The Strongest Spellblade

“Support Red! Support strength! The shed blood of our ancestors should be elevated not degenerated!” I was listening into one of the many political rallies happening in Genoa. “That is why we must stand together through strength. Not through trade or foolish mercantile ambitions that can be disrupted easily!”

“Donation?” a young boy came over with a collection pouch and asked me. I gave a copper coin and he moved on. I left the back of the crowd with Healer Melon.

“Intense, but I think I have this place kind of figured out,” as we made our way to restaurant for lunch.

“That they are all easily excited?” Healer Melon joked and I laughed.

“That too. Red for the political party that wants a more strength focused government. The color symbolizes the blood shed by adventurers. While Blue is focused on trade and the color represents the ocean. The rest of the colors, I still don’t fully get,” I said.

“I think the two purples represent the desire for a monarchy, just in different contexts. Light purple for an elected monarchy and dark purple for the strongest person being in charge,” he replied.

“I think Green has something to do with agriculture. But no clue what yellow means,” I replied.

“Headache inducing. The fact that there is a Political Acumen skill is a curse. I have no idea how anything gets done around this place with everyone arguing about who is in charge and running things,” Healer Melon said.

We were both in agreement about that. This place just seemed incredibly unstable and confusing. Anyone with some good social skills could easily dominate the entire process. My thoughts went to my father as we entered the restaurant and were shown to a table near the windows.

At least the city had lots of flowers growing everywhere. It really was colorful. “So, what system do you think is best. Doesn’t the Five Star Institute of Healing use a council?” I asked.

“Of the most learned and experienced healers in their respective fields. One for each tower, representing one founding member each. It works for us, but for everywhere else, the human nations seem to have a decent system with their nobility. Keep all that political nonsense contained to a select group of people,” Healer Melon said.

“I never considered that. The nobility is kept separate to spare the common people,” I replied.

“Exactly, otherwise you get nonsense like all these political rallies in Genoa. Elections once every year, with voting power based on level might seem like a good idea, but there are so many flaws with the entire process you could drive one of those large magical carriages through all the flaws and still have room to spare,” he explained.

“I was thinking social skills. It would be easy to manipulate a lot of people,” I said.

“Sure, that is one way. But you could have employers forcing their employees to vote a certain way,” Healer Melon said and then paused as a server came to take our order before he continued again.

“It is all a waste of time. I get having hobbies and doing other activities, but having everyone focus on politics is just exhausting when there are better things to do. Like that energy spent learning about all the political parties could be spent learning a useful skill instead,” he explained and I nodded at this.

“Ah, I couldn’t help but overhearing your conversation. I am Ralph Lon Dorenso, a minor politican in this wonderful city of Genoa, the birthplace of democracy,” he said.

“Justin Burnstock,” I replied.

“Healer Melon.”

“Do you mind if I join you? Perhaps I could help you guests from the College understand what makes this city so great,” he replied.

“Sure, it could be interesting,” I replied and the man grinned and sat down. A server quickly brought over a new place setting and drink. “Don’t worry, I will pay for my own meal, but I hope to enlighten you about Genoa.”

“Go ahead, I am listening,” I replied, curious to see what this man would say. I noted he was wearing yellow as his main color.

“You see, even nobility has issues. If there is a war or the nobility does something to those not in the nobility, there is no recourse for the common person. This city was founded by escaped slaves of the Eldarin Empire. It is only recently that we have moved to a democratic system from rule of the strongest. It is a new age. Gone are the large wars of the past, this is the age of trade, knowledge, and advancement,” he explained.

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“I understand that benefit, but what about the waste of time?” I challenged.

“People save time by investing into the political system by being more informed and preventing being drawn into wars and other complexities. By making a government of the people, we are protecting the people,” he said.

“But some people have power, and power corrupts. Better to keep that corrupt to the nobility, so you know who to watch out for,” I replied.

“That is where we pass laws as a collective to strengthen the nation itself. As everyone wants Genoa to be better, we will all move forward with collective purpose,” he explained.

“You talk of collective purpose, but you have so many political parties,” I replied.

“Just like you have different skills or thoughts or interests. That is what makes this place great. Everyone gets to participate. And we use the collective wisdom to make the best possible laws for everyone.”

“But there will be winners and losers regardless. Like matters of trade.”

“You mean tariffs?” he asked.

“I think so, trade isn’t my focus, but letting in the magical carriages of the dwarves into the country will undercut the horse market,” I explained with an example I knew of.

“True. But that is why the government has set up a Work Placement office to help people find new jobs and train up new skills. This isn’t just the birthplace of democracy but the center of progress. That is why your College is here,” Ralph Lon Dorenso said.

“They came here since everywhere else would have caused political complications, flying over other nations,” Healer Melon said.

“But you can’t deny that the spirit of freedom is in the very air itself.” These people were all clearly crazy. They might not all be using Pic, but after listening to Ralph Lon Dorenso talk I was absolutely convinced that politics should be left to the nobility. Now I was curious about the most important question I could ask.

“What about Supreme Legends? Individuals who have great power to overthrow an entire nation?” I asked.

“They would be honored and welcomed. Genoa is open to all. A melting pot of all races and beliefs. That is what yellow stands for, the sun, and how we all live underneath it except for monsters and those in the dark,” he replied.

He clearly had good intentions, but they were completely divorced from reality. If my mother showed up here and someone was insulting towards her, she would kill them and there would be nothing anyone could do about it. Ralph Lon Dorenso might say pretty words, but with all this freedom and political upheaval they had clearly forgotten some important facts. Power was the true determiner of who was right or wrong throughout history. The Eldarin Empire lost power, so they were wrong. My mother was powerful, so she was right.

The was one truth of the world I hadn’t forgotten or misunderstood. Of all the lessons my mother imparted to me, absolute strength allowed a person to ignore laws and rules was a major lesson. She might not have directly said it, but I saw other people bending to her will and desires.

While the idea of democracy and running a government as a group sounded nice in practice, it was like a house of cards. It was just that no one cared about the island nation of Genoa. It might be a trade hub, but going to war to take the nation over would destroy the very thing that gave it value.

Also, the people had come from escaped slaves of the Eldarin Empire and there was a strong independent streak. I had no doubt if this place was conquered there would be constant rebellions. It would be absolutely ungovernable unless most of the people were killed. And by then, what would even be the point?

The fact Genoa didn’t have a large military was also another reason why it was left alone. The Red Party might be loud and have strong support, but the Blue Party was the majority in the city from what I had seen of people wearing colors and the colors painted on buildings and flowers that were grown.

While we ate our meal and Ralph Lon Dorenso talked about the wonders of democracy, I had completely tuned him out. If I wanted to get involved in politics I would have asked my mother to get me a noble title. I was sure she would have made me the King of some nation, which would have been annoying. I just didn’t have the patience or mindset to deal with all the political situations with the nuance required.

I would just give orders and expect them to be obeyed. Rule with an iron fist. I was a lot more like my mother than my father in that regard. Even though she had left, the shadow she cast over my life still remained quite large.

After paying for our meal, we thankfully left Ralph Lon Dorenso behind. “Let’s leave,” I told Healer Melon.

“Really?” he asked.

“Yes. This place is a nightmare. If there is a hell, it would be Genoa. After listening to Ralph Lon Dorenso talk about democracy and how this place is a beacon of enlightenment, I don’t want to ever come back. It is too confusing. Just give me a nobility so I can avoid them,” I explained.

“I think I have to agree with you. It’s like a rainbow got sick and threw up all over the city,” Healer Melon said in a quieter tone, so the people nearby didn’t overhear. I chuckled at that. It really was too much color. Having things in neat categories and having people on the skills they needed for their job was for the best. Have the nobility focus on social skills, farmers on farming skills, and so on.

There were even classes. How those worked with all the politics was something I was glad I hadn’t asked about. What if someone had a job suited for politics but was then voted out of their position? What would they do then? These people clearly had too much time and money to waste when they should be focusing on more important things.

In time this city and nation would only grow weaker. While they might not be conquered, Genoa was clearly a joke and would never expand beyond its borders. These people were all excited being in charge, but they missed the fact that it was all an illusion. They should focus on increasing their own skills and power, not wasting time figuring out what political party and color to support.

If I was stuck in this city, I would pick white as my political color, to show my disdain for the entire process and concept of democracy. It was like someone had cursed this entire nation into madness. Perhaps the water or food was being tampered with? I didn’t feel any effects, but this place was just too weird and different.