#tefmet

I'm actually really interested by the fact that the actual Kehmsarazan Empire seems to be such a non-concern for the Coven of Elders and The Man in Black.

From Tefmet and the Antivalists, I understand the focus on the Citadel, because they're from a group of Wizards that are concerned with hiding from Citadel attention specifically, but even they mentioned that there are other parts of the Empire that are facilitating whatever it is the Wizards are doing with those discs.

I assume the Empire will retaliate on any attack against the Citadel but, and I may be wrong here, I also assume that the physical location of the Citadel likely isn't the only base of control for their magical military intelligence (if only because the location had already been proven vulnerable to attack when Suvi was a child).

I think it's fascinating how much visibility the Citadel draws in comparison to the larger Empire. Especially if we consider that the Citadel seems to be largely run by academics. It's not just a military academy, even if they are producing good little soldiers. Sure Steel is the Sword of the Citadel and that's a position of power but it was very clear in Arc 1 and 2 that Suvi never needed to step foot on the battlefield to advance in the hierarchy of the Citadel. In fact Steel would prefer she didn't, Suvi was the one begging to get to go out and prove herself.

I understand that if we're considering the Doylist lens this is likely because none of our protagonists are really from the Empire except for Suvi, who has much more immediate loyalty and proximity to the Citadel, but even if that's been the case so far I still trust Brennan to do interesting things with that.