Citizen of Arcadia, II
That night, Tei'hi, along with Lui-eya who's using her witchcraft to act as a translator, sat down with the village chief, of course, looking terrified as he looked deep into the woman's eyes. She smiles, "Do not fret, I cannot use it now." She says. The chief tried to feel relief, but can't.
"Who are you? One of that blasted Sotarmia's mercs? H-huh!?" The chief tried to say intimidatingly. Tei'hi did not budge, but he was still confused.
"Sotarmia?" He asked. Vying for more information.
"Do not play dumb with me. Y-you, want us to give you your money right? Well, tough luck we don't have any! Go away!" The chief tried to move away but Tei'hi clutched his shoulders.
"You are free. Tell us about Sotarmia." He says with a deepened tone.
"You're not.. Sotarmian goons?"
"Yes. And It would be wise for you to speak." Tei'hi says. His sword glistened against the light of the moon, flashing over the chief's eyes.
"Y-yes..." he starts speaking about the kingdom of Sotarmia. One of the three kingdoms which fight for power over the entire peninsula.
Sotarmia is the middle-most kingdom and as such, has seen attacks on both sides. As war is expensive, taxes are raised highly to fund it. As such, Luca Sotar, Queen of Sotarmia was forced to hire mercenaries to grab taxes from the villages they rule over. One of them was the one they were staying in.
Hearing of this, Tei'hi smiled in glee, all because it was easy for him to establish himself now. "You are free now." He says to the chief.
"Free? Oh my goodness you people are liberators?" The chieftain cheered in joy at the thought.
"Liberators? No, no. You are free because you are under new management." The smile from the chief disappeared as Tei'hi left with him in tow.
Walking over to the village, he stood in the middle of the village center. He triumphantly called out, "CITIZENS, SOLDIERS!" In a few short minutes, the entire village center was filled with spectators. Both its citizens and Tei'hi's soldiers.
"Former people of Sotarmia, YOU ARE FREE!" The crowds cheered at the thought of finally being free from the grasp of the Sotarmian Kingdom, Tei'hi continued, "From today on, you shall be known, as the CITIZENS OF ARCADIA!" The cheering grew louder with the citizens and soldiers both cheering them on.
And so begins, the first settlement of the Arcadian Empire. Which they aptly named "Arcadia." Due to the settlement's idyllic surroundings of nature. Its lush green forests in line with the beautiful blue river which passes through the side of the village.
The next few months proceeded idly and relatively peacefully, the Arcadians started their efforts to create a bunch of farmland in line with the river. Allowing for adequate food to feed the army which is currently resting and recuperating following their losses. They also learned the local language, making it so that they did not have to rely on Lui-eya's witchcraft in order to understand the others.
That is not to say they did not expand their borders. In fact, they did so, rapidly. Very rapidly, as Tei'hi's scouts scoured around they found a large, abandoned iron mine. Which they used to start their operations in arming the town as both militia groups and possible professional soldiers.
This rapid expansion did not go unheeded of course. And four months after Arcadia started, Its expansion caught the attention of Luca Sator. Who sent a messenger over to Arcadia in an attempt to enter negotiations with Tei'hi. And it worked, The Town of Arcadia has allied itself with the kingdom of Sotarmia.
And to reward themselves with such peaceful negotiations, the Queen of Sotarmia asked for Tei'hi to come over to the kingdom and have a lovely feast together. Tei'hi reluctantly agreed, only doing so at the company of both Lui-eya and his right-hand man Zoroan, along with 300 bodyguard soldiers.
And then, they marched towards Sotarmia. It was a peaceful march, it took them less than a day to arrive at the kingdom's walls. But still, something seemed off, as they marched, Astrian noted that he felt that a bunch of people was tailing them. He saw them personally, hooded figures ogling over them behind the treeline.
Tei'hi only knew to be cautious as his army entered the kingdom until they get to the castle and wait to be called upon by the Queen herself.
The castle was huge, its walls are laden with gold, silver, and paintings of the kingdom's previous rulers. At the end of which is Luca Sator. An elegant and young-looking Queen. Her dress was long and haughty and her crown was made to be as expensive as it possibly could.
A butler then approached them, guiding them towards the dining room. Tei'hi ordered his men to stay behind, guarding the outside and coming only if there is trouble. He only took Lui-eya and Astrian with him.
The Dining Room was exquisite. The table was huge and filled with various expensive food. From chicken to broth to fish cooked in multiple ways. The window on the side made for the perfect lighting to perfectly light up the figure at the other end of the table.
Sipping on an old grape wine. She put her glass down, stood up, and promptly greeted them. Her hair was redder than on the painting. Her dress was messier, her eyes, deeper. And the way she stared directly into their eyes. It was as if she was looking directly at their soul, "Hello, Arcadians. Why don't you have a seat?"
The three sat down uneventfully as the Queen sat back down herself, "So," she started, "You are their ruler, correct?" She asks, looking at Tei'hi.
Tei'hi nodded, "Yes."
"Then may I get your name?"
"Tei'hi."
Her eyes narrowed, "Tei'hi, huh..." her face twisted into a smile and she laughed, "AHAHAhaaaaaaaa... ohh.. I see now, foreign invaders taking my land and establishing a colony. Oh if only I had realized."
The three were confused, and they just stood there, eating what food they received as they listened to her talk, "If only you people had realized how down in debt that village was." she snickered, "All shitholes and greenery. Blegh."
"If it is debt that you want paid then we can muster up a trade deal." Tei'hi said, trying to reason her out.
"A trade deal... trade deal... no. Sure, if you give me 90% of your yield on a monthly basis then I can spare you." She said to them, sipping on her wine again.
"Madame, if you may." Astrian interrupted, "Ninety seems a bit too much for a village that size!"
"Then if you do NOT attempt to follow through, I will be forced to take that village from you by force!" She yells out,
"We have an alliance!" Astrian replied, standing up angrily,
"Alliance... then you better be useful to me as allies if you do not want to pay off your debt." She starts humming and thinking.
"Then what would you want us to do?"
Still lost in thought, she sips on her wine again and takes a bite out of the steak on her plate, she swallows it excruciatingly slow, "Fight my brothers."
"Eh?" All three let out the same sound, "Brothers? What do you mean?" Tei'hi says.
"They rule over the other kingdoms. I heard that the village chief told you about them, but they let out that detail didn't he? About how this whole thing escalated from a blood feud."
Tei'hi nodded, and Astrian sat down, eating the food as he started to listen.
"Hehe... then let me tell you the story then."