Imperatrix Fallen: Alith's Cradle

VIII

County of the Book (Conservatrix Novissimis): Guardians of ancient civilizations, the County of the Book safeguards a unique repository of knowledge, shared with the most renowned philosophical houses. As both conservators and creators of wisdom, the County plays a crucial role in the intellectual landscape. The border cities thrive on the transfer of this knowledge, which fuels the establishment of Universities and Colleges. However, this openness is strictly one-directional—no one is permitted entry into the capital city, Note. The city's gates have only opened once in history, during the XXIV Crusade declared by the County of the Sky, driven by suspicions of military misuse of knowledge.

Nearly all the children of prominent families receive their specialized education in these border cities. The current ruler, the Count of Logos, represents a city governed by a council of representatives from the five philosophical houses. 

Annotations by Flora from the book "Contemporary History of the Great Counties."

Valeria paced restlessly. She moved back and forth across the large hall, her eyes drawn upward to the ceiling of the office of Major Sac, leader of Frontier III, where the meeting between the belligerents would take place. An old map hung on the wall, showing the political structure within the mountain cordon that encircled the free trade zone. She traced it for the third time, trying to calm her nerves: "Westward, the sea; eastward, well, the mountains. From south to north, the County of the Book, encircled by the Loop of Light; miles further north, a handful of insignificant free towns, until you reach Frontier III; beyond that, more towns and Frontier I; further up, more towns and Frontier II; then the Carthage region, bordering territory controlled by the Rue and their angelic weapons..."

"Sorry for the delay, my lady," Major Labra Sac entered the room, leaving the door open to let in Quinta and her entourage. Labra had ties with the Sacra and was known for promoting their religious agenda in local universities. "Kissing the rings... not that he got another option..." thought Valeria. The delay was likely him asserting his position as leader of the zone, understandable given that three armies were camped inside the city.

"No worries, Major. We can't start anyway; we're not all here yet." Valeria replied as she took a seat at the conference table.

The Sacra cardinals present exchanged confused glances and whispered among themselves. The youngest of them raised his voice. "If you mean Marchit, she won't—"

"Quinta, what's your opinion?" Valeria interrupted.

"I suppose...if she intends to stay on the outskirts of the city," Quinta replied, turning to her Cardinals. "They're setting up a camp. We should make her part of this committee."

"Calm down," Valeria said. "The decision's already made; the question was just a formality. Marchit should be arriving any moment now."

As if on cue, the door swung open, and Marchit entered. She greeted curtly and took a seat next to Valeria. Over her battle uniform, she wore the ornaments befitting the leader of one of the free Aeternos towns, which appeared hastily donned and slightly disordered. "Good warriors, not such good diplomats," thought Valeria.

"Let's begin," Valeria started. "For now, we have no communication with the Rue; they refuse to give an official response. The County of the Sky has officially declared war on the Rue," she noted, with Quinta nodding in agreement. "We expect confirmation of this news from our capital in the coming hours; the other Counties have yet to make any statements. Retrospectively, here's what we know: Two days ago, our agents in Carthage reported the presence of a Rue maritime convoy on an irregular course—three large fishing vessels. Twelve hours later, they reported the landing of five battalions and six medium-range siege units on the shores of Frontier I. Within two hours, and with the help of infiltrated mercenary forces, they seized the city, severing the information node between Frontiers I, II, and III and the regions beyond the surrounding mountain circle. That's when we began mobilizing; we didn't know what the Rue was planning, but our heir was here, and without communication with her, we launched a rescue mission using the closest mercenaries in this region, who informed us of the opposition they'd already encountered within Frontier III. I decided to come personally with an advance group, along with the battalion that accompanies me."