With its dark color and confined space, the room seemed too small and uninviting to be part of an Arguna mansion. The lack of windows and the minimalist furniture, just two chairs and a table, only added to the gloomy mood. Among the servants, the room was called the small study, but its purpose wasn't to study. Whenever someone needed to hold a private or secret meeting, they would find their way here.
"I could hear the end of your speech, Laqhis. It was truly inspiring," Elder Caelestis said to his grandson.
"It's a shame I couldn't lay out my ideas right. In full I mean. Though I'm sure many lords wouldn't like me too much if I did," Corco replied with a crooked smile. "Anyways, we didn't come here to talk about my speech. Where have you been, grandfather? I really could have used your help earlier." Right after the end of his speech, when Corco had been swamped by the other lords, Elder Caelestis had shown up and dragged Corco into this private room out of nowhere. He didn't even know what had happened with Quirinu yet and it ate away at his patience. Still, since the old man had been suspiciously absent all evening, Corco wondered about the urgent news the old man would bring him as well. After all, on the elder's insistence, not even Primus had been allowed inside with them.
"I'm sorry, Laqhis. I was busy in a talk with Chaupic."
"The prime minister? What happened?"
For a while, the elder looked down to collect himself, before he raised his head again. In that moment, for the first time since Corco could remember, the old noble truly looked his age.
"About your father," he whispered, "about Titu. Is it true?"
"Grandfather, what..." At first Corco tried to deny his father's sorry state, but when he looked into his grandfather's eyes, he realized that the elder knew already. Caelestis wasn't here to learn anything new. He just wanted to hear the words from Corco's own mouth.
"Yes. It is. Father was most likely killed and his body salted and encased in wax."
Tired, the old man hung his head again.
"I was there, you know? So many times since his death. I was there and noticed nothing. Like a fool I sat there in prayer while my son screamed at me-"
"It's not your fault grandpa."
When the old man looked back up, his voice and eyes had firmed up again.
"I want you to keep me informed on whatever you find in your investigation. We need to find who did this."
"Of course, grandfather", Corco said, "but why did the prime minister even tell you? We need more evidence before we rattle the cage. I told that old bastard to keep it to himself." Corco was getting worked up again. He knew he shouldn't have trusted the politician.
"Don't be too hard on Chaupic. You call him prime minister, but ever since Titu died the old servant hasn't been in charge of much. To find out if Titu's servants truly did take from the royal coffers, he even needed my help to get into the treasury office. He had no choice but to confide in me."
"He could've at least picked a better timing," Corco said, still defiant. He really could've used his grandfather's help during his first meeting with his baby brother. "I screwed up with Pacha. Though not as much as that brat screwed up with me."
"I heard. Lady Ichilia made sure to let me know as soon as I entered the courtyard." For the first time in their meeting Caelestis smiled, but his smile was tinged in sadness. "I understand how you must feel, but don't be too hard on your brother."
"Too hard?" His brows raised in shock, Corco looked up. How could his grandfather ask for leniency after Pacha had disrespected his own son like that?
"Under the circumstances, he could not have acted any better, I am sure." In reply to Corco's simplest of refutations, Caelestis could only offer a weak excuse. He himself seemed uncomfortable with Prince Pacha's attitude.
"He could have not hit my arm. He could have come meet me by himself instead of bringing some merchant foreigner and the biggest enemy of our house with him. He could have not disrespected our father. I don't think I'm being unreasonable here."
"He is a bit spoiled so sometimes he acts careless, but his heart is in the right place."
"I can't respect a man who cannot even show the most basic respect for his family," Corco replied. His message was clear: If Pacha could not mend his ways, there was no way the two brothers could ever be allies.
"You know as well as me that the silver turtle cannot have been his own idea," Caelestis tried again. "Your brother is a bit... naive at times. I'm sure someone exploited his good nature to split our family apart even further. I will speak with him and have him apologize to you right away. Then you will have a talk about the future of the empire and the future of the family. In private. We don't need to keep handling family business in front of every noble in Medala. Can you do that for me?"
For a moment, Corco looked at his grandfather's exhausted face. He doubted meeting Pacha alone would help any, but he just couldn't bring himself to disappoint the old man who was already forced to fight on far too many fronts, all by himself.
"Sure, but he best behave until then. One more stunt like earlier and I'm done with him."
"A fair chance is all I ask for. Thank you, Laqhis."
"I'm just glad this nightmare of an evening is finally over. Let's go over to my uncle and I'll declare the end of the banquet."
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The challenger had his two fists held high to protect his stance. He would play defensive for now, and let the champion tire himself out. However, with his orthodox stance, he was an easy target for the champion's raw strength. Like an iron ram, a fist hit the challenger's stomach and made him step back to regain his composure as he lost control of his body for a split second.
Once Corco and Caelestis stepped back out into the courtyard, they found the third prince up on stage, engaged in a fist fight. With a dull thump, the challenger's head snapped back as Prince Pacha's violent blow hit his chin. Disoriented, the challenger stumbled backwards for a few unsteady steps before he collapsed on the ground. Maybe Pacha or his mother were trying to take away some of Corco's shine, but right after the end of the debate, Pacha had taken center stage and initiated a series of challenges to show his might, in traditional Yaku fashion.
"Under witness of the stars, who is man enough to face this mighty hero!?"
After he had downed his third challenger in a row, the Pacha steadied his breath before he bellowed his provocation, sweat streaming down his chest. When he looked around for a new victim to try his hands on, he spotted Corco and Caelestis move back towards the host's camp. Although the first prince had just wanted to cross the courtyard and enter his own alcove as soon as possible, his younger brother felt like he had spotted his chance to get a win over his maligned opponent.
"How about Prince Corco!? Might he be man enough to face this hero in combat!?" His head turned like a sprinkler, he shouted for all to hear as he walked towards his brother in great strides.
"Pacha, the two of you are brothers. There is no reason to fight." With hands raised to his hip, Caelestis tried to calm the third prince, but Pacha wouldn't let go.
"All the more reason to see in whose veins runs the blood of our heroic ancestors!" Instead, he reinforced his challenge with his booming voice.
"You don't need to scream little brother, I'm right here. Also, you probably forgot again, but my arm is still in a sling. How would I even fight like this?" Unwilling to step down, Corco hit back. Pacha dodged both of his brother's verbal jabs and somehow even managed to increase his volume. He wanted to make sure that everyone within the courtyard would hear him.
"In that case, I truly cannot challenge Prince Corco for now! HOWEVER!!" He looked around spectators, maybe to see if he had shattered any ear drums. Corco did the same and was convinced he could see the fucking popcorn in their hands as they watched the drama unfold. "This hero has heard that Prince Corco has brought with him foreign warriors! What hypocrisy, after he condemned our foreign guests in such a brutal manner!"
"Unlike with you, dear brother, they're my subordinates, not my superiors." Corco still retained a calm voice, but his words were biting. He knew what would be next. He had no interest in stopping it.
"In that case, Prince Corco would not mind to see the loyalty of his subordinates tested, would he?! Thus, I-"
"Pacha, please," in a tiny voice, Caelestis tried to step in one final time, but his plea would fall on deaf ears.
"No more words, Elder Caelestis! A true hero must always follow through on his decisions! And this hero has decided to challenge Prince Corco's gang of foreigners to a stargazing brawl!"
__________________________
Since no man stood above the nobles, the only way to reconcile differences, other than all-out war, was to battle in starlight, under the watchful eyes of the Divines themselves. The deities would ensure that the battle was fair and just, presumably. It was such a battle Pacha had casually forced his own brother into; and it was such a battle Kaumoc d'Ichilia was an expert in.
Just like the one hundred members of his wraith troop around him, Kaumoc was a warrior of the Ichilia clan, specialized in stargazing brawls. A unique battle technique of House Ichilia gave Kaumoc and his men not only superior strength to mortals, their eyes had also become hyper-sensitive. They would see night as day. In return, they were as good as blind during the waking hours and would have to spend their days indoors. Of course, their talents not only helped during the brawls. They were also experts in scouting, ambush and assassination.
Those were the types of men Pacha had borrowed from his uncle Divitius and brought to the capital. Not only that, he had also used the help of his new Arcavian friends to procure high-quality plate mail armor from the east. Though he was only able to buy ten so far, at exorbitant prices, and their helmets were still of the open faced Yaku-style, it was still enough to equip the entire first row of his troops with this new marvel of craftsmanship.
In turn, he looked over at his brother's troops and felt secure in his victory. After his grand announcement, runners had been sent out to the two camps. They had brought with them special privilege from his mother, so both troops had been allowed inside the city to hold combat in front of the Pluritac mansion. While the wraith troop of the Ichilia had arrived in a timely manner, his brother's men had taken much longer to make their way through Arguna. Once he saw his opposition at last, Pacha dropped the last of his worries.
The men needed torches on their march, a clear sign that they were not troops capable of night combat. Their armament also left much to be desired. Only one man wore a plate armor like his own front row, while all the others traveled a lot lighter. They carried matchlocks, but he had already seen the eastern merchants demonstrate the fancy hand cannons before. With protection from the thick eastern plate, it would be easy for his men to push through. The only worry for him were the long poleaxes around half the foreign warriors carried, but he was confident that his elites would crush them with their two-to-one advantage once they had broken into the enemy ranks and caused some chaos.
He was convinced: Now was the time to show everyone who was truly worthy of the silver crown!
"Now this hero will show this dirty southerner who dare call himself prince just what kind of stone the men of Sinchay are cut from! You will see my northern tigers tear apart your southern wolves!"
"Pacha, please reconsider. You are brothers. You should support one another," Caelestis said from the side. There was no way Pacha would listen, not now that victory was almost in his grasp.
"This hero is no brother to some black-skinned southern wolf!"
"We're the same damn color! Just because you powder your skin white and I don't doesn't make you the hero and me the villain. What the fuck is wrong with you?"
There it was again. That look from his oldest brother, as if he thought himself something better. Never would a hero accept a look of pity from someone he had left behind years ago!
"Now then, southerner, are you ready to get trampled?"
"Almost. My troops still need to prepare a bit."
Although Pacha was magnanimous, he remained watchful to make sure the southerner wouldn't try any sneaky tricks. Meanwhile, his brother's men positioned enormous, polished sheets of bronze, bent into a strange shape, on either side of their formation. Surely, they were no use as mirrors like that. Right after, the only warrior in plate left the formation and came over, to further weaken his brother's side.
"Master Corco, all preparations have been completed."
"Well done. We can start now."
Pacha was confused. He knew that the man under the helmet was the former great general's son, a formidable warrior by all accounts. "You don't want your head warrior in the fight?"
"Nah, I'll be fine. Why are you complaining when you got an advantage?" Again his brother had a flippant reply, only to further enrage Pacha. Now it was time to wipe that smirk off the bastard's face.
"Then please, Elder Caelestis, if you would do the honors." Pacha was also dissatisfied with the old man's hesitance all throughout the evening. Ever since they had come back to the capital, Pacha felt like the elder had always been on Corco's side, always speaking well of the first prince. He would show him as well.
"Under the gaze of the stars, lay to rest the conflict between Princes Corcopaca Titu Pluritac and Pachacutec Titu Pluritac. Let honor and blood speak the final verdict and let peace return between the lords."
*Why is he so calm?* Pacha thought as he looked over to his brother. *He must be resigned to his fate? Maybe he thinks he can convince the lords with his pretty words alone? Truly, brother has been away from Yakuallpa for far too long.*
With the signal given, his troops launched their imposing charge from some three hundred steps away.
*Otherwise he would know: What the lords of Medala really respect is strength alone! I will win them all back in one-*
"Brother, have you ever heard of lycopodium?"
*What is he talking about?* His thoughts interrupted, Pacha looked over to observe the brazen southerner.
"Lycopodium, or clubmoss, is an evergreen... vascular plant... I think? Anyways, the spores have a very interesting property if they are lit on fire. You might wanna close your eyes for this."
In confusion, he watched his brother turn around and cover his eyes. Then he looked back over to his troops, now in full charge. The full force of their momentum would hit the enemy's front like a flash flood and rip apart their feeble formation. What could some moss possibly do to change that? Just as he had this thought, the armies less than fifty feet apart, a sudden flash of light engulfed the battlefield!