Rathlands [Monster Hunter] [ENG]

Chapter 16 (Astalian POV)

Two brief knocks were heard through the heavy throne room's door.

"Your Majesty, I shall deliver to you a letter from the Emperor of the Skypiercers," Astalian announced from the other side of the door.

"Come in, Astalian," she heard the reply, as two Seltas guards opened the door.

She walked up to Khryselios and greeted him with a respectful bow.

"Hello. A letter, you say? What would he want from me?" the monarch wondered, his eyes filled with confusion.

"Teostra alone knows" said the general while rising and holding out the letter in question. "But it seems unlikely to be a demonstration of hostility."

The silver Rathalos nodded thoughtfully, then opened the envelope which bore the Skypiercer seal. His eyes gazed intensely at its content. His face showed no particular emotion, but the Astalos sensed the perplexity of his sovereign.

"It is a ... cordial greeting" he declared, pretty lost about the whole thing.

"A ... Greeting?" the general repeated curiously.

"In any case, it is the only thing that one can affirm" resumed the king, frowning slightly. "He looks like he wants to propose an agreement, but he is only suggesting the possibility. He's strangely cautious, that's my feeling. I know very little about Emperor Etrapanob, but I think I can say that he is not fully innocent. He is looking for something, but does not wish to make it explicit for some reason."

"If I may say so, Your Majesty, why do this?"

"I don't know, would he be so suspicious as to fear espionage? The hypothesis is relevant, but honestly, I believe that Rakurians are more caught up in military preparations. It is true that Rakurai proved his baseness by the murder of my daughter, on the other hand, which could support Etrapanob's unstated argument... Perhaps we should invite him to discuss this directly... If he accepts the invitation, not only will it tell us that he indeed feared enemy's espionage, but it will also allow us to obtain further information. The Skypiercers have a lot to offer, it seems... "

"About the war?"

"For example."

The sovereign rose slowly, then asked for a quill and a sheet of paper which he put on his desk.

"I will write this invitation" he declared while returning towards her. "But before that, I need to have this meeting about the current situation, hm? Do you think you can tell me when Tinarg will arrive, Astalian?"

"Soon, Your Majesty. I was only a little early to deliver this letter."

"Well," he sighed quietly "it seems that this time we have been saved by some kind of providence," the monarch breathed, thoughtfully, his gaze wandering on the ground. "I doubt we'll be so lucky next time," he added, raising his garnet irises.

Astalian swayed from one foot to the other.

"It was... It was Gamala, wasn't it?"

The king of the Rathlands nodded imperceptibly. Astalian looked down, confused.

"The outrage he spoke of... It's that mutilated soldier we're talking about. The one they found at the bottom of a precipice in the Rathien plains. So it is indeed the work of a Rakurian. We also now know that it is one of Rakurai's sons."

"One more proof that confirms the guilt of this damn rotten dog! grumbled the silver Rathalos. "And he dares to deny responsibility for my daughter's death? What an infamous individual... He stirs up the knife in the wound, and worsens his case, to persist thus to humiliate us!"