Saga of a New World - (Audiobook Available)

26. A Mage's Mind: Southern Shores

Novi is on the Dominator. They left their longboat back at Dark Heart Lookout and have taken the Master's ship. The little kobold is not with them though. Apparently, the local Governor wants to talk with the elves and paid a lot of money and spent a lot of time figuring out a way to contact them. Or at least someone like them. Against his own better judgment, their Patriarch was convinced to humor the Governor's request. Novi hates how willing her new house seems to be to cooperate with everyone. She can understand the reasoning behind allowing non-elves to join their ranks, but not why they would enter a lion's den like that. This whole thing feels like a trap, but she couldn't allow Fohr to accompany the Patriarch on his own. So now they're on their way to the city of Paradise Falls. At least she has a new outfit. Unlike her makeshift robes, this one is more like a dress. In front of her legs, the fabric has been cut, allowing her to move a bit more freely.

"So what exactly does the Governor want from us?" she asks the Captain.

He lets out a long, exasperated breath and says, "I already told the others. I don't know. The Governor's men tracked down one of my men and told him to spread the word that whoever manages to get the Governor an audience with any elven warbands, Border Lord mercenary troops or pirate crews would be rewarded. I do have a theory though. There's been a lot of turmoil in the Confederation recently. The Divine Emperor recently died. Perhaps dying is not the right word; he became inert. At least that's what I heard. None of his sons succeeded in the Path to Ascension. Half of them just disappeared and the other half perished trying to ascend the Dark Mountain."

Novi's head snaps up. "Wait. The Destroyer is dead? Are you saying there is no one sitting on the Golden Throne? The Confederation has no Emperor?"

"As I understood it, he is dead and there is no real heir. As for the Golden Throne, after his sons all proved either too cowardly to attempt, or too incompetent to take the Path to Ascension, his eldest daughter simply sat down on it and declared herself the new Empress. The whole realm is in chaos now. There have been many more attempts to ascend the mountain, but as far as I know, they all ended up joining the ranks of the Lost. With no Divine Emperor to hold it together, the Confederation is falling apart. The leaders of the Confederate Legion – and more importantly, the Association of Mages – have sworn their allegiance to the new Empress, but only a few of the city-states have accepted her rule, and just as many Centurions and Magisters were already unhappy before this happened."

"So what does that have to do with us?" Novi asks.

"Patience. You want the whole thing or not? Anyway, without the threat of a Divine Emperor and his Eternals coming to kick down their doors, many regions are rebelling against the Golden Throne. Especially the southern Governors, who were originally Kings and forced into the Confederation, are now declaring their independence. The only problem is, they have money, but no real armies anymore. Their local militias are not strong enough to take on legionaries from the Confederate Army, and the ones occupying these lands seem as loyal as ever. Without any magic to throw at the Association mages, they don't stand a chance, and if things take too long, those lizards from across the desert might see the war as an easy way to get new slaves."

Novi smiles. "That's where we come in." This is unbelievably good news. After the Destroyer was nearly destroyed himself casting the Iceborn Curse, he never tried to take the mountains again. The war the elves fought and still fight was more a battle for survival than anything. They all knew that the moment they actually took a city or built a large settlement the legionaries couldn't easily take down, the Destroyer would simply travel north and annihilate them. Now that he is gone and there's no one to succeed him, their clans have a chance to return from the mountains and do more than just attack a random village or two.

"Exactly. Together with the local merfolk, we've been providing these lands with black market enchanted items for years. Mostly runes and small weapons. Recently, though, people I presume are from the Governor have been ordering excessive amounts of enchanted weapons. If the Governor manages to recruit your clan as his magic support and equips at least part of his militia with these, he might stand a chance against the troops the Confederation has stationed here."