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That guy is insane!
He's mentally incapable to be a leader!
Why is he even there?
This is atrocious!
The guy does not even qualify to be a ruler!
Island two is going to be doomed because of him!
Spyder stormed out of the meeting, chest heaving, he was seething from anger. No one, absolutely no one, should dare question his Emperor's governance when they don't even know how he runs his committee—especially those busybody bastards. They know nothing, yet they act like they know everything.
It was ridiculous–hilarious, even. It was annoying, they were spouting nonsense and unproven conspiracies non-stop, not only about Schpood, but also about their empire. So, what if they're building a colosseum? That's none of their business, should it also bother them. Well, yes, it was all his Emperor's idea, but so far, no citizen had even voiced out their complaints one way or another. In fact, most of them were thrilled with the idea. None of them wants to deal with future conundrums, they want actions, they want adrenaline.
Sure, it might not be that justified to make people battle for their freedom, but it is their fault in the first place to be even involved into precedented or unprecedented schemes. If they want to survive, then they must fight for it. Courtrooms are boring–deadass painful to deal with. Again, none of them wants to deal with that. So, fighting ground it was.
Despite the arguable governance of their empire, everything was going fine–smoothly, even. Emperor Schpood is a solid leader, a great one. He cares for his people, and doesn't try to mold anyone into puppets for his own good. He knows how to lead, has the charisma to charm and please his citizens. So, how dare they?
Schpood, his emperor, his friend, is doing just fine. Their empire is doing just fine, thank you very much.
Westhelm, Remy, was the one who started those bread lines, the one who started charity for the struggling and dying people—those outside leaders do not have the right to judge them just because of how their kingdom runs. They had managed to up each other just fine.
Spyder continued with his journey, alongside with his patrol, they were going back to Westhelm, their home land. Schpood was right, meetings are a waste of time, why did they even bother? Blue Cross had organized a meeting regarding future plans for all of Island One's established nations; about unification and all. His emperor had automatically planned to decline, but Spyder, being his Vice, had insisted and told that he'd be attending in his stead. To which the man had readily agreed.
When he and his crew arrived, he'd expected some of the nations to not have attended. But contrary to his belief, everyone had shown up. Westhelm almost became the only nation that didn’t bother to attend the meeting.
He was greeted and welcomed by one of the Blue Cross staff, asking him why Emperor Schpood did not come. He just made up an excuse—even though they both know the real reason. Words had spread across the whole island about Schpood’s behaviour during their first ever island-wide meeting. About how he had gone inane and walked out because of how boring it was.
No one liked what he did, they all criticised him for it. Which was a bit fair because after all, he was supposed to be a competent good model for the people, to represent his own nation with pride and dignity. Even some of his citizens judged him, but then, at the end of the day, he was still their ruler, their beloved ruler. He was the one who prioritized other people's hunger bar rather than his, the one who managed to lead them to success, their unstable, yet reliable ruler.
Everything had gone almost just as smoothly as everyone had hoped, almost. All of them were peacefully discussing their land, about their plans to expand, their plans to unite, everything was going just fine. Until Turntapp, the leader of The Covenant, brought up the fact that Westhelm was the only nation that was present, but with a representative.
Does your Emperor even care about this? Does he think all of this is a joke? Spyder recalled one of their comments, the words bitter on his ears. He wanted to argue, wanted to defend, but in the end, he knew it was all going to be in vain anyways. They walked across the valleys of desert, never once stopping. He knew that deep inside, all of them were seething. They just left without a word, not even glancing back to gauge out people’s reactions—they just stormed out with their heads held high, a subtle sign of protest from the meeting.
They were getting close, the edge of the colosseum being rendered on his vision, Spyder let out a sigh of relief. They were close.
Schpood was standing near the gates, awaiting their return. From his point of view, he could see his emperor standing with pride, with dignity, with passion. He wore a solid smile, standing still, waiting for them. Spyder felt warm knowing that that is his leader, the one who he gave his full trust and loyalty to.
All of his companions walked past behind him and came forth to their emperor, bowing their heads in greeting and respect before dispersing, disappearing to tend their own matters. Spyder was left walking towards the gates alone, leisurely striding and enjoying the warm breeze nature gave him.
“Already getting slow, are we?” He heard Schpood call out, there was no hint of venom behind his words, just pure amusement and fake mockery. His Emperor was now leaning on the cobble stone entrance, no guards in sight.
Spyder snapped his head directly towards the other, not looking at the path he was walking through anymore. “I feel like that meeting had just taken out ten years of my lifespan.” He complained, exasperated. He then reached the gates and leaned his back to the stone beside Scphood. They were alone, saved for the occasional passing of people through the pathways near the entrance. He took a glance at the man beside him, noticing the stretching silence from the other.
He was a bit taken a back when he saw the most shit-eating grin he'd ever seen Schpood make. Something was definitely not going to go right. “Why are you making a face like that?" He asked, not bothering with formalities, he'd already casually talked to his Emperor like that and never once was he confronted.
Schpood, in his part, only pushed himself from the stone and began moving. He took a step, not breaking eye contact, and stood a few centimeters away from him with his hands placed on his back. A sly smirk playing on his mouth. “Spyder, what are your thoughts about conquering nations?”
Spyder’s eyes widened at that. “What?” He murmured; voice barely audible. “Are you crazy?” Oh, he hoped no one in their right mind was eavesdropping on their conversation or else shit's going down.
“Spyder, I’ve been called crazy, unstable at times. What is there to lose by waging war?” Schpood pressed, inching closer to him, voice delirious and thrilled. “Tell me, my dearest Vice, what is there to lose when they’ve already expected me to do just that? It’s easy. You know that we can easily take over nations one by one, cause chaos across the island, we are by far the biggest kingdom in this part of the world. So, what exactly is going to stop us?”
“Schpood.” He called out his name, pressing his back closer to the wall, eyes wide from shock and horror. He was looking at his Emperor skeptically, unsure if he should move away or not.
He didn't.
Schpood continued to inch closer, now just a few centimeters away from his second-in-command. “Come on, think about it.” He causally said like it was a normal conversation they were supposed to be having in public.
“Schpood, that is a terrible idea. Waging war is insane. Sure, we can pick them all out one by one, but who’s to say they’re not going to unite against us? Listen, as much as I stand beside you and your ideas, we cannot put our people’s lives at stake just to partake in a war we cannot dictate.” He stated seriously, taking a deep breath. Though he stayed still, looking up at his Emperor's eyes. “I’m sorry, but I can’t support you on this one, we can’t risk it. We can’t risk starting a war.”
As much as he believed and trusted Schpood, planning a war is not a walk in the park they could just take. Not all of their people are professional with swinging swords and axes–not all of them are good with killing people nor is it within their own morals. Decisively, he chose to disagree with the other’s idea, punctuating each word like his life depended on it. And maybe because it did.
Schpood’s eyes narrowed, the air around them shifting ever so slightly. He leaned his face closer to his Vice's. “Are you disobeying me?” He asked, voice threateningly low.
Spyder, on the other hand, was not deterred, he stood his ground, not flinching away, not getting intimidated. “Waging a war is just not the right thing to do.”
Then, the other’s eyes seemed to have softened a bit. He took a step back away from his Vice, a small smile now painting his lips. Without saying a word, he took off, walking away from the man with that of calm yet rebellious grace.
Spyder stood there alone, lost and confused. He wasn’t sure what had just happened. First, they were just exchanging words, then his leader started talking about war, and after that, the other just backed away and left, leaving him dazed and full of doubts. The guy just left him like that without saying anything nor giving him any context whatsoever.
The Vice then retreated back to his quarters, towing his armor on the armor stand before taking a hot shower and changing into a new pair of clothes. He then ventured outside. The sun was still up in the sky, slowly but surely descending from its grace for the moon to take over. It was only three in the afternoon, and even then, he still had some political matters to attend to—like tackling the subject of war with Schpood in a much more convenient place.
He still wasn't sure why his Emperor left him like that, but it was definitely better to confront him in a more formal setting.
He walked on the road their people had wholeheartedly built, through the remnants of the past they've all tried to bury underneath dozens of polished stones. He passed by Remy's place, checking on the man with his expanded restaurant. His place wasn't that far from his emperor's chambers, and as he continued on, his eyes caught on a dim glow of a foreign shield—definitely not similar to theirs. He abruptly stopped on his tracks.
He tried to follow the person carrying the shield, careful not to make himself known. The person was covered in full black robes, a spy indeed, or maybe something worse. They stopped in front of a secluded bar, turning their head around to observe their surroundings before hiding their shield in their inventory. Spyder quickly hid behind a tree, his figure blocked from the spy's sight.
He grabbed a robe and a mask from his inventory, opting to disguise himself as an alchemist. He entered the place. Unsurprisingly, the bar was full, filled with people talking and drinking. The strong smell of liqueur filled his nose, making him groan with how foul it smelled.
Standing in one of the corners of the room, Spyder saw the spy now talking to an unfamiliar, but strangely familiar face. He approached closer, close enough to hear their conversation, but far enough for them to notice him eavesdropping.
What are they even planning?
“And why are we meeting here exactly? This is stupid, out of all the places you could've chosen, you chose a bar.” Spyder assumed that it was the foreigner who said that.
“Relax, don't you want a drink? Besides, this place is filled with wasted people, you don't have to worry about anything.” The other responded.
Traitor, Spyder thought. You don't have to worry about anything, you say. Good luck battling your way out soon enough.
He began focusing his attention once again when he heard the other speak. “One of the Island Two leaders is planning for an attack–” Spyder’s eyes widened in shock, but before he could hear who exactly was planning it, a random guy shouted very loudly, preventing him from hearing it. “Listen, if we don't act soon enough, they are going to invade us. The whole of Island One is going to be doomed. And it doesn't help that your Emperor, Schpood, is unwilling to attend important meetings-”
“But didn't Spyder attend in his stead instead?” The unfamiliar yet familiar face intervened, voice confused and skeptical.
“Well, yes, but just like your leader, he stormed out once he didn't like where the conversation was going. Listen, your government will be the cause of your Empure's downfall. If they don't keep their act together, you're all as good as dead.”
Spyder had expected them to continue talking, but instead, it seemed like that was the end of their conversation as when he looked closer, the one he had presumed as the spy was gone.
What did they mean by planning for an attack? Spyder was left dumbfounded. Everything in that conversation felt surreal. Why does someone from their island know something as controversial and confidential as that from the other island?
It didn't help that the informant was someone from outside of Westhelm—someone from another nation.
For now, he ignored the other things they had talked about, only the one regarding the future attack. He quickly left, heading straight to where he knew Schpood was.
Contrary to what he had planned, Spyder went straight inside the colosseum. Multiple guards were guarding the entrance, a sign that Schpood was inside its premises.
He stepped inside the podium, and as expected, Schpood was there–standing still. He looked calm, his posture straight and confident, Spyder contemplated for a bit whether to approach the man or wait for him to finish looking at whatever he was looking at.
"Have something to say, my Vice?" Spyder flinched when Schpood suddenly turned around to face him. His Emperor's voice carried a light tone of amusement and anticipation. As if expecting Spyder to had finally come into terms with the man's ideals.
And oh, was Spyder so wrong with his own ideas.
"I found a traitor," The second-in-command said with a voice that made Schpood take the matter seriously. "And an informant from another nation," He continued, observing his Emperor's reaction. Much to his case, Schpood already had that certain glint in his eyes that always suggested a felony act.
"According to their conversation, Island Two is already planning for an attack once the border drops. I don't know how much of that information is true, but we definitely can't ignore that-"
"A war then?" Schpood cut off Spyder's words as he rubbed his fingers on his chin, a mischievous smile finding their way in his lips.
"A possible war, yes. But still not certain," Spyder apprehensively replied.
Schpood listened, silent and calculating. He opened his mouth to speak, but apparently, the words died down on his tongue as he narrowed his eyes towards his Vice instead. “What do you plan to do?” He finally managed to let out without breaking eye contact, voice steady and solid, a voice of a commander-a without a doubt commanding leader.
“A wide-island emergency meeting, if you please,” he said, voice leveling Schpood's.
Later that day, Westhelm called in a meeting, inviting every head on their island. Some of them laughed, some of them criticized, but in the end, all attended with cautiousness and skepticism.