Sorcerous Entrance

Julius Jubilous walked up the steps to the king’s court, triumph guiding his steps. With the troublesome prince out of the way, nothing will stop him from becoming Royal Sorcerer now. All that's needed now is to be voted in. It was a democratically decided position where the most eminent mages and the king and his firstborn vote on who is granted a position that would allow them say in the kingdom’s military matters. It was given to whoever is deemed the most worthy mage to lead all the other mages. On rare occasions, if a candidate fails to reach a ⅔ majority, then the matter is left to a magical duel in the old castle arena.

Julius spent all the centuries he used preaching in the Ragna Kingdom getting to this moment. Building the Cult of the Ultimatum, bringing the other mages to their side on pain of persecution, subverting King Bertram to his will, all of it culminated into this moment. He had already informed superiors of his success and that his appointment was inevitable. They had begun to mobilize their forces to attack the Qin Empire this very day in order to catch the Iron Tyrant off guard. The moment he was made Royal Sorcerer, they would attack. He would make the announcement to declare war on the Qin immediately and with the king under his control, none can stop it. The Qin would be crushed between the Ougon Empire and the puppeted Ragna Kingdom.

Domina Juno’s actions gnawed at the back of his mind, spoiling his triumph. The Umbra reported Juno was found fraternizing with the prince and his gathering of heathens. Not only that, she had not participated in the assassination of the prince and his men. She claimed to have been delayed by some sort of enemy attack but Julius found that doubtful. Only another Soul Armament user would stand a chance against another one and his intelligence indicated that the Ragna Kingdom had none. Julius had ‘corrected’ his subordinate but he still could not shake the feeling that something was off.

Julius eventually found himself within the throne room, the puppet king sitting before him along with the other attendees, various nobles and government officials, including the various remaining mages in the kingdom. Including the King that made for 6 out of 9 guaranteed votes. He and Bertram met eyes, fully prepared for what's to come. Julius was surprised that Bertram agreed to help assassinate his own son by deliberately aggravating him to go to the place where he goes to find peace. His powers of persuasion were strong but it was still jarring to see a man in his position so willing to kill his firstborn.

It took years of consoling and carousing with the broken old man while stuffing him with sugary food at his tea parties to take advantage of his sweet tooth. Julius’ power relied on manipulating the chemicals in the brain’s pleasure centers. Sugar released pleasure chemicals, making it easier to influence and rot one’s brain with his power. Combined with its addictive properties, the man was now rendered incapable of feeling any joy when he was not around. With this power, he was able to reduce a depressed but stalwart king into a sad, pathetic old man with rotten teeth.

The king raised a hand to silence the court as soon as Julius made his way to the king’s side.

“Welcome, esteemed sages of the Ragna Kingdom. Today we are here to elect a new Royal Sorcerer in the wake of Morgan’s unfortunate passing. As King of the Ragna Kingdom, I humbly beseech the wise sages of this realm to be wise in their decision today and vote for who will best benefit the esteemed citizens of this kingdom.”

As the proceedings went on, the council at the front of the crowd who would vote, called up the candidates.

Only Julius stood before them. Any who could otherwise challenge him in magic were bribed or intimidated into silence beforehand.

Then the vote was called, as Julius expected, only 3 out of 9 mages opposed his appointment, the king smiled triumphantly.

“Are there any who object to the appointment of Julius Jubilous?”

The gates to the court slammed wide open as Wilhelm, Synthara and Morgan walked in.

“I object.” Wilhelm said proudly.

The entire court was left speechless, the king sputtered as he tried to formulate a response.

Julius was visibly shaken. ‘Impossible! I saw his severed head myself! How is he still alive!?’ The Imperial army was already preparing to make their attack any minute now. If he was not made Royal Sorcerer right now, then the imperial army will be fighting against two realms alone, potentially three if the crossing through the cradle goes poorly.

Wilhelm and his small entourage walked towards the center of the court where Julius and the flabbergasted mages stood. “I believe that puts you at 4 out of 10 votes, meaning we now must proceed to the judicial duel.”

Bertram gnashed his teeth. “Unfilial son! How dare you defy me so brazenly! Who would even have the gall to challenge Julius in a duel!?”

Synthara stepped forward and proudly announced herself. “I, Cinder, accept the challenge.”

“I have never heard of such a mage. She must be some unknown charlatan or even a necromancer. Surely none of you will trust this outsider!?”

The three necromancers who opposed Julius all voted for Cinder without hesitation. They know that this is their only chance of stopping Julius. Bertram gnashed his teeth so hard that an audible crack sounded through the hall.

Julius considered if he should use his Soul Armament now and attempt to take the kingdom by force. If he cannot get the kingdom to go to war with him he should at least neutralize it. He still has considerable forces loyal to him and centuries of indoctrination should put the general populace on his side. Counting Juno, there are two Soul Armament users versus the kingdom’s zero, so he has a fighting chance. However, doing so would throw centuries of work down the drain and earn the ire of the Ultimatum for wasting so much time and resources. This ‘Cinder’ may be formidable but he still has ways of turning the duel in his favor.

Julius recomposed himself to his usual serene smile and held up a hand to calm Bertram. “It is fine your majesty, the Ultimatum works in mysterious ways, but rest assured that my actions have the wheel of fate backing them, I cannot lose.” He looked at the prince. “Well prince, it seems you’ve caught us in an awkward position. Do you remember what we discussed yesterday about patience? It is not too late to recant your statement and leave with some dignity. I would rather not humiliate you so severely after your…dramatic statement.”

“I do remember, the difference between the patient and the cowardly is reliant on the results. If the fate of the kingdom is at stake then a bit of public embarrassment is nothing to fear. You are the latter, hiding behind feigned niceties. But I know the truth.”

Julius’ smile turned into a hard, thin line. “So be it, I suppose you are the type to only learn through examples. I shall make a thorough one out of your champion.”

Within a few minutes arrangements are made to have the duel take place within the castle courtyard.