Beyond the Will of Transcendence

CHAPTER 2

The Empress Dowager, Aisha, was an old woman in her late sixties. As the Emperor's biological mother and the dear widow of the first emperor of Nairaland, she was the most revered female in the nation. She was there at the inception of the empire which used to be just a kingdom with other neighbouring towns and cities surrounding it. Her husband was very ambitious and she supported him in his conquests of the other territories until they established this great empire.

She was originally from a military family and possessed a personality grounded in fortitude and willpower. So even though women were not traditionally allowed to partake in the political affairs of Nairaland, Empress Aisha still managed to establish a stronghold in the empire. One so unshakable that with it, she was able to ensure that her only son ascended the throne after her husband's death back then, although her late husband had other equally eligible sons. After his coronation, she used this power to maintain a tacit system of checks and balances in the imperial court.

Everyone who was involved with the imperial court knew that the stability of the Nairaland empire was imperatively secured by the tight knot of understanding between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. However, this was not the case in recent times, as the knot had slowly begun to loosen.

Although this was only speculation at the beginning of the last decade, it became very apparent in the last five years, during which the Empress Dowager had turned down every single invitation of the Emperor to take part in court meetings and ceremonies. Of course, the Empress Dowager was perceptive and tactful enough not to directly refuse the Emperor's benevolence, so in order to prevent royal rumors among the people, she gave plausible excuses like how her absence was an impact of old age. But those of the inner cadre of the imperial court knew better. And it was no surprise that they also recognized the bone of contention between the mother and son- the Commandant Princess, Zara.

Aisha had never supported the notion of Zara and everything she stood for. First of all, she was an illegitimate child- the product of a night of her son's youthful recklessness with a courtesan. Secondly, even though she, the Empress Dowager, had managed to suppress the girl during her younger years, somehow she had still grown up to be terribly ambitious with a forestanding capability to quench her thirst for power. And finally, five years ago, when the Emperor bestowed the title of 'Commandant Princess' upon her; Aisha, in her astuteness, duly took note of her emerging prowess.

According to tradition, that title was meant for any of the royal sons whom the Emperor was considering for the position of Crown Prince and it was originally named 'Commandant Prince'. Whoever held the title represented the will of the Emperor over the principal military power in Nairaland. But after Zara secretly led a series of expeditions to conquer a few more territories for the empire, the Emperor found her to be more efficient than his entitled sons and made a bold exception, which was against his mother's evident disapproval.

So for five years, Zara held the esteemed title. And for the same five years, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor had not seen eye to eye- literally.

The old woman was casually drifting through another day of her chosen life of leisure in the garden area of the imperial harem where her courtyard was located, when the news of her unpreferred granddaughter's return from her recent military expedition was brought to her by her longtime assistant, Eno.

"So she has been with him since she arrived?" Aisha queried, with her head bent over at her favorite hibiscus plant, pruning it meticulously with a dagger. Though small in size, the dagger had quite a noteworthy appearance. Its hilt was made of stone, carved in the small image of a bird- a falcon with its wings spread out; while the blade was made of steel with an unclear inscription written along its sharp edges.