Tyranny of Steel

With his promise to the Egyptian Gods now fulfilled, and his empire at the peak of its power, Berengar now had little to worry about in his daily life. In fact, his workload had vastly increased as he appointed his eldest son as the Chancellor of the Reich, and forced much of his paperwork onto the young man.

And while Berengar enjoyed each day of his peaceful life to the fullest of his ability, the rest of the world had scrambled to become the second most powerful empire on Earth. However, none of this was Berengar's concern, and currently he sat in his room, while watching the television.

As he was enjoying an ice cold beer while watching a kickboxing fight, the door to his room suddenly burst open, to reveal the heavenly figure of his concubine Priya Tomara, whose makeup had run down her face due to the tears which were flowing from her emerald eyes.

This had caught Berengar off guard, and he immediately rose from his seat as he approached the woman to comfort her, before asking her just what had caused her to enter such a dreadful state.

"Priya? What's wrong? Are the kids alright?"

The bronze skinned beauty shook her head as she struggled to come up with the words to describe her woes. However, after several moments of crying her tears into Berengar's chest, she finally spoke about what was haunting her.

"Dharya is dead!"

Berengar could not believe his ears. Dharya was perfectly healthy the last time he saw the man. In fact, he had just flown out to India no more than three weeks prior to have tea with the Indian Emperor, and yet he was suddenly dead? How could that have happened? Berengar had so many questions that he was immediately forced to ask Priya, even though she was not in a state, to answer them properly.

"Are you certain? How is this possible? Dharya was just fine the last time I saw him. He was in perfect health!"

Priya continued to bawl her eyes out as she silently nodded her head, once more struggling to find the strength to voice her lament. Eventually she did so, but her words were far from helpful.

"I don't know! His doctors say he just dropped over dead. Oh Berengar, we have to go to India, and find out what happened. If somebody did this to my brother, I will never forgive them! I mean, he didn't even leave any children behind. Who will rule over his empire now?"

Berengar knew exactly why Dharya had never been able to have any children, despite his many attempts. Even though the man was technically his foster son, someone he had raised during his formative years. Berengar did not let this sentiment get in the way of what needed to be done, and thus, without anyone being the wiser, he had tasked Imperial intelligence with the unspeakable act of sterilizing the Indian Emperor.

Of course, Berengar would never admit this to Priya, who he loved more than most of his concubines, and thus, he held her softly in his arms, while assuring her everything would be fine.

"Don't worry, my love, if someone did this to Dharya, I will have their heads. Your brother was one of my closest friends, and I will not forgive anyone who may have had a part in his death. As for who will rule India now, there is only one clear contender for the throne, our eldest son..."

Priya looked up into her lover's mismatched eyes, with confusion on her pretty face. She quickly shook her head in disagreement with the man's words, and attempted to argue against his decision.

"No! Arun is much too young to be an emperor, and if someone really did kill my brother, then they will only be after our son as well! I won't put my baby boy in harm's way!"

Berengar could only sigh, what was done was done, though he did not know how Dharya had just suddenly dropped dead, he would know the answer soon enough. As for India, it needed an emperor, and Arun was most definitely too young to fulfil this role. But Berengar could always do the same to India as he did to both Iberia and England, and thus he was quick to assure his lover that everything would be fine.

"Relax, Priya. Our son won't be in any harm's way. He will continue to live here in Kufstein, as he has done his entire life, until a time when he comes of age to take his rightful place as the Emperor of all Indians, until then, I will rule as the steward, in our son's place, and ensure that India does not fall apart because of this horrible tragedy.

In the meantime, we need to get to India as fast as possible, and find out the cause of your brother's death, before anyone else has a chance to seize power during this time of crisis.

Pack your things, my love. We're going back to your homeland!"

Priya was still troubled by the sudden news that her elder brother was dead, but as long as Berengar was by her side, she would be able to get through this tragedy. As for Berengar, he was quite curious about the cause of Dharya's death, and had brought with him a host of physicians who could perform a proper autopsy of the late Indian Emperor, and determine what had actually killed him.

The flight to India was not as long as it would normally be without supersonic flight. However, because of how advanced the Reich was, and its access to supersonic transports, Berengar, Priya, and a host of personnel which included members of the Leibgarde, and several German physicians had arrived in the capital of the mighty empire within a single day.

Before flying out to India, Berengar had contacted those in the region who were loyal to Dharya, and advised them to put the capital under martial law. Thus, when Berengar and his entourage arrived in India, they were greeted by a mix of Indian and German soldiers, all of which saluted the Kaiser with the utmost respect.

Berengar returned their salute before entering an armored convoy, which led him and his people to the palace. When Priya laid eyes upon her brother's corpse, she once more burst into tears, and Berengar had no choice but to hug her tightly in an attempt to comfort the grieving woman.

Thus, he took his lover out of the room, so that his physicians could perform an autopsy, while his Leibgarde questioned the Palace's staff. In the end the Dharya's death was determined to have been caused by an aneurysm in the brain.

If Berengar still had one fear in this life, it was that such a fatal and random condition would one day affect him as well. To see Dharya die by such a thing, it really brought a new perspective to the aging Kaiser, who until now felt as if he was completely invincible.

Priya was naturally devastated, and Berengar spent much of the day comforting her, while his staff began to set up the means of his stewardship. Declaring that Arun would be the new emperor, and that a temporary government would be set up to help the Empire function properly, until a time when the boy came of age to take his rightful throne.

Obviously, funeral arrangements were immediately made for Dharya's burial, but before his body was whisked away to the undertaker. Berengar decided to say one last goodbye to his foster son and friend. While staring at the cold corpse, Berengar had a stoic expression on his face, as he spoke the words that he felt were necessary to say.

"Dharya... It pains me to see that you have stepped foot into the grave before me. I honestly expected you to outlive me. To have you enter the afterlife, in such a sudden and jarring way. It truly breaks my heart. I just wanted you to know that I will take good care of your sister, your wives, and your homeland in your absence...

And that I am sorry for making it so that you were unable to have children of your own. Though I do not regret my decision, as it was a necessary evil to see the peaceful transition of power in India to my bloodline, I am sorry that I was forced to take such a drastic measure..."

With this said, Berengar said goodbye to a man he consider being among his closest friends. One of the few he had left in this world. If there was one good thing that could come of this, it was the fact that Arun, would be the next Emperor of India, a man born, and raised in the Reich, and trained to be a ruler better than any other potential candidate.