A part of Jadis wondered how Maeve was doing on her information gathering mission. The Fetch had mentioned the need to go to some places that she described as several degrees below unsavory; the sorts of establishments that even Kerr tended to steer clear of. Bar hopping through the dregs of society hadn’t seemed like an attractive idea at the time, but since meeting the Voltonian senate, her opinion had been revised.
That wasn’t entirely fair. None of the senators had given her a first impression as bad as Hraustrekr. That was a high bar to reach, though. And even if none were immediately as obnoxious as the First Prince, there were a lot more of them to make up the difference with numbers. A lot, lot, lot more of them.
“This is Senator Tatius of Barcino,” Senator Utilius introduced Jay to the possibly one hundred and twenty-eighth member of the senate. “Barcino is located on the hip of the Soldus mountains. You may have passed over the town on your flight, actually.”
“Oh, hello,” Jay smiled politely as she shook the man’s hand. “Sorry, but didn’t we already meet? I could have sworn I was introduced to a Tatius half an hour ago.”
“You are thinking of Senator Tatius of Barbrius,” the dark-haired human replied with a polite smile of his own. “We are second cousins, actually. We share a family resemblance.”
Ah. One hundred and twenty-eighth for sure, then.
“Sorry for the confusion,” Jay hid a grimace behind a laugh. “There are a lot of senators. Hard to keep track of everyone.”
“It’s hard for us to remember all the names,” Tatius laughed good-naturedly. “I cannot imagine it would be any easier for an outsider.”
It really wasn’t easy at all, and Jadis wasn’t of a mind to waste time trying to memorize the names of all the senators. There were over two hundred of them, which was more than enough to overwhelm Jadis’ capacity for polite politicking. If she had her way, she’d just get a list of them and reference it when needed. She wasn’t in Volto to schmooze with the elected officials. She had come to coordinate an attack on Kastoria and take the city back from the Demons and cultists who had invaded it. But, as seemed to be the case in both the empire and the republic, one had to rub shoulders with the people who were in charge if you wanted to get anything done.
“Tatius of Barcino,” Dys murmured to Aila. “Polite. Hero fanboy. He keeps trying to get closer to Wilhelm.”
“We already have a Tatius listed—oh, wait, I see. Different city.”
While Jadis hadn’t been given a list of the senators, she saw no reason why she couldn’t make one of her own. Since she had one of her selves actively engaged in the meet-and-greet of elected officials, she used one of her other selves to convey information to Aila, who was taking meticulous notes. Such was the advantage of being largely ignored as most of the senators were focused on the Hero and his Companions, rather than Jadis and her harem. The relative lack of attention was honestly a relief, and not just for her and her lovers. Noll looked positively delighted to be little more than an afterthought.
After the chaos of the initial disembarking, the senate had led them up the hill to enter what was, just as suspected, the senate building. The design of the main hall was a bit different than Jadis had expected, as it looked more like a round arena of stone bench seats than the senate of her previous life’s home country, but it fit the impression of a decidedly Roman-esque society. The same could also be said of the senators themselves, as the vast majority were middle to older aged humans wearing a style of clothing that looked like a mix between practicality and tradition. Rather than full-blown togas, they wore tunics and leggings, or dresses for most of the women, with a red and purple sash draped loosely across the shoulder.
That was probably the most startling thing about the Voltonian senate, Jadis had realized after the first few minutes. They were almost all humans. There were a few gnomes, and she saw at least one orc, or possibly half-orc, in the crowd, but otherwise the makeup of the senate was surprisingly homogeneous. There wasn’t a single elf or goblin or therion in sight. Sure, humans were the most populous species in the empire’s capital, as well as in most places Jadis visited in the empire, but the mix had always been more evenly distributed so that no matter the crowd, there were always a fair number of other races. It seemed that in Volto, humans were more than just widespread, they were the overwhelmingly dominant species of the nation.
Demographics aside, it hadn’t taken Jadis long to recognize that politics were going to be no less of a problem for her in the Republic of Volto than they had been in the Alfhilderunn Empire. Much like the princes, there were factions warring against each other, and she would have to be careful not to get caught up in the middle of their bickering. She hoped that the fact that she was something of an independent third party would help her on that front but just based on what she had gleaned from conversations thus far, it didn’t seem likely.
There were three main factions among the senators from what Jadis could tell. Nothing so prosaic as actual political parties, but certainly a trio of groups who had formed based around commonly held opinions and concerns. The first group of senators were the ones Jadis had started calling Hero Fans. Those were the ones who were most eager to fawn all over Wilhelm and his companions. Those senators seemed to think that the Hero was the answer to all of their troubles, and they were willing to bend over backwards to please him. Jadis wasn’t certain, but she got the feeling that at least some of that faction were trying to entice Wilhelm to stay in Volto, rather than go back to the empire.
The second group Jadis had dubbed the Pragmatists. Those were the ones she figured she would get along with the most. While they were happy to welcome the Hero, the Pragmatists seemed to have a more grounded grasp on the reality of the situation. Their nation was in deep trouble, and they needed to take advantage of every opportunity that came along to save themselves. As such, Jadis thought she could work with the Pragmatists to put together some real plans of attack, rather than the Fans who came across as the sort who were expecting they would be able to just sit back and watch.
The third faction was the one who Jadis foresaw causing the most difficulty for both her and Wilhelm, though she still held some hope that they might be able to smooth things over. She had started calling them the Nationalists, mostly because Jadis couldn’t think of a better descriptor. The senators in that faction seemed to be most concerned with the Voltonian nation holding together, which was to say, they were deeply concerned that the empire was going to be making a move to take Kastoria for their own. After all, both Wilhelm and Jadis were imperial citizens, weren’t they? They were officially representing the emperor, at least. To the Nationalists, that meant that Jadis, Wilhelm, and everyone else who had flown in on the Leviathan were there to advance imperial agendas. Of course, that wasn’t true for Jadis or the Hero, but convincing the suspicious senators that she and Wilhelm were really just there to help was going to be an absolute pain in the ass. In fact, Jadis planned on just avoiding those sorts of officials as much as she could. Hopefully, she could get a hold of a brass-tacks sort of general like Voss and just get to work right away with no interference.
And maybe Valtar would descend from the heavens and fart the Demons out of Kastoria.
The thing was, Jadis couldn’t even really be all that angry with the senators who comprised the Nationalist faction. The man next in line to be the emperor really did have bad intentions towards Volto; in fact, he was absolutely willing to let the whole republic fall just so he could sweep in after and take over. If she were in their shoes, Jadis wasn’t sure she would trust anyone the empire sent either. Even the Hero.
“Ah, and I think this is someone that you will be very happy to meet,” Utilius announced proudly as he continued down the path of introductions. “Senator Celsa of Castra Cale.”
Jay kept a careful mask of affability on her face, not wanting to let her reactions show among a crowd of people who might be looking for ways to manipulate her. Senator Celsa was quite a shock, though, so it was an effort to keep her expression from showing her surprise and interest.
The woman standing before her was tall. Not as tall as her, of course, but she was at least an inch taller than Aila, who already towered over most other people. Senator Celsa’s general physique was also impressive, as she had long legs and toned muscles, but also had wide hips and an impressive bust. She was like a mix between Kerr’s natural athleticism and Eir’s voluptuous curves, and what’s more, the woman clearly knew how good she looked and took full advantage by wearing a form-fitting, very nearly indecent, dress under her senatorial sash. She wasn’t a young woman, probably somewhere in her forties by Jadis’ estimation, but she wore that age regally, like a queen who knew she had nothing to fear from time.
While Jadis always appreciated a beautiful woman when she met one, it was the rest of Celsa that caught her interest. The human’s hair was platinum blonde, very nearly white, and was worn in a long braid that fell all the way to the small of her back. Her skin was incredibly pale, nearly to the point of being an albino, though not quite, and was completely without blemish. Her eyes, which were heavy-lidded and utterly fixed onto Jay, were a vibrant and captivating pink.
“Greetings, Jadis Ahlstrom,” Senator Celsa spoke with a thickly accented voice that had a smokey, lavish quality to it. “While I regret the circumstances, I am elated to finally meet you. You cannot imagine how overjoyed I was to hear the news of your existence. You are the answer to my house’s prayers to Lyssandria.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, too,” Jay replied while shaking the older woman’s hand. “I don’t know that I’m the answer to anyone’s prayers, but I’m glad to be here to help.”
Celsa’s hand lingered on Jay’s for a little bit longer than was necessary while the senator showed her a dazzling grin.
“I assure you, tesoro, you are. I will not keep you to myself, there are others waiting to meet you, but I hope that we will have many long meetings in the near future. I promise you, my door will always be open to the Nephilim, and to her bellissima lovers.”
Celsa’s last words were accompanied by a knowing wink that was directed towards Jadis’ lovers who were all gathered with Dys on the far side of the auditorium.
“Okay, is it just me, or is that tall lady making ‘fuck me’ eyes at Jay,” Kerr narrowed her gaze at the distant senator.
“She absolutely is,” Dys nodded in agreement. “I have no idea which faction she’s for, Aila, but you can probably mark her down as friendly for now.”
“Who is she?” Sorcha asked, craning her neck as she stood on her toes to get a better look. “I mean, she looks sort of like… you know, one of you, Jadis. I mean, obviously she can’t be a Nephilim, but…”
“Yeah, I get what you mean,” Dys murmured as she kept an eye on the woman who had moved away from her other self to make room for the senators who came after. “I guess I’ve never asked much about this topic before, but are, um, body modifications a thing that people do in Volto?”
“I don’t know about Volto,” Aila said as she, too, eyed the older woman. “But anything is possible with the right magic.”
As the introductions progressed, Jadis continued to keep an ear or three open to get a feel for the general attitude of senators around her. She wanted to know who was talking about taking action right away, who was forwarding other, unrelated agendas before the war against the Demons, and who was unsubtly whispering their doubts about Jadis and the Hero lending Volto aid. She was also keeping careful watch for anyone who was expressing hostility towards Alex and Hope. While Jadis’ discussions with Ambassador Quintus had given her a guarantee that no objections would be made to the Demon’s protected status, she wasn’t going to blindly rely on their word after seeing how fractured the senate was in person. If anyone made any attempt to go after Alex or Hope in any way, politically or otherwise, Jadis planned on squashing that person like a grape. And if objections to Alex were more widespread than just a couple of outliers, Jadis had no problem with packing up and leaving Thracina. She wouldn’t abandon the people of Volto to a horrible fate, but she would find other ways to aid them if either Alex’s or Hope’s safety were put at risk by a pack of balding bureaucrats.
She hadn’t been in the city for too long, but from what Jadis could tell, it didn’t look like anyone was going to rock the boat on that end of things. While there were definitely people who were eyeing Alex with caution, no one was getting up on a chair to give a speech about how they needed to cleanse Demons from the holy halls of governance, so that was tentatively a good sign. A better sign, one that Jadis had been waiting for, came from Severina a few minutes after the encounter with Celsa.
“I’ve spoken with Duilius, the patriarch of House Ferrum,” the Seraphim whispered to Syd after sliding through one of the senate auditorium’s back doors. “He has assured me that General Salvius will be able to meet with you at the Ferrum family compound tonight. He is one of two generals who are in command of holding the line that is keeping the Demons from invading further north.”
“We can’t get both generals at the same time, I’m guessing?” Syd asked while trying not to broadcast their discussion to any senators who might be listening.
“Duilius sent his fastest messenger, who will also being carrying the general to the city,” the justicar quietly explained. “He does not have the resources to retrieve General Ovinius as well. Not that removing both generals from the field, even for a night, is a wise idea.”
“Well, one is better than none,” Syd sighed. “I was worried that it would take longer to get the ball rolling, but if we can speak to one of the generals as soon as tonight, I think that’s a good sign.”
“I will not, as you sometimes say, hold my breath,” Severina huffed. “Republics are notoriously poor at taking quick action. They lack the decisiveness of a single ruler. You would think that the Voltonians would at least have the sense to elect a single leader who would take charge for the duration of a crisis like war. They could always go back to a republic once the danger is past.”
“Maybe,” Syd smirked. “But I can think of a few ways that idea could go wrong. There aren’t any rivers around here called the Rubicon, are there?”
“Not that I am aware of,” Sev frowned. “Why? What do rivers have to do with anything?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just trying to make sure history isn’t too likely to repeat itself.”
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