It did not take long for a meeting to be set up. The King had sent a messenger to invite Duke Tetland as soon as the enemy centre had routed. Once there was some semblance of organisation and the celebration over the battle had died down, the King, the Duke and the various lords met up to discuss things going forward.
“We will not be pursuing Duke Burn.” This was the first thing that the King announced. Even more important than if Duke Ryder had been captured, was the issue of the last remaining major player in Fiveria. Looking around, Braydon could see more than a few of the eastern lords sighing in relief. It was one thing to fight a civil war that did not affect your lands, it was another if you were the one in the thick of it. And now that Duke Ryder had been dealt with, many of the northeastern lords had lost most of their reason for helping out the King.
“Why would we try to attack a loyal subject that has done nothing but fight the very rebels that we have strived to defeat?” The King continued, not that anybody was fooled. Even if Duke Burn never ended up clashing with the King, bringing in a foreign Duke and his army was the next best thing. This was a matter of expedience and everybody knew it. Not that anybody was complaining either. They either did not have any vested interest in seeing Duke Burn taken down or their territories were too close to him to want to face him down.
“On a brighter note, we have indeed captured the vile traitor. He will languish in Boshil’s prisons until the day of his execution for crimes against the royal name and Fiveria. Never again will such people be tolerated in Fiveria.” Aled said that, but it was not like he had wanted to tolerate Duke Ryder in the first place. He simply did not have the power to get rid of him, until now. Though this statement was not aimed at any of the lords present, it was aimed at Duke Burn. Even if he was half a kingdom away, he had his eyes and ears. He would hear the King’s words.
“With that, I would like to invite Duke Tetland to Boshil to celebrate our great victory. It is with his aid that we have overcome this stain on the history of our nation. And as such, it is only appropriate that he is thanked.” This raised some eyebrows. Most had expected Duke Tetland to be thanked as informally as their alliance had been. Under the table. They knew that they would all celebrate victory in the capital, that was only natural. It was another thing to have a foreign monarch be witness to it.
“The last thing that must be mentioned, in an effort to put this grim period behind us I am inviting every lord in Fiveria to Boshil to celebrate our victory and witness the end of anyone that would try to usurp power that is not theirs to hold.” This was not an invite, it was an order.
Now that Duke Ryder was in his hands, Duke Oakley was missing and Earl Blake was dead, the King was back in control. And he would not stand for insubordination so soon after winning a civil war. If they could not read between the lines, it would likely not be long before they too would follow in Duke Ryder’s footsteps. Facing down the gallows.
“Looks like we have a busy few weeks.” Braydon knew that they would be on a tight schedule. As one of the lords with a border territory, he would be cutting it fine to go back to the viscounty to return his men before making his way back to Boshil for the celebration.
“Then why not make your way directly to the capital and leave the men to us?” Gerald asked. ‘Us’ definitely included Rhydian, since he was far more used to commanding troops than Gerald was. Now that the war was over, Rhydian was free of his responsibilities as commander of the royal faction’s army.
“Because that would not solve the problem. Rhydian’s achievements were significant and you can bet your arse that the King will be handing out accolades for those who fought for him. What kind of snub would it be if the man who commanded his armies was to not be there?” Braydon looked at Gerald as if he was deficient in some way. Rhydian’s efforts had arguably been greater than his own in swaying the outcome of the war..
*cough*
“Either way, we would have to hurry. Not to mention as a prominent player in the war, it would be expected that Braydon bring a small entourage to the celebration. Consisting of at least his aides and most of his knights.” Rhydian butted in to steer the conversation away from himself and back to the topic at hand. Even if Braydon did not mind, it was not a great look for them to be openly discussing that he did more for the Kingdom than his own lord.
“That would be you two, Nela, possibly Colin and maybe Steven?” Braydon thought about the look that Mireille would give him when he told her that she could not come but after the Serheshi visit, even if it was proper, he could not risk it. And he knew it was not proper in the first place.
“It would be reasonable. Colin and Steven could attend or not attend. It would depend on how you feel about it. It would at least show to others the importance you place on them, but nobody would think anything of it if not.” Rhydian had more knowledge on how such proceedings happened than Braydon. His father had often brought a number of his knights to celebrations of victories in wars. Rhydian was amongst that number. Braydon himself had either been too young or too snubbed to be brought along.
“I will ask them what they think.” Braydon knew that he did not like places with lots of other nobles. He was not about to force Colin or Steven to do so without asking them. He at least cared about them that much.
