Capítulo 89: Royal Family of Naath
4th Moon 259AC
Currently the king and his army were finishing off the last invaders. Forty enemies have been captured, they will be interrogated for any information they have and then tried for their crimes (they will be executed, these men are not only pirates - murderers and thieves - they are also slave traders).
As the soldiers began to clean up the battlefield, a few were keeping an eye on the captives as they dragged the corpses to clean up the beach ("It's the least they can do after all the mess they've created" said the king) and others began to pray to their gods. They thanked them for today's victory, for giving them the strength to defend their nation.
"Won't you pray to thank the gods for this victory, my king?" one of the captains asks the king.
There is a hint of disdain in the king's eyes as he looks at the captain, the king shakes his head and snaps back.
"No, Andros. I have other business to attend to, but you have my permission to pray for me."
The king's charismatic smile fooled the captain and he didn't question the Star King's words. Andros nods and kneels on the beach, facing the sun as he begins to pray. The king looks at him briefly before turning and walking away.
`The gods... What did they do for us? For me? You can ask them for help or advice a thousand times and you will never receive an answer. No matter how faithful or holy you are... They will never answer your prayers. All these gods that they worship in this world, or the gods of the old world, are inventions of man or beings that don't give a damn what happens to mortals. Or they may watch us and laugh at our misery. In the end, one can only trust one god, Death. That is the only god we know what to expect. Death doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints. It takes and it takes, no one is spared. And no one prays to that god, no one wants to meet it.`
The king mounted the horse that was waiting for him about a hundred meters from the battlefield and rode to the capital.
Astra, The City of Stars, was founded less than two decades ago. For the capital of a kingdom it is quite small but given the size of the population of Naath it is more than adequate. The city has 40,000 inhabitants, almost half of the island's population lives in it.
It was built on one of the most beautiful beaches of the island, in a large bay on the west coast, facing the archipelago (the Summer Islands). The houses are built of wood and adobe (unfired brick). The houses of the richest are made of marble and limestone. The king's palace is located on a hill on the outskirts of the city, from there you have wonderful views of the city and the sea (The king took all his children when they were toddlers to the highest balcony of the palace and told them : "Look, pup, everything the light touches is our kingdom." When his wife asked him why he did that, the king only smiled enigmatically and said: "I only follow in the footsteps of the wisest of kings").
As soon as he entered the palace gates, the king was approached by a dozen men, politicians and assistants. Even though the king had sent a messenger just after the fight, these men wanted to hear what happened from his mouth.
`I think I'm regretting having created the Parliament` thinks the Star King with a grimace, half apologizing half groaning he makes his way and quickly enters the palace.
The Naath system of government is as follows:
The king has absolute power, his word is law.
The queen is the only equal to the king, she is the second most powerful person in the nation.
Below the monarchs is the Parliament, a group of 18 politicians who serve two years (after which they can either keep their job or be fired, depending on their performance). Members of Parliament can be compared to members of the Small Council Westerosi. There are 9 Departments (Trade, Justice, Food, Construction, Defense, Administration, Education, Health and Faith). Each department has two leaders and is in charge of the maintenance and development of its field.
The Trade department deals with trade both within the nation and with foreign nations, it also has to oversee the industries and work to improve them.
The Department of Justice is in charge of the maintenance and creation of the laws (the laws are created by this department but they need the approval of the king).
The Construction department is in charge of the island's infrastructure, from buildings to roads.
The Department of Defense is the military branch of the government.
The Administration department is in charge of collecting taxes and budgets for each department (They cannot access the coins, only the Treasurer or the monarchs can approve any transaction of the coins of the treasury).
The Education department is mainly in charge of the administration of the School of Naath (an academic institution similar to the Citadel: it trains doctors, scholars,...).
The Health department was created after an epidemic a few years ago, it has the objective of preventing such disasters and keeping the population as healthy as possible. It manages the two hospitals on the island.
The Department of Faith is the religious branch of the government. Its role is more decorative, taking charge of organizing religious festivities and keeping the population content (The king realized the power of religion, and how he can use it for his benefit).
Before being elected to be a member of Parliament, each candidate has to pass an exhaustive examination (the king does not tolerate nepotism, he firmly believes that one has to earn his position on his own merits), and then make a proposal of his/her (women also can become members of the Parliament) ideas and goals for that position. 8 candidates are chosen by a council of 1000 citizens and the monarchs interview each one and then chooses two. Every two years the members of Parliament have a review and if the rulers are not satisfied with their performance they will be dismissed.
The reason each department has two heads is to keep them honest. The king knows politics and knows that it is full of snakes and vermin. A politician will look for anything to ruin a rival. The two leaders will observe each other like hawks, looking for anything to blackmail their "partner", which greatly reduces corruption (since the risk of being caught is very great, and the punishment ranges from exile to execution since the king does not tolerate treason).
The king walks quickly through the corridors, choosing the routes less traveled, to reach his solar as soon as possible.
His solar is quite a spartan room, it only has a desk in front of a huge bookcase full of books and scrolls, a table with a map of the Known World carved on it and a sofa in front of a fireplace.
It is a space to work, so the king tried to have as few distractions as possible. Once inside he removes his breastplate, gauntlets and greaves. Barefoot, dressed only in black pants and a white shirt, he picks up a notebook and begins to write things down.
"-fifth attack this year-" he mutters as he writes.
After half an hour he rises with two parchments under one arm, a charcoal pencil held above his ear, and a heavy book in the other hand. He walks over to the table with the gigantic carved map.
He opens the book and unrolls the scrolls, which are also maps. He looks from one to the other and makes small notes.
"Pirate activity has increased a lot in recent years, especially in the west... What's going on?" The king frowns, glaring at the maps.
While the king was distracted with his work a figure entered the solar. The figure tiptoed towards the king.
Without warning the king felt the warmth of a woman's delicate hands wrapping around his waist, and the softness of two breasts pressing against his back. Instead of turning around and greeting the beauty wrapped around him, the king kept his eyes focused on the map.
"Not now, love."
The woman pouted and slipped her hands under the king's shirt and stroked his abs. The king felt every bit of skin she touched ignite and he resisted the urge to drop his work and "study" his wife on the table. The queen's hands go down and down, touching his belt and playing with the buckle. Just when it looks like she's going to go further down she withdraws her hands, and walks away with a mischievous smile.
The king lets out a groan and turns around, looking into the eyes of the beautiful woman who stole his heart (and coinbag) all those years ago.
`Eyes the color of lilacs, and hair of white gold. An angel, well more of temptress` King chuckles.
"I'm sorry, my love. It's just these raids... They have me worried." The king smiles at her apologetically.
A look of concern spread across the queen's beautiful face.
"You're not hurt right? Aggo told me you came out of the fight unscathed." The queen gets up from the sofa and circles around the king like a lioness.
"Well... I took a little hit on the head." The king admits. Seeing his wife's eyes darken quickly he hastens to add, "It was just a scratch, hardly any blood-"
"Did you bleed?! I swear to the gods I'll personally take down every fucking pirate in the Baslisk Islands!" The queen seems about to take her weapon and go to war, in her eyes a fierce fire shines.
The king laughed upon hearing that statement, the queen did not take her husband's laugh kindly and hit him in the ribs. The king didn't mind her violent behavior and with a big smile he grabbed his wife's chin and tried to kiss her. The queen turned her head and the kiss landed on her cheek. The king only smirked and then wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against his chest.
"Daena." The king whispered in her ear. "I'm fine, you don't need to draw your sword and go to war. I need you here, our pups need you here."
"You better not die, Sirius." Daena sighs and rests her head against the chest of her husband. "We also need you."
The two of them stood there embracing each other for a few minutes without saying anything.
They were forced to separate when they heard two voices arguing, two voices that are getting closer and closer.
The monarchs move away, but without letting go completely, and look at the door.
Three children enter, two arguing with each other and the third with their eyes on a book.
The oldest is a fifteen-year-old girl with her mother's silver hair and heterochromatic eyes, one grayish-blue and the other lilac.
The second eldest is a thirteen-year-old boy with dark hair with a streak of silver and lilac eyes.
The minor is a boy with dark hair and blue-gray eyes.
"-it's not a lie!" The youngest yells.
"Come on Jamie, no one will believe you lifted a rock half your size!" Regulus protest.
"Aquila was there! You saw it, right sister?" Jamie looks at her with hopeful eyes.
Aquila shrugs without even looking up from her book.
"Ha! You see, not even Aki believes it." Regulus looks smug.
Jamie blushed and seemed about to jump down the throat of his older brother when he heard a book slam shut.
"If you're going to fight, don't do it in front of father and mother." The crown princess of Naath advises them .
"Children…" Daena looks at them disapprovingly and Sirius bursts out laughing.
***
13th day of 5th Moon, 259AC
It was relatively early when Doran found himself walking through the frigid halls of Yronwood Castle, feeling well-rested despite having barely slept for two hours. That was due to the potion he drank after getting up, more powerful and effective than any cup of coffee.
`But the taste, the texture... I need to find coffee! How can an addiction overcome the barrier of life and death? This body never tasted caffeine, I shouldn't crave it so much.` He thinks as he walks through the corridors of the castle towards the kitchens. The reason why he decided to go to breakfast at such an early hour is because he wants to avoid his hosts. After breakfast, while the Yronwoods are busy eating their own breakfast, he thinks of wandering around the castle and "getting lost".
He will get "lost" near Yon Yronwood's chambers and asks a guard for directions, when that guard tells him where he is, the compassionate prince insists on visiting the sick old man to wish him well.
Last night he found nothing incriminating in Lord Yon's solar, he rummaged through every drawer, used spells to reveal hidden rooms and compartments and nothing. No proof of the Yronwood-Blackfyre plot.
What he did find was documents detailing the expansion of the House guard and the creation of a group of rangers to hunt down the bandits, as well as some documents that further support the Princess of Dorne theory.
The problem is that none of those documents are evidence that could be used in court.
Doran wants to meet Yon and have a "little chat" with him.
`Just a concerned prince wishing the best to his subject, nothing more.` thinks Doran with a sly smirk.
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