Ocular to the Dying Sun

Aft Diary Entry, Burned; part 3

Lord Acrothyl ng Pulchell is the current head of his family however he has already started passing all his duties to his daughter, Itheca ng Pulchell, and at current is just the figurehead on occasions or meetings like this for the council. She's been the one calling all the shots for years now since her graduation from the Academy.

Honoring her skills and determination to be a part of their society as a family member, and possible rightful heir as the head of the Pulchells, Itheca persuaded Acrothyl to let her work under him. He agreed on the terms that she doesn’t do anything that could put herself in harm's way or their name, especially being the youngest with no claim to her name.

Her older siblings are now working or have their own families, in terms of being politically active, none of them are as immersed and strong stance as their father, Acrothyl. Since then, she’s been fighting for her place in a world that was built by hardship and titles. Thus, her actions for seeking her father's approval as a working citizen were not a surprise, since all Acrothyl’s children went through such a phase.

Being his last child, who was not married to a spouse with a higher status or renounced their claim to the management of their household and territories, deep inside Acrothyl knew he was slightly disappointed with his children. So, having Itheca become interested in his work brings great peace and joy, even if he didn’t believe she will be good.

She’s done fairly well, that’s why when he discovered about Itheca helping Emil with the council leadership change and their concept of what kind of truce they believe the Sagans and Kabays needed, he found himself agreeing to their plights due to how he saw his daughter work. Bearing the will to work hard gives him the strength to believe that paying her hard work, plus their rational cause, is the right thing to do for the future of their kingdom.

Beneath her soft-spoken demeanor is a strength he did not mean to suppress by believing she is a weak child just because he was a girl he doted on as a child. Itheca silently rose to her father’s expectations and molded herself into the woman she is today, thus he would fight for her right to claim the seat on their council.

On the other end of their scale, the Kabay is the darkest of horses to be their representative, Cala ng Romiss, the young head of the Romiss family. Emil is well acquainted with Cala because she was the one who pushed the capital that gained more than half of the majority support by financial persuasion.

She’s acclaimed to be knowledgeable in terms of trade to the Kabay faction. For the most, she is acquainted with several notably reputable names as a merchant but on the offset, she reaches out to those in need of her assistance like the financial magnate her family has established itself.

On the offset, she started doing charity distribution to the poorest provinces, even the unclaimed citizens were reached by her “benevolence.” Knowing this, the Docas and several other nobles knew that she is a force to be claimed but have never stepped on the stage of politics.

Her name is well known though on the lips of that who pass on her stories like she was a fairy out to grant men's wishes, hopes, and dreams. Nothing of those words are claimed to be what she does of course, but Cala often compares her rumors to the myth of all those stories about the Kneada and Slitark, or the first Prime Magicians and their conquest around the All-Monarch Kingdom.

House of Romiss may be a branch family of one of the Kabay but they have now gained popularity because of Cala’s actions. Enough for the Docas' to bring her to the forefront, similar ideals but differing executions. Cala and Itheca are what the truce needs, people who are willing to unbelieve their prejudices enough to make their council stable again.

The council leader stood their ground and declared that they think over the proposal with the intent to vote at the end of the week, as preparation for the end of the year. He did not forget to raise the vote on this matter if any had any complaints on the intention, and only two hands raised their opposition.

Those two nobles rose to their seats only to present other names for the position, one each, but those names are irrelevant to Emil and his mother. They knew those houses would always stand to gain for opposing this matter, but Emil, Cala, and Itheca have the council in the palm of their hands.

It's only a matter of time before anyone could deny their potential to establish the ideal future everyone believes in, thus the conclusion awaits the end voting and results.

Three days, time means the end of the week for them and when their voices on the sudden reform will cease to matter. Offhand on the sideline, the council leader spoke to Emil and the Militia concerning the events that happened during the end of the Ocular.

Battles outside the ceremonial grounds for the blessing of the shard, historically, used to be an upfront fight between Dire-eaters and never between humans. People then knew the value of the Prime Magician and their magic, rituals, and important connection to the Light magic of the Slitark. Becoming the paragon of Light comes not with a price but an obligation to self-sacrifice.

Anything else should not hinder the Prime Magician, because of the events, recounts from all the superiors that were present at the time, and the clear absence of the main vassals of the Aviary Militia assisting them. The council leader decided to suspend several officials that Emil recommended as incompetent.

Emil was not a member of the Aviary Militia at that time because he was still on an expedition term in the outskirts of the southern skies preventing poisoned creatures of the skies from corrupting the residents in specific provinces. Included in these poisoned shard creatures are Dire-eaters that show prowess through violence they never normally possess.

Choosing to fight and protect the citizens was not something Emil regrets but he felt the guilt wrap in his heart when he heard the events that happened with Yphemu. Especially when the battle that took place was between monsters he could not think would be violent, and able to bound into human land without considering consequences.

Dire-eaters, by default, are easy to herd by their experience. In the same way, the Prime Magician studied their habit and life, Dire-eaters are also subject of study by the Militia through the records of the Academy, that way they could avoid harming them. But, to hear the report coming from Captain Yphemu, he might as well believe that the actions they took to overturn the current sway in the council were right and just.

Evidence of a Mother Dire-eater embedded with an actual Alchemy shard the size of a hand, with magic strong enough to debilitate its rationality and protect the device. It clouds anyone's suspicion more towards the people of the mercenaries or the like.

However, the sophistication of the Alchemy shard, the casing that held onto the magical item, and the Mother Dire-eater itself make for evidence that no simple group or person is behind the claims. That much magic cannot simply belong to a person that is undetected by the Academy. They are sensitive to the air of magic for miles, and being able to be blessed by senses heightened to a degree helps them maintain their Academy.

Whether the current council leader likes it or not, the successors who would inherit his work will need to give this matter a thorough investigation. An issue he must insist on even if he is nowhere close to power after he relinquishes his seat. Mainly for the sake of the Prime Magician, since he is not confident that the strength of their militia is as loyal to him as it is to the Docas and those under the Saturni family.

Perhaps, in his age, the belief that the Sagans are strong has gone from the minds of people and the Kabay and those who support them have become stronger, underground. Strength in the shadows becomes longer lasting at the strength of the light, if that's to be true, then he can only help by actions and pray that they will all have the strength to survive another term with the number of shards they have for their society.

The Saturni family is still mum about Yphemu’s state, since she arrived home, she had busied herself for the first few weeks with paperwork. But, the days she occupied working in the office took only a few days as she collapsed, mentally shutting down.

The panic her subordinates showed was like a volley of supporters worried for their idol. Every person had an aura of concern, whether it was for a personal, heartfelt, or work, none of that would be detrimental to the truth that her presence and influence are, and always will be, important. No one outside of the Militia or her family knew of her condition.

At least, the deeper issue is kept within the confines of her home walls and would not escape unless it was siphoned out by magic. Nevertheless, she works through any other means to communicate her thoughts and decisions to her subordinates accordingly as if she hadn't taken a toll on her health one time.

Grasping the reality of the battle's end is in a way their burden to bear, and theirs to never let it happen again. In two years, time, the coming Ocular will continue and the chances of this kind of event will happen whatever they do, even then the resolve of a Prime Magician wouldn’t waver. And it didn’t by the way Sacr and Epiro saw all the documents and decrees their Captain Yphemu has given for them to implement.

The level of caution and preparation she's pushing is a feat they could proceed with within two years. From the recruitment and training of citizens hired from the outskirts to the implementation of better equipment in collaboration with the Academy, it's no wonder many of her men like her.

Some of them are even prisoners that were given a second chance after coming out from the citadel, and it’s something forgiving and merciful of a landowner the Prime Magician, a child of the Saturni, Yphemu is to the standards of what is a nobleman. Her rightful actions breed a sense of righteousness even to her men that they did her bidding in swift decisiveness.

Recruitment to fill the loss of her men is becoming less of an issue, as the progress grows and more a matter of organization that Yphemu, Sacr, and Epiro will just have to handle in the future. At the same time, the council and the voting commenced within the protected walls of All-Monarch’s Hukuman.

If Erienda can keep the world outside from the conversation within even though the rest of the wilderness can enter with much consideration, Hukuman completely isolates them in a chamber surrounded by silence. This is an oppression chamber where certain events happen to take place that needs much deliberation only of the concerned parties, often for trials of the treasonous kind.

The collective shard in this chamber is subtly hidden from the eyes of everyone incapable of sensing the most sensitive of magics. Often, magicians would use this kind of place for their meditation or form of focus training, but in the court of All-Monarchs, a place such as that to a normal citizen would only be something partially negative in the vein of distress.

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