Building an Empire

The merchant bowed so low that he was almost at the same level as Biara's feet where she sat on her audience room throne. She smiled sweetly at the elf as he rose and slowly made his way from the room, the grand double doors booming shut behind him as he departed. Yet another bargain had been made with that particular consortium of merchants, and House Dayfire's coffers would grow as a result of Biara's shrewd business practices.

The Magistrix leaned back in her throne, letting her arms rest on the polished wood surface of the armrests. Although not as nice as the original throne that Vomher Wyrmcurse's spells had inadvertently destroyed, the current seat of her power was quite comfortable and she took a moment to enjoy the peace as her last business of the day was concluded. Well, ALMOST her last business of the day.

She turned and looked to one of the servants awaiting her orders nearby, snapping her fingers. "Parchment, ink and quill. Right away."

The servant bowed deeply before hurrying from the room to fetch the supplied Biara needed. As the Magistrix waited, she let her mind work through the the never ending intrigues, plots, and advantageous situations that were occurring in Silvermoon on a regular basis. For the past month or more, she'd been placed in the position to seize upon a number of potentially profitable events for her House, and she was not about to let any of them slip through her fingers while she had the chance to clutch them tightly to her.

There are so many minor Houses that have fallen or were on the brink of failure during the Scourge invasion. So many of them now bloom again, like dormant seeds left after a forest fire. Their growth, their greenery will make our city blossom into a wonder of the world once more.

The thought made Biara smile. There were many Houses now that were regrowing from the ashes of their demise, and many of the older Houses or more powerful ones that have survived the Scourge invasion unscathed were dismissing these newly rising stars as nothing more than flashes of light that would dazzle and fade away. Biara knew otherwise though, and with that knowledge came the conscious decision to encourage the growth of these Houses and cultivate them into willing allies against her foes within the city.

House Dawnstrider will be my greatest accomplishment. To take a House that has fallen to two female heirs and grow it again into a power...such a thing would grant me many favorable advantages in the city. And to think that the female heirs would add their own considerable power to another House upon marriage, or that they could collect suitable suitors from amongst the Blood Knights or Magisters to form the seed of a new bloodline. These are exciting times, and the other Houses are fools to pass up such opportunities!

The Dawnstrider girl was, of course, quite the brat it seemed. She would need to be watched closely to ensure that she was molded into the proper Lady. Her propensity towards throwing fits was going to eventually create a socially embarrassing situation for herself, but Biara was confident she could direct the girl on the proper course in due time.

Especially with Alanth keeping an eye on her. She won't get into THAT much trouble I hope!

Then there was the matter of this latest bit of gossip Biara had run across. Although the questions directed at her had been casual and of a confidential nature, she was sure that in time she would learn the name of the Magister that had so threatened his own heirs as to drive them from his House. The knowledge would be extremely useful if the Magister was one of her foes upon the council, and if not, it would be useful in keeping one of her own allies firmly in her pocket when votes or other issues arose amongst the Magisters.

A smile played across Biara's face as her thoughts wandered through the myriad plans and plots that the situations provided for her. In addition to these political games, she found more and more that her military company, the Blackhearts, was growing in strength. With the return of the death knight Thorn, she now had an excellent scout leader in place to begin applying her forces directly to battle against the Alliance. The visit to Archerus had been somewhat unusual for her, but between the negotiations she'd completed there and Thorn's sudden reappearance the trip had been a massive success.

Besides, I missed Thorn. He was always there, watching out for me.

Biara's smile widened. With so many friends willing to throw themselves on the blades of her enemies to protect her, and with her own newly acquired blades such as Alanth No'telyle, there was little that could threaten her now. For the first time in years she felt confident that assassins would not find her in the night.

Now is the time the eliminate my most potent foes, while they are weak and I am strong.

Weakness. The word was like music to Biara right now. Her enemy was suffering a bout of weakness, a deadly condition given Biara's own personal state of affairs. There could be no better time to strike at her enemy! Even as she thought of this, her servant returned with the writing materials. She quickly took them up and wrote two quick letters.

Apprentice Gromkash,
Tomorrow morning you will be contacted by an emissary from the Knights of the Ebon Blade. The emissary has a delivery that needs to be made with some degree of discretion. You are to take this delivery and arrange to have it moved to a specially warded laboratory within the spire. Under no circumstances are you to allow anyone other than yourself and your direct research assistants to view the delivery. You will understand the need for this discretion when you view the contents of the delivery.

One last thing; please be sure there are no necromantic foci anywhere near the research laboratory. This work will be delicate and interference from such devices would be intolerable.
Regards,
Magistrix Dayfre

The first letter was quickly followed by a short note which was magically sealed:

Dearest Lord Mortanus,
I have what we need to proceed.
Warmest regards,
Biara Dayfire
Scion of House Dayfire
Magistrix of Silvermoon City

Her business complete for the day, Biara handed the sealed letters over to the servant for delivery. She rose gracefully, her dress trailing out behind her as she made her way from the audience chamber. With her work complete, she could take care of personal matters, such as having a proper dress made in case Knight Brightdawn decided to take her somewhere special.

He had treated her with such passion and kindness that her head spun just thinking about the elf. Although it was, perhaps, a poor time to be distracted by such things, the Magistrix didn't care a bit. She would drop everything in a heartbeat just to spend a few tender moments with her Knight, consequences be damned. He meant the world to her, and for the first time in a very long time she believed that she meant the world to someone else.

Yes, it had been a long time since Biara's life had gone so smoothly, and she intended to capitalize on every last bit of the moment.