Jackal Among Snakes

Epilogue 2.2: Phoenix

When asked of his parent’s reaction to his brother Enrico’s death, Prince Garm had only this to say.

I thought I had seen my mother and father truly angry before that point. I was wrong. Terribly wrong. They were angry most of all at themselves. They hated what they saw as complacency, and they would never forget what yielding for love of their son had earned them. They became far stricter. The pain of losing a child made them hesitant to have any more.

By some reports, the emperor and the empress arrived in the heartland of the Great Chu the very next day, where any and all related to the attacks were weeded out to meet excruciatingly painful ends. Whatever the exact date, they did appear extraordinarily fast. As Dras’ named successor, Anneliese received the immediate loyalty of the Veidimen, who sought both protection and vengeance against their enemies in equal measure.

Speaking from personal experience, I can say only that fury was mirrored in all of the people of the Blackgard Union. Mothers and fathers cried as though their own child had been the one to perish. Brothers and sisters raged for vengeance as if to claim it for their own kin. The death of Prince Enrico became characterized as an attack against the Blackgard Union and all that it stood for, and those that had benefitted so immensely reacted as though it was at jeopardy.

General Galamon mobilized the army shortly after emperor and empress arrived, employing the whole of the Blackgard Union’s fleet to transport four of the twelve armies overseas. This fighting force was four times in size that which had invaded the Great Chu before the last calamity, and unlike before, met no concerted opposition at the shores.

Some consider the weeks following the result of grieving parents forced to make decisions that couldn’t possibly be divorced from emotions. Others suggest that things were already too far gone by the time the empress and emperor had arrived. Regardless, the situation escalated very quickly.

Great Chu natives attacked Veidimen enclaves. Blackgard soldiers responded to these attacks more zealously than they should have. These excesses led to yet more attacks, and more attacks demanded more drastic enforcement methods. It was a vicious and self-perpetuating cycle which continued to devolve, even despite interference from Emperor Ji Meng.

This escalation led to the rise of a woman who would come to be known as the Phoenix.

Su Mei, the Phoenix

of her sisters were essentially sold off as brides. There is enough corroboration for this that it cannot be disputed. She, herself, suffered at

twenty-seven at the time she claimed the title of Phoenix. She earned her title by virtue of her A-rank ascension. Her body became fire given form. The specifics of her ascension are unclear, but both death and capture proved impossibilities for conventional spellcasters.

in time the Blackgard Union defending it. She was reported slain eighty-seven times—after each supposed death, she would return only a few days later. Su Mei refined and cultivated this image of a phoenix deliberately, claiming it as both an icon for herself and the idea that she represented; the Great Chu, razed to the ground

and all bearing the symbol of the phoenix. Hers became a legend that spread throughout the whole of the Great Chu. Though initially a movement to expel occupying forces alone, it soon became couched in notions

affected families to Berendar

By this point, the majority of the Blackgard Union’s imperial army was necessitated to maintain some semblance of order in the nation. Emperor Ji Meng remained ‘frustratingly idle’ by several accounts, only exerting effort to be sure the imperial palace

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style of warfare employed, but because attacks so often came from those citizens who they were allegedly here to keep safe. It was a bitter, thankless war that made morale in the army suffer greatly.

saw greater evil in those attempting to fight against Veidimen occupation than those she’d began the fight against. She said the

because of an invader. Unless something is done, we’ll have naught but ashes

most damaging to the nation itself. Disruption of supply lines caused near-famines narrowly averted by humanitarian efforts spearheaded by

suspected as an assassination attempt, the empress herself told the Knights of the Sun who rushed to her defense to stand down. There, with the encouragement of Rowe, Su Mei surrendered to the empress. By rumor, the empress herself helped Su Mei stand, saying that she didn’t wish for surrender—merely peace. According to the knights I spoke to who guarded the empress, this story is exaggerated. Su Mei surrendered and was detained as a prisoner of

in desperate defiance of what felt inevitable. In time, however, the spirit of the fighting was greatly

public offices were made elected. This came alongside extending equal protections

army’s presence began to dwindle as more and more returned to Berendar, their services unnecessary. Some Veidimen families even began to return with the guarantees of law, but a larger majority remained in the Blackgard Union, where they

Anneliese, in her capacity as Dras’ heir and Grand Commandant, pardoned Su Mei for ‘extraordinary contrition and efforts to repent.’ Prince Garm claims his parents considered proposing a marriage with his brother Prince Castro,