The next day, I came back to Renessa’s house and knocked on the door. No guards came to apprehend me while I waited and a few minutes later Renessa opened the door. She smiled and said, “I talked to as many people as I could, and I think a good sixth of the Common Council and a fourth of the High Council are behind you.”
“Oh, right, the Council’s divided up like that. I forgot all about it. You’re in the High Council, right?”
“Yes, I’m up there with Fitzdonald every meeting, you’d know that if you paid attention.”
“Paying attention is for combat, not boring politics.”
“Well, politics is all you have ahead of you for the next few days. I arranged a meeting with all the undecided in the Council, they’re about the same size as your allies, maybe a few less High Council members. You should speak to them today, while I arrange tomorrow’s meeting with the Council as a whole.”
“Thanks, Renny. Where do I meet the neutrals?”
“At the Council headquarters, one of the guards will show you to the chamber they’re using. I hope everything goes well.”
“I don’t hope. I simply act.” I smirked, and set out on my path, toward the Council’s headquarters. I arrived a few minutes later, slightly disappointed by a lack of challenges from passing guards. Word must have gotten out.
Which means Fitzdonald already knows I’m here in town, and here to challenge him, I thought to myself.
Well, it wouldn’t matter anyways. My plan was designed to defeat anything he might bring up. I entered the headquarters, and a guard noticed me. She said, “Right this way, Shadow.”
I followed her through empty halls, eventually coming to a stop at a fancy door. She opened it for me, and walked off. I entered to find a bunch of people sitting in chairs on little rows that rose in height, in a half-circle like in the main chamber. A quick breakdown of the Council: there are about twenty High Council members and about ninety Common Council members, many of whom are ex-soldiers. My allies numbered at about twenty people, though Renessa had around ten people loyal to her personally. The people in the room, the neutrals, seemed to number at twenty. Which meant, for those keeping score, that Fitzdonald had around sixty people directly opposed to me.
As I stepped in, one of the gathered, a woman named Margiotha said, “Ah, so she has arrived. Well, Kiana, why…” she stared at my armor in shock, and stammered her next words, “…d-d-did you want to m-meet with us?”
I sighed, and said very patiently, “Marge, shut the fuck up. You know my name is Shadow. You know I’m here to talk with you about being Champion. Stop acting so arrogant and high and mighty and just listen!”
Margiotha blinked in surprise, but remained silent.
“Thank you. Now, I’m going to try and go about this as simply as possible. Basically, I want another shot at becoming Champion. You know I’d be better, stronger, and more powerful than either of those other potentials.”
“And more arrogant, more bloodthirsty, and more likely to sacrifice your own soldiers than either of those potentials!” yelled a random member of the Council whose name I didn’t know, nor cared about.
“Shut up, now.” I said as I gestured with my hand. Darkness streamed out of it, and latched onto the man, wrapping him in shadows and covering his mouth.
“Shadow! Release him!” cried out Margiotha.
I sighed, but let the spell go. The man dropped to the floor on his hands and knees, gasping. Margiotha glared at me, and I rolled my eyes before continuing.
“Look, at the end of the day it doesn’t matter if I throw away soldiers. They’re going to die anyway. But if you send one of the other potentials out there, they’ll die with the soldiers, and you’ll lose. But me? I’ll kill anything in my path, anything that dares stand in my way, until nothing is left of Lux but a pile of rubble on a lifeless rock. You know that. So hear me out.”
Margiotha waved for me to continue.
“I’ve come up with a contest, a challenge, something to test the skill of myself and the other potentials. It will require power, skill, and leadership, which should be enough to prove I am capable of leading troops without killing them off or abandoning them. If I win, you lot have to seriously consider whether or not I should be the Champion. If I lose, you can freely give the title to someone else. I need you to stand behind me when I propose the idea to the Council, to sway enough votes in my favor that the motion will pass.”
“Shadow, though you may be more competent than the other potentials, the fact remains that siding with you is, at the moment, tantamount to political suicide unless you are part of that abominable VanClyse’s faction. Why would we help you directly, when it would be better to wait and see which decision is more profitable?”
“Do the others feel the same way, or do you speak for those that do not wish it?”
“They have all agreed to follow my decision. I ask again, why would we help you?”
I summoned the darkness about me and glared at them, eyes blazing with magic. My voice echoed, “Perhaps because you fear me, rightfully so. Disobey and you will face my wrath.”
Margioatha gulped, but said, “Shadow, we are many, and this the heart of Raven’s Shade. You can’t kill us without inviting the most powerful members of Dark to freely have at you. The other potentials will kill you if you try to fight us. So dispense with these idle threats, and leave us be.”
I sighed, and asked, “You truly will not be swayed by words or force?”
“No! You cannot be trusted.”
I grinned. “Awesome. I was hoping you’d do that.” They stared at me in surprise, and before they could ask, I thrust my hand forward and the darkness followed, flowing over the entire group.
They opened their mouths to scream and nothing came out. In second, they were all slumped over. I laughed, and said, “Wonderful. Now… rise.” Mechanically, they all stood up. They looked up, and their eyes were like swirling black pits, with a single spark of golden-brown at the center of each eye. “I love that book. Haha!” I pulled out The Book of Power and flipped the pages to the chapter on mind control.
Blah blah blah, power of mind control, blah blah blah, invading someone’s mind, blah blah blah, psychological manipulation… right, here we go.
The spell I’d cast was called ‘paralyzing the mind’. It overwhelmed everyone targeted and made them empty vessels waiting to be filled by commands. It also took a lot of power, and did not last long. Basically, it let me influence their minds, but I couldn’t make changes too big or the changes would be broken, and somebody would probably notice too. Honestly, the only good part was that it worked on groups.
“Right, you lot are going to have to reconsider your stance. I’m powerful, you aren’t. My plan works, and isn’t biased towards me. Supporting my plan is simply a matter of reconsidering the potential Champions, not a matter of voting for me. You will support my plan, because it just makes sense to.” There was no reaction from the docile group, but I figured they understood. I pulled the darkness in, and returned to the state I’d been in when I entered the room.
The group slowly began to awaken, groggy and confused. Margiotha spoke tentatively, “Well, Shadow, it is… interesting, what you have put forward. I do not like or trust you, but I must admit there is some logic that makes it more… acceptable. It… it shall be considered. Thank you for telling us, and we look forward to your presentation at the official meeting.”
I bowed with flair, and said, “My dear Margiotha, that is all I ask.”
Time to bring this before the Council proper and get this whole thing rolling.
The next day, I arrived at the door of the Council headquarters. The guards let me in, and I went straight for the Council chambers.
This time, I merely knocked on the doors, and a moment later they were opened from within by guards. I walked forward into the half-circle room, looking around at all the Council members gathered. Fitzdonald and his cronies were front-and-center, staring me down like I was some sick criminal (not that they were wrong). Renessa and her supporters were off to the left, appearing quite small. She gave me a quick smile and wink, and I gave a wink back. Margiotha and her group were over on the right side, and looking disturbed, their eyes constantly darting from me to Fitz to Ren and back. A few members from each group looked a bit frightened by my appearance, but it seemed that as a whole they’d been warned.
I cleared my throat and said, “Hello, esteemed members of the Council of Nyx. I have come before you to present my case. Do you stand ready to listen and judge?”
As a whole they mumbled, “We do.”
Fitzdonald sighed. When he spoke, he sounded weary, exhausted. “You may skip the honorifics, Kiana. You are here because you want to be Champion, though we have already passed judgment as a Council. If you must disrupt the process of deciding a Champion purely for selfish reasons, again, I would prefer if you did not pretend to be noble, and just got to the argument.”
I smirked. “Of course, Fitzy. Well, I’ll say that I do indeed hope to still obtain the role of Champion, and ask that this Council reconsider dismissing me out of hand. I have many qualities of use to this Council, and to all of Nyx. I am powerful, skilled, and capable of destroying our enemies. It would be wise to appoint me, or at the very least enter me back into the running.”
“And what new evidence do you have? What new arguments? Rule by virtue of power was already discussed and dismissed as a reason for you to be Champion. Your cruelty, ambition, and history of poor leadership stand against you.”
“Fitzdonald, at least consider the girl. Shadow is powerful, undoubtedly more so than the other potentials, and I don’t think she’d jeopardize a campaign simply so she could say ‘I won’. It’s logical to keep as many soldiers alive as possible to ensure victory, and Shadow is not truly illogical.” Renessa defended me.
“Yes, and once more you take her side. The two of you are as thick as thieves, which biases your view. You cannot be impartial, which devalues your words. And you are simply repeating her arguments.”
“Because they have merit.”
“Or perhaps because you wish to have her as your intimidation tactic, to exercise greater control over this Council. I know of your ambitions as well, Renessa.” Fitzdonald countered.
“Me? As if you’re any better. We all know that Kymien Rathel is an old friend of yours, and there is no doubt in my mind that you support him to achieve just such a monopoly as you have accused me of questing for!” cried Renessa.
“If that were the case, I would have simply pushed for a vote already and made him Champion. I only want what is best for Nyx, even if Kymien is an old friend.”
“The options are rather limited,” said Margiotha. “Kymien is friends with Fitzdonald, Shadow with Renessa, and no doubt Drake has some ally on this Council. If anything, that simply supports bringing Kiana back into the fold, to make it a more even debate.”
Fitzdonald frowned. “I had not expected you to take her side in this matter. Do you have some stake in this? You couldn’t possibly be backing her, so perhaps… Drake?”
“If I may interrupt,” I said.
They turned their attention back to me, curious.
“Well, it’s just that there actually are rules. I read about them. See, it turns out that there have been times before when the choosing of the Champion became bogged down in politics, and one group on the Council tried to remove one of the potentials from the game, prevent him from being able to be chosen, so it would only be between the potentials that groups supported. In response, the Council ruled that no potential may be removed from the debating, and in fact all potentials are considered legitimate up to the very moment the Champion is chosen. So, unless you’ve already chosen between Kymien and Drake, I’m still a potential.”
They stared at me for a moment, and Renessa began tapping her chin thoughtfully. “You know, I think I’ve actually heard of that case, I think I read about it at one point. It’s old, yes, but I believe the rule should still be in effect. If we could get a copy of the rules as most recently updated, we should be able to see for certain.”
Fitzdonald sighed. “Do not bother yourself with it, Renessa. The girl is right. I had forgotten that rule, but it is current. Very well, Kiana, you are officially a potential once more, or rather you were never not one. Are your complaints addressed, that this meeting may be adjourned?”
“Actually, no. I only opened with that because I needed to be officially recognized in order for my real point in being here to have any worth.”
“Oh, really? Well then, do continue. I am most excited to hear what wonderful idea you propose.”
“Thank you, even though that was sarcasm. Well, what I’m here to talk about is a better way to decide the Champion than simple political debating. I propose a contest, a challenge, something to test the characteristics of each potential, and show them side-by-side to see which potential would make the best Champion. This would allow the Council to make an informed decision, with less chance of politics corrupting the vote and causing the wrong potential to lead the armies of Nyx.”
“A contest? You would have us choose the fate of the entire Dark military, on a simple contest? Surely I am not alone in finding this asinine.” Remarked Fitzdonald.
“Fitzdonald, pay attention to what she said. She said clearly that the contest would allow the Council to make an informed decision, not that the contest would be that decision.” Said Renessa.
“And I bet you’d know, collaborating with her on this.” Fitzdonald sounded more defeated than accusatory.
“Yes, she did speak to me, and told me that the point of the contest is merely to show the Council what each potential Champion can do, so they better understand the choice they make. It is to show, not to decide.”
“Showing the Council the abilities of a potential is a good, important thing. That is why we have official channels for it. Drake and Kymien went on such a mission mere days ago. Kiana has consistently refused to take part in normal military activity, or comply with Council requests. A contest, a challenge? What is the value in such a farce when she will not consent to the trials already in place?”
“Actually,” said Margiotha, “I do see value in such a thing. A contest can take place in a more controlled environment than a fight with one of the other elements, while being more realistic than a practice scenario. We could see their real-world skills and combat ability.”
“Perhaps. Is there precedent for such a thing though? Have contests been used in this matter prior? I have not, I admit, studied Champions extensively,” admitted Fitzdonald.
“Quite a bit, yeah.” I said. “Part of the reading I did while I was waiting for this meeting to happen was about past circumstances, and in the past there have been duels for the place of Champion when both potentials were equally valuable, and there was a tournament when there were too many people wanting to be potentials. It’s far from unprecedented, even if something like it hasn’t happened in a number of centuries.”
“Well, Fitzdonald, it seems Kiana has done her research. Will you deny tradition?” asked Margiotha.
“When tradition proves folly, yes. But in this case, there is both precedent and some small amount of reason. However, I would prefer not to make a final decision until this Council has been informed properly just what exactly young Kiana deems this contest to be, what it will entail. I will not have something that is rigged in her favor.”
“How wise, Fitzy. And I am glad you asked.” I smirked at him.
“Well, you do love the sound of your own voice, I’m sure you’re glad for any excuse to use it.”
My smirk briefly dropped into a scowl, but I controlled myself. “It will be a contest of skill, power, and leadership. There is an arena that is being prepared, being filled with monsters that my associates are hard at work securing for this challenge. When it is ready, the three potentials, myself of course included, will each take a team of three soldiers, two of whom will be slayers and the third a caster, and attempt to hunt down as many of these monsters as possible while losing as few of their forces as they can. Whichever potential shows best skill of combat, power of magic, and leadership ability will be crowned victor, a purely ornamental title. In truth, the point is to expose the traits of each potential so that your Council may more properly decide who is to be Champion.”
Renessa laughed. “It seems she has you beaten, Fitzdonald.”
“Insults are unbecoming, but so natural to you, Renessa. Her contest is interesting, but there are flaws, and I am not keen on the potential loss of soldiers.”
“Fitz, she addressed the main issue you have with her, the nature of and lack of her leadership ability. This contest showcases traits you yourself said were required in a Champion. You really want to back down on your previous statements now?” taunted Renessa.
Before Fitzdonald could say something more and either dig himself deeper or get himself out of the hole he was in, I called out, “Fitzy!”
He turned to me in exasperation and asked, “What now?”
“I believe it would be in the best interests of us all if the Council retired now for debate and introspection, to make the final decision upon the morrow, when I will have the precise location of the contest.” The unspoken message was clear; I was giving him a chance to secede to my wishes without losing face in the Council.
He hesitated, then nodded and said, “This is amendable. The Council shall now debate internally. Kiana, if you would leave us to our musings.”
I bowed, and walked out, smiling internally. My plan had worked, and now it was certain that the contest would be held. And then I would win, and be crowned Champion, and I could finally get this show on the road.
I laughed as I exited the headquarters. I love it when a plan comes together.