The court room was a massive cylindrical room with four sets of doors set in the four cardinal directions. One set lead to the throne room directly, another to the dungeons and two others were used by nobles to enter the room. Starting from the walls were pews with desks in front of them. Each row would be progressively lower all the way until they reached the furthest side of the room where a stage was set. At the center of the room was a raised podium where the imperial family would sit. It was there that Eclis sat, directly to the left of the king. To the king’s right was the empty seat of the crown prince. Standing in front of the raised table was each mans aid, Richard was in front of Eclis, Clarence in front of the king and a man Eclis did not recognize standing in front of the crown prince’s seat. The table itself was ornately carved with three coat of arms displayed beside each other. Each one was inlayed with a mixture of silver, copper, brass, gold and mithril. The Imperial Crest of the Empire and of Donner Regis was double the size of the other two sitting at the center of the table. It depicted a phoenix surrounded in flames and wreathed by thorny vines and Roses detailing every stage of its bloom. Hidden among the vines were sigils representing each kingdom of the Empire. Infront of Eclis was the house of Dumont’s coat depicting a starry tiger and Pegasus facing outwards, at its center were the symbols of a sun and moon. It was set on the shape of a shield. The crown princes’ coat depicted a bouquet of roses, one for each kingdom of the empire, guarded by a sword and shield.

The nobles were already standing at their desks waiting for the Imperial family to enter. Waiting at the lower table facing the Imperial family were the three heads of each noble faction. They were all vampires, however, they represented factions of all the free peoples. Seated among the tables were delegates and nobles from all the kingdoms in the Empire. Many lived all year round at the capital representing and fighting for the interests of their kingdom, others were seasonal and several more were only here to welcome Eclis.

There were three kingdoms missing in court. The high elves of Ilsimar, the wood elves of the wandering forests, and the night elves of the Underdark. According to Richard the Elves pulled out when their pleas to go to war over the slavery happening in Tyrra fell on deaf ears, though it had come after a long history of disagreements and disillusionment the Elves had with the Empire. The initial blow to the Elves confidence in the Empire stemmed, according to Richard, after the Emperor vetoed the courts unanimous vote for an investigation on Eclis’ disappearance. The only reason there was never a civil war after the Elves pulled out was because they never went public with their withdrawal. They kept only in their own territories but let their knights remain in the Dumont house. Due to this, Tyrra still saw the Empire as a united front despite the Empire no longer receiving any support from the Elves as a whole. They pulled their presence completely out of Ganimede, closing their borders to trade and travellers. Due to this fact, even without an official contract, Eclis still had a political advantage given his past relationship with the Elves and the fact that their knights were still in his employ.

Each faction had a claim to Eclis. The first head, Payton Miller, sat at the right of the table representing the Mercantile faction. They represented the interests of merchants from every race in Ganimede. Their entire purpose was to prevent a war with Tyrra since so much of Ganimede’s economy relied on the import of raw materials and exports of magic items. Many of the lesser noble houses filled its ranks but what they lacked in prestige they made up in vast amounts of coin. James had been working closely with them to fill house Dumont’s coffers for many centuries now.

Beside Payton Miller was Vermillion Xavier, the head of the imperial faction. Claude Alenta, the crown prince, supported this faction along with most of the vampiric nobles in the capital. Some of the largest kingdoms, like Therendrûn the nation of dwarves had joined its ranks as well. It placed the good of the Empire above all else, but its members also wished to maintain the status quo by preventing any changes in the existing hierarchies present. Due to Eclis being a prince and a member of the Imperial family, they believed they had a good chance of keeping him on their side.

The final faction was the Dominion faction headed by Aemon Kain. They were once headed by the Elves but now its ranks were filled with delegates from the smaller kingdoms and territories. They strongly opposed the slavery currently happening in Tyrra and wanted to impose sanctions, all the way up to potentially going to war to stop it. They also wished to rebalance the powers in Ganimede to allow beast people and halflings more representation in court. This faction believed Eclis would be on their side due to his personal convictions when it came to abolishing slavery.

Richard had played his cards carefully while Eclis was away. He flirted with each faction and whenever one would ask him to side with their policies, he could hide behind the fact that he didn’t have the power to align house Dumont. For this reason, Dumont had the tentative support of all three factions while remaining neutral throughout.

The tension in the courtroom was palpable. All three heads were sizing up Eclis, trying to read from his body language who he favoured. Naturally, he gave them no indications.

“The first item to discuss today is the matter of Tyrra’s illegal imprisonment of Eclis Dumont in the grand central prison.” Clarence announced the agenda. As the Emperors advisor, he also doubled as the bailiff of sorts, keeping the courtroom in order and on topic. “First, an official statement from the house of Dumont regarding the baseless claims the Tyrrans have made against our Empire.”

It was Richards turn to speak. Having done these tens of thousands of times he seemed more at home in a courtroom compared to the battlefield Eclis met him on so many centuries ago. “The Empire had no knowledge of Prince Dumont’s whereabouts, nor did it take any action against Tyrra, or provide any aid in the prince’s escape from the prison.” The imperial faction head sat straighter. Before Eclis had been captured, he used to prevent his vassals from referring to him as a prince. Hearing its acceptance now piqued Vermillion’s interest. “The Prince managed to escape with the help of a fellow prisoner, one Jasmine Lancaster. Neither partook in any crimes against Tyrra as they travelled to Eridia where Eclis contacted House Dumont and the Imperial family. They boarded an airship and came straight to the Dumont Estate from there.” There would be no benefit for Eclis to accuse Donner of turning his back on him. Even if they were able to prove it to court, Donner could claim that the choice to leave him there was for the good of the Empire. Instead, for now he would play the obedient prince and focus on gaining enough power to become untouchable. A moments pause was allowed for any questions or objections, but no one put them forward.

“To recount the baseless claims of the Tyrrans before we discuss our response.” A current of excitement entered the courtroom. This was also a good opportunity for each faction to compete for Eclis’ favour, since this decision directly related to him personally. “The Tyrrans claim soldiers of the Empire razed a village near the grand prison. They also claim that the Empire illegally invaded Tyrran land in order to rescue Eclis Dumont. They finally claim that Eclis Dumont was not illegally imprisoned, but was purposefully allowed to be captured by the Empire in order to sway the balance of power in the Imperial family.” All eyes were on Eclis after the announcement of the last claim. It wasn’t a claim that was without merit and anyone familiar with the fate of the Dumont Roses would know something was amiss. Eclis gave no indications that he had even heard the statement, however, and the extended moment was broken, “What will the Empires response be?”

The courtroom grew loud once again. Each head had their own opinions of what to do. The dominion and the Imperial factions both wanted economic sanctions placed upon Tyrra in retaliation. The mercantile faction strongly opposed economic sanctions since they wouldn’t just hurt Tyrrans, but the free peoples as well. They didn’t deny that a response was necessary, but it couldn’t be at the cost of the people of Ganimede. Eclis was of the same opinion, but he did not speak yet. Instead, he let the courtroom argue things out waiting to see if anyone would come up with the same solution he had.

Donner did not speak either. The Emperor often didn’t voice his opinions in court, especially not early on. He had long since learned that any word he gave would strongly sway the court in that direction. On top of this, he knew he was suspected of his involvement in the disappearance of Eclis and of the veto he had made centuries ago. He wasn’t confident that anything he said wouldn’t give away his own guilt, so he planned on letting the nobles decide the response entirely.

It became clear that there would be no time for any other items on the agenda as the hours rolled by. The court was at a standstill after the Dominion faction broke away from the economic sanctions’ solution altogether, instead vying for war. The mercantile group refused this solution as well since war would halt trade, and the imperial faction believed trade sanctions was still the best solution.

Throughout the infighting Eclis learned several things about each faction. The Dominion were idealists but could be made to move their position with a little pressure. The Imperial faction were focused on rational arguments as means to both justify their own position and pick apart their opponents. He wondered if they would change their position when given a more rational option that aligned with their goals. Finally, the mercantile faction only cared about the economic impacts of policies and didn’t seem capable of providing their own solution to the problems put forward. They would likely be the easiest to manipulate since their main stipulation was based on where the money flowed.

Satisfied with everything he’d learned today, Eclis signaled to Richard. “The Prince will put forward a solution.” Richard didn’t bother yelling over the din. The moment he began speaking the courtroom fell silent and all eyes fell to Eclis. Beside Eclis, Donner stiffened. After all this time Donner hadn’t perfected hiding his reactions.

“I have heard all your arguments and agree with each of your reasoning. Our response should not negatively affect the peoples of Ganimede and should always take into consideration the honor of the Empire and prosperity of its peoples.” With that opening statement the mercantile head smiled. “Yet there is no argument that what the Tyrrans have done has put into question the strength of our Empire and the honor its upheld after so many centuries of peace.” The imperial faction head slowly sat back down listening intently. “Though I do not believe an all our war is justified, a strong response is needed to send a message. Instead, I propose we demand Tyrra renounce their claims on the Shimmering Isles and pull their navy out of its waters.” For a moment, the Dominion faction head looked shocked.

“The Dominion agrees with your proposal.” Eclis already knew they would be the easiest to sway. The Shimmering Isles was a launching point for the slave trade to reach Tyrra. The Dominion already had a presence there. Silence filled the room while the Imperial faction head turned to the other nobles present. Silent conversation ensued among the other two factions.

“The Tyrrans will not easily agree with this demand.” Vermillion studied Eclis.

“Oh, they won’t let it go easily. By demanding neutral land in recompense, we avoid sanctions that will hurt our own peoples as well as theirs. We can use this situation as justification for a renewed military campaign of the Shimmering Isles. We will show our people that the Imperial family doesn’t take this disrespect lightly.” The neutrality of the Shimmering Isles was a key point in the peace treaty originally written between the two continents. For this reason, the Empire could only act on an unofficial manner in the area and neither country could attempt to remove the presence of the other on the islands. The Imperial faction also wanted a strong response in this situation since it put into question the strength and invincibility of the Imperial family. “The Tyrrans will not risk an all-out war over this if they cannot guarantee they’ll have the full support of the people. There’s no doubt that this story has already spread among the common people as well. They won’t be able to unite all their kingdoms against us when their innocence in this is so dubious.”

“The mercantile faction agrees with your proposition.” The man looked smugly at the imperial faction head. It would seem Eclis was correct, they followed the money. With no threat to trade, a small war on the shimmering isles would be good for business.

“The Imperial faction agrees.” Clarence looked agape for a moment. It was extremely rare to see the entire court in full agreement. Eclis wondered why they switched gears. Was it so they didn’t lose favour with him compared to the other factions, or did they have an interest in a war on the shimmering isles as well?

Donners laughter cut through Eclis’ thoughts. “It is a good day when I see such unity over matters that regard the Imperial family.” He clasped his hands together, “Then, we should discuss the finer details of our demands.” He smiled, taking the opportunity to appear like everything was fine between Eclis and him. Vermillion’s expression didn’t seem convinced leading him to wonder how the relationship between Donner and Claude was faring. It hadn’t escaped Eclis’ notice that Claude was often off fighting for Donner in the territories.

Many of the Roses in the room had retired by the time they’d agreed to the finer details of the response and who would play each role in it.