Road of the Heavenly Light

18-2: Diplomatic Freeze

The next morning, Erric couldn't help but feel like things were going terribly. It was not exactly true, as his diplomatic mission seemed to be going well so far, but when it came to Howard, things seemed hopeless. Erric had hoped that with a good night's rest, his brother would calm down and see reason, but instead he seemed undeterred and refused to speak with him. It was still hardly surprising, however. Howard wasn't used to things not going his way.

Erric settled in a quiet corner of the school gardens, taking his paperwork out of his bag and looking through it. Diplomacy required a lot of careful reading, which was hardly Erric's favorite activity. But the fate of relations between Divinia and Belmont depended on it, so he had to read every line with great care. He could hardly allow the Divinian church to deceive him with hidden clauses.

When he heard footsteps approaching him, Erric looked up to see Apollo and his brother walking by him. Howard scowled upon seeing him.
"I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who likes to get work done outside," Apollo remarked, oblivious to the tension that hung in the air.
"I hate to do work sitting at a desk in a boring office," Erric responded, a charming smile on his face.
"It's also convenient for any spies, as they can read confidential documents together with you," Howard jabbed.
"Well, then the spies will certainly be more interested in reading than I am."
The remark made Apollo laugh, something Erric tried hard not to enjoy. Howard rolled his eyes and beckoned Apollo to leave.

Howard tried his best to not let it show how much his brother irritated him, not wanting Apollo to notice, but Erric hardly made it easy for him. He hoped his brother would not decide to follow the two of them. He led Apollo to a different part of the gardens and sat down so the two of them could begin studying together.

"What do you want to start with? History or politics, governance, and relations?" Apollo asked.
Howard chose history. It was the subject he needed the most help with.
"Alright, let me see," Apollo said, looking through his notes, "what was the main cause behind the Therosian War of Independence?"
Howard hesitated for a moment, trying to recall what it was.
"The economic differences between Magnos and Theros?" Howard guessed.
Apollo shook his head. Howard was not surprised.
"It was a feud between the emperor and his younger brother, as the former barred the latter from having any political power. The young prince then went to Theros, where the people felt like their lives were determined too far away from them, and declared an independent kingdom."

Seeing the sad frown on his face, Apollo turned the pages of his notes, looking for something else.
"Here, let me pick something closer to home for you. Can you name the cause for the First Bels War?"
Howard felt stupid, because he really should have known the answer. History just wasn't something he was good at.
"It started as a result of Belmont damming the river that fed the Montinian Sea, south of what we would call Upper Belmont today. This turned the sea into just a river, drying up the land surrounding it. Belmont and Brightwald both claimed the new land, which led to outright war. When Mistlyn decided to support Brightwald, Wyvernston began to support Belmont, seeing it as a chance to weaken its longtime rival, leading to the structure of alliances in Western Iola that persists to this day," Apollo explained.

"I'm sorry..." Howard apologized with a deep sigh, "I just can't wrap my head around history at all."
"Why don't we go through everything together from the start, then?" Apollo offered.
Howard wanted to accept, but hesitated for a moment. He could hear his brother scolding him for even still so much as being in the company of Apollo. Erric was quite mistaken if he thought he knew what was best for him.
"That would be great, thanks," Howard said, a smile on his face.

After he got about halfway done looking through his paperwork, Erric made his way to the office of Cardinal John. They would be discussing the terms of the agreement he had come to negotiate on behalf of his father to hopefully improve relations. Most of the major points were already done, but the most difficult ones had been saved for last. On the Divinian side, the most thorny issues were the constitutional ban on light magic and its teachings in Belmont, as well as the travel ban for members of the Divinian Church. On his side, the most important issues were the Divinian staff export embargo and the non-recognition of Belmont's sovereignty of Lower Belmont. It meant he probably had a tough meeting ahead of him.

"I thought we could perhaps begin by discussing the travel ban your country still enforces against members of our church. The Archbishop insists that no treaty be signed unless this ban is removed," John said.
"The ban is only applied vis-à-vis the staff embargo. We in Belmont would be more than glad to remove the ban if the embargo is also removed."
"People have a fundamental right to travel where they please, while access to staves is not a right. The two issues can hardly be compared," John argued.
Erric couldn't help but be annoyed by the fact that the church cared so much about the travel ban. They were talking as if Belmont was a popular holiday destination for its bishops or something. He had to find a way out of this argument. He decided to change the topic.

"Even so, we expect Divinia to stop recognizing Lower Belmont as part of Brightwald. They have not controlled the territory for over fifty years now and are in no position to retake it."
"That territory is disputed, and neither party has sought to bring it to a court to resolve it. Changing our position on the matter would risk violating Divinia's neutrality and jeopardize relations with Brightwald, not to mention the precedent it might set for Falmar's own claims on Sunset Island."
"But then surely the status quo would also violate Divinian neutrality, as it is blatantly in favor of Brightwald. All other countries except it and Mistlyn also recognize the territorial reality," Erric argued.
"In that case, the only comparable countermeasure would be to change your constitution in regard to light magic."

Erric let out a quiet sigh, trying to mask his disappointment. That was the one thing his father had forbidden him from conceding on in any way. These notations were certainly going to be difficult, and he was starting to wonder if they even had any chance of success. It was not like he had much choice, though. The relations between Divinia and Belmont were at a pivotal point. Any sort of failure could easily ruin decades worth of careful diplomacy. If that were to happen under his supervision, it would ruin his reign as king before it could even begin. His father would no doubt be disappointed in him and tell him how much better Howard would have handled it. It was something he heard often.