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She took a deep breath. Kallan and Kieran had talked briefly to her about this but ultimately stressed the importance that she needed to answer the questions truthfully and to the best of her ability. There was no rush to answer the questions but she couldn’t pause too long or that would be seen as a form of dishonesty as well. She was allowed a few moments to formulate an answer. Ultimately, she had to think on her feet and rely on herself for this trial.
The Elder cleared his throat and asked the first question. “Are you willing to strike down any and all enemies against the Fae?”
Apparently they were starting out strong with the tough questions. She figured the question was probably referencing the events of the Great War and the enemies they were referring to were probably the other races, but growing up outside the Fae and Elven territories had given her a different perspective. “The Fae’s true enemies, yes. But I would also evaluate the situation to make sure innocents are not wrongly categorized as enemies.”
The Elder nodded but kept the same expressionless mask as the rest of the Fae as he proceeded to the next question so her answer must have been satisfactory. “What is your view on sacrificing the few to save the many?”
Claire tilted her head as she thought before answering. She hated the idea of losing any life, especially not one that could be prevented. Losing her Triad or any of her friends in this fight against the Council, even if they won, would devastate her. But at the same time, she knew that war inevitably meant casualties. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t minimize the casualties.
“The loss of any life,” Claire began slowly, “is devastating to me. I know if it comes down to war, casualties are inevitable but I would never ask someone to sacrifice themself for anything without sacrificing myself first.” She hid her wince as she answered that and hoped her Triad couldn’t hear her answers from inside the barrier.
“A leader must be strong, however,” the Fae Elder said. “Are you able to deliver justice for our people if the penalty for the crime is death?”
Claire struggled with this one. She knew she should be but she wasn’t, or at least she didn’t think she could deliver that final blow to end someone’s life intentionally. But the Elders would know if she lied thanks to the Truthseeker so she hoped the truth would be sufficient.
“I don’t know,” she answered honestly after pausing to think about it. “I’ve never been put in that situation before. I value life and hate seeing it taken but if the punishment fits the crime, I’d like to believe I could.” She searched their faces for any indication they found her answer lacking but their faces didn’t give anything away and the Elder moved onto the next question.
“If you were able to bring any type of resource into our lands, what resource would you choose to improve your people’s lives?”
He meant the Fae but Claire chose to answer with all of the citizens of the Realm in mind. “I would probably start by asking them what they most need. It might be different from household to household. After I gathered that information, I would make the decision from there.”
“But if you had to choose a resource, what specific resource would you answer?” the Elder pressed.
Claire searched for an answer that would be both true and sufficient and smiled when she thought of one. “Kindness,” she said, causing the Elder’s eyebrow to go up slightly, the most expression he had shown all morning. “The entire Realm needs more kindness and a reminder that we thrive when we work together and not let our differences divide us.”
“And how would you distribute this kindness if you got rid of the Council?”
Claire answered carefully, “I don’t think the idea of a Council is necessarily a bad thing but only when there is equal representation involved for all parties, including the Elves and Fae but also the different subgroups of shifters. However, I think it’s the people that become corrupted by power that is the problem. We’ve been taught to idolize the Council and place them above us but it’s really the other way around. The Council serves the people and should never act like they are better than the people they serve. I also believe they should ‘be the people’ in a sense and that both seats should be elected instead of hereditary and should have a limit to the number of terms they can serve.”
“Additionally,” she continued, “I believe that there should be cross territory ambassadors. Where representatives of the different races travel and live with each other so we can have a better understanding of each other’s cultures and help solve communication problems before they start.” She stopped when she realized she was rambling, blushing slightly.
“You’ve thought a lot about this,” the Elder remarked.
Claire smiled. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about how I want things to be better. I grew up in an orphanage actually. Classified as a low-level witch and without my sight, I know what it’s like to be lost and forgotten. I don’t want that to happen to anyone else.”
In her mother’s journals, Winona had shared not only warnings about the future but as Claire read between the lines, she shared warnings about the past and what had to change and become better. She had been putting all of the information together over the last few weeks and hoped the vision her mother saw for the future was something that could be envisioned by the people around her as well.
“When should a leader share information with their people and when should they not? What is the line?”
Claire bit her lip. This question felt like it hit a little closer to her heart. She was still keeping secrets from her own Triad about her mother’s warnings about her magic.
“It’s definitely a fine line for a leader to walk,” Claire admitted. “Telling people too early without enough information could cause a panic or send them down a path of preparation for nothing. But telling them too late means that they might not get the time to prepare that they need to. Ultimately, I think part of the burden of being a leader is keeping secrets from even your loved ones and hoping that you aren’t keeping the secrets too long. I think too, information without context can be tricky. If you don’t have all of the information, just a small piece of it, then keeping the secret might be better for the Realm anyways.”
“What if a particular territory no longer wishes to be involved in the Realm?” the Elder asked. “What if they are tired of conflict and dealing with people and choose to be neutral.”
Claire had a feeling he was talking about the Fae and even if she did manage to pass the trials and the Traditio, it was likely that the Fae would still be resistant to help the rest of the Realm. But if she passed the Traditio, surely they would have no choice right? Surely, they couldn’t be neutral in another Realm-wide conflict. She thought of the Academy and its neutrality but even then the Academy ended up picking a side.
“I think neutral spaces are important and can be a protective, sheltered place for someone to seek refuge that otherwise would have nowhere else to go. However, ultimately a space that remains neutral during a time of injustice chooses the side of the oppressor anyways.”
The Elder gave her a short nod and closed the scroll before sitting down. The Truth Seeker hadn’t moved since the start of the trial and Claire didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. She had answered truthfully but who knows if she gave the right answers or not. Or if the Fae Elders found them sufficient. With the Combat trial having gone decently well and the Justice trial up in the air, Claire was going to have to nail the Magic trial if she wanted to pass the Traditio.
39
Claire was allowed a short break for some water and a quick lunch. She was barely able to choke down a few bites of bread, her thoughts too consumed with worries about passing the Magic trial. She kept glancing at the magic-preventing barrier which held her Triad and friends. She couldn’t feel anything down the bonds and the shimmery barrier allowed her to barely make out seven figures and an eighth smaller one.
“They’re okay,” Kallan murmured to her after she glanced over at it for the third time. “They were given food and water during your last trial.”
“Thank you,” Claire whispered even though she wasn’t pleased about the barrier still. But now she had to focus. The Magic trial was arguably going to be the hardest one for Claire to pass with her magic having grown so rapidly beyond her control. Hopefully, the tasks they wanted her to do with it weren’t too difficult and it would go smoothly. Maybe some light elemental work or using her new metal affinity.
