88. Subterfuge III (Patreon)

“Did you get something interesting out of her?” Fynn made his way inside the interrogation room once the penumbra’s whining stopped.

“Not much, if I’m honest.” I swept a pulse of lavender mana across my body, washing away my exhaustion. “I don’t know why you made me do this. I have no experience whatsoever in interrogations or compulsions, you surely could have gotten an expert with your position.”

“I could have certainly done so, but I fear it wouldn’t be as effective if you weren’t the one doing the questions.” The Command Sergeant Major said as he looked at the shadow mage.

She was mentally... fine, even if her slumped figure and lost eyesight implied otherwise. I had put her in a forced blissful state with the Charm spell, Mystic’s Dominion, and a touch of Force Unconsciousness, but as I haven’t really used the former spell in my life, I may have been too forceful.

“How’s so?” I asked him.

“Fear, soldier. Fear.” He explained. “That woman is a trained operative, getting an expert torturer to get information out of her would net us nothing new. People like her wouldn’t talk in such situations. But I don’t know what you did, but that woman feared you before you even began the session, that is far more relevant than any expertise on the field.”

“I guess?” As I talked more with the man known as the Ceaseless Storm, the less I could understand him.

He was raw and brutal, yet pragmatic and comprehensive. How did a pure soul like Amira end up with him?

“Did you get any relevant information?” The blue electromancer asked. “I have no hopes at all, this type of person is usually kept aside from relevant data but tell me anyways.”

“You are mostly right.” I nodded. “I didn’t bother asking her name, as I considered it useless, but she liked to refer to herself as ‘Shadow’. This Shadow didn’t know anything about the plans whatsoever, though he did mention two important figures.”

“And those are?”

“The minister of defense and the High Arcanist,” I replied.

“Not news at all.” Fynn sighed. “The High Arcanist was the only one capable of moving this many threads around whilst undetected by the military and having ministers from the Arcane Sanctum involved was to be expected. Did you at least get the motive why are they doing this? I doubt they told the shadow mage anything, but I’ll be satisfied with even spoon-fed propaganda.”

“Shadow mentioned that they were doing this for ‘the greatness of Ferilyn’ but I don’t know if we should trust such vague promises,” I commented. “Though she did say that they weren’t allowed to commit any errors as the plan had reached the final stages.”

“This all sounds like the cantrip-heads from the Offensive Coalition...” The electromancer scratched the tips of his ears in ponderation.

“She certainly wasn’t a follower of the movement. But I’m led to believe that their contractors have instigated the flames of hostility.”

“So, you are thinking the same as me?” Did I know? With a quick glance at his soul, I could say that yes, I thought what he was thinking.

“Yes, it’s most likely that the Offensive Coalition is sponsored by the High Arcanist himself.” I also scratched my ears, though in my case it was a bit harder as they were far longer. “But why would he do that...”

“I have my theories.” Fynn’s voice turned deep and hateful. “Two decades ago, during the Wyrm’s Landing, the High Arcanist ordered a standoff. His orders caused a lot of civilian fatalities, this led me to investigate a bit. You know that the military of Ferilyn is a recent institution, right?”

I nodded. “Before the military, Ferilyn was only defended by the noble houses, I know that.”

“The military was founded almost a century ago, as the current High Arcanist took leadership.” The adult ellari narrated. “Most of the drama came from the noble houses, obviously, but the High Arcanist placated them, somehow. That doesn’t matter. What matters is that with the founding of the military, the High Arcanist now also held the title of Supreme Command Sergeant Major of the Army, meaning that now the High Arcanist didn’t have control over politics, but also the nation’s military.”

This was beginning to sound a lot like a slow takeover from a democratic leader transitioning the country to a dictatorship.

“I have gone a bit sideways, but what I was meaning to say is that the current High Arcanist is rather bellicose in nature.”

“Are you saying what I’m thinking you are saying?” Now it was my turn to ask the question.

“I’m afraid so.” Fynn nodded in defeat. “With what you told me about the draconid skirmishes and how Ferilyn was the first attacker, I feel that this whole operation was about fabricating a casus belli.”

A casus belli. Two whole decades of self-imposed isolation under a magical bird cage just to make up a false casus belli. I know ellari perceive time differently, but I wanted to puke. But something was still off. Not all pieces neatly stuck together in the puzzle.

“I don’t think that’s the whole picture,” I told to Fynn. “He wouldn’t need the Offensive Coalition nor the leyline sabotage, even the Violet Sky is overkill...” True Recall reminded me of words I had said to Marissa a decade ago, I had already come to this conclusion before. “No, the High Arcanist isn’t just justifying a senseless war, but he’s also recruiting people. He’s brewing hate. Tell me, how many people have joined the army these last two decades?”

“A lot.” The sergeant revealed. “We have a great turnout rate, not only on Lan’el, but the military in general. Only the best and most disciplined become true soldiers, yet the number of privates has quintuplicated since the Wyrm’s Landing.”

Ferilyn was already an incredible superpower as it was. Long-lived mages with power enough to decimate cities individually, yet now the High Arcanist was tying them together into a cohesive hierarchical structure. The only saving grace this world had was that ellari were isolationists and apathetic to the outside world. But what if the High Arcanist opened Pandora’s Box and unleashed such armies into the outside world?

They wouldn’t stand a chance.

“What’s going to be your next course of action?” I feared not only for Ferilyn’s internal affairs but the world as a whole. If not controlled correctly, the situation could escalate out of control very fast.

“The High Arcanist is planning something, and whilst we don’t know what that something is, we know it’s going to be soon and that the military has a play on it.” Fynn recapitulated. “But that also means that his plans are heavily reliant on the military. If the army doesn’t come to his aid, then his plan will fail.”

“I understand your point, but how will we manage that?” I asked. “I am aware you are a Command Sergeant Major of the army, but you aren’t the only one. There are more people who share your rank, right?”

“Yes, that will need some convincing, but the course of action is obvious.” He stated confidently.

“And that may be?”

“A coup d’état.”

And the situation escalated way out of control.