Editing Character:Mnemon Ai (Once more, with feeling) (section)

===The Bound Devils Conspiracy===

After several years of dutiful work as a threshold General, there seemed to be an opportunity for promotion. One of the five high Hydra Lords, the Imperial Army's highest instance of command, was stepping down and the general was one of the stars of the upcoming chain of promotions. In the back rooms, however, Ai had already been promoted. Ai was chosen to become part of a group of select young powerful exalts who were granted access to the Imperial Manse and to become some of the Empress' closest advisers and agents. Chosen from all aspects of Realm society they were individually not too powerful, but together formed an impressive array of capabilites and skills. They were all also chosen due to extreme loyalty to the Empress.

Ai was however dragged away from his new duties as troubled started brewing in the very lands his legion was stationed in. As events unfolded the rebellion turned out to be orchestrated by a woman calling herself the Sole Claw, who turned out to be the very anathema that had been his way to generalhood. After the loss of his cousin, friend and legion-sorceress Mnemon Jemala to the lures of Anathema, Ai killed an immaculate chaplain to cover up the failure of his cousin, shipping her home to his grandmother to take care of. Jemala would later recover and be put under Ai's command again, if because of nothing else so that he could keep an eye on her. Spurred on by this he hunted down and killed his old enemy once again, gaining great acclaim.

Serving as a part of this gave Mnemon Ai several close friends and powerful contacts in the high end of dragonblooded society. He was also promoted into a chief command role organising several Eastern thresholds. This promotion was not happily recieved by the general, however, as he far preferred the front work where he felt he was contributing, nonetheless he accepted and worked diligently as this promotion had been brought by the Empress herself. This would have been all well and good had it not been for Sesus Liusa.

As Ai was now stationed again on the Isle he attempted half-heartedly to move into politics, but the military man was not adapted to the back-room intruigings of the Imperial City. Furthermore it came out that he had had a child with Sesus Liusa, one of his dragonlords and long time lover. The child had been planned by Liusa, and unable to give up on his second big love in his life he sped up the separation from his wife and applied to marry Sesus Liusa.

The Sesus refused. It was unknown what caused this, Ai petitioned to his grand mother to help him, but no such was given. Left without wife and bethrothal Ai was an almost crushed man, and was gone by in the eyes of the Isle politics. He achived no further promotions during the five years until the fateful year.