Heart of Dorkness

Scourge Eight - Politics

Scourge Eight - Politics

I drag one of the seats around so that its facing the others a bit better. Felix has opted for leaning against the nearest doorframe while Esme is slumped next to me on the loveseat, her eyes blinking every so often as she tries to stay awake.

Across from us is Bianca, who seems entirely comfortable with being the centre of attention. Then again, theres only the three of us (and a few little friends) watching her.

Arlight, I say. Where do we start?

I suspect from the beginning. How much do you know about the Caselfella Republic?

Not too much, I admit. I know that its relatively young, as far as nations go. And that its mostly made up of nobles that were from the Kingdom of Hero. Culturally, its not that different from there.

Bianca nods. Thats accurate enough, I suppose. Though its not the entire picture. The Republic is, as you said, a young nation. My father was born when the capital was still only a relatively small city, and my great-grandfather was the first member of my family to move here, along with his retinue and some companions.

Alright, I say.

The first thing you need to know is that Caselfella isnt a kingdom, its a republic. That means that matters of state are determined in a specific order, without a king or monarch at the head to lead the nation. Instead, each of the noble families has a vote which can be cast at the capital. Laws can be proposed by any family, but they must have majority votes to be accepted into the books. And each family rules over a province of the country, though some of these provinces are barely developed at all.

Huh, I say. So who rules this area?

Vizeda and its surroundings are ruled by the Caquero family. Theyre one of the first seven, though they are a relatively small family, one that isnt quite as prosperous as the other six.

Wait, so theres only seven families? I ask.

Not quite. There are forty-two families that have a vote in the Republic. The vote is held by the family patriarch, though a lot of families send a delegate to vote in their stead since the votes are held at the capital. Of those forty-two families, there are seven that hold a city. These are the seven original families. The others are often offshoots of those, or noble families from other nations that moved to Caselfella after its founding. There are also a few merchant families that purchased a seat on the council.

Alright, so its almost like a democracy, only the people cant vote, I say. That sounds about right.

Bianca nods. Essentially, yes.

Felix shifts her spot against the wall, then makes a little go-on sort of gesture. Whats any of that got to do with the monsters attacking this city?

I listen for a moment, trying to pick out any noises from outside of our inn room, but theres not much to hear. I cant see any fires from the one window I have facing the city itself, so I figure things havent degraded entirely.

Lady Malvada asked me who I suspected could be responsible for the assault on the city. An understanding of Caselfellas politics is necessary to properly answer that question.

Alright, Felix says. But history stuff is usually pretty boring.

Esmes head rises up, and she shoots a tired glare over at Felix. History is great, she says.

Its boring, Felix rebuts with complete conviction in her own judgement.

Im on the fence. I prefer fiction to actual history, but I do like some history, just not as much as Esme does. She can devour the most bland book there is just for some nugget of drama that happened a thousand years ago.

Lets not argue about this... again, I say. It wasnt fun teaching Felix to read when no one could agree which books she should learn with. In the end, Felix had grudgingly found that she enjoys the simpler, most child-friendly stories about knights in shining armour and such.

Everyone at home found her tastes a bit juvenile, but I think we were all so happy that she was reading that we didnt complain too much. At least, thats how I figure it happened.

Continuing, Bianca says. The seven families are the Caquero of Vizeda, where we are now. The Bilbao of Guimanho is to the very north, are relatively small for one of the seven families, and are relatively poor. The Sanolaria are the family who control the capital itself. They are quite strong. I dont suspect that they would be responsible for this monster attack.

Thats three, I say. Youre suspecting one of the others?

Bianca nods. The Orellana are far, far to the south. They run Narin, a decently large ocean-side city. Theyre too far to be involved, I suspect. The del Valle family run Mealhanes, the largest agricultural region in the republic. Theyre surprisingly apolitical. Mostly the familys dedicated to Thornton.

Are a lot of families tied to different churches? Esme asks.

To some degree all of them are. But part of the charter that governs the Republic forbids families from putting religious needs before those of the nation. It will happen regardless, but its usually frowned upon. The del Valle are something of an exception. They provide grain and fruit and meats to everyone at competitive prices, so the other families overlook their worship to Thornton.

Thorntons a pretty inoffensive god too, I say. Even Mom doesnt have much issue with him, and she dislikes just about everyone in the Pantheon. All she cares about is farming and planting things.

Thats likely a factor as well, Bianca says. If the del Valle cared about Rogne or one of the other more troublesome gods, it might be a different story.

Alright, that leaves two families, right?

It does, Bianca says. The Notari of Algecante, and the Malicieux of Nafpakri.

Uh, Esme uhs. Arent you Bianca Malicieux?

I am, Bianca says. The eldest child of the main branch of the family. Though the fact that I was born a girl precludes me from any real political ability.

Wow, her voice might be all flat and neutral, but I can feel the anger in her core. To be fair, Im decently sensitive to that kind of thing, but it still takes a lot of emotion for it to sense-able.

So, can we rule out your family? I ask.

We likely can. My father is the plotting sort. This attack was too crude for him. Which leads me to suspect the Notari. They are a rather envious family, of middling wealth and middling importance. They spent decades trying very hard to expand their domain and their influence but only to moderate success. They are noted as being ready to spend vast sums to ameliorate their situation.

Hows that work? Felix asks.

Mostly theyve been trying to attract artisans from other cities and even other nations, theyve set up multiple temples and churches to curry favour with various gods and goddesses, and they have tried to turn Algecante into an important trade hub. Unfortunately, I think the geography of their territory has complicated things for them, and some of the other families have tried to curb their growth a little.

And it would make sense for them to lead monsters to attack Vizeda? I ask.

It wouldnt surprise me if they were somehow responsible. It seems like the kind of extreme action theyre fond of.

I lean back into the couch while I consider things. Esme asks a few more questions, and I listen with half an ear as Bianca answers. She seems pretty knowledgeable about local politics, but if shes the daughter of a big family I guess that only makes sense.

My big problem is figuring out if any of this stuff actually matters.

I dont think it does.

Sure, theres going to be some stuff to take into account, but my mission, and Esmes, mostly means that well be moving on to the capital first and foremost. Once were there, well need to investigate things. Unless this whole kerfuffle makes it so that we cant move over to the capital, then it really doesnt matter all that much.

Still, someones using monsters for their own ends, and thats a little concerning.

Alright, I say, cutting off the others mid-conversation. Heres what were going to do. Im going to write a letter to Mom. Tomorrow morning, Ill send it over. Ill tell her about the monsters around here, and maybe shell know what to do from there. Im pretty sure she can get a few stronger monsters to navigate over to here.

Stronger monsters? Bianca asks.

Theyll be older, smarter. A lot harder to trick with something as silly as some food tied onto a few dogs. Anyway, they should keep things steady while we go on with our mission. Esmes thing is still going to be in the capital, right?

Probably, Esme says.

Then thats where were going, I say. I push myself up then stretch my back. I think Im going to grab something to eat, then take a quick nap. We can figure out anything more complicated in the morning, I think.

***

THIS CHAPTER UPLOAD FIRST AT NOVELBIN.COM