“Better nations have risen in the ashes. The Emperor of the Sands leads his armies across the deserts even now! The other nations break their armies upon his forces as he rises in the west. Nerrhavia sits fat and indolent to the south, and Medain pushes ever southwards against Jecrass and Belchan. While our people starve, Germina’s agents flit about, and the Quarass and Hellios test our borders. I have told you this time and time again, Lord! If you will not take the throne, why do you ask it of me?”
To the north, nations like the realm of Belchan which was a parliamentary government who elected a [Minister], and the Republic of Jecrass, who had a [King], ruled. Minor powers, but powers nonetheless. West of Germina was the land of Kheltha, of course, and no one threatened them. They had stayed out of the war with Flos.
“Perhaps. It need not come to that. But I wish to secure Hellios. If we do, we’ll have ample time to react to any threat coming from the north. There are a trio of nations bordering our lands at the moment to the north and east. Of them, the realm of Belchan and the Jecrass Republic are closest. Even so, Belchan is eight days north of Hellios’ capital even with a marching Skill for any army. No danger—unless we’re attacked from multiple spots at once.”
“Perhaps. It need not come to that. But I wish to secure Hellios. If we do, we’ll have ample time to react to any threat coming from the north. There are a trio of nations bordering our lands at the moment to the north and east. Of them, the realm of Belchan and the Jecrass Republic are closest. Even so, Belchan is eight days north of Hellios’ capital even with a marching Skill for any army. No danger—unless we’re attacked from multiple spots at once.”
“All the countries that could threaten Reim, at least in the short term. You see this nation to our west? Khelt. And these two northern countries north of Hellios and Germina? Those are the Republic of Belchan, to the west, and the Realm of Jecrass, respectively.”
Trey peered at all three nations. Khelt bordered Reim, at least, according to Flos’ map. And Belchan and Jecrass were both around Germina and Hellios in size.
“Belchan is home to one of the [Mage] schools in Chandrar, not nearly as famous as Wistram, but still important. Moreover, it is a fruitful place—you see, it gets more water, as do the nations on the coasts. Jecrass is known for its fine horses, and I know their [King], Raelt, of old. But he was ‘only’ on the level of the Quarass, so I suppose both nations are ‘only’ as militarily powerful as Germina and Hellios.”
The King of Destruction had kept on outlining countries as he spoke, taking time to make them properly squiggly, as Trey saw it. Two nations appeared north of Belchan and Jecrass, and a very large kingdom appeared south of Reim, only separated by the tiny strips of no-man’s land. To the left, Flos drew a few other states, a long strip of a country, a weird, tiny circle, and two more nations. Then the King of Destruction flexed his hand and grimaced.
He tapped the map. Trey stared. Four nations north of Hellios and Germina, including Belchan and Jecrass, the huge nation to the south of Reim, and four smaller countries to the southwest.
Fat chance of that. Raelt knew that whoever looked through the mirror on the other side could see and hear whatever was happening around the statue in Jecrass. And while he trusted the man on the other side, Minister Lyfelt was still the head of Belchan, and thus the ruler of another nation. They had set up this system to communicate, but Raelt wouldn’t share all the workings of his court with Belchan.
Fat chance of that. Raelt knew that whoever looked through the mirror on the other side could see and hear whatever was happening around the statue in Jecrass. And while he trusted the man on the other side, Minister Lyfelt was still the head of Belchan, and thus the ruler of another nation. They had set up this system to communicate, but Raelt wouldn’t share all the workings of his court with Belchan.
The marble bust had cost Jecrass’ treasury 28,413 gold pieces exactly. Raelt had added in the price of getting a [Mage] who specialized in both enchanting and stone magic to come from Belchan, carve and enchant the marble head here while being housed in the finest rooms and treated like a royal visitor, and then come back to repair the magical head twice when the spell malfunctioned.
Was it worth the coin? Well, yes. Raelt and Lyfelt could communicate instantaneously this way, which saved the issue of trusting a [Mage] with [Message] spells. Additionally, they could properly chat rather than write brief text messages to each other. Raelt still resented the cost, but Belchan had paid for an enchanted mirror and that had to be double what he’d spent.
That was Belchan for you, though. They were home to one of the [Mage] schools of Chandrar, not nearly as impressive as Wistram, but certainly lucrative for the magic users that called the nation home. Added to that, Belchan was richer in water and natural resources—they had a small gold mine as well as rich fields for agriculture. The one thing they didn’t have was a monarchy, which currently Raelt regarded as a plus.
