A Game of Chi Book III: A Sword of Dust

Chapter 8: Razcal I

RAZCAL

Plotting the murder of King Crominus was the single greatest achievement in Razcal's life. The struggle of rising through the ranks of the Raven Tribe from nothing to becoming the head accountant of the Black Bank and being chosen as the Master of Gold on the King's Council both paled in comparison to the sense of brilliance that Razcal felt as he reflected on his devious plan while walking through the halls of the Citadel. Within the walls of the palace, a strict no-fly policy was enacted. During the days of the Phoenix Dynasty, only the firebirds were allowed in the air, and afterwards, the land-bound crocodiles wanted no one to hover above them. Of course, that'll change soon, Razcal thought smugly. As he left the corridor behind the throne from his meeting with Queen Crooler and walked out from behind the resplendent throne, he eyed the royal chair greedily. Razcal had made sure to walk out last, and sure enough, Rukus, Rinona and Reegull paid him no heed. The throne belonging to the Queen of the Seven Animal Kingdoms seemed to beckon to Razcal with its warm orange and gold hues, but he resisted the urge to sit on it, even for a moment. Surely the queen sees me as a threat already, he thought. After all, I may be the only one who knows what truly happened to Crominus. The raven smirked as he walked out of the throne room, with one last look at the throne. Which means I can use it to my advantage.

It all started nine years ago, Razcal reminisced, when I first arrived in the Citadel. One year after Crominus and Lagravis overthrew Fluminox III, Razcal had been selected as the Master of Gold on the former's council. He had worked hard to reach the esteemed position of head accountant of the Black Bank, and his skill with numbers and how to dress them up made him the obvious candidate. Upon arriving in the city, Razcal had been in awe of the phoenix palace before him. He had always loved gold, hence his satisfaction at reaching the Gold Circle, and the splendid palace he was to live in did little to sate his appetite. One day, he remembered thinking, I'll be in charge here. I'll have all the gold and all the power I'll ever want. However, the moment Razcal attended his first meeting, he was disappointed. Rukus was an ignorant fool to stupid to form a coherent thought, Grizzam was a sanctimonious pinhead, Crokenburg was a stubborn and uncharismatic bore, Eglor was a pretentious and deceptively average in terms if intellect, and Wendyll was so useless and forgettable that he wasn't even worth mentioning. The greatest disappointment of all, however, was the king himself. When Razcal had heard of the great King Crominus, the crocodile who slew Prince Foltrax, a young warrior of great renown, in single combat, and the warrior who claimed the throne of Chima, Razcal had imagined a majestic and fearless warlord who commanded respect and exuded authority. Instead, King Crominus had been nothing more than a dull drunkard who relied on Lagravis, his fairly adept First Advisor, to decide what to do. At that moment, Razcal knew that he would need to take the throne, and removing Crominus would be the first step. But I could never find the moment, Razcal recalled. I couldn't do it straightaway, because then members of the King's Council would be suspected. And then as the months dragged on and became years, I actually had to keep the balances in order. With Crominus' haphazard spending, I had my work cut out for me. Razcal had begun to see his vision of being king as nothing more than a dream until the perfect opportunity presented itself.

"It has come to my attention," Crominus began, "that a phoenix is still alive." Immediately, Razcal's eyes widened. This could be something, he thought. "Not just any phoenix, either. The daughter of Fluminox." Perfect. "Treason!" Razcal shouted, intending to contribute to the chaos. While Crominus continued his tirade, Razcal began plotting. Crokenburg is already at odds with Crominus, Razcal thought as the Steeljaw announced his dissatisfaction with the decision to assassinate the phoenix. As the tensions in the council room rose, Razcal already had an inkling of an idea. First, I'll need to antagonize Lagravis, he thought. He'll take the fall for this. After all, he's notorious for killing Fluminox. Ah, how paradoxical the masses are! They hated that old firebird, yet they despise his murderer just the same. They'll eat him up if I offer him on a silver platter. When it came to light that Lagravis had allowed the phoenix and her protectors to flee the Citadel ten years ago, Razcal seized his chance. "I knew it. I always knew it. A man who kills his emperor is not a man to trust. I always told you." While he had been cut off by Crominus, it didn't matter. The other councillors evidently agreed with his assessment, and when Crokenburg stormed off, yet another obstacle, someone who would be able to see through whatever Razcal would do, had gone. Once the meeting had been concluded, the sly raven had hatched a scheme. Now, all that's left to do is to find my willing co-conspirator. Where would she be right now?