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Chapter 728: A House Out Of Order
🕑 Added 2023-11-29 21:02:14 +0000 UTC“Get my house in order? You have a lot of nerve coming here and speaking to me that way! How dare you address a monarch in such a fashion?” King Athelstan Merciex’s voice rose, filling the meeting room.
On either side of him, High Priest Tobias Jay and court wizard Errol glared at counsellor Kartika.
The six armed woman—her three pairs of hands clasped before her on the table—glared right back. Outside, late fall had given way to early winter, and the windows were coated in a thick layer of wet snow and ice. It had taken time for this meeting to be arranged—too much time—and the usually patient councillor had obviously not taken the wait well. The situation was too important.
“When a king’s house is out of order, then that king must be told to get his house in order,” she said, her voice flat, sharp and cold, cutting like a knife. “Especially when that disorder affects other rulers.”
“If you are speaking of the incident at Rockmoot, then know that disciplinary measures were already taken. As we informed you in our correspondence.” Tobias leaned forward. “I find this attitude of yours vexing.”
Her eyes flicked to the high priest. “And I find your lack of respect vexing, young man.”
The priest’s eyebrows rose. “I have not been young for many winters.”
“Compared to me, you're still a child,” the wizard said. “And I'm not talking about Rockmoot, so you can stop with all of that ‘as per my previous letter,’ nonsense. If it were only Rockmoot, then we would not be having this conversation; I have better things to do than hold grudges over dead issues.”
“What do you mean?” the king demanded. “Have we been nothing but accommodating? Our Heroes, priests, and knights are working with your forces, including the Fool! I was even told that the Fool teleported to our forces during the battle of Llanesam just last month, to receive healing and aid. No one of Thameish blood harassed him or tried to do anything untoward. I can assure you of that.”
The councillor’s face had become a mask of calm.
Yet, the king knew better; he could see the tightness around her jaw and eyes. She was seething.
“I am not speaking of that battle. However, I will address that event. I know, and trust that you are honouring our diplomatic relations by not attacking a citizen of our fair city.” She leaned forward, the wooden table creaking under the increasing force of her three arms. “How do you think he received those injuries?”
“Are you accusing us of treachery?” Errol blustered.
“Of course not. If you had betrayed us, I would be accusing you directly of treachery, not beating around the bush. I did not do that and that is not what I said; I said for you to get your house in order. Are you aware that you have renegades within your ranks, King Athelstan?”
The king frowned. “Thameish discipline has been honed through thousands of years of conflict and our faith in Uldar. We suffer from banditry as any other nation does.”
Councillor Kartika shook her head. “I am a busy woman, and you are a busy man, I would not waste our time complaining to you about bandits. You have rot within your church and your army. Organised rot. I have been informed that the Fool of Thameland has been attacked by a shadow organisation hiding within your ranks. I trust that you would not have ordered this attack?”
“What are you saying, what shadow organisation? What fantasy is this?” the king scoffed. “The Thameish army is controlled by my vassals, who have sworn oaths of loyalty to me, and I have been vested with the authority of the divine right of rulership by Uldar himself. I command here, and am unaware of any ‘shadow organisation’.”
“I can only tell you what has been reported to me. And what has been reported to me is that a citizen of Generasi has been attacked by an organised, militaristic force that wears the symbol of your god, operating under his divine purpose. This is by their own admission.”
She glared at High Priest Tobias. “Is this your doing, priest? Or is your church so unruly that you have open rebellion right beneath your own nose?”
“How dare you,” the holy man bristled. “The priests of Thameland serve both our ruler’s throne in the material world, and our god’s throne in his divine realm. They have utter loyalty. Our king has ordered no such attack, and if Uldar sent a sign that such a battle must be fought, then I would know of it. I am the highest holy authority in all the land, aside from the Saint. Clearly, this must be the work of brigands, looking to discredit us, if such an attack even took place.”
“The unfortunate event at Rockmoot was caused by heightened tensions and a single nervous commander,” Errol sniffed. “These issues have already been corrected. I do not know how things are in Generasi, but there is no secret, conspiratorial organisation here in Thameland that works to subvert the king’s oaths and commands.”
“That you know about,” Kartika finished for him, her tone flat.
“Where is the evidence of this so-called secret organisation? You wizards of Generasi claim to believe in hard evidence, so where is it?” the court wizard asked. “Produce it here.”
“Investigate and you'll find it,” the councillor said.
“So you have no proof?” Errol asked.
“Let's just say—that if we did have proof—I am doing you the courtesy of not sharing evidence with…those who are suspect.”
“You're accusing someone in this very room of treachery, then?” the king asked.
“As I said, in the beginning, if I were accusing you of treachery, then I would have done it openly. However, when one is to engage in diplomacy with another—whose house is not in order—then one must be careful with what one shares. If you find this treatment rude or unfair, then I have only one suggestion. Get. Your. House. In. Order.”
“...I do believe we are quite done here,” the king said, his voice frosty. “Let us retire before tensions rise further and someone says something they might regret.”
“Very good, I have said my piece.” Kartika rose from the table. “My teleporter is waiting to take me back to Generasi, and I have a lot to do.”
She looked at King Athelstan directly, holding his eyes. “And so do you, young king, so do you.”
###
“The nerve of her!” the Court Wizard sniffed, taking a long sip from a goblet of wine. “I tell you, Tobias, these foreign wizards are becoming much too arrogant on our shores.”
“The insult was grave,” Tobias said, his hands clasped behind his back as he looked through the window. “However, I can only partly blame her for her rudeness. Our army’s showing at Rockmoot was not their finest hour. One could conclude that we have a discipline issue after a scene like that.”
“A minor discipline issue that has been dealt with.” Errol took another sip from his goblet, this one even longer.
“Erm, you should slow down there, old friend, it's still early in the day. Very early.” High priest watched the court wizard with concern, eyeing both the goblet, and the rapidly falling level of liquid in the wine decanter.
“I need something if I'm going to get through another meeting with those overbearing wizards. And I need it to calm myself after any such an encounter.” Eroll sipped liberally. “Rude! Uncouth! Disrespectful…disrespect…my king?”
“Hmmm?” King Athelstan looked up from staring at the roaring fire in the hearth, his eyes focusing.
“With respect, my king, you look troubled,” Errol said gently. “Are that woman’s words bothering you? Is her rudeness angering you as it so angers me, my king?”
There was a long pause. A pause filled with meaning.
Tobias sat down, his eyes suddenly alert.
“Sire, what are your thoughts?” he asked.
The king tapped a long finger against the arm of his chair, lips pursed, tongue pressed against the back of his front teeth. “What do you truly think of her words? Not what we said in front of her…but what do you truly think?”
“Sire, I think that all of Thameland is united under your rule and Uldar’s divine will,” Errol said quickly.
“And you, Tobias? What say you?” Athelstan asked.
“Hmmmm.” The high priest’s eyes had returned to the window. “It is true…all of Thameland should be well united beneath your rule. But…”
“But what?” The king leaned toward Tobias, his chair shifting. “Speak freely.”
The high priest closed his eyes for a moment—a long moment—before finally opening them. His eyes were still averted from his king.
“Forgive the seed of doubt, your majesty. I still cannot fully understand what happened at Rockmoot. A nervous officer giving a command, I could see; if any of us thought your life was threatened, we might act hastily as well. Yet, for so many of your soldiers to react without your command…is troubling.”
“You are overthinking things, Tobias; many of our soldiers would strike immediately if they thought the king was threatened. The explanation is simple: a nervous officer gave the command, and the army assumed that our king was on the verge of being attacked. They simply reacted,” Errol said.
Tobias finally looked away from the window, his eyes fixed on the court mage’s. “Errol, you served with the army when you were younger, did you not?”
The mage winced. “Briefly. Very briefly. A soldier’s life did not agree with me; these hands are far more suited for pens than they are for swords or spears. I was a poor soldier, and I'm not sure who was more relieved at my discharge; me or my commanding officer.”
“Yet you still served, even if it was only briefly. Tell me, would those soldiers’ reactions be so organised if they were caught off guard? The order to attack was to come from either the king or one of us, not from some “panicked officer”. Yet the soldiers didn't hesitate; they struck in unison. I am no military man, but from where I stood, their coordination seemed perfect. Almost as though it were rehearsed.”
Errol paused. “Soldiers drill, Tobias, it is their duty and their vocation. Just as you don’t hesitate or stutter in your prayers, they don't hesitate to strike when necessary.”
“Not even one caught off guard?” Tobias asked. “They seemed ready to me, Errol.”
“We were all ready for the Fool to strike.”
“Yet he did not strike.” Tobias pushed. “I was standing as near to him, as I am to you. I saw no hostile motions. And supposedly a single panicked officer saw something from many times that distance—gave an order that was not supposed to be given unless the king was under attack, or he himself ordered an attack—yet not a single soldier hesitated?”
“So what are you suggesting, Tobias?” Errol threw his hands up. “That there’s a massive conspiracy within our ranks? You’re starting to sound like those foreigners; questioning us at every moment as though we’re incompetent backwater fools!”
“I am suggesting no such thing.” Tobias turned to his king. “My king, are you aware of the strengths and weaknesses of deific silence?”
Athelstan shook his head, his eyes drifting to the high priest. “I'm sorry, I must've skipped that lesson during my church school days.”
“It is not a lesson taught to many outside of the priesthood.” Tobias cleared his throat. “Religious scholars around the world debate the strengths and weaknesses of deities who are highly active in their worshippers lives, as opposed to deities who take a distant stance. Some deities rule their people with an iron fist, at times, even manifesting in the physical world to lead them personally. They appear to prefer taking the role of a mortal king or queen rather than a being of a divine nature.”
He shook his head. “Many deities who assume this approach often become no more than powerful tyrants. They control their people through faith, strength, and—at times—sheer terror. Many of these deities show no kindness, unlike our Uldar, and even those who offer kindness—while leading their mortal followers by the hand—can create a faith ripe with sycophants. Much as a parent must let their child go so they might experience the world, a deity should allow their faithful to explore and have command of themselves. Better to serve as a gentle guide and an arbiter of divine law, than an overprotective guardian.”
King Athelstan raised an eyebrow. “Is this the reason that Uldar did not return after his ascension?”
Tobias smiled sadly. “That is one of the theories: that our lord Uldar ascended and took a distant vigil over Thameland so we would be free to grow into our own. It has been theorised that there is a cost to this action, however.”
“And that cost is?” the king asked.
“Unity and harmony. If a deity steps back and only guides gently or silently, then mortal minds and words can twist that deity’s laws to their own will. At times, even their own priests might begin to argue about interpretation of divine law. Schisms and…secret cells of dissidents can form.”
“And you think this might've happened to us?” King Athelstan asked.
“I am not sure, my king, I am not sure,” Tobias said gravely.
The king sat upright. “I am not sure either Tobias, and that in and of itself is worrying to me. If Councilor Kartika is right, then something rotten lies within our kingdom of Thameland. Perhaps it is time that we investigate; strange things have been occurring this cycle, almost from the beginning. Perhaps we do need ‘to get our house in order’.”
###
Author's Note
Hello thirty-seven cool fools, almighty chosen, wise sages, and mighty champions! Thank you for your support!
King Athelstan's getting there, lmao. Also good lord I wanna try Baldur's Gate 3, I've been seeing more updates about it and I have a mighty need.
Maybe over Christmas.
Cya tomorrow!
Comments
ItWasIDIO!!
Fucking hilarious the priest points this shit out I forget the ones involved at this level I know ones a lady but was errol involved looking suspect ya drunkard
George R
Great chapter
Gareth S
Fluff is fluff… and I’m probably the same age or older - BUT when taken as a group, the last 10 or so chapters taken as whole are a bit repetitive, aren’t really advancing the story and could easily be summarised. The pacing is the problem and some things just don’t need to be said again and again from different characters view points. Yes there was a plot point in this chapter but the editors/publishers will probably consolidate these last few chapters a bit. The same thing has a happen before in other large series- example the wheel of time series and the sword of truth series… both well written (like this is) but fans of those series will say the same thing. The art of storytelling sometimes does mean less is more.
Robert Schaefer
Whatever on those whining about fluff. That was an important turning point, and I suspect it will bear fruit shortly. There are always those who just want action action action every chapter. You're probably too young in your thinking and should really expand from just watching action movies and anime. Try watching and actually understanding movies from Ghibli. I expect you'll enjoy yourself, and, if you strain your mind a bit, find deeper things that are meaningful. PS. BG3 had been a blast. Highly recommend for down time!
HardcoreLace756
I hope he doesn't get disappeared. Although with how we know the church is focused on the fool I doubt they'd be able to pull off a coup or assassination.
CentaureHeart
The last chapters work way better when you read the last 20 all at once
Gareth S
Better chapter than the last 3 but still very fluffy and I think the pacing is starting to slip a little. Can happen with authors that don’t want to say goodbye to a series but let’s avoid another wheel of time where the story would have been better if they cut 1-2 books worth of content out of the middle….
Vorsayo
Love the Invader Zim reference at the end about BG3 😆
Owen Kaz
Honestly, I feel robbed, but at the same time I'm quite glad for this chapter. glad to see the King isn't a complete asshat, for once
Fleetpanda
I like these chapters but we’re starting to venture into dangerous levels of fluff territory. Kelda’s sanctum has been teased and inched towards for quite a while now... enough foreplay, let’s get to itttt
Tzeneth
It's just a theory, a deity theory. Thanks for reading. :P
SherbertSheep
I’m excited to see where this part of the story with the king leads. I’ve been hoping something like this would happen and I’m very happy it occurred. Knowing the church they’ll try to assasinate Tobias or something and fail and then it all spirals out of control for them. But then again they are so focused on alex and so low in numbers after Uldar’s Rise that they just might be found out and not even know. Super exciting!
Silver Beard
It's like Trump in the media... sick of hearing about Trump this...trump that. Well... this story is same way... Ulder this...Uldar that
Silver Beard
....AND this is why I'm dropping this story. Dancing around an issue- just adds word count to no purpose. I'll read the book...when I can skip all t hese BS chapters. Really? I get this works in the RW... different perspectives, etc. but as an avid reader of this story... Uldered out...? I'm sick of watching perspectives that don't know he'd dead.
Lola
Tobias is surprisingly level headed.
Enif
It would be nice if the King is able to uncover the secret church. It would pave the way for better collaboration between the heroes and Thameland.
Voror
Hmm I'd almost question if it was wise to alert them though the King and Tobias are giving it legitimate thought especially the latter. The concern of course is we know there are agents everywhere and I don't think they hesitate to deal with anything they saw as a threat.
mhaj58
Zionism in a nutshell
Bob Bryan
about that theory
Blightdad
Finally, some self-reflection
Benjamin Mages
I continue to like the king pretty well. Sure he's somewhat of a religious fanatic (expectedly since he's the king of what might as well be a theocracy) but he's level headed, willing to examine other points of view, and not letting religion blind him to common sense. I suspect that if he learns that Uldar engineered the Ravener and has been maintaining the cycle, he will not jump on the "all according to Uldar's will" bandwagon.
