Regent Konstantine’s voice cut through his darkening thoughts, “Mistakes were made that cost Duna’Liet a great deal in gold and blood.”

    “Our war with the Voskalla Empire?

    The Regent gave a slow nod, “Yes...  That was a major factor.”

    Anger flared in Demetrius’s eyes, “Then their deaths were unjust!  Monarchs are supposed to protect their kingdoms from destruction!”

    “Yes.  However, one battles not only enemies, but time.  The war you inherited stretches on far longer than your father ever anticipated.”

    Demetrius rounded, “You were his Minister of Defense!  You could’ve stopped it before it began!”

    Patiently, Regent Konstantine asked, “Do you do everything Minister Gouvier tells you to do with Foreign Relations?”

    Demetrius blinked. “No. I follow your guidance first.  Oh...  Father listened to him more than you, didn’t he?”

    The Regent explained, “Minister Gouvier earned the ear of the King by bolstering powerful alliances with Cestney and Rhienna. That wasn’t a small feat.  Gouvier is very shrewd about many things, but he did not have my experience with the Voski.  He couldn’t comprehend that Emperor Johan held so little power, that his new Empress was –”

    “Ambitious and bloodthirsty,” Demetrius cut in.

    “Gouvier thought her ‘no more than a breeding mare.’  A tactical error we’ve had to compensate for these last thirty years.  War exhausts more than lives and resources.  What else, Demetrius?”

    He considered, “It drains... morale.”

    “Very good.”  The beginnings of an approving smile were erased by Konstantine’s tightening mouth, the Regent clasping his hands behind his back.  “As the Voskalla Empire grows in the east, and we peninsular nations hold our ground, our citizens tire of the difficult balancing act.  Some... react hostilely.”

    The Dauphin’s eyebrows peaked together in uncertainty like a lonely mountain.  “Should I have let Baron Kilhaven have his way – to fight Voskalla with magic?”

    Regent Konstantine’s face hardened at once, which reassured Demetrius.  “As Edouard would firmly tell you, no.  The Voski may be merciless – not as cruel as Ulmsmen in the north, or as murderous as Badrahoun in the south – but that does not mean we cast aside the rules of war!  We are perfectly capable of outwitting and outlasting them without resorting to the catastrophic level of violence Kilhaven proposed... And demonstrated on our own citizens instead.”

    Demetrius pondered, “Think he wants to be a Sorcerer-King, like the Dragos Empire had in ancient lore?”

    “Something like it.”

    The Dauphin felt anxiety rise again like a sour stomach. He murmured to himself, “Battered from within and without, will there be anything left to remember of Duna’Liet?  Any throne to inherit?”

    But then Konstantine was next to him, the Regent strong and sure as ever. “Do not allow doubt to overcome you, Demetrius!  While domestic unrest may not be tolerated, underlying causes may not be ignored either.  A nation must have its history.  All of it.  Especially if it is to grow in greatness, or overcome past weakness. Otherwise, into the void steps convenient falsehoods that allow a tyrannical ruling party to captivate a people.”

    He understood.  “Voskalla serves as a haunting reminder of this.  I don’t want that for Duna’Liet.”

    Determined, Konstantine said, “Duna’Liet will neither share Voskalla’s fate, nor succumb to its domineering.  Cast aside your doubt, listen to the humble petitions of your people, even when they sting.  You will find strength to solve the problems that beset the kingdom.”  The Regent reached for Demetrius’s shoulder in the fatherly way the boy craved most. “And remember, you are never alone in your endeavors...”

    Horns sounded from outside, seizing their attention.

    Like the sun conquering the clouds, Demetrius’s face brightened.

    “Edouard!”