A City of Changes
The city-state of Thepsus Magna has always been a jewel. The largest city of the “northern” continent, although not directly on the continent itself, the city spans the length of the island. While not the biggest island near the continent’s shelf, Thespus Magna has been the center of the cultural milieu for the last two ages. Ruled by the Duke of Aeschyl, Montgomery the Aeschylean, the city has reached a new era of opulence and decadence, its power at its height.
This too, of course, must end as a new age dawns.
“Sir?” a courtier asked as he approached the Duke in his office, “I have a letter from the Apothecary General. The Sewers are crawling with Bullywugs again and he would like permission to gas them out”
“No, Geralt, I think not,” said the Duke in reply, a loud sigh following the statement “if he asks again, I will have him replaced by someone who understands that poison is not supposed to be entered into the water supply. Especially down there. We do have citizens who flee the surface lights to make their homes in the sewers, if you recall. If a few of them wind up dead by the shore again, I’ll have the League of Concerned Citizens up my ass. Again.”
“Very well, Sir” Geralt spoke, licking his lips as he read through the next letter, “The Fishmongers want permission to ply the shores of Tiefna. Their steamboats can fight the current of that part of the sea well enough apparently” he started, “but given the predisposition of the inhabitants of the isle towards piracy, they have also asked for an armed squadron in the area. What do you think should be done, sir?”
“No. Gods no.” he shook out, stroke his chin lightly as he replied, “We don’t want open conflict with the Tiefnans, especially their navy. We both know that we might outmatch them militarily, but that’ll change the moment that we send ships their direction. Our harbor will burn and we’ll have a Tiefling riot on our hands. Last thing we need is for the Malificars to get a good hundred or so converts to their blasted faith. Any more letters, Geralt?”
“Two more sir. Before that, though, are you well m’lord?” the young noble asked, his eyes gleaming dourly as he straightened up, “you’ve seen more ill at ease as of late, if you don’t mind me saying, and you’ve kept to your room more than usual. The other courtiers are”, he added with a cough, “talking”.
“Well? I assure you, if I were as close to death as that mainlander Thamil keeps saying, I might wish to defenestrate him as my last act as Duke. No, I just feel” he paused, blinking in short fits as he shuddered lightly, “I suppose ill at ease is an appropriate description. I have been Duke for a very long time now. My grandson Francis is ill-prepared for rule and if I were to die, I do not see a bright time for my city. I have ruled this city for sixty years now, with the people’s blessing, I fear given my heir’s…predilections that-“
“Sir, I don’t think that will be a problem, at least not as bad as you think” the courtier assured him, interrupting his worry as a boulder might stop a river, “he’s well-liked by his men-“
“Do not interrupt your Duke, Geralt. I shall be lenient this time, but I do expect better of you, especially when you do not understand the totality of the situation” the Duke rumbled, the room seeming to shake for a moment at the outburst. “Yes he may be well-liked by his men, but he is absolutely hated by the common citizenry” he breathed out, still shaking a bit, “He’s pompous, ill-reputed, and an overall do nothing who is waiting for me to die. I’m not surprised about the rumors, especially with Thamil as his right-hand man. I realize that he controls the newly formed Gas-Bow divisions, which is a prestigious position I grant you, but he’s used that position on nothing but self-serving and, worse, whoring. If it were just living things that he had paid to have sex with, that would be one thing, but bloody unliving Ubitu as well, I-.” he ranted, straightening up somewhat as he seemed to eyed Geralt again, “Forgive me, Geralt, I seem to be in an ill mood. I wish you hadn’t been here for that”
Blinking, Geralt put his arms behind his back, stiffening slightly as he waited a few moments, “Sir, I understand. I was just trying to make things seem less potentially horrific. Would you like me to continue where I left off, m’lord?” he asked, shaking slightly as he seemed to be calming down as well.
“Not right now, Geralt. Visit this room again when you aren’t shaking like a leaf on the inside. I expect to see you in at least three hours, any sooner and I will ask that you return tomorrow. Good night, Geralt” the Duke commanded, leaning back in his chair as he stroked his left arm with his right hand.
Looking out the window, to the unlit sky, the Duke let out a slight sigh, followed by a short swivel of his chair, resting it slightly to the left. His eyes softened for a moment as he continued to stare, seeing deeper and deeper into the night sky, which stretched to an unfathomable infinity. Alone at last. For the most part.
“I know you are here. You may not breathe, but you are the noisiest vampire I’ve ever had the misfortune of catching” said the Duke, his gaze sharpening as he rapped the desk with his fingers.
“Was I that obvious?” joked the vampire, strutting out of the shadows, “My, my apologies, my liege, but I believe I was quite warranted in remaining silent up until now”
“I don’t need another sycophant preaching to me about their excuses, would you please tell me why you are here? If it’s to kill me, this is not exactly the best time, you know. You heard the conversation, I trust, and you know as well as I do that my death at this moment wouldn’t be good for you or your ilk” he said, his eyes still trained on the window.
“Of course, of course, why would I ever even deign to harm you, my loftiest of lords? Why, the very thought sends my spine reeling from my back” the intruder riposted, rubbing his gloved hands together, “Still, such a lack of pleasantries on your part could be considered…impertinent. After all, you wouldn’t even rule this city without our…patience”
“There is truth and then there is an elaborate fiction. Perhaps you are goading me into snapping at you for your assumption of beneficence towards me or my ilk, but tonight is not a time for combat. Tomorrow would be better, wouldn’t you say? Now cut to the chase, we mortals tend to be rather impatient as you well know.”
“Says the man who has been in charge of this city for, what, half a century? You are older than the majority of your subjects, aren’t you? It was too bad that you had to grow up so quickly, but royalty tends to be QUITE the tr-“
“The case. Cut to it or leave” the Duke said, his face seething for a short moment before settling to a more statuesque look.
“My, my, aren’t you impatient tonight? Very well, my liege, I will tell you why I am here. Quite simply, the Council of the Twelve Clans has been impressed with your stewardship of the city and would like to congratulate you on another successful year as ‘ruler’ of Thespus Magna. Unlike your more…rebellious and interfering predecessor, you have managed to keep a lid on our existence here, to the point that most think the Duke before you eliminated us all successfully. We would like to officially offer you a way out of your current…predicament.”
“What? My…predicament?” the Duke asked, looking carefully out the window, seeing the streets, which despite the time of night, was still filled with all sorts of people. The city of Thespus Magna had been an economic nexus for hundreds of years before the Dukes of Aeschyl had taken over the city, but with the advent of new technologies such as the Gaslamp and the Zeppelin, night life and travel had been revolutionized and improved. Within his lifetime the city had gone from The City of Plays and Operas, to the City of Riches and Wonder. The city was transforming quicker than ever. Rapidly evolving, like one of the God Siegfried’s experiments. Long ago, Siegfried had experimented with life and had created the first Gnome. Through humanity, as well as the rest of the efforts of the city’s population, Thespus Magna was reaching a golden age of prosperity. The only predicament he could think of was…”My grandson you mean? I don’t want him killed or turned, if that is what you are supposedly rewarding me with.”
“No, no, that can be dealt with when you are…well, the Council of the Twelve Clans wants to formally adopt you. Congratulations, it isn’t every day that a noble is invited to become one of us” the vampire said, bowing his head in the direction of the desk. “Think of it as…an improvement to your current dreary life. No longer will you have to worry about the welfare of this city, no longer will you have to deal with petty bureaucrats, and no longer will you have to deal with…Francis. He’ll be busy juggling your responsibilities while you enjoy your lengthy retirement.”
“I’ll pass on that.”
“Splendid, splendid, I look forward t-what?” the vampire said, stiffening up as he seemed to scan the Duke for any traces of being a doppelgänger, “What do you mean you’ll ‘pass’? No one has ever said no to this opportunity, let alone decided in such a short time. You have to give it a little more thought, my Duke”
The Duke sat up a little straighter as he maneuvered the chair around, the twisting of the gears at its base clacking as he turned to face the vampire, finally, “I believe I have made my decision. If you don’t like it, we can just end this conversation and you can go back to the sewers with the rest of your kind. Or perhaps was I not clear? No. I am not becoming a vampire just so I can be fawned over for a few weeks before the Council decides that they have bored themselves of me and leaves me Clanless, which I would have to be due to the Clan laws. No sitting or former ruler of Thespus Magna may ever become a member of any of the twelve clans. You and I both know that-“
“But, but what about-“
“I believe, as I was saying, that I have told you my answer. The pride of vampires is only matched by the hubris of the mages of the Academy of Magic. And even they see the sun every once in a while” he chided, shaking his head as the vampire in front of him seemed to radiate pure heated rage.
“How, how dare you. We offer you the gift of everlasting life and you spit in our face”
“I don’t see council climbing its way up from the shitpit they call home to get spat on. Besides, if this were even a serious offer in the first place, they would’ve sent the Menagerie of Friends, not a lowly emissary. As I said before, you are the noisiest vampire I’ve ever met in my entire life. I’ve MET the council and their officers. You are not one of them. Your outfit isn’t nearly as pompous as your attitude, which should honestly be the opposite, you smell of GARLIC of all things, which means you are new to being a vampire and don’t understand that garlic does shit to them, therefore making it a rather weak defense in some street fight and your knife is government-issue” spat the Duke, rising as he spoke “you are NO emissary. You are an assassin, a bad one at that. Although I’ve dealt with worse. I expect better from the nobility than to stoop to urban legends to kill me, but given that I’ve flaunted my inability to be killed normally, I suppose they had to stretch things a bit to get to me.”
“Since you seem to know so much of me, falsely might I add, I suppose I should introduce myself properly? I am, indeed, an assassin, although I was not hired by one of your so-called nobility. Alas, the last nobleman who tried to purchase my abilities found himself biting” he paused, letting out a little noise as he did so, “more than he could chew. I am Guilliame de Mont-Lizarde, formerly Comte de Boge-Izola. I was a noble myself in the Kingdom of Shiin during the Reformation of Codes, a little after the Shattering. I was ennobled during that time, my liege, but I was also killed during the backlash. You see, adventurers don’t really like it when you heavily tax a few villages, slaughter your neighbors’ cattle, sacrifice a few peasants to Shiin’s Memory, you know, normal noble things. So they fed me to one of my more…mindless minions. I woke up not as mindless, no thanks to the necromancer I hired to make sure I didn’t die permanently, but my lands were gone, my castle despoiled, and the adventurers nowhere to be found. Alas, the necromancer that rose me soon found himself lacking something that all vampires thirst for, and I began my current…life.”
“And your real reason for being here tonight is…?” asked the Duke, spinning his hand in a small circle as he looked the vampire in its unblinking eyes.
“Change, my liege, is in the air. Your heir-apparent is a royal buffoon in all but name, your nobility is disgruntled to the point of insurrection, and the populace wants change. There is but one thing that can properly do what the people want. Sure, my former…master, Shiin, was all about lawful rule over my inferiors, but my new master…well, they prefer things being a little more chaotic. It is quite honestly time for revolution. You know that, I know that, even Geralt knows that in that little brain of his. The city is ripe for change. Thing is, though, it won’t change unless something violent happens, as you know”
“You…are here to kill me. I think we already established that”
“No, no, you misunderstand. If I were here to simply kill you then it would just be another assassination. No, I must kill you in a way that causes a particular kind of witch hunt. Revolutions don’t happen without seminal events as you know and I MUST have the perfect one. And Geralt is going to be the one to witness it. He’s a talkative and panicked sort, as you know.”
“…oh” the Duke gulped, flittering his hands along the arms of his chair, “You are going to kill me and then announce that you are with the Council of the Twelve Clans, making sure to hiss at him to show your fangs, and then jump out a window with a flourish, aren’t you?”
Pouting, the vampire nodded his head, “Yes, yes, well, he’s due to return soon isn’t he? I WAS here for your conversation remember. I was quite the Thespian myself back in the day. Before I was ennobled, I was born here to a pair of refugees from the mainland, not that I know much else about them. I was in quite a few plays, back when the ruler of this rock of a city was the Duke of Sophoclaeus. Ah, ah, you riches to riches folk. So quaint with your titles. Anyways, I believe that based on the footsteps coming up the hall that its show time. Be sure to say hello to Kuoleman for me, I’m sure he’s rather miffed that I decided to not like my soul die like the cosmic plan for me was written out. Defying our roles is what makes Thespus Magna…the perfect city. A city ever in motion”
Years later, after the purge of the underground, after the death of the new Duke at the hands of an angry mob, after the chaos that swallowed the city had subsided, a new order reached the city. The Order of the Cogs arose, uniting the disparate factions of the city. Progress of every stripe marches ever onwards, to the future.
