There are several chairs positioned around a long wooden table, each one bearing a different flag and important figure. Tommy's chair is near the head of the table, right next to it. The back of his chair shows the flag of the Antarctic Empire. Tommy was partial to keeping the flag as Wilbur's variation, but it was deemed improper. While it could be interpreted as Tommy paying respect to his brother and stating that he was merely holding the position temporarily, it could also be seen as Tommy spitting on his brother's legacy. It was also illegal for a tsesarevich to use the flag of their previous incarnation. Tommy was not the tsesarevich technically, but since he was filling in the position, it was meant to follow all of the rules accordingly.

There is an older man in the chair right next to Tommy. He wears dark, military green with empirical blue accents. He is Pete Voiceover, the Duke of the North. Although his lands are mostly barren and snowy, he became influential as one of the empire's greatest diplomats. His lands are also known for producing the most carriages and road-builders. There is even talk of the North developing what other people call an 'iron horse' and what Tommy knows as a train. He doesn't believe the train will be done by the time The Ender Prince officially starts in this world, but it is nice to know. Tommy supposes he could invest in what he knows will be a lucrative business.

On the other side of Pete is a man wearing black with the empirical blue accents. Calvin Pevepe is the Duke of the East. Although the south provides most of the agricultural goods to the empire, the east provides a hefty amount as well. On top of that, the east is notoriously known for supplying the military with most of their men. The eastern lands are all very devoted to the Blood God, and their zealous intentions lend well to producing mighty warriors loyal to the tsar their god chose.

The table turns, creating a new side for four people to sit at. Gemini, Fwhip, Ponk, and Jordan represent the heads of each ministry and imperial branch.

When the table turns again, the Duke of the South, Schlatt, and the Duke of the West, Fern, sit alongside the tsaritsa. She is wearing mourning clothes, but her face seems unusually attentive. Tommy has not seen his mother in weeks, so he finds a part of him relieved that she is faring better than he suspected. It also makes his stomach twist knowing his mother seems well enough to travel and did not take the time to visit him. Tommy silences his thoughts. He pushes down such childish emotions. He is not here for that, and he refuses to make a scene in front of all these important people.

Obviously, the tsar is seated at the head of the table with no one beside him. While his seat is the same as everyone else's, his presence somehow carries far more weight in the room than everyone else. Tommy feels pride at seeing the ruler of his nation, but the part of him that is Philza's son twists rather painfully. Both of his parents look unfriendly right now. All he wants is for them to look at him with love again, so he cannot stand their analytical and emotionless gazes. Tommy finds much more warmth in Gemini's nod, Fwhip's wave, Ponk's twinkling eyes, and Jordan's half-smile than he does with his own parents. Hell, Schlatt raising his glass towards Tommy makes him feel warmer than his mother's eyes sliding right over him and his father not even looking in his direction.

The air ripples, and Philza is no longer alone. Sneeg stands right beside the tsar. He does not sit in a chair, but he is as much a part of this council as anyone else is. In fact, he's more part of it than Tommy is.

He's more part of it than Hetta is. She is sitting in Tommy's lap. She's too young to be far from Tommy and too inexperienced to hide her presence in the spiritual realm. She has to be physically near Tommy, so he solves this problem by putting her in his lap. She's small and light enough that Tommy doesn't mind. Her presence is so weak that no one really pays attention to her. If not for the wings on her back or the way her eyes seem to glow like embers, no one would suspect her of being an elemental. They probably can't even tell which type she is. Her wings point towards air, but her eyes imply fire. Tommy wraps his arms around Hetta's torso, keeping her in place and deciding that he'll answer any questions about her should they arise. If they do, really, since it doesn't seem like anyone cares about Tommy or his elemental.

"Are we getting enough resources to the borders?" Schlatt asks, swirling his glass around. No one else on the council is drinking right now. Pete has a wine glass in front of him, but he hasn't touched it since the servant initially poured it. Tommy was also given a cup of something. He knows it isn't alcohol. It is not water. Tommy suspects it is juice, and he refuses to drink juice in front of such company.

"We're following the same plan as last year, are we not?" Pete asks, looking up from the papers in front of him. Everyone on the council has papers in front of them along with fancy quills that replenish ink magically. Even Tommy has one of these, but he doesn't really need it. The dukes have paperwork about their cardinal directions. The Imperial Ministers have papers about their departments. The tsaritsa and tsar have paperwork regarding the affairs of the entire empire. Tommy's paperwork amounts to the concerns of the capital city, which means he has a lot less paperwork than everyone else.

"It isn't going to work this year. The elves are taking up more land in the south. I'm losing farmland," Schlatt answers, shaking his head. Tommy feels Hetta look up at him. He knows that she is going to ask about the elves, but Tommy instructed her to leave all questions for after the meeting since this was really important. Tommy writes down the word 'elf' on one of his pieces of paper. He already has an entire list of keywords there so that he might talk to Hetta about them afterward. She isn't scatter-brained exactly, but sometimes she has so many questions that she forgets a few of them. She retains information surprisingly well.

"Do we know why they are taking up more land?" Philza asks. All the attention falls on him.

Schlatt finishes his glass of what Tommy believes is whiskey. Schlatt exhales, leaning forward. "Not that I'm aware of. I just had people coming to my castle, demanding that I provide them with new land since they were chased out of their village. No one has died yet, but a lot of people are being displaced. I've been having to deal with relocating everyone that I haven't had time to figure out what I'm supposed to do about the missing harvest."

"We have some resources stored away for emergencies like this," Calvin proposes. He gestures toward Gemini. "We had some fancy magic put on it to preserve it."

"That only solves the matter for this harvest season. While we do have a fair bit saved, it won't be enough to last more than a couple of months," Gemini adds onto Calvin's information.

"We will have to hold a meeting with the elven rulers. They are breaking the treaty by invading our lands," Kristin says. She looks down at her notes. She uses her quill to write down a long stream of information. Her handwriting is very beautiful, but Tommy cannot read cursive. Kara has tried to teach him several times, but it's something his brain refuses to pick up. Tommy was terrible at it in his previous life, too.

"They would not have invaded for nonexistent reasons. We have to work under the assumption that we will not be getting those lands back," Philza notes. He looks everyone on the council directly in the eye. Everyone except Tommy, and the prince feels a spike of jealousy. "Do we have any other areas that we can cultivate?"

"There is land in my region that can be cultivated, but I wouldn't have the workers to do it. Everyone who wants to farm in my land is already doing it. Everyone else will never give up their pursuit for legendary status to be a simple farmer unless they were told to do that in some divine revelation. We haven't had one of those in a long time," Calvin admits with a half-sigh, bringing up a piece of paper. Tommy leans forward to glance at it. He startles back when he recognizes the paper as a map of the eastern edge of the empire. Calvin really came prepared for this meeting. Tommy wishes he would have told Kara he was coming to a council meeting. She would have been more than happy to help him prepare some necessary items.

"The displaced people of the south could be your farmers. They know how to cultivate the land, do they not?" Philza proposes, looking over at Schlatt.

A servant has poured Schlatt some more alcohol that he sips on. Schlatt shifts in his seat, waving a hand around. "While they are capable of that, most of them aren't going to want to leave their homeland. The climate is different. The trip is long, hard, and expensive."

"We can give them the option, then, just as we will give the people of the east the chance to prove their loyalty to both the empire and their god through work. After we see who makes what decision, we can find a way to scrounge up more workers," Kristin offers.

"We could offer jobs to the poor district of the capital," Tommy says. He swallows thickly when all the attention in the room falls onto him. He nearly starts panicking in his seat, but he feels Hetta's cool hand resting against his palm. He notices Jordan smiling at him, nodding slowly as if to encourage him. Schlatt's eyes shimmer with intrigue. The others are curious, and Tommy refuses to look at his parents, knowing just what sort of expressions would be on their faces. "There are many poor people in the lower districts of the capital. While they don't have experience in farming, they have a great willingness to earn a living for themselves and their families. If we can provide them with basic training and a way to get to the eastern lands, they will go."

"I can provide the transport for both the capital denizens and the people of the south. It is in everyone's best interest that we have enough food for the empire," Pete offers.

"I will find able-bodied teachers to instruct those who do not know how to cultivate the lands," Calvin concludes, nodding.

"Then, it is settled. We will use the harvests we can get along with the stored up rations to feed the empire. The displaced people of the south, the eastern people, and the poor denizens of the capital will be moved onto eastern land to cultivate the land. I will arrange for a meeting with the elves. Should they refuse to discuss with us and continue to intrude upon our lands, we will take military action," Philza finalizes, waving a hand to Jordan. The captain nods at the orders he's been given. Hetta shifts in his lap. Tommy doesn't know what she's going to ask, so he puts 'military' down on his paper. "As that matter has been temporarily settled, we shall move onto a new one. Is there anyone else with an issue they would like to present before the council?"

At the beginning of the meeting, the council went over their usual objectives. Afterwards, the council members presented their own problems. They have been going around the table for awhile now, but there is finally a moment of silence. Despite Tommy being unable to see the duke's eyes, he knows Fern is staring intently at him. It is now or never, Tommy thinks. He's grateful he spoke earlier. Although he is still quivering with anxiety right now, his voice is sturdy as it comes out. "I have an issue I would like to present before the council."

Everyone looks at him again. This time, Tommy doesn't have anyone's support right off the bat. They are looking at him curiously and cautiously, unsure where he is going with this. No one is openly hostile towards him. Tommy takes that as a good sign. Philza waves his hand, "Speak, and the council shall provide you with their wisdom."

Tommy swallows, summoning all his courage. He knows he looks foolish- a child with a cherub sitting in his lap- but he hopes he at least looks a little bit confident. "I would like to propose amending the law of succession. As it is known, only people related to the main family by direct blood are allowed to inherit noble titles and lands with a hierarchy directly related to order of birth. I propose that if all suitable heirs are killed, abdicate, or are deemed mentally unfit by a court of law, it should be within the rights of the presiding patriarch or matriarch to allow noble children within their lands to accept the title."

While Tommy didn't tell Kara about the meeting, he definitely told her about what he needed to propose to his father. She wore an odd look on her face when he asked. She admitted that she had been trying to pass an amendment, and Tommy could understand why. Kara had no children of her own, and she spent so much time at the palace that Tommy doubted she had a love life. Tommy and Kara worked through formulating a proposition together. They had to work through several issues before they were both satisfied.

"What would be the point of amending the law?" Schlatt asks, raising an eyebrow.

"As I said before, the heir apparent could die, abdicate, or be otherwise unfit to rule over a territory. It is not always possible for the presiding patriarch or matriarch to have another child. In fact, they may not be able to have a child in the first place. In such instances, the option to adopt a child from a noble within the area could be beneficial since the bloodline won't be able to be preserved anyway," Tommy explains.

"Why can't we keep using the same system we've been using in those cases?" Pete asks. The system he is referring to is how noble families unable to produce an heir are either absorbed into a nearby territory or the land is given to the imperial family to do with as they please. Tommy shakes his head at the irony. Pete is going to die in the future due to old age. The northern lands will be taken in by the imperial family. A competition will happen with many people vying to take control.

"In those cases, the noble house will either be erased, losing precious history, or it will be passed over to someone who does not possess the blood of the noble house. The noble house should be able to preserve themselves. They should also have a chance to choose who succeeds them that way they might distill their principles onto the child," Tommy reasons.

"Won't this start a bloody conflict where noble children within a territory will start killing each other in order to be adopted by more powerful families?" Calvin asks.

"With all due respect, duke, this is already what happens. Under the system we're under, stronger households will attempt to kill weaker ones in order to absorb their lands," Tommy answers. "In fact, each household has their own internal succession war. I see very little difference between that and what I propose to do now."

Tommy notices the way his father shifts in his seat. Philza didn't have any legitimate siblings, so he didn't have to worry about a succession fight. He did have some trouble when rumors cropped up about Kara being his older sister, but Philza obviously didn't end up killing her. Tommy often wonders what Philza did in order to silence the rumors. He has the sinking suspicion Philza must have made some sort of deal with Kara, but what were the contents? What could Kara possibly want?

"If there are no more questions about the proposal, the council will hold a vote. All those in favor of amending the succession law to include the stipulation that if the heir is killed, abdicates, or is proven to be mentally unfit by a court of law, the current patriarch or matriarch is allowed to adopt noble children within their lands to become the new heir should raise their hands," The tsar calls out to the table. Fern immediately raises his hand, and no one seems surprised about that. They all know that his daughter recently died, and he would therefore want a law where he could provide his land with an heir.

Tommy does not know if he should be surprised or not that the ministers all raise their hands. None of them are technically nobility, so it matters very little to them what the laws of succession are. Everything they own will be passed down to their apprentices, after all. Tommy feels warmth in his stomach at the thought that they would side with him. It proves he has a good relationship with them. At least, with some of them. Ponk could have voted this way because Sam likes Tommy, and Gemini could have voted this way because she was close to Shubble which connects her to the Grace family's plight. Fwhip, too, could have only voted because Tubbo likes Tommy. But Tommy solidly earned Jordan's vote.

Despite having a son of his own that will inherit the southern dukedom, Schlatt raises his hand. He gives Tommy a sloppy wink. Tommy smiles back awkwardly. Schlatt is still cradling his glass, so that's probably the explanation for all of his actions.

Calvin looks like he's weighing the options. He tosses around an imaginary ball in his hands. As far as Tommy is aware, Calvin doesn't have an heir right now. It would be beneficial for him to allow this law to pass. Despite this logic, Calvin comes to the decision to drop both of his hands into his lap.

Pete also does not raise his hand. Tommy feels another wave of irony hit him. Pete is going to want this law to be passed since he's due to die in a couple of years. Pete knows how old he is, doesn't he? He knows that he should have an heir at this point, doesn't he? Tommy wonders if Pete has personal reasons for not raising his hand. Maybe he wants the imperial family to handle the dukedom of the north.

Tommy tries not to feel hurt when Kristin does not raise her hand. He passes this off as Kristin being family-oriented, which should objectively make him feel better. It doesn't, not really, but this is politics. Tommy can separate himself from politics.

"Very well. I will have my decision next meeting," Philza says after counting the hands in his head. The council's decision is only one component the tsar and tsaritsa look at when deciding what laws to pass or repeal. The council is completely advisory. Philza usually goes along with the majority vote, but there are some times when he takes an approach the council didn't even discuss. No one's tried to overthrow him yet, so he must be doing something right. "Is there anyone else with an issue they would like to present before the council?"

The council room falls into complete silence. Tommy leans back in his chair. Hetta sways in her seat, absolutely bored of the quiet. Tommy has been able to focus because he was nervous. Hetta is only able to focus as long as there is some form of stimuli. Even if she only understands half of the words these council members say, she at least finds their voices enough to keep her still.

"If that is all, the council is dismissed."

The council members stand up. The dukes leave first, needing to return to their territories as soon as possible. The tsaritsa leaves second, giving Tommy no opportunity to call her name and maybe speak with her. The ministry members are slower to go, speaking with each other as they pack up their belongings carefully. Jordan remains behind so long as the tsar does, and Philza stares at the roof in his chair. Sneeg looks over at Tommy and Hetta. "I would like to speak to the little one."

Hetta looks up at Tommy questioningly. Tommy raises an eyebrow back. Hetta points at herself, "Am I the little one?"

"Well, you are shorter than me," Tommy confesses. Hetta pushes her forehead against his chest. She sits back up with a frown on her face. Tommy laughs. He would have thought Hetta knew she was smaller than he was. Hetta's face lights up with his laughter. She puts a hand on his stomach, giggling when she feels it move. Tommy will never understand the way his elemental works. "You should go see him. That's the Air Elemental King, which means he's your king. You answer to him before you answer to me."

"Ah," Hetta says with understanding. She slides off his lap. Her wings flap, keeping her feet from touching the ground. She flies straight to Sneeg without any visible respect. Tommy hopes Sneeg realizes how young Hetta is and takes mercy on her.

Eh. Tommy's sure it will be fine.

—

"Whoa," Ranboo breathes, his hands lowering away from his gaping mouth. Inside the valley is a large settlement. Most of the buildings are made from white stone that matches the snow, accentuated by dark wood trimmings and teal colored roofs. The sun shimmers across some of the gold ornaments on the buildings. Ranboo's eyes are drawn to the multi-colored crystals floating in the air.

"Welcome, Enderian, to the City of Winter, Rivendell," Scott says. "You're probably the only non-elf that's ever been here... I mean, other than animals."

"What about diplomats from the empire?" Ranboo asks. He knows that the elves have a treaty with the empire because of Wilbur. Techno even mentioned rising tensions with the elves.

"We have a town near the border that we use to meet with diplomats. No one has ever been this far in," Scott says with a slight laugh.

"Oh," Ranboo mutters. He feels special walking down the path behind Scott. But he also feels dread.