Chapter 13:

Empire

PENUMBRA


Sydurnia, Year 814 of Avia, Day 118

Queen Sydney sat atop a golden throne, picking at her nails. She wore a dark blue dress, with roses embroidered across her waistline. Giant red banners depicting the insignia of Sydurnia, a flaming phoenix, hung next to the glass windows beside her.

A long red carpet rolled out across the room and dozens of guards were lined up on both sides of it. They wore thick, metal armor and carried thin, wooden air guns. Next to Sydney’s throne stood Captain Lee, wearing his typical white military uniform.

The royal palace stood on a hill overlooking the foul, smoky city that constantly creaked and groaned. The perfectly clean royal halls greatly contrasted the dirty, polluted streets of the city.

The double doors at the room’s entrance opened abruptly, and two men walked inside. One was bloodied up and handcuffed, dragged into the room against his will by the other.

“Leave us,” Sydney announced.

All of the guards turned around to leave the room. Once they were gone, Captain Lee approached the prisoner and attached a chain to his handcuffs, preventing any attempts to escape.

The prisoner gritted his teeth. “Queen Sydney,” he croaked. “What is the meaning of this?”

Sydney’s dark eyes glinted. She looked up from her nails with a mischievous grin on her face.

“Mister Leo. Are you funding the rebels?”

“My pacifist faction might want to stop your wars, but we wouldn’t betray Sydurnia.”

“Surely someone’s been leaking our technology to them. A bunch of nature-loving villagers couldn’t develop airships on their own.”

“Like I said, it’s not us! Not wanting to fight isn’t the same as helping our enemies fight us.”

“Then who is it? Only high-ranking officials and politicians during my father’s reign would have had access to our blueprints. Like you.”

“I’m sure that nobody from our faction is involved. Funding an enemy would cause a war, not stop one.”

“Then you’re saying that you know nothing?”

“Yes!” Leo seemed desperate for Sydney to believe him. “Now let me go!”

Queen Sydney nodded at Captain Lee. He walked towards the prisoner with a purple key in his hand, but his face was gaunt and expressionless, sending a shiver down Leo’s spine.

Before he could relax, Captain Lee revealed a small pistol strapped to his belt and placed his hand on the trigger.

Bang. Captain Lee shot Leo at point-blank range.

Sydney laughed. “I didn’t know you were cruel enough to give him false hope with that key.”

Captain Lee unlocked the handcuffs and dangled them in front of Sydney. “These are the best ones in the military. It’s a waste to leave them on a dead body.”

He narrowed his eyes. “So, what’d you think?”

“He wasn’t lying,” Sydney answered. “But either way, he was a thorn in our ass, and we’d have to deal with him eventually.”

“Leo was the most outspoken of his faction. Without him, the rest of them wouldn’t dare to oppose our war effort,” she added.

“Guards!” Sydney shouted. They quickly shuffled back into the room, returning to their original posts. They didn’t look remotely surprised to see the carpet soaked in blood with a dead body laying on top of it.

“Clean this up.”

The guard nearest to Sydney bowed respectfully and left the room.

“Queen Sydney, the royal address will start in thirty minutes,” Captain Lee noted.

Sydney stood up and made her way down the carpet. She stepped around Leo’s body, not wanting to soak her shoes in blood.

Captain Lee walked to her side, and the rest of the guards lined up in a strict formation behind her. They accompanied her to the nearby press room, where Sydney sat down in front of a mirror. Dozens of makeup artists hastily attended to her, painting her nails and placing foundation on her face.

Princess Cindy rushed into the room. “Sydney! What’s going on? Why are so many people coming into the palace with all these strange devices?”

Sydney smiled at her sister. “I’m going on television for a bit. I’ve gotta update the public about the war effort.”

“It’s about time you bragged about how fast you put down the Enceladeans. Make sure you emphasize the part about getting revenge for Mother and Father.”

Sydney’s expression turned dark for one moment, but before Cindy could notice, she forced a laugh and patted her sister’s head.

“Thanks, Cindy.”

Cindy looked up, confused about her sister’s sudden praise.

“What for?”

“Everything.”

A camerawoman holding a microphone tapped Sydney on the shoulder. When Sydney turned around, she lowered her head, holding the microphone out to Sydney with two hands.

“Queen Sydney, we’re about to start.”

Sydney took the microphone and attached it to the top of her dress. She walked up to the center of the room, where a bronze podium stood in front of the shining cameras.

The camerawoman gave Sydney a thumbs up. “We’re live,” she mouthed.

Sydney stared into the camera with a triumphant expression on her face. “Sydurnians, we have won the war against the Encelaedeans.”

Her face appeared on every television and screen across Sydurnia. Even from the palace, one could hear the sounds of people’s cheers, imbued with a sense of nationalistic pride.

“They were no match for our superior military technology.”

She paused. “From now on, we will no longer be called the Kingdom of Sydurnia, but the Sydurnian Empire. Rhea, Tritio, and Enceladeus shall be the first of our many territories.”

“Our war is not over yet. In my father’s memory, we shall conquer any tribe that defies us.”

The camerawoman raised her hand as a signal to Sydney. She had five minutes left to give her speech.

“Two years ago, my father outlawed any discrimination in the military. Regardless of your tribe, you were allowed to serve Sydurnia.”

“Today, I will follow in his footsteps. If you are Rhean, Trition, or Enceladean, you are now a citizen of the empire. And I encourage all of you to serve in our future wars.”

“Additionally, instead of hiding the existence of magic from your tribes, I implore you to learn magic to fight for Sydurnia. With both magic and technology on our side, we shall be unstoppable.”

“Older Sydurnian Kings may have despised magic, but today, it is clear that magic no longer poses a threat to our technology. There is no reason to continue antagonizing magic-users when we can work with them instead.”

Sydney raised a fist. “For Sydurnia!”

-----------------------------

Khal, Icarum, and Carla sat in front of a radio in an empty private room, trying to hear Sydney’s speech amid an excessive amount of static.

“Do you think any of the Rheans will actually join her?” Khal asked.

“Who the hell would join a military that took over their own country?” Carla answered.

“It makes sense to me,” Icarum added. “If you join the military, you can get money and fame. It’s not a difficult job either, since their technology is so advanced.”

“Why don’t you join their military then?” Carla retorted.

“It’s one thing to work with people who stole your land,” Icarum replied, with a ferocious look on his face. “But it’s another to work with people who burned your parents alive.”

An awkward silence filled the room.

“Sorry,” Carla mumbled.

Noah and Mia walked into the room carrying newly baked bread and honey.

“Did we miss anything?”

Khal shook his head, “No, not at all.”