Chapter 74: Always

While the war between the beastmen and the elves certainly didn't go unnoticed, Ceadric, however, already got too much on their hands to even think about doing anything. The latest devastation has hit them hard. The entire nation's economy was crippled. Their precious capital Cedra laid ravaged, now only a shadow of a once prosperous kingdom remained. Their crops were suppressed, leaving thousands homeless starving in the ruined streets. All these may seemed hopeless and many more would have died if not for the help of the Trading Company of Dor.

The Trading Company of Dor was an association specialized in trading goods across the entire continent of Mara, dealing anything from daily supplies to rare artefacts, everything as long as there was money involved. It was created by a syndicate of dwarves who has now taken the leadership of the remaining of their rogue people after the eruption of the volcanoes in their homeland, forcing the dwarves to abandon their country a few years ago. At first, Dor might seem like your usual group of merchants you saw in the markets but their influence and most importantly, their pockets, could not be underestimated. To give you an idea of their wealth, their entire amount of richness would be three times the total treasuries of both Ceadric and Zagon combined. Furthermore, they controlled most of the market, regulating the trading route according to their will, giving them an incredible influence not just in term of business but also in politics across the globe.

People said a dwarf was the greediest of all races, would rather sell his own family instead of losing his gold. A common stereotype which was not always true as it depended on each person. However, if you ever met a member of Dor, if you ever learnt one thing about them, it was that they would be willing to do more than just sell their family for their gold. Yet, somehow, these same people, who valued money more than their own lives, were now giving out rations and supplies, taking care of the helpless people of Ceadric with their own pocket money. Did they somehow have a change of heart, unable to witness the suffering of the common folk? Hell no! Everything was deliberated and calculated from their part. What would be even more tempting than money, which they already had a lot? Well, the answer was simple: even more money, served with a taste of power.

Currently, inside the half broken palace under reconstruction of Cedra, a meeting was taking place concerning the recent events. And guessed who were also present aside from the nobles, the King and the Headmaster of Helios Academy?

"And that concludes my report. To summarize, Empress Morrigan has made a statement, informing the integration of Malatas and Caelum into Zagon. I am sure everyone understands how dire our situation is at the moment." Said a noble.

"This is practically a declaration of war from that woman! Your Majesty, we have to do something about this." Another noble shouted, hitting the table.

"Gentlemen, I understand your anger but so far, Zagon has not taken any action toward Ceadric. If we let this provocation get to us..." Ganon, the headmaster of Helios, said.

"Master Ganon, people say you are wise but how can you not see this as we do? This is clearly her saying 'I am going for you next'. We are the only one left in this continent, aside from the beastmen who have declared their alliance with her. How much more evidences do you need?"

"And what do you suggest we do? Going to war against Zagon? That's exactly what she wants us to do. Have you thought of the people out there, starving to death while you sit there, thinking about war? Considering our current state, we cannot afford to have a full scale conflict with anyone!" Ganon argued.

"Then what? Staying idle, waiting for her to bring her army to our door? Or do you think you can convince her to sit down, have a nice chat? 'Say, how about you not attacking us? Meanwhile why not go somewhere to conquer? OH that's right! WE ARE THE FUCKING LAST ONE'. She has already declared war against all countries after Caelum. At the time, we thought it was a joke but now things have changed. The celestials are gone. The elves and the Church have joined, or rather, submitted to her. We are next!!!"

"SILENCE" a majestic voice echoed in the room. The king has spoken. "This is not the time to argue among ourselves. Master Ganon has disregarded the neutrality of Helios so he could assist us in this crisis. I will not tolerate any insult to him." Charles sighed. "What he said is correct. By ourselves, we have no chance of defeating her."

"Then how about finding an alliance?" a short figure spoke from the other side of the table, making everyone turning at their heads to the three figures who have remained silent since the beginning. A group of peculiar dwarves they were. From the left, a short stature with big belly and a long black beard was the merchant named Blackbeard. In the middle, a thin dwarf with a golden beard up to their knees, looking a bit frail and very old with his wizened face, named Goldbeard. Finally, in the right, a dwarf that looked exactly like the first one on the left, as if they were twins, fat stature but with a white beard. Needless to say, his name was rather obvious. Together, they were the three representatives and also heads of the Trading Company of Dor.

But their very presence in this room begged a question. Why would a group of merchant be able to attend such an important meeting? Why were they invited in the first place? This conclave was set up to decide the future of Ceadric, one of the major powers of the entire world. Surely, some random merchant could never have a say in such national matter. Yet, they did indeed have a say and actually more than just raising their opinion, it would not be an exaggeration that they were the voice itself of this conclave

"What are you suggesting, Goldbeard? An alliance? With who?" asked Charles.

"Well, the only one left of course: Oros." Said Goldbeard.

"The dragons? But they have never allied with anyone in the past before. The only exception was when there is a demon lord, which is not the case here." Ganon spoke.

"How can we know for sure that there hasn't a demon lord yet?" The old dwarf proclaimed. "It could be that they were hiding behind the scene all these times, manipulating everything. Just look around you! These disasters could not be a natural phenomenon. Not when rains of fire and ocean freezing happened at the same time. Someone was clearly behind it. And who do you think it was? The demons."

"Do you have any proof of what you just said?" the king inquired.

"Do I need to? Everyone here knows of the threat of the demons. For all we know, Morrigan could be in cahoots with them, or even be their thrall. Else, how can you explain her perfect timing and how the recent catastrophes only strengthen her empire further? Malatas' fall was also suspicious, considering the circumstances of how the royal family all died together, leaving only one member alive, only to be a complete manic tyrant. If it's not the demons, then who could it be?" Goldbeard bickered.

"For the sake of argument, let's assume that what you said is correct. Still, that doesn't give us any solution for the problem we are facing. How are we supposed to ally with the dragons?" the king questioned.

"Please do not underestimate the network of our company, your Highness! I can establish a contact between you and Oros, even going as far as assisting you creating an alliance with them. The dwarves are willing to stand with you in this dire moment. All you have to do is to say the words."

"Does that mean the Company of Dor will help us in this war? What about your neutrality?" Charles said with a doubtful tone.

"The war against the demons concerns each and every one of us. Ceadric is our last stance against their foul invasion. Not just help, we will be financing the whole campaign and supply you with everything you need. I will have you know that Dor doesn't just have money. We have our very own military force, which is not lesser than any country. The dwarves may have been forgotten after the cataclysm that befell on us but I will remind the world that we are still here, kicking and alive."

"That's...awfully kind of you." Uttered Ganon.

"But of course! So what do you say, your Majesty?"

"...Would you let us a few days to think this through? This is a big decision and I am afraid I cannot give you an answer right away." Said Charles.

"What's there to think, your Majesty? If..." but before he could continue further, the headmaster of Helios has intervened.

"Master Goldbeard, the king has spoken. We will contact you as soon as a decision is taken. For now, the meeting is adjourned."

"...Fine! But please give us your answer by tomorrow! Considering the current state, I don't think your country has that much time left for you to play around, king Charles!"

"...."

Even in front of that insolent attitude toward their king, the nobles and even Charles himself could not retort back a word. They simply could not. Right now, the reason their kingdom was still standing was thanks to the stockpiles supplied to them by the Trading Company of Dor. If for some reasons, they decided to no longer help Ceadric, cutting off the provision of supplies, that would mean the end of Ceadric, perhaps not immediately but one thing was sure: a lot of people would die as a result. That was why Charles has been very patient during their entire exchange, to the point you could see the crack on the glass he was holding in his hand, testament of his anger. But being to control one's emotions was also a precious quality a king must have. In this aspect alone, it could be said that Charles was a great king.

Still, it left the question about Goldbeard's proposal. If an alliance was struck, that would mean they were prepared to go to war, not just with Zagon but also Ragna. For the last ten years, the demons have remained rather quiet, giving Ceadric quite a peaceful time. Even the attacks on the frontier villages were proven to be a conspiracy of the archduke to give an excuse in order to launch an attack on Ragna. But that time has now ended. The smoke of war has reached to every part of this continent and no one was safe, or so the young king of Ceadric thought. Something was weird about Goldbeard. Charles knew of the reputation of the merchants of Dor. They were the kind of people who would not bat an eye even in front of a starving child. And now you were saying those people suddenly showed up at his door, wanted to get rid of the demons for the world, going as far as paying for everything themselves? Something was clearly amiss here. Yet he could not just ignore them either.

With all the nobles and Dor leaving the room, only the old sage Ganon was still in his seat together with the king.

"An unpleasant bunch, the lot of them! Your Highness, you must not..."

"Please, master Ganon! Just call me Charles! We are by ourselves now. And to be honest, I am not sure I am even qualified to be king anymore. Letting these people trampling on us, dictating our actions....what kind of king am I...." Charles uttered in a tired voice.

"Charles, if I ever know a true king, it's you. You can't doubt yourself because of these people. What you did, not many could do the same." The old headmaster tried to embolden Charles' will.

"But I don't know what to do anymore, master. We can't afford to go to war. But at the same time, we can't stay idle either. Those merchants don't care about us. I don't know what their aim is but clearly they don't give a damn about the lives of our people. Yet, if we don't do as they say, they will retract their promises and we will be left to fend for ourselves."

"Hum..." the sage scratched his head "We won't stay idle. I will try to dig up some old connections with the Guild of Adventurers. If they agree to help, it would be a tremendous force to have, especially with their S-ranks. Also, we can recruit some of the top students from Helios, promising them status and such after the war."

"What about the students from the other parts of the continent? Surely they will not help us fight against their own people." Inquired the youth.

"After Empress Morrigan's declaration, most of them, well at least the most talented ones of their people, have already gone back to their respective country. Right now, the majority of leftovers students in Helios are rightful citizens of Ceadric so you won't have to worry about that."

"Students of Helios...what time are we in to use the youths of our nation to defend ourselves..." sighed Charles. "Speaking of Helios, it reminds me of Alastor. If someone like him is on our side in moment like these...."

"Yeah...he quickly disappeared after your coronation, just like that. I tried to look around but I guess someone at his level won't be detected so easily. Speaking of him, I am thinking of recommending a talented youngster who has recently reached the Deus rank in Helios. Furthermore, from what I heard, he was also one of the few people Alastor was close with during his time staying at the academy. Apparently, he even trained this youngster, helping him getting to the level he is now." Ganon said.

"Really? That would be a great addition to our military. Why didn't you bring him here sooner?" asked Charles.

"Well, there is a bit of a problem concerning his reputation...I was afraid bringing him here would cause some problems..."

"What kind of problem?"

"I have spoken to this student personally and he is a wonderful, gentle lad. However, he is what you call a 'demon sympathizer'."

"Demon sympathizer?" muttered Charles.

"He believes that we can coexist with the demons if both sides cast aside their differences. He even has a demon servant, to whom he refused to refer as a servant but someone as part of his family. Needless to say, it has caused several scandals among the students as he kept spreading these kinds of idea around."

"...I see. To be frank, master Ganon, the demons are the least of my concern right now. Based on what you told me, there is a high possibility that the recent catastrophes are actually caused by the Gods. For what reason, we know naught. But right now, I will take whatever help I can get. Can you bring this student to me as soon as possible?" asked the king.

"If that is what you judge best then this old man will comply. I have vowed to follow you till the very end, after all. I will go right now to get him."

"Just out of curiosity, is he a noble or of humble birth? Not that it matters right now. Still, I would prefer to not have someone from one of the main noble families by my side to watch my every move."

"Oh you don't have to worry about that. As I told you, because of his unpopular ideas, his family, despite being a noble, doesn't have any power or any connection to any of the main noble families. I have carefully investigated his background and nothing out of the ordinary came up so you can be reassured about that."

"That's perfect! Thank you, master! What is his name?"

"Edward. Edward Osborne!"

* * *

Two days before Morrigan's declaration

Iron City of Eiseinheim, capital of Zagon

It has been a few days since Alastor has returned, together with thousands of elven refugees from the war. As expected, at first, there have been waves of protests against the admission of these new citizens, coming from both the people of Zagon and the elves themselves.

For the Zagonians, accepting so many people at once was a ridiculous idea and to be honest, it was. Why would you help the people of another race, of another country while your own countrymen were suffering? A reasonable concern but was soon shut off when Morrigan reassured her people that there was enough of supplies for everyone. And she kept that promise. Huge amount of foods were distributed to the elves without affecting the quantity given to the Zagonians as the kingdom began to recover. It was a difficult start but eventually, when they saw that there was practically no difference for their lives compared to before, aside from the common sighting of elves in their cities, no one pursued their complains. This was actually thanks to the history of Zagon which was basically an empire formed by slaves from many different origins, meaning they were more or less used to live with people with different culture, practices from them. This allowed a rather easy admission and a smooth integration of the elves into the society of the Zagon. Even until today, many more elven folks continued to converge to the Empire, being welcomed with open arms and given lands for their new lives.

As for the refugees themselves, the idea of a new home has encountered a few problems, not from the common people as they were grateful to have a place to live, but from the elven officials, especially the high nobles who lost their privileges and status during this integration movement. Among the two remaining factions, Solana and Luna, it was actually the top nobles of the Luna faction who raised the loudest protest. It was understandable as the moon faction has increased their power a lot during Aldol's reign thanks to Astrea, only to lose everything when Malatas became part of Zagon.

When someone who has been oppressed for years suddenly received so many power and influence, there could be two possible outcomes, depending on the kind of the person they were. If the guy was smart, he would know that everything needed balance and would seek to prevent the situation he was in, being oppressed by others, to ever happen again. However, if he was a half-witted idiot, the same situation would repeat itself. Only this time, that person would be the one doing the oppressing. As for the top noble of the Luna faction, he certainly fell under the latter category: a big fat man with no lack of awful reputations, Lord Owen.

So far, everything was being kept under control by Cynthia since she was the leader of the Luna faction. However, it didn't mean that Cynthia controlled everything. In fact, for years, Owen has been attacking the Moon Priestess for letting Eris and the chancellor taking control of the palace, spreading doubts of her leadership. All because unlike the rest, she didn't submit to him. But of course, being a chosen priestess herself, Owen simply could not just replace her. He still needed someone to blame when the time came. And that time was now.

"Preposterous! How can you let them just taking away our status like that?" shouted Owen at the two priestesses sitting on the other side of the table. The elven leaders, well those who survived, were discussing on the proposal from Morrigan to join her nation. By accepting the proposal, the elves would be promised to have the full rights of a zagonian citizen, meaning food and shelter until they could establish a solid income and home before the end of the integration process. Furthermore, since Zagon now occupied more than a third of the territory of Mara, excluding Malatas because of the miasma still lingering around, the elves would be free to choose wherever they wanted to make their own settlement and not being limited to Eiseinheim or Caelum, the two now major cities of Zagon. But that would only happen if they decided to accept the proposal, in other words submitting to her. Else, they would be chased out of the country and frankly speaking, that equaled a death sentence. Where else would they go? Ceadric? Not a chance since they had their own problems. Whispering Forest? Of course not! They just came from there. Ragna or Oros? How could that be possible with this number? And it was not like the dragons or the demons would just accept them with open arms.

When you thought about Morrigan's proposal, it was actually not a bad deal at all. It was not like Morrigan was a tyrant or treated her people badly. Besides they didn't have any other choice anyway so why did they still hesitate? Well, the commonwealth has already accepted more than willingly but it was the nobles who could not accept it. Why you asked? Because aside from Eris and Cynthia together with a very small number of top officials, the rest of the nobles would lose their privileges and fall into the same rank of the common folk. Rather than accepting the current proposal, they wanted to have a better deal, retaining their status and so on. A ridiculous idea, considering how Morrigan really had no need to do anything for them in the first place. If not for Alastor who has asked her, the Empress would rather wait for the elves to starve to death, to beg her to be accepted in her nation. Yet for some reason, these people, without knowing their place and admitting the fact that they were currently sitting right in her own house, were debating about whether or not to accept the deal.

"Then do you have a better alternative, lord Owen? Because if you do, please share with us on how you intend to solve this crisis!" Eris retorted. "We don't have any other choice here."

"Exactly! We are given no other choice. Morrigan is trying to extort us, taking advantage of our current situation so we would submit to her. Are you saying that you will cast away our pride and be an obedient dog for that woman?" Owen argued.

"Pride? How is pride going to help us at this moment? How is pride going to feed the hundreds of thousands of people out there? Or are you willing to starve our people just so you can have your unearning privilege?" Cynthia contended.

"That's not the point. And how dare you forsake our history...."

"History? You know what? You are absolutely right. It's history, it's in the past and not now, not anymore. Don't talk about pride because it's gone now! Malatas is gone! If you truly think about our people then our only option is to stick with Zagon and see how the future will unfold!"

"This...this is ridiculous. You may think that but the rest of us don't. We refuse to accept that and we are the majority. Without us, the council won't agree to that proposal." Owen shouted angrily before storming out of the room followed by the other nobles. He has gained much influence over the short time under Aldol's rule and was practically the leader of all the remaining major nobles of Malatas. To put it simply, without his consent, this agreement would not pass.

"That man, how could he be so short-sighted? Can't he see that we have no choice here?" sighed Eris. After being convinced by Cynthia, the Sun priestess was pretty much on her side now. She has managed to persuade those on her side to follow but in the end, most of the power still lied in Cynthia's camp, in Owen's hands.

If you wondered why the decision was in Owen's hands and not Cynthia's even though she was the leader, it was because of the girl's origin. Unlike Eris who was the daughter of the late chancellor and well respected, Cynthia was born as an orphan who has wandered the streets before being chosen by the last Luna Priestess to be her successor on Cynthia's eighteenth birthday.

The method of picking out the successor was unknown, passed down only from priestess to priestess. Many said that it was by pure coincidence that she was chosen. Others said it was predestined that and the Goddess Elemyr herself has dictated to her priestess about Cynthia or the many priestesses before her. Who knew? But either way, it was a turning point for Cynthia as her life has taken toward a new direction. The miserable aimless existence she had led until then suddenly gained a purpose. Surely, anyone would rejoice in happiness when receiving such an honorable position. But not Cynthia. Indeed she was happy about that but not for the same reason. Serving the Gods would be the last thing on her mind. Where were they when she prayed for her salvation? Where were they when those men dragged her to that abandoned cabin and did unspeakable things to the poor girl? Where were they when she was captured as a slave and bought by that noble, being his toy, subject to countless torture plays by that pig, before finally escaped that mansion, only to be wandering the streets as a dirty beggar? If there was anything she learnt, it was that there was no God, not in her world. Or if there was one, then God would be a sadistic cunt who found happiness in the suffering of his creations. Which was worse?

Anyway, back to the present, because of Cynthia's humble birth, she didn't receive as much as attention as Eris and since she didn't have any powerful person backing her up, it could be said that Cynthia was only a leader in name. Still that didn't mean that she was helpless, unable to do a thing. All those years of staying in the shadow, holding back her emotions, has given her many lessons about politics, or rather how the Game actually worked. For long she has been a bystander but now, with Aldol and Odium out of the picture, it was time for a new player.

"I am sorry, Eris. I should have been able to control my people better..." the Luna priestess apologized.

"It's not your fault, Cynthia. It's those damn pigs who are still stuck in their former glory. And even worse, they are going to drag us all down with them." Eris grunted.

"I will try to talk with lord Owen again, to persuade him to join our cause. I am sure that he can be convinced." Cynthia was saying something very weird, considering her personality. At this point, she really seemed like an innocent girl who didn't know anything about how cruel the world truly was.

"Cynthia, I admire your determination but you are too naïve if you think we can convince that scumbag."

"Still, we have to try, don't we? The future of Malatas is at stake here."

"I guess so...."

"Now if you excuse me, I would like to go back to my home and prepare for that meeting." Cynthia said as she stood up.

"Of course! If you need anything, you know where to find me. Good luck, sister!" Eris smiled at the woman. She truly had changed since the tragedy that befell on her father. If not for Cynthia being by her side, encouraging her, Eris would have gone insane. Once enemies but now so close to each other like sisters, it was so such a jubilant turnout that seemed almost too suspicious...

Walking out of the meeting room, someone has already waited for her outside for hours. A familiar face that seemingly followed her everywhere these days: the commander Luvik. Upon her arrival at Zagon, the priestess has been given a bodyguard that would help her getting around Eiseinheim. Unsurprisingly, she requested Luvik to be her knight during her stay and thanks to Alastor, that request was accepted by Morrigan. Needless to say, the commander was more than happy to do that duty.

"Lady Cynthia!" the captain bowed to the priestess.

"Commander Luvik, I have told you that there is no need to be that formal. Just call me Cynthia!" Cynthia gave out a gentle smile.

"I can't do that, milady. You are an important figure of your people. I am just a common knight. There is no way I can just call you that casually." Said Luvik hurriedly.

"I am also of common birth, commander. Furthermore, you have helped me with so many things even before we come to the capital. It's not like we are strangers to each other. But I guess if you are unconformable with the idea, I won't force you."

"No, not at all...I would be more than happy to....I mean...I am afraid that calling you that will degrade your image."

"But of course not! If you think that way, how about referring to each other's name when we are alone? At least that way, you won't have to worry about what the others think."

"..If you say so, milady...!"

"Starting now, Luvik!"

"Of course...Cynthia!"

"Wonderful! Shall we go?" asked Cynthia.

"A carriage is already waiting for you outside."

"You are so thoughtful. I am glad to have you by my side." Smiled the woman at the commander, making his heart beating furiously.

.....

Now in the carriage on their way back to the mansion, Luvik, sitting on the other side, was staring at the woman who was looking out of the window. Such a frail figure she had. When Luvik helped her getting stepping on into the carriage, he felt almost no weight at all. How could someone be that fragile? Whenever he touched her, the knight was afraid he would break this delicate flower. In his entire carrier Luvik has been leading until now, perhaps he was too used to the rough way of life, being a warrior and all. In this world, there was no place for the weak aside from being oppressed by the strong. Yet, somehow this woman has managed to end up in one of the most powerful positions of an entire race. How did she do that? What kind of hardship did she have to go through to attain what she had now?

"Luvik? Luvik!" a smooth gentle voice called out to him, bringing back to reality.

"WAA!" the commander jumped up in surprised and hit his head to the ceiling of the small carriage. "Yes, milady?"

"Can you send this letter upon our return? Also I need you to prepare a room for a meeting this evening at our mansion. Would you do that for me?" asked Cynthia.

"Of course, Cynthia! That can be done easily. But who are we having tonight?"

"Lord Owen. I want to ask him to come to our mansion and try to convince him to agree to our cause."

'Owen the pig' That was how Luvik referred to the noble in his mind as he clenched his fist. From the few occasions he has seen them together, Luvik has noticed how Owen looked at Cynthia. Those eyes of an animal filled with lust, the way he licked his lips as he laid his filthy sight upon the pure delicate flower. Luvik just wanted to grab that round head of his and smashed it against the wall for daring throwing those disgusting looks upon a pure maiden like Cynthia. Even so, the noble has caused so many concerns, refusing for a peaceful and stable solution for his own people just so he could keep his power. That kind of people Luvik loathed the most. He himself was a commoner before joining Morrigan's army so he knew the suffering of the common folk. Whenever there was a struggle for power, it was always the lowest in the hierarchy who had to pay the price after all.

So what? Now Cynthia had to beg that pig to join her? How? Unless she....used her charm to....NO! She could not do that. She could not be tainted by the dirt of that pig. He must prevent that...or so the commander thought. But before he could raise his concern, Cynthia has affirmed her position and reassured him, as if she has understood what Luvik was thinking about.

"It's alright, Luvik! We are just going to have a talk. I believe even a man like Owen can be persuaded if he realized how the people are suffering."

'I am afraid not, milady! People like Owen only knows of themselves. They could never understand the sacrifice others have to make, people like you, for the greater good...You are the flower that grew inside this forsaken land. I can't let anything happen to you! I won't.' those were the thoughts of a knight in love with his master. But those words could never be uttered and would forever stay in the heart of the knight. The only thing he could do was to follow her in her steps, helping her to get to her destination. Like a shadow, he must not get away from her. Yet he could never touch her, for he might stain that purity she had.

"Besides, Luvik, you will be there for me, right?"

"Of course, milady! Always!"

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