The Eryans Of Delan - The Emperor
After gaining the support of Ielle, Feyn was faced with the difficult task of keeping the peace in the rest of Delan. The Benvei cult still has strongholds in the wilderness, and they posed a serious threat to the stability of the Empire. He needed to show the rebels who was really in charge, and the thought grieved him. He did not want to resort to violence, but if he was to be taken seriously, he would have to.
He couldn't sleep one night, so he got out of bed and began to pace. What would Imi and Adan do? he thought. They had done all they could and still barely managed to keep the empire from crumbling. He would have to change tactics.
He remembered Imi's offer to help him gain power over life and death. He knew that it was unwise for him to tap into that magic. He decided to adapt her ruthless philosophy into something that would become uniquely his own.
Feyn was by nature a merciful man. He did not harm unless harmed first, and the nature of his chosen magic would not allow him to take an innocent life. Even when he was crafting weapons, he would never give someone a weapon they could use unjustly. He knew that for a time, this would have to change if he wanted to save the empire.
He thought back to the snakes that had protected him the night he was left to die, and as he went to the snake pit for morning feeding time, he got an idea. He picked the largest snakes in the pit and gave them a new purpose. He gave them humanlike bodies and the ability to speak and think for themselves. If he could not touch life and death, then he would use what he could. "Do what you can with what you have" became his motto and he reunited the Eryan Empire with it.
The snakemen he created that day became more than just his soldiers, they became his friends and advisors, as well.
People already found Feyn odd, but the snakemen were enough to raise alarm. Many of the old royal advisors handed in their resignations or fled the continent without explanation. This did not faze Feyn. Many of them were out of touch with the time and set in old ways. He needed to start fresh if he was to succeed. He chose his new advisors not for rank or status, but for their performance, wisdom, and ability.
He made his second in command none other than String. This was a wise choice, String had a sharp mind and acted decisively on many occasions. String knew Feyn well and they worked well together, another very important detail. String pointed out holes in Feyn's logic and was a calming influence when he needed one.
Another thing that people found odd about their emperor was that he showed no interest in finding a spouse, at least at first. People suspected that Feyn and String were lovers, but that was untrue. Feyn was viewed love as a distraction from his duty, but love soon came to him.
On his first military campaign, there was a group of rebels hiding out in a cave system in the East. Feyn himself pursued the group deep into the caves and was gravely wounded by a warrior wearing a striped mask that was more skilled with the sword than he was. He vowed that if he survived the wound, he would find the warrior again and best him in a duel.
What he didn't know was that the warrior was a woman. She was the daughter of the former ruler of Tanna, a territory that fiercely resented the Eryan takeover. Her name was Eley, and her father had been killed in battle by Adan herself. Upon hearing the news of his death, she swore revenge against the Eryans, saying that she would kill the Eryan ruler or die in the process. She began her quest by training daily, both with magic and with weaponry.
At the age of twenty-two, she wounded Feyn of Delan, though she did not know who he was at the time. When she heard that she had failed in her mission, she went into hiding for many days.
While Feyn was healing, his head snakeman general, Nicholas, asked to make a final push against the rebels. Feyn agreed on one condition - that if he found a warrior wearing a striped mask, he would bring the warrior to him unharmed. Nicholas agreed.
A few hours later, the rebel force fell and the tall snakeman returned to Feyn carrying Eley, unmasked and unconscious. Eley was not what Feyn was expecting. He asked if Nicholas was sure that he had found the right person, and Nicholas said yes.
Feyn waited patiently for his enemy to wake, and when she did, she just stared at him. No one knows for sure what she thought for sure, but some legends hold that she saw a vision. Others say that she fell in love with Feyn at first sight.
Most, if not all sources agree that Feyn fell in love with her as soon as he saw her without her mask. Feyn could not bring himself to duel her, and instead she joined him on his journey.
Eley insisted that they return to Ielle at the end of his first campaign, and he agreed even though Ielle was very far away. She had heard the story of Feyn's large horse and wanted to see if it was true for herself.
They stayed in Ielle for three months and Eley helped establish a cavalry division for Feyn's army. All of this would be needed soon enough.
Eley would go on to say that the only constant thing in life is change. Her words would hold true in the coming years, for the Eryan Empire's greatest enemy was not found on Delan, nor was it even found on Doloras.
