Kalen
Although I didn't look I could feel it, expressions of shock on the faces of the other Don's, not many would Don's would let their actions be subject to criticism by someone weaker than them and even fewer would do so in the presence of more than one person but here I was standing on what should have been the biggest day of my life letting myself be subject to the taunts and complaints by someone qualified to be described as the lowest of society, I looked at him, not even flustered like he had everything planned out, well that makes one of us because I don't have a clue of what to say.
Oliver Kibek
He really did it, I mean 8 had expected this to happen from what I had read on him, a cautious deep thinker who would only act after confirming something for the umpteenth time but that was only when he was on a job, outside of his profession he only had one mood one where he would talk or hold his tongue depending on whether the situation concerned him, and here he was being instated in a position of continental importance of course he'd speak up but what would he say, I'll admit of that I do not know but i don't need to know, the boy's a commoner a brave one who'd undoubtedly be clever since he made it to S-class but that's about it no formal education no history of public speaking and just three instances of having to lead a group during his job, a bumpkin who will no doubt embarrass himself today, I almost feel sad, not for him but for myself at how easy this is, I get to crush another one of these arrogant fools and get paid for doing so, whoever it is that sponsored my next few meals I'll never know but it's not absurd as this has happened several times before.
He looked to me with the faintest of smiles on his face and beckoned me forward a surge of panic came upon me which I quickly squashed, if he had planned to hurt me the warning artifact on me would have issued a blaring alarm, one not so easily missed and in the midst of the ensuing chaos I could either make my escape or use it to further make a point so I accepted his offer and came up the steps and stooped right in front of him, we made a bitter contrast, one young handsome and beautifully adorned in clothing enough to feed hundreds while the other old ragged and dirty I hoped this sight would direct the commoners to this sight of blatant classicism but on their faces I could see nothing but confusion at this boy's antics but that didn't halt me.
He waved his arm and a round table appeared with chairs enough for a dozen all masterfully arranged,
"idle transfiguration"
I heard someone mutter, a trick I had heard off some thing about using mana to rearrange the substance and matter to produce something entirely different I had no knowledge on how difficult this was and frankly I didn't care, so what if you were all powerful that didn't give any of you the right, the right to push us nobles around like we weren't worth anything, we came from long lines of powerful and wealthy people, what did you have the ability to swing a sword very well, to hell with that
I am Oliver Johmvernt the third of house Kibek and I will not be pushed around by some muscle bound fools who do not recognize my greatness not now not ever.
The boy sat across from me with the faintest of smirks on his face, looking at me without a hint of fear as if this was already his victory this continued for a while before he finally spoke
"Mister Kibek, you are a particularly smart man but not smart enough"
"excuse me"
"you heard me"
"how does my intelligence matter in this situation"
"simple you believe that because you are smart everyone else is stupid"
".....I don't follow"
"it seems you don't so I'll make it easier for you to understand in the form of a story, a young man heir to a prestigious but dwindling house one filled with centuries of pride but with coffers diminishing by the day"
"might I ask where this is going" i saw my voice laced with annoyance
he looked at me his smirk gone in fact his face blank and said
"I don't remember giving you the right to interrupt me"
the fucking bastard I thought but that was when I remembered I was talking to a Don and in debates like these one would have to ask permission before adding something to his opponents words and the person I just interrupted wasn't some yokle but a Don someone above these talks and so with enough bile in my throat to choke a dragon I bent my head and apologized he acknowledged my act with a faint but amicable smile and a light bow of his own I caught sight of the expressions on the crowd they were perplexed by what was happening but they understood what they saw someone wrongly challenging the power of a Don and said Don not only holding the ground he deserved but settling this peacefully, it hit me what I had done win or lose the crowd had decided this was a Don they could get behind.
"Now where were we"
"you spoke of the man my Don"
"yes, like I said proud man dwindling house so on so forth, this man knowing fully well the legacy of his house was his to inherit did only the bare minimum keeping his house afloat and his situation stable enough so that when it became his fixing it wouldn't be an impossibility and so when he took over said house it was manageable enough that salvation would be within sight so long as nothing bad happened"
his story did more than ring bells, of course I knew who he spoke of this was my life story unfolding before the public at a volume discernable at the city gates
"of course tragedy struck or rather the young man walked up to tragedy and told it you cant hold me and surprise surprise tragedy demolished this man's life's work, ladies and gentlemen"
he said now facing the crowd
"the man I speak of sits across from me right now and the tradegy he challenged would be none other than Don Langris the first Don of Trident city"
I don't know how he found out, I don't onow who told him but if there was one thing I was certain of it was that if he finished this story then I was fucked.