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06:05 AM

Lord Tormalyndar Teldarion looked around at the other members of the Imperial Council in barely-concealed disgust. The rebellion had been going on for years, and still they panicked when there was word of a push by one of the rebel factions. Or perhaps it was that they had all been wakened from their peaceful slumbers by urgent messengers bearing news of the impending attack. Or, more likely, roused from those slumbers by the frantic servants they employed to man the doors of their lavish palaces. Only an extreme effort of will kept Tormalyndar's lips from curling into a sneer at the thought of those ostentatious, beautiful, completely indefensible palaces. No wonder they were all flapping and squawking like chickens confronted by a fox.

House Teldarion, on the other hand, was a grim, grey castle, well defended and surrounded by walls and towers. And all of Teldarion's servants were trained for battle and loyal to the house-- most were either hereditary servants or freed slaves, with the occasional retired soldier to supervise the training of the rest. Perhaps it was the confidence of his home's security that protected him from the others' panic. Well, that or the fact that he had engineered the attack, and the defense, and the current meeting. Quirking his mouth into a thin semblance of a smile, he banged a gavel on the table in front of him. "Enough! This babble is unbecoming. We must plan for the security of the empire."

The clamor settled down to a disgruntled murmur, and finally to silence. Tormalyndar smiled faintly and savored the moment. The most powerful men in the empire were gazing at him with the attention and respect of eager schoolchildren, expecting him to have all the answers. And he did. "This is only a minor skirmish, and the army's spies warned them. It would be foolish of us to disturb the imperial family about something so insignificant. Foolish, and weak. Do we really want the Empress to think us weak, gentlemen? I think you can guess the consequences of that as well as I."

The implied threat was effective. Already frightened, the councilmen were now terrified. Terrified, and willing to do whatever the oh-so clever Lord Teldarion suggested. So, quite naturally, he began making suggestions. It was going to be a most profitable morning.