ILIAS PAYNE
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After promising to meet up with Erina and Chris after our coronation, they walked through Gluttony’s portal and disappeared—Erina’s gates were healed by the gympie fruit.
The proctors headed to the explosion blast to put out the fire while the nobles and military figures got back on their horses and stagecoaches to head back to the city. They were talking about the recent battles while passing purses around.
Ivan instructed us to stay behind with him, the royal family, and the Royal Guard.
“Speaking of wager,” Thaddeus said. “I passed, didn’t I?”
“I passed too,” Roswaal said.
“Tsk-tsk. Don’t think I’ve forgotten. The bet was if I can pass or not and I did.”
“Sorry.” Roswaal chuckled. “I can’t resist not trying to trick you.”
The jester reached into his pocket and flipped a gold coin to Thaddeus, who inspected it before throwing it in his pocket.
“By the way Thaddeus, you’ve been disqualified,” Ivan said suddenly. “Please leave through the portal.”
“What? But I won the fight.”
“You passed that, but are getting disqualified because you failed to follow rule number one. Last week during the phase two preparations, you snuck out of Base Zero and spent the night in a tavern, interacting with outsiders.”
“Wait, how do you know about that?”
Why didn’t this idiot at least try to lie?
Ivan held his breath and disappeared before reappearing a couple of seconds later.
“Why did you wait until now? You could’ve at least disqualified me before phase two started.”
“I figured you would fail the next two phases, but you didn’t. Try again next year and follow the rules next time.”
Thaddeus stared dumbfoundedly, too shocked to realize he fumbled his goal right before the finish line.
“Hey, kid,” Roswaal said. “This was your first time and you passed. If you did it once, you can do it again, can’t you?”
“What if I get a bad team?”
“You can try and try again,” the jester said before rubbing his fingers together. “Now, I want what I’m owed.”
Thaddeus reached into his pocket and flicked back his gold coin. “So, Ivan, I take this portal, right?”
“Hey, this is my gold coin you’re returning because you lost. Which means you still gotta give me the gold coin you bet on.”
Thaddeus sighed and flicked another coin to Roswaal before heading into the portal. “We’ll wait for you guys inside Tally Hall.”
The royal family and the Royal Guard approached the portal and waited a second before stepping through. We followed them and found ourselves in a room I recognized—the throne room. Though some things had changed like the window panes being coloured and the floor tiles being in a checkered black and white pattern, the layout was exactly the same as it was over a hundred years ago.
“The Iron Keep,” I said. “It’s an honour to be here, Your Grace.”
King Arthureus climbed the stairs that led up to the elevated quartz throne and took a seat. “Ilias and Roswaal, is it? Ivan, take them to the meeting room to sign the documents. After that, return here so I can grant them their titles.”
We followed Ivan to a nearby room with a long table. He handed us each a piece of paper and instructed us what to do. “Just put your full name in the first slot, the title you want to go by in the second slot, and your full name again in the last with Van in the middle.”
“That’s it?”
“Yup. Head back to the throne room when that clock rings. I’ve got to get your watches ready.”
The chameleon left us in the room and the two of us reviewed the form.
Certificate of State Jynxist
This official document certifies that the nation of Armestis appoints _____________________ with the title of _____________________, in the name of King Arthureus Nelbrandt.
From now henceforth, they shall be known as ______________________.
The State Jynxist shall follow all orders and policies:
When the military declares states of emergency throughout the country, it is the State Jynxist’s duty to respond to them by temporarily joining the military as a major until said state of emergency has been lifted. In the case that the State Jynxist does not show up without a valid reason (see law 92), they shall be discharged from the status of State Jynxist and fined, persecuted, or both.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
The State Jynxist is entitled to a monthly allowance of five gold coins, unrestricted access to classified documentation, access to various government facilities, free healthcare, and an immediate military rank equal to that of "major" if they decide to join the military—though it is not required for them to do so.
King Arthureus Nelbrandt
When I sign this piece of paper, I’ll be known as Ilias Van Payne—it rolls off the tongue really well.
The only thing I was stuck on was what my title should be.
Heloise’s was Silver because of her silver hair, but my hair was a dull brown. Camaro’s was Chariot because of his Tarot Card, but The World or World didn’t sound intimidating.
How about I take inspiration from my old life?
The Jynx Devil? No, that sounds obnoxious.
The Thornful Rose? No, I’m not a Lancaster anymore and the Paynes don’t have a sigil.
Picking a title for yourself was much harder than having others grant you a title.
When the clock rang, we headed back to the throne room with my document still incomplete. Ivan gathered the papers and handed them to be signed by King Arthureus.
He signed off on Roswaal’s before examining mine. “Ilias, you forgot to give yourself a title.”
“I apologize. I couldn’t think of one.”
“Hmm… How about I give you one?”
“The best titles are the ones other people give you.”
“That’s true.” King Arthureus chuckled. “I won’t give you a bad one either. You’re the youngest person to become a State Jynxist after all.”
The king wrote something on the paper and passed it back to Ivan who reacted solemnly.
Wait, is this the ceremony? I wasn’t expecting it to be this empty. The only ones here are the king, the Royal Guard, a handful of the proctors, and the graduates.
King Arthureus descended the steps and approached us, the Royal Guard watched from the sides. Gluttony approached him when he reached the bottom of the stairs and offered a great sword. King Arthureus unsheathed the large blade and pointed at the ground before him. “Roswaal, kneel here.”
The jester did as he was told and kneeled on one knee.
“In the name of King Arthureus Nelbrandt, I charge you to protect the king’s peace,” he said as he placed the sword on Roswaal's right shoulder. “Roswaal Morroh, I pass this duty down to you, do you accept them?”
“I do.”
“Then by order of King Arthureus Nelbrandt, I certify that Roswaal Morroh will be appointed to the status of State Jynxist and granted the title Deep Purple. Arise as Roswaal Van Morroh, a State Jynxist of Armestis.”
Roswaal stood up and bowed. “My gratitude is all yours.” He then returned to my side.
King Arthureus pointed his sword to where Roswaal had just been. “Ilias, your turn.”
I went down to one knee.
“In the name of King Arthureus Nelbrandt, I charge you to protect the king’s peace,” he said as he placed the sword on my right shoulder. “Ilias Payne, I pass this duty down to you, do you accept them?”
“I do.”
“Then by order of King Arthureus Nelbrandt, I certify that you, Ilias Payne, will be appointed to the status of State Jynxist and granted the title Prince Of Dawn. Arise as Ilias Van Payne, a State Jynxist of Armestis.”
I went back to Roswaal’s side who smiled and nodded.
“Congratulations, you two, for passing the seventy-third State Jynxist Exam,” King Arthureus said.
Ivan handed us each a pocket watch. “These watches will be your licences. Inside are the engravings of your names to prove that you are in fact a State Jynxist. Look after them very carefully. If you lose them, they will not be replaced.” He then handed us each a piece of paper. “Here are your certificates. If you lose them, it’s fine because we have the original copy and you can request a new one. This is more something to display in your homes.”
“What now?”
“Well, don’t you two have people you want to tell this news to?” the king asked. “If I were to recall, you were going to meet up with Chris, Erina, and Thaddeus at Tally Hall.”
“May we leave, Your Grace?”
“There’s no need for you to ask that. Go ahead.”
Gluttony opened up a portal which we walked through, finding ourselves right in front of Tally Hall. Passerbys stopped what they were doing to raise an eyebrow at us.
When we went inside, Roswaal and I found our friends sitting in the corner. Chris was happily drinking ale while Erina lectured Thaddeus.
“Honestly, you threw away an entire opportunity because of that? Imagine how Chris must feel. She could’ve become a State Jynxist.”
“It’s fine,” Chris said. “I failed and that’s that. I can always try again next year. We’ll see each other then.”
“Exactly,” Thaddeus said. “Listen to Christina.”
“There’s no Tina!”
“Well, there’s a good chance I won’t make it to next year’s exam. But I’ll try my hardest to come.”
When the three of them noticed us, we took the conversation outside and changed the topic.
“How was it?” Erina asked.
Roswaal and I handed over our watches for inspection.
“What are your titles?” Chris asked.
“I’m known as Deep Purple.”
“And I’m Prince Of Dawn.”
“Badass names,” Thaddeus complimented. “So what now? There’s really no need for us to stick around with each other anymore.”
“I don’t know about you guys,” Roswaal said. “But I’ve got to get back to my manor. With this licence, I can raise the prices for my services.”
“Hey, we promised to meet up with Zwergin for the day,” Chris said.
“Yes, I haven’t forgotten. Shall we then, Chris?”
The two of them waved us off as they travelled down the street. “Goodbye for now. See you three later.”
The awkward silence between the three of us hung heavy.
“So, Ilias,” Thaddeus said. “You’re now a State Jynxist. What’s your plan now?”
“I don’t really know. I’m going to be heading back to my village. I think I’ll be learning how to fight with a sword.”
“That’s good. Well for me, I guess I’ll stay here for a bit and enjoy the city. I’ll definitely come back for next year’s exam.”
“I’m not sure if I can come,” Erina said, “but I’ll try my hardest.”
I patted them both on the shoulder. “Yeah, you two almost became State Jynxists on your first try. I know you can do it again. And who knows? Maybe they’ll ask me to become the proctor for next year.” I held a fist outward. “Until next time.”
Thaddeus added his fist in. “Yeah. We’ll see each other again.”
“Whatever goals we have, let’s try to achieve them before we reunite.” Erina added hers in, completing the team. “To each our vows.”
The three of us turned around and moved forward, our paths diverging. We didn’t look back because the next time we see each other, our paths will converge.
We are terrible at goodbyes.
Each of us moved forward in our own paths—and with the promise to reunite in the future, Earth, Wind, and Fire disbands.