17-Jul-2000
Next up: the summit meeting and Heero comes up with a plan.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Gundam boys, nor am I making any
money from this. The idea of a Confessor is from Terry
Goodkind's Sword of Truth novels. I am using them without
permission.
Warning: Au, shounen-ai
Pairing: 1+2 3+4
The newly promoted Major Heero Yuy, Wufei, Trowa and Quatre strode into the auditorium with their uniforms spotless and their emotionless masks firmly in place. The others had been upset when Heero had broke the news about Duo's imminent execution, and like their leader felt helpless and angry. But there was nothing they could do about it except not show how much it hurt them.
The auditorium was three-quarters filled with military personnel, foreign dignitaries and royalty. Heero looked the scene over and signaled to his men to find seats in the back. They knew that they didn't need to worry about hearing because an amplification spell would be cast by one of the mages in Treize's employ. Heero looked over the crowd. He knew quite a few of the officers and more than one stopped him to congratulate him. They took their seats and waited patiently for the summit to begin. Promptly at the top of the hour, a bell tolled, signaling the start of the briefing. They stood at attention when the General entered the room. Silence fell over the audience as General Treize took the stage. Dressed in full uniform, he was as elegant and sophisticated as a gentleman, but with the air of a predator.
"Thank you all for coming here today." General Treize looked over the listeners, and then motioned for them to sit.
"Yesterday, I received notice of the Chaska Kingdom's surrender. As of this day, all the countries in the midlands are united under Oz as one nation, with myself as the Overlord. I say to all my troops, well done." He paused and flawlessly saluted his officers with pride.
"Now, I am sure many of you are wondering why it was necessary to do this. I am just carrying on what my predecessor started. Oz did not conquer its neighbors to the west out of greed for power. Nor did Oz do it for the riches the other kingdoms hold. Oz did it for necessity. It is imperative that all the midland kingdoms and are Oz are united."
Again Treize paused. He knew that most of the audience did not know what was coming. Now was the time to let everyone know just why he had done what he had done. He raised his hand, and at the signal a young mage gestured and a map of the continent glowed softly off to the left of the General. Oz was highlighted in blue, the conquered midlands in green and the largest country, which was to the south of all of them, was glowing red. It was to this country that Treize pointed. The rest of the map faded and the red country grew until it was clearly visible to everyone in the auditorium.
"The Southern kingdom of Golgatha has been quietly gathering its forces for some time now, preparing to invade us. Its Emperor, Odin Lowe, is determined to conquer the midlands and Oz and bring them under his rule. The Oz kingdom has been keeping a careful watch on Golgatha for the past twenty years. When Oz was sure that its information was correct, we began to implement our own plans. This included taking over the midlands."
The map resumed its original appearance then the red country faded, leaving only Oz and the midlands.
"Now you may be wondering why did Oz opt to conquer its neighbors rather than form an alliance? Due to the nature of Golgatha's forces, it was imperative that all the countries were unconditionally united. An alliance implies that each country is united by choice. Oz has eliminated that choice. It is of vital importance that all countries fight together. Oz will lead the midlands in the upcoming conflict. Now I have asked that each representative of the midland countries to submit a detailed account of resources and personnel available, also any and all magics that can be found within that country."
One by one each of the conquered countries' representatives stepped on to the stage and gave a succinct report of its resources. As each country was represented, the map would highlight it. Some of the representatives were royalty and some were military. Treize had left each of the midland country's original government structures intact to see to the day-today running of the kingdoms. Heero paid intense attention to each one. He noticed the others doing the same.
When the last one was finished, the General stepped back up to the stage and thanked them.
Again he paused. Not a sound could be heard from the audience. They were totally absorbed with what they were being told.
"Some of our spies have gathered detailed information about Golgatha's troops and weapons. Howard here," he gestured to a tall skinny man with gray hair that stuck out haphazardly in various directions, standing quietly off to one side "the head of the intelligence division, is in charge of compiling this information and will summarize for us." Treize took a few steps back and Howard stepped up, nodding his thanks to the general.
"Thank you General. The Golgathan army consists of five separate divisions." Once again the red country of Golgatha appeared on the floating map. He started running down each branch, giving numbers of foot soldiers, cavalry, archers and officers. Heero, listening intently did some mental arithmetic and was disturbed by the results. Even taking into account the midlands armies, they were still outnumbered twelve to one.
At last Howard finished up. Treize retook the stage and went ahead.
"Thank you Howard. Now, several weeks ago General Padua and a battalion of soldiers patrolling the southern border between Chaska and Oz were destroyed with no trace of on attack. We now believe we know how this was done. Sally Po, representing the Magician's Guild believes they have a theory. Sally?" Treize bowed to the strawberry-blond sorceress dressed in red and black, denoting her status of the second rank. Her hair was divided into two sections and twisted into tails. Most would find it alluring but the determined expression and the sense of power exuding from her gave people pause.
Sally got right down to business. "When General Treize requested the Magician's Guild to investigate the attack, we weren't sure if we would find anything. And after some preliminary divination, nothing was found. But then we looked deeper. It turns out there is some residue of magic embedded in the corpses of the soldiers. Using a combination of spells and psychic power, we have determined that the soldiers were driven insane and killed each other. However the scale of such an undertaking and the speed at which it was done was impossible for any of the guild magicians to do, in Oz and the midlands. If our projections are right, it would take at least two, possibly more first rank wizards." There was a low murmur of surprise at this. There had been no first rank wizards in the midlands or Oz for many generations.
"So, we know that Emperor Lowe has several first rank wizards working for him. How do we neutralize them?" Treize asked in a very unsurprised tone.
Sally looked at Treize and replied in a level voice. "We don't. Nothing any of the Caster's Guilds has can even approach the level of power that one first rank wizard can summon. Let alone several. We have a handful of the second rank sorcerers, and a few more of the third. Professionally speaking, we would be fried long before we could even get a scratch on any of them."
"What about dragons? Aren't they supposed to be powerful?" Someone from the audience suggested.
"Dragons might have the Power level required to take on the wizards, but we all know that dragons do not like to get involved with human affairs. Besides, it has been years since anyone has seen a dragon. We don't have enough time to hunt one down, let alone convince it to help us." Sally said.
Beside Heero, Wufei stirred restlessly. "I heard that no matter how powerful a wizard is, a knife in the back will seriously cramp his style." He muttered to Heero. Heero nodded absently.
Heero felt a tickling in the back of his mind. He was trying to remember where he had heard about someone going to war with wizards. It brought back memories of the Gorge and flickering firelight. Then he remembered Duo's voice.
"I guess a long time ago, some male confessors got together and ruled the entire midlands. It didn't sit well with the ruling council of wizards and they went to war. I'm told that after long bloody years of hunting them down, the male confessors were all killed. Of course the wizards council wasn't bragging too much either since their ranks were decimated too."
Heero stiffened at the memory. He forced himself to wait without fidgeting until the summit meeting was over. After about a half hour more of discussion in which no conclusions were reached other than the fact that the wizards would have to be dealt with before any troop activity could begin, the meeting was adjourned. As soon as they stood and saluted the General and he left, Heero turned to Quatre who had been sitting on his other side.
"The library, now!" He spoke in an undertone.
Quatre, Wufei and Trowa nodded puzzled, but asked no questions as Heero pushed his way out of auditorium, ignoring several hails from other officers. The others hurried after him as he strode down the marble palace halls; the echoes of boot heels hammering the floor tiles filled the quiet.
They made their way to the palace library and pushed the large oak doors open. And stood and stared at the long rows of shelves and shelves of books. Heero turned again to Quatre.
"Where would the history of the Midlands be?" he questioned.
"Ummm, I'm not real sure. It would help if I knew what exactly we were looking for." Quatre replied, still staring in awe at the vast cavern filled with books of all shapes and sizes.
"I want to know more about the time of the Wizards Council and the war with the confessors." Heero stated tersely. He couldn't help but feel that time was running out.
"This way." Trowa said. He walked unerringly down a long hall lined with scrolls, turned right and kept walking. After several more turns taking them deeper into the maze, he reached up and plucked a large volume seemingly at random. He handed it to Heero, who looked at the archer with bemusement.
Trowa raised an eyebrow at the Major in question and Heero shook his head in reply. He didn't want to know. He opened the book and began flipping through the pages, skimming as fast as he could.
They all clustered around Heero, trying to read over his shoulder. Their eyes widened as the history unfolded before their eyes.
"My goodness." Quatre breathed. "I didn't realize they were so powerful!"
"Who? The confessors or the wizards?" Wufei demanded.
"Both!" The blond mage replied.
Heero looked up and snapped the book shut. He tucked it under his arm. Trowa looked at him and asked "Treize?"
"Treize" Heero confirmed.
In less than twenty minutes they were outside the General's offices stopped cold by the immovable force known as the secretary and no appointment. She was squat like a bulldog with iron gray hair pulled back into a tight bun. Her face was liberally lined with wrinkles and it was clear they were not caused by smiling.
"We need to see the General now." Heero stated, giving her his best death glare. That glare had made grown men pale and intimidated royalty and commoners alike.
"I'm sorry, but you need to make an appointment." She sniffed, completely unfazed.
Wufei stepped up. "Listen, woman." He paused and double-checked just to make sure. "We need to see him right away. It is of utmost importance."
She looked down her nose at him, which was quite a feat since she was seated and he was standing. "Is there something wrong with your hearing, sir? I said you must make an appointment."
Wufei was about to draw his sword and demonstrate what a blademaster could do to her desk when the General's door opened. They all stood at attention as Treize himself casually strolled out into the reception area and asked in that elegant tone of his. "Is there a problem?"
The secretary stood and said "Sir, these gentlemen were requesting to see you. They do not have an appointment."
Heero stepped up beside the old battle-axe, "Sir, I believe we may have a way to deal with Emperor Lowe's wizards."
Treize's eyebrows almost crawled to his hairline, but his tone revealed no surprise. "By all means, come in and explain." He gestured to his inner sanctum.
They all trooped in after him, Wufei paused briefly to give the secretary a smirk of triumph. She glared back at him with a look that could rival Heero on his best day. He gulped and hurried into the General's office, quietly shutting the door.
Treize walked behind his desk and sat down. The soldiers stood at ease in front of him. "Ok, you have my attention."
Heero stepped forward, the book still in his hands. "Sir, according to the Midland history, wizards no matter how powerful they are, are vulnerable to confessor magic." Treize stilled. Then he said quietly to his waiting aide who was standing unobtrusively in the corner. "Get me Sally Po and Howard."
Treize refused to discuss the subject further until the sorceress and the intelligence officer arrived. When they came, Treize had chairs brought in for all of them.
"Ok, Major, tell them what you told me."
Heero complied. When he was finished, Sally Po spoke up. "I thought all the confessors were dead. The squads had killed them all."
Treize spoke up. "Apparently, one had escaped notice. We discovered it's existence a few weeks ago and Major Yuy and his squad brought it back just this afternoon. It is now down in a holding cell. I had scheduled it for execution. But it appears that we may have a use for our confessor."
"Do you think it will be willing to help us?" Howard spoke up, a concerned look on his face.
"We can ask." Again Treize turned to his aide. "Have them bring the confessor to my office." The aide nodded and quietly left again.
"What if it refuses?" Howard persisted. He didn't trust creatures of magic.
"It won't, because if it does we won't have a reason to keep it alive. It doesn't have a choice. It either helps us, or it dies." Treize was resolved.
Silence fell after that last sentence and remained until a quiet knock on the door announced the arrival of the aide. He entered the office with a distinct air of nervousness.
"Sir, it seems that the confessor has escaped."
End Part 9
(:./annabell/confessor9)
