It was business as usual in the central political hub of Thre-Vretania, but for King Ver and his guards, something felt off. Ver was here to meet with the leader of the Rethavok, a race the Vrekans had been allied with for quite a long time. At least for Vrekan standards. He didn’t expect parades or celebrations for his arrival in the city, but Ver expected the emotions around here to be… different.
Two very bulky Rethans, wearing gold plated armour over their already rather scary-looking natural black armour, led Ver and his ten guards up a flight of stairs. Every single Rethavok they passed seemed… stoic? Docile? Normal? They were all acting as if nothing important had happened recently.
The party stopped outside a very large door. The two guards opened it then led Ver and his team inside, while two other Rethans closed the door behind him. This room was very large and very grand, with golden sculptures dotted around the room and furniture made from rich, dark woods and lined with leather. At the end of the room, by the massive window that overlooked the city, was a wooden desk with a red chair behind it. Sitting in the chair was the High General of the Retha, the leader and highest ranking member of the Rethavok.
“Welcome, King Ver. It is good to see you. You may leave your guards outside, if you wish.”
Ver turned to his guards and nodded to them. Both the Vrekan guards and the Rethan guards left the room, leaving the leaders alone.
“Hello, High General Rethais. How… how are you doing?” Ver slowly approached the desk, pulling up a chair as he did so. “How are things since… Elkay left?”
“Things are good, thank you very much.”
Ver hesitated a little. “But… your leader died.”
“He did, yes.”
“And there was a lot of things that happened…”
Rethais tapped his clawed fingers together. He was much, much bigger and much more menacing than the former High General ever was. Not intentionally more menacing, but more menacing nonetheless. “There was confusion surrounding General Elkay’s demise, yes. It is a shame that the Thantophor and the Allbirther took him, but he left a fine legacy.”
The Vrekan king was confused. “But what about-”
“The nonsense on Portalia? Was a forgery. What happened there was just a pretender. The real Elkay died back in the Vreka 1 Incident.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” Rethais stopped tapping his fingers together and snorted harshly through his nostrils. Ver had never really liked Rethais, he felt the former Vice General was too… harsh and blunt. “Why are you here? The report about Elkay’s disappearance, which you received in advance, was made public, and you are clearly not here to pay respects.”
Ver tilted his head to one side, brushing away a handful of feathers. “There are multiple reasons why I’m here! For example, we were supposed to be discussing the whole Banikan thing… And also… you all lost a popular leader but you’ve all returned back to normal, but it feels like something is different!”
Rethais stared at Ver. “We do not mourn the way you do. And Elkay was never as popular as you believed him to be. My coming into power has been… almost a blessed relief for many Rethans, most of whom believed Elkay to be too progressive.”
Ver blinked. “Too progressive?”
“Yes, too progressive. Always wanting to push further when many are happy as they are. His death also silenced a huge amount of unwarranted criticism, allowing me to continue the duties as High General with ease. Fear not, Ver, the Rethan population has finished their mourning and will continue on as normal. Better than normal.”
“You seem rather angry though…” Ver muttered. “I don’t know, it just feels like something is off right now. Like you want me to get lost.”
“I have a lot of work to do.”
“You don’t. I checked with your schedulers. You have the next three hours free.”
“An hour that could be spent studying or exercising…” Rethais grunted, leaning forward. “Please do not antagonize me, young king. I have been around far longer than you have and I have considerably more power than you do. This entire meeting could have been done over telecommunications and I consider your presence here to be a waste of both your time and mine.”
“But what about personal pleasantries? Being more than just allies?”
Rethais eyed Ver. “There is no need for any of that.”
“None at all?”
“We are allied races, we do not need to make a song and dance about it. The Rethans know. The Vrekans know. Every interstellar race knows. We do not need to flaunt any of that. It would seem unprofessional. We deal with our issues, you should deal with your own, with meetings involving multitudes only done as and when we need to.”
Ver sighed, then got up from his seat. “Well alright then. I think I’ll just leave you to your work then.”
“Thank you, King Ver. Have a good day and a safe travel back home.”
The Vrekan King sighed once more as he reached for the office door, only for it to open for him. His guards were all patiently waiting outside. As soon as Ver was out of the way, the door slammed shut behind him.
The eldest of the guards gave Ver a funny look.
“Your meetings with the High General are normally much longer.”
Ver tutted as he walked off, his guards swiftly following him. “Turns out their new leader has little time for us.”
“Is he more of a… Photeianos?” the guard asked.
Ver closed his eyes. “I don’t know yet, but I really, really hope not…”