Herald of Steel

Alexander felt that Ptolomy might have underestimated the speed of the army on the paved road and he made his own calculations.

He used the top marching speed the Romans achieved- thirty-six kilometers a day, and got the result that the army would be here in twelve days!

This was wholly insufficient, as just recruiting, arming, and forming proper formations for fifty thousand raw recruits, with all the squad captains, captains, stratos, and legigus (ten thousand men leader) would take a minimum of a week.

But there was nothing Alexander do about that now.

It was what it was.

So Alexander decided to make the most of a bad situation.

He decided to ask for more stuff.

"Three weeks is really short Your Majesty. I'm afraid the soldiers will need more remuneration," Alexander euphemistically raised the question of payment

"You mean you want more from me. Well, go ahead then," Ptolomy in a rare display of foul mood, curtly tore off the shred of pretense.

"Hehe, well I'm a soldier too," Alexander appeared not the slightest bit offended as he slightly guffawed.

"Well, since His Majesty has torn off the shred of pretense, it will be easy for me to state my demands." Alexander smiled in a way that looked to Ptolomy like the way a devil would.

Alexander then raised his index finger and said, "I want my province to be an autonomous zone. This means that I will swear fealty to the crown and defend it if it's attacked, but will have no other obligations. So no taxes, no tributes, no donations."

"Okay." Ptolomy nodded in agreement as this was pretty standard stuff with all the pashas.

But Alexander added an additional clause that Ptolomy agreed to without understanding its true implications and something that he would come to regret soon.

The clause was, "I want to be able to set up my own governance structure, my own taxes, my own policies, my own religion, and my own judiciary system."

"Own religion?" Ptolomy's eyes bulged in shock as he remembered the soldiers calling Alexander the divine son of Gaia.

'If I give him this freedom, what difference would there be between him and me?' Ptolomy asked himself, justifiably alarmed that Alexander could claim divinity and replace the royal family.

Which in fairness Alexander very much planned to do!

"No, that's impossible! The religion of Ramuh is the one and only religion acceptable in Adhania," Ptolomy vehemently rejected this proposal as in his mind Adhania needed only one patron god, not two.

"But Your Majesty, I'm a believer of Gaia. And I need a temple to pray," Alexander's eyes seemed to glow with religious fervor.

But this did not move Ptolomy, who said in strong words, "I'm sorry. All other religions are banned in Adhania. If you want to pray, change your belief and pray to Ramuh."

The reason Ptolomy was so staunch in his stance was that the royal family's legitimacy to rule came from their claim that they were the descendants of Ramuh, which was the only god Adhania believed in.

If other religions were allowed in, with their own gods and pantheons, the followers of those religions would have no reason to fear and obey the progenies of Ramuh, as he was a god that they don't worship.

Even Ptolomy, who was a bit stupid, was not that stupid.

But Alexander was not deterred.

Ptolomy was currently weak, allyless, and fully dependent on him for protection.

If it really came down to it, if push came to shove, Alexander was determined to strong-arm him

But before going to such extremes, which had the potential to easily backfire and make Ptolomy hostile the moment the latter gained enough strength to oppose Alexander, Alexander decided to try the diplomatic route.

Alexander first shook his head widely as he bitterly said, "Your Majesty, I'm sorry but what you are proposing is impossible for me to do."

Then he passionately announced, "I was captured as a slave at the age of eight, And toiled away, risking life and death for the next ten years till I was finally given freedom. In these ten years, there have been multiple times I thought I would die but was miraculously saved by various extenuating circumstances."

"I have always believed these circumstances to be the divine intervention by the goddess, who must have been looking out for me."

Here Ptolomy said to himself, 'Bullcrap. There are millions of child slaves like you. So why would the goddess pay special attention to you? Does your goddess have a special taste for young boys?'

But he kept these thoughts to himself and put on a facade of rapt attention to Alexander's speech, who was now saying, "And that is not even before taking into account the events that transpired yesterday. Without the goddess's help, I would not have been able to enter the city of Adhan and I certainly would not have dared to attack the Temple of Ramuh."

Then Alexander asked Ptolomy, "So Your Majesty, tell me, how can I turn my back on the goddess after all she has done for me? I would be eternally damning my soul," he finished with an exclamation.

Ptolomy though impressed by Alexander's eloquence, which he would admit Alexander was very good at, still remained adamant.

"Your soul will not be damned, Ramuh will protect you. As the son of Ramuh, I will personally guarantee your soul enters Aaru," Ptolomy reassured Alexander.

But Alexander had a counter even to that, as he shook his head again, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid that's no good. My heart will not allow that."

Alexander's voice then trembled with fake fear and terror, "Treason is a heinous crime and those criminals deserve to be burnt at the stake. But that's at least against a mortal. How grave s sin would I be committing if I betrayed a god?"

And at last, Alexander loudly asked, "And even if I did change my faith, can Your Majesty really trust someone who had once turned his back on his goddess after she had done so much for him?

Would I be reliable and trustworthy in anyone's eyes if I committed such blasphemy?"

Ptolomy let out a heavy, sigh after Alexander's impassioned cries, understanding that his man would never look at him as a god.

But failed to do this, Ptolomy, in a rare moment of genuine ingenuity gave Alexander a tricky proposal, "Fine, although all over the Zanzan province is too much, you and your family can believe in the goddess Gaia in private. I give you permission."

'Finally! A crack!' Alexander was not the slightest disheartened by the new trick Ptolomy employed, but overjoyed.

"Your Majesty, I can very well understand your misgivings about giving permission for the Adhanians to worship another religion. The single religion of Ramuh is the core strength and pillar of legitimacy for the Adhanian royal family and allowing it to loosen is tantamount to striking one's own foot with an axe." Alexander had a soothing, understanding tone to his voice.

"If you know it, then why are you harassing me to change it?" Ptolomy asked in anger and frustration.

"Hehe," Alexander let out a small chuckle, that Ptolomy had grown to hate, and asked, "Then, how does Your Majesty plan to convince the nobles that the man who raided the temple of Ramuh, killed its priests, and then looted it, is not only alive but is also being rewarded with land and even the title of Pasha, a nobility rank only below the king himself?" Alexander had a cool, slight smile as he looked at Ptolomy for his answer.

"That….Amenheraft…" Ptolomy flapped his mouth like a fish at this new critical question.

Alexander had hit him in his weak spot and he had no answer.

The 'Amenheraft going mad' story would be only enough to deceive the ignorant masses and not the well-connected and well-informed nobles.

The only way Ptolomy could think of to sate the bloodlust of the zealous nobles was to kill Alexander, but that was currently impossible.

"What do you suggest?" Ptolomy drew the words out with great difficulty through his clenched teeth, understanding Alexander was about to rip him off.

"Your Majesty, name goddess Gaia a second patron god that protects Adhania. Say that the goddess and Ramuh have decided to jointly oppose the pantheons of Cantagena, Tibias, and Iyizarid. And then build a statue of Gaia next to the statue of Ramuh in the grand temple," Alexander said with a beaming smile.

"That…that's too much! The Takqa clearly states that Ramuh is the leader of the gods and is singular in existence. He has no partners or allies, so it's impossible to allow the statue of another god to be placed on equal footing as him, much less a woman. Even as the king, I cannot changes these core beliefs so blatantly." Ptolomy decided to put his foot down and told Alexander in no uncertain terms he would be unable to fulfill these demands no matter the cost.

Thus Alexander was forced to think of a compromise.

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