Michael

After being cleaned and bandaged up Michael made his way to the great hall in front of the doors waited his red-haired cousin and looked at him with widened eyes.

“Michael, oh my god,” she squealed and threw herself at him. “I am so sorry. We came as fast as we could. I wish I could make everything better. I am here for you.” She just continued babbling until Michael carefully pushed her away.

“Calm down, Tara. Breathe.”

She did and looked at him with sad eyes.

“Everyone in there,” Michael asked to which she nodded. “Okay, I will come to talk with you after this, okay?” She nodded and he continued on.

The guards pushed open the doors of the great hall when they saw Michael approach. He looked better after his bath, but the remnants of his days-long neglect still showed.

The nobles turned when they heard the doors open and Michael could see a mixture of emotions emanating from them. Anger, relief, concern, and hate were the most prevalent.

Their numbers had grown considerably in the last couple of days as many had arrived for the succession debates and the funeral.

Lord Duncan Grim was sitting in Michael’s father’s chair at the end of the hall with Viscount Telp to his right and the rest of the council to his left. He looked surprised when Michael entered, and a smile came on his face, but he badly hid the pain behind the mask.

The nobles bowed to Michael as he made his way to the end of the hall. Lord Grim rose from his seat as Michael got closer and put his hand on his shoulder once he had reached him.

“I am happy to see you, Michael. I am glad that you are here and so sorry for your loss,” his uncle said, and Michael nodded returning the platitudes. His connection with his uncle had never been that strong but he was happy to have any family at all present.

“So, what is happening here,” Michael asked, already knowing the answer.

“We started discussing the succession of Lord Rowan’s lands,” Viscount Telp answered, he was focused on Michael.

“It is good that you are here,” Lord Grim said, “This does concern you after all.”

“And you have taken the chair for this matter,” Michael continued the line of questioning.

“I am the oldest member of the family after all even if I am not part of your house directly and no member of your house was present.” It was true, Uncle Duncan was part of the succession, technically after Oska and Michael but still part of the line.

Michael nodded, it was customary that an elder of the house that has little to no chance or willingness to succeed to head the succession proceedings.

Lord Grim patted him on the shoulder again and then turned back to the Lord’s Seat. A servant quickly brought a chair for Michael, and he sat down next to his uncle as it was customary for potential heirs.

“Alright, if Oska doesn’t happen to show up unannounced too then we should be all here. We will continue our discussion now. Until now we have clarified that the three possible heirs are the sons of the late Lord Rowan - Oska and Michael Rowan – and me, the brother of Lord Rowan – Count Duncan Grim.” He had turned to Michael while catching him up on the proceedings. “Do you have any objections or additions to this, Michael?”

Michael shook his head and Lord Grim continued, “Good, per the tradition of the oldest son succeeding the obvious choice would be Lord Oska. Does anyone have anything to say about this?”

“Yes of course,” the young Lord Ragar spoke up he seemed more confident than the last time Michael had seen the young lord, “Where is Lord Oska? Is he even alive?”

Father Albion stepped forward, “To my best knowledge the young lord is indeed alive. He left half a year ago for the holy mountain to enter the brotherhood of the temple knights and should be there. I propose to immediately send a messenger to call him back here.”

The hall erupted in chatter upon this revelation because no one knew where the young lord had vanished to before.

“And then what? We are supposed to wait for months for any word? The holy mountain is far away, Father Albion, and how do we know that Lord Oska hasn’t taken any vows of the church yet? I don’t need to remind you that those include abandoning all previous family and claims.” That was Lord Uger objecting loudly. “I say we have a perfectly good candidate right here in Lord Michael and we shouldn’t wait for someone that abandoned his home without a word.”

Michael was surprised at the lord's support, but it seemed that Michael had either shamed him into it or he actually thought highly of Michael for standing up against him. There was also the possibility that he had a separate goal here.

Father Albion winced at the suggestion of Michael succeeding the title and spoke up again, “We can’t just throw tradition into the wind, milords, just because it is difficult. I believe that you are very capable of ruling the lands until Lord Oska returns. It is his birthright after all.”

Voices of support rose from the crowd until Viscount Telp stepped forward. His face was filled with determination, and everyone felt silent. His gaze went over the crowd as he appeared to think about his words, but still, no one uttered a word.

“I have known Lord Cedric Rowan for a long time. I didn’t like him when we met each other, he was an upstart count, and I was from a long noble line but still had to serve him. I learned from Lord Rowan that the manner of your birth does not always define what you should or shouldn’t be. I have also known Lord Oska and Lord Michael for a long time, since their births to be exact. And while Lord Oska has grown to be a bully, an arrogant noble, sitting on his family name and not doing anything for his house or people, I have had the privilege to witness Lord Michael’s growth.”

Voices of protest began to rise but Lord Grim’s sharp gaze quickly brought silence to the hall again.

“I have witnessed Lord Michael survive the constant harassment of Lord Harlov and Lord Oska, I have witnessed him fighting back and winning, I have witnessed him studying and learning like no one I have ever seen to become the best he could be. Not to try to usurp his brother’s birthright, no he did it to help his brother, to serve his lord and his people. I have seen him risk much to clear out corruption and crime in the town, I have seen him work with his brother to rule these lands. And even though I haven’t seen that personally. I can ask many in this room if they have seen him covering in fear when the castle got attacked at night or if they have seen him stand with his men, rally them, and push back the intruders with steel and courage.”

Many of the nobles nodded at the viscount's words, most prominently was the young Lord Ragar.

“So, I ask you, who would you rather lay the reigns in hands? A choleric boy who knows nothing? Or the lord that has ruled here before, that has fought for us, and that has prepared better than anyone could ever expect even from someone who knew he would be next in line. I for one know who Lord Cedric Rowan would have wanted to rule!”

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“You can’t be serious,” Albion shouted, losing grip of his expression. “Don’t you see what is happening here?” The nobles turned toward him, eager to hear the opinion of the clergy.

“Don’t you think that this is a little bit too perfect? A boy that has trained for this his whole life even though he was fourth in line and as if by accident everyone that could be considered a threat to him succeeding is murdered, except for the one he didn’t know where he was? Don’t you think it is weird that a child survives an attack that killed our lord, one of the strongest warriors in the kingdom?”

“Are you accusing me of something,” Michael growled and rose from his chair.

“I know what you are,” the priest spat at him, “I have known for a long time already. And I say that your demon patron has orchestrated this to give you the power to do his dark bidding!”

“Again, with the demon child thing,” Viscount Telp threw his hands up, “Not even your own superiors support you on this!”

Michael held up his hand and prevented anyone else from jumping in. “You think I planned all this? I planned to kill my whole family? Not only my father and brothers but also my mother, my sisters, and even my younger brothers. You really must think of me as a monster. But I guess seeing monsters where there are none is what you do isn’t it, ‘Father’.”

Michael stared at the man; his own hatred mirrored in the priest's eyes. “I ask for him to be removed from this council. He has no lands in either Emall or Reen, he has no right to be here, and I request the courtesy of inviting him to be revoked.”

Chaos erupted in the hall as men shouted and argued. Albion tried to get over the noise as he yelled, “Can’t you see what he is doing? He is trying to get rid of me as the voice of reason.”

The chaos continued until Lord Grim slammed his fist down on the arm of the chair and yelled, “SILENCE!” The mana-infused voice bounced off the walls and a couple of people even held their ears as it echoed through the room.

“Lord Michael is well within his rights to ask of this as indeed Father Albion is here as a courtesy. Everyone in favor of removing Father Albion from this hall says ‘Aye’.”

They did and it was clear as day that it was at least a two-thirds majority if not more.

“Everyone against says ‘Nay’.”

A quieter response followed and Lord Grim leaned back in his chair, “The result seems clear, so we won’t have to do a count. Does anyone object to this?”

“I object to this vote,” Father Albion protested, “I am part of the council and have a right to be here.”

“The council of the previous count has no such right,” Lord Grim replied calmly, “I will respectfully ask you to leave now, or you will be escorted out by the guards.”

“You will bring ruin upon us all if you choose this thing as the successor,” Albion yelled but made his way toward the door. The audience parted for him, and soon after the door fell shut.

“Good, now that that has been dealt with. Will anyone say some words in favor of Lord Oska as Lord Telp has already spoken for Lord Michael and he is not here to speak for himself.”

No one spoke up, the vote to bar Father Albion from the hall had been a clear indicator of how the next vote would go and no one wanted to be on the bad side of the new count by advocating for another hated brother. Michael was sure that some of the votes for Father Albion had also been only in favor of the church. That’s at least what the nobles would say.

“No one,” Lord Grim asked again and after a few moments turned to Michael, “Then you can say a couple of words before we vote if you want to.”

Michael turned to the lords, he hadn’t thought about this before and felt like the day he had failed at convincing his father to hire him a mentor.

A couple of seconds passed while Michael sorted his thoughts before he spoke. “I don’t want to be in this situation. I would give anything to not be in this situation. But this is what fate had in store for us and I will take up the mantle of my father if you deem me fit for it, not because I want it but because I have to, for my house and for my people. I will do what I must.”

He could have said more, talked about his experience even in his young age, his abilities, or what his father would have wanted but what he had said was the only thing that mattered to him.

The vote was short and unanimous, again no one wanted to get on the bad side of the new count, but Michael knew there were many that were against him.

“Good, the ceremony of fealty will be held tomorrow at noon. Now we come to the point of a guardian for Lord Michael,” Lord Grim said. Michael blinked surprised, it had completely slipped his mind that he was still a child and would get a guardian according to tradition.

“I don’t need a guardian,” Michael blurted out, “I am mature enough to take on the responsibility right now.”

His uncle smiled slightly at that but shook his head, “You are way too young to take on this kind of responsibility. What about you Lord Telp?” Michael stared at his uncle as he brushed his objection by side. He knew that once a guardian was chosen by the gathered nobles here then he would be bound by law to him, and the guardian would have de facto control over the counties until Michael was eighteen. Something in Michael’s stomach turned at that thought, and he repulsed from the idea.

Viscount Telp shook his head, “I would prefer not to be chosen for this position as I am not confident that I could do it justice, but I will do it if no one more competent presents himself. How about you Lord Grim, you are family and have both experience and a connection.”

Lord Grim nodded slowly as Michael still stood there stunned. “Hmm, yes that sounds like a good idea.”

Agreeing voices rose in the audience and Lord Uger raised his voice out of the chorus, “Will you take Lord Michael with you to the County of Grent?”

Lord Grim nodded, “That would be the case. I would put someone in place to rule here and come visit with Michael occasionally.”

This can’t be happening, I need to do something, Michael thought. He felt small as the adults made choices for him without involving him. Panic began to build up and he was frantically looking for a solution when he suddenly blurted out. “Could we take a break?”

All eyes turned on him and his uncle tilted his head. “Let’s finish up this topic first. It shouldn’t take too long.”

Michael couldn’t let that happen he needed time to think. “Please, the past days have been difficult, and I just need a short breather. We can also use that time to think about possible options for the guardian position.”

Lord Grim held his gaze for a moment and then rose from his seat. “As you wish. We will take a half-hour break.”

Michael hurried out of the great hall followed by his retainers.

“What is the matter, Michael,” Sola asked concerned.

“I forgot about the guardian. I can’t do anything with a guardian. He would be the de facto ruler of my land until I come of age,” Michael panicked, he couldn’t think of a way out, his uncle would win the election.

“He is your uncle, he will still let you decide things with your advanced education, or am I wrong,” Kiran said.

“No, he won’t,” Michael said and turned to the mage. “He is much more stubborn than my father was and hates not being in control. He is much less tolerant than my father as well, which would be a problem for you and Eydis.” The barbarian girl was standing a little bit further back, but Michael could see her brain working.

“So, what can we do,” Geron joined the conversation with a concerned expression.

Michael began pacing as he spoke, “I don’t know. My uncle is a respected count. He will win the election and carry me off to Grent.”

“Maybe you can convince Lord Telp to try to become your guardian. You would have much more freedom under him,” Sola suggested.

Michael thought about it for a moment, but it was Solon who answered, “He won’t win. The other nobles will want to limit his power and increase their own and the best way for that would be to ship of Michael somewhere else and rule in his stead.”

“Dammit, I wish we could have gotten this done before Lord Grim arrived,” Kiran cursed.

Michael suddenly stopped when the feeling of the dreams fell on him and a thought began to spread in his mind, as his retainers continued bouncing ideas off each other about what to do.

“I need a map,” Michael suddenly said to the surprise of the others. “A map of the duchy.”

It didn’t take long to find one as Lord Rowan loved maps. Geron spread it out on a table in private as Michael studied it. Tension started to fill his body as he hunted the suggestion the strange feeling had given him.

“Geron, what would it take to defeat my father,” he asked with clenched fists.

The knight frowned. “He could take down hundreds of non-augmenters without much difficulty. Even augmenters were no match for him most of the time. You would need at least fifty or more normal augmenters to even try a head-on attack on him. Magic support would of course help.”

“And an ambush?”

“That would make it easier, but most injuries would not slow him down that much. It would be enough to tip the scales if they had someone on a similar level though.”

Michael turned around and hurried away from the table.

He found who he was looking for quickly. “Tara, can you come with me for a moment?”

“Sure,” she said a little confused.

They went to a deserted spot and Michael turned back to her with a haunted expression. “When did you leave for Reen?”

“Uhh, we left for Emall six days ago. Father rode ahead and then came back with the bad news a day later,” she said. “What is this all about, Michael.”

“I am sorry I can’t tell you right now.” With these words he walked away, the half-hour was nearly over anyway.