"My law only works if a slave owner enters Azlantean and then exits right away, thus my law is ineffective in some scenarios. for instance, when slave owners, such as duke Irathmus, decide to stay in Azlantean for an extended period, they are well within their rights to keep their slaves for the entire period of their stay. My son's actions last night made me realise that the law I had so carefully thought out was geared too much towards slave traders who only ever stayed short periods in Azlantean, not people like Duke Irathmus who would stay for longer periods."
Esben nodded his head thoughtfully, wondering how the King would solve such an issue.
"Your Majesty," Esben called out as he bowed his head to the King. "How can such a problem be solved?"
The king was amused by Esben Khisfire, once again the young man had mustered up the courage to ask when no one else could.
"Hear me, guild members. I want you all to know that last night the minister of justice and I sat down to add a new clause to the Abolishment of Slavery Law..."
The room broke out in whisper again since it was the first time in a long time that the laws had been changed.
"The clause states that any slaves that stay in Azlantean after sunset automatically become free." The king announced. Immediately the room was flooded with the applause of the five guilds who were vehemently applauding their king's wiseness and tact. However, Lord Esben was not satisfied.
"Excuse me, your majesty!" Esben raised his voice so that his words could reach the king over everyone's applause. Esben was immediately shot dirty looks from the members of Steel Rose, it was obvious they thought of him as a rude nuisance.
"Although this clause prevents slaves from being slaves until nightfall, What about the slaves who cannot afford to wait until nightfall? As we all know most female slaves are bought for sex, what if a woman slave fears for her body while waiting for the night to fall, would there be any way to help a slave like that?" The king grinned slightly which put the whole room on edge.
"Once again, guild master Khisfire, you are the one with the brightest questions."
"My Son's actions last night were derived from the feeling that if he did not do something, nothing would be done at all. My son made me realise the error in the law. That is why the Minister of justice and I sat and thought about every possible way in which we could help free slaves and every way the law was lacking." The king's eyes shifted off to the large windows above him that allowed for light to flood into the otherwise dark hall. From his throne, he could see the yellow tiled roofs of the safe house.
"We added a second clause that states. If a slave can reach the boundaries of one of the safe houses, that slave is automatically free. We added this law in hopes that a slave will be able to sneak away from their masters and be able to run to one of the safe houses. Although I am aware that these classes cannot save all the slaves, I am sure that the clauses will help many more.."
Everybody in the Kingdom knew about the yellow-tiled roofs that signify the safe houses. There were only a couple of such houses around the kingdom that were established for the rehabilitation of slaves. The houses helped the freed slaves find jobs and shelter for a few months while they got ready to return to their homelands or applied to become a citizen of Azlantean.
"To ensure all the slaves coming into the Kingdom understand their means of freedom, the border guards will be instructed to firstly separate the traders from the slaves, and then secondly, inform the slaves of their means of escape privately as they enter through the gates." The king rounded off his announcement with the last gulp of his wine, finishing the last drop with a satisfied sigh. The king held out his goblet to his side, immediately a butler filled his goblet up with wine again.
"Simply brilliant strategizing your majesty!" Praised the speaker of Steel Rose, as he bowed his head respectfully to the king. The entire room agreed, even Lord Esben had nothing to say. However, Esben did note that the slave traders would eventually catch on to what was happening and that they would resort to using other routes to get their slaves to Tethoris. But Esben realised that that was probably part of the King's plan too. The cost of sending a trunk of gold to the gates each month, and the added expense of maintaining the safe houses, and running the slave rehabilitation programs could not be cheap for the kingdom to bear. Perhaps this was a clever way to reduce the number of slaves brought to Azlantean altogether and alleviate the kingdom's expenses.
Esben grinned as he looked up at the king.
"Your Majesty," The speaker spoke up again. "May we hear your verdict on today's issue. "What have you decided to do regarding Duke Irathmus's punishment?"
The room immediately quietened down as everyone remembered what they were actually there for, to decide whether Duke Irathmus would be executed or not. The King picked off a grape from the bunch laying in the fruit basket before him and popped it into his mouth before he gave his verdict.
<-----------<<<
"So you mean Duke Irathmus's slaves would have been freed when he left the Kingdom even if I hadn't done anything? So everything I did yesterday was all for nothing?!"
Rory's heart jolted in his chest as he realized that everything he had done yesterday was rash and pretty immature. Why had he thought that he was the only one capable of helping those girls when his father had already prepared money for their freedom at the border?
"Do not second guess yourself, Prince Torryn. Your actions yesterday evening were noble and befitting of a prince. I am sure the king sees it that way as well. I know most people thought you're actions were brave too."
Leopold assured the young prince who was looking a bit insecure.
"Now, don't waste precious time on things that have already been done..." Sirith sensed his owner's sadness and happily padded his way over to Rory and nuzzled his fluffy head into Rory's legs.
"We have more important things to do today than sulking. Did your Highness read the book I gave you last night?"
Rory nodded, "Yes I did." He remembered finishing the book in the early hours of the morning, but thoroughly enjoying the read. Although it was meant to be a serious history book, reading its contents made it seem more like a fantasy adventure novel.
"Then tell me, what is a guild?" Leopold directed a sharp gaze towards the young prince, wanting to assess whether the boy had truly read the book or just skinned over it.
"A guild," Rory thought about the guild he had read about in the book for a moment. "Well, a guild is like a company or an organization of people who join arms to reach a certain goal."
"That is a good description of a guild, but refrain from using casual words such as 'like' when talking about serious subjects." Leopold gave Rory a warning stare.
Rory nodded, realizing that he still had a lot of his earthly habits of speech that he would have to get rid of.
"As part of your education, you will have to spend some time interning at a guild of your choosing. It will be an opportunity for you to get used to real-life combat against magical creatures as well as help sharpen your instincts."
Rory smiled at the idea of being part of a guild. The book Lord Leopold had given him last night had detailed the traditions of Hunter's guilds. A practice that had started right back when the kingdom was first established. People who were gifted in fighting and magical powers would group together and form a union to invade dungeons or magical beasts' territory to bring back the vast magical treasures that lay hidden within their lairs. It was extremely dangerous work that accumulated many casualties, but becoming a great hunter meant fame, glory and wealth for your lifetime, so many died trying to become hunters. However, at the turn of the last few centuries, some guilds decided to focus on other areas, such as arts and agriculture.
"You will be allowed to start interning at guilds once you have gotten control of your power and your magical weapon manifests."
"Magical weapon?" Rory asked surprised. "But don't people only get their spirit tools during the late teen years?" Rory asked confused because that was what his teachers back in the forest had told him.
"Your Highness, you are already extremely advanced for your age, there is no doubt in my mind that you will be able to wield a spirit weapon earlier than usual." With that, Lord Leopold walked over to the library shelves to retrieve another book.
It was a thick book covered in white leather and decorated with intricate golden geometric patterns.
"Make sure to read the first chapter by tomorrow so that we can make start on manifesting your magical spirit."
"Yes, thank you I will Lord Leopold." Rory excitedly picked up the huge book that was the size of his chest and weighed at least 5 kilograms. Rory had decided that he would become a great prince and if that meant reading huge books like this, he would do it.
Rory got off of his seat and bowed his head to Leopold before turning and heading for the doors. He was off to have lunch with his mother as they had arranged. Sirith followed behind Rory loyally.
Just as Rory was pushing the door open a loud clanging sound could be heard from somewhere outside.
DING!
DONG!
DING!
DONG!
Rory immediately put down the book and walked to the windows to try and get a look at the impossibly loud bell that was making this sound. After a moment or two of scanning, Rory locked his eyes on the tall white tower standing on the other side of the palace.
Bells rang all the time around the palace: a bell rings to signify the beginning of the day and the end of the day. A bell rings to signify the returning of knights or hunters from an expedition. Rory had already grown used to the sounds of the various bells ringing, but he had never heard such an ominous loud bell ringing before. Furthermore, he had never seen the bells at that specific tower ring.
Rory wasn't sure what it was, but he could instinctively tell that something important had just happened. He turned to ask if Leopold knew what was going on but Rory was shocked by the expression on Leopold's face. For the time Rory had now the Lord, Rory had come to learn that the man was very much in control of the way he presented himself.
Although Leopold often grinned slyly or had a mischievous glint in his eye, Rory knew the lord would never lose his composure. Never let his true emotion be seen. However, as Rory looked at the lord's shocked face, wide disbelieving eyes and gaping mouth, Rory was so curious to find out what that bell signified.
"What does it mean, Lord Leopold?" Rory's voice unintentionally came out as a whisper and shakier then it should have. Rory didn't know why but he felt troubled.
Leopold immediately straightened up at the voice of the prince and placed a fake smile across his lips.
"I must say I didn't expect the King to rule the crime this way..." Leopold muttered. "I wonder who had the power to sway the King like this..?"
Rory waited patiently for his teacher to answer the question as he glanced back up at the white towers. The ominous barren tower with the large silver bell.
"What does this bell mean?" Rory asked again.
"Your Highness..." Lord Leopold began slowly, in a manner of speaking that was so different from his usual tone.
"That bell signifies the death of a member of the Royal family."
Rory's head snapped back to Leopold's face with shock written all over his young features.
Death in the Royal family...
It could only mean one thing. It could only be referring to one person. Rory took a deep breath and didn't need to hear Leopold's explanation because he already knew who it was who was dead.
"It means that Duke Irathmus has been executed, Your Highness..."
"Executed." Rory repeated mindlessly.
"Yes, Your Highness. The duke has been executed for his crimes."
Rory didn't know what to feel right now, moreover, he didn't want to feel right now. Without even realizing what he was doing he picked up the book and left the room without saying anything. He walked down the hallways and greeted the maids and butlers that passed him by as he usually did. Except he couldn't muster up a proper smile.
It felt like the time had just warped because before he knew it he had arrived at his mother's chambers.
Rory didn't quite have a good handle on his emotions yet, and he wasn't sure where his head was, all he knew was that he wanted the warm embrace of his mother. Rory had the feeling that his mom could give him clarity.