“So, what do you all think?”

The answers to Leon’s question came quickly, with few apparently needing time to deliberate.  Cassandra was the first to speak.

“You should accept their request, Leon,” the purple-haired Imperial Princess stated with an imperious grin.  “A Kingdom’s authority should never stop at their borders.”

“If they are this desperate to ask you for aid,” Eva added, “then they will give greater concessions than what they’ve already offered.  You can raise your price for intervention…”

“You speak of our King like a common mercenary,” the Jaguar growled, eliciting a glare from Eva.  “What need have we, my King, of these people?  They come to us when, by your grace, we have already aided them once.  Their tribute may be valuable, but what of the other price?  If they expect aid, then others will, too.”

“Such is the way of Empire,” Anastasios didactically said.  “As Queen Cassandra just said: a King’s authority should extend beyond his borders.  Others must fear and respect a Kingdom’s sovereign, or they will not fear and respect the Kingdom itself and believe it open for plunder.  These pirates would not have attacked if they had not thought Artorion to be vulnerable.”

“We are vulnerable because they attacked,” Ustaloch pointed out.

“Our arks will not be fixed for a long time,” Evar, the elder in charge of the Ravens in Artorion, added.

“Our power is diminished,” Ustaloch continued.  “We ought to conserve it, not interfere in the affairs of others when there is no need.”

“How are we to fix those arks if we do not have the materials to do so?” Tachys asked, a particularly dark look passing over the Eagle elder’s face.  “Our arks were only made Void-capable with the shipments of Lumenite our King repatriated from the Sentinel bandits.  We have not nearly enough Lumenite—or Titanstone, for that matter—to repair all of the damage to our arks, let alone the reduction in numbers we’ve suffered.  Aiding these people may be our best option to gain needed materials.”

“They’ve already offered Lumenite,” Runs-Through-Grassy-Fields pointed out.

“And is not Lord Nestor working on ways to allow us to create Lumenite of our own?” Ustaloch asked.

“That capacity won’t be built up for decades at least!” Fields argued.

Split-Knuckle then barged into the debate, roaring as only a Lion could, “Why should we shy away from conflict?  A city requests protection and offers tribute in exchange!  Accept them, and if these others peoples say we should not, then they can answer to our swords and spears!  My King, these people wish to be placed under the aegis of the Thunderbird; why should we deny them such glory?  Are they not going to be placed under your protection at some point anyway?”

“To regain the title of Storm King,” Valeria said, her quiet voice still cutting through the air and silencing anyone else who wished to speak, “then you’ll have to make enemies eventually.  All of the Storm Lands will fall under your rule by right of Khosrow’s Law.  This city is as good a place as any to start building influence.”

A few more arguments were made, and while Leon’s mind needed a few more seconds to settle on a course of action, his mind was made up.  He’d already been intending to intervene in this affair anyway, he simply wanted to know if anyone had a compelling reason not to do so.  Ustaloch’s caution was warranted, of course, and the strategy of building power slowly and remaining an unknown power for as long as possible was wise, Leon didn’t want to leave silvers on the table here.  He was going to need support and allies in the future, and a grateful city was a better place to begin building that support than a bitter one.

“Enough!” Leon commanded, causing the room to fall silent.  He stood up from his seat and made his decision known.  In a clear voice, projecting nothing but confidence and power, Leon declared, “I will do what I can for Alhamachim, under the condition that they accept me as their King!  This will be our foothold in the Nexus, and Alhamachim, as our eastern anchor, will be protected from interference by other powers!”

Leon’s eyes scanned the room.  Despite the arguments otherwise, everyone quickly resigned themselves to his decision.  Even, surprisingly, Clear Day, who smiled and nodded in approval.  Leon’s Tribal vassals shot to their feet, roaring battle cries and stomping their feet.  Leon’s friends and family looked more determined but dignified, while Eva and Anastasios in particular looked upon him with what looked like familial pride.

Beneath his determined expression, however, Leon felt no small amount of worry and annoyance.  It was no lie that his forces were vulnerable with so many downed and damaged arks, but he didn’t want to be King of a hermit Kingdom.  Ultimately, Valeria’s point that he could not accede to the title of Storm King without exerting his authority over other peoples resonated well within him and ended all debate as far as he was concerned.

Leon gave the order to contact Alhamachim again.  He had terms to present…

---

As Leon landed in the square in front of the Temple of Leth in Alhamachim, he mused that the city looked to be in much better condition than it had weeks ago.  In some respect, this wasn’t surprising, but he had to admire the people’s diligence and industriousness in fixing their city.  It wouldn’t bring anyone back to life and he could see that their agricultural sector was going to need a lot of additional work, but the city walls and most of the buildings had either been repaired or demolished by now.

Awaiting Leon in front of the Temple of Leth was Tauri and several dozen other men—about the same number as had been crucified outside the temple by the pirates, Leon noted.  Accompanying him were only a dozen Tempest Knights, Anzu, and Clear Day.  Two of the Tempest Knights were operating Ulta suits, which drew quite a bit of attention, Leon noticed.

And there were quite a few people to give that attention since hundreds of people had crowded around the square to be present for Leon’s return.  Cheers erupted as soon as he was visible and didn’t seem like they were going to stop any time soon.

When Leon touched down in front of the temple to the thundering applause of Alhamachim’s people, Tauri stepped forward.  “Welcome back to Alhamachim, King Leon!  We are pleased to welcome our savior back to our great city!”  Leon hadn’t thought it possible, but after Tauri’s welcome, the people cheering somehow became even louder, practically shaking the ridge the city had been built upon in their excitement.

Leon strode forward until he was within comfortable speaking distance of Tauri, which wasn’t that far away given how loud everyone was being.  “I’m thrilled to receive such welcome,” Leon stated with a genuine smile.  His negotiations with Tauri had gone surprisingly well, though he hadn’t expected such a welcome given what the city was giving up in exchange for his assistance.

Tauri extended an arm, and Leon clasped his wrist in greeting.  “We do not forget our debts,” Tauri gravely intoned.  “You saved our city; our people know this and honor you for it.”

Leon cast his gaze around the square, locking eyes with many adoring Hamachoi.  He wondered how many would be cheering for him in a few minutes.

“Shall we head inside?” he suggested.  “Who knows when your wayward Speaker will return, so let’s get the formalities out of the way before then.”

“Of course,” Tauri agreed.  “Though, at this point, I should note that Asa Hamil-Untar is no longer our Speaker, wayward or otherwise.  I have been bestowed that honor by the grace of my people.  The trust they have placed in me is truly humbling.”

Leon grinned stiffly as he was shown past the other Assembly members and into the temple.  Somehow, Leon didn’t think that the people would’ve been so trusting if they’d known where Tauri would lead them.

Clear Day and Anzu followed Leon and the city Assembly into the temple, but the Tempest Knights remained outside.  The Assembly room was a long rectangular hall with tiered benches on either side of the hall.  Most of these benches looked quite uncomfortable, but additional sets at the opposite end of the hall were clearly of higher quality.  The Assembly was only large enough to fill these smaller sets, so Leon speculated that these other benches were for the public to sit in on meetings on occasion.

‘Seems they don’t want the public to be here for this,’ Leon noted when the doors closed behind them.

Aside from the benches, there were two seats on a raised dais by the Assembly benches.  One was larger than the other, and a little more richly decorated.  Neither chair was particularly ornate, however.

Tauri extended his hand toward the larger of these two chairs.  “For you, King Leon.”

Showing as much confidence as he could, Leon sat in the high-backed chair, while Tauri sat in the smaller adjacent chair.  Anzu and Clear Day took their places on either side of the dais, while the rest of the Assembly filed into the benches closest to the dais.

“Now that we’re all here,” Tauri said in a loud, clear, and deliberate tone, “I call this meeting of Alhamachim’s Assembly to order!  We’re all here, so I’ll skip most of the formalities, with everyone’s permission…”  He paused a moment, and when no argument against came forth, he continued.  “We have assembled here today to finalize our treaty with King Leon and make our final vote!  Let us begin!”

He retrieved a long scroll from his soul realm in an almost theatrical fashion, giving anyone in the room the chance to raise their voices.  None took that opportunity, however.

“We have asked for your aid, King Leon, in maintaining our way of life and protecting our city from those who would threaten it, even if that threat were to come from one of our own citizens!  To gain your protection, we will provide you with Lumenite, ambrosia, and other assorted goods produced in our city, for as long as your protection stands.  In return for the city’s tribute, our people gain citizenship in your Kingdom, our respective merchants will pay no tariffs when conducting trade between us, and our Assembly, who will continue to be elected to administer our city per our laws and customs, will acknowledge you as our Strategos!”

Leon nodded slowly.  It was a fine enough summary.  He’d get their tribute, their allegiance, and their manpower in exchange for otherwise leaving them alone to conduct their own internal affairs.  He had no interest in micro-managing a single city, anyway.

“So long as that tribute continues to flow,” Leon responded as Tauri paused and looked to him for any comment, “and so long as you remain loyal to me as your Strategos, then you will have my protection.”

A shaky smile from Tauri was his reply, and he strode over to the closest Assembly bench, passing the scroll to the nearest Assembly member.  That member pressed a signet ring against the scroll beneath the agreement, inscribing his mark upon the paper to signify his assent.  He then passed the scroll to the next man, who did the same.  It only took a couple moments for the scroll to be passed around the entire Assembly, each man making his mark upon the scroll with little visible hesitation or trepidation.

When the scroll returned to Tauri, he pressed his signet ring against it, and then pressed a second, larger ring against the scroll to signify the city’s assent as a whole.  He then passed the scroll to Leon.

Leon scanned the document, verifying that it said what was supposed to and that all marks had been properly made.  Only then did he add his signature to the scroll, identifying himself only as ‘Leon Raime’ when he did so.

Then the entire process was repeated once more until two copies of the same document had been signed.

“And that’s that,” Tauri said as he took possession of one scroll and Leon took the other.  “Alhamachim is now under your protection, King Leon.  It may take some time for us to fulfill our obligations given the state of our city, but I’ve already seen to our stockpile of ambrosia and Lumenite…”  With a wave of his hand, he conjured ten amphorae that had been heavily warded to contain magic power and five large crates with similar enchantments.

Leon nodded to Clear Day, who opened one crate, revealing millions of coiled strands of Lumenite, each strand thinner than human hair.  He quickly shut the crate once its contents had been verified to keep too much magic from leaking before moving on to the amphorae.  He selected one at random, broke the seal, and checked within.  Amber light emanated from the opening, and the magic that Leon could sense verified its contents: ambrosia.

Ambrosia of a sort, anyway—what Tikos could grow and Helen could refine was much finer than what Leon could sense, though it was still undeniable what it was.

Again, Clear resealed the amphora before it lost much power and set it back down.  With a silent nod sent Leon’s way, he assumed his position by the dais once again.

“It seems this is all in order,” Leon stated as he pulled the crates and amphorae into his soul realm.  “I am proud to welcome your city into the arms of my Kingdom.  So long as we both have the proper respect for one another, then I foresee a productive relationship ahead of us.”

“So do I, King Leon,” Tauri responded.  “So do I.”

---

Following the finalization of their agreement and the first expansion of Leon’s Kingdom within the Nexus, Leon was invited to stay within the city for a time.  After agreeing, Leon was whisked from the Assembly hall and to an ornate, if somewhat small given the city’s narrow footprint, mansion within the city.  The Eagle consulars he’d sent ahead were waiting for him there, and after meeting with them to get their impressions of the city, he settled in for some rest.

To his surprise, the Eagles reported to him that the city had been nothing but welcoming.  It seemed that the people’s admiration for Leon after he dealt with the pirates transferred to them, to a large degree.  Even as Leon settled into the mansion, he could still hear the people cheering in the streets.

Some part of him was concerned that the Assembly wasn’t being truthful with its people, that they were making deals with him behind the people’s backs so that they wouldn’t oust them from power, and that once the people found out, these men would be forced from the Assembly and the agreement would be thusly nullified.  As he rested, however, he used his magic senses to observe many of the surprisingly common impromptu celebrations happening throughout the city, noting just how many people were expressing their joy at having a Strategos in their city.

And he couldn’t help but smile.  He was almost ashamed at how expectant he was of someone pulling the rug out from under him, revealing all of this to be nothing more than a ruse or clever trick to gain his strength without actually following through.  ‘What city would so willingly submit like this?’ he wondered.

In the end, he supposed Alhamachim was just that grateful for his aid with the pirates, and just that desperate given Asa’s actions.  The latter concerned him somewhat, as he figured if the city was so willing to become his vassal, then those Asa was calling upon would have to be rather terrifying.

His concerns were verified on the second day of his stay when Tauri came calling to his new mansion with the intent to discuss Alhamachim’s strategic situation and what Leon might have to deal with.  However, they’d barely gotten past their greetings when a messenger arrived bearing news that arks had departed from Ishtorpor.

Asa had made his case, and in a surprising amount of time, garnered enough support for his allies in the city to send five arks to Alhamachim—four destroyer-sized and one light cruiser.  Even more concerning, Strategos Djoser was personally accompanying Asa back to Alhamachim.  It seemed Leon’s protection had come just in time to be tested.

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