“All council members have declared themselves present, voting shall commence.” The ancient Overseer spoke in a monotone voice, a poor companion to the monumental occasion.

“If you are part of the nays” She continued. “Please make your way to the left side of the room” She pointed to the left of the people in front of her “the ayes shall go to the right.” She pointed to their right.

“Your left or our left!?!” Said the council’s pet idiot in a surprisingly quiet volume. Still loud, but... baby steps.

The man beside him sighed, then spoke politely. “Our left Ky. The direction Allie pointed.”

“Rather self explanatory.” A different man, whose face was a glossy grey replied mockingly.

“MISDIRECTION IS THE KEY TO POLITICS HVALDI!” Ky’s roar caused Tovadin to wince. Yep, too much to hope for an entire session without him screaming. “I VOTE FOR THE NAYS!” Ky immediately ran to the right.

No one so much as blinked.

“Councillor Ky for the nays” Overseer Alliandra gravely intoned.

The man who was beside Ky shook his head and looked at Alliandra. He spun his hands around each other then crossed his arms pointing each in the opposite direction. She shrugged and nodded.

He walked to the right.

“Councillor Terrick for the--”

“TERRICK, MY FRIEND! YOU HAVE JOINED ME IN VICTORY!” A jubilant Ky bear hugged him. Terrick’s look of fatalism engendered the pity of most people in the room.

“For the nays.” The Overseer finished, already exasperated with Ky’s antics.

A man with grey hair and a tired, kindly, smile stepped forward without a word, followed by an intense woman with a hawkish face.

They went to the left.

“Councillors Dyrian and Wyndra to the ayes.”

Expected, their faction had held so little power under this system. Rarely were they a part of a winning vote.

Next to stand was the metallic skinned man, he carried a large metal ball in his arms. The ball spoke for them.

“We shall go left.” The ball’s almost otherworldly whisper sifted through the room.

“Councillors Yestro and Hvaldi to the ayes.”

That silenced even Ky.

Tovadin hid a smile, not many had expected that. He did, of course.

One of the many reasons he planned to vote the way he did.

“Oh, this is worrying.” An unconcerned voice broke the silence. A woman whose clothes were covered in many colours of paint. She walked to the right. “Don’t worry Terrick, I’m still on your team.” She patted him on the shoulder. Death glaring at Ky when he moved to bear hug her. He settled for a loud cheer at a distance.

“Falia to the Nays.”

The last two undecided stood with all eyes upon them. Neither moved, Tovadin would not vote until all other votes had been cast. The other holdout?

“Hinkle? Are you going to choose a side?” Alliandra asked the rhetorical question.

The old man with a long grey beard quickly shook his head, still not speaking a word.

“Hinkle abstains.” She rolled her eyes.

One left. Tovadin. Just the way he liked it. The power to sway the balance in the palm of his hand. Falia and Terrick his traditional allies on the right, The militarists and those metalheads on the left.

Easy choice, right?

Tovadin walked to the left, trying to ignore the betrayed look on Terrick’s face.

What his old friend didn’t realize however is that true change took risk. Terrick had spent almost five hundred years on the council and had accomplished nothing.

Tovadin though? He stared at Alliandra until she met his eyes. They both smiled. Predatory.

“The ayes have it, the council is suspended until it is time to declare our Emperor to the public in two months. Please have your proposals in order when we next convene.”

“WE WON TERRICK! I TOLD YOU WE HAD IT! KY NEVER LOSES!”

Terrick rubbed a hand on his face. “We did lose Ky.”

“NO, THE LEFT SIDE HAS MORE! I USED MISDIRECTION! VICTORY FOR US!” He cheered and ran out the room.

Falia unenthusiastically fist pumped. “Yay team…” She moved to follow Ky out the room but stopped right outside the door and leaned back in. “You know? Technically…” She said suggestively, while shaking a finger at them. She left not following that thought up.

Everyone stared at the crouching Terrick with his hands covering his face. The coalition he built was more deadly to his sanity than any number of adversaries. He moved his hands away and glared at Tovadin, the last of his supposed coalition. Tovadin had broken his allies' trust.

I’ll have to fix that. I may need him for my plans to come.

The council stood there motionless, each person sizing up the competition. Now that the path had been chosen, change would come to the Empire, it had been so long. Every person still in the room saw the opportunity! The challenge!

...Except Hinkle. He just began to raise his hand.

“No Hinkle, you do not need to make a proposal.” Alliandra predicted his problem.

He continued to raise his hand.

“Yes, you can also skip.” She sighed.

Each person had their own trials in life.

The hand came down and Hinkle scurried through a hatch in the floor, away to whatever dark underbelly he had crawled out of.

Only the true councillors were left. Seven of them, including Alliandra. Soon they would know who their new leader would be, then the planning would begin. Tovadin scanned the room, sizing up the competition.

His eyes passed over Terrick, Wyndra, Dyrian, and Hvaldi. Not major threats, he knew them too well to worry. He would have to make overtures to Yestro...

And as Tovadin eyed his rivals he only spared a single thought about their future ‘leader’.

I hope they’re not an asshole.