Hearing Isaac's words, the once warm and content air of familial harmony was suddenly exiled behind a wall of frigid tension, as we all looked fearfully not at him or the letter he held, but our dear mother whose smile no longer reached her beautiful, yet threatening eyes.
'This fool!' I screamed in my mind, as I wondered where Isaac had gathered the courage to so blatantly break my mother's most inflexible rule. No interruptions or official business during meal times.
A few months back, our mother issued this decree after I and my uncle missed one too many meals with her and the rest of my siblings, being tied up in the Council Hall or in my office. And despite me being an emperor of one of the most powerful nations on earth and a demi-god with an incredibly pure bloodline, I was still unable to overcome the power of my mother.
So her rule became more akin to an imperial law, where everyone, including the maids, butlers, generals, ministers and even Darius himself followed religiously, making sure to never transgress upon the sanctity of our meal with imperial matters.
Until now, at least.
Knowing this could end only in disaster if I allowed it to continue, I reply with stern tone and meaningful eyes "Not now Isaac, I'll see to it after I'm finished. Don't worry, I won't take long."
Yet contrary to my belief of him understanding my unspoken meaning and taking his leave, Isaac remained in place and replied gravely "It can't wait, my liege. This is urgent."
I frown hearing this, as I thought 'This must be a truly pressing matter.'
Beginning to way this against the fury and dejection of my mother, I suddenly fins myself uncharacteristically undecisive. Thankfully, before I had the time to come to a decision, I hear my mother's soothing voice from behind me utter "Go Alexander. You have more pressing issues to deal with."
Smiling in thanks to her, I quickly rise from my seat. Though hearing her call me by my full name, I knew she was not exactly pleased with the current situation.
"Who's the sender?" I ask Isaac, as I saw no seal or mark on the pure white paper.
"The Archpriest Adam, sire. And the priest who delivered it insisted on receiving a reply as quickly as possible." Isaac replied swiftly. Which made me release an huge internal sigh of relief.
The Eclipse Empire, like the other three empires had three individual who had breached into the illustrious realm of the tenth rank. And though all of them were respected, some held one of them in a higher regard than the rest. Such as the military men's undeniable admiration for their Grand Marshal Hamilcar Seth, or the mages' deference for the Arch mage Hekan Heka.
And similarly, my mother who's trained greatly in the healing arts of the clergy respected the Archpriest Adam Sekhmet greatly, especially after he constantly checked up on her during her difficult pregnancy, and even more so when he healed most of my injuries after the war.
"Understood." He replies.
"Also, send a missive to all the governors and nobles in the empire to prioritize the defense and patrolling of their domains. And impose a curfew past ten o'clock in the most infested areas. Anyone seen past curfew is to be captured on sight, understood?" I say, as more and more pressure builds around me.
"Anything else, sire?" He asks seriously.
Thinking for a moment, I reply "Yes, I want your Shade Corps to begin secretly transferring a portion of the supplies from Bathisma to the capitol for safe keeping. At least until the enemy has been sufficiently delt with."
Isaac's face twitched as he heard this, as he replied somewhat awkwardly "My liege... I'm afraid I don't have the personnel for such an operation."
Despite the Shade Corps' budget ballooning by almost twenty times since I took the throne a year ago, the cultivation of skillful assassins, spies, saboteurs and other specialized personnel would take years before it bore any fruit.
Understanding this, I go quiet for a moment, before asking "Any reports from the east?"
"...The east? No sire, everything is calm there, for now at least. And all our plans are on schedule." Isaac replied confidently.
Growing quiet again, I weigh my odds for a moment longer before ultimately deciding "Pull back some of the personnel we have in the east, and redeploy them to the west for now. Zadkiel can wait for the time being."
"Are you certain my liege?" He cautiously asked.
"It's our best current option." I reply in a defeated voice. I did not like the fact that I had to put my plans on hold in Appethus for the time being, but I was sadly not presented with very many choices to begin with.
'I'm still lacking in power. I can't even fully control my own empire!' I thought irritably, knowing that the road was still far from over.
"Sire, may I speak." It was then that Horus spoke with a firm expression, one that portrayed the uncertainty of his coming words.
Intrigued by this, I replied "Of course."
Taking a deep breath, he said "Is it possible that the Heretics intention from the beginning was to paralyze our military power?"
Horus asked the question we had all been dreading to vocalize.