Euryphel thought that the day so far had been mostly successful: He’d let Ian find out for himself that standing guard outside of meetings was a cruelly boring job best left for others. He’d also sent him on a quest to manufacture soul gems. While the value of the gems would never number more than in the millions with respect to profit, every bit helped. The ten billion auris had, after all, come out of his inheritance.

Thus, having paid off his debt to the Eldemari without informing anyone save Guardian Jarun’mai of the ultimatum, Ian was wholly his. Not an asset of the princes, but an asset of Karen Euryphel Selejo.

A ten billion auri investment was, for him, unprecedented, nearly clearing him out. But after sending the money to the Eldemari, he had felt as though a large weight was lifted from his shoulders.

He knew that he’d done the right thing.

And he’d also gotten hold of the video before Maria went to sleep, which was an added bonus. If he’d had to pay with public capital, he’d likely have to wait weeks before gaining the authorization to send the funds over: He wouldn’t have received the video until the Eldemari received payment.

More importantly, if he had really waited another few weeks before satisfying the terms of the arrangement with the Eldemari...it’s possible she would’ve reneged on the terms. A few more weeks to analyze the video might’ve been enough to convince her that the decemancer was too powerful and unpredictable to let go.

Euryphel was in a great mood because of all of this. He wanted to commend the version of himself in the loop for doing such a great job showcasing his charms, for befriending Ian and helping him defeat Hashat when, obviously, he’d been orchestrating Hashat from the shadows all along. A terrorist group within the SPU beyond his control? Unfathomable. If he’d really been against Hashat, he’d have snuffed all of the members out right away before the problem ever developed to the point of bombing Godoran cities.

He wasn’t looking forward to the meeting he was about to enter, however: he’d be facing the Prime of Fives, the Minor Seven, and all the lesser princes who decided to show up. There would even be delegates from the assembly observing in.

Euryphel usually felt confident in his ability to deal with his fellow princes, but figured that he’d be in for a pummeling today. The feeling lingered as he opened a door into the outer palace and stood before the tall, heavy wooden doors to the assembly room. The doors had inscriptions all around the edges that featured weapons and symbols of the elements.

Euryphel opened the doors with a gust of air, his practice setting the wind symbols alight with a flicker of white radiance. The assembly room was the size of a small theater and mostly empty; all non-voting observers sat in the two-tiered balcony, with the majority seated on the first level. The ground floor was empty, chairs hidden in the stone floor by earth elementalists. As though to justify the absence of chairs, someone had covered the ground in a tapestry featuring a stylized blue sun on a background of varied pale hues mixing with white. It gave the impression of whistling winds winding around a far-off firmament.

Beyond the tapestry lay two rows of chairs that seated the Minor Seven; the five that were present wore tired expressions, as though anticipating a long afternoon. At the head of the room was a long dais that could easily seat ten people, but currently only held four. Euryphel’s eyes gravitated to the elevated dais, taking stock of where everyone was seated.

Ezenti snorted when Euryphel entered the chamber, his sunken eyes full of scorn. Next to him on the left side was a sneering Diana, her painted lips and eyelids giving her a mature appearance despite her youth. She was only seventeen, the same age that Euryphel had ascended as Crowned Prime. However, while he was the first prince, she had to make do with being ranked fourth. While she had yet to make any outward moves, he suspected she was constantly plotting his downfall.

Though Diana had a blistering, bitter temper, she almost never retaliated when he attacked her in his scenarios. Euryphel had to grudgingly respect the discipline that stymied most of his intelligence-gathering.

Ko’la and Shivin’i, the second and fifth ranked princes, respectively, spoke to each other under their breaths, both sitting at the far right end of the dais table.

Sighing softly, Euryphel walked around the dais and took his seat before a podium at the center of the table. He didn’t see any reason to dally; the vacancies of two of the Minor Seven was nothing to worry about. Lower-ranked primes frequently missed council meetings and deferred their vote to the majority.

Euryphel called a wind to whistle through the room, his own personal way of signaling that the proceedings would begin. Tiny inscriptions around the assembly chamber’s crown molding flashed white, briefly illuminating the dark wood. Once all present were quiet, the Crowned Prime spoke: “This session of the Prince’s Council is called to order. All with complaints or topics to discuss regarding the wellbeing of the state, please raise your hand.”

Euryphel felt the air part to his left and right; every one of the Prime of Fives had a hand raised.

Smiling bitterly, he chose Ezenti to speak first, feeling that it was better to get through the old man’s vitriol sooner rather than later.

Ezenti grinned back darkly. “Everyone,” he began. “Thank you for coming to discuss the wellbeing of the state. The heightened concern over items shortlisted for the agenda warms my heart. The first topic I would like for us to consider today is the Crowned Prime’s appointment of a foreigner as a personal retainer.”

Euryphel breathed out slowly, letting some of his exasperation show through. “The topic will be added to the list of topics for consideration. Any others?”

Not a single other hand rose. Euryphel concentrated his gaze on the princes in the far back, the tenth through twelfth princes. He generally counted on them to side with him in bloc votes, but now, they only gave him helpless looks. The twelfth prince, Zorai’lin, even shrugged, as though to say, ‘Sorry, we tried.’

Growling internally, Euryphel ran through several scenarios of the next minute, trying to decide the best way in which to proceed. His face grew expressionless as he considered, until eventually he had to give up and at least say–and do–something.

“Seeing no other topics, we will default to conversation on the only topic proposed.”

“Point of order,” Ko’la’s voice echoed out, a low, powerful baritone.

“Yes?”

“Is it not in fact the case that the topic must be repeated prior to discussing it?”

“Ah, how careless of me,” Euryphel replied with false cheer. “The topic is on the appointment of a foreigner as a personal retainer of the Crowned Prime.” Satisfied, you snakes? Euryphel menaced internally. Though it pained him, he knew that if he didn’t repeat the topic almost word-for-word, he’d be called out on it again.

Ko’la nodded and folded his arms across his chest.

“All those with motions, raise your hands.”

Diana raised a hand.

“Yes?”

“I propose a caucus of two minute speeches, lasting in total for thirty minutes duration.”

“...That’s in order, I suppose.” Euryphel looked around. “Any others?” He waited a moment. “Seeing none, we’ll proceed. As is the custom, when your time has elapsed, you’ll know.”

Diana almost leapt out of her chair. “Point of-”

Once more, Eury tamped down on the urge to do an eye roll. “Since Diana proposed the motion, she gets the choice of first or last speech.”

“Last speech,” the princess smiled, showing sharp, white teeth.

“All those wishing to speak?”

The hand of every Prime besides Diana shot up.

Peeling off the bandage...Euryphel said, coaching himself. “Ezenti, Ko’la, Shivin’i, the three of you will be first to speak, in the listed order. I will take more hands after their three speeches.”

Euryphel turned toward Ezenti. “You may begin.”

“Much obliged, my Prime,” the man said, his sharp eyes dancing with delight. “As all of you have heard, our Crowned Prime has taken in a stray practitioner on the run from Selejo. This is a practitioner with no reliable background, and with tangential, compromising relations to the Dunai-Adricaius-Fiorencia clan to the northwest. He is a decemancer of estimated affinity in excess of 90%, and is currently bound by no oath to our esteemed leader.

“This all being the case, we must come to the conclusion that the decemancer is a threat, not an ally. If he is ever to be a retainer of the Crowned Prime, it is to be after great and lengthy scrutiny. Moreover, it is to be after taking at the very least a standard retainer oath ensuring his loyalty. This is the only way we could feel comfortable permitting such a variable actor near the Crowned Prime.”

Ezenti smiled. “That is all I have to say for now.”

Euryphel flexed his left hand, then brought it into a tight fist.

“Ko’la, you may now speak.”

“Though I may be loath to agree with Ezenti, an unbound decemancer working as a personal retainer of the Crowned Prime is unconscionable. Moreover, the fact that the decemancer is a foreign practitioner with connections to Selejo and the Dunai family is a serious source of concern.

“However, loath as I am to admit it, I do recognize that the Crowned Prime is not one to act without considering the aforementioned points. My question for the Crowned Prime is thus as follows: What have you seen that makes keeping this man close so important?”

Ko’la shook his head and leaned back in his chair, indicating the end of his speech.

“Shivin’i, you may speak.”

Shivin’i stared at Euryphel calculatingly, his gaze then passing ruefully over the others in the Prime of Fives.

“Echoing the language patterns of our fellow Prime Ko’la, loath as I am to admit it, the Crowned Prime has always carefully chosen and vetted his retainers. In his tenure, there has been not a single incident of betrayal amongst the ranks of the Guard and their direct subordinates.

“According to my sources, the Crowned Prime has effectively poached a one-in-several-million talent from the hands of our foremost nemesis, Selejo. Moreover, the Prime has deemed the decemancer worth trusting, a fact which we must not discard without careful consideration.

“Princes...it’s likely that this is a matter of fate, rather than reason. I urge everyone to exercise discernment. This isn’t a matter to be petty over, if what I’ve heard about this decemancer is true.”

The Fifth Prime bowed his head toward Euryphel with a knowing look. He’ll definitely be asking for a favor later, Euryphel thought bitterly. Though he had to admit, it was a favor well-deserved.

“All those wishing to speak...” he said, trailing off. Hands shot up around the room, many now from the five Minor Seven in attendance.

He only took a moment to decide. “Myself, Gaverus, and Diana.”

Euryphel took a breath to prepare himself. Then he faced the assembly, expression calm, perhaps even arrogant in its self-assurance. He gazed coolly at the other Primes, the corners of his lips curving up into the slightest of smiles.

“Princes,” he began. “There have been many questions. The first question was asked by Ko’la, concerning what I see in the decemancer to make me willing to defend my appointing him before the esteemed council. The following few questions were spoken implicitly, so I will now make them explicit for the body: How can I bear to appoint a powerful decemancer as a retainer, appoint a foreigner as a retainer, and what is the source of my confidence on this issue.

“In response to the first question, Ignatius Julian Dunai is a product of the Infinity Loop experiment currently ongoing in Selejo. He is naive, but incredibly powerful, with a Death affinity of over 99%. He has no great attachments to clan and family, as he was disowned by his clan at a young age. If anything, clan should be an object of resentment.

“Similarly, Selejo–the force that enabled him to awaken his affinity–may seem his ally. However, the Infinity Loop experiment was morally questionable at best, cruel and unusually torturous at worst. The decemancer fled Selejo upon exiting the Infinity Loop with no intention of working for the creator of his trauma.

“Therefore, what I see in this decemancer is a young man with an immense potential, but with no direction. He has come out of thin air like a bolt of lightning, a man with enough power to undoubtedly shift some conflicts in our favor, such as the latest engagement with Brin along the Zursnick Pass. He is someone who wants to be used, someone who needs an outlet for his talents.

“He may not be an elementalist, this is true; but if you see him fight, I guarantee he will not disappoint.

“Quickly addressing the implicit questions: I can bear to appoint him as my retainer because there is fate between us. I’m confident he won’t betray me, at least not in the near future. Finally, with respect to the foreigner issue, I’m unconcerned. The people may not like it, of course, but at the very least he’s fluent in Swellish.” Euryphel inhaled deeply. He’d just barely fit everything into two minutes, but he’d succeeded.

Euryphel sighed as he turned toward Gaverus.

This was going to be a long several hours, and they were still only on topic one.