Golnar sat in his room listening to Till and Philo bicker. He closed his eyes to their racket and tried to focus his thoughts. They had heard no news from the other side since the incident in the fall where the Aurumist guards failed to kill the young king. Golnar had moved forward with his plans, releasing almost all the magical-blooded folk in the first ring of Aurumist. Soon it would be time to turn to the folk in the outer rings. He needed nothing to get in his way.

“So, you don’t have any other contacts that can get us any word on what is going on with the old magical folk?” asked Till.

“None, I have written to a few other families, but I have received no answers. What about these spies and shadows the palace is so proud of? Can they find nothing?” asked Philo angrily.

Golnar opened his eyes and looked at Philo. His spies and shadows had not talked to him recently meaning they had found nothing. Whatever was going on with the old magical folk now was well hidden.

“My sources have been silent since harvest time. Perhaps the old magical folk are holed up in their safe communities for the winter. Maybe they are waiting until the spring to make any moves,” said Golnar.

“I doubt it. We tried to kill their king. From what I know of Ansel, that won’t go without some action,” said Philo looking at Golnar.

“And who’s idea was that to run in at a moment’s notice with no real plan, Philo? You were so sure you could get to the king, and look what happened? You were sent back here bloodied, beaten, and ashamed,” said Till loudly.

“No one could ever predict what happened that night. I or anyone else alive has probably never seen anything like that happen. We were close,” said Philo staring at Till.

“But close doesn’t count,” said Golnar. “It’s a good thing, too. I want to see this young king’s power for myself. Destroying him is no longer our goal. We need to take him alive. We need to find out what makes him so powerful. He is young. Perhaps we could sway him if we get him away from his protectors and advisors. If we have their prophesied king on our side, maybe we could turn some old magical folk to our way of thinking.”

“Do you have a plan on how to get to the king?” asked Philo.

“Shouldn’t you as our military commander being coming up with a plan, Philo? You are being paid handsomely for your services,” said Till.

“You don’t think I have done my share of work?” asked Philo standing up and pointing at till angrily “I’d like to see where you would be with all these magical folk you have released without me training them.”

“Sit down, Philo. Both of you need to stop arguing. This does us no good. We will all need to work together to make sure everything goes as plan. We do need a plan to get to the young king, but we have time. We will have our moment. Right now, we need to focus on releasing all magical users in the city and reorganization,” said Golnar loudly.

Philo sat down and said, “I will not be treated as thought I have not pulled my weight. What happened in the forest was not my fault.”

“We know that, Philo. You have done well with trainings and equipping our soldiers. You have been paid well with a home and a place on the council. What more could you want?” asked Golnar.

“No one has been able to locate my son,” said Philo. “It’s been almost half a year now, and I haven’t heard anything.”

“He might not want to be found. Worry not, when we have re-created Regventus into the kingdom we envision, he will turn up. He will not be held accountable for any unwise decisions he might have made. Our deal for your son’s safety still stands,” said Golnar trying to reassure Philo.

Philo nodded. “I can write to a few more of my old friends and see if anyone responds. There may be those who will trade news for the right price that I haven’t contacted yet.”

“We may not be able to meet with the council because travel is difficult in the winter, but I will contact our viceroys and see what news I can find out,” said Till.

“Yes, let’s think of solutions and not turn on one another. Maybe my spies will have news for us soon. They will not relent until they find something. Now, I have to go meet with our king so you will have to excuse me,” said Golnar standing up.

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Till and Philo both stood up and walked with Golnar to the door and down the stairs. When they got to the throne room, they went their separate ways. Till to his home, Philo to train his soldiers, and Golnar to Kedan’s study. Golnar walked up to the door to the study nodding to Kedan’s guards. He raised his hand and knocked twice.

“Who is there?” asked Kedan from inside.

“It is Golnar, my king,” said Golnar.

“Enter.”

Golnar opened the door and walked into the room. Kedan was at his desk, writing.

“Good afternoon, Golnar,” said Kedan without looking up from his desk. “Have a seat. I’ll be with you in a moment.”

Golnar didn’t like being ignored by this king he had made. He doubted the letters Kedan were writing were of any importance, but he held his tongue and sat down in a seat in front of Kedan’s desk.

“Who are you writing?” asked Golnar.

“Viceroy Clay in the Great Surrounding. We need more wood in the city. I am hoping his land can provide us with materials within the next two weeks,” said Kedan still writing.

“Surely, a servant could write such a letter for you, my king. You don’t need to trouble yourself on such trivial matters.”

“The safety and comfort of my folk are not trivial matters. I don’t mind doing it. I want to make sure the folk of the kingdom are taking care of. We need the wood and the Great Surrounding needs the funds.”

Golnar did not like this Kedan before him. He needed the Kedan who would rather drink with friends or spend all day with Teryn than work on kingdom matters. He needed a distracted Kedan who would let Golnar and the council do whatever they wanted without Kedan’s interference.

Kedan finished his letter and sealed it. He looked up at Golnar with a smile.

“Thank you for waiting. Now, I wanted to talk about your plans for the second and third ring of the city,” said Kedan looking at Golnar.

“What about them? We have gone over this with the council. Viceroy Till is on board, what questions could you have?”

“I have many questions. You say you plan to release all magical blooded folk in the rings. Do you plan on training them the same as the first ring?”

“They will be trained. We have identified several first ring residents who are advanced enough to lead trainings. They will be overseen by Philo Quick. I don’t foresee any problems.”

Kedan nodded. “What happens once we train these new magic users? Will they stay where they are now?”

“For the time being. After we are sure we have released all magic users, we will work to reorganize the city based on magical ability and skill of those born without the gift,” replied Golnar.

“What about those with magical blood who do not want to be released? Will they be forced to take the elixir you have made?” asked Kedan.

“Why would anyone with magical blood not want to be able to do magic? I am sure this will not be a problem.”

“You may not know this, but there are those in the outer rings who do not trust the powers in the palace. They may not want to drink some potion we are giving them. They may not trust it,” said Kedan.

“We will win their trust then. We will do demonstrations of the potion’s safety and effectiveness. We can offer money or food if need be. We will find a way to make sure all take the elixir.”

“You didn’t answer my question. Will it be forced on anyone?”

“I’m not answering it, because it’s not a question that needs to be answered. It will not be anything we have to worry about. You don’t need to worry about any of this, my king. You have your hands full with more weighty kingdom matters, and your wife. She will have your child by spring. You will want to devote more attention to Teryn,” said Golnar trying to distract Kedan.

“Queen Teryn is very well looked after by me and her attendants. We are not speaking of the queen or my child, we are talking about our city and the folk. I have many concerns about these plans of yours. I haven’t even gotten started about those with non-magical blood. What happens to them in this new order of yours? I’ve only heard vague answers that they will be taken care of. What does taken care of mean?” asked Kedan. His tone was getting too close to irritated for Golnar’s liking.

“Taken care of means, they will have their role. They will have work if they want it and a place to live. Many will be far better off than they are now. The council and the Viceroy of the city have already decided this is the way to go. You may be the king, but you do not rule alone,” said Golnar through clinched teeth.

“I know that, Golnar. I am not arguing with you. I just want to know the plan. I want to make sure my folk are safe and provided for. These questions should not draw your ire. They should be easy to answer. I am only looking for reassurance that we are all acting in the best interest of our city and our kingdom.”

Golnar smiled tightly at Kedan. “You are taking an unusual amount of interest in the kingdom lately. You shouldn’t let your new crown go to your head. Remember who helped it get there in the first place.”

Kedan looked unfazed. “I am well aware of your work to crown my as King of Regventus. I will not forget it, Golnar. I am not meaning to argue with you. I was a poor lord. I was inattentive to the council and the kingdom. I want to amend for my mistakes. I am not saying I am against you in any way. I just want to be included from this point forth. I would like to be updated on how things are going, and what problems arise. I want to be told before the next phase of your plan happens. I would also like a written document of this plan.”

“Is that all, my king?” asked Golnar trying to keep his anger in check.

“Yes, for now,” said Kedan picking up his quill.

Golnar got up and turned to go. As he walked to the door, he was stop momentarily by Kedan saying, “Golnar, you may have put me here as king, but I have the approval of the people and friends on the council. It will benefit you to work with me and include me on your plans.”

Golnar looked at Kedan and nodded. As he left the throne room and walked up the stairs back to his room, Golnar thought he would need to meet with Camelia Belles and Queen Teryn very soon. The king needed to be distracted before it was too late for Kedan.