“You’re a bastard,” he said, his tone mild despite the hatred that burned in those black eyes. “What do you want?”
Castien almost smiled.
He always liked dealing with people who understood how the world worked.
* * *
Calluvian Society Gossip
SHOCKING TRUTH REVEALED: REBELS AMONG US?
This Author is delighted to report on another scandal brought to us courtesy of Lord Tai’Lehr. It appears that accompanying the future King of the Fifth Grand Chan [read more about the upcoming coronation here] wasn’t the only reason for Lord Tai’Lehr’s visit to Calluvia. As our readers know, we at Calluvian Society Gossip normally do not write about such a boring subject as politics, but this time we feel it is our moral obligation to give our readers an accurate report of what has happened, as this scandal is going to have far-reaching consequences for Calluvian society.
Long story short, in this morning’s session of the Council, Queen Janesh of the Third Grand Clan petitioned on behalf of her colony Tai’Lehr to allow them not to conform to the Bonding Law.
It wasn’t the most shocking part, however. Apparently the colony hasn’t been conforming to the Bonding Law for thousands of years already.
“You must understand that it wasn’t our ancestors’ choice to defy the law.” Lord Tai’Lehr spoke amidst the chaos. “Since sensors didn’t work, the colony couldn’t know that there was already a settlement of the rebels on the sole continent of the planet. The few mind adepts of the High Hronthar that had accompanied the colonists succumbed to local diseases soon after the colony’s establishment. As there were no qualified mind adepts anymore, childhood bonds could no longer be created. Our ancestors had no choice but to disregard the law, especially since the rebels that lived nearby proved to be healthy, peaceful, and harmless.”
“It has been thousands of years!” Councilor Xuvok spoke up, red in the face. “You should have informed the Council about it thousands of years ago, not now!”
Unlike his opponent, Lord Tai’Lehr remained calm. “You are correct, Councilor. I absolutely agree with you that my ancestors should have been upfront with the Calluvian Council, which is exactly why I risked my life crossing the war zone so soon after I assumed the position of the governor. Surely we cannot be held responsible for the decisions of our forefathers?”
A heated debate followed. Many members of the press were asked to leave for disrupting proceedings. Councilor Derves demanded that Lord Tai’Lehr be arrested on account of being dangerous to others, which caused much confusion, as many members of the Council did not understand what he meant.
Truth be told, This Author didn’t understand the reference, either. When asked to clarify, Councilor Derves claimed that the childhood bond was actually invented to restrain powerful telepaths.
That caused another uproar that only ended when the Lord Chancellor stood and demanded silence. As usual, Crown Prince Ksar’ngh’chaali commanded the room effortlessly, despite the recent less than flattering scandal with his involvement. Councilor Derves couldn’t answer satisfactorily when the Lord Chancellor had asked him to cite his sources for such a bold claim.
“So it’s nothing but hearsay,” Prince Ksar said, and Councilor Derves had to concede that he did not have any proof.
“However,” Prince Ksar continued. “To ease the mind of those Council members who might have similar fears to Councilor Derves, I think we all would agree to ask the opinion of an impartial third party that knows everything there is to know about childhood bonds. We should perhaps send for His Grace, the High Adept of the High Hronthar, Grandmaster Idhron.”
That suggestion was met with unanimous approval.
When the High Adept finally arrived and was informed of the subject of contention, he dismissed Councilor Derves’s concerns.
“It is true that the childhood bond somewhat lessens the raw power of a telepath,” the Grandmaster conceded, nodding to Councilor Derves slightly. “However, the extensive research that has been conducted by the High Hronthar conclusively proves that the difference in power level is not very big, as evidenced by widowers’ very slight increase of power after their bondmate’s death. Besides, a bonded telepath has better control over his telepathy than an unbonded one. Therefore, we consider Councilor Derves’s concerns unfounded. The High Hronthar can make the research available to all interested parties if needed.”
“Thank you, Your Grace,” the Lord Chancellor said. “But if that is the case, where do you think the rumor originated?”
The High Adept looked thoughtful. “That I do not know for certain. I can only hypothesize that such rumors were spread by people unhappy with their bondmates. In light of this, perhaps… perhaps it would be prudent to allow unhappy spouses the legal procedure of a divorce.” He looked at the Lord Chancellor. “While we are on the subject, I wish to remind the Council that the current law requires corrections as it is. Until recently, childhood bonds were not breakable. For the past four thousand years, a marriage always equaled a childhood bond. But after the recent amendment to the Bonding Law, that won’t be necessarily the case—you, Your Highness, are the prime example.”