That morning when the Emperor's butler came to the room to rouse him from his slumber. He first knocked at the door.
"My Emperor, it's morning." Hmm, no response? Perhaps he's still a bit tired, he did have his favorite concubine last night… I should head inside to see if he's in need of a stamina potion. Perhaps two. He chuckled inwardly, and pushed the door open, waiving to the maids to come and assist. "My Emperor, forgive the intrusion, but we have a busy schedule today, along with some important war council meetings. So it's time to wake up."
The maids shuffled in, not noticing the sight or smell of blood. Then the curtains were spread wide. The one maid who'd walked to the side of the bed that was supposed to have the concubine, had a look of horror on her face, and then let out a blood curdling scream as she saw the Emperor, laying there, dead, in a pool of blood.
"By the gods! Call for the priests immediately!" The Butler ordered the one maid who'd managed to not see the sight due to her positioning behind him.
The maid ran off with speed, as a knight noticed her running through the halls. If a young lady is running through the halls of the palace, in heels, something serious must be going on. "Maid, what's happened?"
"Sir knight?! It's the Emperor! I didn't see, but one who did let out a bloody scream."
"I see, I knew I'd heard something. I'll summon the priests alongside you, my word will carry more weight."
After a rather annoying back and forth with the priests who'd generally always be in the palace while their temples were under construction, they finally made their way towards the Emperor's bedchambers. A small unit of knights had already locked down the sight to avoid further tampering.
"Oh my gods! The Emperor… He's been murdered!" The priest of fire exclaimed in shock of the sight.
"I've heard of a type of resurrection magic that the gods once had access to, can you do something here?" The butler asked.
"I'm afraid not, we are but humble servants whom the gods have deemed worthy enough to share a minor power with. I wouldn't dare to assume I could cast their full might, even in a ritual."
The Empress looked for another answer in Fluder, having had to be there to verify that it was truly the Emperor and not some stand-in to fake his death. "Court Mage Fluder. Can you do anything with your magic to bring my husband back to me?"
"Fluder, keep in mind this would be difficult even for the gods to pull off." The priest of fire added.
Fluder looked at the body. Examining it closely, and even going as far as to use magic to further identify the decomposition of the body. Then he shook his head. "I only know of a small number who'd have no problem with something like this. I am too powerless to resurrect the Emperor, and am in an even worse position to make a petition for that person."
"Who!"
Fluder didn't answer, simply shaking his head. A sign that the answer wasn't worth saying for some reason or another. However, the priest of fire grew a little upset by this.
"Are you insinuating that there is a god, stronger than our pantheon of gods?"
"Your blind faith is what likely led to this result! How would you feel if one day you were deemed a demon by human kind?"
"HOW DARE A MERE CASTER!"
"I'm still way stronger than the four of you combined. Don't test me young whippersnappers." Hell ya! I always wanted to use that line! Fluder cleared his throat. "Anyway, we should focus now on what comes next. My Empress, are you willing to take over the Emperor's duties until the boy is old enough?"
"I… It's something I must do. Fine, but you're going to help me every step of the way."
Some time later, the Empress was officially installed as the head of the nation, with her eldest son poised to learn all manners and customs that befit an Emperor. However, in this first general council session… She was hesitant about what her first decree would be, until:
There's no way my little sister would kill our husband, surely not! She was far too good natured a woman. And loved being in the palace. Though, maybe there was something else that happened? "Investigate the death of my husband. Find out who is responsible for his murder. I don't believe my little sister would do something so heinous… But investigate her history as well."
"Yes, my Empress!"
"Next up, Send Re-Estize a missive for a cease fire. We can't be fighting a war right now. We must use everything to discover this plot."
There was silence. Fluder noticed the Empress' gritting her teeth… "The Empress gave all of you a command! See it through!"
With the added weight of the next most powerful man within the Empire, behind that of the Emperor of course… There was no longer any reason to fear the pressure from the Slane Theocracy priests.
"Yes! It will be drafted and delivered at once!"
From there, a few mundane things were brought up, and taken care of to the best of their current ability… This included the preparations for a nationwide funeral for their deceased Emperor.
…
In secret, alone together, to talk…
"Fluder, do you think Mother could have been behind this?"
"I…"
"So she was… I had a feeling this day would come the moment he made that foolish decree about the national religion. Good riddance."
"My Empress…"
"There's no need to console me. I was also planning to do the same thing when I next laid with him. I want to use this opportunity to the fullest. Help me limit the horrible treatment of elves in this country. It's sickening me to my core… I didn't stop it before, and I've let it go on too long now, I can't stop it either. I…" She started crying. "I don't deserve my mother's embrace for what I've done. So Fluder, burn my tears into their memory. Remember that I loved our mother goddess. And regret every day I'd chosen to live against her… I hope that in this way, she'll treat my little sister with more care…"
"Empress, with what she went through, and knowing how loving our goddess truly is, I'm sure that last night, she regained the childhood your husband robbed from her."
"I see… I had a feeling there was something else to it. I suppose it must have been serious?"
Fluder told the tale of everything that happened, to include the names of the soldiers. The Empress' eyes widened, every word added anger to her already mixed emotions.
"That pig actually dared to do such a thing…"
…