[hider=Throne of Lies] “And so the Mandarass Alliance has finally been defeated” Alasdair said, smiling smugly as he finished reading the letter he had been holding. The letter was from his brother and had arrived only yesterday. While he already knew its contents this was the first time he had announced the news to his advisors. Six people were present in room, all sat at a long rectangular table at which Alasdair was the head. Despite the importance the council’s decisions had on Formaroth, the room in which they were made was somewhat unimpressive. Besides from the table and chairs the room was barren with nothing more than a few candlestick holders to light the room during the night. Two windows were on the far side of the small room, allowing ample light to enter. A fireplace burnt quietly in the corner; the first time it had been lit in near six months, so as to ward away the first chills of autumn. On Alasdair’s left sat his sister and economic advisor; Isabel De Reimer, a tall thin woman with beautiful long dark brown hair. Next to her sat the advisor of law; Alexander, a tall thin and gangly man with a mess of brown hair. Finally next to him sat Magister Lanaya Dionisa; Magisterial advisor to Alasdair and a powerful mage. She was a slim woman with pale skin, green eyes and straight copper red hair. On his right sat Marchioness Cerlina Tuania, head advisor of the high council. She had recently only just returned to the capital to discover her younger brother had died during the war against house Mandarass. As such she was wearing a long sleeved black dress with matching black gloves and veil, to which her bright blonde hair and green eyes stood out in contrast; a way to let others know that she was in mourning. Next to her sat Alice Rallar, advisor of war. In comparison to the others surrounding the table she was a giant of a woman, taller and larger than most men with short ginger hair and narrow piercing eyes. “So the war is over then my king?” Alex said “the Imperial Concord is victorious?” “So it would seem” Alasdair replied smugly “and now that we have control of Uzgob, Coruneon and Ralda the concord has easily become the most powerful faction in Formaroth” Though it should’ve been a happy moment, Lana’s face was marred by a faint scowl as Alasdair spoke. In her eyes, he was too eager to revel in this costly victory. When silence fell, she spoke up quickly, before the others could turn this meeting into unending self congratulating. There was a certain venom in her voice, but tempered by the unfortunate truth that she spoke. “And yet, my King, the Land is still fractured. As the ruler of the majority of Formaroth, and no longer at war, you cannot afford to ignore the madness of the Johannian Heresy any longer. The Church is clearly not equipped to handle this without you taking charge.” Alasdair’s disapproving gaze fell on Lanaya. It was clear she was bitter after what had happened during the riot, not that he expected anything else. “She is right your grace” Alice said “the riot proves that the heretical threat must be addressed immediately”. Alasdair internally sighed; he had always hated the church and all the superstitious nonsense it preached to it’s followers. Before, all he had to do was pay off its leaders to stay out of the political affairs and keep the peasantry blindly loyal to whatever monarch happened to be on the throne. But now both Lycaon and Johannia were tearing Formaroth apart over differing ideology based on fairy stories and both continued to undermine his authority. “The Heretics have been driven from Nyhem, Lycaon has seen to that” Alasdair said as he reflected back to the brutal and violent manner than Lycaon and his knights had put down the heretics “Furthermore I have outlawed the heretical teachings of Johannia. Anyone found worshiping will be imprisoned until they recant, while preachers will be tortured and later executed, the method of which shall be decided by the church”. “If I may your grace I do not believe that will suffice” Cerlina said, this was the first time she had spoken during the meeting. It was likely she had been too busy thinking about her brother to engage until now “Even if outlawed we have no way of enforcing the law. Perhaps if we set up some sort of an inquisition with the sole purpose of rooting out the heretics”? “Perhaps, though such an order would likely have to operate through the church and I am loathed to give Lycaon anymore power than he already has.” As bitter as Lanaya was about Alasdair at the moment, she couldn’t help but agree with him. “I agree with the King. Lycaon has accumulated a great deal of power already, and giving him the opportunity to command an inquisition may let him turn even the nobility to his cause, for fear of being accused a heretic. Do we want to risk him becoming a more serious threat than Johannia?” Lanaya was close to suggesting her own organisation be given the right, but after highlighting how corrupt an inquisition could be she thought better of such a blatant power grab. “Exactly, but if we don’t do something soon Lycaon will root out the heretics on his own, and if his actions during the riot are anything to go by, he will be brutal and belligerent. What we need is an organisation that we directly oversee, a faction within the church that acts on our best interests. Not only will we have a way to stop the heretics but we could use it to curb Lycaon’s power”. Many of the council members nodded in agreement “That could work” Alexander replied “If we control the inquisition then we will have have direct oversight to prevent anything from getting too chaotic like they did during the riot”. Lanaya looked around at the other Council members, weighing it in her head. As far as she could tell, their interests were probably diverse enough that they wouldn’t be able to direct such a faction in one particular direction, other than its intended one. That was, if they could all maintain control over it. She thought for a moment, then spoke up. “You make a good argument your majesty. If we maintain control, we should be able to avoid having the inquisition turned to political ends. Very well, I support this initiative.” “Excellent. We will have to find someone capable of leading such a organisation, or at least someone who can control Lycaon should he become inquisitor, and more importantly someone we can trust. Alexander-” upon hearing his name Alexander straightened “-make a list of possible candidates for me to review over”. “Yes your grace” Alexander said with a slight bow of his head. “Very good. Also to celebrate the concord’s victory over the alliance we will be hosting a party here in the keep. The party will be take place a month from now, that should give the guests time to get here. Hopefully it will give the peasantry something to talk about instead of the riot. We will dispense free food and drink to the city to keep them placated.” “I’m sure the peasants will appreciate his Majesty’s generosity.” Lanaya said drolly, before taking on a slightly more serious tone. “House Dionisa will increase see to creating a stockpile for the event.” While she was technically only here for the sake of magical advice, Lanaya would never pass up the opportunity to secure a political advantage. In this case, to have the king rely on her noble house for this grand event instead of one of the others. “That would save house De Reimer from having to pay for everything for once” Isabel replied, she had taken the letter from Alasdair and had been quietly reading it to herself. Her eyes remained fixed on the letter as she spoke “Tell me brother will House Blackwell, Staghain and Sutharlan be invited”? “Invites have been dispatched, whether they arrive or not is another matter. However it is likely house Blackwell will attend, afterall Patrick and Naomi are to be wed soon”. At this Isabel made a noise of disgust. “To think our family would have to muddy our blood by marrying into a family of elevated peasants” Isabel scoffed while Cerlina nodded in agreement. Alice Alexander looked offended however, as both of them had originated from the peasantry. “Maybe so but they are the Concords true rivals right now, and as such it is a good idea to have them on our side” Alasdair paused for a moment before adding “at least for now”. Lanaya remained quiet as house Blackwell was mentioned. She was the architect of this rivalry, in a way, having negotiated the treaty that let the House officially form their own Kingdom. Naturally, it was, in truth, even more complicated than that. Regardless, she had nothing to contribute to the meeting on the subject. *** “And with that I believe the meeting is concluded” Alexander announced waiting for his kings approval “Very well, in which case everyone is dismissed” At this the advisors stood up before heading towards the door. Before Lanaya could leave Alasdair called out to her “Lady Lanaya, I should like to speak with you”. Lanaya, who had already stood in her eagerness to leave, gracefully sat back down, scowling somewhat. She was not expecting this to go particularly well, whatever it was, after their exchange atop the castle during the riot. Some extremely barbed words were thrown, and Alasdair had punched her rather unexpectedly. Though the bruise was already healing, she waved one hand over her the side of her face, dispelling the illusion that had concealed it far more effectively than any makeup could’ve. Saying nothing, she let the ugly reminder of what he had done speak for her. Alasdair noticed Lanaya dispel the illusion, it was already clear that she knew what he wanted to talk about. Alasdair stood up before looking straight at Lanaya “As you undoubtedly remember, during the riot harsh words and insults were passed between us. Furthermore in my rage I struck you and for that I apologize. It was...unbecoming of a king and I should not have allowed my emotions to have gotten the better of me” In truth Alasdair felt somewhat guilty over what had happened. While he had no personal attachments to Lanaya she had served both the concord and in turn House De Reimer well. However more importantly she was far too valuable an asset for them to remain on poor terms. People perform their duties best when they are satisfied under those they serve, a simple fact Alasdair had tried to teach his siblings time and time again. Lanaya looked at Alasdair for a moment, unspeaking. For just a moment, there was a spark of rage deep inside her, but she was able to quash it before it turned into a flame. “Apology accepted.” She said in an even tone. She would never forget what he had done, and likely never truly forgive him, but in politics one could not afford to hold petty grudges. “I apologise for my own words as well. It was a trying day.” She left it at that, once again keeping a cool, even tone. Naturally she was far from sincere, but she hadn’t gotten this far by letting little things like truth get in the way of politics. “Very good, in which case we will resume our duties, and not let what transpired impact on our duty to serve the concord”. While Alasdair sensed neither her apology nor forgiveness to be genuine, he didn’t need them to be, so long as she continued to serve the concord as dutifully she had done before. “Have you any recommendation on whom should be invited to this event?” Lanaya absently passed her hand over the side of her face, recasting the illusion that concealed the bruise. With her point made she preferred to maintain her usual radiant beauty. “Perhaps the Elven Trader, Dyril, should be invited. It will let her know she and her goods are welcome in Formaroth, and that this Kingdoms grandeur is undimmed despite the times.” Alasdair paused for a moment as he considered Lanaya’s recommendation. While it wouldn’t even of crossed his mind to invite her, he saw no reason why not to. Lanaya’s reasoning seemed fair enough. “Very well I shall bear her in mind” “Is that all your Majesty?” Lanaya inquired. Alasdair nodded, and she stood, walking to the door. She quickly half bowed in his direction, then left the Council chamber. By [@TheDuncanMorgan] [@Sundered Echo] [/hider]