“Dad! I am so happy to see you. I missed you,” Hugo said with fake sincerity. He jumped up and hugged his father.

Darius awkwardly returned the hug and said, “I am happy to see you too, Lina. I am sorry it has been so long. I just haven’t been able to get away. We don’t want the assassins to know where you are, so I can’t visit often.”

Two seconds after he sees his daughter, he is already making excuses about why he won’t be able to come again? This guy.

“Don’t worry about that, Dad. Come on in. Let’s sit on the only piece of furniture in the entire room,” Hugo said and gestured to the bed.

As they sat on the bed, Darius looked like he wanted to say something, but Hugo preempted him, “I have been thinking.”

When Hugo saw he had his father’s attention he continued, “I have a lot of time to think, alone in this tower all day. Kind of reminds me of a story. You know, the ones where the evil king locks his daughter in a tower and she has to be rescued by a prince?”

Hugo held up his hand to forestall any response and continued, “Of course I know you aren’t evil. You love me like any father loves their only daughter. You want to shower me with gifts and spend time with me, doing all the things I like to do. But there just isn’t enough time for all that with all your duties, right?”

“Right. I may not be king yet, but I am running the city already. It’s incredibly difficult to lead the people and convince them to do the right thing when they think I might not be king soon. I am sure it will be easier after you win your challenge. We will have more time for ourselves after that. We can do whatever you like then,” Darius said.

“Whatever I like? I have been thinking about that a lot. What do I want to do after this? All this time alone has given me the chance to think about that. I don’t think that I really want to be a princess. You know me. You know I don’t like all the fancy parties, I had to force myself to jump at the Lofty Leap. I don’t need a big room or a bunch of dresses. Being a royal is so restrictive. Why shouldn’t I lose the competition and enjoy the freedom of being a commoner?”

Darius sputtered, not expecting this line of questioning, “But, you have to win. Think of your mother and I. We deserve to be king and queen. We will be great rulers. Think of Ettel. You know the Junipers would be terrible rulers. They would let foreign influences in, destroying our society, blaspheming against the mother. You can’t let that happen.”

Hugo just stared at him for a moment. For a supposedly skilled politician, this man was shit at convincing his daughter. He didn’t say one thing about the things that Lina liked. Maybe he didn’t even know. Hugo decided to be blunt, “I don’t care about those things. You should know that. I want assurances that you will give me the freedom to do as I wish after you become king. I want you to help me out with anything I ask for, even if it is inconvenient for you.”

“Of course I will. I love you, my rosebud. I have never tried to restrict your freedom. This situation is just temporary and for your safety. Once I am king, you will have everything you want. Freedom, help of the entire grove, anything you want. I promise,” Darius said.

“Then swear it,” Hugo said.

“What?”

Hugo stared him in the eyes and said, “Swear by The Mother that you will give me my freedom and help me in anything I ask, even if it is difficult.”

“I don’t need to swear it, I am your father. I love you, that’s stronger than any oath,” Darius said.

“Swear it,” Hugo said seriously.

“Oh alright,” Darius said, “Just to humor you. I swear by The Mother that once I am king you will have all reasonable freedoms and you may ask one large favor from me.”

Hugo considered it. It didn’t escape his notice that this oath only took effect if Hugo won his fight. The caveats of reasonable freedoms and one large favor were annoying too. But it should be enough to get what he wanted. This was the whole reason he pretended to be a princess, so he could get the help of a kingdom.

“Thank you father. I will try my best to beat Bijan and put you in your rightful place as king,” Hugo said.

“Thank you Lina. I know this is hard, but you can do it. You will win and we will all have happier times after this,” Darius said and gave her a hug.

He left shortly after that. Hugo was left alone again. He plopped on his bed, bored. Over the last week, he had filled the space under his bed with runic creations, practicing his formation and runic domains at the same time. He had done dozens of different exercises with his formation domain. He practiced the time delay bomb ritual and worked on shrinking it.

He could keep practicing, but he didn’t. He was too bored. He had used up all of his willpower over the last week, exercising, sparring, and crafting. It was all just too much. He had no fun or variety in his life. Even his food was boring and bland since it had to be made ahead and last him all day.

He went to sleep early that day and hoped for a more interesting day tomorrow.

...

“What do you mean, you haven’t pacted with The Mother? You haven’t chosen a pact yet, or you are unable to make a pact with The Mother?” the ritualist, Farhad, said, confused. He set down the bags he had brought with him and a bit of dirt spilled out.

“I mean I haven’t tried yet. I pacted with the Acomarians for my first pact. I have the choice available to me for my second and third, but I haven’t tried yet,” Hugo said.

“Well, we are going to have to start with that. I don’t know if you know yet, but rituals for The Mother must be grown, not carved. We need to plant your ritual now in order for it to be ready for the deadline your mother set. Two weeks for a strength enhancing ritual, right?” Farhad said.

“Uh, yeah. That’s right. Does it have to be a ritual for The Mother? It’s just that...” Hugo didn’t know how to end that sentence.

The ritualist sat down on the bed and said, “Sometimes people have complicated feelings about The Mother. Don’t worry, pacting with them rarely involves direct communication. Ritualists agree to put riese above all else in exchange for a tiny bit of her power. The only thing that matters is your faith. Do you believe in The Mother?”

That was an easy question for Farhad, but not for Hugo. He believed that there was a very powerful being out there, and that she worked for the betterment of the riese. He didn’t think that she was divine, but then again, what did divine really mean? He hadn’t been sure of his faith with the Acomarians, but that had worked out. “I guess I believe in her.”

“Good. Let’s start with that. Go ahead and lay down near the bathroom. I know that sounds a little funny, but trust me, it’s a good idea,” Farhad said with a smile.

“I know, I threw up my first time too,” Hugo said. He walked over and lay near the bathroom. He hadn’t cleaned the floor in there today, otherwise he would have laid down directly near the toilet.

He closed his eyes and pulled up his Acomarian screen. He selected his pact and scrolled down to The Mother. Interesting that she didn't have a specific name, just a title. He had never thought of that before. He selected her and was transported to a familiar void.

After a moment of waiting, he saw a light in the distance. It grew closer, then dimmed again. He didn’t hear any words, but felt a vague feeling of unease. The vision abruptly ended there.

Hugo stood up and said, “That was a lot easier this time.”

“My, you are quick. Most people take at least ten minutes,” Farhad said, “Anyway. All good? Pact show up on your screen?”

Hugo mentally accessed his Acomarian screen as he got up. He sat back down when he saw it. Or rather its lack. The Mother’s name wasn’t there. One of his choices had been used up, but no extra name showed up on his screen.

“It didn’t work,” Hugo said in shock.

“Oh,” Farhad said awkwardly, “I am so sorry. So very sorry. It used up a slot, didn’t it? Oh man. I feel so bad now. I have heard of a riese without faith in The Mother, but have never met one before. Sorry.”

Most people would be furious in this situation, but Hugo just accepted it as a minor setback. Even though the ritualist convinced him to waste a spot, it wasn’t a big deal to him. He had four domains, and although he hoped he could save the wheel this time, he could just try again if he was sent back in time again.

“You really should have told me about the possibility of failure,” Hugo said with a frown, “But I guess I can forgive you for now. I need to be able to create a ritual and I still have my pact with the Acomarians. Can you help me create a ritual they would accept? I have tried four times, but was only successful once.”

The ritualist ran his hand through his hair, “Your mother didn’t say you had pacted with them so I am not prepared. I will have to go home and see what I can find. I won’t be able to get back to you tomorrow, it will have to be the day after that.”

They sat there quietly while Hugo waited for him to realize he couldn’t just up and leave. Farhad had to stay in here until after dark when Crone Fern came.

“I guess there are still things I can teach you while I am here today though,” Farhad said and brought out his bags, “You will notice that everything in my bag is organic. That’s probably not noteworthy to you because it’s just a part of riese culture. What you might not know is that it is that way because The Mother hates all metals. She isn’t a fan of plastic, but metal is what really gets her angry. Blessed and ritualists need to avoid all metal, or we could lose our powers. That’s one of the limitations of being pacted with a god. We need to adhere to their tenants. The other main restriction is that we cannot work against the good of the riese. Not really a big deal in most situations, but it can cause people problems in negotiations with the other species. We can’t make fair deals with them, it always has to be in our favor. It’s a real problem. Most blessed people don't get into business.”

He pulled out a book and flipped to a specific page, “Since you have pacted with the Acomarians, you don’t have to worry about either of those restrictions. Buy and sell metals from humans, no problem. But you do have to worry about the ideals of the Acomarians so you don’t lose your power. Do you know what they are?”

“I read a history book about them. They came here to save the nox from themselves. The system is their gift to them so they can grow and learn to be better. So I guess they are altruistic in general? If I am a real jerk will I lose my power?”

“You are thinking along the right lines, but too small. The Acomarians only care about society at large and your impact on it. You could kill a guy, as long as it didn’t hurt society at large. The system was meant to save the nox, yes, but also to advance society. Particularly when it comes to technology. Now that you are pacted with the Acomarians, your politics need to align with theirs. For example, how do you feel about mana carts?”

Hugo shrugged his shoulders, “They are pretty useful. I guess they are ok.”

“You are wrong, you love them now. They are a technology that has advanced society. Not only do you love them, you are obligated to support any effort that makes them better and more available to the masses. The Acomarians love mana lights and trains and typewriters and anything that progresses society. And now so do you,” Farhad said.

“Huh. I guess that’s ok. I have always thought that technology was neat. Now I have to do something about it if I am able to. Like if they want to tear down a mana cart factory to make a, I don’t know, a drug den I have to stop them, right?” Hugo said.

“Right. That situation is quite unlikely, but there are other situations more likely where you would be compelled to act. If you find out one of your friends is an anarchist, you can’t ignore him. You would have to report him to royalty or the shimmer corps. Acomarins also don’t like war. If Ettel attacked Reval, you wouldn’t be able to join the fight even if the war was just.”

“I can’t go to war at all?” Hugo said in shock. Stopping Deva would take actions some would consider war.

“Well, you can fight in a defensive war, if another country attacks us. But you can’t participate in any aggressive wars. You can’t even support any war mongering leaders. You have to think about how your actions will affect society as a whole,” the ritualist said.

Hugo relaxed a bit. Saving the cities on the wheel absolutely counted as helping society. For the next hour, Hugo and Farhad discussed the impact the pact would have on Hugo’s life.

Eventually, Hugo said, “Seems like being a ritualist is really restrictive. I have to follow the tenants of my god, I have to prepare a ritual circle, I have to sacrifice mana stones. It’s all so much.”

“Yeah, I figure the Acomarians set it up that way because our domain is the strongest one. The limitations you are talking about are basically there to rein us in. We would grow too powerful otherwise,” Farhad said.

“It doesn’t seem to powerful to me,” Hugo said, “I have had the domain for a few weeks and all I have been able to do is make a small light appear. Other domains are making materials appear out of nowhere, or healing the sick. I am high ranked, but low powered.”

“Just be patient. You will be powerful one day. All of the great workings are rituals. The hatching of a newborn, that’s a ritual. The reason monsters don’t spawn in a city, that’s a ritual. You were soulmarked in a ritual. Even the great shimmer mountain itself is a ritual.”

“What? Shimmer mountain is a ritual? Not just the soulmarking part on top, the whole thing is a ritual?” Hugo said, shocked.

“Yep. It’s not widely known, but the entire mountain is a ritual. The top of the mountain was hollowed out and replaced with ritual components. It’s ancient, but it is still working, gathering power with the heartbeats,” Farhad said casually.