I was having a lovely afternoon today. It always seems that the news comes in a whirlwind right as I return from a journey. Yesterday was one of those days. Zultra alerted me of an official statement declaring war. No, it was not a war against Nirath. Rather it was a war against Arkadia alongside Nirath.
Those of you who have followed our writing about Zygethia & Nirath know that their relationship is still rocky at best. I was surprised to see Nirath listed in the official statement from Zygethia, so I decided to reach out to Dragor personally and discuss what brought about this decision.
I know my way around Nirath well by now, so it didn’t take long to track down Dragor and gain an audience with my old friend. He seemed to be disappointed that the situation had escalated, yet he was calculated in his responses.
Bradford J. Wilshire: “So what exactly spurred this decision?”
King Dragor: “Honestly, I have not the will to dedicate any of my valuable time or energy on such matters as declaring a war on a petty kingdom, and that is a kind description. But I am not one to let insults go unpunished. Raziel overstepped the line when he roamed like a beggar recruiting my people for his own cause, something that I wouldn’t mind if he had the decency to even ask permission for, but with no respect to anything, he did not. Even in the scenario that he was unaware of their identities, as he proclaimed at some point, he still manages to curse me and direct insults towards me, from behind closed doors and the walls of his own hall, and this is before I even knew the man. We had never been acquainted or had any dealings. For a man to act so childishly, there is only one outcome.”
BJW: “It seems you have aligned with Zygethia to bring the full weight down on Arkadia. Tell me how that happened?”
KD: “I have known Zultra very well, and for a long time too. Back then, I was no king, but he always had his ambition. I admire his effort as a man, and I could claim that we were good friends, perhaps still are. Though now, I cannot see eye to eye with him, because our roles in life have changed, and it is still more likely that we draw swords than shake hands. But Zultra was wronged, as much as I was, and perhaps more. So while I planned to “ignore” this Arkadian “noise”. Zultra came to me and discussed the situation, and asked for my support, and I am a man who condemns such atrocities, so my honour compels me to side with Zygethia against this Arkadian treachery.”
BJW: “What do you expect will be the outcome for those who wish to defect from Arkadia? And for those who pledge to Raziel?”
KD: “I cannot predict the outcome precisely for those who wish to defect, but I’d say they’ve made the right choice, and Nirath has nothing to do with them, the issue is not against the people, but Raziel. As for those who pledge to him. Those I can predict the outcome for, and it is not a good one.”
BJW: “Do you see any outcome that doesn’t involve bloodshed and war with Arkaida?”
KD: “Not if they keep doing what they are doing, but I am not unreasonable.”
It certainly seemed that Raziel had struck a chord when he allegedly tried recruiting within the walls of Nirath in such a disrespectful way.
As I returned to my offices, I was pleasantly surprised to see Zygethian guards outside my door, indicating that Zultra was inside waiting for me. I could see the fire in Zultra’s eyes as I stepped into my office. Betrayal from a kingdom you so recently formed an alliance with must hurt. I asked him what had spurred such an outrage with both kingdoms, and waited to hear his side of the story.
Zultra: “Basically, the ‘King’ of Arkadia has [gone] around insulting and trying to undermine his ‘friends’. We signed a friendly relations treaty but the ‘King’ of Arkadia has ripped that up when he went around trying to insult us.”
BJW: “Can you speak to the insults that were made? Is there a specific action that triggered this decision?”
King Zultra I
We hope this war has a quick conclusion, no-one likes a long protracted affair.