Serial
97: Afterstorm
March 25nd, 33 S.D. 11:08 Capital City, Henron
Liveta sat at her desk that morning, writing sharply on a sheet of paper. It was but one of many documents she needed to transcribe in the aftermath of the Sventa-Henron war. It always seemed so strange to her that every battle carried with it a stream of forms and reports, but that was how things had been for a long time. As the slanting sun filtered in behind her through the window, she paused for a moment. If they really were on the verge of changing Henron, perhaps she could get rid of this dull task, or at least reduce its scope. Maybe those Gandian machines - typewriters as she’d heard them called - could be imported.
She sighed as she set her pen down; after two hours, a break sounded quite nice. Liveta stood up and stretched, walking towards the glass. Beyond the panes, she could see parts of the city, and further still stood the great plains. Beams of warmth stroked her face on this clear cloudless day.
“Quite a view,” she muttered to herself. Liveta frowned slightly, thinking that she might have to exchange this picturesque scene for something else. But, then again, couldn’t she just keep this office even as she took her new job? With her authority, no one could really say no to her... These thoughts were interrupted by three short knocks at her door, however.
“Come on in,” she called, staring out the window. The handle clicked softly as it swung open. Losha entered, looking around briefly.
“Good morning, Prime Lead,” she said. Liveta turned around, smiling.
“Sa, the same to you, Losha. However, I am only acting in that capacity. The title will not be finalized until our new government is formed.”
“But in all likelihood, the duties will fall on you?”
“Sa, I cannot dispute that,” Liveta said, shaking her head. “I never expected it to happen, least of all in such a manner. I always figured that when he either died or got too old for the military, I would be in no shape myself to accept the position. Fate saw things differently though. Tell me, are you enjoying your stay in the capital? You last visit was strikingly abrupt, you know.”
“Well, it could not have been helped back then,” Losha laughed. “I must say though, I have found the past few days a pleasant reprieve from all the troubles we have faced recently. Your capital is a beautiful place. I am actually very fond of the main street, the one that runs from the eastern gate towards the court. I seem to have become something of a regular at Zeva’s Book Keep in only a few short days, I must admit. I only wish this place were a bit more open. It would be lovely to have a constant view of the plains, but the city walls block it.”
“Sa, it would be nice if we did not need them or the gates. Perhaps in better times, Losha.” For an instant, Liveta cast a glance at the window.
“Those will come sooner than you think. Which reminds me, you really must visit Sevia sometime. It would be lovely if you could witness the Wind Festival during the summer. I was serious the last time I suggested it.”
“So your offer still stands? I thank you kindly then. I am sure Tibil and I will have to visit eventually at any rate. If not for pleasure, then certainly on state business.”
“How are things going on that end anyway?” Losha asked.
“Come, have a seat,” Liveta gestured at a chair facing her desk. “It is I who requested you. For a conversation as lengthy as ours, it would be terribly rude of me to ask you to stand.”
“Sa, I suppose even I cannot always be on my feet...” Losha said, pulling up a chair. Liveta too sat down, leaning back as far as her furniture would allow.
“News of the past four days has only just sunk in for all of Henron. The loyalists have completely lost whatever support was theirs before the last battle. Albolt feels that a lot of people in this clan are ready for a council to decide our course from now on. Heigon may have been the thing that turned everyone’s mind. Ironic that previously our autocrats were the very thing that stabilized this land. Yet recently, a single man led us to ruin, almost. Strangely, Heigon still managed to unify us in a way. The thinking today is that one person alone is too great a single point of failure. There has to be a way to prevent any similar future... mistakes. A body of representative from different regions of Henron would avoid that, in theory. Everyone else is willing to believe in it, so Albolt tells me from initial feedback.”
“It will take weeks to gain a fuller understanding of moods and attitudes, many more to organize potential delegates and certify them all, and months to rewrite the basis of our laws under this new system. In other words, we still have a thousand more steps to take before anything real gets done. You can upend old orders in an instant, but building your own requires an investment of time. Even so, I have no doubt in my mind that we will get there, no matter how long the journey takes. The hardest part is over, hopefully.”
“It had better be over,” Losha laughed again. “I would not like to do this all over again, especially my battle with TRIBLADE, or that prison stint...”
Liveta opened her mouth to speak, but quickly pursed her lips as she looked aside.
“Prime Lead?” Losha asked.
“I will save it for the next topic,” Liveta said, waving her hand as if the subject were unimportant.
“Sa, if you say so. What about Tibil?”
“He will be our first Marshal. As I am sure he has told you already, his powers are to be considerably less than his father’s. He will still serve an important function, but for now emergency powers have been granted to me. Tibil felt it would look bad if he assumed control of everything, but it was a wise decision. Martial law makes sense for our current situation. I do not like having absolute power anymore than he does, but we know this is temporary. Anyway, he is preparing himself for his coming tasks as best as he can. He will not be our head of state, but he will be our face to the world.”
“I suppose he and I are not unlike one another,” Losha mused. Liveta cocked her head at an angle.
“How so?”
“Sa, neither of us really wanted much to do with political power, even though he and I both came from the most influential families of our respective lands. He was to inherit Heigon’s court, while I hailed from the Torom of Holvate, where our house holds considerable sway over Sventa. Still, I can tell he is reluctant to be in charge of things. I was never fond of being Torom, even though it has scarcely been a year since the title fell to my father and the rest of us. Still, here Tibil and I are, using our positions to make decisions for our clans.”
“Well, in either of your situations, it cannot be helped,” Liveta nodded. “The people of Henron need a stable figure to guide them in the interim, and Tibil is quite popular among our various citizens. You are the highest ranking member of Sventa here at present, and you are widely trusted and respected in your homeland and Henron. It comes to you and him to see that the beginnings of diplomacy between our two peoples takes root.”
“Sa, I know that,” Losha said, folding her arms. “I merely wish others would stop being so formal with me. It does not suit me at all.”
Liveta chuckled even as Losha frowned slightly. “What did you expect? You have done much for Henron despite your lineage. You are one of the few reasons Henron has a chance to prosper. Of course people are going to respect you for all you have worked for.”
“I am still young and relatively... unaccustomed to adult life here in the Central Plains, yet to hear ‘Ver Holvate, Ver Holvate,’ all from people nearly twice my age... It is a bit awkward.”
“I do not know what to say, Wolf; you earned it.”
“Now, see, ‘Wolf’ is fine too, but the other forms of address simply come off as too stuffy.”
“That is how it goes in the ‘official’ world. You will get a lot more of that during the signing ceremony.”
“Oh, about that,” Losha began. “When is that scheduled for?”
“In three days. The document, the peace treaty between Henron and Sventa, that was already drafted by Albolt before the Battle of the Tafren Plains. When Prime Lead Delri left with her division, she took it with her. By now, your government should send word about its acceptance.”
“Another emergency meeting of the Tabran,” Losha hummed. “I am certain Harle loved that... At any rate, it should easily win majority support.”
“With your endorsement, Losha, I cannot imagine how Sventa could even think to reject it. Besides, our armies have essentially engaged in our own peace pact already. The fighting is done.” Liveta eyed a clock on the wall behind Losha. “Sa, I had better get on about why I called you here. I would like for us to have casual conversations again some time, like in Navaran. Unfortunately, this little chat cannot be one of those.”
Losha leaned closer, weaving her fingers together in her lap. “What is it?” she asked, her voice full of concern.
“TRIBLADE,” Liveta answered, looking directly at the serialist. “As you saw firsthand, Suvla was killed in action... by her own actions. According to Delri, Avil is still in Sventa custody. As a condition of his repatriation, we have agreed to share some of his technologies with Sventa. It was probably the only way we could get him back, alive at least. Also stipulated is that he never serve as an enemy combatant against Sventa, or Henron for that matter. He will only fight our mutual foes, assuming he ever takes to the battlefield again. Now we get to Koter...”
Upon hearing that name, Losha narrowed her eyes. “What about him?”
“From what you understand, he was a loyalist who fought to thwart our efforts. He interfered with you on no less than three separate occasions. He was right beside Govan the entire time our coup took place. By all accounts, he was our enemy.”
“Is he going to stand trial, like Govan’s other high officers?”
Liveta shook her head. “Only a select few are to be tried, mostly those around Ano, and obviously the Core Lead himself. Others, such as Lisk, will be stripped of their rank. Koter is not among any of them, however.”
Losha raised an eyebrow but briefly. “Not among them?” she asked. “Do explain the matter for me, Liveta.”
“He was never on their side, Losha. Koter the Velhast Hound was a rebel spy, acting all the time behind the scenes to precipitate Heigon’s fall and subsequently Govan’s as well.”
“I find that hard to believe,” Losha said, turning her head to the side for a moment.
“As did I,” Liveta assured her. From a drawer, she extracted a stack of papers clipped together. “These documents prove it though. Have a look for yourself.” She handed the sheets over to Losha who began flipping and skimming over them.
“Allow me to break down what all really happened,” Liveta said as she steepled her fingers on her desk. “From the outset of the war, Koter and Albolt conspired to bring an end to Heigon’s rule. Albolt was ousted as a minister from Heigon’s court and was supposed to have been killed. Koter intervened, making it look like Albolt had died in a chase. Similarly, months ago, Koter saved Tibil and brought him to a safe-house with Albolt. The two of them can confirm their experiences personally if you ask.”
“Well, it is all stated here... But why no mention of this to us back then? You and I remained clueless even after we seized Capital City. The least either of them could have done was tell you, Liveta. After all, Koter is your godson.”
“Operational security. His status as a mole was need-to-know only. The more people that knew, the greater the chance he would be outed. Regardless, you and I would have known much sooner if the events at the Ganglan Pass had been different. We were supposed to have been contacted and persuaded to Albolt’s cause, but we were both jailed.”
“Now that I recall, Koter said something about bringing me back to someone when we fought.”
“Koter and Albolt had slowly been gathering allies across the land. We were going to be next, but that shrieking Ano... Nevertheless, Koter orchestrated our escape from Navaran as well.”
“What?”
“Sa. He planted two agents in our cell-block. The first was a guard, Kasan, who told you to wait a certain amount of days before breaking out. 46 days was it? They got you to agree to hide your serialization during that time. Alant was the second. He came to you and explained Albolt’s larger plans. Koter also falsified information about your abilities, that you needed the use of your hands to perform the art. Our escape perfectly coincided with Govan’s planned invasion of Sventa. Koter timed it so that Govan would have to abandon his efforts before he even reached your border. It also handed us the capital without much fuss. Additionally, the serasword was never used on your clan, save for what happened to the Sventa Second Division.”
“Wait, wait,” Losha said, holding up her hand. “As I told Alant earlier, I do not remember talking to any guards in Navaran, and no one named Kasan. I never heard anything from any one.” Liveta looked at Losha curiously. “Sa, no one spoke to me at all. Unless... You remember the guard I was choking when you were being escorted into your cell? Could that have been Kasan?”
“The one that... had some rather inappropriate contact with you?”
“Never heard a word from him though.”
“How on the Continent did you know to wait then?”
“Hmm...” Losha stalled, wondering whether or not she should divulge Suvla’s ghost in her dreams. “Heard it from a rather foxy woman I once met,” was all she said. Liveta twisted her mouth from side-to-side, perplexed by the cryptic answer. Eventually, she sighed and shook her head again.
“I suppose Koter’s first agent failed to do his job but reported his success anyway. Ksh! Well, you obtained the details; that is what mattered the most. Koter had to adjust all of his plans when we were captured, but the serasword really caught him off-guard. Evidently, not even he knew about its development until Govan revealed it. Still, he managed to pull under his scheme.”
“Each of his battles with you was a front to conceal his other motives. As a result of your first encounter with the Velhast Hound, you successfully eliminated the special cannons Avil had been producing, weakening the Henron army. In the Ganglan Pass, he faced off against you so that no one would get suspicious of your meeting, but Ano stuck his nose in that affair. Your final fight at Binfort was a cover so he could destroy those batteries while making it look like collateral damage. You must realize that Govan reached Binfort before you did; he could have picked up the batteries himself. Instead, Koter volunteered to retrieve them while Govan went to the Tafren Plains. After Koter ‘accidentally’ ruined the batteries, Govan’s serastone was forced to deplete itself that much faster, making the Prime Lead weaker in the end. Furthermore, he said he gave you some valuable information about beating Govan, a coded message or something to that effect.”
Losha thought for a moment about what Liveta meant by that last statement. She didn’t remember Koter telling her anything like that during their last encounter. To be fair, she had blanked out for a while, but her memory of that time was completely void. Perhaps... it had to do with that sudden awakening she’d experienced. She still couldn’t explain where all of that skill and prowess had come from. Losha had been able to best Koter in hand-to-hand combat despite the number of years he’d probably been practicing. She had only been in the field for a few months, using basic attacks and maneuvers, a total amateur. Still, her abilities, for whatever reason, had taken a sudden leap during their match in Binfort.
Just as well, that peculiarly powerful series she’d used on Govan seemed to come out of nowhere. All of these oddities appeared linked to that one time she lost herself, and that event itself looked like it was linked to Koter. What had that wily dog been up to? For as much as Livtea revealed to her, a handful of mysteries remained.
“I see... so that was his game,” Losha said. “How else has he helped, out of sight?”
“Koter was responsible for leaking intelligence to Sventa, to your direct commander, Boz, I believe? Your first mission was carefully coordinated between the two of them. Not only did that create a setback for the Henron army, it gave Koter a chance to meet and assess you personally.”
“Assess me?” Losha scoffed. “I could have died if I were not as tenacious as he was. Ksh! I took a crossbow bolt to the side, and he took a winter swim through the Sholat River... It is really a wonder either of us made it.”
“It all had to be convincing. Koter says he knew both your limits and his own. Boz also knew about the Talimer Forest and our northern incursion in advance. This was to position you as close and as quickly to the areas of operation as possible.”
“He knew Sventa was going to be invaded?” Losha asked. Her jaw tightened along with her fists as she scowled down at the floor. “Then why did Boz let it happen at all?!”
“Such a move would have alerted Govan that something was wrong. He would have suspected a spy if Sventa preemptively put a stop to our forces. Only a select few people knew of those orders before we marched out. Koter was one of them; he was there when Sulva and I received our orders. Koter ultimately wanted to have the Henron army weakened by war so the coup would go on smoothly. You appeared to be the most effective means of doing so. You defeated legions and demoralized our troops.”
“Hmph!” Losha shook her head. “But there was still much blood paid in exchange... The people of Totul and Valia were lucky. The people of Leitis, however... When I went there, Ano’s soldiers had ran rampant all over the place. Buildings were ransacked, bodies were simply left to rot on the streets. To think that Boz could have done nothing, absolutely nothing to prevent that... I do not believe it.”
Her mind turned to Jun, the orphan she’d rescued, the sole survivor of that ghost town. She was now all he had to rely on. The poor boy’s world had been torn asunder that day. His life would maintain the scars even as time passed.
“Gah...” she growled in disgust.
“I do not blame you for your anger,” Liveta said, nodding. “But that is something Boz must explain for himself.”
“Indeed, he must. I shall have him answer me directly.”
“It may not be my place to say, but do not infuriate yourself too greatly. There may be reasons behind Boz’s actions. In any case, hear it from him first, then pass your judgment.”
“Is that all Koter did?” Losha asked as she ran through the remaining pages.
“Shortly after the Battle of the Tafren Plains began, he actually started disarming Govan’s soldiers in close-combat. Remember those knives he had, the serastone ones? Apparently there was a third. He used that to fight against the loyalists, piercing the light that surrounded them. In effect, he acted as your counterpart during combat. Ostensibly, he secured Doctor Sansat’s research before you came to Binfort and used the remaining store of serastone to make his own weapons. Thanks to Koter as well, all of our serastone is accounted for, and the knowledge on how to use it has been safely sealed. Last but not least, Koter was the one who brought you to the doctor, after you defeated Govan. He carried you by himself across the battlefield.”
Losha sighed as she put the papers back on Liveta’s desk. “So... he was never an enemy all along?” she asked aloud, as if she still didn’t believe it.
“Far from it. He was a pivotal player in everything that happened. The results of this war may have been entirely different were it not for his intervention. The same is to be said of you, Losha. Hmm... Now imagine that, the Wolf and the Hound. Two who were supposedly foes, yet in the end had the same objectives. We have no tales about that at all,” Liveta said with a laugh. “But then again, perhaps it is too fanciful to really think you two the embodiments of characters from our oldest stories.”
“At the very least, I think he and I are true rivals.”
“Really now? I would expect him to say something like that. I know he fought you dangerously, but that was to make every situation as real as possible, so no one could guess his true intention whenever he was around you.”
“No, it is more than that,” Losha insisted. “It is merely something that exists between the two of us now. I find it hard to accurately phrase, but we are still at odds in a way. We are opposites, yet complements.”
“I think I see what you mean,” Liveta replied slowly, glancing up for a bit.
“So, what now? For the two of you?” Losha wondered. “He is your family, sa? Where do you go from this point?”
“Sa, how true. His mother died young; I have cared for him most of his life. We will simply pick up where we left off,” Liveta smiled faintly. “I... I understand the things he did, the risks he took. Though I hardly agree with all of them, I have to respect his choices, from one soldier to another. Sa. I think we should start there, understanding the roles each of us had in this conflict, and then respect...” she said, her voice trailing off softly.
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