Enlightened Empire

His arms spread wide to mirror the smile on his face, King Corco stood in front of the collected lords, accompanied by a large array of servants, while his baritone voice rang out among the tables. After the king had come back from his short break, he had lost no time to make himself the center of attention once again. Even though he still had to visit all the tables, the king had already announced the end of the banquet.

To Lord Macuy, it was a shame, by multiple measures. All throughout the evening, he had enjoyed the food and drink presented by the cooks of Rapra Castle. What had touched his palate this evening had been food the simple "cow lord" from the countryside had never even dreamed of. At the same time, the beautiful, novel music on display had formed a perfect backdrop and supported Macuy"s great war with the so-called "treasures of Saniya". In the end, his vigor had only gotten him drunk, which did nothing but worsen his displeasure.

Even though the king had announced the official end of the banquet with this so-called lemon supreme, Kind Corco still hadn"t so much as visited lord Macuy"s table. No matter how much the king tried to play charmer, no matter how much he had done for the power of the estates back in Arguna, if he never made it to the table here, none of it would matter to the lord. Lord Corco would remain a shameless and power hungry fiend, like the rest of them.

With a frown compounded by the nausea the brandy had spread in his head, Lord Macuy looked onto the cloth which covered whatever mysterious desert the king"s cooks had prepared. At least he could look forward to the taste and return home with some new experiences, he thought, while the servant behind him pulled the cover away. However, what he found before him was nothing but another disappointment.

"A lemon?" Confused, the lord stared at the yellow fruit before his eyes. All throughout the evening, the lords had been presented with this exotic produce in all manner of form. He wasn"t a fan of its combination with the brandy, but the lemon juice had been an excellent addition to the fish, if nothing else. Even then, as a poor lord with land in the lowlands of Sachay, far away from the open sea and too poor to import lemons over the land route, he wouldn"t know what to do with the knowledge.

Still, there it lay, yellow and plump, with a fresh, green leaf sticking out the back, to taunt him for his own poverty. Even the dew still dripped from the precious fruit. It was by far the largest and prettiest specimen he had seen today, but even so, he couldn"t understand just what was so "supreme" about this specific lemon.

"Lord Macuy seems dissatisfied."

"Bunch of high-strung fops," he mumbled into his beard. With annoyance, the lord thought back to his own home, to the drab halls and backwards cuisine that would await him there. After today, he would have to return, back to the quaint life he had been accustomed to before. During the succession war, his trip to Arguna had taken far longer than expected, and so his house had wasted more silver than he would have liked. For now, they would have to save up for a while, and settle for turnips in milk. If that was his future, he at least had hoped for a perfect climax, the perfect last meal before he left the fairyland that was Saniya and returned to his own, gray life.

As he stewed in the murky waters of his own thought, Lord Macuy was about to touch the lemon with all the derision in his body, but someone poked him first. With a sharp elbow, his attendant reminded the lord of his duties. Although his mood only soured further, at least Macuy still had the presence of mind to look up before he unleashed all the curses of the countryside on his attendant. His hesitation was his great fortune. Stood before his table, armed with a patient smile, was the man Lord Macuy had blessed with his nasty answer before. Over there stood King Corcopaca t.i.tu Pluritac.

"Oh, King Corcopaca. I was not... not aware. Excuse me, the lemon looks... good," Macuy lied with what could only be a crooked grin. Even though the alcohol colored clouds in front of his eyes, he could see the king"s own smile turn wider, as he picked up the silver spoon the servants had placed next to Macuy"s lemon. As the king held the spoon out to the lord, he sat down at the table.

"Don"t judge a book by its cover, they say. Seriously, don"t knock it till you try it. And try it you should."

After the initial shock, the lord"s anger had returned, fueled by the king"s casual att.i.tude. With a grumpy snort, Macuy grabbed the spoon from the king, maybe with more force than necessary. Even though Utusku was a small territory, there was no reason for King Corco to ignore them for so long. At least where he came from, men knew how to be polite. For now he would play along with the king"s charade and pretend the sour fruit"s deliciousness. He wouldn"t stay much longer anyways.

"You know," the king continued, unperturbed by Macuy"s lack of an answer, "I"m really sorry that I"m only getting to you last. However, since Utusku is so vitally important, I thought it would be best if I came to your table together with the grand finale. It"s much more dramatic that way, isn"t it?"

"Sure," the lord nodded, absentminded. Somehow, his spoon was still stuck on that lemon"s peel. All the lemons he had seen today had possessed a rather soft rind, but this one was hard as glaze. By now he also realized that the lemon had been chilled down to freezing temperatures. Determined not to lose to a fruit, the great warrior put more force into his arm and pushed the spoon down into his helpless foe.

With a crack, the lemon opened to reveal the treasures inside. Fascinated, the lord stared at the strange phenomenon present on his spoon, his anger forgotten. In fact, the lemon didn"t appear to be a lemon at all. Rather, it"s rind was a hard, brittle sh.e.l.l, similar to a birch tree"s bark in texture, while the inside was filled with a white, soft cream of sorts. Only the center itself appeared like a lemon, as little yellow droplets crowded together to form a core for the fancy desert. Truly, whether or not this was created by nature, it was a marvel, a work of art.

Astonished, the lord raised his head again, and stared back at his host.

"Go on, I"m sure you"ll be pleasantly surprised."

Still filled with suspicion, the lord followed King Corco"s hand gesture and lifted the strange desert up to his mouth. However, as soon as the spoon entered, he forgot all around him. First was the rind, or crust. A strange, yellow sh.e.l.l, hard and brittle. However, the taste was sweet and creamy as the substance began to melt in his mouth. Even creamier however was the wonderful ma.s.s the sh.e.l.l had encompa.s.sed and protected, a heavenly concoction. Despite the extreme cold, Macuy could taste and feel the cow"s milk as one of the main ingredients used in the treasure.

Back home, lord Macuy was intimately familiar with cows and all the products gained from them. After being surrounded by them since birth, he thought that he had seen enough of milk for the rest of his life, that he would never enjoy its taste again. This magical creation changed everything. Even now however, the lemon supreme still wasn"t out of surprises. Once the sh.e.l.l and cream were melted away, he reached the small yellow pearls in the center. Just the slightest bit of pressure was enough to burst them open and fill his mouth with the lemon juice he had become so familiar with over the day. However, in combination with the cold cream and hard sh.e.l.l, its effect was entirely different. Cold and refreshing like morning dew, sweet and acidic at the same time, it was a divine taste like none lord Macuy had ever tasted.

At a loss for words, the lord searched around, to look for someone who could explain this marvel to him. Soon his eyes fell upon King Corcopaca, who sat before him with a complacent grin.

"What"d I say? Pretty good, huh?"

"What is this? How is this possible?" the lord muttered under his breath.

"Ah, it"s not that complicated, really," the king smiled, eager to show how complicated it was. "The outside is just white chocolate. Oh, chocolate is an exotic type of fruit my cousin Atau discovered halfway across the world. Anyways, we melted the white chocolate and poured it into a hollow gla.s.s form, then turned it until it hardened up. Oh, and the center is made of lemon caviar. It"s just some agar agar and lemon juice, dripped in ice water to form pearls, just some trickery. It"s a nice effect though, right? Finally, we surrounded the lemon caviar with some ice cream and put it into the chocolate which we cut into two halves before. We seal the two halves shut with more molten chocolate and worked on the outside a bit to get that realistic b.u.mpy exterior. To be honest, it"s still a bit rough around the edges. I actually wanted to use vanilla for the ice cream, but Ronnie is still working out the details for our vanillin production and Atau hasn"t found actual vanilla yet, so for the moment milk flavor will have to do. The lemon is pretty dominant anyways, so I think it still works quite well."

"Oh no, King Corco. The milk flavor was outstanding, to that I can attest!" Lord Macuy interrupted as soon as he had found a topic he could speak on. "After all, no lord should know more about the cow business than Lord Macuy of Utusku estate."

With the slow nod of a sage, the king accepted the compliment. "That"s great to hear. If even you like it, I don"t think there should be any problem with the other tables. Still, I think we could have done with some better milk. In the future, Saniya will need much more milk to make this sort of ice cream, but we"ll also need a slew of other animal products, like leather. That"s why I"m here last. Utusku estate holds the largest cow herds in all of Medala. It"s a key to the wealth and success of the south. I"m sure our two estates will work well together from now on."

"Of course." Placated by the food as much as by the king"s humble att.i.tude, Macuy agreed to a cooperation without thought, before his reason caught up with his enthusiasm. "However, I am unsure if Utusku estate will be able to provide Saniya with the amounts it would need. These days, feed has been getting more expensive as less merchants travel south in these troubling times."

"Aaah, I"ve waited for this problem. I love solving problems, you know? I mean, you already should know that we"ve been selling our fertilizer to other lords, so feed will get cheaper over the following years anyways, but there"s other methods I can help you with. My people have come up with new methods of keeping livestock and I don"t mind sharing those with you. Enclosures will make your life as lord much, much easier, so I"m sure your industry will soon bloom a new leaf."

Since he couldn"t comment much more on matters he didn"t understand, Macuy decided to accept the king"s gracious gift. Satisfied, the lord nodded and leaned back in his seat. However, as soon as his eyes fell on all the splendor around him, a sigh escaped his lips.

"What"s the problem, Lord Macuy? Anything not to your satisfaction?" Corco asked with concern in his voice yet a smile on his face. The young king would hope to sell more favors, of that Lord Macuy was sure.

"No, in fact, everything today has been magnificent. Perfect, even. I am simply concerned that the evening is to end soon. Tomorrow, I will have to return home. And please do not misunderstand. I love my wife, love my sons and my daughter. Still, after a taste of the high n.o.bility and refinement of Saniya, it would be difficult to return to a simple farmer"s life once more. I suppose we would not see each other again for a long time."

"That"s no problem at all!" the king raised a finger, as if he had only just come up with the idea. "Why don"t you come back over in a season? I want to hold another grand banquet in Saniya, for the winter solstice, a festival to last an entire seven days. I"m sure you would enjoy it a lot. You can bring your wife and children too of course. I already planned this in my head, but a lot of lords have expressed similar wishes, so I made it official only a little while ago."

"Oh, that is glorious news. If the food then is as delicious as this lemon, I am sure to be there, come rain or hail." Although Macuy tried to hold a calm smile, he could feel the corners of his mouth creep up further and further, at the thoughts of ever greater marvels from the King of the South. For the first time in a while, the lord felt like a kid again, giddy at the great treasures the world had to offer him.

However, he wouldn"t go overboard and lose himself at the mere thought of food. Instead, he had better reasons to return to Saniya. If he wanted to secure the best trade deals for his house, he would have to retain a good relationship with the young king. Since King Corco seemed to enjoy political talks over food, the banquets of Saniya were bound to become the political center of the south. Reminded of the harsh reality in the political arena, his smile soon turned quiet.

"King Corco, you would not offer an invite to all the lords of the south, would you?" he asked with concern in his voice.

"You"re worried about the easterners, huh?" Corco grinned, and pointed back to the side, where Epunamo Villca, the villain of today"s events, still sat isolated from the other lords.

"After all, they have caused great trouble, and they have disrespected the high office of king. I believe our times would be more enjoyable without them," Macuy hinted.

"True, but if I don"t invite them, don"t I essentially announce that the king gives up dominion over the eastern estates? I"d rather not leave things in the hands of Cashan, to be honest. They can"t even take care of their own sons, how could they guarantee a future for the south?"

Under the laughter of the warriors and lords within earshot, the king raised his shoulders to reinforce his mockery.

"Anyways, whether or not I invite them, I doubt any Villca sons will show up next time, not after the disaster of today. Epunamo sits by himself, and is probably the only lord who isn"t having fun, while Uchu has already left."

"Ah, I wondered where the bandit went. What uncouth behavior to disappear without a word." Angered by the thought of the commoner, Lord Macuy only just managed to not spit on the floor in the king"s presence. However, Corco waved off the complaint, without any intention to slander a man in absence.

"Aah, no, it"s fine, really. I did meet him in a side corridor earlier and sent him on his way. I just wanted to avoid a scene. Not to worry, I think we could reconcile our differences and he left on a good note."

"In that case, I wish young master Uchu a safe return, and may he stay with his own," Macuy said, and dug his spoon deep into the fake lemon.