Chapter 63: Amulius Lunaris The Chavarian Minister for War
"There were three men who came to prominence during the unification wars.
"One was the minister of war Amulius Lunaris, who helped the king to keep tight control of both the military and the royal court, coming up with plans from afar."
"One was Great General Drusus Dardanius, a military genius who was a political idiot but, alongside the minister of war, came up with many of the strategies that led to the Chavarians being able to create their empire."
"The last was the traitor Lucius Aurellion, both a skilled military leader and politician able to see through the political situation clearly and use it to his advantage."
"These three would become very close and, alongside a wise king, create a great empire."
Publius Pollius, a historian in the empire of Chavaria
....
A dark, ominous presence stalked the opulent, silent halls of the Chavarian Imperial Palace. Its cold, shadowy footsteps echoed through the halls while emitting an ice-cold killing intent that chilled the bones of the imperial guards on duty that day.
No one dared to stop this man who had ridden into the imperial palace without being stopped once, only casually showing the guards of the palace gates a golden tablet before riding through their blockade, which quickly made way for the black-haired man who had a short, well-groomed beard.
The Chavarian Imperial Palace was a fortress in itself, a last line of defence for the royal family in the event that the city was breached. However, if any foreign force had managed to get that far into the Chavarian Empire’s capital, it was unlikely that the remaining imperial guards would be able to protect their ruler anyway from the hundreds of thousands that would descend on the home of the Crestier dynasty.
The defences were mainly to help prevent coups, as even if one managed to control the imperial capital patrols to sneak into the city, these defensive measures would allow the imperial guards to hold out for some time, allowing for help to arrive and rescue the besieged emperor from the rebels.
Another gate similar to the one that protected the capital stood with 2 enchanted steel portcullises and 2 sets of stout ironwood gates whose hinges were made of mithril and engraved with protective runes by a grandmaster-level dwarven smith. While the gateway into the capital had 5 gates, they did not have the enchantments or protective dragonlike runes that weaved into the very fabric of the palace gates, forming two beautiful dragons on the ironwood base to symbolise the gate’s owners.