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Sophos
“Cynthia, when I purchased you as my amanuensis, did I not instruct you to never interrupt me in my lab?”
It was hard to look into his eyes. Humming with an overwhelming brightness that reminded her of lightning streaking across the night sky. “Y-yes, your Eminence, you did.”
“Galling. Why have you done that which I ordered you not to do?”
“I –”
“Upsetting. You were the least inept of your peers, so this refusal to comprehend explicit instructions is justified?”
He did not walk, for as an Eminent, as one of the High Eminents, his feet would forever remain five inches above the earth. He strode forward, hovering, his hands going straight to the tattoo drawn on her neck. She resisted the urge to flinch, and instead spoke rapidly.
“I was instructed by the Eminent of Diplomacy to inform you that the entourage from the Takum Kingdom has arrived!”
His hands stopped short of the tattoo, and she released the breath she did not know she was holding. Towering over her, regardless of the extra five-inches, she watched his expression sift rapidly.
“Amusing. Why did Media deem it fit that I should know of this?”
“She wishes for you to meet them, your Eminence.”
“Unamusing. That is not my business.”
“I told her as such.” She paused. “In official terms, so as to not lose my head.”
His brow rose. “Continue.”
“She stated that the Gathering had already voted in favor of the matter. The Eminent of Espionage, Eminent of War, and Eminent of Culture proposed that your methods would be the most...” Cynthia hesitated. “...convincing.”
“Puzzling. Even with Media, that is still four votes. The Gathering requires a minimum of six.”
“The Eminent of Faith, Eminent of Trade and Eminent of Famine also voted in favor of the idea. The Eminent of Structures and Eminent of Penance were against it.” She informed. “That is a total of seven votes against three, with the supposition that you would also be voting against the plan.”
“Deeply unamusing.” Sophos muttered. “Perplexing. Despite awareness of my contempt for the needless nuances of socio-political affairs, I was chosen to meet with the delegation?” Her master slowly trailed his fingers across his nose in irritation. He took several breaths, each one deeper and longer than the next.
“Significantly Unamusing. Do you suppose this is punishment for skipping Gatherings?”
She did not provide her input on that matter. She was not allowed to provide her input on the matter. Her tongue was held still, and she waited until her master took another, deeper and more fulfilling breath.
“Trivializing. The decision has been made; its lack of logic notwithstanding.”
Cynthia knew that trouble was brewing from those exact words. “Your Eminence, if I may –”
“You may not.”
She kept her lips shut. Her master strode out of the privacy of his laboratory, and she did her best to chase after him. It was hard to keep up with an Eminent, as she needed to run and dash merely to catch up to the men and women who glided across the earth. She caught up to him with her best dash, rapidly checking her Slate for more information.
“Evaluating. Where are they?”
“They are currently outside Rubicund Plaza – and if I may –” she began, “I have taken the liberty of attaining information about the entourage. They are led by Prince Wukari and his sister, Princess Kwana –”
Her master let out a distasteful hum. “Monarchies? No nation I am aware of on Alamir still utilizes a monarchy. Considering... are the Takumians savages?”
“Well,” Cynthia hesitated. “They hail from an island across the Kankara Sea and arrived on small shipping vessel... with horses, iron swords, shields and goods for trade.”
“Amusing.” Her master said. “Iron swords and spears? This is not the Fabled Era. How have they fared in conflicts against the ‘mares?”
She huffed under her breath as she rushed to keep up with him. “Decently. The Eminent of Espionage has acquired information from the crew of the Takumian ship that indicate the Takumian Capital City, Zoma, possesses reinforced enchanted walls and is surrounded by a moat of sanctified water. Their defenses against the nightmares hold strong, and so far, they have not yet lost to the creatures.”
“Fascinating. Why have they come to Alhamis?”
She checked to discover as much information as she could. She opened her mouth, but was too slow.
“Assuming. It is has something to do with the Floater.”
She nodded.
There was nothing more to be said. Her master’s expression sifted again. She knew he was thinking, as he always did. The hardest working mind in Alhamis was almost certainly possessed by him, or at least, this was what Cynthia believed.
They reached Rubicund Plaza in little time. Whereas she struggled her best to not immediately keel over from having to race the entire way, her master paid no heed to her physical state, and instead turned his attention to the delegation.
“Ah, here are the savages.”
Cynthia did her best to avoid closing her eyes at that utterance. No, she needed them to see and document the eventual outcome of this, lest the Eminent of Diplomacy punish her for not doing so.
Indeed, the entourage did appear and look like individuals from the Era of Fables. At the forefront was Prince Wukari, clad in shiny iron armor that reflected the sun’s gleam. A longsword remained at his right hip, a visor was held to his hand and a shield was strapped across his back. It had been so long since Cynthia saw anyone dressed in actual Knight armor. The last time she remembered it, was during the Fable Remembrance Festival fifteen years ago.
Princess Kwana wore what Cynthia found personally distasteful. Robes, of sort, in place of armor. They seemed to highlight the woman’s curves and suppleness, her raven hair and slender legs, and they did not seem to provide any form of defensive benefits. She wielded a long crooked staff in her right hand, and the Cynthia contemplated if the woman was a practitioner of the Mystical Arts.
Notable individuals amongst the entourage included a tall bearded man wielding a bow and quiver filled with arrows, – not even a crossbow at the least? – another woman, this time, blonde hair and blue eyes in skin-tight white robes that were reminiscent of that belonging to Priests or Clerics – why are the women’s clothes so sensual? – and finally, a man with three scars across his right eye and a falcon on his shoulder – a beast tamer perhaps?
“Did he just call us savages?”
Her master clapped. “Inspiring. I see you have learned to speak Alhamisi. Your accent is off and your pronunciation is atrocious, but I assume it was your best effort.”
Cynthia could tell that there was a shift in the air. Learning to speak the Alhamisi language in the brief time they had been here was not what savages did, but she did not voice her observation. If she realized this, no doubt her master did as well. She wondered if her master knew that his words could be construed as an insult, or perhaps, he did not care.
Prince Wukari stepped forward. “And who are you?”
Cynthia seized her moment. “Visitors from Takum.” She declared. “You stand before one of the Ten High Eminents of the Alhamis Empire.” She bowed and gestured. “His Exquisite Eminence, Master of Technology and Scientist Paramount: the Eminent of Progress, Sophos the Sagacious.”
There was immediate muttering amongst the entourage. The spoke in their native language, a tongue Cynthia had only begun to learn earlier this afternoon. Nevertheless, their words of confusion were clear.
“A sage?” Princess Kwana asked. “Why are we meeting with a sage? I thought we were to meet with the Emperor, or one of his aides.”
It was rare Cynthia found herself stumped. Emperor? “Emperor?” Sophos asked her unasked question. “Deeply amusing. Where does this assumption that Alhamis possesses an Emperor stem from?’
“It is an Empire, is it not?” Princess Kwana responded. “The Empire that has conquered and subsumed all the kingdoms of men close to its borders. Why would it not have an Emperor?”
“Misleading.” Sophos said. “Not all Empires must possess Emperors. Regardless, such a method of governance is inefficient.” His gaze trailed to their swords and their iron weaponry. “I suppose I should not expect you to know of efficacy.”
“Still your tongue sage!” Prince Wukari snarled. “We will not be insulted a second time.”
“Disconcerting. If you consider the statement of facts to be insults, then by my count, you were insulted three times.”
“Enough of this!” Princess Kwana declared. “We came here to meet with the one who rules this Kingdom, not a Sage!”
Sophos let out a long sigh. “Vexing. Cynthia, educate these savages.”
“If you call us Savages one more time –” the Prince threatened.
“Highly amusing. What will you do? Leave? Attack?” Sophos asked. “If you choose the former, then you will accomplish a feat of crossing an entire ocean to turn around because you could not accept that through the lens of a scientifically superior nation you are comparable to barbarians wielding stone tools and discovering pottery.”
Sophos waved his hand. “If you choose the latter, I assure you, your deaths would occur in a way certain to continually awaken me from my sleep in uncharacteristic fits of giggling.”
The Prince grasped his sword. “I’ll give you something to giggle about –”
“Wukari! Enough!” Princess Kwana moved to her brother. “We must remember that we are guests in this land, and we must remain civil, even if our hosts do not extend to us the same courtesy.”
She’s the calmer one. Cynthia noted. The Princess seemed to be the one gifted with guile. She flickered her gaze to her master, wondering if Sophos was intentionally riling them up to witness their responses. It was not unlike him to be blunt, but never had his bluntness seemed so hostile. He always did things with a purpose, even if she were not always able to ascertain what they were.
“Revising. I gave you an instruction, Cynthia.”
She remembered, and cleared her throat, turning her attention to the Princess. “The Alhamis Empire is collectively ruled by the Ten High Eminents, each of them presiding over an aspect of the empire.” She explained. “They have absolute unrivaled control over their aspect, and are free to utilize resources and manpower in the pursuit of projects within their aspect.”
She gestured to her master. “High Eminent Sophos is the Eminent of Progress. He is in charge of handling the development of mystic devices, inventions, innovations, and has absolute control over the scholars, specialists, annals, and colleges in the Empire. He has patented numerous new mystic devices and elixirs that has made the lives of the people of Alhamis easier, notable amongst which is the Slate, the Ambrosia-IX, and –”
“Excuse me,” Princess Kwana interrupted. “You expect me to believe that this Empire is run by ten individuals?”
Cynthia forced herself to maintain her smile. “Yes, it is.”
“How do ten people come to a single decision? How do they agree? To have ten captains on a single ship –”
“They vote.”
“What is a vote?” Princess Kwana asked. “I do not understand many of the terms that you speak of. I cannot tell if it is because my understanding of your language is incomplete, or if there is something I am missing.”
Cynthia pressed her lips together. She hoped for the best. “What terms exactly?”
“What is a patent, a scientist and... a technology?”
Cynthia opened her mouth, uncertain as to where to begin, she closed it.
“Reiterating. As I said,” Sophos droned. “Like barbarians discovering pottery.”
