Three rows of soldiers encircled the hall. Hundreds of mages, dignitaries, and members of Rüdiger's ministries—of war, economy, and land, yet lacking the appointment of their consuls—milled about the buffet. Tin cups were held up in a toast, and the heavy smell of wine filled the grand hall of the city.

  All attention was directed toward the center—one large pillar in the middle of the domed hall, its walls adorned with faded paintings. Not all defacements the orcs had committed had been washed away, yet the crude effigies of broken bodies had been removed. Adarin had seen to that personally.

  Under what Adarin strongly suspected was actually a sail, the seven-meter-tall crystal of the city stood. The ceremony was but a formality. Rüdiger had bound it as soon as he had confirmed it was safe. It had been significantly less dramatic than Adarin’s experience with Northguard's crystal. The one I am still bound to…

  Next to it, a smaller pillar, the shape of a sleek obelisk—obvious under the cloth—stood. Rüdiger had been tight-lipped about its purpose, though Mathilda had hinted that it was related to the law of the land.

  And finally, between the two: the Archmage of Necromancy, the Master of Economics, and the Margrave of the Order of the Invisible Hand floated in a formal white robe and wore a crown of oak leaves.

  It required Adarin’s considerable discipline not to laugh at the somehow even more ridiculous-than-usual display by the mage.

  Liora reached out to him over the new spheric link. ‘All we need now is to put some wings on him and he would look like an Angeli. Like a cherub.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Adarin mumbled in reply. ‘The cherub of mischief and bad jokes. I wonder…’

  He had seen similar displays in his time—searching for those who would be disloyal by stopping the applause for a dignitary. Adarin had, as a junior officer, been ordered to make several arrests at such occasions.

  He let the speech wash over him, having a subroutine monitor it for actual content.

  I've had enough praising of the glorious duties of soldiers and their heroic sacrifices for one lifetime already.

  He smiled as a memory came to him. At Rüdiger's suggestion, he had attempted to form a human body—or rather a humanoid one, as he had quickly lowered his ambitions after seeing the first results. But when he had presented it to Liora, she had screamed and asked if he was all right.

  I guess it’s a spider body for me until I can figure out how not to squarely land in Uncanny Valley.

  Finally, Rüdiger made an expansive gesture, and the sailcloth over the City Crystal floated up, formed a spinning square in the air, and folded itself at a snap of Rüdiger’s fingers. Oohing and aahing rose from the crowd.

  Adarin pursed his lips.

  ‘Johann,’ he said telepathically. ‘Is everyone really just applauding the grown man dressed as an angel for folding a bedcloth correctly?’

  He felt Johann swallow hard, seeing him on the other side three rows back among the mages, fighting down a laugh. Yet a chuckle made it over the link.

  ‘It is actually quite an impressive display of magical control—very fine telekinesis. A display of power, if you will.’

  ‘If you say so,’ Adarin replied. Some people have endless parades of tanks. The locals here apparently do public bedcloth folding to buff up their egos. Very well. Not my culture.

  The City Crystal was a white structure, slightly twisted and breaking the light beautifully. Rainbows seemed to dance within it.

  Rüdiger’s speech reached a crescendo.

  "And now, our first citizens step forward."

  Adarin measuredly left the first row and walked under the eyes of everyone, together with Devon, Gavin, Liora, three mages, and three bureaucrats. They all touched the crystal, and the air rippled as Rüdiger made another grand gesture.

  The City Crystal.

  Population Overview — Portguard Province

  Total Population: 261,713

  Class

  Mage (1,909 | 0.73%)

  Official (360 | 0.14%)

  Mundane Military (9,672 | 3.70%)

  Citizen (3,772 | 1.44%)

  Resident (155,824 | 59.54%)

  Slave (73,170 | 27.96%)

  Undesirable (17,006 | 6.50%)

  Region

  Government Portguard (6,511 | 2.49%)

  Civil Portguard (29,855 | 11.41%)

  Port Portguard (26,280 | 10.04%)

  Coast Portguard (93,850 | 35.86%)

  Hills Portguard (21,609 | 8.26%)

  Upriver Portguard (36,486 | 13.94%)

  Downriver Portguard (47,122 | 18.01%)

  Background

  Order (15,713 | 6.00%)

  Settler (0 | 0.00%)

  Native (172,064 | 65.75%)

  Orc (11,862 | 4.53%)

  Goblin (4,144 | 1.58%)

  Half-Orc (57,930 | 22.13%)

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Status

  Destitute (66,356 | 25.35%)

  Subsistence (130,820 | 49.99%)

  Peasant (32,476 | 12.41%)

  Worker (17,289 | 6.61%)

  Craftsman (10,155 | 3.88%)

  Master (1,836 | 0.70%)

  Academic (2,781 | 1.06%)

  Oohing and aahing again erupted from the crowd. Adarin read the numbers and wrinkled his nose.

  It’s a foundation—but I don't think it will be enough.

  Rüdiger made another gesture.

  “I have already integrated the crystal enough that it has recognized our agenda. Every registered citizen will have access to rewards and see their ranking in their chosen field. Especially if that field is one that we are focusing on for the development of the Realm—of our Republic.”

  The text swirled in the air and other words appeared.

  Lumber. Tools. Bricks. Charcoal. Iron. Hides. Meat. Skeletons.

  “The resources we will build this empire on. This grand republic that shall bring the light of civilization to this world.”

  Suddenly, Rüdiger also had a cup—but this one made of crystal—in his hand. He raised it to the ceiling.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, this is the day of the founding of our nation—when the Order of the Invisible Hand becomes the Republic of Bone, the greatest nation that this world has ever seen.”

  Cheering erupted as cups were raised.

  Adarin stood still and stretched out a manipulator as the others placed their hands on the crystal. Their systems—and his—flashed with blue light.

  Congratulations. You have been accepted as a citizen of the city of Portguard, Republic of Bone, under Margrave Rüdiger von Erlenwald.

  Do you wish to accept this citizenship? Y / N

  Adarin focused on the Y, and the blue light infused his tattoo. He tensed for a second, expecting something to go wrong with the system.

  Yet, as Rüdiger had predicted, everything went fine.

  Adarin let out a long breath in the privacy of his mindspace.

  Around him, glasses were politely sipped—or, in the cases of some of the soldiers, straight emptied.

  Rüdiger had no such compunctions and leaned his head back until the crystal chalice was entirely empty.

  Then, as the polite cheering died down, Rüdiger snapped his fingers, and the chalice was, as if by magic, filled again.

  The man rotated slowly in the air, stretching his hand out to the other sharp-edged obelisk that was still covered by a black piece of cloth.

  This time, Rüdiger’s display was different. He made sharp, directed gestures, and invisible blades cut the cloth at the top of the obelisk, letting it fall down.

  Rüdiger's voice rose to a roar.

  “No kings. No churches. Simply the law as it is written. I bring you the Constitution of the Republic—the bedrock we shall build upon.”

  The cloth sailed to the ground, sliding off the smooth black rock like oil from water.

  Adarin studied the text on the obelisk.

  The Constitution

  §1 The state shall enable the security, prosperity, enlightenment, and happiness of all its citizens.

  §2 The arcane above the mundane, the living above the dead, the innocent above the guilty.

  §3 All land and bodies are common property held in trust by the state. All values wrought by labor are property of the individual.

  §4 Representation through the lot and the true prediction.

  §5 Justice shall be determined by the allotted worthy, yet enforced by the state.

  §6 No man shall hunger, no man shall be illiterate, no man shall be a slave.

  §7 The citizenship is subject to the test of identity and may be gained or lost at any age. Residents shall only be excluded from active participation in the state. No one born of magical blood may be a resident.

  §8 Every man and woman shall serve in the militia for ten years after earning their majority.

  §9 The union of polities shall be structured by the efficiency of the central and distributed alike.

  Adarin read over the articles. The rights granted to the citizens. The duties.

  He sneered in distaste at the representations and securities given to the citizens.

  A strong state has no need for this.

  But it is Rüdiger’s show, not mine.

  Reading the seventh article, Adarin nodded in agreement.

  The magical elite to lead the state. A strong, loyal cadre. That is what is needed to be successful.

  At least he’s not some wishy-washy democrat.

  Yet… a federal system. I see.

  We will have our disagreements, Adarin murmured to himself.

  Liora prodded him. “What do you think?”

  Adarin took a long breath. “It is an—” He paused. “Interesting setup.”

  Best try to stay diplomatic.

  “It’s a state for mages, isn’t it? What I find worrying… there is no mention of the state church.” Liora responded, her voice rich with hesitation.

  “Didn’t Rüdiger just say no kings, no churches?” Adarin responded somewhat coldly. I haven't fucking forgotten what you've done, girl.

  “Yes. But the people need faith. Without something to believe in, they will waver and fall towards the will of the Demiurges. That's the basic truth of the gospel of entropy, after all.”

  The ancient soldier chuckled. “The people need a strong hand. That is all they need.”

  Rüdiger began reading out the Constitution, and every article got applause and cheering. He bowed theatrically after each, waiting for the crowd to die down before continuing his show.

  Suddenly, Adarin felt Rüdiger’s presence in the link.

  ‘So what are you bickering about? Let me guess. Liora? Correct me if I’m wrong—Adarin is probably arguing that the state is not repressive enough, and you are probably worried about the lack of religion, right?’

  Adarin froze. ‘How…’

  Rüdiger chuckled. ‘Oh, please. I’m not listening in on your conversations. Those are just the obvious guesses, ja?’

  Adarin ground his teeth as Liora chuckled—carefully, politely.

  Too politely.

  Rüdiger continued after having read the ninth article.

  “And now, for my ministries—war, land, and economy. Each shall be headed by two consuls who shall act by consensual leadership.”

  But before Rüdiger could continue, Count Marquardt of Hohenfels, in elegant yet functional armor, stepped into the hall. Behind him, the doors of the hall were fully opened, and soldiers marched in, carrying a woman in a plain robe. Her eyes were red with tears as she was dragged into the crowd.

  “Margrave,” Marquardt called, voice solemn. “At this most auspicious hour, I present to you a traitor.”

  “For thus a nation’s founding—for thus the sapling of a nation to grow—it not only needs to be watered with the blood of patriots…”

  He stepped aside.

  “…but also with the blood of its enemies.”

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