Since Teralia hatched, the only thing she could think about were gold and platinum of the Brilliant Peaks' flag. Like her mother, she wanted to become the centrepiece of that prestigious emblem: an Adjudicator. It was the most prestigious and important role in the government.

She dedicated her life to that pursuit, studied and fought even as her mother grew sick and abdicated her position. She watched as her home slowly fell into disrepair without an Adjudicator at the helm, even a specially assigned regent had been no substitute for the real thing. The High Council was blind without their head of government to guide them.

For nearly thirty years, no one could pass the exams necessary to claim the position of Adjudicator. No one until Teralia was ready to try. She passed on her first attempt and became the youngest Adjudicator in the history of the Brilliant Peaks.

With her certification complete, she walked down the ornate corridors to the High Council for the first time. Celebrations were yet to be had, but she found it much more important to meet the members of the High Council in their weekly gathering. She already knew them outside official capacity, as friends of family and tutors, but she was eager to see them with new eyes.

Excitement flared in her belly with each step she took toward the council's chambers. This tunnel was hers now. The enchanted lights and glyphs scribbled into the supporting beams, the cool granite beneath her paws, it was all hers. Others could access it, but they were merely guests in her domain. She took it all in, even the cracks on the ceiling and the rusting ornaments. Those kinds of blemishes had become commonplace throughout the entirety of her home, but now her people had an Adjudicator. She would rally her government and people to return her home to the pristine state she remembered from childhood, back when her mother was still in power.

At the end of the tunnel was a door built of platinum alloy, encrusted in rubies, and decorated with gold streaks. Teralia ran her claw through the ornate frame with reverence. That door, too, was hers. Her personal way in and out of the Council's Chambers.

The chamber behind those doors was not off limits to others; anyone could admire one of the most important rooms in the Brilliant Peaks from within, even when the Council was in Session. However, every week opened with a private meeting where only the twelve council members, the Council Clerk, and Adjudicators were allowed to participate. Despite the meeting not being the most important thing in her agenda, the exclusivity made Teralia proud of her accomplishments. She had studied her whole life to have a voice in this council, and now she was a push away from introducing herself as Adjudicator. Well, effective Adjudicator. But only some celebratory formalities were left. She wasn't as excited to appear before a cheering crowd as she was to begin her work. Theatrics could wait.

She took a deep breath to relax, incinerating the unfortunate particles of dust that happened to pass by her snout. The whole room should be waiting for her if protocol was to be believed. Another deep breath and she had cooled down enough to confidently push the doors open and stride forward. The doors opened without resistance, then closed by themselves with a soft thud. Teralia strutted forward toward the podium overseeing the whole room. The entire chamber came into view as she climbed.

“My most incandescent greetings—” she said before realising she was all alone.

In front of her was the gold table where the twelve council members should have been seated, but it was empty. The centerpiece of the room, within the boundaries of the table, was a map of the Brilliant Peaks as seen from above, sculpted directly onto the metal. It even had a working model of the clocktower positioned at the center of the mountains, almost as tall as the summits around it. Directly opposite from her was the other council members’ access door. It was much like her own, except it was built out of gold rather than platinum. It was a beautiful, spacious room, but lonesome without her peers.

That’s when Teralia noticed someone else was, in fact, with her. The Council Clerk was in his platform attached to the walls in an unobtrusive corner, looking bored, reading a book.

“Master Clerk,” Teralia called, “where are the Sovereigns and Masters?” She expected to see the three Sovereigns that composed the High Council, and the nine members of the Lower Council, three for each of the Sovereigns.

The clerk lashed his tail, startled by Teralia's voice. He looked down at the table, then at Teralia’s bench. Recognition arrived a second later.

“Adjudicator Teralia,” he said with a quick bow of his head, “the others should be arriving soon.”

Teralia liked the sound of her title, it was the first time she had been called by it. “Has something urgent delayed them?”

“Not to my knowledge, Adjudicator. They usually arrive… late,” he said, avoiding eye contact.

“Usually? You are saying this is a common occurrence? Why is this information absent from your transcripts?”

“I was told to omit such occurrences,” The clerk answered.

Teralia huffed and the air in front of her waved with the heat. “Told by whom?” She asked with a controlled tone.

He hesitated, then said, “Panoply Master Agarro."

“Someone from the Lower Council decreed it? What did the Sovereigns have to say?”

“They did not object.”

Teralia tapped her table, clacking her claws rhythmically. “And my mother— Adjudicator Herrah was present for this?”

“This happened long after she abdicated,” he answered promptly. “I could not place a date on it, it was many years ago, just after Regent Laria’s death.”

Once again, Teralia took a few moments to think. This was a large breach of protocol, and it had been happening for years! She had enjoyed going through the Council’s transcripts ever since she learned to read, but now she wondered what else could have been omitted.

“I am overriding the Panoply Master's order. You will resume performing your duty exactly as code dictates. Anything less I will consider dereliction of duty,” she ordered.

“Yes, Adjudicator,” the Clerk said with a bow, then stared at her, waiting for another command.

“Go on, this whole discussion should have been written down already,” she said with another scalding huff. The Clerk turned around presently and began tapping the rectangular runes on the machine in front of him.

Several minutes passed in silence. The Clerk was done writing the earlier discussion (to the best of his memory) and glanced back every so often to see what the new adjudicator was doing. Teralia was staring at the Council’s door with intensity, completely immobile. The wavering orange glow in her chest her only sign of life. Every second that passed was another failure of her fellow Council members – a failure to serve the erdwyrms of the Brilliant Peaks!

Just as her mind wandered to the decades of inconsistencies she must have absorbed from the Master Clerk’s transcripts, the golden doors swung open. Five council members entered, chatting brightly, leaving an acidic smell in the air. The door closed behind them as the last one walked past it. Teralia noted none of them greeting her as protocol dictated.

“Nice of you to finally join us,” Teralia said once they were accommodated. “I hope you enjoyed your heat baths and acid scrubs.”

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Conversation quickly died down and one of them spoke without the proper reverence, “Apologies, Adjudicator Teralia, we believed you would be arriving next moon.” She knew all the Council Members well; most had been serving since before she was born. The one that spoke was the Conduit Master, an old erdwyrm with tungsten plating, responsible for maintaining and overseeing the population’s access to magma and heating. She knew him for his bright personality. She, too, would probably feel bright if she could spend all day in a magma sauna.

“You should not be late even without an Adjudicator present. I will not tolerate further tardiness,” Teralia said, and the Conduit Master acquiesced with a quick bow, he did not seem to think much of it. “The Clerk will also resume reporting on your times of arrival. This is another issue I wish to bring up. Where are the others? I wish to speak to the Panoply Master,” Teralia demanded.

The members of the council looked at each other, avoiding eye contact with Teralia like children who had done something wrong. Just when she was about to reprimand them, one of them spoke up.

“The Panoply Master has duties he enjoys attending to in the morning, Adjudicator,” said the Quarry Master, the smallest erdwyrm in the council, sporting a stunningly colourful crystalline plating. He looked up searching for approval from the Adjudicator but received nothing. Teralia had often questioned how that slow sycophant had stumbled into his position. One thing she was sure of: the only way to flatter her would be to display competence. He was already trying to get to her good side, but, if he wanted that so much, he should have obeyed protocol and arrived on time. Hopefully she had made that clear enough.

Acknowledging the Quarry Master’s information with a glance, Teralia tapped on her table again. “I see. If he is not present at all today, he will be reprimanded as per protocol. So will the other seven members that have not bothered to show – Sovereigns and Masters alike. Regardless, we may start without them. Today will be a short session, there is only my introduction to get through, unless someone wishes to bring another topic to the table,” Teralia said, then watched all the council members. No one spoke up. “Excellent.”

Teralia cleared her throat, adjusted her posture, and spoke loudly and clearly, “I will be brief. My name is Teralia, child of Adjudicator Herrah as you probably know well. Now that I have come of age and completed my exams, I have been declared Adjudicator to fill the void left by my mother’s disease and Regent Laria’s death. I hope for smooth cooperation with my fellow council members and effective work for the citizens of the Brilliant Peaks,” Teralia bowed her head with reverence and then settled back down behind her podium.

The room acknowledged her presence in various ways. Most bowed back, but Teralia noticed that the Conduit and Barter Masters were apathetic to her introduction. It did not matter much to her, she was, after all, their boss. If they observed protocol, they would not have a problem.

Teralia was about to call the end of the session when the doors to the council opened again.

“You will not believe what I found,” said a wyrm covered in iron and brass who Teralia recognised was Panoply Master Agarro, responsible for safeguarding the Brilliant Peaks. “Look at this! Two of them!” He said with a mixture of pride and annoyance. On his hands were a pair of chains which he pulled on every few steps. At the end of the chains, Teralia she saw two terrified mammals, a human and a deer. They were barely able to keep up with the wyrm’s pace and kept stumbling over themselves.

The Panoply Master, upon entering the room, grabbed the two creatures on his hand before dropping them on the table. He opened his mouth to speak but noticed Teralia’s presence and thought better of his words.

“Go on, Panoply Master,” Teralia said. “I believe you were about to tell us why you have brought two mammals to the Council’s Chambers — during a private session no less.”

The Panoply Master glared at the Conduit Master, which Teralia interpreted as annoyance for not being warned about her arrival. He then took a sit and looked up at the Adjudicator.

“Adjudicator Teralia, it is nice to see you take up your mother’s role. I caught these two wandering the second layer of the inner perimeter. I’ve brought them for questioning,” The Panoply Master said.

Teralia was not pleased. “That is not the correct protocol for—”

“Don’t hurt us please!” The human begged Teralia, falling on her knees. “We haven’t done anything wrong, we just—”

“Quiet!” Teralia ordered and the human was silent. “You will have your turn to speak. First, I want to know why you, Panoply Master Agarro, have brought them here.”

“For questioning… I just told you,” Agarro answered, “They pretend to be traders but were caught wandering far deeper than permitted.”

“Is this true?” Teralia asked the mammals.

“It’s true that we are traders,” the human said. Teralia recognised the bright tunics swirling with colours as the clothes of wandering merchants of nearby settlements, so she was inclined to believe her. “But we just got lost, we didn’t mean to trespass.”

Teralia nodded, then motioned toward the Barter Master and said, “Escort them out of the mountain and provide them a map of the region, they seem to have lost the ones we provide." She then glared at the diminutive mammals before her and said, "I recommend you study the map carefully to avoid further penalties,” Teralia said, and both mammals nodded feverishly.

“What? That’s it?” Agarro said with some surprise. The others in the room observed the exchange silently. “They trespass so we give them a welcome gift and show them out?”

“You also confiscated our goods,” the deer dared to say.

“That was to cover the fine,” Agarro snarled back.

“There is no fine,” Teralia dismissed. “Hand over custody of them to the Barter Master and return their goods. And get rid of those awful chains. We’re not barbarians.”

Agarro stared at Teralia defiantly, then said, “You should demonstrate your strength on your first day, Adjudicator, not leniency.”

“Our laws are our strength, and I will see that they are obeyed,” she snapped back.

“Take my wisdom, young wyrm; if you are soft on them, they will return” Agarro continued. “They will come begging for scraps until they dig our backs raw.”

Teralia hopped off her podium with surprising agility, landing on the map of the Brilliant Peaks. She stepped over the miniature mountains, then came face to face with the Panoply Master, chest glowing red. The mammals backed away from the two but were stopped from fleeing by the chains.

“The only one I am being soft on, Panoply Master, are the members of this council who do not even bother to show up on time. I will not have our laws and protocols disrespected through tardiness or thievery. You will hand the intruders over to the Barter Master and return their goods, and you will comply immediately, or I will have you stripped of your excavation rights. Am I fully understood?”

The Panoply Master stared back, still defiant, but eventually relented. “Very well, young Teralia, I will do so. But know that there is more than protocols and rules governing these mountains. Make sure to learn that before you dig a nest in that podium,” he said, backing away from Teralia. He struck the mammal’s chains with a claw and released them from their bondage.

The Barter Master, who was quietly observing the exchange, spoke, “Follow me, mammals, let’s get your things.” He walked over to the end of the room, followed by the Panoply Master. The two exchanged a whisper as they exited.

The mammals had to be assisted down by the Quarry Master — who looked for Teralia’s approval before and after the deed — and hastily caught up with the larger erdwyrms ahead.

Teralia returned to her podium, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down. “The rest of you are dismissed. Remind your fellow Council members that attendance is mandatory. I will hear no excuses for tardiness.”

The whole room stood together, bowed to each other, and left. They said their farewells to Teralia as they exited the room, as was customary, which she appreciated.

She felt quite frustrated with her first day and lingered for some time, tapping her claws on her podium. The Panoply Master’s words echoed in her mind, “There is more than protocols and rules governing these mountains.” She did not fully understand what Agarro meant, but she would make sure that their laws were observed, it was her job after all.

“Adjudicator Teralia,” the Clerk called.

“You’re dismissed too, Master Clerk. Thank you for your work,” she answered without looking at him.

“I just wanted to say,” the Clerk continued, “that it’s good to have someone that wants to see things done right.” He bowed and took his leave. That brightened Teralia’s gloomy expression slightly. She decided to go home, opening the silver door, and strutting down the long corridor toward her home.

While she walked through the paths that bridged the gaps over the underground canyons, she begun to think. For the first time in her life, she absorbed the scope of the disrepair of her mountain. Metal creaked and wavered as she walked over bridges, their support beams threatening to collapse. She had to take many detours to reach her home because of exposed vents and collapsed tunnels. Many of the erdwyrms on her way had old, unpolished crests of metal, indicative of a poor diet and lack of access to heat. They bumped on rocks on the ground as the enchanted lighting failed to illuminate the way but were so numb to the occurrence that they continued walking as if nothing had happened. Like the others, she was inured to these sighs. There was a way for routine to become invisible.

In that moment, she vowed not only to stop old tunnels from collapsing, but to clean up the leftover debris and reinforce the foundations of her mountain. And she would start by shaving off the rust that had grown in the Council’s chambers.