Once the tokens were all drawn, Wolfe held up his hand for silence.
"Alright everyone, here is what we’re going to do. Starting with number one, we will have the mbers of the current pentacle call their number, and then the two with the matching numbers will go to them.
Everyone will wait here until we’ve got everyone sorted, so we know there are no problems, and then we can all get about our days. The candidates will shadow the Pentacle mber for the morning, then we will change teams after lunch.
Who has number one?" Wolfe asked.
Cassie raised her hand, and Khalifa moved to join her, along with a nervous looking teen girl in a very formal blue dress, complete with corset and a lace shawl.
It seed that either nobody ntioned that the Fae Forest was hot, or she was a very well-dressed sort of person. Many of the others were in the sa situation, overly dressed for the local climate, but there were a few at least who were wearing sothing lighter.
Then the realization clicked in Wolfe’s mind. They were sent here to join the Pentacles, and many of their families would have taken it as sowhere between a debutante event and an engagent festival.
So, they didn’t have clothes with them which were suitable for the weather, all they had was their best formal wear, and those who were dressed sensibly were the daughters of commoners and lower Nobles, who didn’t believe in, or couldn’t afford the sort of grandeur that the High Nobles were used to.
"Ladies, so of the mbers of the Pentacles will be headed for tasks where formal wear is not suitable, so if they are, they will take you to change, and Forest Grove will provide an appropriate outfit for you.
Birthright ans a lot less here than it does in most worlds. You will get recognition for your potential, which usually cos from your family, but it is power and skill that truly matters to the people of Forest Grove.
You’re all still young, chosen so you can grow into the power of the position, and that alone will be more impressive to the people that you et here than being the daughter of a Duke." Wolfe explained.
"Is being the daughter of a Duke so common?" One of the human girls, a tall, Raven haired one whose na Wolfe didn’t know, asked.
"Who here has parents at the Duke Rank or higher?" Wolfe asked, causing two thirds of the Demons and Fae to raise their hands.
"The other Realms assign Noble titles by power. It is the job that earns them extra respect. For example, Rail is a Lead Investigator for the Royal Court. A ranking mber of the law enforcent team.
Then we have retired Finance Minister Jasdeep, who passed down the position to a granddaughter to co here and take over a territory as a Guardian.
The Guardians protect a region much as a landed Noble does, but the land does not belong to them. They are its protectors, but only for so long as they’re doing the job. They get to choose their successors, but they can also just walk away and the Continental Representatives will pick a replacent."
Wolfe’s explanation made the Guardians in the room smile. There was precisely zero chance that any of them would do that outside of incurable illness. They were the first generation of Guardians, and their claim was not stable. But in their children and grandchildren’s ti, they were quite certain that they would indeed own the majority of the land that they protected.
Even now, they were using their wealth and power to open businesses and make improvents.
Because there was no title other than Guardian, you couldn’t claim rank with a location like a Dukedom. So, all that you could use to prove that you were the best guardian was the success of your territory.
When others ca to visit, they would see how well your people were doing. That was the ranking system that mattered here, and the newcors would realize it eventually.
"Alright, let’s get on with the grouping. Group two, please join your team leader."
Wolfe went through the numbers until he finally reached himself at fifteen, the last of the day, and found that he was paired with Drazzit and a brown haired mage Candidate nad Jessica.
Beside him, Ella had another petite blonde, paired with Monika, the Dark Elf and Dwarven representatives.
"Are we going to have issues already?" Wolfe asked as he noticed how the Dwarf was glaring at the Dark Elf.
Drazzit laughed. "It’s not that she’s upset with. The armour that I’m wearing is Elven made using Dark Iron, a material that can only be made by mbers of the Dark Fae Dwarf species. It’s quite light and comfortable, but the Light Fae Dwarves find it uncomfortable to look at."
Monika nodded. "Like a smith who wears naught but frilly knickers in the forge, it’s just not right."
A few of the nearby humans gasped in shock at the language, while most of the Demons laughed at the thought. Even if it was comfortable in the heat, it still just wasn’t right.
"Alright everyone, get your team changed if you need to, and let’s get to our days. Try not to scare them too badly, but don’t hold back on the boring parts. We can’t have them thinking that life is only the fun bits." Wolfe joked.
For the Witches of the Pentacles, most of their ti was actually just answering questions and helping with random tasks. Only Mary took a scheduled job, while the others were more unstructured or took turns doing the parts that nobody liked.
For Wolfe, today was a day of etings. First with King Petros, then with a pair of foreign trade representatives who wanted access to the magical vehicles that the Covens used but didn’t make in large enough quantities to export.
Their hope was that Forest Grove could arrange the production, so they could switch to more mana crystal powered electric vehicles. Their nations didn’t have an abundance of magic users, but the Guardians were on board, and they had already begun the switch to the new continental currency.
That was another issue that Wolfe would have to deal with soon, converting more currency into mana-based currency, so that the mundane nations in the north and east of the Continent would have proper access to mana in order to use the magical technology innovations that were spreading.
Most of them were designed to alleviate the natural resource shortage, but as they needed mana in a nation of almost all humans, there were so severe shortages of people able to recharge them.
Reviews
All reviews (0)