Building a Kingdom and Conquering the World

Sonzi Darus's was scheduled to meet his end the following morning in the trade plaza at the heart of Mehis. A wooden stage had been built overnight, high enough for all to see. Sonzi stood at its center, knees against the wooden platform, wrists and ankles bound in heavy iron. His head hung low, neck bared for the blade.

Below the platform, his entire family knelt in the iron dust, from gray-haired elders to trembling children. Guards kept spears leveled at their backs, forcing them to watch as tears blurred their eyes and grief closed their throats.

A huge crowd filled the square. Merchants, smiths, miners, people who only yesterday had spoken Sonzi's name with awe and fear, now stared with a strange mix of shock and excitement. This was the man who set the ore prices, who controlled every shovel and pickaxe. He was also the one responsible for the countless friends lost in the unsafe tunnels, today felt like justice long delayed.

At the back of the platform, King Henry sat on a plain wooden chair, his gray eyes tracked each movement as though taking silent notes. Olaro was right beside him and Eleanor was nowhere to be seen, probably watching from the scene from the castle's tower.

When mid day approached, Olaro stepped forward, his iron boots thudding against the wooden planks making the plazza fall silent. He swept the sea of faces, lingering a bit of tiome on the kneeling Darus family.

"By decree of King Henry of Stahl" - he announced, his voice echoing through the whole city, reverberating in the streets and alleys - "Sonzi Darus, former Iron Agent of the Sun God Company, is found guilty of treason, theft of crown iron, and the secret opening of an unlicensed mine."

A roar of anger surged from the crowd, miners shaking fists, merchants spitting curses. It died the instant Olaro raised a hand.

"Sentence is immediate" - he continue, the firmness in his voice not diminishing - "Sonzi Darus will lose his head today, and that head will ride the streets of Mehis for a full week, a warning for all those who dares to test the Crown. Furthermore, all lands and titles of House Darus are forfeit. Every debt will be repaid in sweat, three generations' worth, down in the Cold Iron mines."

The crowd sucked in a collective breath, then erupted. Cheers, jeers, frantic applause; some even howled for the blood of the entire family. However, contrary to ecstasy feeling spreading through the people, the Darus household could only stare and cry. They wanted to run towards the king and kiss his feet, begging to be spared, but the spear tips on their backs wouldn't allow it.

Ignoring the noise, Olaro strolled up to Sonzi, bent low, and whispered, "Clever move, Iron Agent. But the game's over."

A thin smile curved his lips as he picked the axe resting on the side. Then, without waiting for a word, the hatchet flashed once, just once, and came down like a lightning bolt. One clean strike. Sonzi's head tumbled across the planks, bounced, and rolled to a stop at the foot of King Henry's chair. For a heartbeat the eyes still glimmered, fear, rage, dawning clarity, then dulled into emptiness.

The crowd cheered loudly. It was over.

-x-

High in the tower, Eleanor listened to the cheers echoing up from the plaza and shook her head.

"At times like this" - Captain Zolun muttered beside her - "it feels as if we have stepped backward in history. It is like watching beats."

Eleanor sighed, nodding - "The last public execution in the Sylvenhart Empire was under my great-grandfather. After that, the Light Church declared such shows barbaric, said every soul deserves another chance. However, look at how the empire is right now…"- After saying those words, she paused, eyes lifting toward the hard, gray sky. Luckily, no punishment came towards her.

She half-smiled, then grew thoughtful. "Ever since we crossed the Frozen Forest my illness has eased, almost vanished. And I no longer sense the Goddess of Light at all. Strange, isn't it?"

Zolun considered, his eyes still on the crowd occupying the plaza - "I am no priest or paladin, but I was raised in the church orphanage. Because of that, I can slightly feel the presence of the Goddess watching over us. However, it disappeared the moment we set our feet on these lands. It's as if Her gaze stopped the moment the snow touched us."

Eleanor kept staring upward, equal parts of her were worried and curious. Through the open window she spotted King Henry, dark hair, straight shoulders, leaving the wooden stage and heading for the castle gates.

"He has delayed my trip to the mountains with excuse after excuse" - she said - "I doubt he has any left." She turned to Zolun. "What of Oben?"

"Spreading venom among the soldiers" - the captain replied - "Says we should seize this kingdom for your sake. Why keep such a snake at your side, Princess?" - he couldn't help but cast a curious gaze at the princess.

A sly smile touched Eleanor's lips, nothing like her weakly disposition - "Because a snake can crawl where others cannot. Let him whisper, a message still needs a mouth to carry it back to my brothers and sisters."

Zolun nodded. He had only begun to glimpse the Fifth Princess's scheming nature after choosing to follow her. Back in the empire he'd been little more than a cannon folder. The day he caught sight of Eleanor slipping out of the palace with Oben, he took a gamble: latch onto the least-favored princess, the one everyone expected to die forgotten, and see where it led. It was like buying a lottery ticket with his life.

He coaxed a handful of soldiers, men weaker than himself, to join her escort, promising them a share in whatever future she carved out. Then they set off north. Fortune favored them; the farther they traveled, the poorer and softer the kingdoms became. Real danger was rare, and Zolun's modest skills were enough to keep the little band alive.