Herald of Steel

Alexander took note of how Ptolomy mentioned the word 'woman' in a belittling way while rejecting his proposal, making Alexander understand that the status of women must be really low in Adhania.

He wondered how much of it was religious dogma and how much of it was culture and the result of times.

But whatever the reason was, the little word Ptolomy had uttered carelessly made Alexander want to spread his own religion, which would have many feminine liberties.

This was certainly not a purely altruistic motive as, although locking women inside their houses was a violation of basic human rights, from Alexander's pragmatic lens, it was more of a waste of human labor and resources.

Women generally made up around half the population and so locking them up in houses and having them do menial jobs was just a waste of precious resources.

Understanding what was at stake, Alexander decided not to eat the cake in one bite, recognizing the fact that changes took time to take place and so toned down his demands.

He proposed a compromise, "Fine, then, Since Your Majesty is so adamant, let's do it this way. The goddess Gaia, because she is a woman, will be revered as a subsidiary god of Ramuh, with her statue placed a head below Ramuh to show her lower status. The statue will also be made of stone to display her mundanity as compared to the golden statue of the god Ramuh."

"And last of all, her temple, next to the temple of Ramuh will be much smaller and less grand."

This new, more submissive portrayal of the goddess and hence her followers pleased Ptolomy and he was of the mind to grant Alexander the person.

But the fact that the people would see Ramuh and Gaia at the same time gnawed at his heart as he felt he would remind the people every time that there was another god other than Ramuh.

So he proposed, "I can give you the permission to build Gaia temples in Zanzan and one small one in Adhan. The people of these two provinces can also worship Gaia without persecution."

"Your Majesty is magnanimous," Alexander thanked Ptolomy with a bow as the latter gave the permission to worship Gaia in two provinces when the former had asked for only one.

The temple at Adhan was meant by Alexander to be purely symbolic.

But for Ptolomy this was not a big deal as he doubted if even a single worshipper of Ramuh would change faith to a small, unknown, foreign goddess when they lived right in the heartland of Ramuh's faith.

And only the future would tell how right or wrong Ptolomy was to allow this.

For now however, Ptolomy was unaware of the future and was instead busy proposing a new restriction, "But there is no need for the goddess to be next to god Ramuh. I believe gods should reside in their own temple." Ptolomy claimed.

This new condition was not a deal breaker for Alexander, as the reason he had proposed it was just as Ptolomy had predicted, 'To make the remember Adhania had a second patron god.'

And he could let it go if Ptolomy was being completely obstinate, but Alexander felt he could pry this concession out of Ptolomy.

He chuckled, "Your Majesty, you are still stuck in the past times. Remember you are not the only one who is claiming the title of 'Divine son of Gaia. Amenheraft is doing it too."

Ptolomy wrinkled in displeasure at his thought as Amenheraft's claim was and would continue to erode his authority in the future,

​ "What does that have anything got to do with this?" Ptolomy had an exasperated tone to his voice as he knew Alexander never said anything without reason.

"Your Majesty, Amenhearft claims to be the descendant of one god. Why don't you claim to be of two!" Alexander had a sly smile as he said this.

"Two?" Ptolomy asked in surprise.

"Yes, two." Alexander nodded, "If God Ramuh is your father, then proclaim goddess Gaia as your mother. After all, even the gods need a partner to produce a son."

Alexander claimed this as if he was an expert in god biology,

And then he quickly added, "Of course, the mother's status is much lower than the father's."

Alexander's new proposal moved Ptolomy as he thought it was a good way to differentiate himself from the 'imposter'.

And so Alexander got to keep his statue next to Ramuh.

Alexander was mostly pleased with this result, although sighed a bit in his heart, 'Welp! Looks like I was being too greedy,' at the thought that he was unable to get full, equal status of his religion as compared to the religion of Ramuh.

There was also one more important thing, arguably the most important thing that Ptolomy had missed in Alexander's proposal.

Ptolomy had paid too much attention to the religious claim and he even took into account the tax and judiciary system demand, which he consented to as all this was standard practice as well but he missed Alexander's hidden masterpiece- the 'own governance structure' that Alexander had demanded.

This was mostly glanced over by Ptolomy as he understood it as being Alexander's ability to appoint his own nobles and peerage.

This was also very normal and raised no red flags for Ptolomy.

But in Alexander's mind, it was something wholly different.

He had his own ideas about governance and statehood that if revealed, would cause major earthquakes throughout the ruling class of Adhania.

And for that reason, Alexander chose to keep that a secret for now.

Getting these concessions, Alexander opened his mouth for more, "Your Majesty, after I take over Zanzan city, there are bound to be nobles rebellious to me. I, therefore, ask you to grant me the permission to kill any noble that disobeys me!"

"That…" Ptolomy hesitated at Alexander's bold demand.

This was one of the powers exclusive to the royal family and more accurately the king and not even a Pasha could kill a mere shordar (baron) without the king's consent.

Of course, the nobles, being the creative murderers they were always found ways to get around it, from poisons to assassinations to forced suicide, but at least on paper, they could not formally try and execute a member of the nobility.

This was in fact one of the core strengths of the royal family that allowed them to rule Adhania, as any noble in favor with them was unkillable, and any not, just a dead man walking.

This ethereal hold on the nobles' life was what allowed the king to project his will all over the country and Ptolomy wanted to absolutely deny this request.

But for Alexander, it was vital that he could do this as without it his 'own governance structure' would be useless.

So he reasoned, "Your Majesty, the nobles that do not submit to me, in return do not submit to you. In other words, they are rebels and traitors. They deserve no mercy."

Ptolomy frowned a bit at these words and then, "Okay, you can punish them. But remember you can only do it to the nobles of the Zanzan province and no one else. And even then remember to exercise restraint!" Ptolomy after repeatedly emphasizing and warning Alexander at last relented understanding that he would unlikely be able to retaliate against Alexander even if he did kill some nobles.

At least that was the case for the time being,

And so, since it was inevitable, Ptolomy didn't bother wasting his breath arguing and just gave it to Alexander.

Alexander was happy with the meat he had managed to get till now.

And with these privileges whetting Alexander's appetite, he decided to open his mouth a bit wider, "Your Majesty, I have noticed that the three provinces of Adhan, Matrak, and Zanzan will have to fight the other nine provinces. I propose that I get to keep any province I conquer!"

This proposal, though many would expect Ptolomy to blow his top, was met with relative coolness.

Ptolomy held no illusions that Pasha Farzah and Alexander would not want more land for their assistance in helping him keep his throne and knew there was no point in trying to deny this.

So he haggled, "That …that's too much. I'm already giving you Zanzan, I can at most give you another."

But Alexander's appetite was too small to be satisfied with just one province.

He started by reminding Ptolomy, "Your Majesty, you are not giving me anything. You are exchanging Zanzan for Adhan, which going by your own word, is a steal for you."

Then he then out a dejected, forlorn sigh, "But what can I do? This is reality, this is the fate of the weak and powerless."

And afterward, in a swift mercurial shift, Alexander's tone chirped up as he demanded, "Your Majesty, let us divide the nine provinces evenly among the three of us- Your Majesty, Me, and Farzah!"