01-13-2022, 09:48 AM
Palace of Flowers, Tlālacuetztla
Chamber of Whispers
January 13th
In the private chamber where the rulers of Xiomera had met with their subordinates for centuries, the mood was grim. The announcement of the Sanctarian naval base in Huenya had thrown a giant, Sanctarian-sized monkey wrench into Xiomeran dreams of domination in Caxcana. The room buzzed with angry discussion about "interfering foreigners" and "craven, opportunistic Huenyan cowards" and worse. All of the heated muttering, however, came to an abrupt halt when the double doors to the Chamber opened. The doors, despite being massive and heavy, inlaid with gold and jewels, barely made a whisper as they opened - fitting for the room they opened onto. But the person walking through those doors got attention, no matter what noise was taking place. Everyone seated around the Chamber stood and saluted as Empress Calhualyana strode in and took her customary place at the center of the room.
Despite the announcement that had just shaken everyone else in the room to their core, the Empress herself seemed unperturbed. "We all know why I have called you here for this emergency meeting. I want to hear your options in response," Calhualyana said, coolly peeling an orange with her dagger as she waited.
Toquauhtli, the portly Minister of State, stood up first. "It's clear that, like Laeral, Sanctaria is taking an interest in affairs in eastern Caxcana. I would recommend that we pull back on some of our more aggressive actions of late. Curtail the construction of artificial islands and naval defenses, scrap the planned naval expansion, get the mercenaries out of Auria. We have frankly attracted too much scrutiny, and it is best that we start taking measures to take the heat and the eyes off of us for a while."
A sharp laugh of contempt echoed in response; the excellent acoustics of the Chamber allowed it to ring for quite a while, as if a chorus was mocking the Minister of State. "That is a plan as soft as your belly, Toquauhtli." The Minister of Defense, Chuanacoyo, stood up next. "I say we double down, show the Sanctarians and everyone else that we will not be intimidated into backing down. Speed up our defense plans even more, build even more reinforcements in Auria, do even more to destabilize Huenya. Xiomera will never gain acceptance from these 'democratic' nations if we show weakness. They will just take that as a sign that we are too soft to fight, and they will pressure us even more. It will never end. We must stand strong now, or lose respect and lose the support of both our people and our allies."
Toquauhtli huffed, as much in response to the comment about his belly as about Chuanacoyo's remarks. "Oh yes, let's do exactly as you say, and blunder ourselves right into a war. One we, I must point out, cannot win. With such brilliant leadership, it's no wonder we won the civil war....oh wait. We didn't, did we?" Chuanacoyo turned bright red with anger, but before he could reply, Toquauhtli turned towards the Empress. "Your Majesty, we must let diplomacy work for once. We cannot outspend, outarm, and outrecruit half the world. That would be madness."
"The only madness is your idea that we can appease people who hate us and everything we stand for, and somehow still survive, you fat balding twit!" Chuanacoyo shouted.
Prime Minister Toquihu, sighing, stood up and glared at both men until they sat down. "Can we please dispense with the tantrums, gentlemen? This is a time that calls for adult leadership."
"I must wholeheartedly agree," the Empress said, as she popped an orange wedge into her mouth. The dagger in her hand idly pointed at Toquauhtli, then Chuanacoyo, before finally coming to point at Tochuitli. "What does my esteemed Minister of Security have to say?"
Tochuitli stood up, smiling. "I say we need not, and indeed should not, follow either extreme as my colleagues are proposing. We should thread the needle, as they say. A little bit of one, a little bit of the other. Put on a more diplomatic face, perhaps soften up some of the domestic measures that annoy the soft-hearted democracies so much. Become more 'open' and 'cooperative' to their face. Put them off guard. Make them think the Sanctarian presence in our backyard has cowed us, that we are going to 'behave' now. While we are doing that.....continue to build up our military and economic strength. Build our support domestically, build the strength of the XCP and the Throne. Wait for the right moment to strike. It may be tomorrow, or decades from now. It will require patience, cunning and guile. It will require wisdom, restraint and a hell of a lot of luck. But the path to a New Empire is still there for us. It will just require a.....longer timetable. Possibly much longer. But someday, everyone who is seeking to contain us will get distracted, or bored, or just weak. And on that day, we will be ready, as long as we don't do anything to ruin things prematurely."
The Empress smiled, slowly, as she thought. "You're a wise one, Tochuitli." She stood up, walking towards the large picture windows on one wall of the Chamber. From here, she could see Tlālacuetztla in all of its sprawling beauty. She looked slowly around the Chamber, everything about the room and in it a practical timeline of the long and glorious history that had been directed in it. "The first Empire was the product of centuries of work. Due to our own weakness, we lost it. But we can, and will, rebuild and exceed it. The New Empire shall arise, even if I am destined merely to lay its foundations for some future Emperor or Empress to complete."
Calhualyana touched her stomach softly, a slight smile crossing her face. Only a very few people knew that the next ruler of Xiomera after her had already come into being.
"We will not fail, falter, or give up. That New Empire we dream of is the right of every Xiomeran. And, no matter what, I will not sacrifice that dream at anyone else's bidding. Not even the Sanctarians," the Empress said firmly. "The birthright the gods have bestowed upon us is no one else's right to give, or take away. No matter how long it takes, even if it's another six centuries, Xiomera will attain its rightful place in the world. Do not lose hope," she told her cabinet.
"We have all the time in the world."
Chamber of Whispers
January 13th
In the private chamber where the rulers of Xiomera had met with their subordinates for centuries, the mood was grim. The announcement of the Sanctarian naval base in Huenya had thrown a giant, Sanctarian-sized monkey wrench into Xiomeran dreams of domination in Caxcana. The room buzzed with angry discussion about "interfering foreigners" and "craven, opportunistic Huenyan cowards" and worse. All of the heated muttering, however, came to an abrupt halt when the double doors to the Chamber opened. The doors, despite being massive and heavy, inlaid with gold and jewels, barely made a whisper as they opened - fitting for the room they opened onto. But the person walking through those doors got attention, no matter what noise was taking place. Everyone seated around the Chamber stood and saluted as Empress Calhualyana strode in and took her customary place at the center of the room.
Despite the announcement that had just shaken everyone else in the room to their core, the Empress herself seemed unperturbed. "We all know why I have called you here for this emergency meeting. I want to hear your options in response," Calhualyana said, coolly peeling an orange with her dagger as she waited.
Toquauhtli, the portly Minister of State, stood up first. "It's clear that, like Laeral, Sanctaria is taking an interest in affairs in eastern Caxcana. I would recommend that we pull back on some of our more aggressive actions of late. Curtail the construction of artificial islands and naval defenses, scrap the planned naval expansion, get the mercenaries out of Auria. We have frankly attracted too much scrutiny, and it is best that we start taking measures to take the heat and the eyes off of us for a while."
A sharp laugh of contempt echoed in response; the excellent acoustics of the Chamber allowed it to ring for quite a while, as if a chorus was mocking the Minister of State. "That is a plan as soft as your belly, Toquauhtli." The Minister of Defense, Chuanacoyo, stood up next. "I say we double down, show the Sanctarians and everyone else that we will not be intimidated into backing down. Speed up our defense plans even more, build even more reinforcements in Auria, do even more to destabilize Huenya. Xiomera will never gain acceptance from these 'democratic' nations if we show weakness. They will just take that as a sign that we are too soft to fight, and they will pressure us even more. It will never end. We must stand strong now, or lose respect and lose the support of both our people and our allies."
Toquauhtli huffed, as much in response to the comment about his belly as about Chuanacoyo's remarks. "Oh yes, let's do exactly as you say, and blunder ourselves right into a war. One we, I must point out, cannot win. With such brilliant leadership, it's no wonder we won the civil war....oh wait. We didn't, did we?" Chuanacoyo turned bright red with anger, but before he could reply, Toquauhtli turned towards the Empress. "Your Majesty, we must let diplomacy work for once. We cannot outspend, outarm, and outrecruit half the world. That would be madness."
"The only madness is your idea that we can appease people who hate us and everything we stand for, and somehow still survive, you fat balding twit!" Chuanacoyo shouted.
Prime Minister Toquihu, sighing, stood up and glared at both men until they sat down. "Can we please dispense with the tantrums, gentlemen? This is a time that calls for adult leadership."
"I must wholeheartedly agree," the Empress said, as she popped an orange wedge into her mouth. The dagger in her hand idly pointed at Toquauhtli, then Chuanacoyo, before finally coming to point at Tochuitli. "What does my esteemed Minister of Security have to say?"
Tochuitli stood up, smiling. "I say we need not, and indeed should not, follow either extreme as my colleagues are proposing. We should thread the needle, as they say. A little bit of one, a little bit of the other. Put on a more diplomatic face, perhaps soften up some of the domestic measures that annoy the soft-hearted democracies so much. Become more 'open' and 'cooperative' to their face. Put them off guard. Make them think the Sanctarian presence in our backyard has cowed us, that we are going to 'behave' now. While we are doing that.....continue to build up our military and economic strength. Build our support domestically, build the strength of the XCP and the Throne. Wait for the right moment to strike. It may be tomorrow, or decades from now. It will require patience, cunning and guile. It will require wisdom, restraint and a hell of a lot of luck. But the path to a New Empire is still there for us. It will just require a.....longer timetable. Possibly much longer. But someday, everyone who is seeking to contain us will get distracted, or bored, or just weak. And on that day, we will be ready, as long as we don't do anything to ruin things prematurely."
The Empress smiled, slowly, as she thought. "You're a wise one, Tochuitli." She stood up, walking towards the large picture windows on one wall of the Chamber. From here, she could see Tlālacuetztla in all of its sprawling beauty. She looked slowly around the Chamber, everything about the room and in it a practical timeline of the long and glorious history that had been directed in it. "The first Empire was the product of centuries of work. Due to our own weakness, we lost it. But we can, and will, rebuild and exceed it. The New Empire shall arise, even if I am destined merely to lay its foundations for some future Emperor or Empress to complete."
Calhualyana touched her stomach softly, a slight smile crossing her face. Only a very few people knew that the next ruler of Xiomera after her had already come into being.
"We will not fail, falter, or give up. That New Empire we dream of is the right of every Xiomeran. And, no matter what, I will not sacrifice that dream at anyone else's bidding. Not even the Sanctarians," the Empress said firmly. "The birthright the gods have bestowed upon us is no one else's right to give, or take away. No matter how long it takes, even if it's another six centuries, Xiomera will attain its rightful place in the world. Do not lose hope," she told her cabinet.
"We have all the time in the world."
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