Rings of Gold

A feast for would be kings

The carriage rolled through the town and the guards surrounding it made sure to not let anyone come close to it. Arathar was amusing himself by inspecting the Reya’s clothing. She was finely dressed and from the looks of it, Karaz thought she would join the party. Her body was wrapped in a tight silken dress that displayed much of her body, which was something that Karaz had barely noticed. He did know that adult males seemed to favor less clothing on females, but he did not understand why. Aroun seemed to purposefully avoid looking at Reya, something Karaz also noticed but he assumed it was out of respect for his father.

The carriage stopped after a short warning from the driver and Arathar looked away from Reya and at Aroun. “Something wrong?” he asked before instinctively moving his hands to the blade he had on his side. Aroun on the other hand, had already began to stand up and drawn his blade. “I am not sure my lords, I will look into it”. He opened the door and headed outside. Karaz got a quick glance of the street outside. There was a considerable amount of people outside and the soldier were forcing them to step aside for the carriage. Karaz had heard tales of nobles in the south being attacked by mobs, but these people did not seem worried or angry. There was probably another carriage or wagon that had toppled or had one of its wheels broken. Outside, he could hear Aroun call out for the guards in front and Reya tried to lean outside but was stopped by Arathar who put his hand on her leg. “What is happening?” She asked, her voice had a hint of worry in it and Arathar, ever the charmer, leaned in closer and spoke “Do not worry. Aroun is a capable servant, and he will have us moving in short…”. Arathar stopped as the carriage shook and began to move forward. They could hear people being moved aside and someone cried out in pain. Karaz looked outside and saw two guards beating a male who had fallen to the side, but before he managed to get a better view, Aroun covered the window with his frame and got back into the carriage. “There was a holdup due to a wagon that had lost its wheel. They were just about to move it and I made sure they were properly motivated to do so” he explained as he sat down. Reya seemed at peace again and Arathar nodded “You should have told me… It would have been fun to motivate them” he chuckled and looked at Karaz “Perhaps Karaz could have learnt a thing or two…” Karaz tensed, preparing for the barrage of insults his father usually threw upon him when speaking like that, but he was surprised to hear “…but it is for the best. The imperial is what is most important right now and if the family is to survive, we must keep in his good graces”. Remaining silent, Karaz nodded swiftly as he did not dare say anything that might upset his father.

The governor’s palace was smaller than the one Karaz lived in with his father. Despite this, the building was impressive and built for receiving important guests. There was a smaller fortress located near the palace, but the building was primary for receiving important guests from other parts of the empire. The palace itself was built by the same material as the rest of the buildings with a base of sandstone and then bricks. The courtyard of the palace was surrounded by the building, and it was rather beautiful to look at and the number of torches and open fires that surrounded the courtyard was over a hundred. Several dozen guards were stationed around the courtyard and Karaz noted that there was several off them that was dressed differently. The symbol on their armor marked them as the imperial guard and Karaz noted several of his father’ soldiers near the entrance to the courtyard.

As the door to the carriage opened, Arathar stood up and walked outside, followed by Karaz, Aroun and Reya. The master servant of the palace bowed as they stepped out and announced their arrival by speaking their names in a lordly manner. “Master Arathar of Shakthep. I’m glad to see that you are well…”. He stood and welcomed Karaz as well, speaking his name with the same reverence as he had spoken his father’s. “…and you master Karaz, are also welcome to the governor’s palace”. Karaz smiled and bowed his head softly in response to the anubians bow, while making a mental note to remember the man that had used the same tone of voice to refer to him as to his father. He did not speak the names of Reya or Aroun, but he did make a short bow towards them before he once more focused his attention on Arathar and Karaz. Reya moved forward and stopped at Arathar’s side, hanging onto his arm as his favored concubine for the evening. The anubian waited for her to position herself before he said, “please follow me” and turning around, heading up the set of stairs that led to the great hall that greeted visitors. It was customary to avoid using the name of the host until one reached inside the building. It was an old superstition that had remained in use over the centuries since the new religion began to spread in the anubian empire.

Once inside, Karaz noted the large open space that separated the roof from the floor. It was clear that the entry hall was meant to impress anyone who stepped through the large double doors. There were already others inside the hall, and he saw some of the city’s most prominent nobles and even a few of the more wealthy and powerful merchants. As Shakthep was a trading city, it had become customary to invite both the most powerful guild members and merchants to gatherings such as these, but with an imperial visiting Karaz had expected the guilds to be left out. Clearly, he had been mistaken and he waited until his father had made a few greetings before stepping up close to him and whispering in a low voice “Father, I… have a question”. Arathar tensed and he didn’t look at his son as he spoke “Ask, unless it’s something vapid or childish”. Karaz swallowed and phrased his question in his mind before speaking it. He made sure no one could hear him as he asked, “I thought the merchants would be left out as an imperial is here?” and to his surprise, his father looked down on Karaz with a raised eyebrow before resuming to look around the room. “For once a wise question…” he responded and looked around the room and taking in all the merchants and the people in the room. “Normally yes, but the times are changing. Merchants are gaining power all over the empire and the younger imperials are seeking to exploit that wealth” his father spoke softly and almost put a hand on Karaz shoulder. He stopped himself a mere inch from doing so and returned his hand to his side. “Remain vigilant. I trust you to spot more things like that and…” he interrupted himself as a fanfare played and the doors that lead further into the palace opened, the governor and the imperial coming forth.

The governor, whose name was Mat’re, was an aged anubian with a short beard and a frame that had once been muscled in his youth. These days the calmer and more sedentary lifestyle of a governor had eaten away at his strength, but it was noticeable that he still trained to keep in shape. Shakthep was near the border after all, and it was not unheard of that wolf raiding parties slipped through the border guard and attempted to pillage the countryside. He wore a silken loincloth that reached down to calves, a silken skirt embroidered with his family sigil as well as gold inlaid sandals and a half-shirt that framed his body in a very excellent manner. He also had wrappings around his legs that was made from some unknown material that glittered softly in the light from the flames. He also had a head dress, that looked like it was made of gold, which stretched all the way down to his shoulders. It moved as he moved and gave him the appearance of still having hair. Karaz was impressed by the governors clothing and kept taking in the sights and sounds of the palace.

The imperial was dressed in much more flowing clothes as befitting one of the imperial family. He wore a soft linen shirt, and his arms and legs wore puffy silken sleeves that moved with him and gave a flowing appearance that made it look like he was floating through the air. He had the same sandals as the governor, but the headdress was much more modest and Karaz saw that the imperial had hair. Not all anubians had hair, so the few that did often show it off proudly. It was a not exactly a status symbol, but it did put them apart from the rest of their kin in a way that was often discussed. There were rumors that hair meant that they had a great destiny in store, while others believed that hair was a blessing from the star children. The others of the room were dressed in different colors and types of clothing, but there was a common theme of opulence and wealth. Karaz realized that he and his father was rather modestly dressed compared to others, but no one had the same aura of confidence as his father. Not even the imperial could match his father’s sheer presence in the room, and it was him the governor and imperial approached first as they came into the room to greet the guests of the palace.

“Greetings and salutations” the governor as he approached Arathar and Karaz. He then made the customary slow bow of a northerner before standing up and putting his hand over his heart “It brings me joy to see you two again, I hope you are both suffering from success and that your wealth is difficult to spend”. It had always seemed funny to Karaz that nobles greeted each other with those words. It was apparently something that had been introduced by one of the first emperors of the anubian empire who had conquered so much land to the west that it had been difficult to distribute the land among his vassals. As the story went, the success of the emperor made it difficult to govern as they never knew what would work in the long term as everything always worked out well for him in the short tale. It was clearly a fairy tale that was meant to explain the curious greeting, but Karaz still chuckled internally at the words.

Arathar returned the greeting and made sure to bow deeply to the imperial, although not too deeply, and Karaz followed his example. “It is good to see one of the imperial family in our small town…” Arathar began before making a sweeping gesture over the room and following up with “…these lands are after all dry, hardly fertile and the trade here is miserable”. Karaz did not understand his father’s words at first, but when the imperial, governor and his father laughed, he understood that it was a joke that referenced something they had spoken about earlier when Karaz wasn’t present. The governor must have either explained the joke to the imperial earlier, or he must simply be joining in the laughter as a mean to show friendship. The imperial grinned and looked over the room before replying with “So I see, I had heard that this place was hardly civilized and that the women here were all loose and easily snared into the bedroom”. The imperial was clearly a womanizer and even though Karaz did not notice it, both Arathar and Aroun saw that the imperial was eyeing Reya frequently.

“But I haven’t seen a single woman worthy of bedding until… recently”. He made sure to move his gaze around the room as he spoke, but he was clearly thinking of Reya as he spoke those words. He was about to say something else, but he was interrupted as the doors into the great hall opened. The high shamaness of the temple and her daughter came into the room. As all shamanesses did, the two females were topless and wore among the finest loincloths that Karaz had ever seen. They wore extensive jewelry on their arms and legs, walking with both confidence and strength. The younger female was clearly pregnant as her belly was swollen and round. The older one held her daughters’ hand as they walked, and she was clearly proud over the fact that her daughter would soon have a daughter of her own. The two honor guards they had with them was clearly mostly focused on the younger one, as to make sure she was safe and did not fall over. The imperial stood silent for a moment before shaking his head and saying “Then again, I might yet be surprised…” softly, which made Arathar and the governor chuckle. “I would advise against your thoughts my lords…” the governor whispered softly to the imperial “…they are of high standing here and your… the emperor would not enjoy hearing about a young imperial’s indiscretions”. The imperial looked at the governor with a sly grin, before saying “fair enough. I will have to find something else to entertain myself with”.

As the rest of the guests kept arriving, the group began to move around the room as they talked. The imperial was clearly intrigued by Arathar and his family. He made a few inquiries regarding their wealth and power but kept mostly to the tales of glory that Arathar enjoyed telling those who wanted to listen. Other guests approached and joined in the conversation, but the governor made sure to circulate the people in their discussion, as to give everyone some access to the imperial. To his credit, he never once tried to take the imperial away from Arathar, as the anubian male seemed keen to continue their conversation.

Karaz tried to take in everything that happened around them and he found himself becoming dizzy from all of it. When the time came to sit down and eat, he praised the star children for the opportunity to focus on something else than the discussion between the imperial and his father. The placement around the table was traditional and as tradition dictated, the governor had the high seat at the table as he was responsible for his guest’s wellbeing. On his right hand, the imperial had been seated as the guest of honor and on the left side of the governor, was an empty chair. If he or the imperial had a favored mate, she would have been placed there. Neither man had a favored mate this evening however, and they had chosen to seat the imperial banner there instead. To the right of the imperial, Arathar had been placed and Karaz had expected to be seated beside his father. To his dismay however, Reya had been placed there instead and Karaz was seated just after her. He had hoped to be included in the conversation and that was made difficult by the presence of the bunny.

On the opposite side of Karaz, and to his left, several other major nobles of the area had been seated and the table was, in falling order, populated by the lower nobles and merchants of the city. Even the wealthiest merchant was still behind the lowest noble, but as times were changing, that might not soon always be the case. The seat directly in front of Arathar was empty, but Karaz could not make out the reason as to why.

The food had not been brought in even though everyone was seated, and it was clear that some sort of speech was going to be delivered. Several glasses of wine had been placed around the table and Karaz looked forward to finally drinking beside his father, something that his father had denied him previously as he was considered too young.

“Friends…” the governor began as he stood up and looked out over the room. Arathar made a soft motion to make sure his son was silent. “…the empire stands before new challenges and a new dawn…” the governor continued, his voice carrying over the room with confidence and passion. Karaz tried to mimic his father’s expression, as his father remained stone faced and without reaction, listening to the speaker. Public speeches were always a delicate line between saying what the audience wanted to hear and what the speaker wanted to say. Karaz knew very little of the world outside the city of Shakthep, but his father had mentioned that the empire had become slightly unstable since the loss of the northlands a generation ago. As the empire had been forced to withdraw from their holdings there due to the sizeable population of wolves that had invaded with the fall of the great barrier to the north, they could no longer promise new lands to soldiers. What had apparently destabilized the country further was that the merchant class was growing increasingly wealthy from the trade that the empire now was forced to use to sustain itself. They had begun to demand some of the privileges that the minor nobility had, as many of the most successful merchants had become as wealthy as, or even more wealthy than, the minor nobility.

Karaz realized that he had lost track of what the governor was saying, but judging from the way his father had tensed, it was clear that there was some news, or some ideas presented that did not entirely rhyme with his father’s sensibilities. He focused his attention on the governor and did what he could to keep still and not move. He recounted the man’s words in his head and tried to catch up to the conversation without having to ask his father for an explanation. He did not want to look foolish in front of his father during a banquet, as that surely would be cause for punishment.

“…which brings me to the banquette here today, in the honor of Kerdrak, the ninth son of the emperor, may the sunshine on his name”. The governor made a very smooth bow and held out his hand towards the imperial who seemed very pleased with the introduction. Karaz had not heard the young man’s name before, and he was sure he would remember. Kerdrak stood up and gave his best smile to the people at the table. “Dear subjects of the emperor…” the imperial began and bowed softly to the imperial banner before continuing his speech. “…I would normally bore you with a long speech about many things, but not tonight. Instead, eat and drink to your hearts content!” he brought up a cup and had it filled with wine, raising it to the cheer of his guests before sitting down and partaking of the food.

The party went on and the evening soon turned to night. Both food and drink were plentiful and Karaz restrained himself as he partook. He kept a keen eye on his father and made sure to only take more food when his father did and never more than he knew he could clean from his plate. The conversation ranged from recent military campaigns to ancient history and the arcane arts. Very little was said about the current political situation in the empire and entertainment was presented in the form of both song, music, and acrobatics. It was hard to focus on the conversation when skilled acrobats performed feats that made Karaz want to laugh in joy, but he made sure to never do more than occasionally glance towards the troop.

Arathar held Reya close, and she had begun to giggle from the wine that she been drinking and Karaz was more than a little annoyed at the way she touched his father. He seemed to have no problem with it whatsoever and he roared in laughter at something that imperial had said. There were other children in the room, but Karaz made sure not to speak or acknowledge them as he was of far to superior rank to mingle with them in his father’s presence.

The evening went on and Karaz found himself getting more and more tired, although he refused to admit it and he was adamant in that he wanted to stay until his father left. The banquet was starting to devolve, and most guests were either drunk or becoming more and more affected by the alcohol. Karaz had had a taste of the wine himself, but he had not developed the taste for it and found it to bitter for him.

Karaz almost missed that the imperial had stood up and called for the attention of the attending guests. The music and song fell silent, and the imperial begun to speak. “Friends, as you know the empire has been having some problems of late…” it was a bold statement, as the official word from the imperial administration was that there was no problems or difficulties in the empire. “…with the rising merchant class, I see that there are boundless opportunities to change things and make the empire as strong as ever with the gold that you people generate. Trade has become the life blood of the empire and as expansion to the east or north is no longer possible, we find ourselves looking west”. Murmurs could be heard in the room as the idea of expanding westwards was an old one. The hills and badlands to the west was notorious for its hill tribes and had previously been stopped by the locals. More than one army had disappeared in the hills and never been seen again. The people there had no desire to be ruled by the anubian empire and at least one emperor had found himself murdered when his army was surrounded and annihilated 200 years ago. “…and now that I have your ear, I propose that we need to change how we manage our cities and provinces. If I were to be made chancellor, I would give more benefits to both local nobles and local merchants”.

Arathar gave out an almost inaudible growl. Kerdrak had revealed his hand and declared that he was vying for the position of chancellor. The old man who was the current chancellor was deathly ill and was expected to die before the end of the year. The chancellor, while not the most powerful position in the empire, was responsible for the governance of the provinces and set the policies for the empire. It was a springboard for greater ambition and if managed correctly, a good place for someone who had no chance for the throne due to having multiple older siblings. The promise of power and lands was without doubt a play for popularity and support from the merchant class who had become so wealthy. It was strange that the young imperial had not talked with Arathar before the banquet, but there was probably a good reason for it. He had to make sure that his son was not swayed by this talk, as he knew that it was dangerous…

The speech went on for some time, but it flowed along the same lines that had already been spoken. The imperial was clearly aiming for the position of chancellor, and he was making it clear that those who would support him would gain power with him. In his mind, he must already have won over a lot of those he had visited before and as he was actively working to better the empire and support the reigning emperor, Arathar guessed that the powers that be had no issue with him gathering support. There was of course the question as to why he had chosen to come to Shakthep. The city was far from the capital, and even though it did sit upon the river Az and supplied the empire with valuable trade from the north, the support he would gain from its citizens were minor compared to other cities. It could be that the imperial was attempting to gather funds… That would explain why he was so intent at talking with Arathar and become his friend. Few had the wealth and coin that Arathar commanded and having him as a backer would be worth the trip north. Yet there had to be something else, as coin was not a good enough reason to travel north. Perhaps he wanted to field an army? If he managed to draw enough funds from the merchants, he could hire enough mercenaries and soldiers to stylize himself as a general and that would further improve his claim and chance of becoming chancellor. Such an army could perhaps even march west, but why would the imperial be so far up north if that was his goal? He had made it clear that he wanted to expand and what was there to expand into in the north…

Arathar found himself staring at the young imperial as he realized what he was planning. The young man probably had the political support for the office, but he lacked the popularity and support of the people. A military campaign could make him popular, however. He was surely planning to build an army and strike out at the wolves, hopefully retaking some of the lands north of Akuru hold and force the neighboring tribes into better trade deals and to let their caravans through. It was a bold and ambitious plan, rife with danger and things that could go wrong. If it was successful however, the young man would not just have the popular support to become chancellor, but when the old emperor died, he would actually have a shot at becoming the next emperor. None of his elder brothers or sisters had any significant military victories behind them and a victory against the wolves would dwarf their accomplishments by far. Supporting the imperial directly was dangerous as his older siblings would learn about any funds the imperial gathered in the north. If he failed, Arathar’s family might be punished for supporting the wrong would-be emperor. He needed to make the imperial feel supported without a massive expenditure of coin that could be interpreted as him supporting him for the throne. A though struck him moments later and he grinned… he had seen the way the imperial looked at Reya, especially now that she was drunk… She was luscious and what had once been just a punishment for his son had turned into something enjoyable for Arathar. Still, she was a toy to be used as he saw fit as he was paying her a fair bit of coin for it. Without further thought, he leaned closer to Reya and grinned “I have a job for you tonight…”