Fireflight

Chapter Eleven

A distance away, not too far, yet some ways off Grand Prince Henri Enkari sat in a highbacked throne at the head of a large redwood table. The table was littered with maps, charts, files of information and plates of half eaten food. On either side of the table, a handful of advisors sat. On Henri's immediate left, the princedom's commissariat sat, a glass of red wine in hand. To his immediate right sat his domestic advisor, haphazardly shuffling a stack of files in his hands. Further down Henri's chief general and foreign diplomat waited patiently, finishing off their food.  

Other than the soft clink of silverware and the flutter of paper the room was almost deathly quiet. A banked down fire added a soft crackle in the background, and gave off a little heat and dull light. It cast shadows across the room, putting the wood floors and furniture into start contrast. The many tapestries and hunting trophies on the wall were clad in shadow, hiding much of their features and blurring the sharp lines together. 

"Shall we commence our business?" Prince Henri asked contemptuously, absentmindedly pouring himself another glass of wine. 

His domestic advisor nodded and cleared his throat. "Yes, my lord. Let it be known that this meeting is about the Macota crisis within our borders and the issue of a possible land grab by the Silver Legion." he began. 

Henri nodded impatiently. "Yes, yes. Continue." he waved a hand dismissively at the demon in front of him, ushering him to get to the point. 

"The current crisis began about five years ago when you conquered this territory that was claimed by both the Silver Legion and this principality." the advisor continued, unaware of the prince's growing disdain. "The cause was the harsh action you used to quell rebellions, that are still used to this day in order-" 

"Skip it! You think I don't already know this? I ordered it!" the archdevil snapped, his fingers curling as if to slap the foolish fiend in front of him. 

"Oh? Yes!" the advisor said, shuffling furiously through his papers, scattering several. He quickly stood to retrieve them, fixing his notes in a lengthy and organized process. 

"Forget the papers, you know all of this by heart don't you?" Henri asked. "It is your job isn't it?" he added drolly. 

"Of course my lord, my apologies!" the flustered devil said. "Anyways, we of course have drafted a plan to take care of said issue. I have worked with the commissariat and our chief general to draft a plan suitable enough for you to view." 

"And what is this plan?" Henri asked.

"Sir, the Macota people who live here on our land are of the Leykoya tribe; the fifth tribe in the Macota society. Our plan is to eradicate them from the face of the underworld." the commissariat announced. 

Sir Henri nodded. Mentally he felt like he was back in school. He had wanted answers to his military campaign, not a lesson. Mentally he reminded himself to have his advisor killed for being annoying at a later date.

"Not only that, but I have concocted a military campaign to push into the regions of the Silver Legion that we have claimed as our own. We can invade, kill off any Macota in our way and then hold the northern lake shore until we can get them to sign a white peace." the general explained. 

Prince Henri nodded. "What is the likelihood of our success militarily?" he asked. 

"Reconnaissance shows that the border province and its capital Huros are underdefended. They have only the minimal defense systems." the chief general began. "Those systems that are in place though, are substantial. I estimate with have a 53% chance of success." 

Henri nodded. He was a military man first, and a smooth politician second. From his training as a knight starting in his early childhood, he knew that the odds were good. As good as they could be anyways. 

"How many men do we have on the border?" He asked. 

"I have six hundred thousand troops ready to go." his general answered. 

"And I have four hundred thousand under my command for civil defense." the commissariat added. 

"We'll most certainly take casualties, and those are all of the trained fighting men we have!" the advisor warned. "What about the training of new divisions?" 

"Get a grip." Prince Henri said dismissively. "Do you think me to be stupid? I have planned for this for years now. There will be more troops, already we have many in training." 

"There's still the matter of reaching your goal on the eradication of the Leykoya Macota." The advisor added. "My lord, there are roughly sixteen million of them inside and outside our borders. That's a quarter of our population. The repercussions of lessened manpower will-" 

"Damn it! I don't give two shits about the statistics!" Henri yelled, slamming his fist down on the table. "If I say we'll have more soldiers trained, we will. If I say we slaughter an entire race of people, we will. I don't care what it takes to get it done, and I don't care how it happens!" 

The advisor shrunk as far as he could into his chair, avoiding contact with the seething prince. Those who were also assembled scooted back as inconspicuously as they could. Prince Henri was well known for his temperament. It was no secret that he'd personally killed off members of his court that had annoyed him or failed to meet his high expectations. 

The prince downed the glass of wine on the table before him and then quickly poured another. After downing it as well he sighed and turned to his chief diplomat. "I assume you have convinced other principalities to join our causes?" he asked quietly, massaging his temples in irritation. 

"Of course my lord. The other seven ducal states have agreed to fight with us. All they ask is payment in return for sending aid to us in our war." 

"Then they shall have it!" The prince said triumphantly. "Have my accountant send for bribes to be sent to the noble families." Then remembering he asked, "What about the other states? Will they come to our aid?" 

To his disappointment the diplomat shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Many of them will stay neutral in the conflict. They are afraid of the Silver Legion. Some are even working with them." 

"Who?" Henri snarled. 

"When I met with the As-Goetia diplomat, she told me they would not support us. Furthermore, Prince Stolas and Princess Stella are friends with the Chancellor and their allies in the Beurnanenland. I was told that they will support them if we commit any atrocities." 

"And atrocities we will commit." Henri leered. "Who else follows them?" 

"Ten other states my lord." 

Prince Henri nodded and sat back in his chair. The Goetia family was the most powerful of the northern principality clans. Therefore they held the most influence of the politics of the region. Henri, belonging to the second most powerful and influential nation, had constantly vied for power with them. He had personally taken to the feud that his father and grandfather had had with the Goetias. There could only be one leader, one apex princedom, and that would be his. 

"Prepare for them to get involved. I want soldiers posted along our borders. If they attack, we shall invade them and knock them out of the war." the prince ordered. 

"That can be done my lord." the general nodded. 

"I also want assassins. If we kill the prince and his family, then maybe we can end a two front war." Henri decided. "Yes, do that." then after a brief pause he asked. "When does my campaign start?" 

"Nine days from today my lord." the general answered. 

"Excellent. I feel good about this. This will surely propel the Enkari lineage into a future of unprecedented glory!" he crowed, scooping up the glass of wine and drinking directly from it. 

Then with an evil smile on his face, he wiped the wine from his face with the back of his hand before speaking his parting words for the night. "Now get out."