Beyond?

“Fight for freedom! Fight for your homes. Stand up to the Empire and their cursed magic! Those who bend the will of others have no right to share the warmth of the goddess with us. Fight!”

-Ancient pamphlet to motivate the masses.

***Quinn, Capital-Palace***

***Stella***

Lucas is sitting at the big, round table with Azir and me to his left. His eyes are closed and he is obviously brooding over the proceeding negotiations. After returning from our sightseeing tour we reported our experiences to him. Though he listened carefully to what we had to say, he didn't give us his own opinion on the situation.

It's bothering me that he didn't seem as irritated as us. We knew from the beginning that we could encounter a situation like this, but in the end I couldn't stay calm when I faced that priest in person.

Lucas is very good at keeping his emotions in check when there is something at stake. That's why he is always the one who goes on diplomatic missions instead of my mother.

The big round room we are sitting in is located at the upper levels of Quinn's colossal palace. Our own palace is much smaller, but the design and materials used are of a much higher quality.

Quinn sacrificed design for being big. The Palace consists of several huge blocks of stone and glass. While impressive to look at, the building lacks style. On the other hand I must admit that the view from the twentieth floor is magnificent.

A little farther to our left is the Great Shaman with two of his advisers. One of them is the old female whom we already know from our short visit to Dwem.

Chuck chose yet another mask for this event. Every time I meet him I am amazed anew. He seems to have an endless supply of those masks. So far I haven't seen a model twice and the mask he chose this time is the face of a demon with a fierce expression. Probably he wanted to express his feelings by choosing this very emotional mask, which is accompanied by a matching totem and a suit made out of red feathers.

Sometimes our black and white robes for official purposes seem a little bland to me. Even though we are the rulers of Nict, our clothes are much less attention grabbing. Though we could create the materials for nice dresses easily enough.

Maybe I should try talking to my parents about changing this policy. The other rulers might think that we have no sense for beautiful things and lack in culture.

The remaining space at the table is occupied by the rulers of Quinn. King Novak Zerces is an old man with grey hair, but he is still taller than most others and kept his body in a good shape despite his sixty seven years of age. His wife at his side is also showing signs of age, something unimaginable for magicians like us. Frey Zerces has a high and mighty expression and is sitting in her chair like a stick.

The last three spots are filled by their children who are already adults. Giana and Leon are already known to us. The third person is Leon's brother who is first in line to the throne. Ajax is a little older than Leon and in his best years. The family resemblance to his brother is strong and if it wasn't for the different eye-colour which he got from his mother I would believe that he is a slightly older version of Leon. The beard on his cheeks also helps in creating a different image. His straight horns are adorned with golden rings, something which I've only seen on women so far.

All of them are wearing their flashy, colourful dresses, though the clothes of the king and queen are a little more colourful than I've seen so far from other citizens of Quinn.

Novak bows in a dignified manner to the people at the table and starts the negotiations. “I hope that all of you had a good rest, so that we can continue our conversation from yesterday.”

In fact we already met with the royal family of Quinn, but the meeting yesterday consisted only of polite introductions and very carefully handled small talk. Talking about the weather would've been far more interesting.

The queen continues from there. “As you probably already deduced, we invited you to ask for a... deeper relationship between our countries. The recent events have shown us that the seed of the old Empire isn't dead. It'll take more than a single country to stand up to that.”

The Great Shaman taps with his index finger onto the table. “So you guys are in trouble. Are a few barbarians and southerners too much for you?”

I fight hard in order to suppress my reflex to talk up to the Great Shaman. Dwem would be in a tight situation too if it wasn't for the assistance of my clan. Having an assured supply of exactly the right resources saved their asses.

The old female advisor of the Great Shaman smiles and tries to mediate between the parties. “What our esteemed Great Shaman wants to say is that we aren't entirely sure if it's the right choice to help a country like yours. Our ideologies are very different and in conflict with each other.”

Novak nods slowly. “I see where you are coming from, but the threat we are facing has to be dealt with above everything else. I don't want the old times to return where Quinn had to fight for its very survival day by day. We are an old nation and since Nict... hrm, my apologies.” His eyes flick in our direction. “The old Empire tried to subdue us with all their abilities. That forced great austerity onto our nation and the fear of magic and its users grew with every year.”

He looks onto the table. “The radical elements of our belief were created in those times of endless war and the absence of magic in our holy books led to the belief that the means by which our enemy is working are evil. It's very hard to deviate from our path by now. The population is very firm in their belief and even someone like me can't stand up to overthrow what was practised for generations.”

Ajax raises his head to assist his father. “And even if you are thinking that we are handling the matter the wrong way, should we simply bow down to people like you? Only because you have an unusual ability with which you can kill others with a thought. It's nothing else than giving in to being threatened with a weapon. People who wield such powers have to be subdued for the greater good of everyone.”

I draw a deep breath, but Azir is faster than me. “But strangely enough the societies with those people in power aren't worse off than yours.”

Ajax snorts and crosses his arms in front of his chest. “Luck. If you had suffered the concentrated attacks of the enemy forces you wouldn't be able to sit here smiling. Our people defended their cities with everything they had. I heard about Nict's policy. You are very skilled at hiding in your fortress cities.”

Lucas smirks and places his hands on the table. “Which is a smart approach if you have the required defensive structures.”

“In any case. We would be very grateful if you consider working together with us.” Giana smiles at the assembled people, trying to get eye-contact with everyone.

“What would this 'working together' look like.” The Great Shaman asks warily.

“We need assistance at our northern borders. It's hard to keep the barbarians in check. Troops and resources would be very welcome.” King Novak admits subdued.

“No.” The Great Shaman answers immediately. “Dwem doesn't negotiate with people who are suppressing their own citizens. It's our way of life to give everyone the same chances. We can't accept those values being completely ignored.”

Novak's eyes wander to Lucas who tilts his head and purses his lips. Of course my father will decline too. Even if Novak gave us a nice little explanation for their actions, they are still being committed as we speak.

“Okay.”

He will- “Dad!?” I call out, turning to my father who raises his left hand to stop me and everyone else at the table.

“Nict will help you. You are binding the enemy's forces, it would be stupid to give up a distraction as large as Quinn.” He takes a deep breath. “But we want to be paid.”

Novak raises his eyebrow while the Great Shaman looks angrily at us, we just stabbed him in his back even though we are supposed to be his allies.

The queen of Quinn leans forward and asks with a dreadful voice. “Didn't you listen to us? We are the ones who need resources and troops. How should we pay you? Do you want to steal our technology?”

“What a waste of time hrgh-” I cuff Azir before he can speak any further. They don't have to know that their toys are no mystery to him.

Lucas smiles and shakes his head. “We can build fortresses and castles within days. We can turn dirt to metal, why should we need your resources? I admit that some pieces of your technology are very interesting, but what we want is something completely different.”

He pauses dramatically. “Give us your cursed. All of them.”

Leon gasps, slamming his fist onto the table. “You want slaves?”

Lucas shrugs his shoulders and smiles dirtily. “You have assets which you aren't using properly. We would be very happy to welcome them to our society. Give us all your cursed ones who aren't too settled in their ways as priests of the goddess. Announce that everyone who is hiding his magic is welcome to relocate to Nict. They can also bring their relatives.”

“Ohoho?” Now even the Great Shaman starts smiling.

Of course! Even though Quinn has a bigger population than Nict, they have a much lower percentage of magicians due to generations of persecution. The magical bloodlines which survived till this day have to be extremely strong. After all they are still creating magicians even though they should have been dwindled down into nothingness.

Every clan in Nict would welcome such children and their relatives with open arms. There will surely be social problems, but I doubt that we are speaking about outrageous numbers. We are weakening Quinn and gaining strength at the same time. Of course those individuals have to be taught first, but even a weak magician with only basic knowledge can earn his share.

King Novak licks slowly over his lips. Obviously he is fighting for a decision. “I suppose... if I talk to the priests and announce a decree... we could banish the evil cursed ones and throw them out of the country instead of dirtying ourselves with them.”

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