With her arms folded under her more than modest bust, City-Lord Cosgrave stood off to the side of the room, ignoring the over-active nobles trying and failing to arrange themselves according to their rank. The room wasn’t large enough for their aides to be allowed in, so the nobles were forced to figure it out themselves.
She glanced at the technicians, each and every one of them focused solely on their assigned tasks. Despite several of them being related to one or two of the noble houses included in this very reception, not one of them had a problem maintaining their professionalism in the face of such a prestigious assembly.
She was well aware that occasions like this were few and far between, and she wasn’t surprised to see the nobles of Dorchester dressed in their finest robes, nervously trying to contain their excitement.
Her senses alerted her to an approaching presence that seemed to dwarf the essence signatures of the nobles around her. Discretely turning her head, she watched as General Branson strode through the doors, his larger than usual frame overfilling the already crowded reception area.
She wasn’t surprised to feel the frustration emanating off his essence field in waves. Therefore, she didn’t say a word when his glare caused the noble on her left, Lord Voltan, to take a few steps back, giving up his place to the general without complaint.
After taking Lord Voltan’s place, the general stood next to her and whispered a little louder than was necessary, “Why wasn’t I informed sooner that the academy’s evaluation team would be arriving?”
She rolled her eyes and replied, “I only found out when the official request came through for a signal link from Hennings to our keep’s astra-platform. The request was made through the tower of law, and I only heard about it because the paperwork required my signature.”
Lord Bennings, who was patiently standing on the other side of the city-lord spoke up, “Members of the kingdom’s management teams, whether from the Academy or any of the central towers, are under no obligation to inform the local powers of their arrival.” Her tone was completely empty, as if what she were saying meant nothing more to her than a casual remark upon the weather.
The general leaned forward a little, allowing him to look past the city-lord so he could glare at Lord Bennings while replying with a poorly contained growl, “That doesn’t mean you didn’t know they were coming! If you approved the paperwork and sent it off, why in the infinite hells didn’t you tell anybody!?! I had to hear it from an aide that just so happened to hear it from his wife! Do you have any idea how that makes me look?”
Lord Bennings didn’t bother to turn her head away from the platform as she replied calmly, “Once your office filed the paperwork, I was bound by law to follow the prescribed procedures for the raising of a unique. If you didn’t want them here, then you shouldn’t have allowed the paperwork to be filed.”
The general harrumphed, then leaned back to return to his position at the city-lord’s side.
She couldn’t help but smirk at the exchange. It wasn’t like she didn’t know the reason the general was unhappy. In a way, she was in a very similar position. Both of their jobs would be much easier if they were able to control Lord Walker for a little while longer. Yet, once that damnable Captain Angelton filed the official request, everyone’s hands were tied. What had been, up until now, an unspoken suspicion had now been voiced, and they were all powerless in the face of the kingdom’s laws. Too many people knew, too many reports had been filed, too many people saw what the young man was capable of.
She, and everyone with any lick of sense, had known for a while that the young man was special. Their silent agreement concerning their combined interest in his future had been decided when he’d first started making waves. As such, the situation should have been handled more carefully than this. The answer to what made him so special should absolutely not have been discovered so soon. Nobody had known, or even wanted to know, what Lord Walker was really capable of, because if they knew, they’d have to report it.
Even the general had gone out of his way to use a nobody to spy on him, rather than any number of people who were familiar with the kingdom’s scouting protocols. Glancing to her right, she noticed the general’s clenched jaw, and his repressed anger at having the situation now completely out of his control.
Sighing, she turned back to stare blankly at the astra-platform, waiting for the evaluation team to arrive.
She’d done all she could. She’d hinted, she threatened, she’d even executed her children to keep that damnable young man in Dorchester. Even the religious district had started talking about their gods’ proclaiming the young man’s talents. Dorchester needed Lord Walker to remain here, at least until such time as these crises were addressed.
Ignoring the whispering nobles behind her, she reviewed every interaction she’d had with the young man. While she hadn’t exactly expected his talents to merit acceptance into the ‘unique’ class of citizenship, she had recognized that there was something profoundly different about him. She’d mistakenly chalked it up to his origins, but she doubted his abilities came from anything other than some kind of mutation. That was the usual manner in which their power manifested. That is to say if there was anything usual about uniques.
Shaking her head, she resigned herself to the world demanding his recognition. How else could she explain him being there, in the right place, at the right time to fully display his ability in a way that would be seen by the entirety of the city. If that wasn’t the will of the world making itself known, than she didn’t know what might qualify for that honor.
One of the technician’s shouted, “Signal-lock confirmed. Hennings is sending the first group now. Readying to receive!”
Straightening her shoulders, she was prepared to do whatever it took to manipulate events to her favor.
-----
Nero walked over to one of the banquet tables, ignoring the subtle stares coming from the nobles all around him. They weren’t that hard to ignore, as his concentration was evenly split between his conversation with Vera, and the numerous dishes that seemed to be calling out to him, begging to be eaten.
With an easy grin on his face, he picked up a plate and started collecting whatever caught his fancy.
He felt Vera’s nervousness despite how calm she sounded over the link. “So, your telling me that you alone closed a fully developed planar gate?” she asked, trying to understand how things had changed so quickly.
While collecting a few finger sandwiches that looked tasty, he shrugged and replied, “I guess. I think they called it a rift, though. Not sure if that’s the same thing.”
Vera replied, “Alright, and after that?”
Nero replied quickly, trying to sum up his experiences as succinctly as possible. “Then we all ran away. I may have done some spell casting that made them all nervous. They accused me of… well, I’m not sure exactly what they accused me of. All I did was do the same thing the kobalds did, and it worked out pretty well if you ask me. Those little lizards are pretty clever, believe me. Anyway, after that, we disengaged from the fight and ran away into the mountains. When we were there, we had a meeting about what happened, and they asked some questions. Not to throw my boy under the bus, but I’m pretty sure it was Nick that let it slip that I can see essence flows. At the time, I didn’t know that qualified me as a ‘unique’ or whatever. As a matter of fact, I still don’t see what the big deal is,” he said flippantly.
Vera interrupted his summary, stating in a harsh tone, “Nero, if you can actual see and interact with individual flows, then it is, in fact, a unique ability. Don’t worry, I’ll have to have a few words with Nick about discretion. You being elevated to the status of a unique citizen is great, but I’d prefer it to have happened a few years from now. The Dorchester branch of House Walker isn’t remotely ready for you to leave the city at this time.”
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Nero picked up what looked like a bacon wrapped sausage, which was held together by some kind of neon-orange paste. He curiously touched it with his tongue, interested in what such an unusual garnish might taste like. Surprised to feel his tongue tingly a little, he smiled and threw a few on his over-filled plate.
Deciding to return to the beginning of the table and start a new collection, he began infusing the plate and its goodies with his center so he could steal it and all the food piled on top of it.
Returning to the conversation with Vera, he said, “Yeah, well, that’s between you and him. I’m still not really following everything that is going on. There is too much cultural bullshit that isn’t translating. Like, I’m having a bit of an issue understanding why everyone is treating me so differently, just because some paperwork got filed. Not only that, but I can tell there is a lot being said between the lines that I’m just not getting. I may not be the most observant guy, but I can read a room like nobody’s business, and I’m telling you that there are undercurrents that I’m completely missing. That being said, when are you getting here?”
Vera replied quickly, “Five minutes. Ten minutes at most. I put in an emergency request for advisory support on the grounds that the head of House Walker is meeting with a delegation from Hennings without his proxy. As you are still technically a new noble taking his noble trials, you are in your rights to demand my presence.”
Nero was working on his new plate, this time picking from the trays he’d ignored on his first pass. “Uh huh, sounds legit. You want me to do anything in the meantime? I’m getting the feeling that if I don’t sit down and eat soon, the vultures are going to start picking at me,” he said, sensing several groups preparing to come talk to him.
Vera chuckled at Nero’s description of the nobles, and replied, “Same as last time. Agree to nothing, say nothing, and just try and stall for as long as possible.”
Nero nodded and replied, “And I’ll tell you the same thing I told you last time... No problem. See you soon.”
After closing the connection, he took his full plate over to the table the team had chosen for their meal. As he approached, he frowned at seeing General Branson sitting at the table, leaning over and talking with Rose and Wesker. Deciding that the other side of the table looked more welcoming, he took a seat next to Cathleen and Nick, saying, “Hey, how are you two holding up?”
Cathleen shrugged, not bothering to turn away from her meal. “Well enough. This menchroba is wonderful,” she said, her mouth full of some kind of meat.
Nero tilted his head curiously, the unfamiliar term reminding him that not everything here has an English equivalent.
Nick set down his glass and asked, “I’m assuming you were doing that thing you do when you want to stall. Have you contacted Vera yet?”
Nero nodded, and replied with a grin, “Yup, she’s on her way.”
Nick nodded, not surprised at Nero’s not-so-clever plan. Even Cathleen seemed to have seen through Nero’s ploy, as she just grunted and kept ripping meat off the little bones with her teeth.
Frowning, Nero didn’t like the idea that these two were starting to figure him out.
After a few seconds of silence, Nero let it go, and changed the subject. “OK. So who’s going to tell me about the people with essence lights on their heads?” he asked.
Cathleen snorted in amusement, but remained focused on her meal. As she was seated between him and Nick, for once she seemed to be included in the conversation. Nero absently noted how weird it felt to be speaking past her, as if he kept being surprised by her presence. ‘I really need to ask her how she does that, like ‘specifically’ how she does it,’ he reminded himself.
Nick, unaware of Nero’s internal dialogue, engaged in his favorite past-time and began lecturing Nero on the topic of the day. “To start with, I should have guessed that they would be the ones we were meeting. Once the paperwork was put in for your new status, the filing would immediately alert the capital. There, the Royal Academy would be called upon to perform an evaluation of the candidate, namely ‘you’. The people with the essence lights on their heads, as you so colorfully put it, are scholars from the academy. They are the final arbiters of what is considered ‘verified’ within the kingdom of Oglivarch. While theories and ideas can be put forth by any number of organizations, they are only considered a ‘truth’ after they’ve passed through the academy’s scrutiny. In short, they are here to monitor you, evaluate your abilities, then present their findings to the king, who is ostensibly the head of the academy.”
Nero sipped from a glass of what he thought was some kind of fruit-juice, listening carefully to what Nick was saying.
“So, the head of the state is in charge of defining what ‘truth’ is accepted by the people? Isn’t that a little… I don’t know… suspect?” Nero asked, wary of what a system of government like that might be capable of.
Nick replied, “Suspect? How? By tying the process to the kingdom, it eliminates third-party interest. The government doesn’t care what the truth is, only that whatever it is, it is, in fact, the truth.”
Nero chewed on that delightful bit of logic for a good five seconds. To him, the idea that the government wouldn’t abuse a power like that was as believable as the link system being ‘totally safe’. He’d already seen how bullshit that ‘truth’ was, so he didn’t hold out much hope for the rest of what the academy was peddling. Good intentions or not, agendas are like assholes… everyone’s got one.
Nero remembered Nick was a Center researcher, so he asked, “Does the academy have anything to do with the Center?”
Nick nodded, and replied, “Yes, and no. You can think of the Center as the trunk of the government. Everything else is just a branch, creating the tree of the kingdom.”
Nero chuckled. “You guys really like your ‘growth’ metaphors, huh?” he said rhetorically.
Nick ignored Nero’s quip, continuing on with explanation, “Every city, large or small, all the way down to the tiniest of villages is run by a center. Around that framework, the governing body arranges itself. Villages have town councils, healers, and sheriffs. While cities have leadership councils, healing centers, and guard stations. Things like the Academy, Towers, and Guilds are all additions that serve a specific purpose. When one of the towers makes a discovery, they send it through their own verification system, which then leads to the local center-research division, which then feeds it to the capital’s Center, which finally sends it to the academy for final verification. Once that happens, the process is reversed through the archival system. In that way, knowledge is structured, and many competing theories can be developed outside of any interference from their competitors. Also, as a bonus, it allows the academy to designate what kind of secrecy level any discovery might need. It wouldn’t do for a local village to have detailed records of how to convert a human into a lich, now would it?”
Nero tried to picture the process, finding it overly-complicated and rather stupid. As a person brought up under the wonders of the free-market, that kind of governmental oversight seemed more than a little excessive to him.
Cathleen spoke up, shocking Nero when she had something to contribute. “That isn’t to say there aren’t local knowledge centers that haven’t been verified through the kingdom’s academy. Many places keep their local knowledge to themselves. Regional, and cultural beliefs may require that knowledge to be hidden from the kingdom, as it is none of their business. Just because a city is part of Oglivarch, does not make it ‘owned’ by them,” she said, hinting at something Nero had been wondering about.
The more he learned about this kingdom, the more he likened it to states and the federal government. Each city, region, and area was more or less on its own, unless some arbitrary line was crossed. If he were to guess, it probably had something to do with the various accords he was constantly hearing about, all of which sounded, to him, like federal laws which couldn’t be ignored unless they wanted to be obliterated by populators.
All at once, several isolated facts arranged themselves in his head, clearing up several things that had been bothering him.
Setting down his glass, Nero’s face lost its usual grin as he started talking. “That’s why the populators only get involved when the government starts fighting. They were only here to make sure the nobles followed the rules. And they aren’t coming to fight the kobalds, or deal with the density shift, because the city is expected to handle it on its own. I bet that’s why Jennings hasn’t done shit to help out with all that’s been happening. Holy crap. Is that why he was being all cagey, and made Nick and the others discover the density shift on their own? Wait a minute, that doesn’t make any sense. If people from outside Dorchester can’t get involved, then how in the hell does the Tower of Magic have people in it from outside of the city. How do people immigrate?”
Nick smiled at Nero finally starting to see the bigger picture. To him, it was like seeing a child finally starting to see the world as it really is.
“Nero, the towers themselves are a microcosm of the kingdom. The central towers in Hennings run all of the city towers. When members take their oaths to the tower, they pledge to serve in whatever capacity they are asked to, until their time is up. Regardless of where they are from, they are limited to the power and status of the city they live in. Even though Arch-mage Jennings is currently serving as Dorchester’s court-mage, he can’t use his power to solve its problems. He is only here to run the local tower. The work itself must be done by the locals. That is why center-point graduates are so important. That is how talent is injected into the kingdom’s cities, and is the lifeblood of the kingdom.”
Nero was starting to get a picture of how people here viewed their government. Much like back home, the only purpose of the government was to limit the freedoms of the citizens, at least from a pessimistic perspective like Nero’s. The royals didn’t want things getting out of hand, but they didn’t want to overly restrict their citizenry, so they let the locals govern themselves for the most part. They stopped anyone from out of town from coming in and taking over. ‘Son-of-a-bitch, that’s diabolical. They went out of their way to stop the big-dogs from carving out their own little kingdoms. If someone wanted their personal fiefdom, they’d have to build it from the ground up, within the framework the king provided. And then their little slice of heaven would have to abide by the few rules the capital wants enforced, under the threat of the populators coming in and burning everything they’d built into the ground,’ he thought to himself, both horrified and a kinda impressed with their forethought.
Recalling that over the past day or two, someone had told him that uniques were outside of the class system, Nero felt the blood drain from his face. At that time, he hadn’t really understood what that implied, but now he was starting to see how that put him in a very ‘unique’ position.
Right as he was about to ask Nick about his newfound realization, he heard an aide shout from the door, “Lady Vera Salvatore-Verena, Proxy to the head of House Walker, and wife of trial-taker Lord Salvatore-Verena of House Verena.”
Looking over, he saw a stern-faced Vera making a bee-line for his position.
‘Well, she doesn’t look nearly as pissed as I thought she would be. Hopefully she has some ideas, cause I got nothing,’ he thought to himself, feeling once again completely out of his depth.