Snippet #4 - The Duke of Brun and the Golden Bands.   (unedited)

“What in the seven hells is this Chocolate Round thingy?” Valeran growled, slamming his hand on the table.  “I swear, people make up words around me on purpose?”

“It’s called the Occulate Raun, Your Grace,” Lord Mendor said patiently.  “If I remember correctly, the trial has not been performed in over five hundred years though it could be longer.  I would have to find the relevant tomes in the Brunish library.  I think that is where I remember reading about it.”

Valeran didn’t answer but glared at Lord Mendor, though they all knew it was just him being angry at the situation, not the ambassador.  “Well, whatever it’s called, it’s now a problem as if we needed more of them.” Valeran put his hands on his temples and closed his eyes, rubbing them gently.  “Okay, Occulate Raun.   So what does that mean for making Ashrak the new Duke?  Does it just throw it out the window as a free-for-all?  Should I just have the Skywitch blast anyone making a run for the desert?”

Lord Mendor shook his head but looked over to Ashrak and Ellian.  “I honestly don’t know.  The books I read didn’t really speak too much about the trials.   Do either of you know anything about it?  Or you, Nilesh?”

The small man shook his head but Ashrak and Ellian both looked at each other.  Finally, Ashrak spoke.  “Not everything, I am sure, but we do know some of it and the tales told about it.”  Ashrak paused, then took a breath before continuing.  “Basically, the stories say that the Golden Bands were given to the rulers of Brun as a symbol of their power.  More than that, they were a way to communicate with the ancestors and for the Duke to gain acceptance by those same ancestors, or so they say.”

“So what, we have to go digging around in some old ruins or broken pottery to find them?” Valeran asked, askance.  

“No,” Ellian said, speaking hesitantly as if expecting to be ignored, and already half mad.  Her angry clipped tones came out at first, but when everyone just listened, they began to fade.  “The stories say it’s never been that easy. Not even close.   Finding the entrance to the hall of trials is the first problem.  No one ever knows which ruin it will be found in.  Then the seekers always have to solve or survive terrible tests and guardians, whatever those might be.  It’s never the same.”

“So how many people can go looking for these things?” Valeran asked as he quirked an eyebrow at both of the Brunish nobles.  “What’s to stop the entire city of Brun from just trekking off into the desert, finding these bands, and then becoming Duke?”

Ashrak and Ellian exchanged a look before Ashrak answered.  “Well, the same thing that stopped most of my brothers and sisters from breathing.  Brunish nobility thinks nothing of killing to get ahead.   It’s why they are all so cruel and angry, because assassination is our very favorite game.  Anyone who becomes a seeker agrees that any of the other seekers or their representatives has the right to try to kill them, and vice versa.   It’s terribly barbaric, but it prevents most people from being remotely interested in trying.   Also, if someone does return with the Bands, then all of the other seekers and their companions are automatically put to death.”