first time, looked into the eyes of the chief guard, who was surprised by his passionate declaration.
A flame burned in the angel's eyes. A flame he'd never seen before, even in all the years of his reign. Jibaru felt his heart clench. It was the first time he, too, had seen the Emperor lose his temper in this way. It was the first time in his entire career that he had seen Emperor Aroslan put his personal interests before the interests of the state. He looked at him with a sadness he couldn't hide, so hurt was he to see the man he admired struggling desperately against his conflicting emotions.
-I don't doubt that for a second," said the head of inter-institutional relations. But there's one thing I know you're incapable of, and that's abandoning your people and making decisions that run counter to imperial ethics. Deep down, I know you're hoping Parliament will accept your resignation before you default on your duties.
Aroslan couldn't deny what Hervénie had just said and twitched. He turned his head and frowned. Hervénie sighed. She'd known the emperor since he was a young adult and knew how stubborn he could be, especially when it came to those closest to him. It was what made him such a humane ruler, to tell the truth. He was aware of the value of any life, and of the pain of losing a loved one. So he protected the angels as best he could from these terrible misfortunes. But in return, he could lose all capacity for sound reasoning when his loved ones were in danger. And when it came to his son, he was stubborn as a mule.
Hervénie sighed. Convincing him to give up this ridiculous idea of resigning was not going to be easy.
-Listen, I understand you're worried, but your son is not in immediate danger of death," she continued, stepping towards him. For the moment, he's very well looked after and he's being trained by the master of blades. Soon, very few people will be able to attack him. And then there are plenty of ways to protect him indirectly, whether by tracking down any mercenaries who might come after him, or by cornering Zorkiel so he can't concentrate on eliminating him.
-But if he sends bounty hunters after him, he won't have to worry about a thing! retorted Aroslan. And Lou hasn't regained all his power, so if they arrive en masse...
-Lou has regained over seventy percent of his former power! I know because I monitored her recovery myself after she woke up. And she's currently working on finding a way to be at her maximum potential when needed," counter-attacked the manager vindictively. And quite frankly, I think it'll be good training for the Prince to fight against mercenaries who come to find him on Noïke.
The emperor clenched his fists. He didn't like the way Hervénie opposed him. He knew why he was doing it, and he knew she was right, which was why he hated this conversation even more. He'd decided to resign so he wouldn't have to face that kind of debate.
-Aroslan, if you leave now, the angels will be weakened," the woman said more calmly. Your departure will cause a lot of emotion, and finding a replacement will be extremely difficult.
She paused for a moment, studying the emperor's troubled gaze as he looked away again. She knew he was trying to run away from his responsibilities because he wasn't capable of abandoning them so easily. It was what she had hoped for, and she hadn't been wrong. She'd pulled on the right string.
-You know why they say you'll be the last emperor of angels? Because every constitutional reform since the beginning of your mandate has been aimed at abolishing the status of emperor. Honestly, at this point, it's quite likely that the end of your last term will signal the disappearance of the emperor from the Aegean system. But this is a reform that must be carried out in peacetime! It is too fraught with consequences to be taken at a time as troubled as this.
She paused for a moment, watching Aroslan's silent reaction as he struggled against himself. She continued.
-If you leave office now, and on top of that using martial law, you'll cause chaos in the country and on top of that you'll open a legal battle to stop you leaving. But such things won't happen without a trace. It will be very difficult to justify the credibility of an emperor with a criminal past. And we need all our might in this war, which promises to be bloody. If you do something like this now, you'll be exposing the angels of all the daughter planets and Egea to immeasurable danger, since our enemies will feel they have the upper hand on us. Many angels will lose their lives. And we'll lose all credibility with our allies. It's hard enough to form an alliance, so I don't think we need to add to it with nonsense like this.
Aroslan had closed his eyes. The conflict raging in his mind was intensifying and making him even more nervous. He hated hearing himself say all those things from Hervenie. He hated it because he knew she was right and that he was incapable of turning away from his duties so irresponsibly.
Hervenie took the tablet from Jibaru, who looked at it with infinite gratitude, and approached the emperor, who reopened his eyes and faced her with his gaze. She could see all the pain of a father who had been robbed of the freedom to fight for his child by shackling him with other responsibilities. She handed him the tablet.
-Don't do something you'll regret for the rest of your life, something that will lead to your downfall," she continued, this time gently. Prince Niris would never want such a thing, and would certainly hold it against you.
Aroslan took the tablet in his hands with a dejected expression. He had given in. The anger had left his body and he was now staring blankly at Jibaru's rough draft of a speech. Beside Hervénie, the two high dignitaries sighed with relief at the emperor's change of heart.
-And you can protect Niris by remaining emperor," added the woman in charge, replacing the veil covering her shoulders. All you have to do is declare Niris a High National Cause for Protection and attach the special unit to his protection.
-If I do that, it'll be considered a misuse of power by the court! retorted the angel.
-Not if you get it endorsed by the imperial parliament," retorted Hervénie.
-But it's an obvious conflict of interest! There's no reason why parliament should endorse such a decision! he took offense.
Hervénie sighed.
-Aroslan, no one expects you to deny your emotions," she said with strict gentleness. No angel expects you to deny your humanity. They'll understand perfectly well why you'd do such a thing. Besides, Niris isn't just your son, he's also the Crown Prince of Egea and a high representative of Egea to the Organization. The people have already approved him as their leader and potential successor. And no one will argue with you that protecting Niris is tantamount to protecting intergalactic peace. He is the bearer of Niyarii, our civilization depends on his survival, and everyone on Egea is well aware of the danger his captivity by Zorkiel would mean.
Aroslan stared at her with the same grave, annoyed expression. He didn't like what she was saying. It went against all his principles, against all his ideas. He hated the idea that anyone could show him that he was fallible, since it was like showing him that his ideas were fallible. And that unsettled him more than anything. When the head of inter-institutional relations laid a sympathetic hand on his shoulder, he had to fight not to waver, so disgusted was he with himself.
Hervénie greeted Jibaru and Anetti, then left the room, leaving Aroslan deeply distressed. Jibaru approached and addressed him gently.
-Your Majesty, the communications office awaits your official declaration.
The Emperor nodded and followed the two dignitaries to the broadcasting room.
---
A day later, on Noïke
The small group had finally reached their destination. After a difficult climb up the rocky Kampala mountain, they had arrived on a verdant plateau with a waterfall that was the only river in the region. This was the coudée plateau. An ideal place to set up camp, and remote enough for training.
After setting up camp, the small group enjoyed a well-deserved meal.
It's good to be here," said Niris, digging into a spoonful of soup with bits of meat from the day's hunt floating in it.
-Don't tell me you found the climb hard, because if you do, you can quit training right away," Lou lectured him as he finished his bowl.
-It wasn't hard, but I couldn't wait to get there. Now I can give it my all!
He quickly finished his plate and put the bowl down in front of him.
-Are you sure it was a good idea to send Jibaru to Sanoterre for Fin du jour? You don't need to go and get it yourself, do you?" he asked, expressing a question that had been nagging at him for several days already.
-Why, you don't think he'll be able to get it back?" replied the master with a question.
At the same time, she handed him a piece of bread, which he shared with Seiran.
-No, but it's your blade, and it might not want to come if someone else fetches it.
Lou bit into her piece of bread and chewed it a little before continuing.
-Fin du jour is a bit special: unlike the others, it doesn't really have a conscience of its own. It's a very powerful blade in terms of its abilities, but very particular in terms of its specificities. That's why I've hidden it so well. Anyone can pick it up, and it won't show itself when hostility seizes it, but not just anyone can use it.
Niris nodded thoughtfully.
-In other words, it has no personality expression of its own, but it can't be used by anyone but me, unlike the others, which in theory can be used by anyone they accept," she added, seeing her pupil's dubious look.
-Is that why I can use Dancing Blade and Flaming Charisma?" he asked, as if realizing something.
-Exactly!" congratulated the master. Quite frankly, going to Sanoterre to get it back would take too much time given the situation. I'd prefer us to concentrate on your training, and then when Jabiru returns we'll be able to undo the death seal straight away, since you'll be ready to undergo the operation.
Niris frowned. He knew that everything rested on his shoulders and that, in the end, the culmination of his training was the destruction of the seal and the total integration of Niyarii, but he still didn't feel ready.
To stop thinking about it, he got up and picked up the dirty cutlery to go and clean it. Azur stretched and lay down on his side for a nap.
-This place is perfect for the four of us, we've got enough space to live here," he commented with a smile, thinking of his training session that was about to start.
-We'll be staying here on our own, you and me with Viknard," corrected Lou.
-Viknard is going to join us?" wondered Seiran, hearing this for the first time.
The master of blades nodded.
-He has a theory that the seal on the box containing the Niyarii fragments will break more easily if Niris remains in contact with it twenty-four hours a day. So he'll join us for his training and stay here with us as guarantor of the fragments' safety, she explained.
-And Seiran and Azur asked the prince, surprised not to count them among the campers.
-They'll be leaving for Kampalera tomorrow. You'll only have one day off a week when you're allowed to go down to see them, but the rest of the time I want you to concentrate solely on your training. We don't have a lot of time, and we're determined to achieve results, so there's no way you're going to take this training lightly! So no distractions: your friends will be staying with friends in Kampalera.
Niris pouted, but said nothing. He knew she was right. He had to concentrate if he wanted to succeed. As his master had said, they had little time and the challenge was immense.
For his part, Seiran had withdrawn. He suspected that he wouldn't be able to stay with Niris for the duration of his training, but he hadn't anticipated that he'd be staying behind with Viknard. His saliva suddenly tasted bitter and he swallowed to try and get the sensation over with.
-Viknard's arriving tomorrow," said Lou, rising to his feet. Let's finish setting up camp so we can get down to business tomorrow.