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AR Chapter 400
🕑 Added 2025-05-30 04:49:16 +0000 UTC***
Starting this day, the Red Abbey’s focus shall shift from mere education for the future ruling class of the Veratocracy. Instead, our goal shall be to strengthen the basics of each attendee so that they may be able to protect themselves in a world that grows ever more turbulent day by day. All curriculum wholly unrelated to warfare, combat, military strategy, and Speaking will be paused for the time being. As a result, all professors whose specializations are outside of these subjects are to report to the administration. All students whose planned study is not at all related to any of the growing war efforts, you are to report to the administration such that they can be guided to a more productive field of study.
–excerpt from the third wave of educational reforms of the Red Abbey, 209 years after its establishment.
“The Union is a conglomeration of the Beastkin races that live in the southern isles. Our birthplace is one of harsh landscapes, little food, and constantly moving ice floes. As such, we have learned how to sail the seas and carry supplies better than any other nation. We will give you enough meat to feed five thousand for the next eight months.”
I pulled back. “Frankly, I don’t trust that. You’ll provide for us like that for no price? For nothing except for repairing the slightly cold relationship we had? It doesn’t make sense. There’s not enough discernible benefit to you for that to be something I can entertain in good faith. Regardless of what you say now, you’re a scout more than you’re a diplomat. If not, we wouldn’t have had the interactions with you that we have thus far. So, I can’t trust that your words will serve as enough of a promise to me regarding the intent of your people. We will appreciate any aid given for what it is, but this could just as well serve as an opportunity for the Union to claim leadership, ownership, or dominion over my people.”
“My word is my bond, I assure you.” Cupun couldn’t hide the disgust he felt at being accused. I didn’t care.
“Though I cannot prove that any member of the Union has ever outright lied to me, I do know that I haven’t always been dealt with honestly, much less as the leader of a nation. As such, with my first interactions with a speaking rat, I was told they were a mere scholar. That was you, was it not?”
“Yes.” Cupun’s tone was clipped. “And I did not deceive you.”
“And that’s not what I said.” I clacked my teeth for emphasis. “You did not deal with me in honesty. If you believe that what you said and did at that time was genuine honesty and openness, then I suspect we won’t have much of a relationship moving forward.”
“Nothing I said was untrue.” Cupun insisted.
“Well, then that’s that.” I stood and gestured for him to leave. “If you’re unable to admit that you deliberately dealt with us from a place of deceit, then we have no reason to continue to speak with you. We’ll operate under the assumption that what you’ve told us today is true, but we won’t be taking any additional information or offers of support. Now, if you’d escort him out, Farahlia?”
“Of course, Zaaktif.”
“Wait!” Cupun insisted. “I didn’t lie, but I will say that I did deliberately mislead you. For that… I will apologize.”
“That cost him something.” Farahlia said in our tongue. Most of my people laughed as they agreed.
“I appreciate that.” I nodded. “Even so, you’ve shown that you were willing to deceive us before, so my question from before still stands. You’ve given a whole lot of information that we can’t prove is correct or not until it’s too late. There hasn’t been anything substantial that you’ve provided, so, except for your company and dubious help, what do you offer by staying?”
Cupun paused, holding entirely still. No, he stiffened. Me continuing to press him wasn’t something he’d expected. Maybe he’d thought we would fall at his feet in worship as he gave information we didn’t have access to? Or maybe he didn’t have an answer to my question at all? Was he considering possible answers? I couldn’t say, but I left him to stew in the silence, standing in the middle of the war room and under the scrutiny of a dozen Keel. After seemingly coming to a conclusion, Cupun spoke.
“There is something that I can show you right now. Something to show a willingness to engage with you in honesty.”
“Then do it.” I said. Frankly, I didn’t believe that there was anything that he could do or show that would change my mind. After settling into what looked like an unnatural standing position, Cupun started to change. Over the course of a dozen seconds, where an ordinary-looking rat had stood was now a short man. I was relatively sure that he was, in fact short, and it wasn’t merely my own perception due to my immense height. His ears stuck out, and he wore ordinary, rough clothing. To my surprise, I couldn’t tell if he was handsome or ugly, and, in fact, his features seemed strange to me. If he was to disappear into a crowd, I was relatively sure that I wouldn’t be able to pick him out. If that was because I couldn’t tell humans apart or something else, I couldn’t say.
“Ah.” I said, unsure of how to respond.
“My people are able to shift between two forms, once they’ve reached adulthood and Spoken the Words of the Trickster. That is not a closely guarded secret outside of the Union, but it is something that you do not know, and will have precious little opportunity to learn for quite some time.”
“And, if you’re able to make yourselves larger like this, why won’t you work with us in defending ourselves against the Misti Hawar?” Percral spoke in halting words in the human tongue.
“Primarily because, although we wish to have good relations with you and, as a whole, preserve your nation, we will not do so at the risk of starting a war against us. Our people come before yours.”
Percral growled in displeasure, but nobody disagreed with the point made. Those few who didn’t speak the human tongue were slowly translated to by the rest, and my people didn’t argue that point. Then, as I allowed the silence to settle more completely over the group, Sybil spoke up.
“What food would you be providing to us, and what is your estimation that one of our people would be consuming in one day?”
With that, the stalemate was broken, and a real conversation began for the first time between ourselves and a foreign representative. That it was accompanied by a [System] notification just made everything better.
Comments
Veldorn
Congratulations on 400 chapters.
YellowChief419
Congrats on chapter 400! I look forward to the next 400!
