Arith Longyhael was a patient man yet this was taking it too far. Lord Kannervi, one of the Emperor's men, was supposed to meet him eleven hours ago. It made no sense to him. Both of them had agreed on a set time and destination. Why would he miss it if their meeting was so important? The Emperor wants me to be his advisor so he gets one of his men to recruit me and they do not even show up. What excellent communication skills the Emperor must have. If Lord Kannervi had shown up, Arith would have followed him back to the Emperor's Palace to meet who he would be serving. Arith's father talked so much about the Dimont family to the point where it bored him as a child however he had never had the pleasure of meeting the Oppressor of Aevuhan. Khavat's population strongly disliked the royals. The royal that was supposed to lead them was replaced with the leader of the Chaosguard. Mr Denton had polluted Khavat and Lord Kannervi could have helped Arith escape from it. He checked the time, watching the hands move slowly. Seconds felt like years. I am fed up with this waiting. If the Emperor wants me to be his advisor then he will expect me at his palace nevertheless. Arith put on a thick black overcoat, shaved his long beard and put a comb through his hair. He was going to see the Emperor and if he was not careful with his words, the Emperor could make them his last. It was highly unlikely due to the fact that his father before him worked for the Dimont family though power could have blinded the Emperor like it did to everyone else. He stepped into a carriage, gave the driver some coins and then waited patiently until he arrived at the castle.
***
It was midday by the time Arith had arrived at the Etheria. The Emperor did not permit anyone turning up to his palace in a carriage. He had made sure that his guards always enforced this rule. So, Arith walked up the hill on foot. It was steeper than he had expected, it was probably just because he was getting older. Arith was to turn forty five in October- the same age his father had been when he had started serving the Emperor's father. After a few minutes of panting like a dog, Arith had made it to the golden gates of the palace. Two guards stood in front of them with spears in their hands.
"State your name and purpose here. If we find that you are trespassing, you will be thrown in the dungeons. The Emperor does not take kindly to trespassers." The Sargi held his spear firmly for most of the time people who visited the gates were trespassers. Arith reckoned he could still take both of them in a fight but that was only if they denied him access to the palace.
"My name is Arith Longyhael. The Emperor may have expected to see me with Lord Kannervi however he did not meet me at our designated spot. I came here alone because I was supposed to talk to the Emperor about the possibility of me being his new royal advisor. Now I would appreciate it if you opened these gates and stopped wasting even more of my time."
"Arith Longyhael. Forgive me, sir, I did not realise it was you. I will inform the Emperor that you are ready to see him. Give me a few moments, sir. Take Mr Longyhael to the throne room." The Sargi opened the golden gates and the other guard showed him the way to the Emperor's throne room. As he stepped into it, he realised it was the lavish palace his father had talked so much about. Paintings mounted the walls that were consumed by intricate golden patterns. The floor was made of marble worth twice as much as his humble abode in Khavat. The corridors themselves placed him in awe and he had not even seen the throne room yet.
"Just down here, sir." The Sargi pointed at the room which had its snow-white doors shut. Arith was afraid of what would happen if he opened it- even if it was a trap and the Sargis were going to kill him the people would find out. They know about the genocides though and they are doing nothing about that. He yanked open the colossal doors to reveal a room twice as pretty as the corridors had been. The Emperor sat on his throne which can only be described as the most beautiful thing Arith had ever seen. The throne towered above anything else in the room. Even the legs that had been carved by hand looked impressive. Alexander Dimont placed his hands on the golden armrests of the throne that matched where he put his back against. The rest of the room was not as immense- it was only a few banners draped along the towering stone pillars. It looked like a pantheon where the Dios themselves would rest. Arith walked down the red carpet to get closer to the throne. Then, he kneeled.
"Arith Longyhael. Forgive me for this but I did not expect Lord Kannervi would convince you to come work for me. Your father's death was a tragic thing. Many would not have the guts to come here. You are brave. I need a royal advisor who is brave. I need someone who is willing to put their life in the balance to ensure I survive. The first question I ask all of my candidates is: what do you think of my regime?" The Emperor was trying to see if Arith spoke true to his heart. If he did, it would end badly but if he didn't the situation could become even worse.
"Your Majesty, I do not think it would be wise for me to voice my opinions in front of your men. It would be outright slander!" The Emperor nodded his head and sent everyone away. Both of them stayed silent for a minute or so. "My opinion of your regime is that it could be less brutal. If I may, Your Majesty, you have drained the colours from this kingdom. Oppression is not how you rule a kingdom."
"My old royal advisor said the same! Look where he is! My men found his decapitated head floating in a river crying out loud! Everyone scorns me for doing this but I am only doing what is necessary. Magic people have poisoned Aevuhan. If we do not enforce punishment on them, what will happen? Will they rise up and kill us all? I am the backbone of Aevuhan. Without me, Aevuhan would fail. Magic people would rule the streets. Fire would engulf the skies. Cities would be divided into two- one side for magic people and one side for mortals. I have united this kingdom. Tell me this, Arith, what would you prefer? Oppression or to be the oppressed?" The Emperor stood up from his throne and walked to the balcony.
"You do not need to enforce punishment. Magic people have caused no more harm than mortals have. Magic or not, we are still humans. Humans have a very dark nature so to speak. We take things for ourselves because we are fuelled by greed. Our desires are so savage we could be compared to that of a dog. The things we do to each other can never be justified. You talk of unity but humans can never unite. We will continue to wage wars against each other until we die. A lust for blood can never be satisfied, Your Majesty. It will become second nature after you kill so many people- you will quench for blood like you quench for water. You confuse power with bloodlust."
"I understand why you requested the guards leave the room. You have insulted my Empire. Arith Longyhael, you would be lucky to earn yourself a job working for me. Unfortunately, you are so dangerous that I have to have you on my side. If Estella Arkov ever found you, I fear it would be the end for everything I have worked for. If you work under me, you must promise to support the Empire no matter what your political views on it are."
"If that is the only prerequisite then I shall fulfil it for you, Your Majesty. I shall work under you as your royal advisor and do whatever you ask of me so long as it is not immoral." Arith kneeled for the Emperor again. It was a sign that he would serve the Emperor as his father had done to King Edvont all those years ago.
"All that is left to do is to take the oath. Guards! Come in here at once!" The Sargi all rushed through the door and stood in different areas of the room. "I need one of you to read out the oath for Arith Longyhael."
The Sargi looked at each other. None of them could decide who would read out the oath for Arith. It would be dangerous if any of them made a mistake because the Emperor was often temperamental. No matter how close you were to him, he could end the relationship in an instant and would. Finally, one of the guards volunteered.
"Do you, Arith Longyhael, swear to serve under the Emperor for as long as you live. Do you swear that you will never betray him or backstab him? Swear that no matter what, you will put the Emperor's needs before your own. You must swear to never let any harm come to him while he is around you. Are you willing to put your life on the line for the Emperor?
"I, Arith Longyhael, swear to serve under the Emperor for as long as I live. I swear that I will never betray him or backstab him. I will never put my own needs before his and will never let any harm come to him while he is around me. I am willing to put my life on the line for the Emperor and swear my allegiance to him." Arith spoke with truth.
"Then it is done. Rise, Arith Longyhael, as High Chancellor Longyhael." The Sargi unsheathed a sword from its scabbard and held it straight out in front of him. Then, he laid the sword on Arith's right shoulder and afterwards laid it on the right. Arith stood up from the marble floor. He was now High Chancellor of Aevuhan. As High Chancellor I have new responsibilities. I cannot live in Khavat anymore. That is where Arith would have lived. I am High Chancellor Longyhael now.
Everyone applauded him. They did not mean it. Secretly, they envied him. They did not wish to be trapped as a guard for the rest of their life. They wanted to be emancipated for they were the Emperor's prisoners as much as the magic people were. An oath had been sworn by Arith Longyhael and that oath was his death sentence.
***
"It is good to see you again, Arith. I like to be in your company. You are unlike the others. They are cool and their hearts filled with hatred. If it were not for the sums of money I give them they would be scorning me just like the others," The Emperor admired the beauty of the Royal Gardens before he continued, "That is precisely why I chose you as High Chancellor. Although I must admit it is a terrible shame Lord Kannervi is not here with us. I say we dedicate a toast to him. Alan! Would you be so kind as to get me and High Chancellor Longyhael here a drink? I shall have a flagon of Asderian wine and Arith shall have some ale."
"Of course, Your Highness." His voice was bitter like the taste of the ale the servant had given Arith. Arith almost spat his drink out before he realised he had to be elegant around someone like the Emperor. When the servant had returned to give them their two drinks, both of them knocked their glasses lightly against each other and raised them.
"Today we shall drink to Lord Kannervi, who is so dedicated to fulfilling my orders that he is unable to present here today!" Drink was the Emperor's solution to it all. Over the coming weeks, Arith noticed how much the man drank. He recognised it as a coping mechanism almost instantly. The Emperor had been hiding something. It had not been about the genocides for he showed no remorse about those. The Emperor had a dark secret. Perhaps Arith would find out with his newfound power.
"To Lord Kannervi!" Arith masked his thoughts in a way that was so subtle nobody could guess what he was thinking. "I must say, Your Majesty, you tend to drink a lot more than I expected!"
"I must drink in these times, Arith! There are plots to kill me that have already started to emerge. Why do you think I wanted you to be my advisor? These are dark times. Many of the men who once assisted me have all been murdered- slain by a man of mystery. I have enemies everywhere Mr Longyhael. Soon, I fear you may have to meet with them. I need you to go to Asderia and try to convince Queen Hilyun to allow the Empire to enforce order there."
"Asderia? I always believed it was part of the Empire? Surely Queen Hilyun would never allow you to put any troops in Asderia. She does not have it in her heart."
"Precisely. I need you to persuade her to make the decision. She refuses to listen to me because of my recent actions which is why I need you. I need you to infiltrate her court without her knowing I sent you. Without a doubt people will stop you from doing this. I have enemies in many places, Arith. If you do not do this mission it would be detrimental to the Empire. Gaining her trust will not be easy but it is necessary. Spend two weeks in her court and then return to me. It is too risky to send letters for they shall be intercepted no doubt."
"You want me to gain her trust just to convince her? Two weeks sounds like a long time. What will you do without my guidance? I thought my job would be to help you make decisions, not be an emissary!" Arith had been lied to by the man he had now had to trust more than himself.
"You have sworn an oath to serve me. They said precisely in the ceremony that if you broke your oath you would face a fate worse than death itself. I think serving some queen for a fortnight is better than death. Don't you, High Chancellor Longyhael?" It was obviously a threat.
"I shall go to Queen Hilyun's court. Do not expect me back at the palace until next month. Two weeks will not be enough to convince a royal to make such a difficult decision. If I am not back by then, I give you permission to strip me of my rank and to publicly kill me. But what of your enemies? You said you had many in Queen Hilyun's court. They will sabotage the mission. It would be dangerous to not do something about it."
"This is not some jape, Arith Longyhael. The enemies in the court will realise I have sent you and once they do, I can only wish you the best of luck. Even if Queen Hilyun says no, you will still have another mission: to become part of one of the organisations plotting to kill me and then end the organisation for good. I can only wish you the best of luck, High Chancellor Longyhael. You will need it. My enemies are venomous and will find the opportunity to sink their poisoned teeth into you whenever they can. Bring down the organisations and return to me with the leader's head. I shall see you in a month my friend. I pray to the Dios that you will still be alive by then." The Emperor showed no sign of joking in his words. He was dead serious. Arith Longyhael would have to be a patient man to wait so long for his death.