Marcus looked at the port in the distance and sighed in anticipation. Coming from behind him, Sasha chuckled. "So close to going to war, and you seem completely fine."

Without looking back, Marcus replied, "Why should I be nervous?"

"Don’t you fear for your life? I know I sail."

"So why do it?" Marcus asked seriously, stunning Sasha. She only needs a second before answering.

"Because I enjoy it. The sea, whatever dangers are on it, is where you can find the most freedom."

"You want freedom. I want order. If the cost for that is fighting, so be it." Sasha blankly stared at him before looking at the coming port. Tapping his shoulder, she went back to the wheel to steer. They slowly docked the capital ship with more waiting behind them in the open sea.

Marcus took off his helmet and held it under his arm. Walking down onto the dock, there wasn’t a large welcoming party; instead, there were a couple of nobles with deep bags under their eyes. Seeing them made Marcus smile. He wasn’t dealing with insufferable people who had never seen war and tried to run one. Instead, he was people who were dedicating their time.

Slamming his fist on his chest, he looked at three. "Commander Marcus Hardly. It a pleasure." Reaching out his hand, it hovered in the air as the middle noble at him.

"A pleasure." Eventually, he grabbed it and shook it. It was hard to bring himself to shake hands with someone from the Empire, but he had already aligned himself with them. He didn’t have a choice. "I am Count Arek." Marcus gave a nod and looked up at the ship. Sasha slowly walked down, stunning the three men who were seeing her.

Sticking her hand, she smiled. "Admiral Sasha Godwin." The men nodded, with the middle noble quickly introducing himself. Turning to face Marcus, she leaned in closer to his ear, not letting them hear, "I’ll have the men slowly brought to shore. But you will have to ration the provisions until the next delivery. There is simply not enough."

Marcus nodded and smiled as Sasha walked off. Watching the first lot of his men come off the ship, they lined up behind him and saluted, waiting for their order. "Take me to your camp." The nobles looked at Marcus and the soldiers behind him before nodding.

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In the camp, Marcus saw a clear divide between. On one hand, he could see the majority of the troops huddled and laughing, eating and telling stories. On the other side were the nobles and wealthier knights. It was much more refined but showed a clear disconnect. It was fine for a noble to stay in a little better luxury, but during war, there was only so much that could be afforded.

Marcus walked through the camp with his convoy of men following behind. Conversations slowly died down, and he got strange looks. Finding a nearby rook, Marcus climbed up it and looked out at the people. Taking his breath, he blew as hard as he could, the sound spreading across the entire camp. Everyone looked his way, annoyed at being interrupted, but the convoy of soldiers who came with Marcus saluted in unison, creating a thundering explosion.

Marcus nodded happily, looking at the crowd before him. "Things will be different here!" Marcus shouted sternly as he called out to the men. "I am in charge now. Anyone who has a problem with that, please come find me. Other than that, I will be creating a new war council. Those on the previous one, come find me. In the meantime, relax because soon you will not have the chance. Unlike the Commonwealth, we do not mess around during war. Your luxury is gone. Every man is equal before me."

"PREPOSTEROUS!" A noble screamed out, stepping forward. "Who do you think you are to come here and tell us these things." MArcus scoffed and jumped off the rock. His men made a path for him. Tightening the gauntlets he wore, he stood before the noble.

With a swift backhand, he broke the man’s nose and knocked him to the floor. Blood poured from his face, and he tried to look up at Marcus with hate but stopped as Marcus stepped on his head, putting pressure on it.

"This is not negotiable." He spoke coldly, putting more pressure on the man and causing him to groan in pain. "Do you wonder who killed the pirate lords? I have already cleaned up one mess for your nation and will do so again. You belong to the Empire now. Do not forget." His voice was sharp, and everyone looked at one another, seeing who would step out next.

No one did so, and Marcus finally removed his foot. Walking deeper into the camp, his men began to mingle with the other common soldiers happily. The tension in the noble camp was obvious, but they didn’t press, seeing how ready Marcus was to deal with decent.

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Swnoid stood at one of the river crossings with his men behind him. He didn’t want to be taken to the field, but his council had proven useless. Looking across, he saw Henryk standing in his armour. The two stared daggers into one another but walked forward at the same time alone.

The two armies were tense and clenched their weapons harder. They were all ready to charge in and fight the moment something happened. "Snowid." Henryk said hatefully as he looked up at Snowid. The man scoffed at his lack of respect.

"Have you already pledged allegiance to that prick?"

"What I feel about the Emporer doesn’t stop me from doing what I must." Snowid’s booming laughter echoed across the river as he shook his head in pity.

"It will be a shame that I won’t see him kill you like he has done to so many others." Flashing a small smile, Henryk didn’t reply. "Why have you gone this far, old man? Surely you know I didn’t kill your Grandson."

"Say what you want, but who else would?" Looking into Snowid’s eyes, he could see the answer they came to and scoffed. "The Empire. God. Everything bad that happens, people will blame them. A child wanders off; The Empire took them, a famine happens, the Empire caused it. Don’t you get sick of spouting the same nonsense repeatedly?"

"Your hate for me has made you so blind, old man. I actually feel pity," Snowid mocked.

"Do you honestly think so low of me that I only do this because of hate?" Snowid raised his eyebrow, not expecting that. "The Commonwealth is rotten. Maybe we survive the war with the Empire, but eventually, it will all collapse. I respect what you have done to keep the peace for so long, but it will all be for nothing. The Empire offered me a way to survive, and I will take it. More importantly, they offered a way to deal with the rot."

"You wish to bring a blood bath to your home?" Scoffing, he shook his head. "You, of all people."

"And what will you do? If you win." Henryk asked angrily. "Let it fester. Pisat will rally the nobles and blame you for the war. The Laska’s will chip away at your authority again. You hardly run the Commonwealth. You got lucky with the reforms you have managed to put in place so far because the Empire was that much of a threat to the filth you rule."

The veins on Snowid’s head threatened to pop as his breathing got deeper. "You have no idea what I do."

"I do," Henryk said seriously. "That’s why I pledge allegiance instead of going alone. I can’t fix this mess. You can’t. We are weak people, after all, Snowid. But The Emporer. He is neither weak nor good. He will do what must be done."

"You’re a coward." Snowid turned his back on Henryk, and for a second, the thought of stabbing him ran through his mind. Taking a breath, he stopped himself and turned around aswell. The two gave signals, and both forces ran to the bridge as they took command. Small skirmishes broke out across the border as neither side made an inch.

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Alfred sat in his office. Walking in, Isra sat on a sofa and looked at him. "What is it?" He happily asked, finishing the last of his work before sitting with her.

"I’m just thinking. What’s your plan."

"About..." Looking blankly at her, she smiled and grabbed his hand.

"About the Commonwealth. You always told me that a purge like you did so many years ago can only happen once. You had to walk a fine line without being called a tyrant." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Alfred started laughing and looked at the ceiling. Despite his laugh, Isra watched him and could see a slight resignation in him. "I crossed that line long ago, Isra. I justify it to myself all the time. It was for the best; I needed to; there was no other way." Frowning, he shook his head and stared deep into her eyes. "Why lie to you? I do it because I want to. I feel safe when I do it. I feel... I feel in control. Maybe I need to do it, but not for the reasons I say."

"Do you enjoy it?" The two stared at one another as Alfred tried to process what he had been asked. He wanted to deny it instantly but couldn’t, his voice getting trapped in his throat.

"I had a dream once. In it, everyone died. You held Edward so tightly, but it meant nothing. The blood wouldn’t stop. I begged, but nothing came from it..."

"You didn’t answer the question." Isra cut in and said sternly, causing him to click his tongue.

"Yes. Is this what you want to hear." Alfred stood up and looked down at her. "I do. Because it keeps us safe, it keeps order. Our enemies cower when I do. I will always love it if it means avoiding what I see in those dreams. Is this what you want to hear?"

Isra stood up and hugged Alfred. "You already lied to me, " she said carefully, deepening her hug.

"I do," Alfred whispered quietly. It was so quiet that he didn’t want to hear it himself. "It’s the only time I’m in control of my fate, Isra."

"Even if it means you are like those you taught about in the past." Alfred broke away and looked at her in horror. His mind thought about the tyrants and dictators he taught about on Earth.

"I am nothing like them. Don’t you dare try to claim I am." Walking past her, Isra heard his quiet muttering as he told himself over and over he wasn’t.