“The answer is no, Nephele. Liliara isn’t evil nor is she cold-hearted as you seem to suspect, so please don’t call her that, not even as a joke. Liliara is… well, compared to the rest of you, her instincts are stronger. Think of it as a voice inside of her that drives her to either fight, kill, or conquer anything in her sight. That stems from my bloodline so that means even if you haven’t realized yet, that same feeling may take hold of you one day.”

-Ira when asked about Liliara’s morality by his daughter, Nephele.

…

When Margo finally arrived at Liliara’s territory, she immediately became confused. The dreary and small city served as the seat of Liliara’s Imperium, but it didn’t quite reflect the image Liliara portrayed. It was neither dignified nor intimidating, but rather depressing instead. Its people were mostly beggars who begun to mob the carriages as they were pulled along the central road. A crowd of dirty and gaunt faces began to fill up either side.

“Stand back!” One of the soldiers shouted while brandishing his spear in a threatening manner. “You’ll get your share!” He added, causing relief to spread over the expressions of the peasants.

A few sacks of grain, bread, and dried meat were brought forth and distributed in equal amounts to the populace. The carriages holding the prisoners from the town which provided those rations were pulled along to some other area, but it didn't seem their lives were in any danger.

Meanwhile, Liliara watched the entire ordeal from the window of carriage with a face of complete indifference.

“I-I don’t understand, Sovereign.” Margo began speaking. Her sister, Mara, hugged her arm tightly, clearly becoming timid toward the new area.

“What is it you don’t understand?” Liliara glanced at Margo while resting her chin against her palm. “This is the very center of my Imperium and all the land I own at the moment. It is a small, barren, territory without a single fertile plot of land to be found, hence its current state of poverty. My people currently amount to nothing. Almost all of them are starving or sickly peasants who chalk their suffering up to the will of whatever Gods they worship. When you keep that in mind, everything is quite clear from my perspective.”

“... I see.” Margo lowered her head which caused Liliara to adjust her posture, becoming more serious in an instant.

“There is a weakness festering inside this land and it irritates me to my very core.” Liliara clenched her fist as the inner depths of her red eyes stirred violently. “What am I to do with pitiful serfs, Margo? How do you suppose I should feed the poor souls that line my streets?”

“I-I-I don’t know, Sovereign,” said an intimidated Margo. As someone with very little education, she hadn’t the slightest clue as to how to reverse the situation of Liliara’s city.

“Then let me ask you this, Margo...” Liliara turned to face the young girl with a calm smile. “Do you think me to be a cruel person because I burned your town to ashes? I would be an even viler woman if I willingly let hundreds of my own people starve without doing a single thing, no?”

Margo’s face darkened as the answer arrived on the tip of her tongue. She recalled her own town that was sacked and burned under Liliara’s orders.

“It does not matter what you think.” Liliara suddenly gripped Margo’s chin and forced the girl to stare into her dark red eyes.

Mara trembled at her side, showing an increasing amount of fear toward Liliara.

“I will turn these people into conquerors… This barren land is of no concern to me, Margo. If we ever need anything, it will be wrested from the grip of our enemies.”

“... And who are your enemies, Sovereign?” Margo inquired as painful memories caused tears to form in her eyes. As expected, the wound of her town being reduced to ruins was still too fresh.

“Oh, Margo,” Liliara whispered sweetly as she brushed away one of Margo’s tears. “Can you not see it yet? Anyone who isn’t under the banner of my Imperium is an enemy to me. Whether it be some small town or the entire world.”

A grin spread across Liliara’s beautiful face as she observed Margo’s surprised reaction. It was at that moment that the carriage came to a halt outside of a large manor. A group of servants was hard at work, scrubbing away at scorch marks and old bloodstains that pratically littered the manor grounds. It wasn’t hard to figure out exactly how Liliara gained ownership of the land based on the traces of battle left behind.

“You are dismissed for today, Margo. I’ll have someone escort you and your sister to your quarters. If you need anything, call for a servant. We will speak again during supper,” Liliara spoke as she exited the carriage.

“Wait, Sovereign, I...-” Margo reached her arm out as if to stop Liliara, but a pair of red soldiers moved to stand in front of her.

“Follow us.” One spoke emotionlessly.

Margo attempted to look into his eyes but found she could not discern any features through the thin opening of his helmet’s visor.

Without much of a choice, Margo grasped her sister’s hand and followed the lead of the two soldiers.

…

A few hours later and after removing her armor, Liliara sat in her study. Even while having her own privacy she still dressed like a ruler, albeit a militaristic one which was quite fitting. Her outfit consisted of a black military-style jacket, a red waist sash, cream-colored trousers, and a pair of leather black boots that extended toward her knees. Even her long black hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail which increased the air of seriousness about her.

To an outside eye, it would seem she was ready to lead an army to war. Though, given her nonchalance toward the practice of raiding towns, that wouldn’t be an inaccurate guess.

“Hmmm.” Liliara let out a sigh as she flipped through aged documents and records. She personally felt that the current state of the territory was far too unstable to let someone else manage it, which meant she was left to sort through tons of papers by herself.

Suddenly, Liliara’s brows slightly twitched as she looked toward an empty corner of the room. She stared at nothing for a few moments before finally speaking, “I know you’re here, Envoy.”

At first, there was no reaction, but a few seconds later, the air distorted and a shadowy figure began to form. Liliara went back to reading her documents as a veiled woman quite literally appeared from nowhere.

“Is there something you need, child of Ir’rah?” The mysterious woman’s voice was a whisper that seemed to echo around the room.

“Since you're here, yes, could you tell me how my father is? You’re one of his envoys after all.” Liliara asked with a tinge of warmth that she failed to hide.

“The Keeper is very busy, but he wishes to see you… to see all of you,” The envoy replied.

“And what of my mother and my siblings?”

“Your mother has been assisting the Keeper with matters I am not permitted to speak about. As for your siblings, I cannot give you any information that may grant you an advantage in this competition, child of Ir’rah.”

“That isn’t what I asked you. I only inquired about their condition.” Liliara narrowed her eyes, but the veiled woman remained unaffected by the cold gaze resting on her.

“They are well,” A very curt answer was given in response.

“I see…” Liliara went back to inspecting the pile of records. Before long, her hand stopped at a line of trade records.

Imports from Argos:

-2x Barrels of grain.

-4x War Horses, healthy.

-An unknown quantity of silk garments.

-An unknown quantity of exotic fruit.

-1x Sapphire.

-1x Antique Sword.

Liliara’s brows furrowed as she read over the small transaction summary made by some treasurer who probably tore his hair out while writing it. The steady decline of the territory wouldn’t have been surprising news for the previous owner but instead of attempting to salvage it, they instead chose to indulge themselves. Of course, all of that came to a violent and abrupt end when Liliara appeared and took the land for herself, but that also meant she was the sole inheritor of the financial woes plaguing the city.

Since her immediate solution to deal with the current crisis was simply raiding other towns and cities, the city of Argos seemed to be a very lucrative target based on the financial records.

“Remind me of the rules my father has given me, Envoy,” Liliara said aloud.

“You were allowed to bring one thousand of your own soldiers from the City of Ir’rah. In exchange, you are not allowed to leave your own territory unless your soldiers are marching with you. To elaborate even further, unless you are participating in a battle, conquering new territory, or meeting another leader under diplomatic terms, you cannot leave the bounds of your current territory,” The Envoy intoned in a quiet voice.

“I see… It seems I’ll have to send a few of my people to Argos in my place then,” Liliara mused to herself with a smile. She decided they would go under the pretense of purchasing supplies, but truthfully they were advanced scouts of sorts. If the trade records were any indication, the city would prove to be a fruitful prize.

“... If that is all, I will be going now, child of Ir’rah.” The Envoy bowed before her body began to sink into her shadow. Soon there was no trace of her left to be found within the room.

Meanwhile, Liliara went back to examining the past history of her territory in order to find any more possible targets.