TWO WEEKS AFTER VERITAS - COUNCIL CHAMBER
"Seventeen kingdoms want treaties. SEVENTEEN."
I stared at the stack of diplomatic requests piled on the table. Each one a formal petition from neighboring kingdoms wanting to "discuss democratic reforms" and "explore alternative governance models."
Translation: They were SCARED. Scared that what happened to Veritas would happen to THEM.
"That's good, right?" Ezra asked, feet propped on the table despite Valeria's glare. "More democracies mean more stability—"
"More democracies mean more CHAOS," a merchant representative interrupted. "Each kingdom will want DIFFERENT systems. Different rules. We'll spend YEARS negotiating—"
"That's what democracy IS," Lily said firmly. "Negotiation. Compromise. It's MESSY. But it works."
