Dreamer's Throne

"I think this is a lot of foolishness," Gero said, standing up and staring directly at Louise. "Since when have we gotten involved in the politics of this city? That's a game for the nobles to play, not us."

"Normally, I would agree with you," Jonathan Moran said, getting laboriously to his feet. "But this," he paused and tapped the table with a meaty finger for emphasis, "this is a situation that will affect us deeply. We have the opportunity for tremendous growth, but in it lies danger that could crush all of us."

"Speak for yourself," Gero said with a sneer. "The Ebony Association will come through just fine."

Henry Janus from Janus Manor agreed. "Janus Manor also isn't likely to be affected. We have enough legitimate business that we don't have to worry about a crackdown."

Before Louise could jump back into the conversation, Gero turned to Vent Delland from the Marble Griffins.

"What about you, Vent? Do you care who sits on the throne?"

The old soldier thought about it for a moment and then shook his head. "No, it matters not to us. Our goal is to protect the gate and the families who live around it. We have no interest in the power plays among the nobility."

"Arthur, how does the Adventurers Guild feel about getting involved in politics?"

Suddenly put on the spot, Arthur Tellson shifted uncomfortably, his gaze going back and forth between Louise and Gero. "I think that we would be foolish to ignore the potential opportunities. After all, if we play our cards right, we could increase the amount of power this council wields substantially."

It was a safe answer. And judging from the annoyed look on Louise's face, not the one that she wanted from him.

“Cynen? What about you and the Grave Walkers?” Gero asked.

“The task of the grave walkers is clear, and we will not deviate from it.”

The more members of the ten seats that turned down Louise's proposal, the happier Gero got. She turned to Thomas and Carl Rackham, who sat next to him.

"How does the Moonlight Council stand on this issue? I know you said you're not involved in any of the factions so far, but given your family connections, I imagine it's hard to avoid being entangled in it."

"There's some truth to that," Thomas replied. "But at the end of the day, I'm me, and my father is my father. He firmly supports the princess, though wouldn't be opposed to seeing the nobility have the opportunity to shoulder more of the ruler's burden. As for the Moonlight Council, we'll continue to operate, regardless of what happens. The privilege of birth, you might say. What about you, Rackham? What do you think?"

Rackham didn't reply for a minute, and when he did, he simply shrugged.

"So far," Gero said, flashing a smile at Louise, "six of us don't want anything to do with this. One of us is undecided, and two are in favor. It seems to me that we've already made our decision. But then, just to be fair, Klein, where do you stand on this issue?"

Smiling slightly, Garrett waved his hand.

"I don't stand anywhere," he said, causing a few chuckles around the table. "But that aside, I'm afraid I see this whole situation a little bit differently than everyone else."

"Oh?"

With all attention on him, Garrett took his time to answer, as if gathering his thoughts.

"We really only have one option," he said, "and that is to support the princess."

Ignoring the stir that his words caused, Garrett held up his finger.

"There's only one thing that matters, and that is that Duke Arkov is in the manifesting stage, and is intent on seeing Eloise firmly established as Queen of Insomnium. It is practically guaranteed that we are going to see the return of the Bloody Duke. And so, regardless of what the rest of you decide, the Klein family will be laying low, so as not to catch the attention of that walking disaster."

The expressions of everyone around the table were a mixture of fear and disbelief. And after a long moment, it was Thomas who leaned forward. "How positive are you that the Duke has risen to the manifesting stage?"

"100%," Garrett replied calmly.

"And the manifesting stage, is it that powerful?"

Carl Rackham leaned forward, his normally impassive face twisted into a bitter expression.

"It's more powerful than you can imagine," Rackham said. "Someone in the manifesting stage could kill all of us here within a few seconds. If what Garrett says is true, then he's correct. We have no choice but to lay low."

Of everyone there, Louise was the one who looked the most put out. The strength of her gang was in their information network. Yet apart from some vague rumors, they had heard nothing about the Duke's power. While she was inclined to believe that Garrett was just making it up, she knew better than to call him out directly. Instead, she casually glanced to the side, giving Jonathan Moran a hidden signal.

"You say you're 100% sure?" The fat merchant said, dabbing at the beads of sweat that appeared on his forehead with a handkerchief. "But what proof do you have?"

"First-hand proof," Garrett replied casually. "As you all probably already know, I was in the palace this morning to receive a reward from Princess Eloise for my contribution in helping her arrive back at the palace safely. To my surprise, Duke Arkov was there, and the aura he gave off was unmistakable. I'm well-acquainted with the level of power possessed by shapers," Garrett gestured around the room, "as I'm surrounded by it almost constantly. But the aura the Duke gave off was on a different level. It completely crushed the resistance of everybody in the room. And that was when he was restrained. I can only imagine what would have happened if he had actually unleashed his aura. It was such a qualitative difference that there's only one reasonable possibility. Duke Arkov is a manifester."

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Slapping the table, Gero stood up, giving Garrett an annoyed glare.

"You know, if you had just told us that at the beginning, we could have saved ourselves this whole conversation. But now there's clearly no need to continue. Like the Klein family, the Ebony Association will be laying low as well."

Her words were echoed around the table, as one by one, each of the gangs declared their intentions to tone down their activities and withdraw from the public eye. None of them would give up control over their territory, or even stop their actions completely. The tacit understanding was that it was time to duck their heads and avoid standing out.

This was not the outcome Silver Song had been hoping for. And judging from the stormy look on Louise's face, she was furious. Still, she couldn't go against the rest of the council, and she knew just as well as anyone how foolhardy it would be to try and make big moves with the Duke breathing down their neck.

As the meeting broke up, Garrett saw Carl Rackham walking around the table towards him. The others, noticing Rackham's movement, delayed, curious what he was going to say. When the mercenary leader arrived in front of Garrett, he bowed.

"I want to apologize for the actions of my men the other night," he said.

Before he could continue, Garrett interrupted. "You have nothing to apologize for."

"I'm still responsible for them," Rackham said but Garrett just waved it off.

"I understand, and I think it's an admirable way of leading. But they didn't do anything wrong. In fact, if anything, they helped me establish my prestige."

Able to read the sincerity in Garrett's voice, Rackham nodded and left the issue. With nothing left to talk about, Garrett called Ryn over, and they left, returning to the inn.

The next few days were quiet, and Garrett spent some time understanding the mysterious artifacts that he had retrieved from the black market. The feather was the simplest. The more mental energy was put into it, the heavier it became. The key was even more mysterious. When it was stimulated with mental energy, it would vanish, only to reappear sometime later. Garrett could tell that the key was moving in between the dream world and the waking world. But what it could be used for, he had no idea.

The last of the three mysterious artifacts was a cup bearing the same pattern as the plate that could turn food into fish. Similarly, the cup transformed everything that the target drank into saltwater. Since he didn't have a particular use for them. Garrett sent them into the world behind the mirror, for Isabelle, since she enjoyed collecting such trinkets.

Four days after the Ten Seats had convened, word spread throughout the city of the princess's inauguration, to be held a month later. Immediately, a flurry of activity broke out, as everyone began to prepare. The ascension of a new king or queen was an exceptionally important time in the city. Not only would the palace be lavishly decorated for an extravagant party, but the citizens would be given leave to celebrate as well.

Restaurants began ordering more food and drink, wanting to be ready for the citizens who would take to the streets. Many began constructing outdoor seating, since the entire city would be celebrating.

Garrett was busy as well. It seemed that every day he got requests from the different groups as they plotted and counter-plotted. The princess was in deep negotiation with the nobles who supported her, trying to hammer out details of the council that she would form as her first act as queen. Although Garrett wasn't in any of those meetings, the princess would often request his assistance, sending him mental messages containing the proposed details and asking for his opinion.

At the same time, Baron Gelavin's faction also reached out, asking him to help persuade the princess of one point or another. Finally, the closer the inauguration date came, the more often Garrett heard from Victor as his father prepared his own plans.

Excitement continued to build in the city, along with a strong undercurrent of tension. Through all of it, Garrett did his best to balance the requests from each group, while at the same time finalizing his own preparations. The month passed swiftly, and soon the morning of the inauguration came.

The city was bustling as everyone put the finishing touches on their preparations, or cleared the last bits of work from their plates, in order to get ready for the three-day party that was about to take place. Garrett had received one of the gold-edged invitations to witness the inauguration at the palace, and that morning he took extra care as he got ready. Ryn would come with him, but they would be the only members of the Klein family attending.

They set out early, even before the sun had risen, yet the city was still full of people rushing this way and that. It took an hour longer than normal to get to the palace, and even after they arrived, they found the gate jammed with carriages dropping off various nobles. The duke had gone all out for his niece, and no one wanted to miss the event.

It took another hour to get into the palace itself, and once they had finally made it through the doors, one of the servants directed them to the large ballroom, where they could get light refreshments as they waited to enter the throne room. The invitation they held included the opportunity to witness the crowning ceremony itself, but that wouldn't be for another four hours, and so Ryn pushed Garrett through the halls heading for the ballroom.

In the last month, the palace had almost completely transformed, as decorations were added to make it look even more impressive. The halls practically overflowed with flowers placed in large pots near the windows, and beautiful cloth had been hung from the ceiling, creating an almost ethereal feeling. Everything had been burnished to a near mirror finish, and glowing crystals had been placed in braziers everywhere the eye turned.

The nobles, scattered around the hall in small groups, had spared no expense on their clothing, and Garrett could feel Ryn practically drooling behind him as she looked at all of the gems that surrounded them. They made their way into the ballroom, finding a corner, and a servant soon approached, with a tray that held various delicacies.

After waiting for half an hour, another servant arrived, this time requesting their presence in a small adjoining room. Under the envious gazes of many in the ballroom, Ryn and Garrett made their way into the small room, where they met the soon-to-be queen. As soon as they saw her, both bowed.

"You look lovely, your highness," Garrett said, causing Eloise to smile happily.

"It is a beautiful dress, isn't it?" she said, smoothing a wrinkle out of the skirt. "I apologize that I don't have much time, but I just wanted to tell you once again how incredibly grateful I am for all of your help.”

“I take it the negotiations went well, then?"

"Yes. Your proposals were brilliant, and the nobles have all agreed. I'll be making the announcement tomorrow, on the second day of the celebration, and on the third day we'll release the list of names of individuals who are being considered. Per your suggestion, they won't automatically be appointed, but instead will have to get a certain number of signatures from those who are not going to be on the council. Additionally, we've limited it to ten seats for the nobles, and four seats for the leaders of the various industries in the city.”

“It sounds like you achieved complete success," Garrett said, looking impressed. "It's an incredibly impressive feat, considering you aren't yet queen.”

“I was helped by the excellence of the ideas," Princess Eloise said, flashing a smile. "And my uncle's glare might have had something to do with it as well."

That caused Garrett to chuckle.

"Indeed, having Duke Arkov on your side is probably the greatest advantage you could ask for."

Seeing a servant step into the room and look meaningfully at the soon-to-be queen, Garrett bowed once more.

"I won't take up any more of your time, your highness. Congratulations on your incredible achievement. I know that you will be a wonderful ruler for this city."

Taking a deep breath, the princess nodded. Though she seemed to want to say more, she held her tongue as Garrett and Ryn left the room to give her time to prepare for the upcoming ceremony.