Chapter 1: The City of Glass

Guest Hall

“No thank you,” spoke the grim Hesha of the northern Meridian, Satha Noalani’pasga. Although he adhered to all forms of courtesy in his manner, his tone was dismissive and almost derogatory towards the servant who offered him a glass of wine. As they gathered around the round table in the banquet hall, after the Hesha and his entourage had been accommodated in the premises the day before, some servants of Bârladeanu brought smaller refreshments and wine from the governor’s own supplies. Most of the high guests were pleased with the gesture, especially Irajó, who was offered a special vintage of the fine, white northern wine. Only Satha apparently abstained from alcohol.
“I thank Lady Bârladeanu for this attention!” Irajó said, holding up the governor’s goblet. “May successful days lie ahead of us!” The group responded with dignified restraint. Only Satha remained silent, as the same quick-witted servant brought him a bottle of cool water. After a critical glance from the Hesha, behind whom two of his warriors always stood, he nodded to the Dravki who, relieved, poured the liquid into his wine glass.
“You’re missing out on a unique taste, Noalani!”, it came from beside him, once again from Irajò’s mouth. The bulky young man sipped his wine with pleasure; his delicate wife sitting next to him, always maintaining a dignified but friendly demeanor. Secretly, she would have liked to reprimand her husband for his jabs. She, and Irajò as well, knew how easily Satha could be provoked. She did not like that her husband had to show off in front of Satha, especially since he knew that Satha was someone who was physically equal to him, if not superior.
Fortunately, Satha remained calm and beckoned one of his warriors over. From a pouch, the warrior handed the Hesha a small paper package, which Satha immediately opened. A white powder fell out into the cup of water, which the man immediately drank in one gulp. Violeta, who belonged to the Bârladeanu committee together with an absent Niculaie, and was therefore allowed to participate in the discussions, even if only as a silent observer, was fascinated by Satha’s actions.
I wonder what that might be?, she wondered silently, holding herself in the background like all the servants and lower-ranking attendees. Irajò grimaced as the servant poured water for Satha. He, too, seemed not to know what Satha was so indifferent about consuming.
Instead of explaining himself, Satha addressed the stewardess who sat on the other side of the table. “Is the priest on his way? We should start as soon as possible.” Satha was referring to Osmund Cantrell, the representative of the Church of the Divine Right from the Westerlands, who was actually part of the group but had not yet appeared in the banquet hall. Bârladeanu had already asked about him and received reassurance from the Magistra that he would be arriving soon. She had been sitting alone with the Hesha for an hour and had to somehow entertain them on her own. Whatever his reason was, she hoped he would join them soon.
“The honourable Magistra had to excuse himself, as he still has to write some letters for the Church,” Bârladeanu lied, considering it a good enough excuse. Satha grumbled and seemed hardly satisfied.
“Why don’t we start without this ‘Magistra’?” Hesha Payam chimed in, his hands comfortably resting on his belly. “Our concern is not only with the Church, but also with our esteemed neighbours.” The round ruler nodded in the direction of Bârladeanus.
“Yes, but I’m looking for more than just allies in the fight against the No’farzand!” Satha replied impatiently.
Bârladeanu hesitated before stepping in. “Perhaps, while we wait for His Eminence, we could discuss something about these ‘No’farzand’. Don’t get me wrong, but many of the events of the past year have only been vaguely reported to me. Perhaps it would be a good start if the honourable Heshas could explain the situation.” She looked deliberately at the Haatmis, who had first contact with the foreigners.
Hedeh was the first to speak: “As we have already informed you, all of us,” she gestured to the group of rulers: “are currently in involuntary exile. Our property has been seized, and the people have been incited against us, despite initially friendly relations.”
“A false act!” Satha interrupted. “Deceiving us and our people with sweet words.” Hedeh nodded in agreement, although somewhat annoyed by her colleague’s manner.
Bârladeanu leaned forward in her seat. “What exactly do you mean? Who are these ‘No’farzand’?”
Hedeh continued: “They came to us during the holidays in honour of the God-Liege Miderion. They personally saved my spouse and me from assassins. They appeared helpful and spread something like hope among the people. Hope that a part of the time and splendour of the First Era could be restored. We let them do as they pleased, for they saved our lives and were always helpful in the days after the incident. We helped them spread their influence initially and sent them to the other two Hesha houses with our best recommendations.” Iraj?o felt guilty at the thought of his complicity in what followed.
“What we didn’t know,” he continued instead of Hedeh, “were the plans and schemes they secretly hatched in the cities. They created a cult among the people and even among the soldiers. They instilled the idea of a new Meridia in the people’s minds and gathered more and more sympathies among them. They claimed to be heralds of the Old Gods; but in doing so, they moved further and further away from the belief in the Pantheon, towards self-glorification. When they came to us with the ‘proposal’ to temporarily take over the leadership of the country, half the population was behind them.” He took a long sip from his glass and continued, “Many people in Meridia are devout believers. A belief in the Old Gods and their teachings. It almost makes sense that many would bend to the alleged messengers of the Pantheon. When hints of a possible violent takeover were made after we initially declined, we decided to give in for the time being and leave Meridia.”
“Not everyone’s wish!” Satha interjected again. “We should have fought against them!”
“And to put the little land and property that our people once saved from the desert at risk in a civil war?” Hedeh retorted. “War would only bring devastation. And with it, damage to our homeland that we cannot easily repair! Meridia now only consists of the last three cities. If they fall into conflict, what do we have left besides the endless sands of the expanse? Then we are no better than the nomadic tribes that vegetate aimlessly and returned in the expanse!”
A silence fell over the group, even though Satha was visibly struggling with himself. He knew that Meridia was not suited for large-scale wars and battles, and that they had to do everything in their power to keep the legacy of the Old World alive. But simply withdrawing without a fight did not fit the old warrior at all.
Hedeh looked at him understandingly for once, because the decision to retreat also moved her. The Hesharia turned to Bârladeanu again: “If we want to restore the old order, we must do so diplomatically. You can talk to the No’farzand. But we need a basis for negotiation. Currently, they are in a stronger position, but if we get support from the West and the Waals Kingdom for our cause, we could change the balance of power.”
Bârladeanu slowly understood the motive behind this summit. The Hesha were seeking a lever against religious usurpers in the western countries. One that, in the worst case, even offered military support if the mentioned case should arise. If no negotiating basis could be found among the foreigners, one would have to give in to the wishes of Hesha Noalani, regardless of the consequences, or give up Hesha’s rule.
Payam waggled his magnificent mustache. “And why should the No’farzand be intimidated by Sterbloch’s politics, enchanting Hedeh? What does it mean to the gods of Sterbloch?”
Satha laughed a handful. “Blasphemy! So far, I haven’t seen much ‘divine’ about them, aside from their magnificent appearances! Who’s to say they’re not just charlatans exploiting our people’s beliefs for their own benefit? Their appearance could be faked. Some insidious magic!”
Before further discussion could be had, the door to the hall opened. Niculaie entered the room, followed by an old man dressed in flowing robes. “Magistra Osmund Cantrell, your highnesses!” Niculaie spoke, slightly out of breath.
The man with the old, shaven face and smooth grey hair, which hung down to his shoulders, approached the assembly with grace but also quick steps. Bârladeanu rose and greeted the local representative of the Church. In truth, the man resided in the capital city of Vlakis Oras as an envoy of the Church of the Divine Right, but since Bârladeanu was conducting negotiations on behalf of the king, he arrived in Zloka Oras a few days before the Hesha. Humbly, Cantrell bowed his head before the High Ones.
“Forgive my delay. I had to attend to some matters that suddenly arose in my order.” The clergyman from the western part of the continent, who stood out among the attendees with his fair skin, took a seat next to Bârladeanu and immediately had some wine poured for him. The governor summarised the recent conversations once again, which brought a furrow of concern to the Magistra’s brow.
“Truly, unpleasant things that have been reported to me,” he took another sip of his wine. “And above all, a great request that is being made of me. The Church has little influence in this part of the world. Also, the goddess Levain was never greatly desired in Meridia. Don’t misunderstand me, but many hurdles of the past would have to be overcome if the Hesha need the support of the Grand Magistrax…”
Initial disappointment over the statement was followed by discussions about the past, possible solutions and promises that could be made to seek the church’s support, and dissatisfaction, as the group ultimately postponed the meeting to the next day. This was not unusual, as it was only the first day of a longer summit. Nevertheless, the path forward was clear for the Hesha: While the church was a foreign and, in the Hesha’s view, pagan institution, the Divine Right had influence in all human lands of the Western world. Whoever had the Church on their side could also count on the support of the kingdoms that accepted the monotheistic goddess Levain in their ranks instead of the antiquated Old Gods. Putting aside theological differences of the various cultures, this was a promising but also critical path, as praying for aid from each country in the Western Lands individually. This was because many nations always held grudges against each other and an alliance with one crown would draw the hate of another. Only the faith and rule of the Grand King, who also invoked the goddess Levain, brought peace to the West, aside from minor, often controlled and regulated skirmishes when two neighbours had a dispute.
But it seemed like a long and arduous path to convince the Magistra, at least that’s how Hedeh perceived it. It was almost insane to approach complete strangers with such a problem, especially when they had been deliberately excluded from Meridia for centuries. Western ideals and the church were considered nonsensical and profane in Meridia, an insult to the Old Gods who had been forgotten and replaced by the rest of humanity. The fact that this group of heretics was the door to the West for the Hesha created numerous obstacles in the matter. Not least because the Magistra, and also the Steward, thought little of the descriptions of the figures that in the legends of the Meridians formed the link between mortals and immortals.
But Hedeh was already planning to somehow break down this cultural barrier in the following conversations. After all, she was the one who had put the idea of the meeting into the world. She would try everything possible before she retook her throne with war, as Satha would like. In the end, it didn’t matter whether the Church and Westerners believed in the divinity of the No’farzand or not. In fact, Hedeh herself hardly believed it, similar to Satha. But how can one explain to a believing people like the Meridians that their long-silent gods do not walk the earth?