Snowfall began quickly on the night of the 18th of November in Ye’leli. While this ushered the end of the growing season in Listonia, well, tonight was the beginning of what a particular individual hoped would doom perhaps his greatest rival. Indeed, Lso Yiskevi, the individual hand-picked by Premier Ikrisia Levinile to rescue Listonia from a mad dictatorship, has worked tirelessly to improve his standing in the Vekaiyun Union. It wasn’t so much that he believed in himself in the beginning, though. Premier Levinile herself took an interest in him, a lowly patent attorney who happened to fancy himself an aficionado with respect to Vekaiyun history and Vekaiyun law. He applied his efforts to fight what was then a war with Listonia and Vekaiyu over a couped republic, and he convinced many that the two nations were really one in the same. Despite this, he was playing second-fiddle to a blaggard who he always had disdain for. For whatever reason, the Premier of Vekaiyu, the individual who Lso had built his entire argument on, seemed to favor the shady, old ‘People for Independent Listonia’ freedom fighter over him, a prim and proper vulpine who fought with the pen and not with fists.
But it was one setback after another for Yiskevi. Stapen Evesuni, the co-premier of Listonia, despite being targeted in a coup, was placed back in charge with he at his side. After roughly two years of in-fighting, Yiskevi was promoted to General Secretary of the Vekaiyun Union and finally separated himself from Evesuni. Or so he thought. While the position may sound prominent, Yiskevi quickly realized the position was mostly to keep himself in check, and not Evesuni. Even so, he found quickly that he was unable to outrank either two in decisions. Then came the miss-steps. His refusal to go to war with Dveria despite Premier Levinile giving the order to attack the advancing Dverians, resulting in a surprising victory. And yet, when Yiskevi initiated a war with Elephana, it was denounced by the Premier, and resulted in what was to become the greatest tragedy the Listonian people had seen since the war for independence. Vilines was bombed, and he was ultimately held responsible and placed on probation for good measure. Evesuni? Why, he was praised as a strong leader and cameras followed him around as he visited cafes and enjoyed small talk with the locals. No matter what Yiskevi did, no matter how methodical or careful his planning was, he always seemed to come up short when it came to him and Evesuni. And Evesuni, the simple peasant that he was, the very fact that he was besting him consistently was enough for Yiskevi to begin what was to become a thorough yet private investigation of the Premier of Listonia.
“Secretary Yiskevi?”
Lso looked up from his work. His office door, always open, was occupied by a Listonian officer, which was fitting considering he was located in Ye’leli. “Enter,” he replied.
“We have finished Project Lightwish. It is available for your viewing.”
Project Lightwish, as it was called, was disguised as a clean-up protocol for the Listonian Premier designed to simply ensure he was who he said he was, dating back to when a body double had successfully yet temporarily couped the nation. A secret operation consisting of only several individuals would expend countless hours to compile a report on Evesuni, whom the Listonian people regarded as a savior of sorts. It took a few years, but the report seemed to be finished.
“Present it to me, thanks.”
The officer handed him a medium-sized bound document. Impressive, but not nearly enough for a three-year investigation.
“It seems… light.”
The officer shrugged. “The documentees wouldn’t say much to me, but they did say it was particularly difficult to find concrete information. They did find connections with criminal organizations, such as Yu Levolar, but little could actually be confirmed.”
“Criminal organizations?” Yiskevi asked in bewilderment. “Interesting. I don’t suppose you asked how ‘concrete’ their conclusions were on that subject?”
“They said there was enough there to make this report worthwhile.”
Yiskevi smiled. “Oh that will do nicely.” He pushed his spectacles closer to his eyes and opened the first page of the document. “Thank you, dismissed.”