Chapter 26: The Founding of the Alliance Part 1: Much to Discuss
It took them another day of travel even with the Wind Whipper spell at their backs, another night of camping and flying into mid morning of the following day, before they were over the Heartlands, on approach to their Kingdom to Come. As they drew nearer, they could see a bustle of activity as the pirates saw to whatever tasks needed doing. They had been away for a week now, and in that time the pirates had erected another, larger tent that was the perfect size for Evan to hold meetings in – and this was presumably its purpose – and another, smaller tent beside it, as well as the well they had been instructed to build. A few people were gathered around it now, drawing out water. As the drone of the sky skimmers' engines grew louder, one by one the people stopped what they were doing and turned their heads in the direction of the noise. They cheered for the return of their King and flocked to greet him. And as word spread through the kingdom, more and more people gathered. Batu and Chingis hung back to allow Tani to descend and land first. They set the skimmers down a little way away and dismounted as the people crowded around Tani and Evan's skimmer. "Yer Majesty! King Evan! Welcome back!"
Evan looked around at all the people – his people, who had rushed to meet him. Every one of their faces was filled with delight at his return, and he had to take a moment before he could say anything. "Thank you, everyone," he spoke at length, his eyes shining, fist clutched to his chest. "It's good to be back with you all."
"Oi!" Lofty objected, hopping up and down on the fuselage of Tani's skimmer. "And what about me, youer Kingmaker, eh? Where's my welcome?"
"Welcome back, Lofty," they responded obediently and happily.
"Higgle pig!" Frumious declared, raising an arm in greeting. He deflated when Runcible and Wiff-waff explained that the pirates couldn't see them either.
Qadan emerged from the crowd. He inclined his head in a place of bow. "Welcome back, Yer Majesty. I trust yer trip were a success?"
"Yes, it was!" He raised his voice so that the gathered crowd could hear. "Everyone? Niall has given us permission to cut down some of his trees for wood."
They cheered and Qadan grinned. "That be some fine news indeed, Yer Majesty."
"I see you've built the well as we requested," said Aranella.
He nodded. "Aye, we did. An' we were addin' more beddin' te the beds as well. They should be plumper an' softer now, an more comfortable te sleep on." He glanced away briefly before turning back. "We were also welcomin' a new citizen te the kingdom a few days back. Ol'Tom as'e likes te call'imself."
"He made it then," said Tani.
"Aye. An'e be settlin' in jus'fine ye'll be pleased te'ear."
"That's a relief," said Evan, exchanging a look with Tani, who nodded back.
"We can check in with him later," said Roland. "Right now we've got more pressing matters to attend to."
"Aye," Batu agreed, before folding his arms and frowning. "Like'ow the devil are we te be transportin' the wood from the forest te'ere? The sky skimmers won't be carryin'em through the air. So we'll be needin' another way."
"Would the skimmers be able to drag them do you think?" Aranella asked, raising a hand to her chin in a thoughtful posture. "Along the ground?"
He shook his head. "Not if they're bein' as'eavy as I be suspectin' they are. T'would be no different te air liftin'em."
"But what if they were supported somehow?" Roland asked. "Like," he gestured in suggestion, "if they were on wheels?"
Batu frowned and hummed. "I suppose they might be able te do that. But the wheels n'axles will be needin' te be strong enough to support their weight."
"Right," he agreed with a nod. "Considering how big the trees in Niall's forest were, it might be better if they made the wheels and axles while they're there."
"Aye," Batu agreed. "That be soundin' like a plan, or the makin's o'one at least. We'll'ave te give over all o'our skimmers te the task as well, or they'll be takin' forever te transport."
"It might be best if we kept two or three behind, in case we need to go somewhere that's too far to reach on foot," Aranella suggested.
"… Aye," he conceded. "I suppose we should be doin' that." He glanced at their skimmers before continuing, "We'll keep these ones te one side," he said, gesturing over his shoulder with one thumb as he did, "seein' as'ow we were already usin'em. They been doin' a lotta flyin' o'late, so they may not be up te taken more stress just yet."
"But how are we going to get everyone down to the forest?" Evan asked. "The skimmers can only take one extra passenger at a time, can't they? And if it takes a day to get there and another day to get back…" He trailed off, not needing to indicate how much time that would take.
"Batu," Roland assumed a thoughtful posture and gestured towards him as he continued, "you said you have a few magic users among you, didn't you?"
He nodded. "Aye we do."
"Let's have them learn the Travel spell and be the first ones to go out. Once they've attuned to the forest's waystone, they'll have to return by skimmer. But then they'll be able to cut down on the travel time by Travelling groups of people out to the forest." He glanced off to one side as he considered something before adding, "And let's have them learn the Wind Whipper spell as well."
"Aye, that be good plannin' matey."
Roland turned to Qadan, gesturing towards him as he asked, "Do you think you could take care of organising and overseeing all of that? Now that we're back, we need to have a talk with Evan about the future of our kingdom, but something else came up while we were in Goldpaw and we need to discuss that as well." They all exchanged looks at that.
"Sounds like ye be'avin' a lot o'discussin' te do," Qadan remarked, with a quirked eyebrow. "So if it be that important then aye," he nodded. "Ye can be leavin' the matter o'the gatherin' o'the wood in me'ands."
"Thank you, Qadan," said Evan. "Here are the spells we'd like the mages to learn," he continued, pulling out the spells in question.
Qadan took them and gave them a once over. "If this be the only copies we be'avin', I'll see te makin' more fer our mages afore I be returnin'em."
"Good idea," said Roland.
"An' get Gerel te'elp ye with the organisin' if she's not too busy," said Batu. "She be good at that sort o'thing."
"Aye, will do," Qadan replied, as he tucked the spell sheets away. "But there be one more thing afore I be'eadin' out. While ye were away, we took the liberty o'makin' ye a small castle-well…" He shrugged in apology. "It be more like a throne tent on account o'it bein' so small, but it be big enough te'old yer meetin's in, and we were makin' ye a throne fer ye to be sittin' on as well."
"Oh gosh!" Evan exclaimed, clutching a fist to his chest. "Thank you."
"We were also movin' yer sleepin' tent so it be right near by."
"Thank you, Qadan."
"Oh, and yer footwear be ready fer collectin'."
"Oh perfect," said Aranella. She looked down at her feet, raising one foot as she continued. "I'll finally be able to change out of my old shoes."
He nodded. "I'll be takin' my leave then, Yer Majesty." And then left to find Gerel.
"Chingis!" Khunbish shouted, one hand thrown high to draw attention. He had emerged from the crowd having finally fought his way to the front. "Yer back!"
"Khunbish!" Chingis shouted back, throwing his arms wide. They ran to each other and Chingis scooped the smaller pirate up into a bone-crushing hug that lifted him off his feet, and twirled him around as he laughed, before setting him down again. He pressed their foreheads together. "Ye be a sight fer sore eyes, matey."
Khunbish smiled back. "Aye. An' you as well, matey." When Chingis pulled away, he squeezed Chingis' shoulder before going to greet the others. "Chief. Mistress Tani."
"Khunbish," they replied. They bumped fists and grasped hands. Some kind of Sky Pirate greeting, Roland presumed.
"Yer Majesty, Master Lofty. An' Miss Aranella and Master Roland." He beamed. "It be good te see ye all back safe n'sound."
"Thank you, Khunbish," Evan replied, returning the smile with one of his own. "It's good to see you too."
"Since ye be'avin' things te discuss," said Chingis. "Ye'd best be leavin' me n'Khunbish te look after the skimmers. They'll be needin' a seein' too after all the travellin' we were puttin'em through fer the past few days."
"Aye," Batu agreed and then added for Khunbish's benefit. "An make sure te be'oldin'em back as well. They're not te be used fer the transportin' ye'ear?"
"Aye aye, Chief," Khunbish and Chingis chorused with a salute before moving away.
"All right, let's take this to the uh… throne tent, shall we?" said Roland.
"Wait!" Evan exclaimed, fists raised in excitement. "There's something I've been meaning to tell everyone."
They exchanged looks of interest. "Oh? What's that?"
"Well? I've been giving it a lot of thought, while we were on the way down to Niall's Forest, while we were in Goldpaw, and when we were heading home, and I've finally arrived at a decision."
"Don't tell me!" Lofty exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "You've gone and thought of a name for ouer kingdom, haven't you?"
"Oh?" They asked with enthusiasm. "What is it?" Tani asked. "Tell us! Tell us!" She demanded, moving her fists as if she was pounding them on an invisible table twice for emphasis.
"I've decided to call our kingdom," he paused for effect, then spread his hands in a showmanly manner. "Evermore."
"Oh," they gasped.
"What… what do you think?"
"Nice one, Evan!" Lofty praised. "There's a fitting name for ouer kingdom."
Aranella clasped her hands together and smiled brilliantly. "It's a lovely name, Evan."
"I like it!" Tani agreed.
"Evermore," Batu stated with a grin. "A place where ye can be livin'appily ever after."
"Exactly," Evan agreed.
"Very poetic," Roland added with a smile.
He looked around at them all before saying, "Thank you, everyone."
"We can break the news to everyone this evening," Roland added. "I'd say the naming of our kingdom calls for a minor celebration, and by the evening everyone should've returned from their tasks."
"Aye!" Batu agreed. "But the dinner crew'll be needin' an'eads up afore they start preparin' the food, so they can be preparin' enough."
"Right. We should go find whoever's going to be in charge of the preparations tonight so we can let them know while we still remember."
"Oh, but what about the mages?" Evan asked. "If they're going out today, they'll miss the announcement. And the celebration."
"Hmm…" He assumed a thoughtful posture as he considered his next suggestion. "I suppose it won't hurt to delay their departure until tomorrow. And we can spread word of the announcement at the same time."
So they first tracked down Qadan and Gerel to explain their plans for the evening, before consulting the roster of who was doing what that day in order to hunt down the pirate that had been assigned lead chef for the evening, so she could be informed of the same. With that done, and with word of the announcement now spreading through the kingdom, they dropped by the seamstress' tent to collect their footwear before moving onto – as it had been dubbed – the throne tent.
When they arrived at the tent, the higgledies ran inside to look around at the sparsely furnished and decorated interior. A crudely carved throne with the furs of several animals draped over it had been placed towards the back, directly opposite the entrance. A red carpet had been laid out before it, long enough to run from the throne to their feet. And to one side were a number of crudely made chairs around a crudely assembled table, the perfect place to conduct meetings.
They all picked a seat and sat down so that they were more or less evenly spaced around the table, except for Lofty, who was on the table and next to Evan. The higgledies also joined them, sitting together in a group on the tabletop, next to Roland.
"All right," Roland began, arms folded and expression one that commanded attention. "Like I said previously, we've got two major topics that need to be discussed. One of them concerns the incident in Goldpaw." They all exchanged looks at that. "The other regards the running of the kingdom. Evan, since you're the King, I'll let you," he gestured towards him, "decide which topic you want to tackle first."
"Right… Um…" He raised a hand to his chin in thought.
"After what happened in Goldpaw, especially concerning the three of you, I can't say I'd mind talking about something else for the time being," said Aranella.
"It did end up getting pretty intense," Roland agreed with a grimace.
"You can say that again!" Lofty exclaimed. "We nearly had the snot kicked out of us, mun!"
Evan hummed as he grimaced in recollection. "Um, well," he continued at length. "Since we've been away from the kingdom for so long, I think it would be best to focus on that first. And actually, I already know what I want you and Nella to do."
Roland and Aranella exchanged raised eyebrows. "You do, huh?"
"Yes. I do. As…" He trailed off and swallowed, his gaze falling briefly to his hands which were resting on his knees. He clenched his hands involuntarily before continuing, "As Mausinger served my father as his closest aide and Lord Chancellor, I wish for you, Nella, to do the same."
Aranella was taken aback and her hand went to her chest. "Me, Evan? Lord Chancellor?" She shook her head. "But I was just a maidservant."
"You're wrong, Nella," he insisted, his expression resolute, his fists on the tabletop. "You were never just a maidservant. You've been my counsellor and my teacher and my… and my mother as well."
She smiled weakly. "You're very sweet, Evan, but I…"
"Lord Chancellor Aranella," said Lofty with a grin, his hands on his hips. "It's got a nice ring to it, mun."
"Yeah!" Tani agreed.
"It doesn't have to be Lord Chancellor," said Roland, shrugging with one arm and shoulder. "You can make up a whole new title like say… uh," he glanced away briefly in thought, but fortunately didn't have think it over for long as a suggestion came to him almost immediately. "Chief Royal Advisor or something."
"Oh!" Evan exclaimed, his ears pricking in delight. "I like that. Chief Royal Advisor Aranella Cindra." Aranella smiled. "I want you to be a Royal Advisor too, Roland."
He smiled. "Sure. I'll be your uh… Deputy Royal Advisor if you want."
Aranella raised an eyebrow, and folded her arms at him. "Shouldn't that be the other way around? I get the impression that you have some previous experience with leadership, Roland."
His expression became guarded. "You do, huh?"
"Aye," Batu agreed with a nod. "It not be escapin' me notice either."
"Yeah," Tani added. "You always seem to know what to do."
"Well I wouldn't go that far," Roland objected. "But uh…" He sighed, head hanging and shoulders sagging in defeat. "All right. I guess it's time I levelled with you guys," he relented. They all exchanged looks at that. "Evan and Aranella already know this much at least; That I'm not actually from this world. I'm from another world altogether, the one that's linked to yours."
"Ah," Batu and Tani both said simply, with identical slow nods.
"Thought as much," Lofty added.
"You're…" He blinked, taken off guard by their easy acceptance, "not surprised?"
"I had my suspicions like. Youer heart is…" he gestured helplessly as he tried to think of an explanation, before settling on, "Well, it's different to everyone else's see."
"Higgle pig hig," the higgledies nodded in agreement.
"And they noticed as well."
"And you… didn't say anything?" Roland asked with a puzzled frown.
He shrugged. "I figured youe'd tell us when the time was right, mun."
"Aye, an' if ye were tellin' me this earlier, I probably would not'ave believed ye," Batu replied. "But since I were bein' in yer company fer a time, I noticed there be sumthin' about ye that were seemin' well…" He shrugged apologetically. "Out o'place, I suppose I should be sayin'."
"Like not knowing about broken heartedness?" Roland asked.
"Aye. There be that. But… it be more than just the broken'eartedness."
"What else gave me away?"
"The way you didn't seem to care about Broadleaf despite what was going on there," said Tani, her arms folded, and her expression somewhere approaching accusatory. "Or the friends you left behind. Or the parents that supposedly lived there."
"Aye," Batu agreed.
He involuntarily winced at that, and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, you… you would've noticed that wouldn't you?"
She nodded. "I did. And I couldn't understand it at the time but…" She shrugged. "Now I do."
"I'm…" he grimaced. "Sorry about that, by the way. I know the topic of parents can be a touchy subject for you."
She shrugged again, this time dismissively. "It's fine. Since your parents aren't actually in Broadleaf."
"But if you're missing from your world, Roland," Evan observed. "Then they must be ever so worried about you."
"Well…" I'm afraid he is, the Conductor's words echoed. As are many people in your world. "I…" He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before continuing, "I'm afraid something very bad happened in my world. And that's why I'm here."
They exchanged looks. "You mentioned that before," said Aranella gently, her expression the same. "But you never told us exactly what it was."
"It's uh… it's kind of hard to describe." He scratched the back of his neck as he considered how to proceed. Was there something in this world he could compare to that they would understand? He glanced at Batu and Tani and suddenly the answer came to him; Bombs. Or in other words, "There was an explosion basically, but… the biggest explosion you can think of, and it swallowed me up. When I opened my eyes, I was in this world. But my world wasn't in a very good shape when it happened, so I'm afraid that explosion was only the beginning, and…" He took another breath, his gaze dropping to the tabletop. "I'm pretty sure that more followed."
"Gosh," Evan uttered as Tani muttered. "Blimey." She continued. "So you think your parents might be…?"
He swallowed and squeezed his watering eyes shut as he realised with no small pang of guilt that this was the first time he'd really thought of them, or anyone else besides Will for that matter. But perhaps at the time, he just hadn't been ready to. "I don't know," he confessed. "but… I think that's what I should assume…"
"An' yer friends as well?" Batu asked.
"Yeah…"
"Roland," Evan and Tani chorused before raising from their seats to hug him tight.
He returned the hug and closed his eyes with a sigh. "… Thanks…"
"We didn't realise you'd lost so much…" said Aranella.
"Well… it's not like I'm the only one," he replied, as Evan and Tani pulled away and retook their seats. "I guess that's why I wanted to help you."
"Is there no way for you to get back?" Tani asked.
Should he mention the Conductor? He thought to himself with a frown. He wasn't even sure if they'd heard of him. "I'm hoping there is but… I haven't found it yet. I'm still looking."
"We can help you with that," she insisted. "You don't know they're all gone right? They could all still be alive and waiting for you."
He smiled, though weakly. "Thanks. I'd appreciate that. And… maybe you're right." After all wasn't that more or less what the Conductor had promised?
"What is it that you were doing in your world to give you your experience with leadership?" Aranella asked.
"I was… well. A president actually."
"President?" They chorused, leaning back in their seats. "Like that Vector guy?" Tani added.
"Right," he nodded. "Only we don't have Kingmakers or kingsbonds in my world."
"No Kingmakers?" she repeated, her expression somewhere between intrigued and confused. "Then how did you become president?"
"We have other ways of determining who becomes our next leader. In my case I was elected to president by the people of my country, Usonia."
Batu raised an eyebrow at that. "Ye seem mighty young te be chosen by the people fer that kind o'responsibility," he said. "But on the other'and, ye seem far older then yer years would suggest as well."
"That would be because I'm not actually twenty years old. I'm forty eight."
There was a moment of silence, then Aranella was speaking. "That explains so much…"
Batu blinked. "Aye…"
"Youer an old soul in a young body," Lofty stated.
"But why?" Tani asked.
"Honestly I've no clue," he replied as he helplessly shook his head. And he really didn't. Even the Conductor hadn't provided any kind of explanation as to why that had happened. "After I was swallowed up by the explosion, I found myself in this world and nearly thirty years younger. And that's all I really know. But," he shrugged. "I'm not complaining, as I doubt I could've done any of the things we've been doing at nearly fifty years of age." They laughed at that and he smiled. "But anyway, we should get back on topic. Evan, you've chosen your Royal Advisors, but you'll need to start thinking beyond that. Such as what your system of government is going to be, what ministries you'll have, and what the law of the land is going to be," he gestured as he elaborated. "The rules that you want your citizens to follow. Since you grew up in Ding Dong Dell, I wouldn't be too surprised if you wanted to have a model that was similar in structure."
"Right," Evan agreed with a thoughtful nod.
Batu folded his arms. "We pirates ain't bein' Dellians," he objected.
"Yeah," Tani agreed, folding her arms as well. "What he said."
Roland held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Why don't you all write down the rules that you were expected to follow in your previous homes, and then we'll compare them and go from there?" He suggested. He'd noticed earlier that a stack of paper and some stationary had been left in one corner of the tent, right next to where they were currently sitting.
"I think I'll sit this one out, mun," said Lofty. "After all youer rules are my rules, Evan."
"Higgle pig hig."
"They want to join in, mun."
Roland blinked. "They do? Well… all right. I guess it won't hurt." He distributed paper, quills and ink among the others and the air became filled with sound of quill on paper. When they'd all finished, he said. "All right, let's see what you've got." He stared down at the higgledies' submissions. They were completely illegible, if they were even writing to begin with. Squinting at them did nothing to improve their readability and they even had Lofty scratching his head. "Sorry mun. Higgledies speak from the heart like, but when it comes to writing… not so much…"
He moved onto Batu and Tani's submissions and was intrigued to discover that Sky Pirate script was much like his own world's alphabet, close enough in fact that he didn't need a translation spell in order to read it. To the surprise of no one, there was nothing along the lines of "Do not steal" in Sky Pirate society considering their history, but Roland was mildly surprised to find that there was little to nothing regarding theft from each other.
"And why do that be a surprise?" Batu bristled, his expression becoming a scowl. "We don't be stealin' from others out o'greed. We be takin' from others what we need."
"But don't you take people's money?" Aranella asked pointedly.
"Well o'course we do. We be needin' money just as much as anyone else. Though, mostly fer the purpose o'buyin' from Ding Dong Dell."
Roland raised an eyebrow. "You traded with Dell?"
"Aye, but… not as Sky Pirates o'course."
"Of course," he echoed.
"So what stops you from stealing from each other?" Aranella asked.
The explanation was from the pirates concept of personal property being very loose, or as Batu and Tani explained it, more like being on a sliding scale. If an item was bought or traded for, that was considered that person's property and were generally respected as belonging to that individual. But depending on what the item in question was, it was acceptable for another to borrow it if necessary without first obtaining permission, so long as it was later returned. Otherwise for the most part, property was owned by the community, and taking items from another was acceptable so long as it wasn't still being used.
"What about clothes and books?" Evan asked.
"Clothes are not bein' so straightforward. The children be sharin' clothes on account o'them generally bein' the same'eight an' build. The adults be ownin' their own because their clothes are bein' made for'em," Batu explained. "And no one'as clothes that're any nicer than anyone other."
"Literally cut from the same cloth, eh?" Lofty quipped with a humorous smirk.
"Aye," he nodded. "More er less."
"And as for books, some people have books that they own. Otherwise we have a hut where we keep the ones that aren't," Tani explained. "If you want to read one you just take it and put it back when you're finished."
"So a library in other words," said Roland. "But," he frowned. "I'm not sure I understand how your economy works."
"Well this is what we be meanin' by a slidin' scale o'property," Batu reiterated. "So stuff what bein' needed, like food, blankets, clothes and tools and the like, be owned by the community – except fer what I were already sayin' – an they be shared by the community. Weapons, books, musical instruments and the like, they can all be bought or traded fer, but can be borrowed as well. Jewellery and other items o'art n'craft and the like are bought or traded fer, but aren't usually bein' borrowed. Gerel be the one te be dealin' wi'Ding Dong Dell, that be why she be sellin'er products, so that way she can be accumulatin' the money needed te be doin' that. But we don't be makin' folks give over to'er, so that folks what come by money can be spendin' it fer themselves. An' sometimes they be spendin' it among each other."
"So money is less a currency and more of another way to trade," Roland summarised.
"Aye. Except fer when it comes to Gerel an' Ding Dong Dell."
"I see. Well, you won't be trading with them in the near future, so it would probably be best for her to turn over what money she has to our keeping. Unless you want to appoint her as Treasurer of Evermore that is, Evan. Or… Minister of Finance, whatever you want to call it."
"She's a responsible lass, so she'd be perfect fer the job," said Batu.
"From trading with Ding Dong Dell that would mean she has some relative experience," Aranella added with a thoughtful posture and expression. "At the very least she sounds like the best candidate we have for the position."
Evan looked thoughtful as well. "Yes, all right," he said at length. "I would like to hereby appoint Gerel as our Minister of Finance."
"Let's go give her the good news!" Tani enthused, slapping her palms on the table as she shot to her feet.
"Later," said Roland, hold up a restraining hand. "We're not done here yet." She huffed and retook her seat. "Anyway, your economy's not a bad model to follow while we're still getting things up and running, but we'll need to transition into something more…" he spread a hand, "conventional once we're properly established. Especially if we want to open trade with Goldpaw in future, as they're our closest neighbour."
Grievances were worked out either verbally or with fists, and in front of a selection of the community with the current Chief overseeing. Holding grudges was strongly discouraged.
"We were fightin' against an enemy that would've'appily slaughtered every last man, woman an'child in order te claim the'ole canyon fer'emselves. We didn't'ave time te be'oldin' grudges against another."
Murder of a fellow pirate however was taken extremely seriously, and was in fact the highest crime a pirate could commit against another. A pirate accused of murder was brought out in front of the whole community where they were given the chance to state their case. But these cases usually ended up in the pirate being ejected from the community by exile.
Roland turned to Evan and Aranella's submissions. So this was the Dellian script. He was again thankful for whatever spell he was under that allowed him to read it. They were more or less what he expected, though Evan's was more simplistic, while Aranella's was more detailed and nuanced. All matters from deciding punishments to resolving minor disputes were the duty of the King and or Queen. But according to Aranella, could also be and sometimes was handled by the Lord Chancellor. Roland frowned at this, as it meant the Lord Chancellor had no small amount of power, and how, he wondered, had the mousekind-hating grimalkins taken to Mausinger's appointment? About as well as you would expect, said a voice in his head.
Murder was a layered affair in contrast to the Sky Pirates view on the subject, with self defence being excusable, manslaughter and crimes of passion being a jailable offence, while premeditated carried the death penalty. This was determined in a trial, with the monarch or monarchs being the judge or judges.
"You mean like the one in Goldpaw?" Tani asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"Not quite," Aranella replied. "Trials of this like are no minor affairs, so the King and Queen preside over them with their full cabinet. That is the ministers and the Lord Chancellor. One advocate of the law argues in favour of the offender, while another argues against them."
Batu folded his arms and scowled. "So the community is not bein' involved in such matters at all?"
"I suppose that would depend, on whether or not you consider the ministers and the Lord Chancellor as being part of the community," she replied evenly, her face schooled into a neutral expression.
"Well that would be dependin'," he echoed, making no attempt to hide his disapproval. "On whether such people are picked from the community. I be no fool, Aranella. There be people in Ding Dong Dell what consider themselves te be above the common folk as they be callin'em."
Aranella dropped her gaze in silent admission. "Yes… I know…" she conceded. "In which case I suppose the answer to your question would be no. Most of the ministers are from the nobility. Appointments of ministers or Lord Chancellors from the common people are – needless to say – in an extreme minority."
He nodded. "That be what I thought. An that be why I be rejecting yer trials'ole'eartedly. And I be confidant that I speak fer me people when I say that they would be sayin' the same."
"It's a pretty easy fix actually," Roland cut in, once again before any arguments could break out. His gaze was on the documents before him. "We introduce a panel of a set number of individuals who will be selected at random from the populace, or community as you put it, Batu. Once both arguments have been put forward, backed by whatever evidence they've presented, this panel will deliberate on the arguments and evidence provided and will come to a conclusion that will determine if the offender is either guilty or not guilty. This will preserve the trial format from Ding Dong Dell, as well as the community element from the Sky Pirates." He looked from one party to the other. "How does that sound?"
"Cor! You thought of that quickly like, mun!" Lofty exclaimed.
"Is that how they do it in Usonia?" Tani asked.
"Uhhh… More or less."
"Well it…" Batu hesitated, looking uncertain but not necessarily disapproving.
"It's interesting…" said Aranella.
"You don't need to decide all at once," said Roland, shaking his head. "And even if you do, that won't mean we'll be setting it in stone just yet either. We're going to be taking two different cultures and putting them together in a way that works for everyone, so it's gonna be a process that will take as long as it needs to, all right."
"Right," they chorused.
Theft on the other hand was a starkly black and white affair, such that – theoretically at least – the penalty (which was time spent in jail) applied even if the guilty party was, for example, stealing food because they were starving. Aranella added that since the decision to apply the penalty ultimately rested with the sovereign, it was possible for them choose to punish or spare the offender in these cases.
"I don't be understand'ow ye can be punished fer takin' sumthin' what ye be needin' te survive," Batu said in a gruff voice, with a gruff expression. "An'ow do someone be ownin' food, I ask ye? Do they be ownin' water as well?"
"Your situation was a little bit different," Roland explained. "If too many of your people died through starvation or other means, that would've spelled a death sentence for everyone else as well. So of course it made sense for you to share those things amongst the whole community. But in Ding Dong Dell and indeed in many other places, food is a produce and the production of which is – for many people – a livelihood. And stealing their produce harms them even if it's not physically, because theft is a financial loss. That's why it's punished." Batu folded his arms and grumbled.
"This isn't going to be easy," Evan said, voicing his thoughts aloud.
"It sure won't, but that doesn't mean it'll be impossible, but concessions will have to be made on both sides." Evan hummed in response. "On the other hand, we could table this particular discussion for now and just operate under Sky Pirate law until we're in a better position to have it again?"
"Until we're ready te be leavin' our backward ways behind us, ye mean?" Batu asked pointedly.
"We're not suggesting your community was backwards, Batu or… bad – although stealing from other people kinda was – because you had your reasons for things being the way they were. But now those reasons no longer exist, that means you need to let go if you want to progress. Do you understand? You told me yourself that you want the Sky Pirates to grow as a people. You won't be able to do that if you keep clinging to the way things were." Batu's sigh was of reluctant acceptance and he hung his head in resignation. "All in favour of tabling the discussion on our system of law for a later date then, raise your hands." They all raised their hands, even the higgledies. "All right. Let's move onto the next subject then. Since we were just on the topic of food, I wanted to talk about what else our kingdom is going to need in the not too distant future. Now I mentioned ministries earlier, and this ties into that. At the moment we have our immediate food and water concerns met, but only in the short term. We're going to need a Ministry of Farming and Agriculture so that we can meet our need for food in the long term as well. The problem is, that unless either of you, Evan and Aranella," he gestured towards them, "have studied farming and agriculture, none of us has any knowledge in those fields."
They exchanged grimaces and Aranella said, "We haven't…"
"We're also going to need a city planner to decide where the buildings will be going, and an architect to design the buildings. Basically about the only thing we can establish right now – after the Ministry of Finance as previously discussed that is – is the Ministry of Defence, for which I would suggest," he gestured, "Batu."
"Can't be arguin' with that," Batu replied with a grin.
"We might even be able to set up a Ministry of Education, if we have someone willing and able to step into the role of overseeing our curriculum, schools and teachers."
"So what you're saying is that we have a lack of knowledge on all these various things?" Tani stated more than asked.
"That's right," Roland confirmed with a nod. "And it's something we're going to need to remedy if we want to get our kingdom off the ground."
"What would you suggest, mun?" Lofty asked.
"Either find and recruit some experts in these fields, or find somewhere where our citizens can learn about them. Or possibly both."
"Somewhere like a library?" Evan asked, looking thoughtful.
"Exactly," he nodded. I would imagine such a place could be found in Goldpaw-"
"It can," they all chorused. "The Library of Goldpaw is renowned as being one of the oldest libraries in the world," Aranella continued.
He blinked, taken at back at both the immediate confirmation that such a place existed, and the fact that they all knew of it. "Wait, really?"
"Even I've heard of it, mun," Lofty confirmed.
"Huh." Roland blinked again. "Then it sounds like the perfect place to send our people," he said, then grimaced, "… Provided it wasn't burned down in the fire."
The group collectively winced at that. "It would be a real shame if it has been," Evan lamented with an expression to match. "I've always wanted to go there."
"And all that knowledge will have been lost…" Aranella added.
"Well…" Said Roland. "We'll just have to hope that they were able to save it, or least save something. But since this means we're going to be returning to Goldpaw, then we'll need to discuss what happened in Goldpaw before we do."
A/N: I ended up dividing Chapter 4 into two halves so I could give them different titles. It also happens that the first part has a lot less action going on than the second half.
I also started shipping Chingis and Khunbish at some point, so if you were thinking "that's gay" it's because it is.