Collide Gamer

‘Second to last morning alone.’

John looked up at the ceiling. It was somewhat decorated as part of the general opulence, but it really did not compete with the ceiling of his own bedroom. Not that there was any great ornament under that ceiling. Actually, John had very few memories of that particular roof. His eyes always hovered closer to eye level.

He blinked a couple more times, making sure the contact lenses were set right. Organizing a pair that gave his eyes the appearance of functioning irises, pupil movement and all, had been simple. It also had been the first time in a while that John had directly used the Abyss Auction to order something.

Once he was satisfied with his trials, he swung his legs out of bed. That was the hardest part of getting out of the sheets, though the warmth of the room and the absence of his loves made it less of a challenge than usual. He went through the motions of the morning, then made his way over to the banquet hall, where he hosted his guests for breakfast.

The room was now at its zenith of activity. Even the unexpected guests had all arrived now and with them the retinue of so many guilds. Internal divisions were plainly visible from John’s dais, the platform he shared with the guests of honour and his harem. The retainers and lesser powerholders of the guilds that had been invited mostly stuck to themselves currently. Perhaps the deals had all been made in previous days or perhaps it was just too cramped now for any secretive deals to be made during breakfast hours.

‘Could you make sure that Romulus, Remus, Krieg, Celeste, the Horned Rat, Norahnon, Osman, Liakan, Lydia and Lu Zhi are all invited after breakfast?’ the Gamer sent out a mental call to his maids. ‘I want to discuss the matter of the Aztec inheritance with them. Do tell them that this is the idea.’

‘It will be done, Master,’ Aclysia responded for the entire cadre.

Honesty, negotiation and scheming, those were the three broad categories John had access to when it came to annexing new land. Honesty was, once again, out and scheming wouldn’t work here. Negotiation served a dual purpose in this case. For one, he was going to play the part of the reasonable expansionist, which would let him fight Krieg in the court of public opinion.

It wasn’t an influential court, it had to be said. In the mundane, whoever could muster more manpower had a serious advantage, so winning the optics of any given situation was important. Even in the mundane, this had its limitations. Having the public on your side only mattered if it was enough of the public to scare the enemy or if the segment of the public won could be animated to actually do something.

The court of public opinion hardly mattered when it came to John clashing with Krieg. Neither he nor them were beholden to any laws besides the one they managed to enforce on each other. Their power was their own, unattached to what the people thought. If they came to blows, they would do so regardless of what manpower pool they might be able to draw from.

What might matter was who would back each of them up, which was where the second matter came in: John wanted to draw the attention of Krieg to this hemisphere. Nahoa’s ambitions would not go hot. No amount of bad will would let Krieg justify attacking small tribal guilds that opted to swear fealty to the demigoddess of their own accord.

Still, Krieg would want to be there in case he could find justification to intervene. At least, that was John’s hope. With that move, he could make sure that he fulfilled at least part of his promise to the Horned Rat.

Such was the hope. It would have surprised him if all three, Romulus, Remus and Krieg, would play along with his designs. Still, he could start with the simplest one of the three to control.

The called upon leaders and high-ranking members of the various guilds gathered up in a large chamber after breakfast. They all waited for the meeting to begin – a task that did not fall to the Gamer. In this endeavour, it was Nahoa who sat in the executive chair.

It was an Aztec throne, fashioned from stones imported from her homeland and worked by the stonemasons that remained among her people. It was neither gorgeous nor hideous and though its origin was clear its iconography was neutral. The stone reflected the soul of the Mexica at this time: steadfast in holding to their origin but as of yet uncertain how to deal with their past. It was also set into the wall of the otherwise more Art Deco-designed room, further symbolizing how they had found a new home in Fusion.

The throne was fashioned for the demigoddess, fitting her petite form quite well. She sat on it proudly, her right leg playfully settled above the left. Her maidly posterior was placed on the cascading fabric of her cyan cloak. It was connected via strands of silk to the barely visible wisp of clothing she covered her womanhood with and the cross-layered strip that hid the crowns of her petite breasts, hugging her neck to stay in place.

Though John found it difficult to peel his eyes from her borderline naked body, the bright green-blue feathers of her crown managed to work that miracle. They stood from a wreath of gold and stone, forming a halo of feathers behind her resting head. The base of the cape was attached to it as well.

Nahoa’s original thought had been to come out with only the cloak to even slightly cover her. To convince her otherwise had not been terribly difficult, though she had made a couple of remarks regarding American culture and the sensitivity it had towards nudity. Most of them were warranted, John felt.

The Huey Cihuatlatoani tapped the ground with the metal butt of her staff. It was a ceremonial weapon with a thick, black shaft and a head that resembled her knife, Nextloaolli in the design of the blue blade that curved outwards from its Aztec-crafted stone casing. With her staff, her cloak, her jewellery and her headdress, she had acquired all the regalia required for her office.

[Queen Nahoa: https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/b06bdd7fa4cc.png ]

“Thank you for heeding my summons,” Nahoa addressed the room. “As you have already been informed, this is regarding my rightful inheritance of the lands of the Mexica, stretching from the mounds of the Toltecs to the southern Andes.”

The declaration caused a spike in the room temperature. Krieg made no secret out of his disapproval nor did Veridion, who had come alongside the leader of the Concord. “According to my knowledge…” the god of oaths spoke slowly and with deep disdain, “…you swore that your territorial ambitions would end at what you had already acquired and the edges of the mundane USA.”

“My emperor’s territorial ambitions are not mine,” Nahoa stated.

Veridion snorted, while Osman drawled, “John, this is a farce. We all know that her expansion is your expansion. All that your women do is just your achievement in disguise.”

Strimata let out a displeased chime, before its wielder slammed the rapier back into its sheath. “Do you desire to insist on that, Prince Osman?” Lydia asked, her stern voice dripping with venom. “I could add defeating you in a duel to his accomplishments, if you were so inclined.”

Osman may have been a misogynist, but he wasn’t stupid. He reluctantly bowed his head in a modicum of respect. “Obviously there are exceptions,” he surrendered the point. “Though I doubt you would claim that one of his maids is an independent agent?”

“Truthfully, this is difficult to state in earnest – yet I will, because I am privy to details that you are not.” Arms crossed, Lydia reclined in her chair. “I have no reason to explain further what Nahoa herself will reveal.”

“Thank you, Lydia.” Nahoa rose from her throne, trying to get a bit of height on everyone. Even standing she was still looking up at such tall people as Romulus and the Horned Rat. “As she knows and as you will now be informed, the realms of the Mexica would be under my direct rulership. They would pay no taxes and provide no military assistance to Fusion. My people are too depleted to provide such boons anyhow.”

“For now,” the Horned Rat remarked.

“I have warned you, John Newman, and the warning stands.” Krieg rose to his feet as well. “Your rapid expansionism will no longer be tolerated. Act upon this impulse and the Concord will oppose you.”

“Your Concord opposes the welfare of my people?” Nahoa snapped back. “They have suffered, they are broken, scattered, leaderless for hundreds of years, and I am the rightful heir by the name of my father!”

“I sympathize with your people’s plight, and if they wish to serve beneath you, they are welcome to join you in your land,” Krieg stated, “but the borders of Fusion are not permitted to expand further.”

“What a farce.” The interjection by Remus had the entire room turn to the Godmaker. In turn, he kept his gaze on the logic puzzle he turned between his hands. Emaciated fingers rapidly spun rune-covered segments, evoking sparks from the combinations of magical seals. “Rules are made by those that can enforce them, it is that simple. This entire meeting is a pointless attempt at showing off. The path is already laid, why pretend?”

“Not all of us are as conceited as to believe we are fate itself, Sinmaker,” Nahoa hissed.

Remus put the toy down for a moment, to stare directly at the queen of the Mexica. “I created both of your fathers, you ought to remember that.”

“Well, well, well,” the Horned Rat cackled. “Before all of this, this turns into a big mess, I will state that the Illuminati sides with the Concord on this matter.”

“Indeed, ve do,” Celeste reinforced the guild’s patron god. “Fusion haz been an awe-inzpiring zight and as your alliez ve vill not zee your overstretch.”

“Can I take a look at that?” Norahnon asked, stretching towards Remus’ puzzle. The Godmaker moved it away from the researcher’s reaching grasp.

Romulus broke his silence, addressing Nahoa directly, “I concur with Krieg. I understand your people are plighted and I would not dare suggest you cannot call them to live under you. As queen within Fusion, you do not require conquests to have lands to house them.”

“I require the lands that they call home.” Nahoa stood straight, her eyes dark with a genuine annoyance. Though this was a political manoeuvre for John, for her it was also a sincere matter. “You would add uprooting them from their ancestral lands to the long list of sins committed against them?”

“I would,” Romulus responded plainly, “for that is the reality of statecraft. You will not wield my generosity against me to justify your desire for more land.”

Luna cleared her throat and turned to Liakan. “What is the opinion of the Azure Tribe on this matter? As the only other great power in this hemisphere, you must have thoughts…”

“The Azure Tribe is no more. The Purest Front has fallen and so have our bonds of kinship.”

The revelation hit the room, silencing any other consideration. What the coral-horned elemental had revealed, several people present must have guessed already, but hearing it from her directly confirmed a grave matter.

John chose this moment to break his silence. “The fact of the matter is that we are the only power in this hemisphere,” he stated clearly. “Fusion has no intent to expand further, but neither will I let the people of one of my beloved suffer at my doorstep. There will be diplomatic outreach to the remaining tribes of the Mexica and they will be allowed to join under Nahoa’s leadership.”

Osman pointed at Nahoa’s stomach. “For as long as that mark remains on her, her and your leadership are effectively the same.”

A reasonable standard in the objective sense. If that mark ever did fade, it would be because of a breakup that left them without love.

Nahoa thought differently. “I don’t care about your view,” she declared. “My people will be saved. Those among you willing to talk about how I can do so without invoking your ire, stay. The rest of you, get out of my sight.”

Krieg and Veridion rose first. Romulus rose in solidarity, Sol and Luna following him in turn. The leadership of the Illuminati remained seated. Remus followed his brother after a few moments, though his leave was born more from a lack of care than anything else. Osman was the last to stand up. “I have no authority for this negotiation,” he excused himself.

‘As if that stopped you before,’ John thought.

Aclysia and Beatrice locked the double-sided door behind the last that left. In the room stayed the Horned Rat, Celese, Norahnon, Liakan, Lydia and Lu Zhi.

“So, you stay despite standing against me?” Nahoa asked with a malevolent smirk. “Sounds hypocritical.”

“All of politics is hypocrisy,” Norahnen responded.

“Az demonstrated by Romulus. Hiz own realm hardly reached itz size because he stopped vhen he was asked,” Celeste added.

The Horned Rat put his elbow on the table and leaned forward. “All the same, same, it is the state that the Illuminati believes that Fusion should focus on its internal matters. What does the Heavenly Jade Empress make of this?”

“We have no interest in these developments. The Middle Empire believes the incorporation of tributaries is proper in the structuring of a sphere of influences.” The imperial tomboy shrugged. “You’re getting worked up over nothing. I am here to observe.”

“Anything you wish to add to that, John?” the Horned Rat challenged.

“I would never speak for the Heavenly Jade Empress nor am I here to speak for Nahoa. This truly is her campaign. I support her as her man, not as part of my political ambition.”

“And as I said earlier…” Nahoa plopped back down on her throne. “The state of the Mexica will be mine to govern, affiliated with Fusion as a protectorate at most. It will take over a hundred years for my people to reclaim what they once were. Would you hold still the scales of history for a hundred years?”

The Horned Rat laughed. “The Divided Gates are the victors of the current paradigm, of course we would.” He turned to Liakan. “So the Purest Front has truly fallen?”

“Disintegrated, with no central leadership left to attempt a reorganization,” Liakan confirmed.

“Interesting and expected.” The Horned Rat turned to Nahoa. “Without a local enemy, you just might get away with this, if you act diplomatically enough.”

“And what would you say that would look like?” Nahoa inquired.

Another round of negotiations ran its course.