New Excerpt

After a long silence, Mandrean spoke. “Today our Empire has

lost a great general, patriot, teacher and friend. A brilliant military

mind is gone forever. He will be missed. Let us hold our memories

of him dear and take to heart his lessons, even from his deathbed.”

Necromancer heard the final statement and knew the time had

come to reframe the issue. He floated out of his seat, bowing to

Mandrean and then the crowd. “My Master and good people of the

empire, the loss of General Gramlick was a blow like no other. Let

no assassinations of his character ever be spoken, for he served this

empire to the last.

“And let us not forget that it was only the late general who

would stand up and say that the same empire is broken! It has not

been the same since the incident in Trader’s Ally. Every general

here speaks of revolts, taxes unpaid, mines shut down and near

mutiny.” He addressed the generals. “Were these problems so

blatant before the entrance of that despicable Sartanian into our

midst?”

Seeing an opportunity to exonerate their positions, the generals

other than Tathbar joined his sermon. “It was entirely his fault,”

cried one. “He made us look weak,” added another.

“And so he did,” Necromancer railed as he worked the room

into a frenzy. “If I may be so bold as to say his name, Linvin

Grithinshield is the cause of all our ills. He incited the people and

decimated the legions in a most unfair and cowardly battle. The

finest horsemen in the world were killed without even being given

a chance to defend themselves. The capital nearly burned to the

ground, and this palace was likewise defaced and mutilated. Lord

Mandrean was even held as a hostage for a brief time.

“Only the wise rule of our great emperor has seen us through

these dark days that have followed. I have heard countless excuses

and accusations in this chamber, but the true cause of all our

problems is not the empire or the emperor. It is the one who

insulted both and ran away like a fox in the night. Linvin

Grithinshield is the problem. His memory sparks revolution. His

insolence insults every citizen. He emboldened Sartan to force us

out of the Unclaimed Territory and inspire desertions into its

borders. It is not beyond reason that he played a hand in the demise

of the great Gramlick. The onset of his illness nearly coincided

with Grithinshield’s arrival. Make no mistake about it. Linvin

Grithinshield came here to single handedly begin the fall of our

empire. Even our all-powerful emperor still strains from wounds

dealt by the fox during his escape from justice.

“Too long have we tried to make our problems complex when

their solution is so simple. Grithinshield must return to answer for

his crimes!” The crowd cheered. “Only once Emperor Mandrean

has vanquished him for all to see will the minions fall in line and

restore the glory of the greatest land Lavacia has ever seen. With

our pride and honor reestablished, no nation would dare stand in

our way.”