House Aurellions Current Predicament.

"The great purge."

"When over 70 noble families were extinguished for good."

"But it was not the destruction of these corrupt families that hurt the foundation of the new empire."

"But when the future crown prince put his dream to rule the empire before its citizens and loyal subjects."

"It's a shame that to prevent civil war, supporting that prince was our only choice."

"For a country built without a basis of honour and loyalty."

"Is destined to fall or be ravaged by corruptions decay."

Amulius Lunaris, Grand Duke of Veritas and Minister of War for Chavaria.

….

"My lord, why do you skulk in the shadows? If you want to take part in the discussions we have, you have but to ask."

Leon said with a slight smile, sensing Railius at the tent's entrance. All the other commanders attending the meeting quickly looked over to see nothing there as the small 10-year-old boy hid behind the tent's flap. Only Aldorus, the only other master-level fighter, could also sense the tiny breaths from the entrance, revealing his lieges' presence.

Hearing Leon's voice, Railius mustered up his courage and stepped awkwardly into the tent, the other commanders bowing towards him in respect as Leon casually brought a stool to the table to allow the small boy to see the map on the table and join them as their liege had a right to know their plans even if at the end of the day it was his regent who made the final decision it did not mean that they did not value his opinion.

The small boy was more worried about Leon tracking him down for more training, which is why he preferred to listen in the shadows for due to recent events, the loyal friend of his father has increased the amount of training Railius had to do this also had the added benefit of helping to keep the young boy occupied alongside helping him to train and learn how to defend himself in this ruthless world where the strong prayed on the week.

Unfortunately, it was no easy feat to hide from a grandmaster fighter who were particularly sensitive to people's auras. As a result, no matter how much the young boy tried, he had no way of escaping his regent's net, leading to him enduring countless hours of torturous training over the few weeks they had been on the run after they broke to make camp.

The commanders and soldiers of the Pelican Guards had grown rather fond of their eccentric and cheeky young master, whom they had gotten to know well over the past few weeks and who always seemed to make trouble for them. They could not count the number of times the small boy had run away into the forest when Leon's or Aldorus' eyes were off the inquisitive 10-year-old, only for him to sneak back into his tent to sleep.

"We need to break through the border soon, or the empire will be stable enough for the emperor to send the imperial army after us, which would make escape all but impossible."

"There is even a chance of him sending a small contingent of the imperial guard after us, and even if only 2,000 out of the 50,000 imperial guards came after us, it would be enough to take us out as long as they can tie me and the grand commander down."

Aldorus said seriously with a sigh, as the Chavarian Imperial Guard were only slightly worse than the 1000 Pelican Guards they had at their disposal, as evidenced by the near eradication of the 300-man detachment at Scorpius and the 1000 men he led.

Only Aldorus' timely intervention allowed House Aurellion to survive extinction momentarily, for Railius was now the last known member of the house alive, so his death would likely mean the destruction of the noble house.

"Grand Commander, why did the imperial family only dispatch 5,000 imperial guards to pursue us when they have 50,000 in total?"

Nathos asked a question that many had been wondering, for if that many men caught them, then they could only die honourably fighting to the last man in an attempt to protect their lord.

Before Leon could answer, their intelligent young lord provided the vice commander with the answer he sought, surprising him slightly as their young lord usually kept out of discussions so only Leon would know how good his young master's political instincts were as he had been the boy's teacher for the last ten years.

"First is that it's overkill to go after a fallen noble house like ours with no real power and who only wants to escape with that many troops, especially when the true murders and culprits of treason are around."

"Second! We already had a head start on the imperial guards, for it took time for the emperor to decide to accuse us falsely of treason. If he marshalled all the imperial guards, gathering them all together would take at least 4 hours, if not longer. In addition, such a large force would be slow compared to our small contingent, allowing us to escape them easily because once we are far enough away from the capital, finding us will be rather hard due to how large the empire is."

"Third is simple logistics, for it would take at least a half a day, if not longer, to gather the 50,000 warhorses necessary for them to be a somewhat mobile force as even the capital doesn't in all its wealth and glory does not have enough room to store all 50,000 warhorses as just the daily shipping of food would take a lot of money and time."

"I imagine in the entire capital there are only around 10,000 warhorses that the imperial family can find at a moment's notice at a push. This will include those enlisted from various nobles around the capital, with the rest being in the nearby rural areas to help with storage space and costs. There is a reason why it normally takes a few days for nations to muster up an army properly, if not weeks or even months of logistical planning."

"Last is that the imperial guard represents the emperor's authority and are the most feared soldiers in the empire, and because the emperor has purged many nobles, he needs these elite loyal soldiers to stop others rebelling or Bardornus from making a move using the Plurian prince he is protecting to rally the Plurians to rise in rebellion."

"If the imperial guard is away from the capital and someone attacks it, the emperor and the imperial family could be threatened and in danger. As a result, the imperial guard must stay in and around the capital to prevent any form of rebellion, especially after the emperor attacked the Chavarian nobles so much, and so won't be our immediate problem."

"To put it simply, the emperor had bigger fish to fry than a powerless fallen house like us despite how much that might hurt our pride."

Railius said correctly, finding most of the reasons why only a few thousand imperial guards were sent after them.

Leon, with his extensive military experience, then added a final reason for the emperor not to send too many troops, impressed once again by his young lord's political acumen, which will serve him well in the young man's attempts to resurrect his fallen noble house after he comes of age.

"The imperial guards are the most elite force in the imperial family's arsenal right now because it has been built up meticulously over hundreds of years and is made of former royal knights and veterans of the independence wars. Even the 1,000 men we killed will force them to take men out of the regular armies to replace them if they want them to have similar skills, but replacing the experience in war and loyalty that those men built up over the years is no easy thing to do."

"It is for reasons like these that even after 10 years, the Pelican Guards was only at 3,000 now likely much less as we have not heard from the men who accompanied the marquess, so it is safe to assume they are dead."

"Building up an elite force that is both skilled and loyal is no easy thing to do, so as a ruler of a vast empire, you must be careful where and when to use these elite troops in the various wars and rebellions you will have to fight against."

The grand commander said, putting an end to the matter and moving on to something more relevant to their current predicament.

"Patrols along the border have been increased, and the 30,000 men of the imperial army in the border fortress of Arvendon have increased their vigilance even if they can't move far due to the threat posed by the Beastman United States and potentially rebellious Nadron nobles for they have not forgotten about the fall of their kingdom 10 years ago and are more than happy to make a fuss if they sense weakness."

Leon said as he began to lay out the forces they would have to deal with to escape Chavaria.

"Grand Commander, do you think other countries will attack Chavaria now that our old lord is dead?" He was the only grandmaster strategist in the empire and so well known throughout the continent that he became one of their main reasons for our neighbour's being so quiet despite all the internal issues the empire has faced over the last few years."

Nathos asked as they could use the chaos an invasion caused to escape more easily.

"Potentially, but our lord was not the only grandmaster strategist in Chavaria."

Leon said in a soft but commanding voice, his gaze suddenly turning far away as he was locked in the memories of the past. This only lasted for a second or so before the Grand Commander of the Pelican Guards snapped himself out of his stupor, knowing the heavy responsibility on his shoulders as he was asked an obvious question by the other commanders of the Pelican Guards.

"How can that be? Such a thing can't be hidden easily! Who else is a grandmaster strategist?"

Oswan, the Halfing vice commander, asked in alarm, being more inquisitive and intelligent than many of the others in the Pelican Guards like Nathos, who concentrated only on following orders and protecting his lord from physical threats.

"The Chavarian Minister for War Amulius Lunaris, though you guys wouldn't have been close enough to him or old enough to remember that man's military achievements. He is a grandmaster strategist who has stayed behind the scenes for the last 30 years. If the empire is ever really in trouble, all that the emperor has to do is send him out, and all the empire's enemies will fall to his sword."

"Not even the current commander of the imperial guards has ever beaten him in single combat, and I'm not even confident in my ability to kill him either."

"To put his skill into perspective for you, both our lord and Great General Drusus were taught personally by him, and he is also the reason why the two kingdoms that Chavaria conquered, which had been around for hundreds of years, were weak enough for the unification wars to be possible."

"He is not an opponent you want to be up against. Luckily, we won't be facing him."

Leon said, speaking with admiration at the start before his voice turned dark near the end as the prospect of facing such a powerhouse truly frightened the loyal man.

"Why?"

Nathos asked this time, as he did not pay much attention to the complexity of Chavarian politics.

"He is needed to keep the imperial court in line as he has done for the last 30 years."

Leon said, knowing that even though he had been away from this sort of intrigue for the last 10 years, the dynamics of the imperial court would not change.

"Anyway, it is likely that Otrua, our old lord's enemies from Brunag, may make a move. After all, orcs primarily care about strength. Even if reforms coming from Zugbu have started to change the culture slightly, this central fact will not change so easily."

"Without Lucius, who was the representation of that strength being around the orcish kingdom that has been recovering for 12 years, would finally have rebuilt their forces enough to try their luck again."

Leon said matter of factly, for the orcs did not know of the minister of war and so would not be afraid like the old nobles of the conquered kingdoms.

"For someone who has only been concerned with House Aurellion's safety, you know a surprisingly lot about this orc Zugbu and his achievements despite him being from a foreign land."

Myrdin commented with raised eyebrows.

"I will never forget or not pay attention to someone who came so close to killing our old lord."

Leon said with conviction, hatred subtly seeping into his tone of voice as it did when the commander spoke of others who had tried to take the life of his beloved lord and friend.

It was then that their young lord asked a question which brought them back to the subject at hand.

"What do we know about the Duke of Plantarion? How many troops does he have? What is his history? Does he have any grandmasters in his service?"

"Because even if the emperor is occupied with other matters, the lords of the empire will still come after us for some sort of reward."

Railius said the small boy's young voice booming through the tent with an authority far beyond what a boy his age should have as he asked important questions that would allow them to escape from the hostile empire they currently resided in.

Hearing this, the commanders in the tent all quieted down, as they were all military men, not politicians, for Lucius had always dealt with that side of things for them, meaning that now they had no one with the experience or information they so desperately needed to help them overcome their current predicament.

Aldorus, who had served House Aurellion longer than the others except for Leon and whose mind was sharp, had at least some preliminary information for them, for he had seen many reports from the noble house's old spy network when they were still in power.

"The Duke of Plantarion is a former Nadron noble from an old and distinguished line. They were the last to surrender to Chavaria, only giving up when there was no hope for victory, opting to submit to keep their lands, titles and power."

"Though considering that they refused any position in the imperial court has made some think, including our old lord, that they are plotting the restoration of their kingdom and, on principle, refuse to serve the emperors of Chavaria anymore than their oaths require."

Aldorus said, giving them a brief history of the duke and his family because, unlike Leon who only had to protect Lucius' family, he still followed him into battle, making him pay attention to the powerful noble families in Chavaria, as one day, this information may help his lord win a war.

"We can use that if that is the case. Then he won't go all out to stop us as a loyal Chavarian noble would. We may even be able to make some deal with him."

Myrdin said his long hundred years of life experience coming in handy as he grasped at his beard in thought.

"Don't be so sure. Don't you remember what that emperor did to those corrupt nobles?"

"He won't risk the hatred of the emperor and the future crown prince to save us."

Aldorus said as, by now, the entire empire had heard about the emperor of Chavaria's great purge, which shook it to its roots.

"Send a messenger to the Duke anyway because if we could get his help, then our escape would be much easier. If needs be, I'll meet the duke in person and talk with him."

Railius said, a determined look in his eye.

"My lord, this cannot be!"