Black Onyx - Forgotten Magic

In the palace, The King was surrounded by many people, and most of them were his advisors as well some higher noble officials.

Also, a few high-ranking men were waiting for the opportunity to speak their minds on this rare occasion when they were granted an audience with The King.

"The report just came in, Your Majesty," one of the speakers said as he read from a parchment scroll. In the attack this night, we have lost 4691 of our soldiers as well as 684 warriors and about two thousand citizens.

The accurate numbers for the latter are still being revised. It's difficult to get the exact number since many were torn to pieces and eaten by the beasts…"

The meeting has barely just started and King Robart III already felt a headache setting in. He grimaced and nodded, listening to the reports.

"Make sure the families of our fallen soldiers get the proper compensation," he said to the scribe who was noting down all the important things.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Alright, what's next? How is the research into Slana going? Bishop Argoch?"

"Your Highness!" Bishop Argoch stepped forward and bowed, holding his right hand over his heart. "We have confirmed our suspicions. The Slana somehow interferes with the mind of the victim and implants strong suggestions for the desired action.

We discovered many of the Orcs that attacked had it implanted in their spine, but overall it was in less than 1% of monsters. We can assume that the implanted suggestions were related to attacking our capital, and the beasts then spread the idea among themselves."

Bishop Argoch cleared his throat and continued, "We have also confirmed that it really was the Blood Sun Viper sect who was responsible for this. We also tested the Slana on some of their members, but it appeared the power of suggestion was greatly diminished in their case and they managed to resist it if they knew they were being manipulated.

It also could not be removed without permanently crippling the subject…"

"Which is exactly why I insist they should all be destroyed!" a person suddenly shouted and forced his way through the crowd. It was Bishop Quinn, a member of the Ring of Water.

"Your Majesty, we cannot go down this path! The inhumane experiments I have witnessed recently make us no better than the beasts we're fighting against!" he protested.

The King quietly sighed and massaged his forehead, "Well-"

"Nonsense! How are we supposed to advance our knowledge if we refuse to learn?! The Empire is behind the Blood Sun Viper sect, and they are behind this beast horde attack! They are trying to use the monsters to crush us! If we don't respond with a strong fist, how can our great Kingdom keep standing in these difficult times?!"

Bishop Argoch shouted with righteousness, "Our people are suffering and dying! They should be the first ones we protect! If I didn't know you better, Bishop Quinn, I would think you are trying to work with the enemy!"

"How dare you!"

The two old men suddenly started insulting each other, but not directly, of course. They kept poking at each other's personal shortcomings and flawed logic in their reasoning. The crowd in the hall unwittingly split down the middle, one side supporting the assimilation of foreign magic technology, the other opposing It.

It was exactly the opposite of what this gathering was supposed to do. The trouble was supposed to bring them all together, not tear them further apart.

The King was pissed and just wanted to kick out the two troublemakers. He didn't care for their petty squabbles either way. Too bad they carried quite a bit of influence in the magic circles, so he could do nothing but try to calm the situation down.

"Alright, settle down!" he shouted. "Now is not the time to be making new enemies."

"But Your Majesty-"

"Enough!" The King calmly continued, "I shall contemplate this problem at length and give you both a satisfying answer. Now is the time of compromise! If we wish to survive this calamity we have to work together!"

"Yes!"

"Well said, Your Majesty!"

The bootlicking nobbles quickly shouted in agreement to carry favor with The King. The two Bishops could only grimly agree to postpone their eternal argument.

'Damn it, these people are really getting on my nerves!' King Robart III complained in his mind. 'I'll give you an answer, I'll give it to you alright! When the war with the empire is over, and not a second earlier, damn it!'

He was in support of incorporating the Empire's tools and tactics into their own, but he couldn't say it out loud, now could he?

If he did, he would probably lose the support of the Ring of Water and the many Water Mages that were a part of it. He couldn't afford to do so, especially not now!

'Ah, being a ruler is such a pain! When am I going to get some good news?!'

Just as he finished his thought, a servant came running in.

"A message! The raven brought a message from the north, Your Highness!"

The guy ran to the throne, dropped on one knee, and presented a sealed scroll to The King.

"Oh? It's a letter from Guardian of the North!" The King immediately recognized the seal. He unfurled the scroll and quickly scanned its contents. His mood lifted immediately.

"More bad news?" a person asked with concern.

"Quite the opposite!" The King beamed, "General Ulrich Aust sent this letter, he said he should be here in a day or two!"