[center][h1]The Aegire Oligarchy[/h1]
[h3]Palace of the Sea Lord[/h3][/center]

"'The inauguration ceremonies and festivities will take place five weeks from now in the royal palace in Arkronia. As honered guests and subjects to the crown your attendance is expected.

Yours’s sincerely,

Drokon-Al,
Steward of Arkron'" 

Dekatia Jura finished reading the missive, briefly rearranged her legs in the Coral Palace's warming pool, then folded the letter. Her confidants sat with her, watching, waiting on opposite ends of the heated pool. They were the power block of the Oligarchy. Lord Phera Hetos with his pirate-scarred torso tried to look unconcerned, but Dekatia could tell from the twitching of his arm fins that he was thinking a mile a minute. Meanwhile, Lady Dalia Iretis folded her hands and pondered. Waiting. She was a slippery one, Dalia. Always waiting for someone else to speak before letting her thoughts be known.

"Well?" Phera asked. "What does this mean to us? Aside from a dinner invitation for you, Dekatia?"

"It means a great many things. The missive itself is hastily written. The page mis-spelled the Arkronian word for 'honor' at the end among many other things."

"Likely the tenth letter the poor sod had to write," Dalia said. "Not like the Arkronians to get ten pages to write a single copy of the same letter each. That would save time. It also reads like a request."

"Remember the letter from Amon-Mar last year, railing about our fishing ships at Ikeshi waters?" Phera said. "I thought he was going to launch an expedition. They didn't even bother to have it written in the Crown Prince's name. Just the Steward."

Dekatia was preparing to make a point when Phera waved for her to stop. He gestured the lone human servant in the outer hallway, minding their togara. "You- bring us rum. Chilled. Take as long as you need." The man bowed, his own white togara nearly brushing the tile floors before stepping away, with all the practice of one who has many times been asked to step away from a conversation not meant for their ears. "But Stewards have had power. Significant power. The Second Rebellion was practically managed by the Steward to the Emperor in the critical days."

"In a normal regency, yes," Dekatia mused, scratching her neck-gills. "But there's pageantry and announcements and such. Precedent would require the announcement of the regency first, then this invitation. There's a sense of haste here. The Arkronians are not observing protocol. Five weeks is not enough time to form a royal court and a diplomatic mission with the peers of the Empire. Offices must be filled, patron posts reassigned. That is a business that can take months. Something is wrong."

"The plague rumor?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. We've seen a few cases on ships from Arkronia." Dalia reached out of the pool, grasping an oyster before slurping down its meat. "The rest of the crew is allways fine, but the Arkronians on board are dead by the time they reach our shores. We've had a few perfectly preserved bodies brought ashore in pickled barrels for the Healers College to view. It's only a matter of time before the word gets out."

That sparked Phera's interest. And his Thassite passion. "If Arkronia is stricken by a plague that only affects them, however unlikely, it represents an opportunity that we cannot afford to miss. We missed our chance at revenge in the Third War by trying to placate both sides. The [i]nyleos[/i] of our cause demands we not miss the Fourth."

Dekatia felt her own sympathies stirring, but knew better than to leap into the open arms of Rebellion- especially so early in this game. "Let us suppose, hypothetically, that I leave with the delegation and the coronation goes perfectly. That the plague is not a true scourge, but a passing sickness. If we are too blatant in our measures, we could trigger the final catastrophe before we have avenged our great-fathers. An invasion of the isles while the Neutrals launch us into a civil war. Even collaborators would not be spared from Arkronian attack."

"Unlikely," Dalia said with a laugh, seizing another oyster. "I dine with the neutrals every week. I lead them in the Chamber. They haven't the strength or the will to launch a coup if it was demanded of them from the Emperor- this one or the last. They invested heavily in the attempted colonization of Ikesh and lost everything but their votes when Amon-Mar sided against them at court. He broke his ally's legs to placate an enemy."

"And what about their votes?" Dekatia wondered allowed. "More than half is still, well, more than half."

"Pass those here," Phera said, gesturing to the oyster tray. "Votes mean something only when one respects the rules. Paper shields. If the marines are called to overthrow their Houses, it can be done."

[i]That is dangerous thinking. An unsecure leg on our Triumvirate.[/i] Luckily, it seemed that Dalia agreed with Dekatia in this thinking.

"Securing the homeland in such a way would be a bloody affair, no matter how many of the other Houses are destroyed. And we could be just as easily overthrown by a Neutral minority with outside help."

"I'm sorry Pheram but I agree with Dalia. We cannott be the ones to launch a Fourth War. If that's even what we want at this time. Aegire's place in such a venture would be limited to begin with. Secure Ikesh to protect the homeland from invasion, then cut the sea lane to the Emperor's allies. Withdraw the marines from the west to allow piracy to rage unchecked on the loyalists. Call our levies and prepare them for whatever opportunities arise. That's the best plan we can make without consulting other... interested parties. And it's not a full plan."

Pheram paused, cracked open an oyster, and eyed the Aegiri's First Lord. "So our plan is...?"

"Absorb and deflect. I will attend the coronation as instructed. Kiss the ring, go through the motions. I will make no promises that the three of us would not agree to keep. In the meantime, we need to prepare for all eventualities. Phera, you will venture to Ikesh. Hold talks with the Saa'kaleed about the isle. Take the temperature of their leadership. The harder they press for the isle, the more we know they plan to resist invasion. We both need it for the same reason. If they propose joint ownership of the isle, they may want an alliance, or have no plans to launch a rebellion."

As we turn over a new leaf in the bosom of the Arkronian people it has once again come to the attention of the Rea-Abi that the matter of the landmass between our two nations is still yet to be defined. The island, Ikesh in our tongue, is part of the traditional patrimony of the Saa’kaleed, promised to us countless summers ago in exchange for our support during trying times. The fact this matter still divides our people today is unworthy of these enlightened times. It is why I have been granted clearance to discuss these matters independently to find a swift resolution to our differences.

[hider=High Vizier Hassan]High Vizier Faisal Hassan,

Your missive is received and the First Lord has empowered me to begin negotiations. We too wish to resolve this thorn in our peoples' history. I represent Lady Dekatia's interests with the Marines of Aegire and will be thus empowered to enforce any agreement we come to regarding Saa'kaleed territorial claims. I will be sure to make myself available at a time and place of your choosing.

First Lord of the Admiralty,

Phera Hetos[/hider]

[@gowia]