Kismet’s Tale

      Mavin wiped his face while reading the contents of the journal. It belonged to Aunger who took time to record what he had been doing ever since his time of ‘death’. He had taken it with him to fully ponder some things. He read the journal from the start. He had asked this of Aunger.

       12th of Decem, Year 1923,

   Buried the body of the young master. The Missus looked distraught, eyes broken as if she had lost her world. We couldn’t do anything. I made a promise with the young master that his body would be taken. I had decided to leave a journal. Martina, Ike, and some are the only ones aware of what happened.

       17th of Janus, Year 1924,

   The Missus disappeared. I heard that she started not speaking. Lady Elia asked me what she could, I did nothing and watched her worry. Lord Derrick, and the Lady knew, but they also knew that this was one of the reasons that the young master wanted to hand the burden of power and responsibility. The Hounds have been moving a lot, they had heard of movements from the Emperor who was about to step down and let Prince Arno take the throne. She chose Lady Emilia, and they had their engagement ceremony. My hounds told me that the Grand Dukes are not happy with each other. It was to be expected.

       18th of Janus, Year 1924,

   The young miss followed the Lady into Sudugar where they met up. I had most of my hounds care for their safety, and I believe that they went home...satisfied. She had attended a wedding, of Mr. Kohl Otto, who my young master favored. I had some of the hounds watch them.

       21th of Janus, Year 1924,

   There are rumors that some of Prince Kaleb’s men are eager to find out what happened here last month. The news of the death of the young master had reached their ears, but the bright pillar of red light was something that they wanted to be answered. The Emperor had asked, and we told him what happened. The Emperor, he had grown uncaring, and he refused to tell his children about our transactions.

Mavin had expected this. Among the many threats that they had. It was the Emperor, but he was old, and had grown apathetic as his day passed. He wondered if he was around, could he have done something? Then again, it was already fortunate that he was revived, at the cost of fifty-seven years of regeneration. What can he do? He was no omnipotent God who could watch them while he was asleep.

       15th of Februa, Year 1924,

   The Emperor had abdicated, and the new Emperor, Arno of Athesia, alongside Empress Regent Emilia had become the new Emperor and Empress. I was among the many who watched from the side, as the new Emperor was disrespected by the Grand Duke of Anastasia. Logain, who saw this had prepped a vehicle, there was something on with the nobles, and it made me anxious.

       18th of Februa, Year 1924,

   The New Emperor had declared that he wanted Lazon to hand over our nuclear armaments. He had thought that without the young master, Lord Derrick would just keel over. He was wrong. There was a reason he had the blood of the Strongarm Clan, and heir of the Tomas.

He had slapped the Emperor in the face. It might have been rather over the line while he called him a boy, but nonetheless, the action of the Emperor made him look weak in front of his subjects. Of course, the nobles didn’t miss this chance to denounce us, and they had wanted to ‘take’ what made the Hounds strong. It was a secret that was supposed to be hidden, but it looks like Prince Kaleb had captured one of my hounds.

They want the Princess healed from her disease. They believe that the concoction that was made from the blood of the young master would suffice. It would not. But it doesn’t mean that they would stop trying to get it. Lord Derrick wanted us to prepare for war, just in case. All of our assets in Lazon are ready, the guns ready, but we believe that the mainland was a boiling pot.

Mavin knew that Prince Arno stopped like him when had given up on the Princess. Prince Kaleb hated his guts, but he was sensible. He knew how to pick sides. The Athesian Siblings always had a bond however, which made them… dangerous.

       17th of Mars, Year 1924,

   It had been a long time since I had written in this journal. As much as I like to pen my thoughts down, the recent events had me shook up. We had decided to secede from the Empire after their declaration, and the Grand Duke of Anastasia had decided to rally with his allies, and demand the Newly Crowned Emperor to step down. I had received letters from my contemporaries that the Grand Duke is dissatisfied with the ‘unloyal’ and ‘foolish’ Emperor that it is only right that they seat another. The tripartite alliance took notice, and had decided to rip the agreement to shreds, joining the side of the Grand Duke.

They plan to create their own autonomous regions. It seems that the work that we have done made them ambitious. Of course, they were willing to ‘step down’ if the Emperor allowed it. But Emperor Arno knew better than that. He had rallied most of his men, and the support of the side of the rest of the nobles. The birds have heard that the Athesian Siblings had decided to come back with their bands of mercenaries, hoping to assist their brothers in this nasty fight. The Hounds had been working harder than usual, and with the brilliance of the Missus, the situation was manageable. I had moved some resources to Holmia after some dealings with the Baroness who had traveled to Holmia after seeing the situation in the mainland of the Empire. She’s a wise woman to see that things were about to go bad.

       10th of Maia, Year 1924,

   Things have gone astray, although the treaty of Flost had fixed a temporary problem. It did not completely solve the errors on both sides. My Hounds had been attacked, and from the news that I had gathered, it seems that Dr. Rene and Kristine had been in-charge of ‘dissecting’ my hounds. I had decided to retaliate kindly.

Lady Mildred had decided to side with us after seeing the path that they’ve chosen. She had decided against her love to honor her father. I had expected it, but nonetheless, the courage that the Lady showed was...righteous. Dr. Rene and Kristine however were people that I didn’t expect to side with the Emperor. Though I had realized too late that their hands are tied. The Huntsmen are dangerous, though they are definitely bred different from my Hounds, it seems that they are well-learned when it comes to dealing with the Hounds.

I had met up with the former Emperor who had decided to stay in Sahus. He had changed his appearance through cosmetics, and had trimmed himself to look different. He had said to me that he didn’t want to deal with anything. He knew things. The young master had...miscalculated in a way. He had trusted the Emperor despite their mutual dislike, but he was a man of secrets and honor. He could not be threatened. The Princess, the woman that was supposed to be one of the many reasons this war had started, has been missing. My hounds told me that there were rumors of airships flying out of the borders to Turian.

We had suspected that she had made a move. It bothers me that among the Athesian Siblings, she was like a cassowary, beautiful but deadly. She’s out of sight at the moment, but I must keep tabs on her.

Mavin thought of the Emperor. He was truly a man of honor. He respected the man, just like Aunger had said, but he didn’t like him as a person. That was all.

       23rd of Maia, Year 1924,

   The Crown Prince had decided to collapse the hounds' tunnels. We retaliated kindly by bombing his abode, and in the process we had taken the head of Lady Emilia. We had displayed her body kindly in the plaza. Call it cruel, but the Emperor had to know what he had done to those who were living below the former demifiends tunnel. Men, women, children, and even aged persons had been buried under the rubble. My hounds needed to vent their anger, and so we had decided to crush the Emperor’s heart.

The young master would surely disagree with me in this. But he’s not here, and his body is in a coffin where he could be resurrected. They wanted a prey, so I gave the hounds what they wanted.

       25th of Maia, Year 1924,

   The grief of the Emperor had caused a commotion. He had decided to launch the arsenals that they have directly at our Capital. Rigel and his team had decided to move, and managed to cripple the arsenals before they were launched. Ike and Martina had devised a plan, but the guns of Lazon are stern, they will hold. Our natural mountain walls make any advancing army incapable of launching an attack. Not to mention that the war between the nobles has spread among the Tripartite Alliance. Lady Natalya had managed to convince her family to help Lazon out.

       5th of Septem, Year 1924,

   The civil war had caused destruction. The Magni-Azia continent is in shambles, and because of the recent attacks, though there is recent silence to recuperate, the hunt for my Hounds has grown...disgusting. Each Hound they capture is drained to make a bastardization of what they call Vinam’s blood.  They could not fully replicate the formula made by the young master, Ike, and Martina so there was discrepancy among them. Nonetheless, it doesn't stop them from being strong. The Juggernauts have been in constant battle. The industries of Lazon are stable, but west of the Empire, there is a famine, and the people have decided to join the war.

Mavin scanned the next pages. Most of them were details on what he had purchased, and the status of the Hounds and his plan when it came to dealing with the civil war. Mavin felt like he had done him wrong, but nonetheless he was the only person who truly knew of the plan.

       10th of Novem, Year 1927,

   The war has cost the lives of my hounds. Although they were sure that most of my hounds had died, the rest of my hounds have retreated to Holmia in order to survive. The rest of the Hounds, at least the ones who are fond of this crumbling Empire, had decided to fight alongside Lady Mildred Anastasia Whitefall. She owns the crown with a streak of lightning, and after her father’s death. She had thrown away her love, and had fought against the Empire. The civil war had caused disagreements, and although it has affected the Empire the most. It didn’t stay in the Empire. Three year caused everyone to go to war.

The continent was in chaos. Most of Arkadia had been battered because of the fire bombing, and the long distance artillery that Lazon had been firing. We were not short of ammunition, but it is true that there is a certain level of fatigue plaguing me. Old Fred passed away, he was shot thrice in the head after protecting the Matriarch. We found the bastard, and had him tortured.

Prince Kaleb was nowhere to be found. Most of the Athesian Siblings were murdered when they were caught by the forces of Lady Mildred who had become a fierce leader. The economy of the Empire has been shattered. The people have lost faith in the Emperor, and they have stopped buying. Lazon was surviving because of the strength of our guns and industry. I had wondered what the young master would have done if he was here. Nonetheless, I must strive to continue. This war will soon be over, and by the end of it, we will have a new Crown Empress, though only a head of state.

Mavin stopped reading. He looked outside and saw that the night was coming. He told Gaul to rest, while he’ll drive for the rest of the evening. As much as he wanted to read further, he still needed to reach the borders of Finia to deliver Wendy to safety.