Tyrant of the Ruined Sun

"Aha, so that's how it is." I said sarcastically, but the fools seemed to not have noticed it as they further craned their necks into the sky, as they snobbishly grinned, with arrogant and self-centered eyes.

My uncle especially seemed thrilled to hear my words, as he thought that he stumbled upon a great opportunity to gain more power, if he could manage to convince me to place his people in positions of high authority and prestige, which would give him an easier time enacting his future schemes, as he quickly said with a wide grin across his face "Indeed it is nephew, these men are all veterans of both the sword and pen, not to mention that their characters are beyond any reproach, and I can confidently guarantee that they would serve you and our nation whole heartedly."

"I see, I see.

Then you have my thanks Archduke, for introducing to me such amazing and hard working men, especially when the empire is in desperate need of them." I replied, which caused their eyes to sparkle in joy, greed and contempt for me, as they internally scoffed and mocked my inexperience and naiveness.

But before they could utter any other words, I say in seeming disappointment "It's a shame though that I won't be able to employ all of them."

"Why?" Zadkiel asked hurriedly, fearing the dissipation of this supposed golden opportunity.

"Obviously because I can only appoint one court jester Archduke." I reply in seeming dejection.

"What?!" Zadkiel loudly asks in surprise and disbelief, as his eyes widen in confusion.

"Why are you so surprised Archduke? Surely you intended for one of them to take the position of my court jester, since you knew that I had still not appointed one yet, right? I must say, that was very thoughtful of you Archduke." I said innocently.

The nobles were fuming with rage, as their faces blushed red in shame, after becoming conscious of the hundreds of eyes looking mockingly at them, unlike Zadkiel who remained relatively calm and collected, as he asked with irritation masked in his voice "My dear nephew.

Why do you think that these gentlemen behind me are prospects for the position of court jester?"

"Isn't it obvious Archduke? It's due to the absolute absurdity of your joke. After all, what great man of loyalty and ability forgets the most basic form of etiquette when meeting their emperor?" I reply amusedly, as my eyes narrow dangerously at them.

They stare at me wide eyed for a few seconds, before it suddenly donned on them, causing the color to flee from their faces, as fear shot through their whole body, causing their brains to freeze in a haze of mortification and terror!

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They finally realized that in their blinding hubris they forgot to bow in greeting before the royal family, which was a crime so severe in the Eclipse Empire, that it was punishable by death for not only the offender, but also to all his or her immediate family members, regardless of whether they were guilty or not!

But even after understanding this, they still didn't bow or beg for mercy or forgiveness, as they stared with pleading eyes toward Zadkiel, believing that he could save them like always from their own disastrous actions, but I wasn't going to allow that, as I called out loudly before anyone of them could begin to spew their nonsensical drivel "Grand Vizier."

Darius almost instantly arrived by my side, with several other high ranking nobles and officials from my Imperial Faction, and as if mocking the foolish men following Zadkiel, they immediately and elegantly bowed before me and my family, while saying respectfully "We greet his imperial majesty, and the royal family."

I smile seeing this, as I calmly say "I require your council Grand Vizier."

Darius gracefully stands up and replies happily "Of course sire. I'm honored to assist you in any way I can."

"Archduke Zadkiel brought these men to me in the hopes of them gaining my favor, and acquiring the title of my court jester, but I'm afraid that they're all excellent clowns, who are very humorous and funny. I wonder if you have a solution for this dilemma." I ask amusedly.

Darius smiles in understanding and replies in a wise tone, that desperately tried to mask his laughter "I indeed have a solution sire, and a very simple one at that. All we have to do is hold a competition for them in this hall, and the one who entertains the most people wins."

All those who heard Darius's words paled, as they fully understood the implications of our wicked intentions, which were to absolutely and utterly destroy these men's honor and reputation, something that was worse than death to most aristocrats, who cared more about renown than their own family members most of the time!

The men behind Zadkiel clenched their jaw, and balled their fists as anger and shame began to overtake their rational minds, but Zadkiel quickly raised his hand to stop them, knowing full well that if they did do anything now, then this beautiful hall that's filled with elegance and nobility would quickly change into a den of wolves and lions that will shred these ignorant lambs behind him to pieces!

But at the same time he couldn't allow them to be so thoroughly humiliated, since that would not only deprive him of his favorite yes-men, but would also cause many of the nobles in his faction to lose faith in him, which was completely unacceptable, so he quickly tried to excuse their behavior with a crooked smile, saying "My dear nephew, these men aren't..."

But before he could continue I interrupted him saying coldly, with over flowing malice in my tone and eyes "These men aren't what? These men aren't clowns? Then that only means that they're undisciplined dogs, who forgot who their master was, an act of treason, correct?"

Zadkiel's mouth shuts tightly as he realizes that he's been cornered, with the only options still available to his men is either death or extreme humiliation, and execution of their social standing!

And he knew that if he tried to defy my order, he would also be dragged in with them, since like them he didn't bow either.

Seeing no other way, he decided to cut his losses and promptly turned around without bothering to even look at them, leaving them to their horrid fate.

While the abandoned nobles looked at his receding back in absolute shock and panic, as they swayed on their feet like reeds before the storming winds!

***Scene Change***

The rest of the day continued without any further complications, and many nobles, from both the Imperial Faction and Neutral Faction celebrated the sight of the humiliation of Zadkiel's lackeys, who usually bullied, extorted and blackmailed others due to their close connection to him, while the Noble Faction all wore sullen and unpleasant expressions, further fueling our delight.

But all things must come to an end, and so did this one, as all the nobles departed just as the sun began to dip behind the horizon.

But even though the celebration ended, my family and I continued our festivities, as my mother ordered the maids and cooks to prepare a large banquet like dinner, in honor of my uncle Haytham's return.

Our boisterous and jovial voices echoed through out the palace late into the night as we chatted merrily, joked around, introduced Azrael and Dido to my excited uncle, and listened to his exaggerated tales of adventure, much to the glee of Cyrus, Alisar and Nizam, who tried to hide it under a mask of mature indifference, greatly amusing my mother and I.

And as the party began to reach it's conclusion, since my siblings began to finally feel sleepy, my uncle subtly signaled me to follow him, as he silently mouthed "We need to talk."

I quickly excuse myself as I stand up, and swiftly begin to follow him to the balcony of the dining hall.

As soon as I arrived and closed the door behind me he immediately said, as he placed his large hand on my shoulder "I wasn't there for you when it mattered my boy.

And I simply can't articulate to you how regretful and apologetic I am of that fact, but I promise you that will never happen again as long as I live."

'He's the exact same as I remember him.' I thought happily, as small smile emerged on my face.

Besides I never blamed him for that, either in this life or the last one, since unlike that spiteful snake Zadkiel, who could have easily aided me in my time of need, but decided not to in the hope of snatching the throne, my uncle Haytham was amidst a large campaign against the pirate kings of the western sea, that have started praying on our trade routes, as well as constantly harassing all the merchant ships that leave the safety of the harbors, causing great economic and reputational damage to us.

"You have nothing to feel sorry for uncle. And it was also a miracle that you managed to end the war in only a few months." I say calmly.

"Indeed. Those damned sea rats always managed to narrowly escape me by fragmenting their armadas into splinters, and then scattering in all directions, forcing me to stay out on the seas for months at a time so that I could hunt down as many of them as possible." My uncle said solemnly.

"See, you said it yourself. How could I blame you for not being here." I replied.

"Yes, I was busy. But that's still no excuse for failing to be there when my family was in the throes of perdition, and needed me the most." He says in the same solemn tone, and I couldn't say anything in return, since even though I didn't blame him for anything, I did agree with him on that point.

But my uncle wasn't done as he continued in a more formal tone "That's why I have a favor to ask of you, sire."

I instantly realize the gravity of the situation, since he changed the way he addressed me, as I say "What is it uncle?"

He takes a deep breath before seriously saying "I want you to relieve me of the duty of the Grand Admiral of the Western Fleets."

"What?! Why?" I ask in disbelief.

"Because I can't be there to help and protect my family, while I'm far away in the west." My uncle answered with conviction evident in his voice.

"But you're the greatest admiral in the whole of the empire." I argue.

"Indeed I am." My uncle replies honestly, without any fake humility as he continues "But I am no longer needed as much on the front lines. The eastern seas are under the careful and ingenious watch of Grand Admiral Khayr al-Din.

And although the pirate kings weren't completely exterminated, I did manage to greatly weaken them, and they shouldn't cause us any major trouble for the next few years at least.

Not to mention that my second in command is a very competent man in his own right, who can easily take command the helm of the fleet with little trouble."

For the first time since returning back in time I felt tongue tied by such a detailed and well thought argument, that left little to no room for discussion, but even though I still didn't want to dismiss him of his position as Grand Admiral, so quickly thinking of a compromise I say "How about this suggestion uncle, I don't relieve you of your command over the western fleet, but you can simply stay in the capital indefinitely, since as you said there is no dire need for you to stay stationed there, and when duty finally calls and you're needed back on the front lines, you go and retake your position."

My uncle stays quiet for a few seconds, thinking seriously about my proposition, before calmly nodding with a satisfied small smile, while saying "That's fine I suppose."

I internally sigh in relief that I managed to convince him as we return back to the dining hall, where we immediately hear my mother's questioning voice saying "Where did you boys go?"

"I had something to speak with Alex." My uncle replies honestly.

My mother nods understandingly, before turning towards me and asking "Alex, I've decided to go visit your father in the Royal Mausoleum tomorrow with your siblings."

Which caused my brows to immediately furrow!