Politicking

There was a commotion in the Royal Palace of Vizima, the generals of the Nilfgaardian army were all in a panic at the news, a courier having just delivered it and quickly fled, not wishing to be around when the Emperor hears of it.

It was then that Henry var Attre walks around the corner, spotting the commotion and approaching to see what it was about. Unfortunately for him, he was unceremoniously dumped with the task of informing the infamously brutal Emperor that his naval fleet had been entire annihilated, with only a few cowardly mages fleeing and spreading the information before disappearing entirely.

Henry "My apologies but I have a prio-"

A duke growls, "Cease with the grovelling apology, you have been given the task, you will see it through or it'll be on your head." he says and stuffs a load of documents into the man's hands before briskly walking away while the others do the same.

...

Henry got a cold sweat when reading the information he was supposed to hand to the Emperor, the lowly savage isles of Skellige had beaten the empire, but this news was not the most damning... No, it was the sightings of an ashen haired girl assisting the enemy... He dutifully began marching to the Emperor's quarters, nodding to the guards standing outside the door before knocking and waiting for a response.

"Come in." a voice calls a couple minutes later.

Walking inside Henry var Attre bows deeply towards the Emperor while following proper Nilfgaarding ettiquate.

Emyr gestures for him to continue, letting the sweaty Henry walk over and place the documents on his desk.

Henry "These are the recent reports of our assault on the Skellige Isles, and the subsequent happenings thereafter." he states, managing not to choke under the pressure.

Emyr flips the document over and frowns deeply when he sees it, "Is-Is this a joke?" he asks.

Henry swallows his saliva, "N-no your eminence."

Emyr "Then, the empire has truly lost eighty percent of its fleet?" he asks, not immediately believing it.

Henry quickly nods, "Y-yes! The reports and accounts from those who managed to flee state that the Skellige fleet had incredibly powerful magic users at their dispos-"

Emyr "Enough." he growls, "I read what the report stated, I wish to know how it is possible for our army to fail so spectacularly against a few simple mages, and how our own did not best them."

Henry "I-I don't know, all the information available is inside the report... I believe there is something else that will capture your attention, however." he says, gesturing to the documents.

Emyr takes a couple minutes to read the complete report, his expression becoming angry at first, and slowly becoming saddened and finally somber. "I-Is this report accurate?" he asks.

Henry nods, "It has been looked over by many people and verified independently."

Emyr waves at him, "Leave, and tell no one what lies inside this document." he states, not even acknowledging the man's existence any longer. One Henry leaves, Emyr stands and walks below the giant portrait of his daughter Cirilla. Her grumpy face after being fitted into that dress always brought a small smile to his face, but now? After hearing the news of her betrayal, likely helped along by the traitorous Witcher and Yennefer of Vengerberg he knew nothing of the happiness it used to bring...

Using a knife on his belt he walks up and drags it across the painting, cutting the bottom and tearing the rest off in a way not fitting of the world's most powerful man. He slumped back down in his chair, pouring a large glass of wine and drinking it like water, all the while staring at the remnants of the portrait.

Emyr "Unfilial child, I will make you watch as I kill the Witch and Witcher." he mutters into his drink.

Elsewhere :

Radovid had just been handed a report, it having just been sent by his contact in Skellige, it seems that his plans would need to change due to this abrupt and shocking loss of the Nilfgaardian fleet... From what he'd heard it seemed that the Emperors lost child has turned against him, making his plan of capturing the girl and using her as leverage useless.

Unfortunately due to his incompetent puppet Mensfeld and numerous missing agents, they likely knew of his intentions already, causing any potential partnership to vanish as quickly as his men had.

For now, he'd set his eyes on Novigrad, the Temple Fleet being the only way Nilfgaard would be able to regain their naval superiority. He'd not need to dedicate as many men to the coastal cities now, allowing him to add them to the ground army he wished to storm Novigrad with. Additionally with the death of the man known as the blood baron, the area he used to hold has been taken over by a large group of bandits that had used to be his men, preventing the Nilfgaardians from immediately retaking it due to their army being spread thin as it is.

There simply wasn't a better time to finally take the city, and with the majority of Novigrads military might belonging to the Eternal Fire, Radovid could easily take it over, already being a known "strong supporter" of the religion. All that was left was a lot of gold to bring the Crime Lords to his side and potentially have them sabotage the city gates and the largest city in the world would be his, along with the largest fleet.

He looks down at the chessboard and maerveuvers a bishop next to the enemy king, a satisfied expression overtaking his features, "Check... The stage has been set."