CHAPTER FIVE: EMPEROR

 The conquest of Amn went smoothly.

 Phaan, as the sole survivor of the outrageous, treacherous attack upon Nalia de'Arnise by the Master of Spellhold, immediately called the mercenary troops of Amn into the capitol. Naturally, to cleanse the Cowled Wizards of traitors, he sent those wizards loyal to him; wizards who wore black robes, against half of the order, the half who had refused to worship Bhaal. Needless to say, those loyal to Phaan easily defeated the others.

 Together, the mercenaries and Cowled Wizards, who now openly wore black robes with a red trim, kept control of the panicking civilians. Phaan took this opportunity to eliminate the Shadow Thieves, who he knew would support Alain as soon as he invaded. The guild houses in the Dock District were burned by magic, and the last thief was rounded up and hung, named as traitors to Amn.

 The crowds of civilians cheered their deaths, and raised their voices to praise Phaan, the Councillor who refused to see Amn defeated by its enemies. The lords and merchant princes of the empire often visited him in his estates… some did not leave, but were hung the next day as traitors. Others left smiling, commenting on how noble the Councillor was, and how the prosperity of the Coinland would be preserved…

 Unfortunately, even the nobility of Phaan could not protect the Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart… the Master of Spellhold attacked with the few Cowled Wizards who yet wore brown robes, and they sent death magic against the building, destroying all who opposed them. The backlash of magic created a massive firestorm that gutted the Temple District, eliminating all priests of every faith.

 Reports came every day of the encroachment of the forces of Alain, but did Phaan falter once? No, he commanded the Cowled Wizards to summon basalt rock from the mountains, and to craft the walls of Athkatla with magic, so they grew higher, stronger… until the City of Coin resembled more a great mountain that a walled city.

 The legions in every other city of Amn were recalled to the capitol, arriving a week before the army of humanoids and ogres. Phaan, desperate to ensure the survival of his city and nation, assembled all the generals of the army.

 At dawn, seventy-eight of the hundred generals hung as traitors to Amn.

 The naval forces of the empire were docked, and most of the captains declared their full support for Phaan… but a few did not. Their ships and holdings were confiscated, and they hung as traitors the following day, alongside the bodies of the generals and merchants.

 The city was peaceful then, for a week, and prosperity returned, as merchants sold their goods, bartered, and spread the news that their leader, Phaan, was the greatest ruler they had ever had… and that if Alain wanted to defeat them, he would have to go through Phaan first. The common people of Amn lapped up these rumours, and reports came through that Phaan visited every city in Amn, contacting those loyal wizards and warriors, having them strengthen the walls of every city, having the traitors to Amn- and there were thousands- hung, and then their corpses butchered so that Alain, Master of Spellhold might see that Phaan was unafraid.

 Had anyone been able to see into the south, they might have wondered at the similarities between the wizards walking there, in there black and red robes… the similarities that made every major city an immense mountain of a stronghold… Had anyone really been interested, they might have noticed the small circles, small insignias to Bhaal painted beside the treacherous corpses of traitors… they might have noticed that every night there were strange screams, followed by several chants.

 Had anyone listened closely, they would have heard, echoing through the alleyways of every Amnian city, town and village, "Bhaal awaits thee, Bhaal embraces thee, none escape Bhaal."

 Every day, there were celebrations, and free food and coin was passed out to the poor, who rejoiced in the mercy of Phaan, whose greatness would defeat the power of Spellhold easily… they all expected the legions of Amn to ride out against the dark empire… but none expected the actions of Phaan as he looked out at the ogre hordes that gathered below the walls of Athkatla.

 "I have no wish to plunge my kingdom into slaughter," he proclaimed, to awed civilians. "This morning, I surrendered to the Lord of Brynnlaw… I have declared Alain the new Emperor of Amn, and the lords, merchants and generals of this empire have agreed with me. Peace must flower… we must make peace with the hordes… we must share, and mingle… in this new empire, there will be no poor… there will be no good, no evil… only prosperity."

 And then several people had cheered, and, as if it was contagious, the rest of the crowds had started to cheer. Phaan left then, returning to remote estates, it was said, to mourn the loss of his lover and friend, Nalia de'Arnise…

 Alain, Master of Spellhold, was welcomed into Athkatla by the masses, which shrieked and screamed with joy and happiness. Gold was thrown to ogres, who marched resolutely on. The Chosen of Bhaal approached the devastated Government District, and with several potent spells, summoned into being a colossal black tower. The Black Tower, as it became known, was named as the palace of the Emperor, and solid gates of solid black steel were set with the insignia of Bhaal, Lord of Murder.

 As the crowds still cheered, Alain entered the tower alone, ascending through the bare rooms of the tower, until he stood on the highest balcony. And then, with the aid of his loyal wizards, he called into being shrines to Bhaal, which glistened black… with the symbols of Bhaal gleaming with unholy power… and still the crowds cheered, for their new ruler…

 Alain, Chosen of Bhaal… Master of Spellhold… Lord of Brynnlaw and Emperor of the Coinland.

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And that's it. Brief, yes… incomplete? Possibly… a bit of fun? That's all it was meant to be… something to entertain me this day, and to keep me doing something. Magic and Murder will be the true epic (I hope), and maybe I will right a sequel to this… or redo it… or something. I hope you enjoyed something where the evil guy won… but remember he still has Imoen to fight, the Harpers, Elminster and the Seven Sisters to defeat… he might have forged himself an empire, but things are far from over…