A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor
Chapter 1724 - 1724: The Pieces - Part 2

"The fact that he was convinced he would lose?" The Prince said. "…Why did that move him so powerfully?"

The scholar inclined his head. "Now, that is a good question. Is it a matter of personality, or is it a prerequisite for something else? Ah, I ought to draw such rules. It is tempting, it is indeed tempting, but there is no set template for greatness. Greatness is that which overrules all templates. Indeed, Oliver Patrick's personality seemed thus, that when he was presented with a problem that he was sure he could not overcome, his feet pointed him towards it ever more strongly. He seemed a creature that necessitated that, rather than confidence. That first battle with the Hobgoblin… Yes, we could draw a rule from there. Eternally dwelling in fear, in unstable territory."

"Dwelling in it, or flying in it?" The Prince asked.

The scholar smiled. "Now you can see why they called him what he was… All those different titles that have followed him throughout his career. Wearing the sigil of House Patrick, he was called the young wolf, for his skill and ferocity with the sword. A title that we see follows him well into his early career as a Captain… But when there is the impetus of that moment when, he sees that sudden upward shift… The titles around him begin to change. Winged creatures, they begin to call him. The Gull of House Patrick, the Hawk… The dragon? Auspicious. Auspicious. But who could say that they were wrong?"

"He practically flew into his rank," the Prince acknowledged. "And to stay there, and make anything of it, he would have had to work particularly hard, without the foundation to go on. Or fly, one might say. It goes against the teachings of naturalness that we now attribute to Dominus Patrick."

"Indeed… Indeed, on the principles of flow, we would say that this was an outlier. Or at least, that which the physical mind could not perceive. And then we see its effects. Opportunity beyond his station, beyond his experience, his first major battle as a General, and Oliver Patrick does not flee from it. He flies into the eye of the storm… and what he becomes as a result of this… well…"

"Well what?" The Prince said, prodding him. "This is where we are now! Don't stop there. Finish the story."

The scholar chuckled. "I shall, I shall, fear not. But I have another question before I do. We focus our eyes so firmly on Oliver Patrick, that we forget what it is that is happening around him. Minister Hod in his instance on the old prophecy – he's our strongest record of this war. A Time of Tigers is what it was, and one cannot truly understand Oliver Patrick without knowing those Tigers that he warred with, and the jungle in which they did their battle."

"Who do you speak of then? Of Blackwell, or Blackthorn? Of Karstly, or of Hod again? Mention your names, master, and be quick about it. I would hear the end of this tale, before you begin stalling again."

"Ah, but indeed, there is so much to tell…" The old man said, glancing down at his teacup and realizing very much that it was empty. He tutted lightly to himself at that fact, and through his frown, he began a further explanation. "A country is a delicately balanced thing. The Stormfront at the time was still living on the history that the First King had wrought out for it. On that delicate balance of power that had been built up, on that delicate economic viability. Naturally, it was a strange thing to see the kingdoms so divided into four, that they could have several different economic centres, but the effects of a civil war are still likely to bring all those different things crumbling to the ground."

"The problem of trade, then?" The Prince said. "Naturally, war is likely to have an effect on that."

"Ah, but so is time," the scholar pressed. "War is an expensive endeavour, when done externally, but no war is more expensive than a civil war, when money is raised not for the gain of the country, but for its own destruction. With every month that passed, the civil war inflicted a greater burden upon the Stormfront and upon its people."

"Are you saying, then, the Generals make haste in order to deal with that fact?" The Prince said. "Is that what you're supposing the next stage will be?"

"No. I tell you so you know the gravity that they felt, pulling at them. It was the Asabelian forces that felt it most. They might have captured the Pendragon Capital under Blackwell, but that was not to say that the situation was made any easier because of it… Or at least, not easier to the degree that they would have liked. Why didn't Blackwell immediately move down from the East, and assist Ernest towards the west?"

"…You'll have to tell me."

"Because the war they were fighting was not simply against the enemy," the master said. "He might have been able to push down to a degree, and effect a battle against Tavar, but what good would that do if the supply of food stopped?"

"How much would that delay him?" The Prince asked. "Are you saying Tavar, in taking his time, was not hard pressed to do so? Does he not allow the enemy an advantage, in giving them the time to prepare?"

"The goal of the Pendragon forces was to capture that country," the master pointed out. "Not to see it burned to the ground. Though one might take a Capital, it does not bring an entire kingdom to its knees. Blackwell was needed in order to bring order, not just to the still remaining forces that still existed in that kingdom, but to the people themselves, that dared to protest against the way they had been forcefully subordinated. He was needed to ensure against rebellion."

"Rebellion… And then, why was he made to do that?" The Prince asked, frowning all the harder. His question came harshly, for he was royalty himself, and he very much had the place to criticize. "What of Queen Asabel, what was she doing in all this?"