Part 118: Evil Elodie Moments - Part 8

I'll be there in a minute. There's someone I have to talk to first.

You wait for the maid to leave, then hurry off to rendezvous with your agent.

Musician Your Highness, I had a quiet chat with the workers on the cargo ship which carried the poisoned chocolates. Seems someone was bribed to take that package on board, not in Kigal, but further down the river in Merva. I had a look at the card that came with it and checked it against your correspondence -

For a moment you are mildly annoyed that she's somehow managed to get into your personal mail and read it without asking you, but then, that is the sort of thing you hired her for.

Musician - and the handwriting does bear a certain similarity to a prominent noble. You won't like this.

What is it?

Musician Your aunt Lucille, the Countess of Nix.

What?!?

Musician I can't be certain, and even if she wrote the card doesn't mean she's behind the poison. But I'd be careful. If something happens to you, who benefits? Who inherits?

My uncle Laurent, her husband.

Musician If you'd like, I could travel to the ducal seat in Merva, see if I can find out more.

Yes, fine, go.

(Maybe this is all a clever trick, or a misunderstanding...)







A diplomatic delegation from Shanjia has requested access to the castle to discuss terms - most likely, for your surrender. You lack the strength to hold off their armies, and surrendering now will save many lives. It would seem that you have no choice.

You prepare yourself as best you can to meet with the representatives from Shanjia.



You expected diplomats and a military representative, a general or an admiral. You did not expect the handsome man decked in jewels who now stands before you - a man announced by your servants as Togami, King of Shanjia.





(Is he really their King? Why would a king come all the way here?)



(And he's a Lumen, too!)

My dear young lady. How difficult this must be for you. So much responsibility at such a tender age.







Don't pretend to be my friend while you're killing my people!

Temper, temper, Princess. After all, I am here to save your people. War benefits no one, don't you think? Such a terrible waste. Better to settle things in a civilised manner. A contest. A game, so to speak, with Nova as the stakes. Should I win, then your domain will submit and accept me as Overlord with no further resistance. Should I lose, then my army will leave your domain in peace and shed no more blood.

What sort of game?

It is well known that Nova is ruled by Lumens. As it happens, I too possess the powers of a Lumen. I propose a formal duel. My powers against yours. The winner takes control of Nova, the loser... dies.

Your game by your rules, for my life? That doesn't sound fair to me.

The rules of formal dueling have been passed down for centuries and must be upheld. It is important that we do this by the ancient codes.

Why should I?

If you refuse, then the war will continue. I'll sweeten the deal. If you meet me in a formal Lumen challenge, I'll call off the invasion even if I win.

Really?

I swear it by the gods. Nova will be free and safe.

Why take that risk? You're winning the war.

It's not your land that I want. It's your crystal. To gain your power, I am willing to wager my own. Shall we begin?



(I can sense his power... it's so strong! I've learned everything I possibly could, but he's at least as good as I am... I don't like this... But what choice do I have?)







Then... I must.

Togami explains the rules of formal dueling to you, including a carefully inscribed circle of wards which will contain the effects of any powers you wield, protecting bystanders from danger.



And then it is time to begin.



You trade attacks, one spell sensed and countered by another, reserving your strength as much as possible. It might almost be exciting if your life weren't on the line.



You need to end this quickly before his experience allows him to come up with a trick you can't defeat. He's used to dealing with magical attacks, but he might not be expecting a physical one. Perhaps if you rushed him, you could take him off guard? Up close, he couldn't use his fancy spells. But what would you do then? You still have to use magic to win, you can't just grab him and bang his head against the floor.



Perhaps you could focus your power into the shape of a sword and attack him with that. Or maybe if you could distract him somehow, you could cast a spell that he couldn't block?







Drawing on your knowledge of design and your control over light, you surround yourself with strands of rainbow color which flow over and around your image.

But that's only the beginning. Once you are in the cover of this prismatic 'shield', you can create a false image of yourself and step invisibly aside. The strain of keeping up the illusion of yourself responding to Togami's attacks is high, you can't keep this up for long. You have to end it now.

Stepping up as close behind him as you dare to limit the time and space he has to react, you raise your hand and force out a high-speed disc of solid light. It drives into his neck, killing him instantly.

You have won.







The remaining Shanjian generals seemed surprisingly eager to go home and left without a fuss, but a large number of soldiers have broken ranks and run amok, looting and pillaging their way through Nova just for fun. A number of royal holdings have been damaged and valuables stolen. Not only do you lose them, but you will have to pay for repairs. Luckily, your agents were well-placed among the common people, and are able to help coordinate their defenses. The renegades should eventually lose interest.

Your musician agent has returned from her mission to Merva.

Musician I have a great deal of news to report. Everything we suspected was true, and worse. Were you aware that your Aunt Lucille is a Lumen?

She what?

Musician I found her journals. They were in code, of course, but no match for my talents. Your aunt intends to take over Nova and rule as an unstoppable mother-daughter Lumen team.

Charlotte is a Lumen?!?

Musician No. Your aunt intends to give her your power. And your crown.

...

Where are the journals? I want to see them.

Musician If I had taken them, she would know her secret was exposed.

Then there's no proof?

Musician 'Proof' is a thing that rarely exists, Your Highness. There is always doubt.

(If this is true, then she has to be stopped at once, whatever the cost.)



(If it's not true, I would be attacking my own best support. My family. There may be a way to test whether this agent is telling the truth...)

Why would Evil Elodie waste time with 'proof' and 'evidence' when she could just declare her aunt guilty?



Thank you for your services. Go now. I will deal with this.

You will now have to decide what to do about the Mervan serpent's nest.

(Was Uncle Laurent involved in this, or was it all Lucille? And Charlotte... How much did she know?)



With a heavy heart, you sign the orders.







I would like to remind everyone that Emry is age 9 and Zahra is age 7. Neither has done so much as speak to Elodie. Now they never will.





This is what happens if Elodie decides to pursue Talarist after failing to politely reject his earlier courting. Talarist should really count himself lucky though. If he was a citizen of Nova, I'm sure Elodie would have executed him and any innocent young children who happened to be related to him.



Elodie has now killed off five of her seven living relatives. That's a nice number. But can we kill more?









A diplomatic delegation from Shanjia has requested access to the castle to discuss terms - most likely, for your surrender. You lack the strength to hold off their armies, and surrendering now will save many lives. It would seem that you have no choice. You prepare yourself as best you can to meet with the representatives from Shanjia.



You expected diplomats and a military representative, a general or an admiral. You did not expect the handsome man decked in jewels who now stands before you - a man announced by your servants as Togami, King of Shanjia.



(King-consort, he should be, if even that much. He's a common musician who married his way onto the throne.)



My dear young lady. How difficult this must be for you. So much responsibility at such a tender age.



You yearn to slap the false sympathy off his oily face, but you force yourself to remain calm.

War benefits no one, don't you think? Such a terrible waste. Better to settle things in a civilised manner. A contest. A game, so to speak, with Nova as the stakes. Should I win, then your domain will submit and accept me as Overlord with no further resistance. Should I lose, then my army will leave your domain in peace and shed no more blood.

What sort of game?

It is well known that Nova is ruled by Lumens. As it happens, I too possess the powers of a Lumen. I propose a formal duel. My powers against yours. The winner takes control of Nova, the loser... dies.

But I'm not a Lumen!

Saving it for the coronation, were you? Such a pity that you'll be unprepared. Well, then. Go and find your crystal. Becoming a Lumen is a very simple matter. Then we can have our duel.

What's the point? You know I can't win. Why don't you just kill me now?

Because that's not the game. You want to save your people, don't you? I want to fight a Lumen. If you refuse, then the war will continue. I'll sweeten the deal. If you meet me in a formal Lumen challenge, I'll call off the invasion even if I win.

Really?

I swear it by the gods. Nova will be free and safe.

Why take that risk? You're winning the war.

It's not your land that I want. It's your crystal. To gain your power, I am willing to wager my own. Shall we begin?



(I don't like this... But what choice do I have?)



(He was a musician, once, before he married his way into power. Can I use that?)





Then... I must.



No! Not my little girl! You want to fight the Lumen ruler of Nova?



Illuminate!

Your hair stands on end as a veil of blue sparkles settles over your father, crawling into his skin. When it's over, the jewel has been absorbed into his body without a trace.

Fight me. Leave her alone.

Well! This is not what I expected, but it will serve my purposes just as well.

Daddy?

Be quiet, Elodie. You are not a Queen yet.



You are forced to sit and watch as the two men work out the details of the duel and its stakes, then take their places in a carefully warded circle.

Your father crosses his arms, summoning up a thick gray fog that swirls around him, hiding him from view. But the Shanjian king conjures a cloud of glowing butterflies which drive into the fog and blow it apart. Then the invader claps his hands together and chants. Fiery red lights cluster over his fingertips and merge together into a pulsing blob before erupting towards your father. He resists with a beam of blue, catching the infernal energy and pushing it back in Togami's direction.

You knew what the outcome would be, you knew it all along. Togami is a trained Lumen eager to demonstrate his powers, and your father...





... was your father.

The blue crystal reappears, lying beside your father's body like an innocently-discarded bauble - but now that blue color is colored by a faint wash of red. The smirking King of Shanjia sweeps the crystal off the floor and tucks it away into his robes.



How fitting. First I end your mother's life and then your father's.

You what?



You didn't think her death was an accident, did you? That took careful planning! And now the Novan power is mine, and you even get to live.

He holds out a hand in front of him, the elegant robe dangling freely.

Now kneel and kiss my hand.



You stare at that horrible hand hovering before you. You have a choice.

If Elodie does not pass that composure check, she will attack Togami and die. If she refuses to obey, she will die. Evil Elodie does not like dying.





Swallowing your pride, you kneel and press your lips to the backs of his cold fingers.

Good girl. Well. As I promised, the invasion will end, and my men and I will return across the sea. Unless one of you is so foolish as to attack me. Then all deals are off.

No one stirs.

Pity.



That was quite depressing. Unfortunately, if Elodie is depressed on the following week, it affects her ability to make good decisions, like deciding to kill more family members. To avoid this tragic eventuality, Elodie needs to be very afraid or angry before she encounters Togami. This is how she is currently feeling:









All throughout Nova, a fragile layer of calm lies over a deeper pit of uncertainty and fear. Rumors have sprung up among the common people that you struck some unholy bargain with King Togami; that you promised him the soul of your firstborn child, that you ritually sacrificed a village boy for him, that you killed your own father because he protested. Your agents have done their best to control the damage by spreading the true story, but they are not always believed.

Your musician agent has returned from her mission to Merva.

Musician Your highness, I bring unhappy news.

I don't need to know the details. Just tell me the truth. Is my aunt trying to kill me?

Musician ... Yes.

Thank you. You may go.

So, even your own family wants you dead.



Then you'll just have to kill them first. You draft orders for your aunt and uncle and your cousins to be arrested as soon as possible.







Your mother, your father, your aunt and uncle, your cousins... all dead. Even an illiterate peasant can read that omen.

The only family you have left now is your father's brother Armand, the Duke of Mazomba, and like many other nobles, he doesn't appear to be eager to speak with you right now.