I eye Mina and Gemma, who stand at the bottom of the podium. They’re the only two palace officials who came with me today, my father having requested that the rest of them stay behind, since this is apparently “a child’s whim” of a public address. I can’t care less. After their deliberations, the royal advisors requested I come up with a full thought-out plan for addressing Krasta, which I delivered in full after my conversation with Mina and Aurelio. They strongly believe that my plan has merit to it, and that it will prevent all-out war from affecting our people. The fact that I’m taking volunteers after the knight tournament instead of forcing the Royal Army into enemy territory is the greatest consolation prize of my plan, according to them. I’m glad we can see eye to eye, even if the washed-up second-class ruler refuses to address me as an equal.
“Are you ready for this?” Aurelio asks, shooting me a smile.
I return the expression. “Of course I am. I’ve been looking forward to this all week.”
I step up to the podium, tap my throat, and cast a charm on my immediate vicinity. When I next speak, my voice is amplified to ten times its normal volume.
“PEOPLE OF CELESTIA!” I boom.
In an instant, the crowd falls quiet. The echoes bouncing between the guild buildings cease. I’m shocked there’s not even a murmur.
“Thank you for attending this public address. I come bearing news of great importance to our country,” I begin. I stretch out my left hand, gesturing to Aurelio. “First of all, I’d like you all to meet the new Prince of Celestia, Aurelio of the Autumnspell family.”
A great cheer erupts from the crowd, more like a wall of sound than a series of bellows. Beside me, Aurelio turns a little pink in the face, but practically glows with pride. I unobtrusively take his hand and give it a squeeze while I wait for the crowd to quiet down.
“Aurelio has already proven himself to be a great asset to our kingdom. He will serve well as a role model for our young men, and his passion will prove an inspiration to all. I look forward to the years we will spend together, caring for our people.”
There’s another cheer after this one, although much smaller in scale. Aurelio’s pink face turns bright red, which has my heart doing a happy dance, but I don’t say anything. I don’t want to embarrass him in front of all these people.
“In other news, we have recently traveled to Krasta for the customary meeting with our allied royal family. Unfortunately, we discovered the Village of Lihra in tatters, their people ill, their farm fields overgrown with weeds, their children malnourished, and their merchants dead. After nursing the village back to health, we discovered that the entire countryside of Krasta is in a similar state, a result of an ongoing civil war in Krasta’s capital.
“The royal family of Krasta hasn’t answered our letters in over a year, and now we understand why: their only heir, an eighteen-year-old son, is terminally ill. War has broken out among rival aristocratic factions for a place on the throne. The royal family has either gone into hiding or joined one of the factions; we cannot say for certain at this time.”
A series of chatter become boos, hisses, and outright protest from the crowd. Even I’m surprised by this vehement reaction; these people haven’t seen the state of Lihra with their own eyes, and yet, they’re taking this situation to heart, as if it’s their own city. The mentality of the crowd toward Lihra’s royal family turns sour, then damn near murderous, in the space of a single minute. I watch on as the crowd shouts insults, shakes their fists, and demands action.
“Uh…do I let this continue?” I ask Aurelio quietly.
He shakes his head sternly. “No, you shouldn’t. Mob mentality is dangerous at best.”
I nod. Upping the volume of my voice via the charm, I address the crowd once more.
“Citizens of Celestia! I come to you with a solution. Silence yourselves, and I will address your concerns.”
Just like before, the crowd falls silent in a shockingly short time. I can hear a few children crying and pinpoint their locations. It’s so quiet. I suddenly feel the gazes of thousands of people on me like never before, and sweat trickles down the back of my shirt.
“Thank you. As I said, I have a solution. We plan to send in teams of mages from the Holy Church as missionaries. We will deliver food, tools, and supplies to the farming villages of Krasta, and we will bring with us seeds to sow their fields once more. We will also send a team of knights with our missionaries to serve as supportive and protective entities during travel and during the revitalization process.
“Here in Celestia, we are blessed with excess: excess food, water, shelter, clothing, tools, weaponry, and wealth. We are more than willing to share some of our excess with Krasta, our centuries-old ally and comrade-in-arms. There will be no need to raise taxes over this decision.”
Now, that sends up a cheer like no other. There are whoops, hollers, and shouts for joy all over the main street. I hold up my hand to stifle the din before it can grow unruly.
“I understand your excitement; I believe us highly fortunate to possess such wealth. We have created our luck over the centuries with smart decisions, tasteful ally agreements, and a relentless pursuit of knowledge. We are grateful to be in a position to give to our neighbors. If you work for the Merchant’s Guild, and you have in your possession excess of any kind, we kindly ask you to donate it to the Holy Church before the end of the week. We will not be sending knights door-to-door to collect. This must be of your own volition.
“Now, then,” I start, switching gears in my brain, “I have an exciting announcement to make for those knights who remain in the capital. For the first time in Celestia’s history, we will host a combined knight tournament.”
If I thought the cheers about taxes were something, then I don’t know what this reaction qualifies as. This announcement’s reaction nearly knocks me off my feet. The cheers are so great that I feel the sound vibrating in my chest, even after the cheers die down.
“I’m glad to see we’re all excited,” I chuckle. “This knight tournament will be hosted exactly four months from today. All knights, regardless of social class or guild affiliation, are welcome to participate. The Adventurer's Guild will hold sign ups through the end of this month. All knights that register will compete in a week-long tournament to determine a definitive ranking of knights in Celestia. The rules will be posted shortly; a win guarantees a next match, and a loss will knock you out of the tournament. The top ten knights will get an automatic placement as general of the royal army, and the top three knights will receive the honor of sparring with the Hero of Celestia herself, Daelia Moonbreaker, in a series of one-on-one matches to end the tournament. I, too, will be joining this tournament.
“This concludes my public address. I will see you at the tournament.”
The moment I finish speaking, the crowd roars loud enough to shatter my eardrums. I quickly reverse my magic charm to block sound, descend from the podium with Aurelio in hand, and make my escape to the Holy Church. Mina and Gemma hurry after me. The moment we get inside, the church’s knights slam the doors shut. I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Okay, public speaking is one thing, but that was insane,” I pant. “There are way too many people out there to hear myself think.”
“For what it’s worth, I think you did wonderfully,” Aurelio says, shooting me a smile.
I return the smile, but a moment later, a shout has that smile disappearing from my face. I look up just in time to catch sight of Daelia marching down the stairs of the central tower. Her face is livid red.
