Chapter 9-289: Of Kings and Things

“The first organization is of the people, among the people. This is the Monarchy system. It is the most common among the Powered.”

I paused to let that sink in, looking around and over them. Most present were Powered, some weren’t. Those that weren’t were often Pactbound to make up for it. “That means that Monarchies tend to be gatherings of the elite. While those who are not Powered can certainly swear in, especially the most capable of them, those of Lower Levels and lower aspirations tend to do otherwise.

“Such people, the most common mortal souls, are tied to the Land. They want to work, and get on with their lives. They want to farm or go to work, to create, to raise a family, to attend a church, to love their mates, and enjoy the pain and the pleasures of mortal life, without rising into the conflicts that tend to require the Powered to address.

“Such people are the Bannersworn to a Monarchy... and they, in the end, will follow Kings and Queens.”

The words were different from kings and queens. The mystical feel from it tugged on the heartstrings of everyone present, despite themselves, gasping at the images that arose.

“A True King or Queen is Recognized by the Land, Approved by the Divine, and Acclaimed by their people. Without those three things, you are not a King, you are merely some other form of mundane ruler. You have not been Proven in Power.”

Faces flushed among the crowd. There were indeed a bunch of mundane rulers here, and now they knew it. There was nothing magical about their positions.

“To be Recognized by the Land is not a minor event. The Land must Know who you are, which is no small thing to us tiny little dust mites living on its skin. Typically, the Land’s attention is gained by a great Ritual, usually in the form of a great Competition for its recognition, as all those who seek the Mantle of a King compete for it.

“In such contests, the Land favors those born of its soil over those who are not; the young over the old; and the strong of soul over the weak. It does not judge people on their deeds or Alignments, their intents or their purposes... although those who have mistreated the Land will naturally never gain its recognition.”

I watched them all glance at one another. There were no true ruling monarchies in the world right now, save the Ælves...

“To be Approved by the Divine is to indeed be judged for your merits and deeds. While there is no Divine Right of Kings per se, without recognition by the Divine, you cannot be a King who speaks for his land and people! To be Approved means that you have been judged worthy to speak with the Divine on behalf of your Kingdom, not that you have been approved to rule by fiat!

“You represent your Kingdom, not Divine Authority! A King is his Kingdom!”

I let that subtle difference filter through. The power of a King still came from below... from their people, and from the Land.

“Naturally, that means you must be Acclaimed by your people! If the people will not bow down and swear Oath to a King, then you are, simply put, not their King!

“If they are willing to bend that knee, and you have Approval and Recognition, then you are a True King, the highest mortal representative upon this world. The eyes of the Divine and the Land are watching you, and you guide all those who dwell in the lands of your Kingdom!”

I let that all trail off for them to consider. Becoming a True King was truly one of the hardest, yet grandest and worthiest things a mortal could aspire to upon this world.

“Kingships and Kingdoms are not hereditary. The Lands and the Gods show no favoritism for parentage. Each King is judged on their own merits, no others, and you cannot fool the Land or the Gods as to those qualifications. For instance, eliminating any potential challengers will be known, and simply deny you the status. If you are not confident enough to compete for their Attention and the Approval, you are not fit to be a King!”

Which would naturally not deter all those who preferred there to be no King...

“So, as you can infer, there are not many Kings. On the other hand, there are going to be many Monarchs. Because of this, geographical power is going to fragment, because an Allegiance is its people, above all else. Where and how tends to fall behind in importance, as Allegiances can move where they wish, when they wish. It may be tedious, but the people of an Allegiance are not as tied to the land and area as are those of a Kingdom.

“However, Allegiances come with their own set of difficulties, which must be headed off early on, especially when it comes to accumulation of power and the like.

“Specifically, just like a Kingdom, there needs to be an incentive for the younger generation. As time grants power, the ability of older folk to cling to positions of power and authority only increases; it does not go down with time. This has the effect of stifling the young, sapping their ambition, and foiling their own success.

“Thus, Allegiances form among the people of a generation. As a new generation rises, new Allegiances form as well. Either they succeed their parents, who move on to other jobs and roles, or they go elsewhere, to pursue their own dreams of power.

“Thus, Allegiances rise and fall regularly, move about, and change, while a Kingdom stays in one place, persists, and grows with its King.

“This is the future of the world that is coming: one of Monarchs, and of Kings and Queens ruling their realms, bound by Oaths, and by Duty and Loyalty exchanged.

“The magical mechanics to adjust to this are already in place, you just do not know of them. I will be informing you, and everyone else, of the specifics of how this is done, and in doing so, the governmental and social structures of your nations are going to change.

“I do not apologize for this. If you have not taken steps along this road, then when the Shroud comes down you are going to be woefully unprepared to deal with it!

“Let me now proceed with the mechanics of how this works, and why you see the Banner of the Jet and Silver rising high above Heavenbound Hall.”

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The politicians and power-players sitting there were all stunned at the ease and swiftness with which Allegiances could rise... and if the total authority of a True King were to form, the power having one gave a nation in guiding its destiny forwards.

Lands with a True King were nigh unstoppable, save by another King. The realm that gained one would have a massive advantage over any rival that did not.

However, there was no doubt that it would upset every single balance of power and government currently in existence. Of course, when the Divine truly returned, that was likely to happen, anyways. Hegemonic mortal powers found it very difficult to endure in the eyes of the Divine and their many interests, and while only the Darker Powers would found Theocracies run by Divine Allegiances, containing the powers of the Divine meant the War of the Alignments would be on you very quickly, indeed.

Get organized, cement your positions, and be ready to greet the gods, or be ripped apart between them!

They could defy what was coming and fall prey to it, or they could acknowledge it was coming and prepare. That was it!

“I will now take questions from those in attendance,” I finished up, as the Holo behind me showing armed magical conflicts between mortals faded away.

The Ælfheim queen was the first to rise, somewhat urgently. “Lady Traveler, your words said that the Land favors the Forsaken over the Powered. Does this mean that our people must submit to those without magic, if we are to raise a Queen?” she asked urgently.

“The elves, more than any other race, are their people. Any land you settle upon is your home, for your home is with the magic of your people. As a Powered Race, it is basically impossible for you to acknowledge a racial King who is Forsaken. They will not have Acclaim.

“However, you will never be able to become a High King for that reason. You are Powered, and you are not tied to the Land. You tie the Land to you.

“You may thus deny the support of the Land upon which you reside to another King, but for all practical purposes, you are limited to the benefits of an Allegiance, and will not raise up a true Kingdom.

“This will naturally put you at conflict with both the Land and a True King.” My eyes flickered once. “The Land does not appreciate artificial divisions of itself, in the same way you do not appreciate an axe stuck in your head. There will be consequences for doing that sort of thing, and in the end, you will not endure. You may think you command the Land of your home, but you do not. You are dust mites living upon its skin, and at some point, it is going to scratch you.”

President Havier bolted to his feet. “L-Lady Traveler,” he blurted out, and I turned my eyes on him. His nervousness bumped up to near-terror at recognizing his rudeness, and he was silent for a whole five seconds while he composed himself, swallowed, and continued, “I have a question?”

“Mr. President,” I replied smoothly, just enough warning in there to encourage everyone to be disciplined, as the Ælven Queen sat back down.

“What exactly do you mean by ‘artificial divisions’?” he asked, having proper dread for the term.

“That is part two of this meeting: Consequences of the Shroud coming down. Do you wish me to enter that phase, or consider other questions?” I asked pointedly of everyone.

Their glances all told him to sit down and be patient. He shut up and sat back down, and like everyone else began to dread what was coming next even more.

The queen of Britain was the next to rise. She was Islandbound, a Warlock of Britannia, and so actually had some recognition from her homeland already. Whether she was strong enough to become a True Queen was another matter entirely.

Perhaps more importantly, becoming the High King and Queen of the British Isles with King Charles was very different from becoming Queen of Britannia, as the islands would each favor their own...

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The questions that arose next mostly dealt with specific scenarios, reactions, and consequences, to which I replied with a scarily concise array of plausible replies, so thorough it was plain I was passing on things which had happened before, and would happen again.

Specifically, those who did not want to bend a knee or fit into the system would find it very difficult to live, as they simply didn’t belong to anyone, and so there was nobody to vouch for their conduct. They could survive and endure in a Fellowship, but such things could not include their families or children.

Esper came back up to describe the effect of my Monarch’s Mantle, while they looked at the +3 to Meditation and Concentration on the Holo behind him. It wasn’t a huge advantage on the micro scale... but on the macro scale, it added up, and it was an edge that could not be matched without having a Mantle of your own over your people.

The people under me were more serene and focused than those who were not under me. They got along with one another far more easily, were able to coordinate with /tellepathic speed and ease, and verify and trust those they had never met, all because they were in the same Allegiance, beneath the same person, for the same reasons.

The advantages were apparent to everyone. The only downsides were to those who were not in an Allegiance.

It would create factions and power blocs among the people, and would be unstoppable in that aspect. People would follow people, not councils, and although Allegiances could vary widely on how their Monarch handled power, it was, in the end, the Monarch’s Allegiance. If people did not accept that, they could ask to be released from their Oath of Loyalty and walk.

A King, on the other hand, did not have to worry about such things from Bannersworn. Bannersworn could break a Vow to an Allegiance to swear to the King of the land they lived upon and intended to live upon without any issue, by the power and grace of the Land. Breaking THAT Oath, however, could be very difficult, unless the King basically was a total twat and in doing so lost Divine approval, breaking the trifecta and possibly losing Acclaim, and so falling from his throne.

Swearing False Oath was a very bad idea. The Land, the Gods, and the people took a cumulative Very Dim View of those lying to get into an Allegiance or Kingdom, and bolts from the blue could and would kill you instantly for trying such effrontery. You were sincere when you swore that Oath, or you didn’t swear it and just became Bannersworn with a Vow.

I gave examples of what Kings could do, from organizing their Kingdoms to national destiny to Divine approval, and how the people benefited, and they listened closely indeed at this part.

The /tell system, being able to see the mental states and Auras of Allegiance mates, and measuring Duty and Loyalty at a glance, along with the power to manage your Allegiance, were shocking all of them with the implications...