Chapter 17 - Return to Val Royeaux (Patreon)

Codex: Draconids

Draconids are a diverse order of quasi-reptiles that inhabit the entirety of the Eos.

While the creature most commonly associated with Draconids is a Dragon, the most populous members of this order are actually the so-called Lesser Draconids, which include Dracolizards, Dracolisks, Forktails, Wyvern, and Valyrian Draverns, or, as they are also called, Valyrian Dragons.

The True Dragons are extremely large and powerful reptilian animals that are capable of using elemental breath to attack their prey. They are considered one of the primeval races of Thedas, having existed since the beginning of its recorded history.

Most of the Dragons in modern history could be found in Thedas, especially the high Dragons and Elder Dragons, which are not only monstrously huge creatures but also Magical, so powerful that they could squash Gold-Tier Mages with a single spell.

- On the Topic of Dragons by Yavana the Witch of the Wild, Dragonkeeper and 3rd Empress of the Holy Orlais Empire

***

Val Foret, Inner City, Plaza, Several Moments Later

Traversing through the portals was something that was instantaneous.

Meaning that once one crosses through the portal, they would appear on the other side of the portal, as Kordillus and his Kingsglaives appeared.

In a mere moment, everyone had arrived back in the Inner City of the Val Foret, where the Governor of the City, Governor Lamder van Reese, and Commander of the City Guard Gaston were already waiting for the Crown Prince.

It seemed that everything went according to plan, as when they arrived, Ciri started opening a portal to bring back the other squads of the Kingsglaive that were dispatched to handle the other offenders and enemies of the Orlesian State.

Soon enough, Commander of the Kingsglaives Titus Drautos stepped from the Portal that Ciri opened for them, as they were bringing together with them several full chests of gold and gems.

It seemed that their attack on the Morelet Laurens was more productive than one would have thought. Welk, Laurens, was, in the end, the nominal head of the rebellion, and he was also one of the descendants of the old nobles who lost their titles when the Val Foret was assimilated into the Orlais.

The rules of the Council of Heralds were extremely strict in issuing the Sanctioned Noble Titles. Of course, the biggest loot was brought from the mansion of Suero De Medrano, who was the last scion of the House De Medrano. 

Overall, it seemed that this entire endeavor was also financially extremely profitable, because there were several hundred kilograms of gold coins of various denominations, precious gems, some artworks, and other things that could be sold.

"Can you open the Portal back home, or do you need to rest?"

Kordillus asked as he looked at his companion / girlfriend / fainceé or whatever they actually were as she nodded her head. While opening Portals could be a bit taxing, for Ciri it wasn't, as she already had a rather good grasp on the Elder Blood.

With the partial awakening of the Elder Blood, she could act even more naturally when it came to the Space-Time and Dimensional Magic and Spells. 

"Governor van Reese. The decaptionation operation was successful, and everyone is either dead or captured. We will be taking the prisoners and loot back to the Capital and will notify General Valmont about the recent development in the Val Foret. Coordinate with the 2nd Legion to destroy the rebellion. And remember..."

Kordillus stepped forward toward the Governor of the Val Foret Lambert van Reese as he said in a low and threatening tone.

"Don't take any prisoners. Everyone who dared to rebel would be put to the sword, understood?"

If there was one thing to which Kordillus showed absolutely no tolerance, it was treason.

Treason was always punished by death.

Without any exceptions.

"As you command, Your Royal Highness!"

Governor van Reese saluted together with Commander of the City Guards Gaston, as Kordillus nodded and waited for Ciri to open the portals to the Val Royeaux. Kordillus wanted everyone who was a part of the rebellion to be killed.

He wasn't a merciful ruler.

And certainly, there wasn't any mercy for the people who rebelled against his rules, which was totally unacceptable. Not to mention, he needed some examples to show, so everyone who would even think of rebelling against his rule would see and know the consequences of their actions.

***

Val Royeaux, Orlais Kingdom, Several Moments Later

The place to which Ciri opened the portal was just outside of the Val Royeaux, because the entire capital of the Orlais Kingdom was warded to the extreme against Teleportation Spells and Portal Spells.

Since there was the threat of the Wild Hunt materializing anywhere, albeit the threat was extremely low, nobody was going to take the chance. Thus, the House Drakon invested a lot of money and resources into warding he entire city with strong Magical Defenses, Wards, and Barriers. 

Without specific steps, one couldn't really open a Portal to the city or from the city. 

Even Ciri with her Elder Blood couldn't break through the barriers right now, but it was predicted that once she reached the Gold-Tier, she would be able to achieve such a feat if she used all of her Magic.

And at the Supreme-Tier, she would be able to do it with ease.

Still, the defenses were enough to stop anyone below the Supreme-Tier from opening Portal to the Val Royeaux, and once Vanderim Drakon reached the Supreme-Tier, it was absolutely certain that he would upgrade the Wards to block even the Supreme-Tiers.

The Portal opened in the outskirts of the capital city of the Orlais Kingdom, and he was sure that the Portal's opening was already registered by the City Guard.

Across the entire city, there were several Mage Towers that were interconnected together in an intricate Magic Network that was not only the heart of the Wards over the city, but it was also monitoring the entire area around the Val Royeaux, and its surroundings.

In the case of the Magical disturbances or phenomena.

So he was sure that the City Guard would have dispatched someone to investigate the Portal opening and perhaps to pick them up. And exactly as he predicted, the City Guard indeed sent someone to pick them up, as the Magic Towers could clearly distinguish the person based on the signature of their Magic Power.

As they boarded the carriage, Kordillus remained in the same carriage with the two Clerics, Amabilla Chappelle and Petellia Martiana, because they were going straight to the interrogation right away.

It was clear that the fact that Val Foret was undergoing rebellion was a clear sign that the Great Crusade would have been initiated ahead of time. Which would also mean that he would fail the current mission from the System, but alas...

There was nothing that he could really do.

Kordillus knew that forcing a breakthrough was a foolish thing to do and that it would severely damage his future.

It wasn't really worth a single Magical Sword Reward.

And it wasn't like this was the first mission that he had failed.

"Are we really going to interrogate them straight away? Can't we just go home to take a shower? Or to eat? Something?"

Ciri wasn't really that pleased when he told her that they were not heading to the palace, but instead they were heading toward the Royal Prison to interrogate the prisoners. Kordillus knew that his grandfather was already waiting there for him, so they could extract every single piece of information from their heads.

"Stop pouting... it won't take long. Grandpa will just draw everything from their minds, and we are free to go. You should understand that we are in a race against time, Ciri."

When he said it like that, she stopped pouting and looked at the young prince seriously.

She was aware that this was probably one of the last-ditch efforts of the Cult of Andraste to slow down the inevitable unification of the Ciriane Clans in the Heartlands, which would result in the extinction of the Cult of Andraste.

Once the Disciples of Andraste lost their foothold in the Heartlands, they would be left to be oppressed by the Tevinter Imperium. Most of the financial support and military support that was currently fighting for the Cult against the mercenaries and Mages from the Imperium, actually came from the Heartlands or Nahashin Marches.

Even though Ciri hated the lessons on politics and administration and other things, she remembered a lot of what was being taught in there. 

"So, the war will start faster now?"

She asked as she suspected that the Great Crusade that would unify all Ciriane Clans and factions was now inevitable. 

"Probably... the Orlais has been growing too powerful, and with the integration of the Val Chevin several months ago, it's clear that the Orlais would unify the entirety of the Heartlands. The Elfs are undecided, but most of them are leaning toward the peaceful integration thanks to our beautiful ashen swallow."

Ciri held the need to blush, but she was happy nevertheless when he complimented her, as Kordillus wasn't the one for showing affection in public... or sometimes openly at all, as he had his own way of saying that he cared.

"But aren't they like... spread too thin already?"

She asked because she remembered that during one or two of their lessons, they were being briefed on everything that was currently happening in the world. Most of the power base of the Cult of Andraste was currently being focused on the Southern Thedas.

Among that area, the Cult of Andraste drew most of its manpower from the Ciriane Tribe, Nahashin Marches, and Almarri Tribes who believed in the Adrastianism. And obviously, most of that manpower was being used to resist the Tevinter Imperium. 

Almost all of the Gold-Tier Knights of the Cult of Andraste were stationed along that border, protecting the important strongholds and cities from the Tevinter, which was too eager to avenge itself after the last Exalted March on the Imperium.

"Yes, they are... but that's the situation with the Tevinter has come to a halt. And we still don't actually know where the Disciples of Andraste or Cult of Anraste or what the hell they are calling themselves these days have their headquarters."

Kordillus, even with the help of his memories from the past life, couldn't really remember... but he knew that it was somewhere in the mountains. But unfortunately, he couldn't pinpoint the precise location, or else this charade would have ended long ago.

"I thought that the Tevinter was hellbent on their destruction, though?"

Ciri pondered as she couldn't find the reason behind the stalkemale.

"Yes, it is, but you need to understand that the Imperium suffered the most during the 1st Blight and immediate Exalted March... and not to talk about the fact that Tevinter is anything but stable. It's a place where everyone is scheming the demise of everyone and instability thrives there like fungus in a rotten wooden hut."

Kordillus stated that the situation of the Cult of Andraste was more complicated than it seemed at first glance. Too much territory for them to cover, yet they needed to support their settlements against the Imperium, Darkspawn, and their other enemies. 

If they could just discover where their headquarters were.

And their precise numbers and the manpower that they had at their disposal.

Right now, they were working with the version that the Disciples of Andraste didn't have the manpower to fight against the Orlais head-on. Which was the reason why they needed help of their allies or other subjects.

"That's pretty complicated..."

For Ciri, things like this were complicated, because she didn't like it...

Everyone was scheming and plotting...

Everything in the name of power.

Like when the Cintra fell to the Niflgaard.

Or the behavior of the Aen Elle who plundered and destroyed many civilizations and even the entire worlds inhabited by the destroyed civilizations.

"Nothing is really that simple... in many cases, things are far more complicated than they seem at first glance."