Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 704: Towards the sea

Chapter 704: Towards the sea

If Old King Khabrias, before his untimely death, held the record for oldest ruler in the Alliance, then King Ianthinos of Gorgyma would hold the record for the youngest.

He was only twelve when he took the throne after his father was poisoned by his trusted aide, a member of a rebellion that had formed during his grandfather’s reign.

Due to his young age, Ianthinos should not have had to take the throne, at least, not until he was old enough to do so.

Unfortunately, the person that served as regent, instead of accepting his position, deigned Ianthinos fit and so, allowed him to rule in place of his father.

As it was, Gorgyma was a mess as the rebellion gained strength amongst the people, a result of the policies put in place by Leokrates, Ianthinos deceased father.

"We must make a decision now, Your Highness!" An elder of the King’s council exclaimed, aware of the disaster that was sure to come should the rebellion not be put to rest.

"I agree, my King, we must act swiftly. As it is, we have already offended Lyssandros by not coming to his aid when he asked for soldiers. If we do not act soon, we might have not only enemies within to contend with but also those without!"

"I say we crush the rebellion with the army!"

"And risk the entire city-state falling into chaos?"

"We are already in chaotic times!... What is a bit more!"

Just as the elders were poised to engage in a prolonged banter, a powerful voice bellowed. "Enough!"

All eyes fell on Queen Mother Athaliah, a woman who, though in her sixties, somehow managed to retain a youthful exuberance like none.

She stood beside the King’s throne, dressed in the most expensive silk money could buy and radiating an aura that commanded respect.

Her presence was the only thing stopping the elders from removing Ianthinos and crowning a new king.

"This is not a place for you to bicker like children." She said icily. "This is the king’s court!"

She had always been overbearing but after her husband’s death, her overbearing nature seemed to have gotten a significant boost.

"Apologies to the Queen Mother." One of the oldest elders in the council said with a slight bow.

With the hall now drenched in silence, Queen Mother Athaliah turned to her son, Ianthinos, who, after a beat, spoke up. "The people claimed that my father enslaved them, putting the men to hard labor while making the women part of his personal harem. But they are wrong, my father did no such thing."

There were murmurs but they immediately came to a stop after Athaliah glared at the offending parties.

"Since they do not wish to accept the grace my father afforded them, then I shall be much worse. Not just the men, but the women and children... all shall be made to work!... Perhaps when they have something to do, then they won’t have the time to bother with a rebellion!"

Despite being only twelve, Ianthinos spoke with the cruelty of a grown man.

This was no result of his own but rather a result of his unfortunate upbringing.

He saw the people as nothing more than animals and what was the best way to tame an animal?... Naturally, it was to beat them into surrender and that was what Ianthinos wished to do.

Just as Athaliah made to speak, the palace suddenly shook as though struck by a minor earthquake.

The next moment, the doors to the court were kicked open, and a middle-aged woman with a scar across her face, dressed in military apparel, stepped in.

"Lady Euania, what is the meaning of this?" Athaliah asked, sensing that something was wrong.

After all, for what reason would Euania, who shared relations with the royal family and was beloved by the military, barge into the council hall after ignoring the invite that was sent by the King for her to be present at the meeting.

Euania didn’t immediately respond, her stern gaze trailing across everyone present before finally stopping on Ianthinos.

"From this moment, Gorgyma shall fall into military rule."

"Impossible!"

"That cannot happen!"

The elders immediately expressed their disapproval, after all, accepting military rule was the same as accepting the loss of all they had.

"This is neither a request nor a joke of any kind. The Galanis family has ruled Gorgyma for seven generations, and of those seven, three have seen this city-state drop from being a part of the stronger states in the Alliance to one of the weakest. I cannot, in good faith, continue to allow this. So, you all shall either abdicate willingly or be forced off, make your choice."

"Lady Euania, this is madness!... If this is because of the rebellion, then you are focusing on the wrong people. Go after the rebels!... They are the ones that have caused this chaos."

"The people are hungry."

"If they are hungry, let them eat cake!" Ianthinos declared.

Euania stared at the young lad and for a moment, it seemed that all was well.

That, unfortunately, didn’t last long.

"Take them away," Euania ordered as her soldiers moved in, arresting all those within the hall, including the young king.

***

The chaos within Leibita persisted upon Cybele’s return, but she ignored it as she turned her attention to her current state.

A divine aura flowed through her, allowing her to touch on the Authority wielded by the Lelios, otherwise known as the Hexad.

Others might consider the golden cube a deity, but not she, after all, she, along with several of her people, had created it.

It was merely due to an accident that the entity that was once designed to help in development, had ended up actualizing divinity.

Regardless, due to this twist of fate, ’Cybele’ saw a chance to bring all that was lost back and nothing would stop that.

But that would be only if the Jester could ascend and as it appeared, the Goddess Ninmah wished to prevent that.

With a thought, she transformed into information and left the confines of her room, swiftly appearing outside Leibita, floating above the mobile structure while her gaze was directed towards the west... towards the sea.