Empress Gweneleque was a proud, strong minotauress. She ruled with wisdom and compassion. So much that both the humans and minotaurs living under her reign, would gladly give up their life for the sake of the Queen. She was usually a very busy woman, but today something seemed wrong. It had nothing to do with the recent assassination attempt. It was just everything seemed perfect, as if nothing could possibly go wrong. It felt like the calm before a storm. Looking out the baroque window, Gwen silently nursed her son and brooded.

"Empress?" asked the nanny, entering the room hesitantly.

"What is it, Marigathos?" replied Gwen, shifting in her chair to look at the nanny. She noted briefly how pale the minotaur was though only a minotaur could tell.

"Empress, a messenger, from Athex, has arrived. I've been told that..." the nanny failed to continue and burst into tears. She wailed something about Nebonex, but Gwen couldn't understand a single word of the rest, so distraught the nanny was.

"What's wrong?" asked Gwen, rushing to the nanny's aid.

"Best that you have the messenger tell you," sobbed the nanny. She pulled out a handkerchief and snorted noisily.

"Here, take Robarthars," said Gwen, handing Mari the infant minotaur. A sense of dread caused the Empress to momentarily panic, but calmed herself by telling herself everything would be fine.

"Empress, if I may plainly. Your husband is dead. He was found by your son and a human servant. It has been suggested that since there was an assassination attempt on both your son and husband earlier at their arrival, that his death was probably an assassination. It is hard to tell though, since he clearly fell out a window, but he could have been pushed," explained the messenger, shamefully blinking back tears.

"You may go," said Gwen, too stunned to even cry.

"Gweneleque," cried Kobalix, a huge towering minotaur, bursting through the doors, knocking them off their hinges. His ringed nose foamed as he snorted angrily. He ignored the sound of the doors clattering to the marble floor of the throne room, and quickly crossed the great chamber, shoving the messenger out of his way. "I just heard from a servant! Is it true?" cried Kobalix, sitting down beside her in the Emperor's seat.

"Nebonex was murdered," murmured Gwen still too stunned to cry.

Kobalix suddenly stood and kicked over the throne, where his brother had so recently sat. Shouting violent threats at it, Kobalix turned to Gwen. "Give me command of the Minotaur Army and I'll find the bastard that killed him. Even if I have to start a damned war to get at him," he shouted at her viciously.

"No!" cried Gwen, standing up and pushing the huge minotaur back. "This is my war!"

"I need to speak with the Lord-Marshall," said Gwen, barging into the military affairs office. She looked around venomously, her nose foaming angrily.

"His Lordship is busy. You'll have to wait, Empress," said a brigadier, standing up to assist her. He knew that such an excuse was futile, but it was also procedure and as such was expected to be followed in all circumstances.

"I said I need to speak with him," repeated Gwen, taking out a dagger and waving it threatening at the brigadier.

"I'll go bring him," said the brigadier. He turned on a heel and marched away.

Gwen waited impatiently and listened.

"Leave me 'lone! I'm trying ta sleep!" said a voice, sounding like a mix between a drunken slur and metal scraping on stone.

"Sir, it's the Empress!"

By now Gwen had lost what little patience she had and kicked down the door and walked into the Lord-Marshall's office.

"What da Hell?" cried the somewhat plump minotaur jumping to his feet.

"Contact the Lord-Admiral," snorted Gwen, her huge hands snaking out and lifting the Lord-Marshall off his feet by his neck. "I'm declaring war on Arthian and I want to lay siege on Athex within the next two weeks. Our army leaves tomorrow. I'm leaving you to the details," she said, releasing the Lord-Marshall and exiting the office.

"You really hab ta study her, Mathex. You could learn a lot about just giving orders from her," commented the gasping Lord-Marshall, watching the Empress leave.

"Yes, Atreneth, we could all learn a lot from her," commented the brigadier.

"Athex is a famous stronghold," protested Damoti, Atreneth's Lieutenant Field Marshall. "There's no way we could capture it without several years of war." He snorted and shook his bull head.

"Dat's why I propose we try an alternate route," said Atreneth calmly.

"And what's your alternate route?" demanded Damoti, pounding a huge fist on the table, cracking the wood.

"Calm yerself, Damoti," said Atreneth. "Come. Let's go to the map room, I'll explain it to you there," he said, rising from his seat.

Damoti grumbled and followed.

Leading the way down the corridor, Atreneth finally stopped at the map room and opened the door. It creaked, causing the hair on the back of Damoti's neck to stand up.

The map room was round and almost ten rods across. The floor was a beautiful mosaic depicting a map of the known world. The domed ceiling was also a mosaic depicting the constellations. This room was one of the great engineering marvels of the world, much like the walls of Athex and the Avolica Colosseum.

"Mathex," said Atreneth. "You're still not done?" he asked as he entered the room and spotted the brigadier.

"I had problems finding this many Vodka bottles," answered Mathex, swaying slightly. He smiled foolishly.

"Oh."

"What's going on here?" demanded Damoti bewildered. He looked around the enormous chamber, studying all the Vodka bottles, kegs and a huge barrel where the City of Athex would be.

"I had Mathex place an empty bottle on every castle, a keg on every keep, and a barrel for every city. Which is Athex, the only one we need to be worried about," explained Atreneth, unsheathing his longsword.

Damoti nodded, slowly beginning to understand.

"Okay, let's say, I'm the Minotaur Army," said Atreneth, walking over to the Vormian Delta. "We land here at the Vormian Delta and attack Castle Deltex," he said, bringing his sword down on the bottle standing at the Vormian Delta.

The bottle shattered into a million pieces.

"From the Delta we will travel up the Vormian river and destroy any fortresses that are in our way, this will work to provide food for the army and give the troops practice at laying a siege," said Atreneth, swinging his sword in a wide arc, destroying all the bottles in it's path. "Once we reach Arthian we will branch out into legions led by brigadier's with orders to rendezvous at Athex," explained Atreneth. "The brigadiers will destroy all the remaining fortresses."

Mathex started to destroy all the bottles and kegs standing in the area marked as Arthian.

"Athex would have by now closed the gates to their city and start rationing food," said Atreneth, raising his sword. "With no supplies going into Athex, we can test their strengths and weaknesses and build catapults for a few months," he explained, bringing his sword down on the wine barrel. The barrel splintered all the way down the one side, shuddered and collapsed.

"It's going to take a lot more than catapults to even dent the Great Walls of Athex. It's the only city that survived the Last Vormian Dynasty," protested Damoti, kicking at the remains of the shattered barrel.

"So we'll build mangonels," shrugged Atreneth.

"Sir," said Mathex. "Even the half ton boulders a mangonel could throw would barely put a dint in a wall that's thirty feet thick!"

"I intend to imploy Black Dirt," said Atreneth. "That will put a breach in their walls."

"Black Dirt's been forbidden for almost three millennia! You can't use it just because you feel like it!" Mathex protested.

"If I get the Empresses permission I can!" Atreneth replied.

"Absolutely not," Gwen replied, struggling to control her anger.

"But Empress, we'll be able ta save many minotaurs, using Black Dirt," protested Atreneth, standing up and sucking in his huge gut.

"I forbid it. I won't have the western kingdoms saying that I brought back the way of the Last Vormian Dynasty," ordered Gwen.

"But-"

"Perhaps I should remind you of what happened the last time someone used it," asked Gwen, leaning forward. "Over a million people killed, the greatest city ever to exist blown sky high. All because several wagon loads of Black Dirt caught on fire!"

"Atreneth," said Kobalix. "What's wrong with normal strategies? If you can't use catapults against the walls of Athex effectively, then what's wrong with assault towers?" he asked, puzzled.

"I'm afraid we can't build da towers big enough. Since Athex's walls are so tall, we'd have ta build the towers just as tall, however dat would mean they could be easily toppled and wouldn't serve a good offense. We could widen the base to prevent toppling but it would end up being too big ta move," replied Atreneth, standing up to leave.

"Empress, Lord Kobalix?" asked Mathex, appearing at the door to the throne room.

"You were looking for me?" asked Atreneth.

"Sort of, Sir. I was passing by and overheard your conversation, and I remembered a weapon I was taught about in my training at the Academy," explained Mathex, walking tentatively forward a couple paces.

"Continue," prompted Gweneleque, truly interested in any idea offered.

"It's a very common western style weapon, originating in Colnic, called a crossbow, which shoots a bolt that can penetrate the thickest of armour. Perhaps we could build a giant version of a crossbow that could penetrate even Mighty Athex's walls?" the young brigadier suggested, looking uncomfortable before the Empress.

"Your idea has merit," replied Gwen. "Atreneth, remove any duties you have placed upon the brigadier and resign him to the task of designing a giant crossbow."

Kobalix looked at Atreneth, noting the Marshall's jaw go slack with surprise. "But, Empress-" Atreneth stammered.

"But what?" asked Gwen, looking at the Marshall closely. "Atreneth, I'm tired of your selfish, stubborn and lazy attitude! If you don't change, I'll replace you!" she said, a steely glint in her eye flashing dangerously.

"Yes, Empress."

"Kobalix, Mathex, Atreneth," she said. "You are all dismissed."

Kobalix slammed the door to his chamber, and swore profanities at the wall. Spotting an ancient, faded vase belonging to his wife, he drew his sword. The vase was an antique from before the First Vormian Dynasty, one of the few to survive the Fall. Kobalix hated the vase and had been trying to come up with an excuse to rid himself of it. He raised his sword high over his head and threw it across the room.

The vase shattered into a billion pieces and the sword's blade broke as it clanged against the carved quartz wall.

"Damn you, Wynic Doxon, and damn you Gweneleque," he spat. "Now I have to send more assassins."

"Empress, Lord Kobalix has been attacked," cried a servant, rushing into the nursery, where Gweneleque was nursing Robarthars.

"What?" asked Gwen, rising from her chair.

"The assassin came in through the window when he wasn't looking," the servant explained.

"Is he okay?"

"He says he's fine, but the assassin got away. The only damage done was a broken vase.

"Oh," she mumbled.