"Warmasters!" Forward stepped an elder, his hair silvered with age. If Stas remembered correctly, he was somehow related to the administration. Today, the honor of opening this event was bestowed upon him.
He was clad in a cumbersome kariginu, reminiscent of an onmyoji's attire. On his arms, chest, and neck, he bore thick metal jewelry with some intricate designs. It was clear that both the garment and the accessories were of great age.
In his hands, the old warmaster gripped a long staff with a round top.
"Welcome to the sacred ceremony of choosing the head of our Great Clan. The Sumada have existed for centuries and outlived hundreds of the enemy clans. And we have no intention of stopping now!"
An approving murmur swept through the rows of warmasters. Everyone gathered was brimming with impatience to start the election.
"Today, we will decide which of the two candidates for clan head is the most worthy! I can tell you right now, the decision will be difficult, but since the wisest among us have gathered here, this decision will be the right one."
"Yes!" the elders of the main families nodded approvingly at the official's words. So did the representatives of the Council of the Supremes.
And to be honest, it mattered little to anyone that the wisdom among the assembled was decidedly lacking. Far greater were their greed, haughtiness, and bestial brutality.
And this was not surprising. Those who have so firmly built their lives around war can rarely boast of anything meaningful beyond it. It's hard to develop art and science when all you're interested in is how to kill someone more conveniently.
"I, Kubo Sumada, will oversee the ceremony. I was selected because I did not align with either candidate, and I swear on my honor to maintain neutrality. If anyone objects to my role, let your concerns be known here and now."
As expected, there were no objections. Kubo's persona had been thoroughly vetted and approved by both parties.
"Therefore, I proudly present our two candidates to you, the esteemed assembly. The first candidate, the elder son of our now deceased head, Goro, Izuna Sumada."
Those sitting to the left of the elder heir raised their right hands and began to chant his name loudly.
"I-zu-na! I-zu-na! I-zu-na!" They thus showed their loyalty to the future ruler and put moral pressure on their opponents.
Their shouts, however, made it difficult for the old official to pronounce the second name.
"The other candidate," Kubo, nevertheless, amplified his voice with prana to outshout the chanting crowd, "is the younger son of Goro-sama, Jishin Sumada!"
The supporters of the younger heir, now seizing their awaited chance, rose in vehemence and started outshouting the other side, straining their voices to the limit.
"Ji-shin! Ji-shin! Ji-shin!" the two syllables sometimes rumbled even louder than the opponent's three.
Standing next to the prince, Stas was literally washed over by sound waves from both sides. And since the amphitheater had good acoustics, these shouts nearly made the stone itself groan.
Ordyntsev felt as if he had landed in a mix of a particularly intense football match and an ancient civic forum.
The latter had a principle where, in order to pass a law or decree, the assembled people would start shouting for one option or another.
In the end, the side that shouted the loudest won.
However, despite the emotions bursting from within the people, no one but the old man conducting the ceremony used prana to amplify their voice.
And there were good reasons for this restriction.
Preparing for the upcoming elections, Stas carefully familiarized himself with the order and structure of the future ceremony.
As it turned out, the locals approached the matter quite thoroughly, developing a clear and unambiguous sequence of actions with certain rules and restrictions.
And the punishment for missteps was quite severe. The first offense was met with a warning, the second with expulsion from the hall.
Simply put, if you can't keep yourself in check, you have no right to vote.
"Silence!" the old man's staff struck the stone floor with force, and at that instant, the fired-up support groups calmly and collectedly began to sit down.
The tradition was fulfilled, and they all demonstrated to everyone gathered how extensive and strong the support for each candidate was.
"Now, by my authority, I give the floor to the heirs. Convey your ambition to the assembly." Kubo waved his staff and stepped aside to avoid blocking the view. "The first word is given to Izuna Sumada!"
All attention turned to the elder prince.
Sitting on a cushion, Izuna slowly rose, maintaining his dignity, and then made a small bow to the people watching him.
"My name is Izuna Sumada, and I am the legitimate, confirmed heir of my father, Goro Sumada," the elder prince put special emphasis on the word "confirmed." Indeed, this was one of his main trump cards, as the previous clan head had repeatedly confirmed that he wanted Izuna to succeed him.
"I promise that I will devote all my strength and time to ensure that the Sumada Clan remains the strongest clan of warmasters among all. Adherence to the traditions and commandments of our ancestors, that is where I see victory for our people!"
Izuna's speech was met, overall, positively. The people in this hall were already quite well off. Changing something radically in their lives was definitely not on their agenda.
"Now the floor is given to Jishin Sumada!"
The younger prince also performed all the due rituals and froze before the distinguished audience.
"My name is Jishin Sumada, and I am a legitimate heir of my father, Goro Sumada," and next followed the actual reason that allowed them all to gather here. "Legitimate by my strength! I claim the position of clan head by right of strength and kinship!"
Jishin's words made those assembled listen to him much more attentively. Stas's eyes spotted Hideo sitting somewhere in the corner of the neutral zone.
The old man's gaze was detached. He seemed to be somewhere else right now. And partly, this was true.
At that moment, Hideo likely saw not Jishin, but an entirely different person. A friend and comrade who had a rebellious and troubled nature.
Two generations ago, Fierce Ishiro also used the right of the strong and established his dynasty, which has survived to this day.
But Jishin had not yet finished his speech.
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"I promise to lead our clan to victories that none of the Sumada could have ever dreamed of. I promise that if I take the place of the clan head, I will do everything possible so that the Sumada Clan emerges victorious from the current World War, taking its rightful place!"
The younger prince's speech also did not go unnoticed. The conviction and enthusiasm with which he spoke found understanding among the younger warmasters.
Moreover, the words about strength resonated closely with the spirit of the warmasters.
"The heirs have spoken their words!" Kubo came forward again, tapping the staff quietly on the floor. "Now the floor is given to you - those who today will choose the right candidate," the old man rested the staff on his elbow bend and opened the scroll that he had been holding in his other hand all this time. "The first word is given to the elder of the Oro family, Mitsuo!"
Some might wonder exactly how the order of speakers was distributed.
The essence of this process was that it was far from random.
The orders of both parties, listed in the scroll, had been handed to Kubo before the ceremony itself. Unlike the fleet, where juniors in rank speak first, here it was precisely the most aristocratic and influential who went first.
Also, after the speeches of two elders from the main families representing the opposing sides, it was the turn for the four members of the Council of the Supremes to speak.
Thus, everyone could hear the position of all sides evenly.
Stas glanced around the amphitheater and mentally nodded to his thoughts.
At the moment, the number of family heads who supported either of the candidates was eight. Four elders for Jishin and four for Izuna. Two more elders were still sitting in the neutral part among the representatives of the Council.
The distribution of forces at the start of the ceremony was equal.
The elder, who was also a supporter of Jishin, rose with dignity, revealing himself to the assembly.
"I vote for Jishin Sumada because he is the one who can guide us into a new future! He is the leader we need," Mitsuo surveyed the gathering with a penetrating look. "Jishin-sama started his path in far worse conditions than the other candidate, but thanks to his skills and courage, he managed to stand on an equal footing with one who had an advantage all his life! Is this not proof that he is worthy? After all, if he gets everything he has been deprived of until now, he will be able to soar even higher!"
Having said all he wanted, the elder of the Oro family sat back in his place.
Kubo nodded to one of the servants, and the latter clanged a thick metal ring onto one of the two posts. The names of the princes were written in hieroglyphs above each. There were exactly thirty-nine rings, as the elders of the main families each had two.
This way, it was easy to keep track of who had more votes.
"Now it's the turn of the elder of the Chiyo family, Gyujin!"
This time, one of the most influential heads from Izuna's entourage rose.
The joke that Gash had made near the entrance to the hall became much clearer after a single glance at this elder.
Looking at him, one would get the impression that the old man's head was attached to his shoulders without any neck. Moreover, although prana kept its owners' bodies in near-perfect condition, Gyujin nevertheless looked somewhat unnatural.
There were even rumors that he had some congenital deformities, which, however, did not affect his combat abilities.
Overall, his strength of spirit was admirable. Managing to rise to the head of his family with such deviations was certainly not easy.
It was frightening to imagine how many insults and scorn he had to endure to reach his current position.
"I give my vote to Izuna-sama," the elder adjusted his sleeves with dignity. "In this ever-changing world, the only thing we need is a haven of stability and constancy. Our traditions and way of life, that is what is important in the upcoming upheavals. And to rely on enthusiastic youths," Gyujin cast a distrustful glance at Jishin. "We cannot afford that."
Another ring clanged down the pole, but this time on Izuna's side.
"The floor is given to the Council of the Supremes representative, Yasu Sumada!"
From somewhere in the middle rows slowly rose a gaunt woman in her fifties, but looking into her fiery eyes, it was hard to take her lightly.
Her gaze unerringly settled on the elder prince.
"I am resolutely against the candidacy of Izuna Sumada!" her voice, like crunching gravel, spread throughout the hall. "I oversee various kindergartens and everything related to the children there. And you all know what happened recently."
A deadly silence descended on the room. The accusation was not stated outright, but even the insinuation was more than enough. The cheeks of the elder prince twitched, but he had no opportunity to object.
"Therefore, I vote for Jishin," Yasu finally said, having thoroughly scorched the prince with her eyes. "With the other candidate, our clan will go straight to hell."
The ring chimed, and another candidate rose. This time, it was a warmaster in the prime of life.
"I vote for Izuna Sumada because he is an honest warmaster and does not stoop to the vile and dishonorable tricks that others readily employ," the warmaster glanced at Jishin with implication, then shifted his gaze to Ordyntsev standing next to him.
"Where can the rule of a person who obtained his position only through lies and deceit lead? Moreover, one who welcomes all sorts of... Former clanless and hands out clan secrets."
It was not difficult to understand who this "jab" was directed at, but Stas indifferently continued to stand next to the prince, playing deaf-mute. He was here merely as a "guard," so he did not have the opportunity to speak.
The third from the Council of the Supremes to speak was Hideo. And although his power had long since ceased to correspond to the supreme rank, his influence and knowledge more than made up for it.
Stas's gaze met the healer's, and the anguish he saw in it made him shudder.
In the old man's eyes, this entire ceremony was one big mockery of the memory of his best friend's son. Like crows, they circled his throne, though the body of the former owner had hardly cooled down.
But Hideo had to fulfill his duty, if only for the sake of the late Goro.
"I vote for... Jishin Sumada," he murmured, chewing his lips a bit. "Our clan needs change and fresh blood. In the challenges ahead that we must endure, a strong leader is needed. Jishin-sama possesses all the relevant qualities."
Finishing, the old healer sat back down, exhausted. Next to him sat Kizashi. He kept throwing admiring glances at Stas.
After all, standing behind the prince at such a ceremony meant that Jishin acknowledged that he fully trusted Shiro. This could not go unnoticed by the other warmasters.
Whatever Shiro's rating had been up to this point, it now jumped up several notches.
Moreover, it was so both among Jishin's enemies and his friends.
From this moment on, whatever Stas did, he would no longer be an ordinary warmaster. High politics had touched him and left its mark, for better or worse.
But the end of the election was still very far away.
New warmasters rose to their feet to express their position and explain why and how they came to it.
There were no restrictions on the length of the speech, but it was implied that it should consist of only a few key sentences. Long-winded chatter about nothing would not be appreciated by anyone.
Here, the most diverse reasons could be heard. Often, voters did not hesitate to sling mud at one of the heirs or his people. But usually, such things were pulled off by the most avid supporters from the opposing side.
Thus, they demonstrated unwavering belief in the victory of their candidate. After all, if the opponent wins, they would certainly not be patted on the head for such unflattering words.
Some members of the Council of the Supremes and a couple of elders could not silently endure their opponents and stooped to insults. A couple of people even had to be removed from the hall.
Once, there was nearly a fight.
Two supremes from opposing camps ended up sitting too close and almost attacked each other. If it weren't for the people of Io who rushed to them, bloodshed would have been unavoidable.
Given the number of warmasters per square meter, that would have been something dreadful.
Io sat there, too, although he was not in the Council of the Supremes, which was quite ironic since, despite its name, the Council theoretically could include not only supreme warmasters.
Hideo, for example, could almost lose to an ordinary warmaster at this point. Yes, he still possessed unimaginable volumes of prana, but the body itself could no longer adequately conduct them.
But Io stubbornly stayed away from politics, not wanting to cross a line only he knew, even though he had more power and information than anyone else.
Nevertheless, most of the voters tried to behave within certain bounds. After all, despite their choice, they hoped to live normally under any of the princes. And for that, they had to offend no one.
Only gradually, as the election went on, it became clear that the difference in the princes' votes was not that great.
Worse yet, one could say they were neck and neck.
New rings added height to the "towers," but no significant advantage was observed for anyone.
And here, it should be remembered that the voters were arranged in descending order.
And this meant that the fewer the remaining votes, the more intense and harsh the pressure on their owners.
Less influential warmasters were sweating profusely under the glares of the heads of the main families as they voted for one or the other candidate.
It came to the point that the last voters alternated votes for Izuna and Jishin, fearing to make a "wrong choice."
And now, the final vote remained. It belonged to the last representative of the Council of the Supremes.
Everyone gathered eyed the rings in disbelief. On the first pole, Izuna's, there were exactly nineteen rings, but his brother had just as many!
Now everything depended on the decision of one single person. The one who was deliberately "pushed" to the very end of the voting queue to show him "his place."
United in a single impulse, everyone's eyes focused on the man who raised his eyebrows in surprise and demonstratively looked around.
"Just look at that. Unexpected, I have to admit," a wide grin slowly blossomed on Master Jun's face. "And since you're so interested in my opinion, yes, indeed, I have something to say."
The faces of half the assembled warmasters twisted in dismay, and a couple of particularly impressionable elders clutched at their hearts.
Clearly, fortune did not smile on the Sumada clan today.