Akiza, if she in that moment had been pressed to tell the truth, would have to say she felt a touch nervous as
Afanas withdrew from the radiant gaze of the King's attention. Her time to go forward. What could be so wrong? This was the whole reason why she had come here. Well, mayhap all her time on the run had indeed made her something of a recluse, someone who more so shunned center stage now than before. Afanas did well in speaking with the King. He was probably
used to there being kings. For Akiza that was the other odd point, as in her faraway and forgotten home the idea of a male ruler, a man in prominent power, was quite foreign, and something she still to this day found herself unaccustomed to.
But she swallowed that momentary anxiety and greeted King Jürgen, introducing herself and making ready to explain. Quite like Afanas, as it turned out, she too had come at the behest of a people not quite her own. And the Vaiz Onder Elias Elissal had briefed her thoroughly, giving her many words to say, anticipating what questions might be asked and how she ought to answer. She effectively lent only her legs in travel and her tongue in talking to this task—the rest was Elissal himself, speaking through her.
She came to it, using her own natural brevity to truncate the Vaiz Onder's more eloquent, flowing—and Akiza would say "verbose"—style. She had come from
Gild (this news as much of a surprise to the King as Afanas's announcement of his origin from
Alliria, if not more so). She represented a powerful figure within Gild, though she made clear that she could not say whom. And what she asked for was this:
A non-aggression pact between New Reikhurst and Gild.
King Jürgen found this stranger than Afanas's request for warriors. Here, what the King's petitioner stood to truly gain eluded him, for it was not obvious. Akiza explained:
Not merely Gild, but nearly all of
Campania, knew that much of the region's
vampire attacks generally originated from the west, even if they knew not that they came from Reikhurst. The figure whom Akiza represented did know this, of course, and wished to bend Reikhurst's predations in Campania to the mutual benefit of both
cities. For the Armistice, the period of general peace, would soon be broken, and not just any war, but a Great War, would rage in Campania. If Reikhurst focused its ambitions and its attacks on the western border of Campania, all those nations there, it would weaken those places and put Gild at the advantage in the west; it could choose to focus there against enfeebled enemies, or leave it be with little worry and focus east, south, and north.
King Jürgen nodded, seeing the strategic benefit on Gild's end with this proposed pact. But what, he asked, would be the true benefit for Reikhurst? Gild was not in a position to threaten Reikhurst now, and especially not if this so-called Great War broke out.
Akiza smiled a little, actually fond of this part of Elissal's plan for its—in her humble opinion—pragmatic brilliance. She spoke to King Jürgen of the thing which
did threaten Reikhurst: the Reikhurstan diaspora itself, those survivors scattered across Epressa after the night of Reikhurst's fall. For years they weren't a problem to him and his designs. They were broken, dispirited, perhaps nostalgic and wishfully hoping for a restored Reikhurst but content to live their new lives elsewhere, thinking such an endeavor to be an impossible dream. But now they were being rallied, their strength and numbers growing, arms and resources being secured, allies like
monster hunters and Templars being garnered, and soon they would come to Reikhurst intent on making that dream come true. One woman was reponsible for this. One woman, the shining figurehead of the movement, around whom the entire endeavor was centered and without whom it would all come crumbling down, for it was her drive and her hope that ignited the same in all her fellow Reikhurstans.
King Jürgen sat up straighter in his throne, anticipating what Akiza was going to say.
And indeed she said it:
"For a non-aggression pact between Reikhurst and Gild, we will kill Herr Heike Eisen."
The King brought a clawed hand to his chin, considering. And armed with Vaiz Onder Elissal's argument and method of persuasion, Akiza delivered the final portion of her request:
"With Heike Eisen gone, the Reikhurstans will once again be broken. They will despair. But this is where Gild comes in again, and both Gild and your New Reikhurst will prosper.
"The news of Eisen's death will reach Gild. We will send envoys to the mass of Reikhurstans. We will invite them to come to Gild, to live there rather than return to their scattered homes. Many of them also believe in Jura, and this is the appeal. The Jurists among them can be persuaded to, in turn, persuade their kin. And they will come to Gild. Assimilate into Gild. And we will turn their attentions away from the impossible dream of Reikhurst and to a better one. We will gain their significant manpower, and you will lose an enemy—without ever having to strike a blow yourself, Your Majesty."
They talked for just a few moments more, and the King assented.
The pact was secure.
"Go then," he said,
"and tell your employer that Gild will be spared from the red eye of Reikhurst's attention, and that, when this war you foretell erupts, the west of Campania shall be our hunting ground. And I look forward to hearing the news of the troublesome Herr Heike's demise."
King Jürgen looked to both Akiza and Afanas now and said in closing,
"Come, if you are thirsty, and partake of the Bloodstone. But if you prefer, as many of my own subjects do, the taste of natural blood and carnal thrill of feeding, feel free to partake of the thralls in this hall instead. And if you are not thirsty, hospitality remains yours, and you are welcome to stay in Reikhurst until such time as you see fit to leave, attending to your duties as you must."
Afanas
