Chapter 1
The problem really began in the Imperial Senate. Back then, in the capital of the Animal Star Empire, the Imperial Senate was much larger then the one in the Secfenian Empire. There were hundreds of Senators representing the various areas under the Animal Star Empire. All of Secfenia itself only counted for a few of those seats, being a recently added backwater area to the empire. The emperor himself, a proud and imperious man, did not recognize the ferocity of the Bravian people, merely seeing their incomes as an insult to more cosmopolitan areas of the sprawling empire.
And so there, in the Imperial Senate, Emperor Juanita, on the advice of his sycophant advisers, who were mere servile flatterers to his whims, went up to speak about how the Bravians were to be deprived of their wealth so that the Empire could pay off some of its debts.
�It is time for the newly added Viceroyalty of Secfenia to pay their dues to the empire, for it is expensive to maintain this great empire,� the emperor began.
�We pay the same taxes that everyone else does,� Natonito rose up in protest. �Why should we bear a special burden to the empire when we do not receive the same benefits of empire that other provinces do. Who builds and runs our schools? It is not the empire, unlike the other provinces. We do not even receive the full complement of Imperial troops that Viceroyalties merit. It is our own Secfenian Central Guard that keeps order. You do not even do enough for us to deserve the taxes we already pay, much less those you propose.�
�Will the senator from Bravia be silent,� the emperor growled.
�If you speak rightly, I have no need to speak,� the young senator replied. �But if you wish to make my country a sacrifice for your greed and avarice, I will rise in defense of my land.�
�Do you think your little hillbilly area is so important as to overwhelm your love for the Empire?� the emperor said, with his eyes narrowed.
�My first love is to the hills and meadows and forests of Bravia. My work here is to protect the interests of my fair land, as I am the wealthiest citizen there. Anything you do to harm that land harms me, and I will not let that happen.� Natonito answered.
�Will you stand up against the empire?� the emperor asked coldly.
�If I have to, I will,� Natonito answered.
�Will you die for your meadows and forests and hills?� the emperor asked.
�If I have to, I will,� Natonito answered.
�Beware, young senator. What you speak of is treason,� the emperor said angrily.
�What you suggest is against your own constitution. After all, viceroyalties are to receive internal improvements based on the taxes they pay. Secfenia has been used to pad the palaces of you and your cronies in other areas. We already have a double burden in paying for our own improvements and subsidizing the improvements of others. I will not stand for the treason you are about to enforce on my people,� Natonito replied. �Do you not know that those who write constitutions are bound to obey them?�
�And you have written constitutions yourself, provincial?� the emperor replied.
�I have written the constitution of the Duchy of Bravia when it became an official House, as I am one of the two dukes of that house,� Natonito said.
�And is the other one as tiresome as you are?� the emperor asked.
�The other one is Oen Bravia, who is courting my sister as we speak. If you mean to ask whether he defends Bravia as much as I do, that is affirmative,� Natonito replied icily.
�What will I do with Secfenia?� the emperor said. �It is brand new in the empire, and already causes so much trouble.� Many of the senators from the central districts laughed.
Lord Sabre, another senator, rose up to speak. �Why don�t we use the Doomsday Machine on them just like we have on those rebels closer to home? We would have no trouble from that province anymore, as it would be a wasteland for eternity.�
�Then we would receive no benefit from it. Besides, transporting the Doomsday Machine to that backwater continent would be horribly expensive and difficult, and could be destroyed en route. Still, it is a plan,� the emperor replied.
�If you do not destroy this senator now, he will destroy you,� Wessex said as he stood up angrily.
�How could this ant, this provincial senator, destroy me?� the emperor said boastfully.
�He will go home to his people and lead a rebellion against you, and once your enemies know how powerless you are, they will multiply and overthrow you,� Wessex said.
�Even if he dared to rebel against me, I could crush him like killing a flea. Could the Bravian people, or even the Secfenian people, stand up against 400,000 Imperial Troops? I think not,� the emperor said proudly.
�I know the people of Secfenia well,� Wessex said. �They are resilient and resourceful, and difficult to defeat. Remember, they joined our empire willingly, after we had promised them lower taxes and better services than they had alone. They were not conquered,� Wessex said.
�My fellow Senators, emperor, why don�t we calm down?� Stuart Marchant said, standing up. �After all, even though the Senator from Bravia is a provincial, he has proven himself a loyal member of the Senate so far. He voted for the bill to increase the army to win our war against the Zunian Empire. It is not like he is dead set against the will of the empire, it is just that he is a fierce defender of his people. After all, can we not be fair to the province of Secfenia? We should give them services before we increase their taxes. It is not right to hit with the stick before we tempt with the carrot.�
�You act like these Secfenians need to be tempted. They should cower before my will,� the emperor said loudly.
�The Secfenians will not cower before anyone, your royal highness,� Natonito said, his eyes aflame.
�Will you taunt me, provincial scum. I have servants with more wealth than you have,� the emperor taunted.
�And yet you seek to take my wealth,� Natonito replied icily. �Why don�t you tax your servants. After all, they do nothing but kiss your ass.�
�Which is more than you do,� the emperor replied angrily.
�Silence, emperor,� Carabino said. �The young Senator from Bravia is right. Why do you insult Secfenians so? After all, we have been loyal to the Empire so far, and merely seek to be treated the same as all of the other provinces. Is that too much to ask? Why must we pay more than the other provinces for the privilege of being in the empire?�
�It is because you harbor traitors in your midst, like Robert Russ III,� the emperor said.
�My friend Robert Russ III is no traitor,� Natonito said. �He is the best citizen of the empire Secfenia has to offer. Obviously as a royal prince he has shown nothing but the highest esteem for the empire.�
�You lie, Bravian scum,� the emperor said. �He is a traitor. Alyssa Chryssanara and Elizabeth Smith have told me the truth about him.�
�Perhaps you should choose better advisors,� Carabino said. �There is nothing wrong with Robert Russ III.�
�Are all you Secfenians so stubborn?� Lord Sabre said. �The job of Senators is not to think independently, but to affirm the will of the emperor.�
�When the emperor is wrong, the job of the Senate is to correct him and provide him with good counsel. Obviously this emperor is in need of some good counsel, as he has surrounded himself with butt lickers,� Natonito replied.
�You speak too harshly, young Senator,� Stuart Marchant cautioned.
�A mere provincial has dared to insult the courtiers of our emperor. This is an outrage,� Wessex said.
�We will try and convict your friend Robert Russ III of treason, and then we will come for you,� the emperor gloated.
�You will never find me,� Natonito said. �For if you make me an outlaw, Bravia will light up like a flame, and the brave people of Secfenia will throw off the yoke of empire.�
�You stand at the precipice, young Senator,� Stuart Marchant said. �Be careful that you do not present your head to your enemies on a platter.�
�I thank you for your cautious counsel,� Natonito said. �But I stand in defense of my people. It is they who I serve, not anyone else.�
�Fool, you believe that the Senate is supposed to serve the people?� the emperor said. �Most senators here serve themselves and myself. If you served me, I would give you wealth and power that you could not dream of.�
�It is not wealth, which I have more than enough of, or power, which I have all I need, that I want. It is the love and respect of my people, who I toil and serve with all of my heart and all of my being, that is my greatest goal,� Natonito said.
�Can you believe this?� the emperor said haughtily. �This upstart wants the love and respect of his backwards people? He serves and toils not for the kickbacks or for the imperial largess that I give to those who obey my will, but the adoration of farmers and petty merchants.�
�Tell me, Bravian Senator,� Wessex said condescendingly. �How is it that Bravians acquire their dukedoms?�
�Well, Bravians typically acquire noble titles by being the wealthiest people in the province,� Natonito replied.
�And how do they earn that wealth?� Wessex asked.
�They earn it, though their cleverness and industry,� Natonito said. �Unless they are lucky enough to inherit it, and even then they must prove themselves worthy before they inherit their wealth.�
�Are you saying that Bravians lack a strong titled aristocracy?� the emperor said.
�Beyond a few families of great ability,� Natonito said. �There are not many titled aristocrats in Bravia. There are the Longberts, the Van Larkens, the Dons, the Bravias, and the Albrights. That is about all of the major aristocratic families in Bravia. The rest are small nobles, or ambitious commoners.�
�Ambitious commoners?� the emperor said. �You let commoners have ambition?�
�We, the people of Bravia, believe it is talent, not title, that should determine one�s place in society. If some people of wealthy families must fall so that a talented and grasping commoner will take his rightful place in the sun, so be it,� Natonito said.
�Are all Secfenian areas like this?� Wessex asked incredulously.
�No, some areas, like Puria and New Fullerium, and even Valleria, are much more based on aristocracy,� Natonito said.
�At least some Secfenians have sense,� Lord Sabre said.
�Will you stop insulting me and grant me the respect due a Senator?� Natonito asked bluntly.
�Let us vote now on the tax,� the emperor said. �I grow tired of listening to this pup from Bravia.�
And so the Senators rose to vote on the tax, and a majority of the Senate, consisting of cronies of the emperor, voted for the law. But it was a narrow majority, one enough to give Natonito and Carabino, and Stuart Marchant some heart. Upon leaving, the young Senator from Bravia made one final comment.
�This session is over, but I will not forget what has happened here today, and my people will not forget or forgive you either. You may have seen the last of me,� Natonito said. �But you have not heard the last from the people of Secfenia.�
�I will crush you like an insect,� the emperor said.
�We shall see about that,� Natonito said as he walked out of the Senate chamber for his ride home to Bravia, never to return to the Imperial Senate there.
[ Chapter 2 ]
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