Page 36 of Oracle's Reign
“I told you we didn’t need to be here,” Sophenie muttered.
“You are forgetting that the Assembly hasn’t approved his choice,” Odela told her. “We need to be here for that debate.”
Peroen ignored Odela. It didn’t matter how confident she was that the Assembly members would support her. She was already too late. She didn’t know as much about what was about to happen as she thought. Looking forward to surprising everyone was almost enough to settle the jitters trying to take over his stomach. Having Yslie at his side handled the rest.
The Speaker announced Peroen, and an aide motioned him toward the spot where he’d address the entire Assembly. Yslie remained behind, ready to step in if needed. For this first part, he needed to face the Assembly on his own. The other oracles remained with her.
“Members of the Assembly,” Peroen said into the windstone that carried his words through the entire chamber. “I come before you today to share a discovery that impacts the whole of Pynth, including our past and our future.”
He waited a moment as murmurs rippled through the room at the unexpected words. “This empire was founded after decades of war on the hope that all the people of Pynth could live together in harmony. Emperor Daitano the First accepted the crown because he wanted to defend that peace. He charged his heirs to do the same. But peace means more than just a lack ofwar. As generations passed, the Tjawer Dynasty lost sight of our mandate. My ancestors forgot that they were meant to serve the empire.”
Peroen pulled the small journal from his pocket and opened it to the same page Yslie had days before. “I read to you now the words of our first emperor, written in his own hand.” Peroen read the passage, then looked out over the Assembly, letting his gaze roam over every member. “According to our founding emperor’s words, my father, Emperor Envaho, is nothing more than a usurper. He is not an heir of the Tjawer line by his own actions. In truth, I do not think my grandfather, nor his father, had a right to the throne either. I do not know how far back the rot goes, but I do know that we can address it now.
“Auraelie, Envaho’s oracle, decried him in the clearest way possible. She aided a revolution that led to the formation of this august body and quit his service. It is now your duty to finish the work she began.”
???
The debate ragedthrough the Assembly. From what Yslie could tell, no one objected to stripping Envaho of his title, yet they couldn’t seem to agree on anything else. She wished she could slip her hand into Peroen’s, lean against him, and let him lean on her. But for the moment, she needed to remain in the background.
Odela eased into the spot at Yslie’s side. “I appreciate the fact that you are hastening the end of Envaho’s reign. It will give me greater power even faster.”
Yslie didn’t look away from Peroen. “You won’t have any power.”
“I thought you were smarter than Triese. You must realize that this may be a distraction, but eventually the Assembly will remember that one of the only reasons the revolution evenhappened was because the oracles were promised a spot on the throne. They’re politicians, Yslie. They won’t give you a happily ever after simply because you fell in love.”
“Luckily, I’m not relying on them to give me anything. I’ll make my own happily ever after.”
“We’ll see.”
Odela drifted back to her former position, and a moment later, Sophenie took her place. “Do you think Pianti was right about how long it will take until they start talking about who comes after Envaho?”
“You didn’t try to see how today would go already?”
“Just thinking about using my power to see what would happen in this room this afternoon was enough to give me a headache.”
“If Pianti was right, we’ll know soon.”
Yslie continued to watch. Listening was harder. There were too many conversations going on, the words all jumbling together. Then, in one of the natural lulls that can fall in any noisy room, a single voice cut through, catching everyone’s attention.
“Why stop at requiring him to abdicate? This is justification to abolish the entire monarchy. The prince said it himself; this problem has gone on for generations.”
A new wave of debate broke out. Odela shifted, moving forward. She didn’t aim for the podium where Peroen stood, but the spot in front of it. The arguments slowed as her allies saw her and fell silent. Then everyone else noticed her. She lifted her head and spoke in a voice that carried even without the help of the windstone. “I wish to address the Assembly.”
The Speaker acknowledged her, and Peroen stepped back, ceding his spot at the podium. He looked back at Yslie, and she moved forward to stand with him. Odela would make the argument they had assumed Yslie would have to. She didn’tmind letting the other oracle steal the Assembly’s attention. Nor did she worry.
Odela took her spot behind the podium. “What we have heard today proves that the Tjawer Dynasty has lost their right to rule. We all agree on that much. But the empire has already faced so much upheaval in the past year. The future is in flux. We need continuity to stabilize the chaos. We must also do better than the emperors who steered Pynth toward the abyss. That means we must remember the promises that formed the foundation of this Assembly. According to what Prince Peroen read, Jaesa should have been empress. We’ve seen what came of allowing political bickering to get in the way. The revolutionaries who brought us to this moment also thought an oracle should be empress. Let us not repeat the mistakes of the past.”
“Let me guess,” an Assembly member Yslie recognized, a succubus named Dyna, shouted over her peers. “You want to be that empress.”
Odela’s composure didn’t waver. “I won’t deny what everyone knows to be the truth. But I acknowledge you have four oracles to choose from. I trust the Assembly to make the wisest choice.”
“No.” The denial came from behind Yslie and Peroen. Sophenie pushed forward. “The Assembly has either no choice, or thousands. If marriage to the prince is no longer a requirement, then every oracle is a candidate for the throne. If, however, the Assembly wishes to minimize chaos, then they will admit that their authority extends no farther than demanding Emperor Envaho’s abdication. His son has not lost the mandate of the first emperor. He has a right to the throne.”
“Prince Peroen was never given an oracle who could say one way or the other if she supported him!”
Yslie couldn’t see who had spoken, but she saw the ripples of agreement in the wake of his words. She drew a deep breath, prepared to say her piece, but Sophenie wasn’t done.
“There are four oracles here, willing to marry him. Is that not proof enough?” She didn’t wait for the objections that were sure to follow. “No, I suppose you’ll say that the situations aren’t analogous. The proof you need is that the oracle chosen by her people to serve Prince Peroen would not turn away from him, given the choice. Well, the treaty might have ended, but the next oracle had already been chosen before the revolution. It is her actions that matter, then.”
