Enlightened Empire

Between the armies of the south and center, two different banners closed in on one another. On one side was Corco’s new silver triquetra on purple, and on the other was the diving eagle of House Rupilo. Although both were carried by Medalan warriors around a noble leader, the men below the banners were very different. While Corco had not brought the best combatants among his men, his scouts were especially mobile and still more than capable of defending him in case of an ambush. They were dressed to serve their function. Practical armor that would let them move quickly to intercept attacks on their king were accompanied by medium-sized, oval shields and short axes, ideal for defensive combat in a small group. In their front walked their king, himself in lamellar armor with a simple, full bronze helmet on his head.

On the other hand, Rupilo’s side looked like a group of lords on a leisurely stroll through the countryside. One of the five warrior attendants Lord Rupilo had brought was his standard bearer, while the other four carried Rupilo’s open palanquin. With the elaborate designs on their armors of gold and lacquer black and their fancy, ornamental axes, none of the warriors looked like they were armed for combat. All of were more akin to honor guards. Commander Rupilo himself sat atop his mobile throne like a fat, lazy cat. His armor was made of gold and cloth, with small silver mirrors weaved into it, while his helmet was an open-faced monstrosity in the form of an eagle.

*Like a halloween costume. A tacky one,* Corco thought.

The reason Rupilo only had five warriors with him instead of the more usual ten was because he hadn’t come alone. Apart from Rupilo, three more lords had gone to meet Corco, each with their own servants by their side. Although they looked slightly more competent since they had come on their own two feet, their armors still screamed ostentation. Either way, it appeared as if these lords were not content with Rupilo’s command of their troops or they wouldn’t have come along. Maybe there was a chance to get more out of this meeting than Corco had first thought.

As tensions rose, the two groups came to a halt several steps apart from one another. For a while no one talked, as the warriors of Lord Rupilo slowly let down their lord, who remained seated despite the standing king in his front.

"You couldn’t have gone any more tacky, could you? Maybe should have put some red flame decals on the sides of that thing to make it go faster," Corco mused.

"Rather than red, the purple of the king’s new banner is not blatant enough, is it? Does he wish to spread his name as the merchant king with this display of wealth?"

Despite his dismissive words and his attempt at a superior attitude, Rupilo’s voice was just a touch higher than Corco remembered and he was curled up in his seat as if to shy away from the king’s presence.

"If you can make your banners purple you’re free to do so as well," Corco laughed. "But I guess you’re happy with your eagle, huh? Wearing that thing all proud on your head, what a strange man you are."

As soon as Corco made reference to the Rupilo family banner, the lord’s face turned red in anger and shame. Back during the last civil war, the lord’s father had shown the sort of opportunism which seemed to be ingrained in their family’s blood. As a result, then Emperor Titu, in accordance with the nobles’ assembly, had forced the old Lord Rupilo to abdicate and had also turned their banner upside down. While a diving falcon still looked imposing to outsiders, for the Yaku the beast was turned away from the heavens and towards the underworld, an inauspicious sign that the house was headed in the wrong direction. At least Rupilo still had some shame left in his body, so he squirmed in his seat at the mention of his family’s inglorious history and remained silent. Still, there were other lords to pick up their commander’s slack.

"King Corcopaca. It has been a long time since we have met." Another lord said as he stepped forward. Since he wasn’t the commander, he was out of tune, but Corco still welcomed him with a smile.

"Yes, we have not met ever since the nobles’ assembly, Lord Fulcinius. I am glad to see you well."

One by one, Corco exchanged pleasantries with the three lords who had come with Rupilo. Some of them were old allies from the succession war while others were old enemies, but the king treated all of them with respect and familiarity. All the while, Rupilo’s warriors created a wall between Corco and their lord, despite their unfit equipment.

Unlike him, the king still boldly stood out in the open and spoke freely.

"Lord Rupilo, we didn’t have much of a conversation during the assembly, did we? In fact, we haven’t talked much ever since that banquet before my father’s second funeral."

Even hidden behind his guards, Rupilo looked like a cornered rat. How could a single man sweat this much, in this weather no less?

"King Corco, this lord wishes to apologize for the incident back then. Never did this lord intend to offend King Corco or Governor Saqartu."

"Oh, you wanna apologize now that I’ve brought an army?" Corco’s smile widened. "Okay, I forgive you. In return, just lay down your arms and surrender."

"King Corco seems to have developed a fancy for humor." A nervous laugh accompanied Rupilo’s attempt at levity, but Corco’s smile faded in response.

"...why would I be joking? You think I would give a shit about your fake apology? On the other hand, I really don’t want to kill any of our people and stoke animosity further, not if I can avoid it. Remember what I said when I came back: We’re surrounded by enemies, and unless we unite, we will be swallowed by the change that has come over Medala and the world. I don’t want to drag this war out further and see your people tread all over your own people to feed your ambition. Lay down your arms now, and we can throw out the Arcavian merchants and Chutwa scholars and reform the empire to the benefit of the Yaku people."

Of course Corco wouldn’t have talked like that if he had been accompanied by his wolf mercenaries, but now they were among Yaku. Even though he wasn’t that adamant about keeping out the ’evil’ foreigners, he wasn’t lying: From the moment he had seen how much influence foreign powers had in Medala, it had been his goal to reduce the influence of nations like Chutwa and Borna on their internal politics. Considering the kinds of people his fellow kings had surrounded themselves with, he was the obvious choice of king if the other lords wanted the same.

"Why would such an honor be bestowed to King Corco?" Although he still seemed uncomfortable, Rupilo managed to refute the king’s claim. "After all, out of all the kings, King Corco has spent the longest time away from Medala. Just look at the army the king has brought. Just how many foreigners are within it?"

"I never said we don’t need the foreign influence." Corco shook his head. "I’m not speaking for the Ancestral Hall after all, I just don’t want our future be determined by some foreign king. What we need is to make use of the new ideas from the east and the west and make them our own. It’s the only way to go if we don’t want to be swallowed by the waves about to hit us from both shores. That’s why my army uses modern weapons and modern tactics. Remember what I said after I beat your king half to death: To the victor go the spoils. With your antiquated troops, you can’t win this battle, and I don’t want to kill my own people. That’s why you get this chance to stand down."

As the king spoke, Rupilo developed a deep frown. Although Corco thought his words were sensible, he only really addressed the other lords and never tried to appeal to their paranoid commander. No matter what, Rupilo would never change his opinion, since he would always fear Corco’s retaliation. As predicted, the lord looked back to his troops for a moment, before his features firmed up.

"King Corco seems to have made a mistake. The men behind this great commander are merely a fraction of King Pachacutec’s troops and already our numbers as well as our imposing aura are superior to King Corco’s men. Soon, King Pachacutec’s men will appear behind, and they will wipe out your forces. It appears the king’s position is not nearly as strong as he pretends it to be."

Corco only blinked in confusion at the lord’s outrageous statements. Why would Rupilo tell him their entire plan, no matter how obvious it was?

"It seems like King Corco has now understood how dire his situation is," Rupilo said, emboldened by Corco’s silence. "In that case, it would be best for King Corco and his men to surrender now. Maybe King Pachacutec will show mercy with his brother once he appears."

"Why would you ever tell me your plans?" Since he couldn’t come up with any logical reason, in the end the king had to ask. Rupilo’s eyes grew large and his voice pitched even higher.

"There is nothing you can do even if you know!"

"You understand that I marched towards you, right?" he almost shouted as he pointed out his opponent’s nonsense argument. "You think I did that if I thought my army wasn’t able to beat yours? I’m here to smash apart your troops, before Pacha can come back to save you. Why would I come here if I wasn’t confident in doing that? Once I found out that you had split your army in three I even picked you on purpose, cause out of all three commanders, you’re the most useless one."

"No matter what you say, your tricks and empty words will not work on this lord."

As Rupilo stubbornly stuck to his fantasy, Corco calmed down and observed him in more detail. From the sweat and the nervous hand movements, to the high-pitched voice, at last Rupilo’s actions made sense. With a smile, Corco focused even harder on the increasingly fidgety lord.

"I get it now, you never wanted to be the commander. Did you piss off my good uncle Pacha somehow? In the end, you’re just scared. You’ve been a coward all your life, and now you’re afraid that I’ve come back to take revenge for your latest transgression. That’s why you blurt out all your strategies, and it’s why you’re hiding behind your honor guard: You want your new master to protect you and you pretend strength to make me back off. But you seem to forget: I’ve already beaten your master twice, and I can do it again, as many times as I want. Whatever you say, I will make you pay for your actions at uncle’s last moments. No dying man should have to see all his work crumble before him like that, least of all someone as great as him."

"Outrageous! This lord has always been one of great honor, and fears no one. You are just an unproven brat, how could you lead anyone!?" Rupilo’s words would have been much more convincing if his high-pitched voice didn’t crack halfway through his denial, or if he at least had the gall to stand.

"You really are a bastard, and deserve what’s coming to you, but not everyone does. What about all these brave warriors on the hill behind you? Most of them are not even the men of House Rupilo. Are you really ruthless enough to sacrifice brave Yaku just to preserve your own life?" As Corco spoke, he could see the other lords around the commander frown.

"I think there is a better way," the king continued, "so how about this: To set aside our differences we fight it out in a duel, just the two of us. You get to show this ’unproven brat’ just what a real warrior is like and you can even restore your honor by beating me. And if you lose, your army stands down and doesn’t get involved in the war anymore. Perfect, right?"

"Impossible! King Pachacutec would never allow it!"

"Who gives a shit what Pacha wants or not? Those aren’t his warriors either. Is he some kind of absolute ruler that he can decide the fate of his lords’ servants?"

He glanced over at the other lords who had grown more and more hesitant throughout the conversation, now more than ever unhappy with their representative. Before Rupilo could even answer, the king made his next offer.

"Okay, you don’t want a duel, cause you’re afraid I’ll kick your ass. I get it. Then how about a stargazing brawl? We haven’t had one of those in a while. You pick one hundred of your best men, and I pick whatever I have lying around. Again, you only need to risk your own men and won’t harm anyone else with your incompetence, and this time you don’t even have to die if you lose. Sound fair? I think so too."

Rupilo’s eyes rolled around in their sockets as the lord thought about his chances. However, when he saw Corco’s grin, his face turned pale. He must have remembered the one-sided stargazing brawl between Corco and Pacha back during the succession war.

"King Corco, this is a proper war," he stubbornly squeezed out between his teeth. "The time for polite duels has long passed. We will not move from this spot, not until the rebellious south has been pacified by the great King Pachacutec."

"That so, huh?" Corco peeked at the other lords. "Lord Fulcinius, what do you think about your commander’s plan? Wasting your men in a pointless conflict for some king who doesn’t care about you? Just to protect the safety of a coward?"

From the start, he had never expected Rupilo to play along with any talks of duels. All this time, he had been more interested in the opinions of the other lords, who would risk their warriors under the command of a cowardly oaf. Although they didn’t answer Corco, they didn’t look hostile and didn’t contradict his claims either.

"King Corco, these simple ploys to splinter our resolve can only fail. We will continue to stand firm together." Instead, Rupilo spoke for them, eliciting more frowns from his allies.

"Sure, you do that. In that case, I guess we’ll see each other on the battlefield. See you soon, and best of luck. You’ll need it."

With those words, the king gave a lazy wave, turned and left. Once he had returned to the top of the hill, Corco was greeted by his attendant.

"So it appears the negotiations were not fruitful?" Tama asked.

"Well, I never thought they’d actually make way for us. Rupilo is way too scared and way too dependent on Pacha to make such a bold decision all by himself. Still, I wouldn’t say that nothing came of the meeting. The other lords around Rupilo looked less and less happy about his attitude the longer the talks went. Although he says they stand together, let’s see how long their alliance lasts once things go south. Plus, after his cowardly actions, the other lords will demand some kind of response from Rupilo. If he isn’t a complete idiot, he has to send out at least his skirmishers for some token prodding, unless he wants to completely ruin the morale of his men."

"Movement from the front! Enemy skirmishers are advancing towards our position."

"And here we go. Have our flintlock muskets meet them... and make sure to keep an eye on their shock infantry. I’m not gonna have us be complacent and allow them to flank us."

"Understood, King Corco."

As Tama relayed his orders, the king stared down the hill, where around one hundred warriors with bow and arrow were ready to force Corco’s troops into action. At the same time, his own musketeers moved into position halfway up the hill. Sending skirmishers to start the battle was a move as standard in Medala as Rupilo’s troop deployment had been. By the end of the day, Corco expected the lord to learn a lot about modern warfare.