Half of the people in the room looked like they could still scarcely believe how their lives had changed in the last few weeks (or months). In my opinion, that didn’t speak highly of them, considering we’d held the city of Aliatin for a week.

I sank deeper into the cushioned seat of my chair. Throne, really, no other word could hope to fit as well. Made out of a dark imported wood and inlaid with gold and precious stones, its actual seat was high enough it put me almost as high up as if I was standing, with my feet resting on a footrest on its lower part, and the high back reached farther up than anyone around was tall. I seriously doubted they’d had this standing around in the city, but I didn’t even want to ask where our people had produced it from.

In short, it was about as unsubtle as statements got. But the generals - and Tenira - had apparently decided that was necessary for what for all intents and purposes amounted to the first ‘court’ held in the conquered Zarian territories.

According to Imperial tradition, I didn’t read out the proclamations we started off with myself. Instead, a gong sounded, then a herald stepped forward. In a resonant voice, he began proclaiming the edicts and declarations prepared for the occasion.

I listened quietly, but kept my eyes on the gathered attendees. Most of them were strong cultivators, although there was a sizable group who weren’t. We’d invited not just representatives from the Basement, but also people who had large and successful business empires and the clout to go with them. Most of them were at least in the middle stages, but there were actually a few in the second, who’d only really gotten to their current level after their cities fell to the Empire. Mostly by making the best of the opportunities that came along with that change, I suspected, but I wasn’t going to complain. None of them would have had the chance to be anything more than a prosperous tradesperson or shopkeeper under the Dominion’s system. Or possibly a manager for one of the wealthy merchants who owned the bigger trading concerns.

I knew most of what was announced, although I hadn’t had the time to familiarize myself with all of the details. I could tell the interested gazes on me sharpened when they heard that the Lord Regent was coming here, too, but I didn’t let any reaction show. Except for that, none of the attendees seemed surprised by anything they heard. Of course, they would definitely have done their homework before coming. And it was mostly just extending what we’d already been doing, and formalizing a few arrangements we’d been trying out anyway. Like the public education forums we’d set up in all of the towns and cities, mostly as a platform to help the people learn Imperial Common and become familiar with our laws and customs. No one would be forced to visit, and Zarian definitely wouldn’t be forbidden anywhere. For that matter, I thought the explicit permission and recognition of pre-Dominion languages had earned us some goodwill.

After the official announcements, the herald proclaimed that it was now time for petitions to come before the throne. The later part of that would be people seeking the crown’s justice. I had very mixed feelings about that. But the territory was still under martial law and we hadn’t managed to set up proper courts yet, so I’d agreed to sit in judgment of the cases brought here today.

First, though, there were more mundane petitions. It seemed like most of the people in the large audience hall, which used to belong to the Dominion’s local sector governor, were only here to watch. But a few of them did step forward, and more petitioners would be brought into the room from the adjoining chambers. Everyone had had to register and be cleared considerably in advance, of course. My guards weren’t going to take any chances.

As I half-expected, some of the requests were for things I couldn’t or wouldn’t decide on my own. Some were more or less straight charity cases, which I tended to grant after checking with Elia. She was in a seat of honor close to my throne. One time, a shake of her head told me the current petitioner was lying, but otherwise, she seemed unconcerned. I tried my best to listen to my intuition and whatever guidance Rijoko might see fit to offer, but I didn’t find any of those decisions all that hard. Maybe because they only dared this when they were pretty confident their petition would be granted?

There were a few thornier ones, though. Mostly because they pointed to where our own efforts might have fallen short. I was conscious of the need to avoid showing weakness, but the potential to have problems pointed out to me was one of the reasons I’d agreed to this whole session in the first place.

“I’ve heard your words, good man,” I said to the latest petitioner (in Zarian, of course), smiling as gracefully as I could. “Be assured that I will take personal note of the individuals involved and step in to ensure the smooth functioning of inter-city trade, as well as the protection of your trading house and whoever else might be affected.” I paused, pursuing a thought, then continued, “The provisional government will be instructed to issue charters to eligible companies that will provide allocated space on our river transports, as well as allow the hiring of additional hands to facilitate transport, including mercenaries of no higher than the blue stage.”

The merchant bowed deeply, a relieved smile on his face. “Many thanks, Your Highness. Your wisdom truly is astounding.”

I managed not to roll my eyes, but instead smiled and dismissed him with a wave of my hand. Depending on how this turned out, I might have just gotten several birds with one stone. Getting a registry of salient Zarian companies involved in local trade certainly wouldn’t hurt. And since trade with the rest of the Dominion was cut off, we did need to do what we could to facilitate the commerce within the region, not just with the Empire.

It looked like he was the last one for now, so I settled back into my seat and watched as they prepared for the next part. A couple of legal advisers were brought forward, and the space in front of the throne was quickly reorganized. I suppressed a sigh as I waited until I would be called on to dispense justice. I’d considered telling the people they could appeal my decisions through the high courts in the Empire. But anyone with a working brain whose case wasn’t particularly urgent would probably wait until they could go through a proper court of law, anyway. And it would appear to undermine my authority.

Especially since the Empire was still technically an absolute monarchy, with the laws in place because the Empress said so, at least in principle. I’d just do the best I could, with the help of my abilities and Elia, and in any further sessions they might want to hold, Kiyanu could function as the judge.

Since we had to observe at least the bare bones of an actual court of law’s session, these proceedings took a lot longer than the simple petitions. They still struck me as more in the way of settling disputes rather than criminal law or the like. Similar to what you would expect from a medieval king or feudal lord passing judgment in his domain, really. That might be kind of the point.

I found the first case pretty straightforward, all things considered. It really boiled down to which set of laws, Dominion or Imperial, were applicable, and to what extent. That might be why they’d put this case on the agenda here, come to think of it. I sidestepped the issue neatly by deciding that martial law had been declared in Niali, and they’d all been in violation of the curfew, completely regardless of what freedom of assembly and right to demonstration they might otherwise have had. I made a mental note to take a closer look at what we had in the way of freedom of strike.

After a moment of consideration, I added that, generally speaking, everyone in the formerly Zarian territories was entitled to the suite of Imperial basic laws guaranteed for every citizen. It’s not like the Zarian can get any more upset about us blatantly claiming this territory, anyway. So, it followed that people had the right to gather, if they weren’t breaking some other law, and couldn’t be broken up by anyone except proper Imperial authority. Which, in this case, might mean acknowledged local government, too. And it didn’t matter how some big trading houses might have been accustomed to controlling their employees, either.

Everyone seemed happy enough with that ruling, or at least not surprised, and the people were quickly ushered out. I relaxed a little, settling back into my throne and the proceedings of the court.

The next few cases were both smaller and broader in scope. In effect, those came closer to criminal law, although I recognized the potential for setting precedents they offered. I listened to all sides carefully, then pronounced the best judgment I could think of within the limits of Imperial law. Thankfully, given my memory and my sessions with Mother, her councils and Kiyanu, I was pretty familiar with the laws and their applications. I listened to my intuition and what might be nudges from my father, and made sure to get Elia’s impressions of the speakers. The cases were all more complicated than simply determining if someone was lying about some past misdeed, but it certainly helped.

At least I didn’t have to sign any execution orders. It could all be helped with fines, community service, some prison terms, and the equivalent of a restraining order. That seemed to be a new idea, but considering it would be pretty simple to make a qi bracelet or other talisman that could give an alert when someone entered a certain location or radius, I foresaw it catching on quickly.

I was starting to suspect that the real reasons my ‘advisors’, especially Yarani, Elia, Aston, and Hashar, had talked me into doing this was to show off to everyone how sensible and sagacious my judgment was. What else could you expect from the daughter of the Moon? Luckily for them, people did seem to accept my verdicts quite easily.

The arrival of the next plaintiff shook my from my thoughts. I had to stop myself from showing a reaction as I recognized the formal robes he wore. Blue and gray, with swirls and white streaks branching like lightning strikes. What was a priest of Jideia doing here? I glanced at Aston, but he didn’t show any reaction.

“Your Highness,” the priest said after the introductory formulas were out of the way. He inclined his head and didn’t quite meet my eyes. Despite his obvious age and white hair, he stood quite straight upright, though. “I am here because of the unlawful and flagrantly unethical seizure of property belonging to the High Temple of the Storm.”

I narrowed my eyes. There was something odd about this. Besides the obvious issue of going to me to complain about that. “What exactly are you talking about, good man? What charges are you bringing against whom?”

The priest nodded slightly. “As you know, Your Highness, after the conquest of the city, Imperial soldiers seized the local temple, ransacked its stores and records, and evicted the priests and acolytes before setting fire to it.” He paused and raised an eyebrow, as if giving me the chance to address that point.

I didn’t see any reason to play games with him. “Of course. This happened on my orders,” I acknowledged.

He seemed a little taken aback at my casual response. “You do not consider this to be against the law?” he asked, sounding calm and even curious rather than accusatory. If nothing else, I could see why he must have been successful in his chosen career path.

“Far be it from me to break the news to you, my good man,” I said with a slight twitch of the lips, “but we did conquer you.”

There was a slight echo of laughter from the spectators. I doubted many of them had really found my words all that funny, and to be fair, it was pretty muted.

“I consider the High Temple to be a hostile organization,” I continued. “It, like the spirit it serves, has committed several acts of war against the Empire, including attempts on my own life. It therefore constitutes a legitimate target in the course of fighting this war. I do recognize that most priests and acolytes are civilians, which is why we have acted scrupulously to avoid casualties among them.”

The priest nodded again, his expression hard. He looked like he might be regretting giving me this platform to talk about the matter. “I see, Your Highness,” he said, then cleared this throat. “Be that as it may, the remnants of the temple were ransacked again by parties unknown a day later. A cabal of local troublemakers moved in -” He shot a dirty look at the other group who’d come in with him for this case - “and have occupied the site, preventing our people from their work to salvage and sort it.”

I raised an eyebrow before I could stop myself. Why did they even manage that, if you still have an interest in the location? The answer was pretty clear. The priests had actually left, even if they might have come back to see what had happened to it. That just raised another question, though, namely what they had done.

By now, the High Temple clearly knew what was going to happen to every temple the Empire got its hands on, so this wasn’t particularly surprising. In fact, that they hadn’t evacuated beforehand could suggest they were actually hoping to provoke an incident. But priests clearly stayed even in cities about to fall to the Empire, and I didn’t like to think about what they might be up to. Because my intuition was pretty clear on one thing. They had to be up to something. Something big, and probably widespread and slow, but still.

But I chased those thoughts aside and instead focused on the matter at hand. “This location, like the others that have been confiscated, belongs properly to the Empire. This matter will be handled accordingly.”

I turned my attention to the presumed looters and the question of what I should do with them, but in the back of my mind, I kept considering the Zarian temples and how to handle them. We definitely needed a delicate touch. On the other hand, the fact that this was playing out at all, in this venue, showed that we were already doing pretty well with it.