Enlightened Empire

Despite the new furniture, the surroundings were still familiar to Corco. The cloud courtyard of the Pluritac mansion had been transformed into a deliberation court for the nobles’ assembly. Tables had been set up in a large circle, the lords of Medala seated along them. The talks had started in the morning, with the official proposal from the ancestral hall: The princes would split the powers of the emperor and form a triumvirate.

The ancestors would step back and all politics of the Medala Empire would be decided by the three princes together. Every time a proposal would be brought forth, at least two of the three princes would have to agree to turn it into law. Of course, the princes would need concrete power as well, in the form of actual territory. How else could they guarantee that the lords would still listen to Arguna? Thus, all parts of the Pluritac estate would be divided up between the princes and they would each get administrative rights for a third of the country at the provincial level. It was exactly where the sticking point was now, hours in, with the sun ready to set.

"The suggestion of the ancestor’s is ridiculous! How could this be considered an equal distribution!?" Lord Betucio had long left his chair and shouted his opinions out into the court without reserve. Throughout the day, he had been one of the most vocal men at the table. Corco did his best to not lean away from his neighbor. He didn’t want to seem impolite by tilting away from his firm allies, even though the shouting had really been getting on his nerves.

"Surely Lord Betucio would prefer a different king after his betrayal, is that not correct?" The biting voice of Amautu answered from across the tables. His complaint was justified. After Lord Betucio had switched sides over to Corco’s faction, he would now, under the current agreement, be subordinate to Prince Amautu, who would take on the administration of the northern portion of Medala.

"Prince Amautu, this Lord would like to ask then: Does prince believe the current agreement to be a fair distribution?"

Amautu looked down on his nails while he answered in a blasé voice.

"Why not? The northern isle of Sinchay gets split between me and the third prince. Arguna seems to be a fair enough place to make the split as well. Meanwhile, our oldest brother, as the oldest heir and the only Pluritac with southern lineage, fully deserves to own all of Sachay, half the land of the empire. Is this not true fairness?"

"What outrageous nonsense! Who would want those frozen wastes, no matter their size!? And what estate will Prince Corco be left with? Just some swampland, a fortress and a worthless town! Yet prince refuses to acknowledge the facts! It is no wonder lords would lose faith in such a petty ruler!"

Betucio almost climbed over the table as he called out Amautu for his hypocrisy. It was fortunate that the two were so far apart, or else he would have strangled his former liege. The second prince, meanwhile, seemed entirely nonplussed by the governor’s attitude. Even further enraged by the complete dismissal from across the table, Betucio was about to vault over, to the bemused stares of the other lords.

"Lord Betucio!"

When Corco called out, his eyes never left his brother’s across the tables. He could see the mocking smile within, and answered it with a small wink. Of course Corco couldn’t let the governor continue. No matter what, Betucio’s outburst would never be to their camp’s advantage. For now, he had the majority of the lords on his side, but that would change right quick if one of his loyalists attacked another prince.

"We should calm down," the first prince continued, "since bickering will lead nowhere. Just take a look at the map. Splitting the land along the Sachay/Sinchay border seems like a natural choice to me."

There were uncomfortable murmurs from behind Corco. Most of the lords who had chosen to side with the first prince were not from the south and would be in trouble under a different king.

"However..."

Still, Corco would alleviate their concerns. He looked around the court, First to Amautu on his left, who still pretended to be indifferent, even though his tensed body told Corco how wary he was of the next words. Across the circle, Pachacutec was leaned forward, with his palms pressed onto the table.

The peacock had spread his feathers and was ready to intimidate any invaders, should they dare enter his territory. Villca on his right was very much a politician, in contrast to the two kids who led the other factions. He sat with a polite posture, seemingly eager to listen to Corco’s suggestion and ready to talk. Corco’s lips twitched ever so slightly. He hadn’t forgotten what kind of debt the man carried, but he had promised his uncle: No revenge until the end of succession. So he simply continued his argument.

"However, in terms of economics, the split is truly unfair. Everyone here knows that – and I really shouldn’t have to say it – but here it goes. Sachay houses none of the precious mines within the Sallqata mountain range. The cold weather and hilly terrain make farming difficult. Plus, Sachay’s lands don’t even hold a fourth of Medala’s population."

"Ah, but you already said that you wouldn’t challenge the decision! How much does your word count now?"

Corco’s shoulders slumped and he pursed his lips in annoyance. The blaring mouth – eager to find holes in his presumed facade – could only have belonged to the peacock. A look back over and Corco could see him in the same posture Lord Betucio had been in before, with a triumphant grin on his face. To break the stalemate between the princes, a heavy hand landed on Pacha’s broad shoulder. The prince turned to look at his uncle, Divitius Ichilia, who shook his head with a solemn face. The two men stared at each other for a second, before the unwilling Pacha clenched his teeth and took a seat again. His nephew reigned in, Lord Ichilia gestured for Corco to continue.

"I didn’t plan to challenge the split suggested by the ancestors. What I’m concerned about, first and foremost, are the nobles in this room. Many lords here have supported one of the princes during succession, which means that many will find themselves within territory controlled by someone they opposed. Clearly that’s a problem. We can’t start the reign of the kings with bad blood everywhere."

Many lords nodded their heads, gratified. Even the ones who hadn’t been impacted by the circumstances wouldn’t mind seeing their rights strengthened.

"So here’s my suggestion: As the first order of the new triumvirate, right after it has been formed, we the kings will announce a new decree that no lord shall be punished by any of the newly crowned kings for their involvement in the succession. If punishment still happens, and can be proven, the harmed lord will be free to choose a new king to swear loyalty to, effectively changing the administration of the lord’s estate to one of the other two members of the triumvirate."

Finally, Corco managed to make Amautu look up at him. He must have been shocked by the bold move. Even Villca seemed to break facade as he narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. It was no surprise Corco’s opponents reacted like this, with one exception. Nothing could change Pacha’s hurt appearance as he was still sulking from his uncle’s silent reprimand. Corco’s move was one-sidedly in favor of the lords, strengthening their powers in favor of new kings. It would protect Corco’s allies within the lands of the other kings and even gave him the legal means to usurp their land in the future. And yet, there was nothing the other parties could do, not if they wanted to offend all lords of Medala.

"This lord supports the motion," Villca shouted across the yard.

"This prince is in agreement," Amautu added with a frown.

All eyes moved towards the still pouting Prince Pacha, who had since crossed his arms and turned his head, determined to ignore Lord Ichilia who repeatedly poked him with his elbow. Finally, the lord gave up and turned to the waiting audience to answer in his nephew’s stead.

"Prince Pacha is willing to agree to the conditions of Prince Corco."

At least the peacock didn’t make any more of a scene, so the assembly could continue.

"In that case, shall we cast the votes?" Amautu tried to move the audience along, as he finally seemed more alert than before. At this point, he would want to get the assembly over with, before there were any more surprises.

Of course, this wasn’t something his older brother would play along with. Corco put on his best ’I-wouldn’t-hurt-a-fly’ smile. A cold wind blew through the open court to run a shiver down everyone’s spine. They had all seen this look before, and it usually meant that the prince was anything but harmless.

"Aaah, you’re making jokes again, bro. Such a jokester you are. No, we have talked about the issues of the lords just now. This has nothing to do with me though, has it? I have been shafted by the distribution, that’s something we can all agree on, right?"

"Prince Corco, the land in question will not become the personal possession of the kings. It will still be owned by the estates, just as before," Villca’s deep voice sounded out to refute. "All the kings will gain from a larger administration would be a duty to protect the estates within, with the right to raise taxes or an army once an outside threat arises. With the smaller citizenry of Sachay, prince will only have less work to handle in times of peace, while in times of war this lord can guarantee that even with lower numbers, the warriors of the south won’t lose out to anyone."

The lord’s voice had grown ever deeper as his chest rose to show his pride. A snort from his right and his head snapped around to stare down Pacha, who answered Villca’s angry eyes with defiance. As nice as it would have been to see the two parties fight, Corco wouldn’t let them derail the proceedings. Not before he had gained an advantage for himself. So he did his best to refocus everyone’s gaze onto himself

"Of course it’s true that the new kings are only administrators, but what about the Pluritac estate? According to the agreement, the princes will receive the Pluritac land within their administration, excluding Arguna, which will be administered together. So what land can I expect from the south exactly?"

A silence had fallen over the proceedings. It was something the other princes had wanted to brush under the carpet, but everyone knew very well where the problem lay.

"Apart from Qarasi castle, the only land under Pluritac control within all of Sachay would be Saniya, brought over by my mother as part of her dowry. A small town, surrounded by swamp and dead trees. I wonder, just who thought this distribution was even the least bit fair?"

Corco still held onto his harmless smile. He had to. Otherwise, he really couldn’t prevent himself from showing his true feelings. In elation, he thought back to his mother’s land. From his perspective, it was a perfect place to start his revolution. It seemed almost impossible to imagine a better spot and now the treasured land had fallen right into his lap. Of course he wouldn’t let anyone know the truth. How else would he extort his brothers then?

"So what? That’s what the ancestors have decided." Pacha turned his anger from Villca over to Corco. "Not to mention, there would be little use in a territory deep within the lands of another king. Giving brother more land would be pointless so long as the ruled lands remain unchanged."

Amautu leaned back in his chair, his arms folded and hidden within his sleeves. Corco looked between the two, his smile unwavering. Of course the half-brothers would insist on their advantage, but Corco didn’t want any extra land in the first place.

"I’m not interested in more territory. I understand that it can’t be done, not unless we want to jeopardize the whole agreement. Still, there should be some compensation, right?"

He decided to ignore Pacha and looked right at Amautu for an answer instead. This one understood politics, at least.

"Of course, so long as the compensation is not excessive."

"It isn’t, no worries. There’s only two things I want: I want guarantees from both kings, after their coronation, in front of the collected lords, that they will allow my people to do trade within their administration for one year. For the full year, you can limit goods flowing out, but not flowing in. That shouldn’t be excessive, right?"

Both princes frowned, one in thought, the other in annoyance. In the end, the smarter of the two nodded his head.

"It is within reasonable bounds. Then what about the second demand?"

"The second is even easier, and will have no harmful effects for any of your new kingdoms. It’ll even make your jobs easier. After coronation, right as our second action in office, I want us to rescind the law which forces commoners to wear short sleeves."

A murmur rose within the assembly. Since the ancestral hall had first coined the law, this was something no one had wanted to speak of. Too much blood had been spilled in the last conflict between the isles and no one was willing to repeat the same so soon, yet at the same time, scars still ran deep and many northern lords secretly welcomed the discrimination.

"Ridiculous!" Finally, Pacha had stopped acting like a child and returned to the conversation with a bang. Once again, he was hunched over like a predator, the surrounding torches playing dark shadows on his lowered face. "The rules were established by the ancestors to combat the pirates. Does this mean the southerner intends to support the pirates and risk offending the Chutwa Empire?"

Corco looked at his brother, who for once had managed to make a sound argument. He had found a good excuse to reject the new law, insulted Corco and brought Amautu over to his side, all in one sentence. Corco’s eyes narrowed. He wouldn’t back down from this. If he wanted to rule Medala in the future, it could only be one people. He had to stop the segregation, now. It was important to him, even just for his own morality’s sake.

Corco stood up, fast enough to make the heavy chair behind him fall with a bang. He looked to his opposite, to the uncle who was so hellbent on causing strife between their people, to draw borders between north and south. Corco raised his left and grabbed onto the cloth which covered his right shoulder. Then he grabbed onto his left shoulder with his right. Under Pacha’s confused look, Corco breathed in to heave up his chest and pulled with force. The sleeves of his expensive blue robe came apart at the seams as Corco pulled them down onto his forearms, to reveal his toned arms and the tattoo markings which completely covered every inch of his biceps.

"So am I a pirate too? Look, I have tattoos. Better lock me up and throw away the key."

A silence fell over the assembly as Corco’s sarcastic response had pulled the veil from the lies of Pacha, just like he had pulled away the cloth which had covered his arms. Everyone knew that the law had been a transparent ploy for the ancestors to target the Sachay and single them out, but no one had been bold enough to talk about it.

Pacha’s face turned red as he took a deep breath. Corco was prepared for his uncle’s ill-advised tirade, but a tearing sound from the right stopped his brother, just in time. Titus Rupilo, one of the Sachay lords, had followed Corco’s example and wore his sleeves on his forearms to expose his heritage, for all to see. Another tear from the right and Corco saw another lord take a stand, and another one. With a big grin on his face, Villca stood up as well and with a generous gesture ripped apart his own cloth. He turned towards Corco and gave a cordial nod, but the prince was too busy focusing on Pacha to pay attention to his uncle’s murderer. As he looked around the court, the third prince’s face scrounged up as if he had crunched down on a lemon. Even the dim peacock should understand that it would be stupid to push so many lords into Corco’s camp, especially since many of the southerners were still neutral, seated by Villca’s side.

"...fine. But the southerners bear the burdens once there is trouble with the Chutwa."

"That will not be a problem. Since this prince has excellent connections within the Chutwa Empire, he will make them aware of Medala’s plight and seek lenience in case of an accident."

Amautu had spoken up with impeccable timing. Corco didn’t begrudge his brother the little favor he had just sold to the southern lords. By now, the results of the assembly had been decided. Corco had gained favor from the lords, favor from the people and the perfect land to start his revolution. Soon the flames of wisdom would spread like an inferno and cover all of Yakuallpa.

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