A Dragon’s Curiosity

 

 

Stopping the rhythm of his finger tapping on the expensive wood that the throne was crafted from, King Cederic Loewe swept another glance over the different lounges and the nobles present on the benches in the hall before he motioned to the ceremonial master.

The man in question knocked his staff on the ground twice, drawing all attention to the main character of the court session.

“Hear ye! His Grace, our benevolent ruler, has used his great wisdom to arrive at a judgement.

Baron Summerguard, Baron Bellridge, you shall come forward to receive His Majesty‘s edict!“

Nisha noticed that his voice contained the ring of mana, a sign that he used more than just his natural voice to capture the attention of everyone.

At the same time, it aroused her interest, since it was a new form of magic that she came in contact with, the elf had yet to find any references about spells related to sound waves and their effects.

Fortunately, the dragon did not have to worry about being influenced in the dark, as soon as the touch of magic tried to enter her body, the [Dragon Force] circulating in her body got enraged that its territory was encroached upon and crushed the magic in the voice to smithereens.

The ceremonial atmosphere subdued the people present even more and no one dared to look at the King directly before he spoke, they bowed their heads as a sign of respect.

Only the Dukes and their representatives were spared based on their exceptional achievements in cultivation, along with a certain unruly elf who only followed through the motions and imitated Henry next to her.

Since this was the territory of Leandar and its king, it was not a shame for the dragon to bow her head and follow the local custom.

Under the unreadable expression of His Majesty, the two Barons approached the platform beneath the throne and fell on one knee, awaiting the final judgement of their dispute.

Some of the weaker members of the audience even had their breath taken away because of the solemn atmosphere.

 

Fortunately, the king did not wait until they would have trouble staying conscious from a lack of breath and he addressed Baron Summerguard first.

“As a noble appointed to protect the kingdom, We won‘t fault you for leading soldiers to stand against the threat of monsters.

Our Kingdom can only flourish when Our beloved citizens can live freely and do not have to fear a sudden disaster descending on them.“

With his face looking down, excitement bloomed on Baron Summerguard‘s expression, although he did not dare to let anyone see it.

The King‘s words were as true as gold, and it was a great achievement to receive praise from the ruler of the land.

Sadly, his joy was soon dimmed by the follow up.

“Nonetheless, We also believe that Our people suffered as a result from thoughtless actions by the arrangement of Baron Summerguard, who has a share of the blame in this matter.“

Clenching his fight tightly, blood almost spilled as the fingernails of the baron dug into his palm.

While he knew that his methods were not quite honourable, they were not exactly forbidden by the law either so he had a faint hope that the argument of eradicating monsters was enough to absolve him from any punishment.

Otherwise, he would have sought to find a private conclusion to their conflict with Baron Bellridge instead of allowing the matter to reach the royal court.

“As for Baron Bellridge, there is some merit to the complaint he brought to Our judgement.

The duties of nobles naturally include the wellbeing of their charges and the prosperity of the kingdom.

We believe that it is the correct approach to ask for Our judgement when a situation is not clear cut in either the law or morality.“

Pausing for a few breaths to let his words take root among the audience, King Cederic furrowed his brows, before he apparently came to a decision.

“While We believe that the events as described did not run afoul of the law or intentionally brought danger to the commoners of Our kingdom, reality is hard to put into words alone.

To compensate them for their loss, Baron Summerguard shall pay half of the profits from the expedition to Baron Bellridge, who shall use the money to benefit the injured parties and protect their livelihood.

In the future, any groups that stir up the Wilderness and cannot properly take care of the remnant creatures will have to pay half of the damages sustained by the other party.

And it is only half because it is the duty of all of those charged with protecting the lands to make sure they are ready for the Wilderness to fight back, as the claws of monsters can strike at any time and we have to be ready for that.

Lastly, if a third party can swear an oath that someone maliciously acted to provoke an attack, they will have to compensate twice the amount of the losses incurred, as well as all the resources seized from them.

That shall be all.“

 

At the moment, King Cederic did not need a crown or a sceptre to convey his dignity, the aura of a ruler draped around his frame like a cloak and made him look nobler than any creature under the sun.

Both barons lowered their heads even lower and nodded in agreement, naturally accepting the verdict.

It was not too bad for either of them, one had to pay half of his harvest while the other got relief money and insurance against future events of this sort.

Their greatest reward probably were the words of praise, which would allow them to stand out from their peers and could be invaluable for their future career to move up the social ladder.

The silence in the hall was broken when the audience burst into applause and praise for the king‘s wisdom and generosity, awed by the judgement and the King‘s means.

None of the representatives joined in and it was unclear what they were thinking, but neither did any of them question the final outcome.

Seeing that the disagreement was settled with the words of the king, the ceremonial master stepped forward again.

“Court is adjourned for the time being! A candle later, the next plea will be brought forward to His Majesty! Take a break!“

In the seats behind Grand Marshal Dharnas, Nisha was secretly impressed with the verdict, as it widened her horizons.

The solution she came up with earlier had a decent chance of working, as it threatened the profits of both sides to force an agreement to stem the losses.

But it was a crude approach and lacked the foresight of a ruler, it would not convince either party and foster resentment in the end.

Sooner or later the accumulated hatred would erupt and result in an even bigger conflict, possible with heavy losses on either side.

Contrary to that possible future, King Cederic managed to resolve the resentment before it had a chance to fester.

He praised both sides for their virtue and achievements, then he showed them the flaws in their actions.

Their excitement overwhelmed the censure in his words and made them admire his magnanimity instead, cementing his position as a ruler filled with virtue and grace.

Just from this aspect, the dragon knew she was inferior in her methods and still had a lot to learn.

 

“Baron Summerguard does not look like he is unhappy. Why can he still smile after losing his case?“

The Grand Marshal had asked the elf along to get exposed to the royal court and get into contact with the domestic political arena.

Not knowing something was nothing scary, the only shameful thing was not taking the opportunity to learn when it was given to someone.

As Nisha had the perfect ready-made teacher next to her, the brown haired youth had no choice but to explain the background and relations to her.

“It‘s not that he lost, it would be more accurate to say that Baron Summerguard avoided most losses while still achieving his goals.

To expand on that, it‘s important to know which factions there are and why they are involved.“

Pointing at someone, even during the break, would have been more than rude, so Henry just jutted his kin at the outermost lounge on the other side of the hall.

A pale skinned elf with an unreadable smile garbed in sea blue robes observed the hall calmly, unmoved by the present case or the ending.

While his cultivation was a step below the Dukes, he was still a powerhouse that was difficult to assess for the dragon with her [Spirit Sight], so he was definitely not a no name or harmless.

“Together with our Dharnas family, the Sheridan house belongs to the neutral faction, though for very different reasons.

Dad dislikes brawling for political favour, it is also not a good idea to vie for power while sitting on the position of Grand Marshal.

It would look like he was trying to stage an uprising, one time the other Dukes even accused him of fostering hidden troops and the city guards were investigated.

Turns out, Dad had the least amount of followers among rank and file, so the investigation was conveniently dropped.

But I digress …“

The dragon rarely saw her nominal brother angry, he was rather laid back and seldom raised his voice or lost his temper.

To see him gnash his teeth and mock the other families, it was clear how much he despised them.

She wanted to say something, yet Henry regained control over his emotions and deflected her coming question.

 

“Apart from protecting our own, the neutral faction mostly steps in to deal with conflicts and work out solutions.

If Baron Summerguard and Baron Bellridge were open to mediation, a neutral third party could have helped them work out an agreement without having to go to court.

So in a way the neutral faction is mostly a way for those who do not want to get involved with politics to stand together and back each other up to avoid getting plotted against.

The Sheridan elves just refuse to engage with anyone at all, they don‘t even have property on land.

When they came to Leandar in the past, they negotiated with the King directly and asked for several smaller islands off the coast as their territory, along with a Duke title.

Since then, only the representatives and the main merchant regularly come to the mainland, exchanging marine goods for stuff they can‘t produce on their own.

The other factions are happy to let them be as long as they don‘t fight for benefits with them.“

Thinking about a group of elves squatting on a small territory at sea clashed with the ideal Nisha had about them as a race, but it could only be the truth.

Although the elves refused contact with the outside world, they still had to obey the kingdom in the end, so their territory still had to liaise with the royal family and their investigations.

For the rest of the neutral faction, the young lady acknowledged that there was strength in numbers and that it was a smart move to back each other up to avoid bigger conflict.

If the smaller nobles from the neutral faction lacked any backing, it was easy for them to become scapegoats or get embroiled in fights between others, so it made sense that they looked for a big patron like the Grand Marshal.

And it was not out of character for Luthais Dharnas to step out of the political arena in perspective to the bigger picture, otherwise he would not have remained as Grand Marshal for so long, a position clearly linked to political importance.

In a manner of speaking, the half elf was the last line of defence for the royal family, who lived inside the capital.