XXI

Pacifistic Warlord

Men Za-Hel stood in front of his father's throne; the tall, fur-draped chair stationed in the center of the back wall, in the main lobby of the General's Hut. It was a throne he had sat in many times, in a building he had called his home for nine years. But it was always just the whims of a child, pretending to be his father, inside of his father's home. Now it was his home. His throne.

He hadn't sat in it since he became General. In all honesty, he found it hard and uncomfortable- and chairs are just generally incompatible with Aarakocra’s skeletal structure. They're too bony, too angular for them. But- tradition is tradition, and thrones have been synonymous with power since the elven age.

Men wrapped the Celestial Bane around his left hand, feeling its intense magical aura seeping through his skin and into his bloodstream. Holding it made him feel secure, somehow. Righteous.

He thrust his left fist into the air- and in return, the nobles standing in front of him- and Rey and Kim behind him- pumped their own fists up, and let out a resolute cheer. As Men lowered his hand, his audience beat their right arms to their chests to salute, and went at ease.

And just like that, the festivities were over. Men's reign as Head General had begun in earnest, as the nobles made very clear- by their immediate approaching and harassing of the boy as soon as the salute was done.

"General, it's an honor to serve under you." Began Nael Ta-Or, Blüdtak's noblewoman. "I was wondering- being such a renowned warrior yourself- if you would find it beneficial to increase land tourism to Blüdtak's Coliseum through the establishment of smaller tournaments throughout the Land District. It could help increase revenue, and give the land dwellers something to watch."

"Uh- that's not a terrible idea." Men replied. "But I don't think the Land Dwellers are in the right spirits to play sports with us just yet. The Coliseum is doing fine as it is."

Nael frowned, and thought up a rebuttal. Before she could, the noble of Tam Häaven, Lye Mai-Ra, took her place.

"General, dragon training is steadily more popular with Flightless. We've had to catch so many wyrmlings to keep up that the island is having trouble relying on Freefield to keep its cabinets stocked. I'd like to request permission to set up regular hunting missions in Dustlow Forest."

"That's not our property, Lye." Men shook his head. I can't permit that- not to mention Dustlow is already in no condition to become a hunting ground."

“But if you negotiated-”

Rey stepped up to his son's side, and glared at Lye. "As I've already told you, Lye. You know that can't happen. Don't badger my son with your nonsense."

"Of course. Forgive my intrusion, General."

Once Lye stepped away, without missing a beat, Rin Sha-Hid of the Sunset Isles stepped up.

"Men- deserters have been congregating in Vagrant Peak for years. It's past due that we claim it as an island and keep it from bleeding our numbers dry."

"What?" Men asked. "But isn't that the point of the peak? It's a safe haven for immigrants of the Land District."

"That's exactly the problem." Rin frowned. "It's motivating our people to encourage the Land Dwellers' anarchy. It's a tumor on our development- and theirs."

"Taking the peak would be ridiculously aggressive, Rin. Practically an act of war."

"Great! Our troops stand ready. We can quell a few birds and fish if they want to stay put."

"Hang on, that's-"

"The Dragonrider Division stands ready as well, General!" Lye saluted.

"About time we brought those cowards back home!" Nael shouted.

"Wait, you can't seriously-" Men stammered.

"Come on, General, the Water District is in no position to fight back! What are the Land Dwellers going to do? This is a perfect chance to start saving them."

"But if they do fight back, who knows how many we'd kill!?" Men argued.

"They're already dying! They're all starving because we keep dragging our feet!" Rin started sizing Men up.

"Rin, you can't seriously think-"

"I do! We all do! Are you blind to their anguish, General? Do you not care!?"

Nael and Lye stood beside Rin as they started crowding around Men.

"Of course I care, but our relations-"

"Your father’s relations!" Nael shouted. "They're weak- the fish are distracted, let's finally get somewhere!"

"You could go farther than your father's ever dreamed of, General!" Lye pleaded. "Give the command!"

"We can't afford to pass this opportunity up, Men! We have to claim the peak!" Rin demanded

"But we can't-"

"We have to!" Rin interrupted. "Today, General! Claim the peak! Claim the peak!"

Men's thoughts were scrambled by the sudden chanting of 'claim the peak' by the ten or so nobles and other soldiers listening in on the conversation. His head starting to ache, Men felt his ticks climbing up his throat. He quickly excused himself and retreated to his bedroom, Rey and Kim walking in with him.

"My God!" Men groaned. "They're insatiable!"

Kim shook her head. "They've always been aggressive, but this seems even worse than usual. How did you do this for so long, Rey?"

"I didn't have to, for long." Rey crossed his arms. "And you're right, they are worse than normal. The nobles when I first started were just as bad as these kids are."

"So what do I do?" Men pleaded. "I can hardly get two words in!"

"You don't 'get your words in,' you say your piece. Snap those pheasant's beaks shut until you tell them to talk to you! You're in charge of them Men- you control them, you have to show them you know it."

"But they're my staff, I have to work with them." Men argued. "How do I keep them in line if I don't know what they want?"

"No, I think Rey's right." Kim nodded. "What they want right now isn't important yet. You need to come in here with a vision- a full plan of what you intend to do with the future. Make them shape their requests- and their wants- around that vision."

"My… vision?" Men asked. "What-… what is… I d- trill- don't know what my vision is."

"Like hell you don't!" Rey laughed. "Are you trying to tell me you kicked my ass halfway to the grave on a whim? You took this throne because you couldn't accept me leading us to war, son. That's where your vision is."

Kim kneeled down, and took Men's hands. "You know what you want, Men. If you don't know how to express it, then just… model the leadership you admire."

Men looked Kim in the eyes, and contemplated her words. He thought about leadership; what it meant to him, which aspects of which people he admired. What kind of leader he wanted to become. To his surprise, someone did come to mind.

Men nodded, and stood up.

The nobles, keeping themselves busy by bickering with each other while the Head General was away, came to attention as Men Za-Hel stepped back out to the lobby, and once again stood in front of his throne. He saluted, and they all saluted in return.

"My name is Men Za-Hel of the Sky District. By right of the blade, I have earned my place as your Head General. Your leader. It is by that right that I inform you that our nation will not be living by that same blade. Not nearly to extent that we have under my father's rule, or the rule of countless generals before him."

The nobles listened intently, Men made a point to keep the Celestial Bane visible at all times as his speech went on.

"The Land District is a nation wounded by instability and anarchy. The gravity of the situation befalling its people does not escape me- and to be sure, I share your urgency in my desire to deliver its people from poverty and oppression of nature. But that deliverance is to the end of saving lives. To instigate war… to sacrifice the immediate well being of the land dwellers for the sake of saving them defeats the point of what we are doing."

"This is not a binary decision, noblemen. We are not choosing between war and stagnation, there is another way. Through the path of peace and diplomacy, we may cure the ails that befall the helpless without needing to harm them. It is that path that we will walk, for however long we are able."

"Even at our own detriment, I will not sacrifice one life when I know it not to be necessary. We will maintain honesty, dignity, and virtue as we build our relationship with the land, and even the water. That is the ideal we must hold ourselves to if we truly wish to make a better future. Not just us, but everyone- of all nations. To that end, I ask that you give me your faith, and your loyalty, as we do all that we can to save all of Solevi's people."

The nobles stared at Men apprehensively. Rin Sha-Hid glared, and shook his head.

"You're dooming thousands more to die, Za-Hel." Rin growled. "To let a people wallow in filth so you may keep your hands free of blood. Are those your ambitions?"

"Those are my orders." Men returned Rin's glare. "Do you have a problem with them, Sha-Hid?"

The two stood off in tense silence. Rey and Kim waited for Rin to continue arguing, but…

"Of course not, sir." He turned. "I'll inform my troops at once that they'll be staying home just a bit longer."

The other nobles all turned to leave shortly after Rin. Satisfied, but apprehensive, Men kept his eye on Rin, watching him walk away until he was completely out of sight.

Once the hut was empty once again, Rey proudly patted his son on the back, and Kim let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank God that satisfied them." Men huffed. "I already want to go into hibernation."

"Well, before we lose you, there is one more thing." Rey noted. "The colony- the recent one just south of Clearbrooke. Preparations are almost complete to claim it as an island, and assimilate its residents. However, a few days ago, some of my troops brought to my attention that many of Clearbrooke's people requested that the colony stay put, so they may use its resources to recover from the Dragon attack. I brushed them off, myself- but it seems like something you'd be interested in."

Men held his fingers to his chin, and thought about the colony. "This would have been back when they still believed us to be responsible for the razing. I'm sure some of them still do. To give them food and shelter, while letting them stay home… they would certainly appreciate the gesture…"

Kim cocked her head to the side, curious. "Are you going to do it, Men?"

After a long pause, Men shook his head. "Continue with the colony's assimilation. They knew that was the intention from the beginning. We'll do more good by bringing what few people we can up here, than throwing money down a well and letting them go back to killing each other."

Rey nodded. "As you wish. I'll head there and tell them for you myself, son."