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FIATH
“Just one more, my lord,” Slak said as he placed the final document on my desk.
My eyes slid down the long-winded legal text to the line where my signature was required. I scribbled it in a half-hearted scrawl and was barely done when my chief adviser scooped it back up and added it to the bulging stack beneath his arm.
One day every week, I had to go through this process. I signed documents, not even inquiring into what they were. I did, at the very beginning. When I took over and became the emperor, I asked many questions. The advisers would go into great detail about each subject until I was satisfied.
Not that I was ever really satisfied with signing documents.
The advisers stood in an arch around my desk, waiting to be called upon if I had any questions. They represented every section of the running of the empire. Business, Economics, Education, Health… Together, they formed the Titan Council of Elders.
Not for the first time, I wondered why I was the one in charge when these Titans had all the expertise. They could make decisions better than I ever could.
But I was the emperor. I did what I was meant to do. The same way they did their jobs.
These days, it was rare for me not to sign a document immediately and without question. The advisors had proven themselves to be good at their jobs and always strived to improve the situation of every Titan across the empire.
I put the pen back in its fancy holder and leaned back in my chair.
“How are the new colonies doing?” I said.
For the past few weeks, they’d suffered from an infestation of locari. They consumed every edible food source they came to until there was nothing left. We sent shipments of food from other farming colonies to tide them over but it would take some time for them to make a full recovery.
“Thanks to Your Grace’s efforts, they are quite comfortable,” Slak said.
The Agriculture adviser stepped forward.
“We have provided them with extra seed and cattle,” he said. “They have the chemicals required to eradicate the pests. They should be up and functional again by the next harvest cycle.”
“And how are the farmers holding up?” I said.
“The farmers, sir?” the Agriculture advisor said, blinking at me as if I’d just asked if the moon were on fire.
“The farmers,” I said. “The ones that live on the planet. Are they well-fed and watered?”
Slak waved a hand dismissively and the Agriculture adviser stepped back.
“They are fine, my Lord,” he said. “Is there anything else Your Grace requires?”
Chief Advisor Slak lacked much in the way of the strength and muscle Titans were known for. His was a studious figure, tall and bent with years behind a desk, but he’d served me well. He worked ceaselessly to ensure the empire’s smooth running.
I couldn’t imagine how difficult it would be to rule without him. In my father’s time, and the emperors before him, there was no such thing as a chief adviser. It was a position of my creation. Instead of me listening to the advisers every day, they reported directly to him. He made minor decisions and left the most pressing concerns up to me.
It made my life simpler and easier, and allowed me to pursue other…. interests.
Spread along the walls at regular intervals was my honor guard, the elite fighting force of the military. Their task was to keep me safe at all times. They moved ahead and scouted any locations I might visit and ensured no harm would come to me.
I often wondered what sort of risk I might suffer at the hands of regular Titans. Were they that dangerous? Would they really wish me harm?
Slak bowed so low his head almost skimmed the marble floor.
“We will leave you in peace, Sire,” he said.
The other council members repeated the gesture, turned, and stepped backward toward the door. It was against the law to show your back to the emperor at any time.
At the door, Slak bowed again and left my chambers. As he passed through the door, the head of my honor guard, Garrick, entered the room. He bowed and approached my desk. He protected me, just as he had protected my father. He was grey at the temples, distinguished and resolute. He didn’t approve of everything I did, not that he would ever voice such an opinion.
“How do we look tonight?” I said.
