Inheritor Of Magic: The Magi King

Cassie's mind poked at Wolfe's wondering why he was going to go so easy on these towns.

[They have been committing outrageous crimes right up to today, and now you're just going to let them sign a deal and take away their slaves to be resettled somewhere else? What are you thinking?] She demanded.

[It's not quite that simple. The slaves are their witches, almost all of them. I'm going to take them away, and by the time that they realize what they've done, they're going to need to submit to the rules set forth by the guardian that I appoint in order to survive.

I will make certain that it is not 'happy fun time' for them.]

That made Cassie smile a little.

Wolfe continued. "Now, because you will be short on powerful locals to keep things in order, and because I don't entirely trust that you won't take another group of slaves to replace the ones that you're sending away, I will require that you accept a guardian from outside to watch over the city.

They will make sure that you are not breaking the terms of our agreement, as well as serving as the representative to other towns and groups who may still hold a negative view of your towns, after the last year's worth of incidents.

But they will have the town's best interests as their guiding principle, as it is not only part of their culture, but traditionally the guardians levy a small tax for their services.

If you haven't noticed, things are getting more dangerous around here, and being without magic won't be an option much longer."

The General looked back at the others in the room, and again the room fell silent as they considered the terms of the agreement.

Finally, one of the men in suits spoke. "What level of sanctions will be placed on us?"

Wolfe sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "I can't say for certain. It will be a tense time getting any of the witches to do business with you at all, except through your appointed guardians, but I don't intend to force financial reparations.

The Grand Dutchies are in bad shape, even with the help they are receiving, and there was some talk of having them annexed, and their leadership purged after they insisted on keeping to their ways. However, they have also relented, and most of the former leadership was imprisoned by the citizens.

Here, things are being done on a smaller scale, village by village, so if you have been good to your people, there will be minimal backlash, but if you have not, I would prepare a very compelling reason why you shouldn't be shot in the streets the moment that you lose power.

Not all the transitions have been peaceful, and our rules do not forbid the majority from forcibly removing despotic leaders."

That announcement caused much more concern in the room. If the rest of the continent wasn't going to step in if their people tried to overthrow them, how could they guarantee their continued survival? Their control was already tenuous and slipping, and they hadn't managed to come up with a plan that didn't end in disaster.

But they needed this agreement. Without it, they would certainly face a much worse end after the forces of the Coven and Forest Grove united against them. They weren't fools, they knew what was coming to the rebels along the coast, who were willing to fight to the end.

For a moment, it seemed that nobody knew what to say, but Priya was there with solutions for them.

"As distasteful as it might be to those here in this room, what the people of your towns will likely demand is a very public scapegoat. The leader and his closest officials will have to step down at the very least, with public apologies for not living up to your duties.

We all know that much of what went on was beyond even the Grand Dutchies laws, and if you want to save your people, the best thing you can do is to take all the blame on your shoulders." Priya insisted.

The General looked grim, but nodded in agreement, while many of the others in the room simply looked terrified.

So, Priya continued. "There is always the option to run, to leave the changes to be implemented without you. But the changes will be made, that part is no longer negotiable. So, what do you prefer?"

Those in the room all turned to the General, looking for leadership that might guide them to an outcome that wasn't death. Wolfe was impressed that the ladies had gotten this negotiation so far before he arrived, but from the look of things, they had all known the end was here, and it was more of a mediated surrender than anything else.

The General sat back in his chair and lit a cigar. "I suggest a public trial. Put all the leadership up, and we can be done with it. Once we've been made a spectacle of, the rest of our people should be able to integrate into the towns properly.

It's already begun, you all know as well as I do that half our men might as well be married if it wasn't against military regulations to take war brides back home.

We will announce the discharge of all soldiers, and your courts can set a trial date for us all."

The sound of shouted protests filled the room, but the General raised his hands and the guards moved to keep anyone from leaving.

Wolfe nodded. "Someone get the cameras. We will make the announcement now. I presume that the General has an idea of the sort of charges his senior officers will face."

The General nodded, and a young corporal ran out of the room.

One after the other, the officers in the room began to sit back and light cigars, or pour themselves a drink from the decanters on a table at the back.

The General sighed. "We all knew in our hearts that the war would never end well for us. Not from the first order to deploy the gas to the order to take the witches as slaves to be sent home for the government officials. When the cameras get here, I will make the announcement that there will be public trials, and then the rest is up to you."