A news spread through the capital city of the Golden Republic, claiming that tomorrow the trajectory of all of their lives would be changed, for the ones who would beco their new Emperor would give speeches requiring them all to vote.
The terror of a new Emperor was one that these people did not want whatsoever. And yet, they were forced into it. Forced to vote for soone they didn't even like.
Jema Tayla-Gronn, a noblewoman of the Olvia kingdom.
Oleander Wes-Gauss, a nobleman of the Marsh kingdom.
And finally, Trenaut Ron-Golhlog, a descendant of the Conqueror, Volter Golhlog, and a relative of Valhador Golhlog, the emperor they had killed.
It was clear from just the way that Valhador was hated that no one wanted another Golhlog on the throne. The tragedy of his rule was only 40 years ago, after all, and many alive still rember those cruel days when their friends and relatives were killed on the emperor's whim.
Everyone made a vow to themselves because of it that no Golhlog would again sit on the throne.
And yet, another news spread throughout the city like wildfire, much faster than the first one.
The terror hadn't returned one-fold, but three. All three of the new candidates to beco the next emperor were relatives of the terrible emperor.
Everyone had the sa blood running through their veins.
No one knew what they were going to do tomorrow. Only that they would have to go to that place and be ready to hear each one and make sure that the emperor they choose would at least not kill them all the mont he took the throne.
The night was long for every single person in that city, no matter who they were.
The next day, the palace was open for everyone to enter. In its massive gardens of the palace, a stage was prepared where the candidates would debate and try to persuade everyone to vote for them.
And the people would have to vote the best they could, for they had no other choice.
The massive armies were stationed outside of the palace in the morning, checking each person that entered.
As ti went on, the garden was filled to the brim, and people spilled outside of the palace, waiting for their future.
It wasn't until later in the morning when the three candidates for the debate arrived.
Jema, the only female candidate of the three, wore a fiery red dress as she climbed onto the stage and looked through the mass of people. She could see them all. They were mostly children, injured, old, malnourished, or won.
All the able-bodied n of age were sent to the war where most of them had died. These were the ones that remained, and these would be the ones she would be ruling should she be a ruler.
'Pathetic,' she thought.
Everyone booed her as she walked onto the stage, and she did her best to ignore it all. If she let even the slightest bit of it get to her, she might end up drowning a few of them.
She wasn't in a great mood from the morning to begin with. After her sleep last night, she had woken up to horrible news that her ancestry had been revealed to the world this morning.
She had thought she would have an advantage in this debate, but it seed that was a fool's belief. All of her dirty little secrets were going to be aired out in the open after all. Not a single one of those would be left alone.
It was a good thing she had all of her boy toys killed when the king of Olvia approached her with the idea of forming an alliance where she would marry him once she beca the Emperor of the Onyx Empire.
The next person walked up onto the stage and walked over to his assigned seat.
Oleander Wes-Gauss of the Marsh kingdom sat so distance away from Jema. "It wasn't you, was it?" he asked.
"Why the hell do you think I would do such a thing?" she asked. "Do you take for a fool who wants to reduce his own chances?"
Jema sighed. She supposed she shouldn't have even asked. There was only one person who ca out better from the leaked news, and it was no one other than the crown prince.
As she thought of him, the Crown Prince walked up onto the stage, in the middle of the most intense booing she had heard yet. Sohow hearing all of them, and watching the smile on the prince's face lessen by the second had all been worth it.
The prince didn't completely drop his smile, still choosing to seem like the better man out of them all.
A person walked onto the stage then, followed around by two guards in steel armor. It was an old man with a haggard look and a sleepless appearance.
Gasps rang out from the people who saw him as they recognized him to be the oldest counselor of the old council that had disappeared in just a single day. The appearance of the man in such a situation was all that they needed to be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that what they were going through today was in fact real.
"I—I…" the old man spoke, flinching at his own voice as it suddenly spread through the crowd and beyond as though he had shouted at the top of his lungs. The sudden amplification of his voice was not sothing he had expected, but he had been prepared for it.
He handled himself and began speaking once again.
"I, Theodore Goodman, shall be the moderator of this debate today. I shall be accepting any question you have, and will be presenting it to our three candidates."
"For the next five minutes, please write any question you wish for to ask, and it will be vetted by our people before it is brought to . At that point, I shall ask it to the three candidates."
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