Empire of Avarice Read Online Free PDF

no intention of bringing them a victory. You break this contract without a
moment’s thought. You cold-hearted monster, you don’t deserve to rule!”
    “Astiras – wait…..”
    But there was no further discussion. Astiras had screwed
his courage and rage to a peak and thrust forward, his blade slicing deep into
the emperor who had doubled up and had fallen sideways to the floor. He had
stood over the corpse for a little while, not really seeing the dead man at his
feet, but the corpses in the snows of Bragal, men who had answered the empire’s
call to arms in a glorious war to keep the province theirs. Just as it seemed
they had turned the corner, word had come that the old fool in the palace had
lost his nerve. It wasn’t just the emperor’s idea; there had been others in the
shadows, working against the empire or for their factions, once again putting
their family or faction ahead of the good of the empire. They would have to be
rooted out and destroyed too.
    Astiras nodded to himself, bringing himself back to the present.
“Yes, Bragal was about to be given away.”
    “What of the army there, your majesty?” one of the
seated men asked.
    “Withdrawn to the Frasian border and dismissed! Not only
did the fool pull them back, but in a cost-saving exercise he disbanded their companies!
I was too late in intercepting that message from the palace, but I’m damned if
I’m going to allow Bragal to break away. I’m going to train up an army here and
personally lead it to Zofela, the Bragal capital. I’ll string up all those
rebellious bastards from the fortress walls and impose martial law on them
until they see the benefits of imperial rule again!”
    The men thumped the table in agreement. Amne was shocked
at her father’s vehemence. “But what of the people of Bragal?”
    “They have long been in the empire; there’s no reason
for them to go alone. In any event, on their southern border is Mazag, and the
moment Bragal declares independence, they become ripe for the picking. The only
reason Mazag has not invaded Bragal up to now is because we still lay claim to
it. The moment we give it up, Bragal will be invaded by Mazag and they won’t
play as nicely as we have these past five years. Well, I’m not going to play
nicely. You, Amne, do have a task connected to this. I want you to go to their fortress
at Branak in the mountains, and negotiate an alliance with us. Use your charm,
Amne. You’ve been educated in court etiquette, so you will know how to conduct
yourself. Their governor is their Prince Lamak. He has the full authority of
the Mazag King. Can you please do this for me? You’ll accompany me as far as
the Bragal border, then you will go your own way with your ambassadorial party.
Ambassadors are respected everywhere, unless they’re with an army.”
    “Yes, father.” Inside she was feeling sick. What an
insane mission! Travelling through Bragal, a lawless region, full of bandits
and murderers! Was her father mad?
    “Good girl, Amne. My thanks. Now, to the rest of the
empire.” He swept his hand to the west. There, the land was shown to rise into mountains
on the far side. But closer to the eastern edge there was a coastal plain by a
sea that stood almost in the centre of the map. It was around this sea that the
empire was built. Astiras pointed to a city not far from the capital. “Niake,
just about our only possession left in the west. Under the governorship of Evas
Extonos, a man who cares little for who sits on the throne; he follows the
empire loyally. So whatever I command, he’ll follow dutifully. He can be relied
on to be a steady man, and by the gods we need men like that now! Thankfully we
have no immediate worries for Niake.”
    “What of the Tybar tribes? I doubt it’ll be long before
they’re once again pushing east into our lands.” The speaker was a man in long
white clothes tucked in at the waist and wearing calf length leather boots. He
looked like, and in fact was, a