The torch! This was an ancient means of communication. Tracing back to the histories of the torch in the Westland, people were led into mythical times when humans and God lived with each other. During those times, Westland was not really a legitimate country, and there were only cities and free towns. The torch was the primary method to transmit information regarding the enemies between the allied cities, and it was passed down only because of its efficiency.
Dulin's Tower of Heroes was a massive beacon tower. As the boundaries of the sky and the mist became more apparent under the illumination of noon sunlight, the giant beacon tower rose toward the sky, appearing like the incarnation of Titan's fury.
The surrounding mountains and fortresses had begun to respond to the battle alert by the capital immediately, the major military camps of the capital's home base had all signalled the soldiers to be on standby; in the few towns near Dulin, the local servicemen had also commenced their respective preparations, and each of the Equipment Officers had opened up the basement, locked for years by following the empire's Emergency Act strictly to prepare the official armors for the soldier reserves.
Within an hour, Titan's Military District One to the East of the capital's home base had started to assign their men for war. As the primary forces of Dulin's East, the Imperial Army's Military District One had five corps, of which forty-five thousand soldiers were scattered all around the plains near Fort Hanodt; almost instantly, Titan's Military District Two right next to the capital's East side had released orders to prepare for battle, resulting in the civilians being evacuated by ships from the military harbour on the shores of Shawob River. In addition, the fortresses and castles on the two sides of the river had also shut the thick gates closed.
This was followed by the Four Provinces of the Middle East, Five Provinces of the South, Three Provinces of the West, Four Provinces of the North, and Two Provinces of the East. The torch burnt in the nineteen military districts of the imperial armies. The torch had spread from the inner lands out to the borders in each direction, and had finally reached Andrew in the morning of the eleventh day of the third month. At this moment, His Imperial Prince O'Neil Andrew Morisette had missed the chance to witness the grand mobilization of troops, as he and his direct subordinates had already stepped foot into the Persian territories.
On the East shore of Kezlermark River, the Great Plains of Anatolia welcomed its new ruler with its vast lands. This land had experienced numerous wars since the establishment of countries by the society. From the Battle of Magnosia, where the Romans had invaded Anatolia back six centuries before the Church's year, all the way to the Eastern advancement of the Titan's Narcissus Knights in the late Church's seventh century, the history of Anatolia could be summarised with words such as invasion, resistance, internal conflict and crime.
Six centuries before Church's year, when the Ancient Roman Empire had still been cleansing the shoreline countries near Disin Sea, many small kingdoms on the Great Plains of Anatolia had already completed their transition from the production systems of the slavery era to the possession of home-grown resources. Other than that, gold and various luxuries were also selling well among the royalties and rulers. However, the peaceful wealth of this land had been the very cause of the many disasters to come.
The Roman warriors were the world's very first batch of pagans and were a bunch of Republicans. Their advancement had broken the conventions of the local religions, and had been established as one of the advanced Roman civilizations of the ancient times. Of course, these were the Romans five centuries before Church's years. They had traveled by foot on ground or traversed across the seas by narrow boats, and had even invaded the residential areas of Anatolia - Belgam, of which they had launched a deadly war without even greeting the locals beforehand.
The war between the Romans and the Anatolia Kingdom had carried on for three centuries. The expansion of the borders of the Ancient Roman Empire two thousand kilometers further toward the East had only been legitimate on paper as the Anatolians' opposition against Roman slavery and the fights toward independence had never stopped. What was more interesting was that the crackdown on the Anatolians had resulted in a wave of fame for the Roman soldiers. Almost every Roman soldier who had their names in the hall of fame had all did battle in Anatolia, just like Sura, who had annihilated Bendose Kingdom, Pang, who had slaughtered eighty thousand prisoners of the war, and Julius Caesar, who had conquered the entirety of Anatolia.
From the sixth century before the Church's year to the Church's year 133, it was the Roman era in Anatolia's history, and the aborigines of the great plains had gradually forgotten their respective dialects. They spoke with Romans' Black Sea dialect, and used The God of Light's religious letters, which symbolized slavery, as their official language. The religion worshipping The God of Light had overcome numerous obstacles in developing into a theological system with written texts and strong concentricity, which was by far the greatest contribution and symbol of this era.
A hundred years before the Church's year, many Roman cities had already established themselves as groups faithful to The God of Light. Among these cities, the faith of The God of Light had been the most developed in Anatolia, especially in the areas near the birthplace of The God of Light. At that time, Rome had already transformed into a military empire under the lead of Julie Caesar. More precisely, it had been a failing military empire.
The higher royalties and the high-ranking military officers were concerned that their traditional statuses would be overthrown by abuse of a fully developed religious system. Therefore, under the orders of King Turatch of the Holy Empire of Rome, operations to persecute the followers of The God of Light had commenced in all the lands, and had been sustained for two hundred years, until the faithless brute Northern Yaran people invaded Rome from the Westland. As a result, the grand Roman cities and their Roman cultures had all been demolished.
The never-ending passion toward religions, the dazzling colors of arts, the constant conspiracies of the palace affairs and the insane invasion of the brute clans; all of these occurrences had forced the Roman ruler to accept The God of Light and its followers. At this time, the most critical issue of the entire Roman Empire had been the power struggles between the pagans and the faith of The God of Light. Other than that, constant military losses had caused the Romans to lose many of their colonies. Although the mighty empire eventually stabilized their defensive fronts against the barbaric Yaran people, the involvement of the Roman emperor and the central government had been totally excluded from the local government systems of the North, West, and even the shoreline areas of the Disin Sea which were not even the territories of Rome.
71 years before the Church calendar had come to existence, the worshippers of The God of Light had seized the opportunity to unify most of the Roman cities in the name of their faith, and had launched a war against the Persian pagans.
Differences between religions and races had fuelled the battle to a greater degree! Even if Church's first century was still been ruled by the Roman militaries of the faith of The God of Light, things never stayed the same for long. The faraway Ottoman people who had immigrated from the East had accepted the beliefs and religion of the True God, and had replaced the former ruler to establish a more formidable and militarized religious empire.
After a half-century-long war, the Great Plains of Anatolia had eventually changed hands. On the other hand, the great lands built by the Romans had also broken down in the hands of the selfish conspirators and local royalty. In the West of this ancient empire, the Gaul people had established the first Faran; the Titan people in the central lands had built a brand new powerful military empire on the abandoned lands which had been destroyed by the Yaran people; in the East, the descendants of the Roman Dynasty had gathered most of the young and aged, and had established a unified East Roman Empire. In order to distinguish the opposing directions of the East and West Roman Empire respectively, the heirs of Ancient Rome came to be addressed as the Byzantines.
With this, power had transitioned to the hands of the Ottoman Persians, who had just been united. Soon after the plans of the empire had been finalized and the delegation of tasks had been completed, Emperor Khalifa Ottoman had mobilized numerous formidable army groups, of which even the Western people had been shocked by its mere scale.
The battles of the Eastern invasion had closed it curtains with the annihilation of the Byzantines! However, the nomads from the far East had yet to halt their steps, and had commenced a new journey even before they had the chance to appreciate and assimilate the majestic culture of the nation they had just defeated.
We all knew that the victim had been the Titan Empire. Although the Titans had been engraved with the traditional fighting spirits of the Roman warriors, there was no way to deny the powers of Emperor Khalifa Ottoman, who had been the biggest figure during that time. Around four hundred years before the Church calendar, a hundred thousand Persian Cavalry had surrounded the entire central part of Titan, and had closed up on Dulin.
The rest, was history. The Narcissus Knights were the symbol of the birth of a new era, and the descending of a new legend and the Golden Lions of the Morisette ruling had originated from the Fierce Tiger Flag of Narcissus. With steadfast pace, a new system had been put in place and had allowed for the bloodline to be inherited until this day.
As for Persia, Emperor Khalifa Ottoman had been forced by the situation to end his Western advancement. Even though the presences of the Narcissus Knights were undeniably one of the factors of the war, the conflicts between the palace and the territories had been the main reason why the proud emperor had to give up on his advancement toward the West.
Emperor Khalifa Ottoman had died of recurring injuries, but there was another version of this story, he might have died due to internal strife in the palace. Nevertheless, his heir had given up on the full-blown offense against the pagans. Instead, he had begun to focus his efforts into his dictatorship of feudalization processes and the unification of politics and religions.
These faraway Eastern immigrants, who had been called the "God's Cane", had split the Great Plains of Anatolia into several territories. After a seven-hundred-year-long period of development, it had transformed into three major religious tribes.
The dignified Mogadishu were close relatives of the Persian royalties, and they possessed the most fertile lands and the most marvelous seas of the Eastern plains and the central lands; as the great king of the Northern plains. The head of Mirzai clan was also the leader of the local religion, as well was the owner of all the resources. However, this clan had been receiving huge blows from their nemesis, the Andrews. In addition, the clan unrests invoked by the royalties' crisis in the late seventh century had resulted in the Mirzai people losing their weaponry, and the protection of the small and middle-sized clans across the lands.
On the Arabah Peninsula to the South of the plains which sat atop Kumamala Sea, the self-proclaimed alliance of the Arabah clans had several kings. They were all descendants of the aborigines, of which their territories encompassed the entire area stretching from Anatolia to the vast Persia Coast. This clan had failed to establish itself into a sovereign state throughout the battles in history. The cruel desert and harsh living conditions had forced them to surrender themselves to Rome, and then shiver under the iron hooves of Ottoman Persia! The Arabah people had always been dreaming of the records regarding the ancient Syrian Kingdom on the historical remains, as they strongly believed that it was the ancestor of the people of Arabah. Therefore, the King of Arabah had always been the most firm and cunning centrifugal figure of the Empire of Persia. When the Holy City of Baghdad West was struck by internal conflict, the King of Arabah had also been the first to announce his detachment from the clan alliance of the Empire of Persia.
"Actually, after so much has been said, we've yet to reach the most important point!" Figg Andrew Tibotty took a sip of the Persian mint tea, "Since the faith of The God of Light and the faith of the True God could coexist with each other for some time, it's perfectly reasonable for me to believe that this coexistence can be brought back! It's just that further studies and investigations are required in terms of the details and strategies."
O'Neil Andrew Morisette leaned comfortably on the Persian chair while being massaged by a few brown-skinned lady servants.
The Titan Prince gradually opened his eyes, and spared a glance at his very confident brother, "I beg to differ … while our empire may seem as if it had expanded its borders all the way to the great plains and has total control of the territories, I've seen through the reality of areas which we have claimed to be under our control! If it wasn't for Mogadishu seeking our help, we can't advance a single step, let alone those things that you've mentioned!"
Figg shook his head, "This is bound to happen! I've made it to Baghdad West more than ten years ago, and it'll be the same now! Instead, you must take note that the Persians these days are no longer those Persians whom we've fought for four hundred years, they are now just a bunch of pathetic people who have lost their emperor and fallen into a pit of endless racial massacre and territorial chaos.""Oh!" Oscar exclaimed, "Speak softer, brother, if the Mogadishu King happens to hear our conversation … he might very well change his stance!"
Figg stood up while grinning. He carried his younger brother, who was lying on the chair up to the balcony, and extended his arms toward the warm sky, "Come! Take a good look, look at what we've conquered!"
Fort Istantine, which had been established by the factions of Roman nobles, sat atop the so-called "palace peak" of the Ancient Roman Empire. Throughout three hundred years of development, Fort Istantine had always been the largest construction site of the world, of which its constructors had been the Romans, Ancient Syrians, Byzantines and lastly the Persians who were the conquerors.
In the histories of the Mogadishu clan, a visionary king named Ahmed Fort Istantine was born. The king had ruled for as long as half a century, and had been the one who had rescued the cultures of ancient Rome and the faith of The God of Light from the hands of the followers of the True God. He had built a massive archaeological park in the middle of the city, which was now known as the Ahmed District.
Other than that, there were the most important palaces and religious architectures of Mogadishu.
Looking downward from Saint Sophia Church situated at the "palace peak", the entire Fort Istantine would be within one's scope of vision. Due to the pagans' involvement, the cemetery engraving the very last Byzantine cultures had a peculiar exterior. Amidst the Roman buildings, there were the serene Persian residential areas which were surrounded by rubber trees. The towering Sultan Ahmed Mosque stood right beside the constructions of The God of Light near the sea coast. The old churches and monasteries in the city had long been abandoned, and some had even been renovated into the busy markets or the steamy pools.
When the Persian named Sadi had been describing the peculiar city of Fort Istantine, he had written along the lines of "Amidst Caesar Palace, spiders form their webs. At the peak of Oprahseb Tower, the night birds chirp."
O'Neil Andrew Morisette was observing the massive city seeming as if it had come from the future through time travel.
The trading activities on the sea and its strategic location near the Western kingdoms had brought immense business opportunities and wealth to Fort Istantine, and had also acted as the proofs of Mogadishu's prosperity.
"So … from what I see, Mogadishu has ulterior motives other than just purely seeking an agreement!" Oscar redirected his gaze from the sky, and had already given up on further observation, "I don't know how the Persians will see my marriage with the princess, hadn't they gotten use to addressing the Andrews as their nemesis? It's the same for us as well."
Figg Andrew Tibotty shook his head softly, "Many Persian scholars have pointed out that this race idolizes the strong. While they are instilled with strong desires of invasion, they possess marvelous adaptability at the same time … this was the evidence that the formidable Persian Empire had been built up by the immigrants."
"Emperor Khalifa Ottoman?"
"Yes!" Figg smiled at his younger brother, "The clan which had been legitimately unified the Arabians, and they were the real worshippers of the True God. As for the Ottoman Persians, I can only say that this is a group comprising of a number of races which had come together only for mutual benefit. Whenever they encounter any crisis in their lives, they would choose to either compromise, or avoid the issue. The previous invasion was nothing more than an extreme method of a fight for survival."
Oscar had some knowledge, but he was not familiar with the histories of the Ottoman Dynasty of Persia nonetheless.
"Rumor has it that … the Ottoman people had been chased away by the Eastern people all the way here?"
"That's right!" Figg nodded sternly. "I can't imagine how powerful the Eastern Dynasty had been during those times!"
The Andrew Commander pointed at a decoration at the balcony, which was an invaluable colored horse, "The Eastern Dynasty had utilized its formidable military prowess to exile the nomads out from their original homes. It was probably the world's largest migration."
Oscar looked in the direction of the East. He sighed softly, "That's right … it's unbelievable! The Easterners had exiled the Ottoman people, while we had almost been conquered by the clan of refugees!"
Figg patted his brother on the shoulder, "Don't worry! We have switched positions with the Persians. Right now … we are the real conquerors!"
Oscar laughed, and turned toward the servants at the balcony, "Whom among you can speak the Titan language? Even Roman Latin is fine!"
The servants chuckled. They were all mature Persian ladies, and were quite close with the Narcissus Knights in the city.
The Andrew family had set up the command center of the Eastern advancement group in Saint Sophia Church. While Byzantine had been the powerhouse in Church's first century, this church had been considered as one of the wonders of the world. The elegant dome had made Saint Sophia into one of the most symbolic architectures, as well as one of the most important buildings of all time.
….. Ever since its construction, this fifty-six-meter-high building had been the root cause of the political conflicts, as it is still today. Although the stationing of the Narcissus Knights had brought temporary peace to the Mogadishu clan, who had been struggling for survival, the Roman Vatican had insisted it be brought back to its original state.
There were not many historical remains of the faith of The God of Light. Even though the Mogadishu clan no longer had the chance to emerge victorious on the battlefield, the king of the clan had still stood by the religious principles. He did not think that the mosque which had persevered throughout several centuries was still a territory of The God of Light.
This very point was the greatest difference in ideals between the Vatican and the Andrews. Andrew had been willing to preserve the state of Fort Istantine for the sake of harmony, but the Vatican had been dreaming to revive the majesty of Byzantine.
After arriving at Fort Istantine, O'Neil Andrew Morisette had never expected to be welcomed so warmly by the civilians. As the ruler of their nemesis Andrew, the people had not believed that the young man, full of the spirit of battle, would be willing to compromise with his long-time nemesis. However, reality turned out to be the other case. The Narcissus Knights had defended against the attacks of the alliance of the Kingdom of Arabah from Southern East, and had retained their offensive position toward the direction of the Holy City of Baghdad West.
The cavalry troop of the Titan prince entered the heart of the city through the gates, formerly the entrance of an arena. Showered by the cheers of the pagans and the colors of flowers, they made their way into Topkap National Palace. The internals of the palace had been replaced by dazzling Persian decorations by the local rulers, but the massive dome and the Roman exteriors still resulted it to be addressed as the "final glory of Byzantine".
O'Neil had hold a grand ball in the imperial hall of Topkap Palace. He had extended invitations to almost every high-ranking leader of Mogadishu, including even the leaders of several major religions. The guests and masters sat on the spacious Persian carpets, and spectated the singing and dancing while enjoying the local delicacies of wine.
Figg had introduced his younger brother to the local Mogadishu King. He did not know how to describe his own father-in-law either, and he only knew that middle-aged man with crescent-shaped mustache plastered a demeanor as stern as a statue made of gold or diamond.
Before meeting him, Oscar had conveyed the intentions of his visit. He realized that he did not despise the Persians as much as he thought when he started speaking.
The Andrew family head said to the Mogadishu King, "I want your daughter."
The Mogadishu King responded to the Andrew family head, "I have nineteen daughters, how many do you desire?"
Figg and the Narcissus soldiers all laughed aloud, as well as the Persian nobles, who were familiar with the language of Titan. Oscar was the only one who was in shock. He did not understand the situation as the soldiers of his family had countless blood baths with these people who did not eat with cutlery. However, all of them seemed as if they were old friends who had not met since a long time.
"Now, don't frown! Let's be merrier!" Figg wrapped his arm around a slim dancer in front of his younger brother, "We are conquerors! You must keep this in mind! At the same time, you will fall in love with the fact that … we are fellow conquerors!"
Oscar lifted his wine glass, "Well then, cheers to … the conquerors."
The Mogadishu King pondered for a moment. He was the first to lift his glass, followed by the Persian nobles cheering at the Andrew family head, "Cheers to the conquerors!"
Oscar finished the glass in satisfaction, and had also proceeded to wrap his arm around a dancer. The Persian female with a petite stature reminded him of the screams and cries of Elizabeth, and this had hit the conqueror with surges of primal desire.
Indeed, Oscar should be falling in love with the feeling of being a conqueror. Moreover, he definitely would love it.
It was the Church's year 800, the seventh day of the fourth month. The official message from Dulin had arrived in Fort Istantine. The Eastern advancement group of the Narcissus Knights had replaced their apricot-yellow flag which symbolized the non-battle territory with the Fierce Tiger Flag of Narcissus with the insignia of the capital of Mogadishu.
In the very beginning, the city had fallen into total panic and chaos. The pagans thought that the matter they had been the most worried of would eventually come true! The Andrews' actions had been constantly deviating with their words. They would annihilate the entire city for few days and nights, just like how the Persians had conquered the land several hundred years ago.
The Narcissus Knights did not pay much attention to the chaotic streets and the various public spaces. They had only locked down some areas according to the regulations of the Emergency Act, and had alerted each front that the war to defend the empire was about to commence.
After being notified of the torch fire, O'Neil Andrew Morisette had also gotten hold of news of Alanis' condition. It had been rumored that … she had locked himself in his room, and had only left in the second half of the day.
"If it's just Faran, Leblese, Hoilland, and Deiss, I believe that the Imperial Guards still have the chance!" Figg studied the borders of Titan Empire on the tactical map repeatedly. "But you, my younger brother, why are you always plastering a frown on your face? Do you not trust the Imperial Guards to be able to stand strong?"
Oscar shook his head, and said to his brother, "What does miscarriage mean?"
Figg widened his eyes, "Are you saying that Alanis had a miscarriage?"
Oscar nodded, "But what does this mean? How is it possible that it's my first time hearing this word?"
"Ugh …" Figg patted his brother on the shoulder, "It means that you and Alanis have lost your child, but to the family, it means …"
"Enough!" Oscar suddenly exclaimed, "I don't see how this is a good thing! Alanis must be so sad …"
Figg shrugged nonchalantly, "Well then, hurry up and settle your matters here, and go back to your empress in Dulin. Your stage is over there, while this place is just a … palace. That's right! A mere palace to you!"
Oscar was silenced. He just pulled open the door of the main hall of the empire, which was connected to the inner palace, and the clanking of military boots sounded in the main hall.
It was the Church's year 800, the ninth day of the third month when Her Highness Crown Princess Alanis Alfa Morisette, Titan Empire's supreme governor, had relayed the orders to ignite the torch. The Faran army, Hoilland army and Leblese army which had gathered in the Riel borders had held their Swearing-in Ceremony together. The Hoilland King, Luth VII His Majesty received the marshal sword from the Faran army and Leblese army, and he himself would be commanding military affairs of the largest scale in the histories of Westland.
In the Swearing-in Ceremony, King Luth VII presented his long speech. Most of the allied armies had not managed to listen clearly to that the ruler has said, but the intelligence personnel of Titan's Military Intelligence Bureau had circulated the speech script across the entire empire. According to the military analysis personnel, the speech had distorted much of the truth. Luth VIII had described Titan's royalties as scheming conspirators, and had declared that he would act against the arrogant Titan, and bring forth a new system to Titan!
It might be because that Luth VII had indeed been spluttering nonsense as the historians did not pay much attention to the speech after a few days. Instead, what everyone was concerned of was its symbolic meaning. Ever since the demolishment of the Holy Empire of Rome, the alliance of the Western kingdoms had finally made their move onto the Morisette royalties who were in crisis! As a result, the nonsensical words of Luth VII had signified the finalization of the world's first ever Anti-Titan Alliance.
Right after that, the primary forces of the Anti-Titan Alliance had left their base in Riel on the Church's year 800, sixteenth day of the third month. They had split into three formations and had advanced toward the Riel territories of the Titan Imperial Guards.
Among the troops, the central group comprising of Faran armies and Hoilland armies was the largest, consisting of five infantry corps and eight cavalry corps of the Faran Kingdom; eight infantry corps and two cavalry corps of the Hoilland Kingdom, amounting to a total of two hundred and ten thousand men. As for the Leblese camp in the central group's left wing, its supreme governor had still sent three infantry crops and one cavalry corps to the battlefield even if the small Leblese Kingdom did not possess much military forces. Consequently, the ring wing of the central group appeared weaker in comparison as it only had the independent armed organization of the royalties of the three kingdoms and several groups of mercenaries.
Regardless, on the twenty-seventh day of the third month, the distance between the main forces of the Anti-Titan Alliance and the frontlines of the Western army group of Titan's Imperial Guards was not more than several kilometers. However, Titan seemed to have yet to finalize their military tactics and formations.
"What's the military doing? What's Alan doing? And what about Robin?" O'Neil Andrew Morisette clasped the official message in his hands while hitting the table.
"This is the report from a month ago! Until this day, there's still no news of the latest situation!"
The empire's prince threw the ball of paper away furiously. While he was sizing up the Narcissus officers, he could not help but feel a little defeated! These people had plastered a peculiar demeanor as if they were not the people of Titan.
"Our opponent only has three thousand men!" Figg pointed at the tactical map, "Don't you forget, the Imperial Guards had managed to assemble a formidable troop of four hundred thousand men within the short span. Furthermore, it's not like Marshal Alan and Marshal Robin will sit aside and do nothing. I don't understand what's there for you to be worried of, their current attack is nothing more than testing the waters!"
Oscar immediately shook his head, "If the alliance of the Western kingdoms are willing to mobilize three hundred thousand men to just test the waters, that's even more concerning! So what if Alan and Robin are able to stop their advancement? As long as the Anti-Titan Alliance still has Deiss and Engels on its side, they are perfectly capable of gathering military manpower of a million men within a short period of time!"
Figg was starting to lose his patience, "From what I see … Deiss hasn't shown any hints of entering the battle, which implies that Queen Opareal isn't ready yet; although Engels has retracted their ambassadors in Titan, it's impossible for them to mobilize their forces to join land battles as the West Persians will never permit the Engelish to land on their territories! Thus … I think that it's highly probable that this attack is just to test the waters of our military prowess."
Oscar pondered. To be honest, he did not believe that a mere group of three hundred thousand men could do anything to Titan, but the crucial thing was that the royalties of Titan were involved in this military affair. Although the self-proclaimed wise Rudolf Hoss had magnificent accomplishments in the art of conspiracies, Kachev had escaped under his very own eyes when the operations were being completed, and even the essential Empress Kate Rolyn had disappeared! Oscar kept on thinking, but he could not come to a conclusion as this was not the usual behavior of the Head of Secret Service who had never allowed a single mistake.
"My opinion is that … judging from the current situations, the Anti-Titan Alliance still has the upper hand, but at the very least they've identified a reasonable excuse to justify their mobilization of troops."
"What excuse?" Figg furrowed his eyebrows. Just like how Oscar did not understand Persia, his knowledge of the alliance of the Western kingdoms was very limited.
Oscar sized up the soldiers who were present. He had informed the men of all the relevant political affairs with the exception of the secrets regarding the royalties' scandal.
Figg could not help but shake his head. "The Morisettes had indeed been inappropriate when handling these sensitive political matters! There was an uproar of the scandal, but there's not a single reasonable explanation given! The Faran princess who was supposed to be the empress, could now only hide herself in the dark corners of the palace to take care of her young child and crippled husband. It's no surprise that the Faran people have raised a fight. Nobody can accept these matters as they are!"
Oscar could only smile bitterly. How was he supposed to tell the Farans that their princess and her father-in-law were having an affair? If he really were to word it like this, he feared that the Farans would proceed to add several more army groups to their offensive army.
"Alright brother! Tell me about your plans!" Oscar flung the tactical map of the empire aside. First Lieutenant Kirk who had been standing beside the family head had immediately replaced the map with a goat-skin scroll of the Persians.
Figg opened up the scroll, and chuckled at his younger brother, "Right here … what do you see?"
Oscar glanced at the window in the city, "I see a bunch of people who don't eat pork … and their city."
Figg got closer to his younger brother, "Look more closely! What else is there?"
Oscar peeked closer, "Oh … there's the women in veils, Ottoman warriors whose heads are wrapped in cloth like corpses, and the … markets which seem like battlefields, the calculating Italian businessmen and the dirty seafood restaurants!"
"Haha! Seafood! You mentioned seafood! My younger brother, my family head! You are now pretty close to the answer of the question!"
Oscar directed his gaze toward the Sky City, which appeared like a serene piece of blue, "Are you talking about the sea? Are you perhaps saying that there's a sea here?"
"That's right!" without knowing the reason, Figg had become so excited that he was shaking. "My brother, you've turned into this slow-witted fellow ever since you've ignited the torch from the borders, you've never witnessed the sea with your own eyes, but is that hard to guess? Do you really think that the blue space beneath Fort Istantine is a lake? What on earth is in that little brain of yours?"
The Andrew's family head shrugged nonchalantly, "My wife and I have lost our child, and I've been thinking that it was a baby boy! But of course … a girl isn't that bad either! At the very least, she will grow as beautiful as Alanis."
The soldiers all turned away. They had all forgotten that their family head had supposed to become a father.
"Sorry" Figg could only respond in such a manner. However, he was very put off by the Morisette royalties, "Won't everything be resolved if you just go back and apologize to your empress? Are you telling me that you don't know how to sweet talk? You don't seem like a person like that?"
"How am I supposed to sweet talk?" Oscar did not bother with the appropriateness of his question in that setting. He raised such a question in the highest military meeting of the Eastern advancement group of the Narcissus Knights.
Fortunately! Figg was never the type to feign being old-fashioned. He grabbed his younger brother's collar and said to him softly, "When you're making love, use flowers, romantic poems … anyway, the point is to win her back by using anything that has the chance to make her touched. Do you still need me to tell you further? When she's on the bed, you know what to do! Who knows, it might be twins the next time!"
"Really?" Oscar could not tell why but he was full of anticipation after listening what his brother has said. The prince recalled the moment when he had bode farewell to his wife, and had only started to reflect through the entire series of events recently. He had been so cold toward his father's life and death, why was he still being so stubborn?
"Of course! Give it all your might!" Figg Andrew Tibotty said to his younger brother.
Oscar chuckled, and had never laughed like this ever since the combustion of the torch at the borders. It was not all the time that Oscar had reflected, but in the few times he had done so, Oscar realized that he was greatly indebted to a certain someone.
"The sea … shall we continue talking about the sea? I can't believe it … how could I have missed it?" Oscar sighed mockingly. He had already forgotten if he had really believed the spread of blue outside the city to be a lake.
Figg Andrew Tibotty stood up from his seat abruptly. The commissioned officer of the Eastern advancement group immediately straightened his chest.
"My family head, please take a look …" the commander of the Narcissus Knights pulled apart the thick curtains on the wall for the decision maker of the family. It was a mural behind the curtains, with drawings of crystal clear seas and the vast lands controlled by the Mogadishu clan.
Legend had it that Bosphorus Channel, this ruler of the universe had been enjoying his time in the world of humans. Eventually, things happened between him and the beautiful goddess Aeou. Out of sheer envy, the heaven's queen had sent a large group of mosquitoes to harass Aeou, which had resulted in the latter to transform into a heifer and escape across the straits.
The reason was unknown as to why the Ottoman Persians became fond of this myth. In the stories of the True God, a heifer was the most wonderful living being. Thus, the ruler of the straits had not changed the name of the Bosphorus Channel.
Since the mythical ages, the deep strait with the length of thirty-two kilometers which connected the East with the West had always been the most valuable waterway of the world. It had been there during the times of the rise and fall of the Ancient Roman Empire, and had also witnessed the entire histories of the Persian race.
"I don't understand!" Oscar suddenly raised his hand, "Are you saying that this waterway is the border between the East and West?"
"You're absolutely right!" Figg nodded in affirmation, "It might be that it'd slipped my mind to explain to you! The Persians think that the saying of the Eastern and Western lands aren't accurate at all, and they believe that they are always people of the East. Thus, they've divided the seas and named the Eastern divide as Asia, which means the native lands; and the Western counterpart as Europe, which originated from a myth of the old times. It was said that King of Gods had named this piece of land to commemorate a princess named Oroba."
"Now, this is news to me! It's my first time hearing something like this!" Oscar supported his chin with his hand, and he was getting more interested in the topic of the discussion.
"Alright Figg …" Oscar was beginning to lose his patience, "These have all been labeled on the map! It's Black Sea at the top, and Disin Sea at the bottom, I've seen it all. Now speak your mind, what exactly do you want?"
Figg straightened his posture and saluted at his family head.
"I sincerely hope you can consider the prospect … of establishing a navy!"
"A navy?" O'Neil Andrew Morisette opened his mouth wide, and did not have the capacity to say anything at the spur of the moment.