Far to the north in Kimmelsport, General Valerian was settling behind the table for dinner when two imperial messengers arrived from the Emperor’s army. His officers knew him well enough to bring the news to him immediately, and he asked the messengers to wait while he read the official dispatches.
He looked up after he finished reading. The Emperor was summoning him to move forward to the city of Ravenwood. Thinking about his questions, Valerian studied the messengers. He recognized both of them from his time in command of the army. “The Emperor’s letters give me the news of the major events, but I must impose upon you for what the officers think about the army’s situation. Speak freely. It is important.”
The older of the two messengers nodded. “It’s going as well as can be expected, General. Duke Cedric’s men fought well until his death, but now that he’s gone, many of his senior nobles seem willing to come to an agreement with the Emperor. According to our scouts, a fair number of loyalists were riding hard to the south when we left; they and the remnants of the army are under a colonel’s command. But many of our officers still think that the duchy is a tinderbox. If we don’t deal with the remnants of the army before winter hits, many worry about the possibility of more protracted fighting next year.”
“Thank you, gentleman,” Valerian told them. “You have served me well by sharing this knowledge with me. I will remember it.”
After the two officers had left, Valerian sighed. In front of the messengers, he had hid his internal wince at the news. He suspected that the loyalist colonel was Derek Johanson, and if so, the man would not go down without a hard fight. And while the death of Cedric’s heir was good news for the Empire’s chances of securing the duchy, the assassins that the emperor had undoubtedly sent south to kill the duke’s bastard son were not guaranteed success in their endeavor. Their target was studying at the Academy of War, and as a former student there, Valerian knew that conducting a successful assassination on the Academy’s grounds was no easy task.
“Where has all of the good news gone?” Valerian inquired of the empty room. Silence, of course, was the only answer to his question. “Well, no great achievement ever comes easily. Or is guaranteed.”
Those words were the only ones he said aloud, but he spent another hour hoping that the Emperor could clearly see what they had started and planning ways to improve the Empire’s strength in Kimmelsport and every southern province. By attacking Kimmelsport and Ravenwood first, the Empire had achieved a significant victory, but it also had placed the Kingdom of Khartras and the Free Cities on warning that they probably were next.
So Valerian had no doubt that they would need every bit of strength from every corner of the Empire before this struggle was finished. And he was starting to believe that it might become a death match.
