Aleko walked down the stone stairs until he reached right in front of the gate which lead to the surrendering army outside. He was unaware of the slight inconvenience, as he was confident enough the fools wouldn't just give away their lives for naught; human loyalty may be something of great respect, but they still are flawed beings afraid of death. Loyalty in death is something that has to be won, and it would seem that general Dunngard didn't quite win it from all of his subordinates. They preferred to drop their weapons with him instead of defying his order to fight to death for him. As Aleko prepared himself to have the quick talk with the general, Bulkwyn made sure to pull him aside once again, this time to compliment him. The heir was taken by surprise with this gesture of appreciation, he could actually feel his cheeks prickle to form a light blush.

"You're too kind, general." He replied, quickly throwing a glance somewhere else to hide his flushing cheeks. "I only do what suits best the situation and don't let my feelings get in the way, that is all to it."

"But, thank you. I'm... I still cannot get used to this. It means a lot to know that I have your approval." He admitted in a low tone, a small smile giving away a little more emotion than he wanted.

But once he would be free to walk outside, the Emperor strode with confidence, quickly followed by an ever-eager MacFinlay and two more rangers the wolf called with him. Once they had reached him, the two quickly made their way to the human general and attempted to apprehend him, but with Asimov showing displeasure and resistance, MacFinlay quickly drew his rifle up; Aleko only had to raise his hand to quickly defuse the situation, all three ceased hostility towards the general. Then, they started walking, the general seemed to believe that the halfling was actually in a talking mood, when in reality, the halfling pulled the rifle from his shoulder and wrapped his fingers around the neck of the buttstock and the handguard in preparation for a knock-out blow. Aleko knew that he missed his cue, his intention was most likely given away by the shuffling of his armor, by his utter silence, by him falling behind; his mistake was to attempt to knockout anyway, even if he had been discovered, believing that he would still get him some way or another. To his dismay, rather than surprise, he found himself in a headlock, his rifle on the ground and with an arm tied around his gorget, which in its turn pressed tightly against his throat; that, combined with the great discomfort in his shoulder, made him attempt to gasp for some air, but in return he only managed to utter a grunt. Most of the general's words had fallen on deaf ears as the canine tried to calm himself down and let the situation pass, knowing that the human did not have the gall to take him down there and then. In the end, he was released, MacFinlay quickly made his way to the pained Emperor.

"Sir, are you alright?" He asked before he turned and raised his rifle again. "You bloody leatherface, I'll rape your mother's arse if you touch him ag-"

"Can it." Interrupted Aleko after he did a full rotation of the pained shoulder to realign the joint in its place and batted the rifle away a second time. MacFinlay cocked his head, left aghast by his superior's order; although he could complain about it, he slung his rifle on his shoulder with no further comment. The dwarves quickly arrived to cuff the general and take him away, to which Aleko finally opened his snout with a deep chuckle, a reaction that made Bedpan's blood go cold, the same with the other two rangers.

"No good deed goes unpunished, general." Aleko stated through the chuckle, a wide grin present on his face. "No idea just how you could have snapped my neck, armor and all, but you should have done it either way. It would have been the best for you." The heir then walked towards one of the dwarven troops that cuffed the human general to pull him aside, but not without a last glance and a last sentence.

"I certainly would have done it, I'm an Elite Ranger. You're only a loud-mouthed, high-ranking officer. The dog that barks does not bite."

The heir then wrapped his arm around the dwarven troop and whispered to him leisurely as he headed back for the forest, his head leaning down so that he would be able to address to him.

"Keep him well-fed and well-rested for two or three days. Then, you have my permission to do anything you want to get out every bit of information he's got, but I demand you to keep him alive. Once you've drawn every last drop of intelligence, bring him to me on Escalyber. Have I made myself understood?"

With that done, he patted the stout man on the shoulder and allowed him to leave, giving himself another moment to gyrate his shoulder and push his neck in the opposite direction, a sickening crackle releasing some of the built-in tension. The physical tenderness was bearable, but there was clearly more than muscle damage imprinted on him. Soon, a war bear made itself visible with general Bojor atop of it; the dwarf dismounted and ran up to the halfling to keep up with him and question him about the situation. The heir had nothing to reply to him, save for informing him about the order he had bestowed upon one of his own men, concluding with a shrug and a nonchalant:

"I thought it would be polite of me to let you know what would be going on in Paletower."

Some time later, the general reunited, Bulkwyn tried to show some pleasantries towards the crass dwarf, then, show worry for the halfling.

"There is no wound for a physician to tend to, general." Aleko replied curtly.

[b]“Don’ mother him. He can walk’ it off. We’ain’ done ‘ere yet.”[/b] Added Ironfist.

"I was about to say that I'll lick it off, but that would work too." The heir then completed, tilting his head to the side.

[b]“Well ye’ did a bloody fine job o’ tha’ fortress.”[/b] The dwarf started, yet his tone did not imply actual commendation. [b]“But we’ still gott’a convince tha’ mayor o’ tha’ town to pledge tha’ whole province’s allegiance to ou’r side, now don’ we?”[/b] 

[b]“He is right, sir"[/b], Pepper nodded, [b]"the town of Northspark is some hours march away from here. If you’re able, we should leave immediately.”[/b]

"Then, let's not keep the man waiting for us. Take whatever forces we have left, we march [u]now[/u]." Aleko immediately ordered, his tone changing drastically from the previous one; mostly like due to the fact that no one actually understood the subtlety of the self-deprecating jape.

Prior to the march, Aleko and Bulkwyn had mustered some of the Elite Rangers, a handful of highlanders and some score of drow vanguards to join them on the walk towards the capital of the region, the town bearing the same name as the fortress they had captured yesterday. In this time, Aleko took himself a couple of moments to ease his bladder; he cleaned his hands with a handful of pure snow, inspecting it beforehand to make sure it didn't have drops of yellow in it. Once the shepherd was done, he took another moment to walk over to a tree and lean himself against it, a heavy sigh trailing out as a puff of steam exiting his long snout; he had the hurting arm resting against the tree trunk, the other one hanging loosely next to his body. Within a second, he grunted loudly and snarled as he slammed the thick of his palm against his temple in a repeated manner.

[i]Idiot, sodding mutt, letting yourself so damn exposed![/i] He scolded himself between grunts. [i]I'll show that crusty old bear what tyranny is all about.[/i]

"Sir, a-are you... oh, gods."

Aleko promptly turned his head only a little, his face not visible towards the voice from behind. He immediately identified it being MacFinlay's. He knew that he couldn't explain to him what he just saw, so instead he replied to the wolf's attempt of a question with an oddly calm voice, which carried a rather menacing undertone to it.

"I am quite fine, Bedpan. Are the preparations in order?"

"Uh, y-yessir. We're ready to leave." The wolf answered, his voice giving away the uneasiness that overtook him after witnessing his superior's outburst and sudden change of tone.

"Good. Get in formation."

"Sir!" Bedpan saluted and promptly left his Emperor alone.

Aleko turned his head back towards the ground and relaxed his shoulders, the thumping pain in his temple drawing away the temper inside him. A matter of seconds later, he took his place within the marching formation, visor down, acting as if nothing had ever happened. MacFinlay was still close-by, but whatever plan he had to socialize with the heir was most likely gone. For the following hours, the silence Aleko had about him tasted in a very different way compared to the other times he kept his mouth shut through the marches; it would seem that sounds around him would be siphoned by something, everyone seemed rather reluctant to explore the oddity. The long walk did help him get a grip of his fiery emotions, but even so, he could still feel a knot of rage in his throat. In due time, they reached the gates of Northspark city, where a couple of musketeers defended the niggardly towers laid at the sides of the gatehouse. Once challenged, Aleko walked forward and lifted his visor, his glacier glance falling upon one of the human guards.

"Aleko Farland Sendrakon, first of my name and heir of the Sendrakon bloodline, I come to announce the fall of Fort Northspark!" His voice boomed at the two guardsmen. "I wish audience with the mayor of the town!"

Not long after, the gates opened, Aleko was the first to walk inside, to the dismay of a squad of Elite Rangers that were tasked with defending the Emperor; they quickly caught up to him and matched their pace with the heir's stride, which seemed rather adamant about stomping his way to the center of the town.

[i]This is my victory. It feels different because it is for me, not for the general of my army, or for the king of the Freedom Islands. This land is now mine. I do not know what to do with this notion, yet, it empowers me. I need to calm my blood some more.[/i]

He met with the mayor of the town, the White Shepherd gave him a scrutinizing look before he nodded his head towards the lanky human.

[b]"T..t..the heir? The heir of the Sendrakon bloodline?” [/b]The mayor stuttered, obviously taken by surprise. [b]“That means… That means you are from the New Empire… but… why are you here? What is happening?”[/b]

Aleko lowered his head to align his eyes to his and clasped his hands at his own back.

"I thought the guardsman told you? I'm here to tell you that the fort of Northspark is forfeit. The army has been all but eliminated, the surviving troops have been captured; general Asimov Dunngard has surrendered prior to his apprehension. He tried to negotiate himself out of the situation, but it would seem that few know the privileges of being captured." Aleko addressed to the man calmly.

"Which is why I hope that you will have the wisdom to avoid more conflict and forfeit the town and all of this region's settlements, as well as its resources. As long as the relationship between this region and the New Empire's core remains civil, you are promised prosperity, security and attention, as well as the benefits of a different mind-set of lordship and ruling; if you wish to resist even under the circumstances you find yourself in, I'm afraid I will have no choice but to take away your position and offer it to a loyal vassal." Aleko took a quick break in his speech to take a few steps away from the mayor to gaze at the mob of residents crowding to witness the commotion.

[i]How in all the hells am I able to speak like so without stuttering?[/i]

"Citizens of Northspark, you will find my rule a gentle, yet, productive one, based on honesty and workmanship. You will find kindness and prosperity, under the condition that you pledge your allegiance to me, the last of the Sendrakon bloodline. I may be a bastard, aye, but that means half of my blood will quench the tyrannical other; I too know what the people have been through under the seemingly unending dynasty, the Sendrakon have grown too accustomed to their well-being and took their underlings's loyalty for granted. I stand here in front of you to promise to you that the end of childish regimes and careless behavior has ended with the death of the last pure blood. I may be Sendrakon, but I am also Hyde. I am unfortunate, but also blessed to wear both of these names, so I will take them and bear them with courage and pride in my heart, to lead my people to a New Empire, where you, the people, will have the most important voice in leading the Empire. Your pleas and suggestions will be carefully listened and applied, for the better of Avalon. For the better future, for our children, so that they do not have to live through the atrocities the elderly had to suffer." Aleko then turned to the mayor.

"You must understand, I am no threat to you since I did not come here to point the tip of my sword at your neck. I couldn't come to have this discussion with the Old Empire's army breathing down my neck, I had to make sure you could listen to my proposition with no interference, surely you can understand that. I am sure we can forge a fruitful cooperation, once you have replaced the banners and accept me as your leader." The shepherd took a deep breath and straightened his back, feeling rather light-headed after he had lost focus on his breathing.

"Now then, my dear mayor, what will be your verdict?"