The day after we visited the Laundrial’s a beeping in my head woke me. A rune, integrated into the house’s runic system, caused this beeping. It was an alarm clock I was able to set to wake me any time I desired. It turned off once I left the bed. After standing up, Teresa entered my bedchamber.

She said: “Good morning Alicia, shall I help you wash and dress?” I smiled at her. She knew I didn’t care about our different station when in private.

“Yes, please prepare some nice clothes while I take a bath.” I headed into my personal bathroom. Teresa used the inventory grid to search for a fitting outfit for the day. After taking a short bath, my maid helped me into the dress she chose and then made my hair. I looked in the person sized mirror hanging in front of me. Yes, I was presentable. The day could begin.

“Can you name the seven great families and their main source of power?,” Master Wingard, my politics tutor asked me.

I just rolled my eyes and answered: “Gaspell, they lead a merchant empire. Sangati, producing and selling military equipment. Lachester, the mana grid and dungeon mining. Aleness, food production and investment. They own parts of every major company. Arfang, they own the mercenary guild. And finally, Morrishot and Hashot. They are bitter rivals and together own half of all the factories in the kingdom. But why are you asking that? It’s common knowledge.”

“Your father informed me of your intent to take politics serious. That’s why I have to make sure you understand the basics before continuing to advanced topics.”

“What are the tasks given to the great families?”

“Each family’s head represents their family in the committee of the seven. Every ten years the committee either elect a new monarch or approve the current ruler. They are also advisers to the king and can veto his decisions. The king is accountable to the committee of seven. Furthermore, day-to-day politics and legislation is handled and coordinated by the committee.”

“Very good, but don’t forget that the committee is also a tool to balance the power. Through competition between the houses they keep each other in check and together they ascertain the king is doing the right things.”

Like this, the lesson continued for another two hours. At the end he told me: “I advised your father to take you to the next meeting of the committee of seven. It will be tomorrow morning. This way, you will be able to see how politic works. I want you to pay close attention to each family’s stance to the discussed topic. We will discuss your findings tomorrow evening.”

Then I had a nice midday break sitting on the terrace and drinking tea together with my mother.

“How are you doing Alicia?”

“I’m doing fine. I met Ari at the Laundrial’s. She works as a maid.”

“Ah yes, Senna told me her daughter worked for them. You talked to her about the old times?”

“Yes, and she is as energetic as ever.” I smiled inwards, remembering her attitude.

“That’s good to hear. She was an interesting child and since her mother is one of my maids, I hear a lot about her. How was your meeting with the Laundrial’s?”

“They tried to trick us and it was obvious. We gained nothing from it.”

“Well be that as it may, you still did well.”

“How is the business side of things going, mother?”

Mother was leading the family’s businesses while father took care of the committee’s matters.

“It’s going well as always. We’ve finished expanding the city’s mana grid.” The mana grid was my family’s invention and a major source of income. We continued to talk about in leisure until she had to leave for a meeting with one of her department heads.

After the midday break I walked back to my study room and tried to improve my spell casting. Doing magic was a strain on mind and body. First the caster’s mind needed to form the spell. This included establishing its effect by focusing on the intent and defining every minute detail on how the spell was supposed to function. Then one had to supply the perfect amount of mana to the spell, to make it work efficiently. A mage needed to train mind and body to get the best results in their spell work.

Low tier mages casting a standard fireball would use up half of their mana. A master mage was capable of creating a far hotter and denser fireball with just a tenth of the mana. This showed how the importance of control and training. The tier of a mage was in its essence a combination of their control, their knowledge and their talent in magic. Every person even with the slightest bit of magical talent might reach tier six or even seven if they were willing and able to put train their knowledge and control.

I had a great talent for magic, the will to learn and all the resources I needed. This way I reached the ninth tier only being 20 years old. In perhaps five to ten years if I continued to work on improving I would reach the tenth tier and then I needed to build a strong reputation to become an arch mage. My dream had always been to follow in my grandfather’s footsteps. Now I wasn’t so sure anymore. My change of mind started about three months ago.

One of the mana nodes we had built had stopped working. It was in the Ravenor District where many factory workers lived. My mother took me and a couple of guards with her to investigate. I only came after much complaints and only because she told me she might need my help with figuring out the problem.

When we arrived, we found what was wrong quickly. The node had been wrecked and words had been smeared on it. It said ‘for the torchbearers’, or ‘we are the people’. I felt livid: “Why have they destroyed the node? Why is anyone supporting these lunatics? Instead of vandalizing, they should find some work. Then they would have enough food for them and their families.”

My mother looked at me, disappointment showing in her eyes. “While I agree that destroying the mana nodes solves no one’s problems, your other statements are wrong.”

“Why are they wrong? Nobody who works for us is complaining about having no food.”

“It seems your father and I sheltered you too much from the real life. People working for us get paid fairly and we don’t employ many people in the capital. I said you are wrong because lots of people don’t get work even if they are looking for it. And even if they get it, it often doesn’t pay enough to feed everyone.”

I was shocked. My mother never got angry or loud. But now she did both. “I don’t understand why you are defending them. They destroyed our property, and it didn’t help them in the slightest.”

“The mana grid is what allowed the factories to arise. As you know, the runes used in the factories rely on ambient mana. Normally you could only power that many runes on ambient mana without exhausting it. The mana grid provides ambient mana so without it there would be no factories. The torchbearers see the mana grid as the source of the bad situation.”

“They are wrong. They should look at all the good, at all the progress the mana grid caused.”

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My mother’s look of anger faltered, replaced by frustration. “Come with me. It seems it is time you see the ones paying the price for all the luxury we have.”

We walked for about 10 minutes. Afterwards we went into a building that had a sign reading care center above its entrance. My mother told me: “This place was built by our family and we still finance it. It supports those who cannot support themselves. Go around and talk to the people. Ask them why they don’t work.”

I hadn’t known we supported such a charity project. The care center seemed to be well cared for. No dirt on the floor or on the walls. I started walking down a random corridor. The walls were lined with doors. Probably something like bedrooms behind them. I walked until I reached a larger room which seemed to be a canteen. Since no food was served, currently only one elderly man sat on one of the round tables. As I neared him I saw that he sat on a wheelchair instead of, as I originally presumed, a normal one. He had no legs. He noticed me watching him.

“Don’t be shy, young one. Come over and keep me company.”

I walked up to him and asked: “What happened to your legs?”

“I lost them during an accident in the factory I worked in. A machine suddenly blew up and took both of my legs. One of my coworker’s proficiency in healing magic saved my life, but not my legs. The next day my employer fired me because I couldn’t perform my work anymore. After the accident no one else hired me because I am a cripple.”

“And what about the owner of the factory? Didn’t he help you?”

The old man laughed. “He didn’t care. Got a new machine and new workers and that’s it. I’ve been working there for twenty years and was left to die of starvation or to freeze. That is if I hadn’t been brought here.”

“Oh my god. I’m so sorry. I.. I didn’t know such things happened.”

Now he was looking at me with confusion. “You must have never been outside your home. It happens everywhere, all the time. I’m hardly special, and by far not the worst off. Go talk to Maria. She lives down the corridor second door to the left. Go and talk to her.”

I got up and walked in the direction he indicated, feeling numb. Why hadn’t the owner hired a healer to regrow the man’s legs? On fresh wounds it wasn’t that hard to do and not even very expensive. Instead he was doomed to die. Was that the reason for the torchbearers’ existence?

Still deep in thoughts, I knocked on the door. A woman, Maria, opened it and asked: “Hello, how can I help you?”

She was thin and almost looked like a corpse with large and dark circles under her eyes, sunken cheeks and pale skin. I just stood there unsure of what to say. After collecting my thoughts, I asked with a shaky voice: “How.. Why are you here?”

She watched me looking even worse than she did already. “My husband died half a year ago in an accident in a factory. Since he provided the money, and I took care of the babies, suddenly we had no income. I tried everywhere to get a job to earn at least enough for us to eat, to not get kicked on the street. But no one wanted me.”

She started to cry. I stood there completely overwhelmed with no idea what to do or say. She continued mercilessly.

“And then we had to leave the house. It was still winter. And my babies…” She started howling and tearing on her hair. “Oh god my babies.”

It was too much, I fled. I short range teleported to the street I saw through the window and kept teleporting until I found an empty alley. There I sat down, feeling numb, my thoughts a mess.

The way I saw the world changed. I had always believed that the ones being hungry or living on the streets were lazy. Never had I thought about their situation being the cause of someone else’s fault. Someone else who could have prevented all the pain without much trouble. It wouldn’t have cost more than a gold coin to regrow limbs. It wouldn’t even have cost a gold coin to provide lodging and meals for Maria and her children for a year or two.

Who were those people who didn’t care about the results of their decisions? They probably are people I’ve met before, since I have seen most of the factory owners. And to my horror I remembered what I had said not an hour ago. Now I began to understand why my mother got angry with me.

Right then, in the alleyway I decided I needed to change, needed to fix this. I had the power. I was the heir to one of the most influential families in this country. I was going to prevent the horrors I heard about from happening again. I couldn’t change laws and minds of the leaders in a short time. It was going to be a long process, and I was dedicated to see this through.

And so, my decision to pursue politics was born. My pursue of mastery in magic became only my secondary interest.

Still sitting there, my mother found me thirty minutes later. She didn’t comment on my actions and just took me back home. Later, on the same day, I asked my father to resume my training in politics.

The next morning found me in the committee’s hall. In the center of the room stood a round table where the seven heads of the family sat at. Opposite to the door was the audience section, where I was and listened. Only family heirs or advisors to the families were allowed to attend these meetings.

The room was well lit by many mage lights, illuminating the room with cold blue light. Otherwise nothing adorned the empty walls. Even windows weren’t present. The table alone was decorated lavishly with gold, diamonds, mithril and other rare elements.

Talking was only permitted to the heads. And talk they did. Today’s meeting seemed to be mostly about Anardin and their dealings with the Laumanian Empire. It ranged from their trade relationship with us, to them importing our weapons. Other topics were accusations of them being involved in kidnappings of Laumanian citizens and in spying.

I knew our empire had often fought with Anardin in the past. So, most heads pleaded to observe their action carefully. It was decided to send more spies and invest another ten thousand gold in fortifying our southern border. Some heads didn’t appear to be happy with this. Decisions had to have at least the majority supporting it, which meant four heads.

What enraged me was their handling of the kidnapping cases. Since no strategically important people were taken, like researchers or political targets, they decided it was a matter for the local city watch and not their concern. I disagreed. They don’t know why they are kidnapped. Perhaps there is a hidden goal. Also, shouldn’t the state protect the citizens? I was not allowed to voice an opinion.

“What have you discovered while attending the meeting?,” my tutor asked me hours later.

“It was about how to handle the relation with Anardin. Opinions ranged from ‘let them do whatever they want’ to ‘engage in an all-out war’. Sangati, Gaspell and interestingly Hashot supported the motion of not doing anything. Sangati and Gaspell I understand. A worsening relationship endangers their trade with Anardin. Hashot is not engaged in trade. So, they had no reason to deny the motion.”

“The situation may look like this at first. Hashot, Sangati and Gaspell have close a relationship, in politics as well as in the economy. They side with each other in most questions. That may be the sole reason Hashot decided to vote for them. Of course, Hashot may have their own agenda you don’t know yet. Anything else?”

“There is a kidnapping spree going around in Gloomchester with Anardin as likely perpetrator and no one seems to care since there are no ‘important’ people taken.” I put special emphasis on important. “What if Anardin is planning something?”

He took a few moments to think about the matter and spoke. “Cases of kidnappings are normally handled by the city guard. But if Anardin is involved, it may be a good idea to investigate. If you are interested in it, how about you do the investigation? Use your house’s spies and local contacts. Even if nothing comes of it, it is a good exercise. This will be a standing assignment for the next few weeks.”

Afterwards we talked about the power balances in the current committee. Hashot, Sangati and Gaspell were one group. Lachester and Arfang had a friendly relationship and helped each other out most of the time. Morrishot were strongly reliant on the mana grid provided by Lachester and therefore couldn’t afford to antagonize my family. Aleness was a wildcard most times. They may side with either group depending on the topic and what they were offered. My tutor told me: “Remember all these alliances are just loose couplings, anyone might choose to oppose their group if the reward is high enough.”

After the lesson finished, I decided to talk with father about my assignment. After my knock on his door, he asked me in. “Ah Alicia, perfect timing, I wanted to send for you. What did you think about the committee’s meeting?”

“It was interesting to see politics in the making.” I took a deep breath and continued. “In the meeting you talked about kidnappings in Gloomchester. Since I wanted to investigate the matter, my tutor assigned me the task of doing so. I came to ascertain that investigating is acceptable and to ask about resources I could use.”

“That’s good to hear. I am interested in the matter myself. I believe one of the great families might be involved. Hashot’s stance to Anardin is too friendly. They may be cooperating. That is also, why I didn’t press for actions at the meeting. Christoph is investigating at the moment, I will tell him to report his findings to you. Once you find connections to any great family or a lack thereof, please inform me immediately.”

So dad cares about the kidnappings. This made me feel relieved for some reason. Also, he is trusting me to see the investigation through. I hope I’m up for this. A short burst of anxiety rushed through me, but I pushed it down. No, I can and will do this. “All right, father. Thank you for your trust.”

He smiled and winked me off. Minutes later I left his office, considering my next steps. I had to wait for Christoph before I could do much.