In the historical district of Khosa there is a small building shaped like an 8 pointed star, a place where Prionsa-Mór Miden 1st met with advisors and high ranking vassals when the monarchy was first established. When erected in 2112 it towered over the yurt districts around it, but now it is towered over by multistory brick and prefabricated structures which now dominate Khosa. This small courtroom colloquially referred to as “An seihll réalta” (The star chamber) has remained unused for 62 years, until now, as the ascensionist politician Frei-Ako Tengin requested to seek audience with King Reydi-Kæ with an entourage of important figures, which he approved without thinking twice, for Tengin is one of the few people he trusts, and on matter of this principle, he trusts those who he trusts wholeheartedly. As Reydi-Kæ had coincidentally been in the area to personally see how the naval rearmament was catching on, they set the location for that old courthouse.
The king naturally arrived slightly late to his own meeting, having to fend off rabid journalists driven absolutely ravenous for his comments on the crisis in Svarsk. When he enters the chamber Reydi is surprised to see several familiar faces, sure, but the more pressing matter is truly the last person he expected to see; Pretyu-ako Yuari, former director of the SRGIA and one of the primary conspirators of the 2197 Aughtafael coup, who was meant to be serving a life sentence. Tengin could see this immediately of course, and quickly took the initiative.
"Please do not be cross, excellency, he may be a traitor but he has certain…attributes of value, which have been made priceless."
"And what does the architect of national calamity have to offer to the movement? We are above these materialistic conflicts, this does not agree with doctrine!"
Pretyu-ako stays silent, merely staring at the perpetrator of this verbal abuse. Frei-ako’s face contorts subtly in the way one does when suppressing a smile.
“Yes, certainly, that is the fervour of an Ascensionist. But I assure you, there is a very legitimate reason. This movement will sprawl out and die if it comes from the top– indeed one needs not take more than 8 steps outside this chamber to hear yet another ideologue demand bloodletting in the streets. No, the movement must be propelled upward through zealous passion of the masses. That is why Myo. Yuari is here! He can organise for us an incident that have the masses willingly place us in full control, of course only with your blessing, excellency."
"Continue, Myo. Tengin."
"An attempt must be made on Prasidenta Kyrt’s life, though it would be unwise to let her die. The one who would be put in charge of such an investigation is in our pocket, and she will tell her superiors it was a terror attack from radicals within the far right or far left. Then we counterattack, accusing the assassination as an SRGIA setup to justify a purge of political opposition. By the time the next elections come around, the entire country will have only us left to look for.”
Reydi seems like he is going to respond but hesitates, as if he wants to rend this plan to ribands but cannot deny its appeal.
“As many problems as this solves, I fear it will create more. So far the nation has seen quite a spike of corruption and political violence just in the past year, would it not be better to take a slower approach?”
“This is exactly why we must move quickly, so as to…eliminate, one might say, the enemy before their counterattack. Surely you are familiar with the prophecy of Ataqi-Ouli’s sabre?"
“How is that old fairy tale connected?”
Tengin frowns a little. He thought he’d chosen to support the less cynical twin, and yet Reydi immediately tramples over this sacred legend. He chooses his next words carefully.
“...Even if you do not personally believe it valid, the Chevspendic Fundamentalists do. Nobody needs to be told the last twenty years have been disastrous, that much is already certain, but within these lost decades so many of their leadership have staked their legitimacy on the current comings and goings being part of a greater prophecy. It is therefor, both a necessity of faith and material conditions that they listen to us when we start making those come true! Those antiquarians, our greatest ideological opposition have handed over us the keys to their castle for free, without even realising it! What use is defeating a nemesis when you can convince him– mobilise him for your own endeavours?”
Reydi sighs, and decides to kick that esoteric can down the road.
“I’ll mark it a maybe…Continue, Myo. Tengin”
Hearing this Tengin asserted his gaze over to Pretyu-ako, who then spoke up for the only time during the entire meeting.
"We have until the end of 2205 if we want to be on schedule. I cannot say exactly when, but it must be within the last 3 months of that year... Listen, Excellency, when your father spoke out against our coup we lost support of the commoner... You must speak the same points, fashion the SRGIA a security threat and..."
The disrespect is such that Tengin turns nearly pale with an unholy mixture of terror and fury. Even on antipsychotics he wasn't particularly stable, constantly bouncing between episodes of apathy, volitility, and delusions, his usual stoicism more a testament to his carefully cultivated dicipline and years of therapy. These walls being pierced, he jumps to his feet a shaky mess; resolved to put up an obnoxious, powerful front with a threat hidden inside a solemn declaration.
“Yuari means he knows how much the Royal family detests that institution, and wishes to give you the honour of driving the final bolt into the casket.”
Tengin glares intently at him in an “I will strike you down right here” way.
“Is that not right, Myo. direktor?”
Pretyu-ako simply nods and sinks back into place, like a child just realising the entire room is focused on him. Tengin nearly melts with relief.
The rest of that meeting dragged on, blurring into a haze in Reydi’s mind. Near-murderous disdain for a few of the people in that room limited all but the broad strokes of discussions, all of which were quite blatantly just ploys to accelerate someone’s standing in the still ongoing power struggle. One discussion kept returning, plan Ц. Tengin kept bringing it up at times just perfect to disrupt someone else’s persuasions, a not so subtle way to test these new political allies which he did not trust at all.
As the meeting came to a close Reydi-kæ leaves with a bitter taste in his mouth. Just who did Pretyu-ako think he was giving orders to the king? At least Tengin has the courtesy to ask first, to make common cause as his future duties would make so righteous.
"If we were in more unenlightened times, I'd have that traitor thrown in lake Khogildir with concrete boots on!" he thinks to himself. "No, no surely not, Pretyu-ako is better off an ally...a little dagger kept hidden close by my heart...one I may throw carelessly at an assailant…"
In further thinking, the afternoon made the power struggle still present in Sahrland clear. This back and forth between ministers and deadlock in legislature had been ongoing since the 2180s, only hidden from sight by suppressed media and kept at a low intensity by Kirbo Lavro’s meddling. Clearly Reydi did not have the same skill in that regard as it now spilled out to a point where gunning down a prasident had become a political necessity. But on the other hoof, if this play went as intended it would bring the struggle to an end at once while having mobilised the entire nation for whoever is left to use in their ambitions.
