A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor
Chapter 1345 - 1345: Tainted Chalices - Part 2

"Lasha and Verdant both achieved more than that man…" Oliver said.

"Don't speak too loudly," Skullic warned. "These are Colonels, men of station, that are being given their rewards. You will hear a Captain spoken of by the High King only rarely, and you will hear Commanders spoken of never. No matter their feat, they are beneath the High King's notice."

"That seems… like the wrong order of things," Oliver said.

"Indeed," Skullic said. "But when you are the High King, it would seem, titles mean more to you than they do any other man."

A handful of Colonels were given their rewards, just after the Generals. The crowd greedily listened to every scrap of land that was given out. One could practically see their hands extending, hoping to snatch it away from the newly awarded.

In all their eyes, it was themselves they saw up there, in the throne room with the best of them, hearing their name called for the great deeds that they had carried out on the battlefield.

There was a great silence that came after the fifth Colonel. A silence long enough that it might have been a sign that the ceremony had reached its conclusion. Indeed, that was what Oliver thought it was, along with nearly half the crowd. They began to shift restlessly, waiting for the blaring of trumpets that would announce the departure of the High King, and then the moving of the crowd.

But it was Ingolsol that told Oliver otherwise. When his feet turned, looking for something more interesting, and as Claudia's eyes pointed in the same direction, turning her awareness to what she thought would be more fun, Ingolsol stayed rooted firmly in place.

If there was ever a creature that knew its worth, it was Ingolsol. He knew the magnitude of their achievements, and he could feel the presence that they had, even if none knew that they were there. There had been a mark carved in the history books, not by a pen, but by claws. The great and noble deeds of the high standing had been carefully inked, all according to the proper order of things.

The Generals had gone above and beyond, and the Colonels had operated with all the zeal that their posts demanded from them. Then, there had come along a beast, savage enough to upset the order of things.

Ingolsol could imagine himself sat upon that throne, where the High King now no doubt stood. He could feel his chains wrapped around all their ankles, just as his own chains kept him firmly in place. He strained against them, refusing to leave before he was granted what he was offered. "This is our right, Vessel," he informed Oliver. "Do not be denied it.

Do not leave before they give you every scrap that you are owed. For this is the power that you hold over them. You hold power enough to compel them to speak the words that they wish least to say."

"And for our last reward we have… we have… we have…" The High King stammered. It was as if he had forgotten his paper. It could have been passed off as innocent enough, but Oliver could hear the resentment, and any that knew to look for it heard it with them.

"A Captain," the High King said, avoiding saying Oliver's name for as long as he could. "Who… Slew a General," he said loosely. "In a rare feat… A Captain, who claimed a General's head… How we rejoice at such an occurrence… Only in the Stormfront could we…"

It was as if he was drunk, or otherwise disinterested. The reading of his speech that had gone so seamlessly before now descended into something that was an outright mess. Skullic looked at Oliver with a raised eyebrow as if to say "see? Is this not an adequate form of vengeance?".

Oliver supposed that it might have been. It did bring the faintest smile to his lips. He found himself saying it along with Ingolsol – the words that demanded the High King give them what they were due. "Say it, King," Oliver said. "Say the name that so repulses you. The remnants of a great man that you thought yourself to be done with.

Say it – and know that you'll be in danger, for as long as that name is known. I will find out what you did to Dominus, and I will see you punished for it, along with all the foulness that you have cast my way."

"General Zilan… was the perished," the High King said. "Not the greatest of Verna Generals… But veteran enough."

The High King played down the deeds of Zilan. If the battle had gone differently, Oliver could quite well have seen a man like Zilan having carved his own name in the history books. He had the furious want that was necessary for a man to climb highly. And, he had just a healthy pinch of madness to go along with it.

"The Captain found the General's neck… And for his deeds, he will be awarded…" the High King paused for a long time then. It was nearly thirty seconds of painful silence.

Oliver didn't care what his reward was. It could have been anything at all. He was satisfied enough to hear the High King speak it.

"A treasure… from our vaults," the High King said.

There came a frown from Skullic at that. "A treasure?" Skullic tutted. "What he means is it's a reward of gold instead… but he's dressed it up to be something more appeasing to the crowd. Anything to stop you from having more land than you currently do."

A shrug from Oliver followed his explanation. Treasure, bag of gold, or whatever, Oliver was quite content. He didn't come here seeking more land, or anything in particular, really. Greeves had said there would likely be a gold reward, and that it would be for the best interests of Solgrim to collect it, but Oliver hadn't been naïve enough to think he would be handed one so easily.

A treasure to be sold was just another step in the process.