“You look ill, High General!” Ver smiled as he swished his glass of mead. “You look genuinely absolutely awful. Being the boss too much work for you?”
Rethais sighed, sitting down at the table opposite the King of the Vrekans. Ver was annoyingly right, Rethais was tired and stressed and looked as much. But Ver didn’t know what Rethais was going through right now. Between the constant nightmares that Rethais had been suffering from, a sudden bout of the ‘flu and the potential imminent collapse of Rethan society, things were not going too well.
“Sometimes it is. I assume you have had issues too…”
Two Vrekan waiters rushed over, bringing over a fresh jug of ice cold water and a glass of mead for Rethais, then rushed off, leaving the two leaders alone.
“You really do not seem well. And you rarely come to me for anything these days. You seem too focused on Rethans and have left the rest of the Reth-Vrekan Union to us!”
Rethais leaned forward, sighing a little more. “I know, I know. And I apologize for that. I really do. But something has… popped up. Something absolutely horrendous and uncontrollable. Something I have been working nonstop to try and fix, without causing anyone else any panic.”
“Like?” Ver sipped his drink. “What sort of catastrophe is on its way?”
The High General hesitated. “Before I tell you, I need to make a very large request. One that is honestly unfair to you.”
Ver sat up. “Oh? What sort of request?”
“What the Rethavok are currently going through is… a dangerous situation. We may change in a dramatic way and I do not have much control over it. And it may require us pulling away from the Union. You will have direct control over it. And you will have to do things alone. Without any assistance from the Rethavok. At the same time, you may have to… ignore us completely. Cut us out of the loop.”
The Vrekan King blinked in confusion, his feathers rustled. “What in goodness’s name is wrong with you?”
“Ver, you need to understand, the Rethavok may be undergoing a… Sapiapathy Collapse…”
“Oh. That is…” Ver was lost for words. “You… you guys are pretty… screwed then… Do you have any idea when this will happen? Or is it just… going to happen?”
Rethais grunted, gulping down his glass of mead. “We have no idea. I have my best minds working on it. But I have no idea if we can even reverse it, or…” Rethais suddenly stopped and sighed. “The Collapse is one thing. But something else is happening. Something I can only sense and have been preparing for. When the Collapse happens, I may be unable to retain my leadership. You may be dealing with someone more aggressive than myself.”
“I will work with whoever the Rethavok present to me as their leader.”
“The next leader might not be…”
Ver shrugged. “I know, your next leader may be an asshole. But I do believe that we will at least remain allies, even if I have to hold you at arms’ length.”
“That is not what I mean…” Rethais sighed. “This is difficult to convey, but it is possible that our collection of peaceful races will soon only be called the Vrekan Union.”
Ver shrugged a bit more, then patted Rethais on the shoulder. “I think you are worrying a little too much about things you do not know will happen. I understand your fears, but we need to take this one step at a time, yes?”
“You are correct, Ver, but I need reassurance that… that you will keep everything going, no matter what us stupid Rethavok do.”
“You will have that reassurance!” Ver smiled. “After all, the Vrekans and the Rethans will always be allies. Through hell and high water!”
Rethais sighed, only feeling slightly reassured, but reassured nonetheless. “Thank you, Ver. I appreciate your kindness…”