Hjen, Imperial Palace

“Murder! Murder!” Ajir, the younger son of  Oleg II shouted out from the sunlit corridor of the palace as he knelt down beside his elder brother, who bled profusely from a knife wound that penetrated his mid-torso.

 Ajir pressed his now bloodstained hands on his brother's wound, trying to block the blood from pouring out of his body. He called out again, and finally several nobles that resided in the palace rushed into the hall. They were dressed in similar decorative colorful clothing, a telltale sign of their wealth.

“What happened, my prince?” a nobleman asked, rushing to Ajir's side and kneeling before the dying emperor.

“There is an assassin! Alert the guards! No one enters or leaves the palace!” Ajir shouted at the nobles, who stood uselessly around him.

“What about the emperor?” one asked, gesturing towards Oleg III.

“I will take care of him. The capture of that assassin is more important. Now, go!” he ordered again.

As the nobles hurriedly left the corridor, Ajir returned to his dying brother, whose eyes were barely open. His body permitting, he smirked slightly.

“I'm impressed.” he mumbled. “What will you do as the next emperor?”

Ajir continued pressing down on the wound. “I thought you would figure it out. Were you suspicious?”

“Hardly. But you didn't answer my question.”

“I will do what you didn't.” Ajir explained. “I will destroy your inefficient policies and expose the true power of our nation. I will give the people a reason to be proud of Verigarde.” he proclaimed, brandishing a small pillow that he once used as a head rest.

“I wish you good luck. Where did you find someone who would wield a knife against their prince?”

“For the right price, anyone will do anything.” Ajir responded as he placed the pillow on top of his brother's face and slowly pressed down, suffocating the emperor.

Roughly 20 kilometers from Hjen, two hours later

As the sun set in the west, large gusts of wind peacefully buffeted the long blades of unkempt grass that billowed restlessly in the softly rolling hills of the north-lands. In the far distance, through the light mist that crept down to mask the formations in the distance, was the city of Hjen. With the echo of horse hooves tracing his step, a lone rider steadily approached a band of horse-mounted men, most in military uniforms, but others dressed in fancier dress clothes. The rider stopped just short of ten meters from the leading figure.

“Prince Ajir has completed his task. If all goes according to plan, his assassin will be captured and executed, he will ascend to the throne, and what was started can be finished.” the rider reported, moving to remove the hood that shrouded his face.

“Excellent. I assume there were no witnesses?” the lead figure asked, also removing his hood to reveal his identity: Asha Temujin, a recently outcast officer of the Verigarde infantry

“he informed me of a few noblemen that were sent away. They suspect nothing. So far, our movement is invisible.” the rider then pointed towards the other soldiers behind him. “What of these men? Are they loyal?”

Temujin looked back at the thee military horsemen. “I trust all three of these men with my life. Two of them are cataphract leaders, one of which being the famous Arasen. And the other is a light cavalryman. He has miraculously recruited 200 horsemen to assist us in the assault. His contributions have been invaluable.”

Tutei cracked his knuckles. It was no easy task to convince so many of Verigarde's most loyal soldiers to agree to taking part in a coup. Unknown to soldier and civilian alike, the infantry of Hjen was transformed into a taskforce headed specifically by the emperor to carry out his own operations within the city. The infantry began performing illegal activities, including the kidnapping of Hjenni women specifically for the emperor's pleasure, the execution of family members as a form of punishment, and banishing of those who are suspected of being enemies of the emperor. The result, of course, was what was simply known as “The Movement”. A gathering of disgruntled soldiers and politicians that seek to destroy what the Infantry has become and remodel Hjen with a new emperor and a new aristocracy.

“Well, then. Excuse me, sirs, I was not aware of your statuses amongst us.” the rider apologized respectfully. “We can no longer wait. Hjen is in disarray.”

Temujin nodded. “I agree. We will not catch them at a better time. Move quickly, we must maintain the element of surprise as long as we can.”

As the leaders began moving towards the walls of the city, a small army of 500 horsemen of various disciplines moved behind them, with weapons brandished. As they grew closer and closer to the city, their speed increased, and what was once a calm trot evolved into an aggressive gallop. As Temujin expected, the main gate was left open. The army advanced through the open door, slaying the guards who desperately tried to close the gate. Temujin drew his blade and pointed it towards the imperial palace. 

“Today, we take back Hjen!”