April 26, 9 ATC

Aresee Manor, Free City of Reticle, Pollination-Crosshares Commonwealth

Zissman sat at the end of the table, fingers knotted into a ball, looking over the assembly of nobles, burghers, and clergy that constituted the upper echelons of Inferno's realm. Duchess Kuma, Inferno's designated regent, sat formally in the middle of the left side of the table. Already a powerful vassal in the Pollinational half of Inferno's commonwealth, she now expected to take full control as regent until an heir from Inferno's family could be located. Zissman doubted her ambitions would come to pass.

High Priest Emlee sat directly across from Kuma, and he was significantly less composed. He grumbled and bickered with anyone near him. Likely, he was irritated by the Church's invitation to a meeting, which subtly suggested command over him. Tensions between the Yurist Church of Crosshares and the Church of Thorns were already high, and this meeting would almost certainly bring them to a head.

Mayor Naitou sat at the head of the table, opposite Zissman and closest to the doors, as was the custom of the host in Crosshares. Naitou was the one who offered his manor as a meeting place, which was more becoming than the damp safehouse Zissman had occupied, and Zissman had accepted. Naitou, however, was dangerous in his own right, being the unofficial coordinator of all the Commonwealth's free cities, and his influence could cinch them both money and ships for the continued war.

Eventually, the chatter of the assembled lords dimmed, allowing Zissman to stand and begin his speech. Next to him, Jannis rocked back and forth on his heels in anticipation.

"My friends, my fellows," Zissman began, flashing them a warm smile. "It's regretful that we must meet under these circumstances."

"It's regretful we must meet at all," a nobleman muttered, eliciting a few chuckles from the lords around him. Zissman ignored him.

"Inferno is dead," he said. The sudden announcement, though everyone already knew it, helped to ground some of the assembly. Though Zissman did not show it, it amused him. "The leader of this war with the Subreddit is gone. The League has the advantage. We must figure out two things: one, what our strategy going forward will be. Two, who will lead us there." Zissman already knew the answers, but he would let the lords talk among themselves first.

"We cannot give up now!" Kuma said, and she stood to emphasize her point. "The League may have killed Inferno, but now they've revealed themselves. They're on our territory, surrounded by our men. We should strike them now and end the threat they pose!"

"I agree." Dollface II, the scion of a cadet line of Inferno's royal house, stood up. She was close to the Church, being one of the first (and yet, one of the few) major nobles to convert. "We cannot give in, or the League will ruin us. We will lose our power, our influence, and our way of life. Look what happened to Emberald and Night's Watch after Celtic's revolt! They were right villains, but Nitesco has a horrible habit of bastardizing the countries he invades with democracy."

"We should make peace," Mayor Naitou suggested. "We don't have the resources to carry on this war for very much longer. Our coffers are steadily emptying, our river and ocean navies are being depleted, and our manpower has been squandered fighting our allies' battles for them in foreign theatres! If we continue on our present course, our vaults will be empty long before the League gets the chance to loot them!"

"We still have enough resources to succeed if we move quickly," Emlee countered. "Our coffers aren't empty yet. And even if they were, we can't afford to give up now. Losses of money and men can be recouped easily. But if we surrender, we will lose everything. It will take decades to return to where we are now. War is the only option."

"The people grow discontent with this war," Naitou said. "Inferno is dead, and with her, much of our leverage. Can anyone here guarantee that this can be ended quickly?"

Dollface stood and smiled at Zissman.

"The Church can," she said. Zissman was pleasantly surprised, and was amused by the shocked and indignant looks given by the rest of the assembly. "The Church has roots in almost every major country in the Subreddit. If anyone can undermine our enemies, it's them."

"You mean to cavort with the Church?" Emlee exclaimed. He grimaced as Dollface nodded back.

"I do. They can offer us advantages nobody else can."

"But they're undermining our religion!" Emlee retorted, clearly distressed. "Our way of life!"

"Your way of life," Dollface said, unfazed. "You and the Church can have your sectarian squabble once we're done with this war." Emlee grumbled but sat back down.

"We can offer you much," Zissman said. "We have colonies of converts ready to inspire revolt anywhere and loyal agents in every government. Not only that, but we have full legions of Church Crusaders in reserve, ready and willing to bolster our forces. We can wreak havoc on our enemies in any way we choose."

"I will take the Church's friendship," Dollface said. "They seem a worthy ally." Murmurs of agreement. Kuma and Emlee huffed.

"Very well," Naitou spoke. "We will tolerate you, for now. But we are still left with the problem of leadership. Who will take Inferno's place?"

Duchess Kuma stood, as Zissman knew she would. He let Kuma speak, to divide the lords present so he could unite them again.

"I am Queen Inferno's regent. I should take her place. Until we trace the family tree back to a known heir, I will take charge."

At this, Dollface stood up and pointed at Kuma. "You are a Pollinational," she said. "You are not one of us. No Crossharish will submit to a foreign lord."

"Inferno was Pollinational too," Kuma pointed out smugly. "So was her half-brother. So were all her predecessors, and Crosshares rarely had a problem with that."

"The royal family knew both of our cultures," Dollface retorted. "You only know one."

"Enough!" Naitou demanded. "We cannot fight a war if we are fighting each other. How can we stand up to foreign invaders if we cannot stand up on our own?"

"You're absolutely right," Zissman said. He put on the most concerned face he could manage. "We cannot fight this war, let alone win, if we are divided. Inferno was able to unite the people of Crosshares and Pollination, even though they were split apart after Celtic's Revolt. We must find a way to unite this broken land. And what better way," he said with a hint of mischief in his voice, "to unite the people than religion?"

A silence fell over the assembly, a shocked silence that worried Jannis enough to reach for his sword. Lords and burghers turned to each other in unease, while the clergy were in varying stages of fury. At last, Emlee stood up.

"Never!" he bellowed. Zissman raised his eyebrows.

"And why not?" he asked. Emlee turned a bright red and balled his fists.

"Because you are heretics!" he screamed. "And you are foreigners! You have stuck your hands in our business for far too long! You do not belong here!"

"Inferno made us the state church," Zissman said, keeping his cool.

"Inferno made many mistakes," Emlee growled. "Siding with you and your ilk chief among them. I know what you were doing. Did you think none of us would figure it out? You wanted to use Inferno as a stepping stone to power! Well, your plot ends here!"

"How dare you accuse us of such treachery!" Zissman exclaimed. Taking the offensive now would project strength, but he needed also to soothe and sway the unconvinced lords of his sincerity. "We are a house of holiness. Just because our Goddess is different from yours doesn't change our morals. All we seek to do is spread our message through the Subreddit, nothing more."

"You lie!" Kuma denounced him. "I know what you really want, Zissman!" She spat out his name with such hatred it caused Zissman to flinch. "The worst part is, you think it's true! You really believe in your Goddess. But I can see it in your eyes: that lust for power that you deny yourself. But that's what all your efforts really are for, Zissman. Not your Goddess. Not your message. Power. If you can't admit it to us, at least admit it to yourself."

"Do you have anything to offer other than barbs?" Jannis spoke up. Naitou stood up and held out his hands in a placating gesture.

"Enough. Enough," he said. "This is my home. I will not tolerate such disrespect here." He let his hands fall to his side and looked at Zissman. "Unfortunately, Zissman, they are right. You are not one of us, ethnically or religiously. And we are sworn to a king, not a priest. I apologize, but I will not accept you as our leader."

"The old ways have always held you back," Zissman said darkly. "The squabbles of nations, nobles and ideologies has divided this Subreddit since its beginning. I have read your histories. It is all the same: a never-ending cycle of violence, infighting, ambition, and death. It doesn't need to continue like that.

"Inferno tried to break the cycle, to unite the warring fiefdoms that splintered us and made us vulnerable. That is what we seek to do. We seek to do away with the rotting foundations this Subreddit suffers and replace it with something new: a Subreddit where there is order, but there is also freedom. Peace, but also justice. Plenty, but also opportunity. What does it matter what gods we have or do not have? You can stand with us and help us heal this Subreddit, or you can reject us and stand against the tide of progress. The choice is yours." Zissman let the words sink in, watching as it softened the expressions of some and hardened the expressions of others. He knew exactly who he could count on.

"The Church can offer us so much!" Dollface said. "Their religion is spreading through our lands and others'. They can provide us unity. Strength. And they will lead us to victory. I support the Church." She pressed her right palm to her chest and folded her left fist over it in the salute of the Church. Several others, swayed by Zissman's rhetoric, performed the salute themselves.

"Preposterous," Emlee muttered. "Supporting this Outlander, who has no claim to the throne! I will support Kuma, who at least has legitimacy."

Zissman sighed and leaned forward. "Okay, let's make this simple. We'll put it to a vote. All those in support of Kuma, please stand."

Kuma and Emlee were the first to stand, followed by many of the Pollinational nobles and a few of the Crossharish ones. All of the Yurist clergymen stood. Only a few of the burghers stood, but Naitou was among them.

"You're outvoted," Emlee sneered. Kuma nodded, a condescending grin on her face.

"All of you still seated, leave," she commanded. "I'd like to have a word with Zissman and Jannis."

Zissman beckoned for them to obey, and the Church supporters reluctantly filed out. Zissman laughed grimly, stood, and stared the remaining lords down. "You are the enemies of progress," he declared. "You are the enemies of the Goddess. There will be punishment for your crimes."

"You dare threaten me?" Naitou interjected, finally losing his composure. "In my own home?"

"It will not be yours for much longer," Zissman said. "Men! Now!"

Jannis swiftly unsheathed his broadsword and, charging over to Emlee, buried it in his skull. The High Priest slumped over onto the table, his skull crushed like an empty bottle and its contents spilling out. As the standing lords turned to flee or to attack Jannis, the doors to the chamber barged open. A dozen Church Crusaders, led by Draco, spilled in and began slashing at the standing noblemen.

Naitou attempted to draw his sword, but Draco slashed him across the stomach and watched as he fell to the ground. Two nobles ran at him, perhaps to attack him, perhaps to escape through the main door, but it mattered not to Draco. In a wide, sweeping attack, he beheaded one of them and clipped the other in the hip, allowing a Crusader to finish off the wounded one as he stabbed a twitching Naitou on the ground.

Zissman watched the carnage with disinterest. Surely, it was regrettable that such drastic action was necessary. But he couldn't help but feel a bit of eagerness. Without them, nobody could stop him from—

His internal monologue was interrupted as a dagger arced toward his face. Zissman stepped back just in time and drew his own dagger, prepared to meet his assailant. He laughed as he saw his assailant was Kuma, who had armed herself.

"You came prepared, didn't you?" Zissman asked with amusement. Kuma nodded.

"I never did trust you. I'm smart like that."

Zissman shrugged. "I wouldn't say smart. If you trusted me, you could've lived."

Kuma shrieked and dove at him, swinging and stabbing ferociously, but with form and poise. Zissman countered and dodged each strike, though each one got closer to his body.

"You don't know how to fight, Zissman," Kuma taunted. Her blade nicked his eyebrow. "You're too reactive, not active. It's why you will fail." She thrusted, slicing his dagger arm, but Zissman kept his grip on his blade.

"Just because you can't see my plan doesn't mean it's not there," Zissman retorted. Kuma's next swipe barely missed slicing him just below his right eye. "Sometimes you need to be slow, to be reactive. The enemy will open themselves up for you." At this, he caught Kuma's arm as she missed another slash and wrenched her wrist. The dagger fell from her hand. "And then you knock their legs out from under them." Zissman punctuated his statement by doing exactly that. As Kuma fell backward, he stabbed her several times in the stomach to make sure she would not get back up.

Kuma hit the ground hard, bleeding profusely from her stomach, and tried to sit up. Zissman pushed her back down and held his dagger to her throat.

"If you have any final barbs for me," he said mirthlessly, "now is the time."

"You will never win, Zissman," she spat out. "You will be remembered as a tyrant and a failure!"

"Maybe," Zissman said, "but I will be remembered." He drew his blade across her throat, watching as her blood gushed out of the open would. "That's more than I can say for you."

Kuma glared at him hatefully while desperately trying to plug the wound in her neck. Zissman stood up and walked away, ignoring the ever-softening sounds of Kuma's desperate gurgling until they finally went silent.

The meeting room was a mess. Blood and corpses stained the floor. The Crusaders paced around the room, stabbing every corpse twice just to make sure they were dead. Draco and Jannis approached Zissman.

"Well done, gentlemen," Zissman said. Draco bowed theatrically, while Jannis merely nodded, somewhat perturbed.

"Thank you, Scion," Draco said. He wiped the blood off his sword before sheathing it. "It was a good opportunity to test out my new blade."

"Do you like it?" Zissman asked. Draco shrugged and unsheathed his sword, holding it up to the light.

"It's a fine weapon, but a little blunt for my tastes. Do you have anything with more swinging power? A scimitar, perhaps?"

Zissman furrowed his brow and swallowed, but nodded. "Of course. Remind me later and I'll have my blacksmith make one."

"I'll be sure to do that," Draco said. He walked off, stepping over the bodies as he left the room. Zissman turned to Jannis.

"My friend," Zissman said. "You look uneasy."

"I prefer killing men on the fields of battle," Jannis admitted. "I'm not a big fan of subterfuge."

"It is necessary," Zissman cooed, and Jannis sighed.

"I know it's necessary. If I were in your position, I would probably do it too. But that doesn't mean I have to like it." They walked over to the large window behind Zissman's chair, stepping over Kuma's lifeless body. "How do you plan to break the news to our supporters?" Jannis asked.

Zissman shrugged. "I'll probably tell Dollface first, then have her break the news to the rest. She'll make a fine lieutenant." He paused. "Are Anti and Faker ready?"

"They're busy amassing their forces," Jannis said. "It will take a little bit, but we'll be ready to counterattack in three weeks' time."

"And the Badaz League?" Zissman asked, looking out over the city. "Do we know where they've set up?"

"They're commanding their campaign out of a city not far from Inferno's former stronghold," Jannis reported. "Though they've received reinforcements, we should be able to overpower them if we bolster our forces with Inferno's men and our Crusaders."

"Excellent," Zissman said. "Jannis, I place you in command of this operation. In three weeks' time, we will have eliminated the League. The Subreddit will be as good as ours."

"As the Goddess wills it," Jannis said.

"Yes, Jannis. As the Goddess wills it," Zissman responded. "Soon, all will follow the ways of our Goddess. This place will be a paradise on earth." Jannis nodded and turned to leave.

"Oh, Jannis?" Zissman asked, getting his Champion's attention. "Would you send some servants to help clean up this mess?"

"Of course," Jannis said. "Servants' quarters are downstairs in the east wing, right?"

"They should be," Zissman said. Jannis nodded and left the room. Zissman turned and noticed that the Crusaders had gone too. He was alone.

"I promise, Goddess," Zissman said, clutching the pendant of a thorny rose that hung around his neck. "This Subreddit will soon be yours."

Zissman let go of the pendant and looked out the window, over the city. The morning sun beat down on the rooftops. Truly, he thought, it was a beautiful sight.