FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Tranquil Waters: The Lead Crown Ch 6.6 Thaddius

The cold night air of his balcony chilled Thaddius, but the tight ball of concern deep within the pit of his stomach contributed more to it than his surroundings. It had been three days since Brother Maynard provided him what the Priest referred to as 'full disclosure' of Lehsunia's lands and the goings-on therein. the Dog had forewarned him that the affairs of state could sometimes be troubling and Thaddius' mild temperament could be shaken. Despite the Priest's warning, the Prince Regent asked for him to proceed... and he was beginning to regret it.

Tense relations between Wyra and Ilyse had always been a given when it came to international diplomacy; it took great attention to detail and plenty of balanced words to walk the tightrope that allowed Lehsunia to trade with both nations and apparently the error of one assistant dock master had done much to upset that balance. when Brother Maynard slid a royal edict to the Prince requesting a signature to see the man responsible punished Thaddius accepted it with a shaking paw, gazing down to look at what was written.

The Prince Regent was surprised at what he saw. "He is to be executed?"

His Mentor nodded, "Yes, your Highness... it is the best way for both Ilyse and Wyra to see that this incident will not happen again."

The Wolf cocked his head to the side as he examined the decree, "His crime is not listed on the form."

Brother Maynard nodded again, "Correct, your Highness... it is hardly required. When we send copies to the affronted nations it will be with an apology note dictating that the error with berthage at port has been corrected and that we treat any breach in our status as neutral ground with utmost severity."

Thaddius licked up at the whiskers on the left side of his face, using his tongue to pull them down into his muzzle so he could chew on them thoughtfully. "And... this dock master--"

"ASSISTANT dock master, your Highness."

The Prince-Regent continued unabated, "This man: Arlowe Flew... the Church has him in custody?"

The Dog reached over and gently pulled the scroll away from him. "The Church will see to the execution as a show of solidarity with the state, sire. He had eluded the Templars but we have Hunters seeking him out even as we speak."

The Wolf's ears raised, "Why is the Church seeking his capture when I have not yet signed the form?"

The Priest chuckled, smoothing out the parchment before sliding it back to him, "Your Highness... do not forget that the Church seeks peace and prosperity for Lehsunia as fervently as its ruler; it is acting in the best interest of your people, but it is not proper for the Church to step out of bounds, thus you will only be making the task simpler by officially decreeing this Raccoon Dog an enemy of the state."

Thaddius paused, looking down at the decree in front of him. He thought back to the teachings he'd received decades past, "Raccoon Dog? Aren't the Tanuki in Lehsunia relegated to North Dockton in Newport?"

Brother Maynard bowed his head, "You are learned indeed, your Highness. The largest concentration of Raccoon Dogs in Lehsunia are indeed settled in Newport, just north of the docks in the tenements there. Although it is not my place to correct you, my Lord, I would care to point out that they are referred to as 'Tanuki' only in their native lands of the eastern kingdoms."

The Wolf leveled a stare at the old Dog, feeling a moment of rebelliousness, "I know, Father... and they're called the Mangut among the Wyranese and Ilysians... but that does not change the severity of his proposed punishment."

The Dog nodded, "Precisely, your Highness. The punishment must be suitable for the sake of the Nation. This one man has caused such a timult that we must act decisively to show that such oversights will not be tolerated."

Thaddius reached for his quill with a sigh, "...this man may have a family... those who rely on him for protection and prosperity."

Brother Maynard rested a paw atop the Prince Regent's. "This is for the sake of international peace, and no price is too great to pay for that... especially when you are seeing to the protection and prosperity of Lehsunia. You cannot put this man ahead of the entire Nation... especially when it was his oversight that caused it."

The Wolf, throughly frustrated, growled as he signed the edict, "There. I'm done with it."

The Dog bowed, accepting the scroll before setting it off to the side so the ink could dry. "Very good, your Highness. Let it be known that Arlowe Flew is an enemy of the state as well as the Church and he is to be captured-- alive if he will come willingly, or otherwise should he choose to resist."

Thaddius released the whiskers from his muzzle and smoothed them out with two fingers, "May we please move on to more pleasant things now, Father?"

The Priest smiled in an almost apologietic way, "I am sorry, your Highness... but you said you wished to become familiar with the affairs of the state, and we have more to discuss that would not be qualified precisely as 'pleasant'. Shall we continue, or would you prefer that I shelter you from the rest of the 'unpleasant' matters."

The Wolf watched as his Mentor ran a paw along the edge of another scroll. For a moment Thaddius was tempted to tell the Dog to put them away but, he realized, not only could the offer be a test from the Priest, the nature of the tasks he was faced with could just as easily have been set forth as a test from God. No, he realized, he was not going to turn away. "Let us move on to the next one then, Brother Maynard-- if I am to be a good king then I will have to accept that sometimes I must make difficult decisions."

The Priest's unreadable expression made it hard for Thaddius to tell if he'd made the right decision in the Priest's eyes; he wanted to think that his Mentor was simply being difficult to interpret due to the continuation of the test. when the next scroll was passed his way, however, the Wolf was even more distubed. His eyes scanned the report of what could only have been described as a slaughter... and in Lehsunia no less! "How many in total, Brother Maynard? How many people were killed?"

The Dog let out an exhausted sigh, "Since this violence began? On both sides? Estimates have the number at nearly 200, your Highness."

Thaddius continued to review the report. "And... you mean to say that an underground religious sect--"

"A cult, your Majesty."

The Wolf snorted, "A CULT has gone to war with the University?"

The Dog carefully extracted the scroll from Thaddius' surprised paws, "It appears the great house of learning is fractured, your Highness... although a separatist movement within their organization has attempted to calm the more irate minds, they appear to be losing ground... and the Church is concerned that the war between the cult and the University is spilling over into the streets... especially once they both started hiring mercenaries."

It didn't take long for the Prince Regent to put two and two together, "That explosion... the one in Newport some weeks past-- that was the cult?"

Brother Maynard's approving smile warmed Thaddius like little else could, and the Dog slid the Wolf another scroll, "This is the order calling for the apprehension and incarceration of the mercenary band responsible for the explosion... it is led by a woman named--"

Thaddius nodded, looking at the report as he signed his name to the edict. "Alarice. Indeed. Let them all stand accused of their crimes-- they will find nowhere in Lehsunia safe. And what of the cult?"

The Priest accepted the scroll back with a nod, setting it beside the other one previously signed. He then passed another parchment to the Prince Regent, "The University's retaliation has seen to them... several high ranking Professors gained the service of the Order of Blades."

The announcement caught Thaddius by surprise, "The Order of Blades? How do we know of this contract? I thought they were a highly secretive organization."

Brother Maynard smiled, gently patting the Wolf's paw, "The Church knows everything, your Highness... men of the Order of Blades may be warriors, but they are devout. The head of the Newport arm of the Order is a pious Marten by the name of Marcelle... he has provided us with all the information we need to see the offending Professors held accountable for their misdeeds."

The Wolf flicked an ear, "For avenging a wrongdoing?"

The Dog nodded with certainty. "It was retaliation, your Highness... and, while it is a sign of strength in moderation, their lack of temperance has changed it to a crime most foul."

Thaddius held his paw out for the next scroll the Priest offered him, "And this is a call for the arrest of those Professors?"

Brother Maynard nodded calmly, drawing back to sit up straight, "Correct, your Highness. In this case, the Church advises imprisonment as a sufficient punishment for their crimes."

The Prince Regent reviewed the list of names, "These are all Masters, Deans, and Professors."

The Priest sighed and nodded sadly, "Correct."

Thaddius continued looking at the list, "This will all but dismantle the University."

Brother Maynard chuckled and reached out to pat the Prince Regent's paw, "You are ever the concerned ruler, Thaddius... but you may set your mind at ease; the much more temperate, responsible Professors within the University will be able to recover and flourish with the zealots out of their midst."

The Wolf found his tongue sliding toward his already mangled whiskers, and he pointedly kept it in check, "This will be devastating to them."

The Priest gave Thaddius' paw a gentle squeeze, "Even those within the University are children of God, your Highness, and it is the Church's responsiblity to see to their well-being too. If need be we have the capacity to provide alms and support... with your permission, of course."

Thaddius nodded, feeling immediately better; Brother Maynard really HAD thought of everything, "Of course."

The pair went through several more such affairs of state, requiring Thaddius to pass laws, announce edicts, and sign numerous forms. In all, they spent over two hours on activities that were enough to make the Prince Regent go mad-- fortunately, however, the Wolf had an incredible amount of mental endurance and, thanks to the aid of Brother Maynard, his humors continued to remain in excellent balance.