AR Chapter 517 (Patreon)

Again, yesterday's chapter. Been busy, but hoping to be on track for my usual output this week.

A few people began to voice complaints as I laid out the terms of their complete surrender, but the ones who voiced it were only the younger attendees. It didn’t matter who started to make noise, they were silenced. The time for discussion was over. Of the few people who couldn’t hold themselves back, they were four or five tiers above the clan heads and before they could say a complete sentence, they were suddenly overwhelmed by thick ropes of shadow that lashed them to the ground and silenced their complaints.

Obviously, there were cultural limitations to what could be said when and by whom that I didn’t understand. None of the clan heads did anything more than listen stoically.

“Finally,” I finished, “the position of Nyust’Taa is no longer one that you all will decide. It is one that I will choose, and they will be required to travel to Nievtra once a season to report everything that is happening within the bounds of the Principality.”

For several moments, I thought there would be another outburst at my final requirement, but evidently, the swift repercussions that descended on all other complaints kept the young and hotheaded silent for now.

“Is that all?” the grizzled Misti Hawar asked. I was getting the feeling that he was the leader of the shadow faction, and I was curious to see what he thought.

“That is all I will require from you.”

“Then,” Pliet said before anybody else could speak, “I will request for you and your subordinates to leave the conclave for a short time. With privacy, we’ll be able to better discuss the terms you have presented, as well as decide which clans might be unwilling to abide by the requirements you have given. We cannot promise to act as a unified whole, though I can speak for the Pounak in saying that, with amendments, we may be willing to negotiate.”

“Please, feel free,” I answered, clacking my teeth with finality. Then, I turned and started to stride up the steps of the amphitheater. Behind me, all of my people followed, all without complaint. Now that I wasn’t taking in the sight of the inverted pyramid the conclave took place in, I noted how obviously this place was designed for people so much smaller than myself. The steps were most comfortable for me to take three at a time, the claws of my toes scraping against the next stair as each one was made for somebody with smaller feet than myself.

In no time at all, the Keel delegation had left the amphitheater, with stares and glares accompanying us every step of the way. Outside of the Misti Hawar meeting, I gestured for everybody to remain silent. They did as I commanded, and we all settled onto our haunches to wait.

Finally, without the need to concentrate on the speech I was presenting, I remembered the grizzled male’s name. He’d introduced himself as Huartiki Maldu. With that in mind, I wanted to say something to see if I could startle or surprise him, but instead decided to adhere to the plan that Pliet had developed. Part of what she wanted to do, as the leader of the fang faction, was to negotiate additional terms with me, ones that I had already agreed to. Their ability to seize some measure of freedom from my rule would show that they weren’t losing everything that made them Misti Hawar in their pursuit of survival.

Surely, Sybil could have haggled, argued, threatened, and convinced until there were specific restrictions applied to the Misti Hawar, while our own commitments would be severely limited in response. That didn’t matter to me in this. Instead, I just wanted them to accept their position as beneath my people, and everything else was, at best, secondary to that.

The terms I presented limited their ability to gather an army, stockpile resources, send a certain amount of their people out of the country, and so on were, and were, as far as I could tell, restrictive but not impossible to survive. Those changes in terms that the claw faction would be suggesting would be regarding the duties the Saharliard Empire would hold to protect the Principality’s borders. As we would be neutering their ability to raise a military of their own, it seemed a good term to me, and served as an additional justification to hold a standing army of sorts within the boundaries of the Misti Hawar lands without their being able to complain.

Different from when I had been a newly hatched keelish, my body seemed much better at waiting and remaining still for long periods of time. Once, I might have jittered where I stood, needing to throw myself at something. Now, as a larger apex predator, my body was comfortable waiting for the decision to be made among those weaker than myself. Regardless of what their decision was, I would emerge the victor. As far as I could tell, politics was just an extension of warfare, and I had already won the war. This was just a formality.

Watching the minor suns orbit around the primary, I could see that nearly two hours passed in discussion among the Misti Hawar while we simply waited nearby. Frequently, voices were raised, but never shouting. Again, it seemed to be some expression of their culture that I didn’t care to understand. I simply waited for the verdict to come.

When, finally, I could feel the vibrations of feet coming up the amphitheater to summon us back, I turned to Trai. She was, among the people who had come with me, the one who had struggled the most to remain still through the hours. Even so, that wasn’t expressed in restless movement so much as more frequent adjustment of her posture. When my eyes found her, she cocked her head at me. Despite my previous denial of her desire to pursue some sort of romantic relationship, she twisted her head and her hips towards me in response to my attention. Her tail raised ever so slightly in a flirtatious twist, and I simply narrowed my eyes in response. All of her playful demeanor disappeared at that, and I nodded.

“Be ready,” I said in our language as Huartiki stepped up towards us. “I suspect I’ll have an assignment for you shortly.”

Without any of us saying anything more, we rose to our feet in unison. The experienced warrior’s nose twitched at that, whiskers flicking as he watched our movements.

“The conclave is ready to deliver our own terms,” he said simply. “Seeing you now, I am further vindicated in the decision that I have made.”

“I look forward to hearing it,” I said, following him down the stairs. I towered over him, probably twice his height. Regardless of wanting to have a conversation with him, it obviously wasn’t the time, and I walked down the stairs to see what kinds of answers waited for me.