Darian struggled to look like he was paying attention as the voice of the Mediator representative droned on, reciting the Pledge of Impartiality that preceded every single one of the Annual Treaty Discussion Panel meetings.

Darian wouldn't have minded it so much if it weren't for the fact that a "meeting" was defined within the Grand Treaty Discussion Board Regulations as a gathering of representatives who, in the interest of their respective governing bodies, have gathered to discuss all reports, alleged violations, and proposed updates to the Grand Treaty.

For the life of him, Darian had no idea how some incompetent shithead somehow interpretted that in a way that meant a new "meeting" started every time a representative returned from using the washroom.

It was the fifth time that day that the Meeting of Nations had been forced to sit through the same inane repetition of that accursed pledge. If it was any consolation, the Mediator reciting it seemed to hate it just as much as he did. In fact, the only person in the room not actively grinding their teeth together seemed to be the Queen of Narumbai, who had closed her eyes the moment that the Crown Prince of Domicel had excused himself from the room.

In that moment, Darian vowed that if he felt the urge to use the washroom within the next three days of meetings, he would simply piss his pants, the reputation of his Kingdom be damned.

Darian fought hard not to sigh in relief as the Mediator drew to a close in his Pledge and banged a gavel lightly on the table, possibly for the benefit of the Queen of Narumbai, who slowly and carefully opened her eyes as if she had simply been deep in thought.

"As a brief reminder to all the members of this meeting, I'd like to mention that we are awaiting a vote on the Nation of Konstra's proposal for expanding their borders fifteen kilometers further into their Northern border to the Dead Zone." The Mediator spoke in an upbeat tone, as if he were trying to inject some energy into the room. Unfortunately, the words that came next had the opposite effect. "Now, as one, we will recite the Pledge of Representation."

Briefly, Darian considered if it was within his power as King of Astranta to murder a Mediator. The meeting was taking place on his soil after all. As he repeated the words of the pledge, his voice drowned out in the cacophony of different languages saying the same thing but in different languages, Darian fantasized about taking an executioner's axe to the facilitator's neck.

The vote was passed easily, with no votes against the motion to grant Konstra more land. With no neighbours to the north, and the general assumption that Konstra's snowy tundras were almost inhospitable regardless, none of the nations felt threatened by the action. While there was the chance that Konstra would gain access to the oceans on its northern border if it kept expanding steadily, an expansion of fifteen kilometers every two years wasn't an immediate worry to anybody. The Konstran King didn't even bother to look grateful. It was more work for his people, and would likely result in a few deaths of the workers involved as they expanded into the Dead Zone.

There were a few more proposals for expansion, but none of them passed as efficiently. Darian had given his own proposal for a measly two kilometers of expansion on the Southern border, but never expected it to pass. Chopri was the only nation aside from Konstra to successfully gain permission to expand their borders, and only by three kilometers.

The day passed slowly, as the Biennial Meeting of Nations typically did. It was only when the meeting turned to proposed updates, that Darian sat up straight, steepling his fingers together.

"The Nation of Astranta proposes," the Mediator said, reading off his list of meeting items. "A series of changes to Clauses twenty through twenty-three regarding the standard formation of Soulblade groups when sent out on extermination assignments."

A quiet murmur erupted within the room as translators whispered into their representative's ears. While a majority of the representatives were able to speak Astrantan, some weren't confident enough to go without a translator. The Mediator stared directly into Darian's eyes.

"The Nation of Astranta will now relay their proposal in greater detail."

Darian nodded and stood up. "Thank you, Master Mediator."

Darian walked up to the head of the table, where a small podium was set up. A copy of his notes were placed there preemptively, but he ignored them, having memorized what he was going to say.

He paused for a moment to pretend to push up his spectacles with one hand, using the back of his thumb to discreetly check if his nose was bleeding or not. Thankfully, his thumb came back clean. His hemophilia seemed to be allowing his speech to retain some dignity.

"I believe," he said. "That the treaty was created during a time when it was necessary. I believe that when it was created, the clauses represented within it were the best possible solution to a set of problems that had caused mass destruction to human life. As the treaty continues it's life throughout the rule of civilization, it has been updated, with some clauses removed entirely, to better match the economical, social, and cultural landscapes of our Kingdoms and Countries.

"What I am proposing is the removal of Clause twenty, subsection one, and the modification of Clauses twenty-one through twenty-three, as well as a modification of Clause fifty one."

There was another buzz of whispers, but the faces around the table remained neutral.

"Would the Nation of Astranta explain in detail, the proposed changes to be made?" the Mediator asked.

Darian nodded.

"I believe that the proposed removal of Clause twenty, subsection one, will be self-explanatory, given context, so I will proceed-"

"Would the Nation of Astranta recite the Clause twenty, subsection one?" the mediator said.

Darian tried not to frown at the interruption.

"Clause twenty, subsection one defines a 'Guardian' as a permanent role given to a Soulblade that determines them to be the lead member within any extermination mission. Subsection one-one states that a Guardian is responsible for eliminating any Soulblade that has shown any signs of utilizing uncontrolled magic, with force of law. Subsection one-two states that a Guardian must have a range of influence that is larger than any 'Soldier' Soulblades that accompany them on extermination missions."

There was a buzz of whispers again, but even as the rulers of the world slowly understood the request, none of them showed any surprise.

"If I may-"

"No," Darian said firmly, trying to shut down the Volklind Queen before she started to speak.

The Volklind Queen ignored him. "The Astrantan Empire has attempted to reduce the requirement for the amount of Soulblades that are required to go on each mission for more than a decade, and every time he has been shut down by the Mediators and by vote. Why are we even entertaining this?"

Darian glared as hard as he could without starting an international incident, but before he could speak, the sound of a gavel hitting wood echoed throughout the room.

"The Representative of Volklind will not speak out of turn," the Mediator said.

"My apologies, Master Mediator."

The Mediator looked as if he would reprimand her for the apology itself, but instead turned his attention to Darian.

"Despite the breach of decorum, the Representative of Volklind does bring up an accurate assessment."

The Volklind Queen gave a slight nod.

"Master Mediator," Darian spoke, not willing to let the situation get out of hand. "While it is true that the Nation of Astranta has asked for the reduction of, what we believe to be, unnecessarily stringent requirements in the past, the reason for my proposal is different," he lied.

"To summarise our proposal, we are asking this meeting to consider the removal of the requirement for a three-person Soulblade team to be sent out on extermination assignments, not with the sole purpose of reducing the requirement itself," Darian added hastily, already eyeing the Mediator's gavel. "But because we wish to modify the definition of an extermination assignment team to consist of two Soldier Soulblades and one Human."

This time, all the people sitting at the table, and even the guards standing at the sealed doors, reacted in surprise, though for the most part it was muted..

Darian ignored it and continued.

"This is why we wish to remove the definition of a Soulblade Guardian from the Grand Treaty."

The Mediator looked down at Darian with a slightly strained expression. It was the first time that the man had broken his blank facade all morning, and the look failed to fill Darian with confidence.

"Does the Nation of Astranta have a significant reason to propose this..." the Mediator trailed off and seemed to take several seconds to think of an appropriate way to end the sentence.

"Foolishness?" the Volklind Queen suggested politely.

If the Mediator hadn't been so put off by his request already, Darian was sure that the gavel would have been slammed down. But as it were, the Mediator simply ignored the comment.

"Does the Nation of Astranta have a significant reason to present this unique proposal?" the Mediator said, restating his previous thought.

Darian nodded, hoping that his explanation would be adequate enough that he wouldn't be shamed out of his country.

"I do," Darian said.

"Then please enlighten us," the Mediator said.

Darian nodded and picked up the papers on the podium, tapping them gently against the wood to straighten them out, as if he was about to read from them. He didn't look at them, not wanting to strain his weak eyes to try and read from the paper, but it gave him a brief second to collect himself before speaking.

"The Nation of Astranta is currently developing a technology that may make the existence of Guardians obsolete. This technology is able to fire a small mass of metal over long distances with enough force to pierce skin. We believe that, if equipped with this technology, a Human that has been properly trained to use it would be able to fulfill the same roles of a Guardian in the event of a Soldier Soulblade utilizing uncontrolled magic."

A quiet wave of surprise seemed to travel across the room as the message was translated into the world leaders' ears. The Volklind Queen sat with a neutral expression and a raised hand.

The Mediator, whose face gave away nothing, looked between Darian and the Volklind Queen. When Darian made no sign of continuing, the Mediator spoke.

"Would the Nation of Astranta be open to accepting questions?"

Darian put on his best smile. "Certainly."

A few more hands were raised immediately, but the Mediator's eyes locked onto the Volklind Queen, whose hand had already been raised.

"Would the Nation of Volklind like to speak?"

The Queen nodded appreciatively before turning to Darian.

"The Nation of Volklind would like to ask what the difference between this technology and existing technologies would be."

"I assume you are referring to cannons?" Darian asked. It was the only thing he could think of that was similar.

The Queen nodded.

"Before I answer that question, I would like to introduce a tentative name for this technology, to refer to it as a 'rifle' as named by its inventor. Unless there are any objections?" Darian waited a few seconds before continuing. "I'm sure there are many differences between it and the cannon, but the most significant difference is that all the equipment that is necessary for its operation can be carried and utilized by a single person."

The Queen raised an eyebrow, her normally bitter expression being replaced by a concentrated look as she no doubt considered the implications of such a weapon. Bickering aside, Darian knew the Queen would never let her hatred of him influence her Kingdom.

The Mediator scanned the table. "Would the Nation of Jing like to speak?"

The Emperor of Jing smiled, both at the Mediator and at Darian.

"Would it be possible for this meeting to include the inventor of this technology as a guest speaker? The Nation of Jing would be interested in asking questions that may require the input of a subject expert."

Darian shook his head slowly. "Unfortunately, the inventor of the rifle resides at the outskirts of Astranta. He is currently sick and would be unable to travel to our location at this time," Darian lied. While he had never met the inventor in person, from the reports he received, the man was simply not someone he was willing to present to a group of the most powerful people the world.

The Emperor of Jing smiled in his enigmatic way, as if he had figured out the truth. With how well his friend knew him, Darian supposed it was possible that Sun had actually figured out his bluff, but it was equally possible that he was just keeping up the facade of intrigue and mystique that surrounded his nation.

"Would the Nation of Domicel like to speak?" the Mediator asked.

Though the Crown Prince did not speak, he whispered something to the older woman beside him. A moment later, the translator spoke. "The Nation of Domicel has noted that the Nation of Astranta has stated that this 'rifle' is a developing technology. The Nation of Domicel would like the current stage of development to be clarified, and to ask if a prototype could be presented to the meeting."

Darian struggled not to swear under his breath. While it had been unrealistic to think that nobody would ask that question, he had kept the hope alive that the shock and awe of the concept would be enough to sate the curiosities of the attendees.

"Unfortunately, the only prototypes that exist are located in the inventor's workshop. It would take five days for them to be transported to our location."

The Domicel Prince's frown deepened before his translator whispered into his ear. Darian noted that the man likely knew Astrantan, despite his use of a translator. Perhaps he simply wasn't confident enough in the language to speak in a way that accounted for the archaic rules of meeting decorum set by the Mediators.

The Prince whispered something into his translator's ear and she spoke. "Would the Nation of Astranta please inform the meeting of the current stage of development for this technology?"

Darian glanced at the Mediator, hoping that he would reprimand Domicel for speaking out of order, but the man simply looked expectantly back at him.

Darian's mouth created a firm line.

"It is in an experimental stage."

The Prince of Domicel nodded, not in acceptance, but in understanding.

"Before we continue," the Mediator said. "I would like to ask the Nation of Astranta. Do you propose your modifications to the Regulations in order to allow the use of a human armed with a 'rifle' in place of a Guardian Soulblade?"

"Yes."

"You would have an opportunity to introduce this proposal when your technology is closer to being fully developed. Do you believe, despite your claims that this technology is in an experimental stage, that this technology would be able to be utilized in the setting of an extermination assignment, before our next biennial meeting of Nations?"

"Yes." Though it was a lie, there was no way to determine belief, at least not in a definable way that would get him charged for perjury under the Court of the Mediators.

The Mediator searched his face for any hint of a lie, but as the King of Astranta, political leader of his nation, he'd had enough opportunity to practice hiding his true emotions.

"Very well," the Mediator said.

"How far is its range?"

As the Mediator banged his gavel, Darian shot a glare towards the Queen of Volklind.

"The Nation of Volkind will maintain decorum," the Mediator said. "You are hereby barred from speaking on this issue. If you speak out before we move on to the next item, you will be dismissed from this meeting for a period of twenty four hours."

No longer wearing the neutral face of a ruler, the Volklind Queen shot Darian a smug grin.

"Despite the Nation of Volklind's unauthorized question, it is acknowledged that it is a valid question that may factor into the viability of this request," the Mediator said. "How large is the effective range of this invention?"

Darian grimaced, unable to hide it properly.

"The highest range that the prototypes have consistently been able to achieve is one hundred and fifty five meters," Darian admitted.

The buzz of whispers did nothing to brighten Darian's mood.

"You are aware that the minimum amount of effectiveness of a Guardian Soulblade is designated at five hundred meters," the Mediator stated, rather than asked.

"Yes, Master Mediator," Darian grumbled.

"And you continue to insist that within the next two years, this technology will be advanced to more than three times the effectiveness of what you've seen thus far."

Darian grimaced, but still nodded. "Yes, Master Mediator."

The Mediator sighed. "There will be no vote on this proposal. This proposal is not accepted by the Mediators. The next issue will be presented by the Nation of Domicel, proposing that the Domicel translation of the Grand Treaty would be updated to accurately reflect several grammar rules that have been changed by the Education and Language Council of Domicel since the previous biennial Meeting of Nations."

Darian sighed, ignoring the looks of the meeting members around him, ranging in any emotions between sympathetic, annoyed, and smug.

As the meeting continued around him, he tried his best to pay attention to what was being said, but couldn't find the strength in him to give a shit.

---

When the meeting finally broke for lunch, leaving the Nation Representatives to mingle amongst their peers, a few of the Representatives approached Darian to give appreciation for the accommodations and to compliment the meals provided. Darian gave his polite thank yous and false modesties until the enigmatic smile of Sunjing, Emperor of Jing, appeared in front of him.

Sun bowed to him slightly and Darian bowed back.

"Would the Nation of Astranta wish to walk around the castle for a moment?" Sun asked.

"Of course, your majesty," Darian replied.

Side by side, they walked down the long corridors of the Astrantan Castle, silent until Darian decided they were far enough away to talk without their words reaching back to the meeting room.

"Fuck," Darian grumbled under his breathing. "Fucking fuck."

Sun glanced at him, but continued to walk down the hallway. "I believe it is improper for the King of Astranta to be cursing in such an oafish way."

Darian glared at him. It seemed like he had been doing too much of that already. "Oh yeah? You wouldn't be pissed if your proposal was shot down like that?"

"I simply meant you should be more creative with your cursing. I'm not well versed in spouting my frustrations in Astrantan, but if I wished to curse in my native language, the walls themselves would weep in fear."

Though Sun spoke in a neutral tone, Darian knew that his eyes would be sparkling in mirth. The younger man, though it felt wrong to think of him as young at their age, always knew how to control his facial expression better than he ever could. Darian didn't bother to look at him, knowing that that stupid unchanging smile would be plastered over his friend's face.

"Tell me. Was it as bad as I thought it was?"

"Worse, probably. Possibly your worst attempt yet."

"Attempt? I'm not sure what you mean by that. Is the Nation of Jing insinuating that the Nation of Astranta was up to something suspicious?"

"Perhaps."

They walked in silence for a moment, the only sound being that of Sun's metal-soled shoes clacking against the stone floors of his castle.

"Your 'rifle' seems interesting," Sun said. "I'd like to see him. And to speak with his creator."

"You'd like to see 'it,'" Darian corrected. "And its creator."

Uncaring for his occasional grammatical slip ups, he gave Darian a casual shrug. Fortunately for the Emperor, none of his subjects were around to witness what was considered a vulgar mannerism in the Jing Empire.

"Why do you want to see it?" Darian asked. "It's useless."

"Right now he is, if he has as short of a range as you say," Sun agreed. "And though I do wish to see the invention, I am rather interested in meeting the inventor."

Darian cringed. "I'm not sure if I can recommend that. I haven't met the man myself, but from what I hear he's eccentric."

"I am an appreciator of eccentric. Look who I walk and talk with, King of failed proposals."

"He’s been reported to have threatened to blow up many people's houses in his town."

"Ah. Has he acted on any of his threats?"

"Not that I know of. You still want to meet him?"

"Of course. I would not request something I did not want."

"Why?"

"My word is my honour. It would not do for me to speak anything but the truth."

"I meant why do you want to meet him, you ass."

"Because his 'rifle' interests me."

"Even though it only goes a hundred and forty meters?"

"Did you not tell the Meeting that he has a consistent range of a hundred and fifty five meters?" Sun said, shaking his head slowly.

"It only depends on how you define 'consistent.'"

"Hmm. Despite your deception, that is still a hundred and twelve more than we've acheived."

Darian had to think about the question for a second before turning to face Sun. The man looked at him with a smug grin, less pronounced, but infinitely more real than his enigmatic mask.

"Huh, you're serious," Darian said.

"My word is my honour."

"So you want to compare notes."

"As well as the models themselves," Sun said, reaching inside the robe of his traditional garb. When he pulled his hand out, it came gripping a metal handle attached to a thin barrel, about thirty centimeters long.

Darian eyed the item with suspicion. "I assume that's what a rifle looks like. Doesn't look very dangerous."

"I assume not. This is called a Manto. It would be too much a coincidence if we had created the exact same design that your inventor has. You haven't seen the blueprints?"

"They were given to me. I don't remember them."

"A shame. I am excited to ask many questions."

"I wouldn't have been able to answer any of them anyways. Didn't understand a word of it. And isn't it already a coincidence that two people in two different Nations tried to create the same type of weapon anyways?"

"It is a small cannon. The idea isn't a very imaginative one, even if it was very difficult to create."

Darian shrugged, only vaguely aware that if he were Jing, he would be actively shaming Sun's future grandchildren with the gesture. "If you want, you can always stay in Astranta after the Meeting is finished. You could stay a while. It might be a while until he's able to come to Astranta."

"Is he really sick?" Sun asked, surprised.

"Sick in the head," Darian said with a grin.

"Ah, I should have remembered your foul language would be able to twist the meaning of that in such a way."

"Yeah, yeah. Jing superiority. At least you can be funny in Astrantan."

"The patience of a rat is often-"

"Stop," Darian said, cutting Sun off as rudely as he could. "If this is a setup for a joke, I don't want to hear it.

The Jing people had a strange form of comedy that revolved around describing imaginary situations with the highest sense of irony possible. The complexity of the jokes often made it incredibly difficult to appreciate or even locate the humour hidden within each one. Occasionally, Darian wondered if it was just a prank, created by the old comedic master hundreds of years ago, designed to make Jing known as the most humourless Nation in the world through his comedy.

Sun shrugged at him, and this time Darian could only assume he was using it in the much ruder Jing interpretation of the gesture.

"Anyways," Darian said. "The inventor is due to give a presentation of his newest prototype to one of our Quartermaster to see if the idea has any merit. That's scheduled for tomorrow, at an Armoury closer to the edge of my Kingdom. If we were to send him a summons, he'd be able to get here in a week. I'm not sure if that's too long for you to be away."

Sun considered the proposal for a moment before nodding. "An extra week is acceptable. I suppose my Nation can run itself while I am away."

"Oh I wasn't worried about that, my dear friend," Darian said. "I was worried for your safety. Imagine if your Kingdom realizes how much better off it would be without you at its helm. You might incite a coup if you let them know how terrible you are."

"Fuck you," Sun said cheerfully.

"Such a mastery of my foul language. My castle walls weep in fear."

Sun smiled at him. Though it was similar in appearance, it had a genuine warmth to it that had been missing in the false smile he wore before.

Darian smiled back at him.