The Clown understood that only the truth could save him now. He maintained eye contact as he spoke. "It is because you are weak, my Lord."

That wasn’t what Thaedric was expecting. He raised his brows. "Explain yourself."

"You were weak, and it was better you were dead." Kagerou pressed his sword deeper. "We are Rashaka! We follow only strength and...the Hydraeus haven’t been showing a lot of it lately."

"You are my mother’s retainer."

"Yes, and I serve her interests. You would only continue to sabotage her interests. You killed a family. I support Cormac in that, but I didn’t know he intended to take it that far."

Thaedric gestured for them to release him. Kagerou’s sword left him last. "And now?"

"And now what, my Lord?"

"Who will you serve now that my mother is ill?"

"I will continue to serve her interests till she wakes."

Thaedric sighed. "You and I know that’s beast’s shit. First, let me ask you, what do you think about me now?"

The Clown rubbed his neck. His smile was back. "As I said earlier, you will make things interesting. And! I heard someone spread the news of your comeback and how you warned and saved the palace. The remaining Elders don’t seem to like that."

"Someone, eh?" Thaedric said. "I’ve been asleep for a long time, Clown. Tell me, how are my Great Clan and my Dominion?"

"It’s bad, my Lord. Cormac might be the only one to carry out his rebellion, but the truth is, all the Elders are not happy with the Main Branch. Maybe they won’t rebel openly, but they have all stopped supporting your mother."

"They want her position?"

"That’s not possible because their blood isn’t pure. But they want her power."

"A puppet."

"Yes, and if after her they could get rid of you because, well, you...were easy to get rid of or control, then you gave them the perfect opportunity with that crime.

"But it’s been difficult. They don’t want to kill her because of the guardian. But now she’s in a coma and can’t summon the guardian. Also, she’s not awake to give orders to the only army she commands."

"There’s a power vacuum," Thaedric said silently.

"Yes! And they must fill it quickly before she wakes up."

Thaedric was beginning to get the full picture. Things were worse than he thought. "And me? Where do I fit in?"

The Clown grimaced. "Well. You were inconsequential before now, but you have suddenly become a stinging bug in their butt. They will crush you swiftly."

"There are only two Elders remaining," Thaedric reminded him.

"Yes, Elder of Justice and Elder of Diplomacy. One of them has become the High Elder and resumed control of the Dominion till your mother wakes. And guess which one."

Thaedric swallowed. "The Elder of Justice, Erestor Hydraeus. Whose daughter I killed." He suppressed a shudder. Thaedric really had gone too far.

The Clown smiled. "Exactly! He’s the High Elder now, and he’s already beginning the appointment of new Elders. Of course, those who are loyal to him."

"The Overlords will not follow him," Thaedric said, but even he wasn’t sure of his own words.

"They won’t," the Clown agreed. "But they are not following your mother anymore either."

Thaedric groaned. "Ah! Blasted. There can only be one sky. To make Hydraeus strong, there can only be one ruler in the Dominion. All the Overlords must swear fealty again. They must unite behind us."

The Clown scratched his head. "Cormac was right in one aspect. The Great Clan of Hydraeus is really sinking. Lots of people are jumping off its ship. The Overlords have stopped paying tax and tithe to your mother for some years now. Only one of them still does."

"And mother didn’t react?"

"Oh, she did, but where’s the power to back it? Your father lost the armies and the warriors. Her own powers. Almost all our high tiers. The massive resources he drew out of the economy have crumbled it. The remaining armies are locked at the border and can’t be moved easily.

"The only loyal Overlord remains so because of the benefits of the said army and won’t answer any calls. Your mother has no power to enforce her laws and rules. You have no power."

"Tell me, Clown," Thaedric stood. "What should I do?"

The Clown spread his hands. "You must fix it. The whole Dominion. You must make the Overlords come back. That is the only way to do so."

’Fix it. That sounds so easy,’ Thaedric thought with a smile. He walked closer to the Clown. "You will report to me now, until Mother wakes, and I want you to take care of Urlk here. Turn him into something useful for me."

Thaedric looked at Urlk, who nodded at that.

"Where are you going now?" Malak asked as they left the servants’ building. Without Urlk this time.

They stopped at the front. "Where are the crime lords now?"

"They have been jailed, and from what I heard, the new High Elder will not be easy on them."

"What is all this thing about High Elder? I thought you people only had Elders?"

Thaedric started walking again. "The position of High Elder is only ever available when the Bloodscion is not active. Like now. But I didn’t expect Erestor to move that quickly. He’s quite fast at elevating himself."

"Seems things aren’t going as you planned," Malak noted.

"No, it wasn’t." Thaedric had thought he just had to save his mother and that was it. She would be the one to navigate through any mess left behind. He had no plans apart from that one, but now he was feeling a bit adrift, like an air balloon thrown into the sky.

Thaedric stopped at the main residence of the Bloodscion and looked up at the tall tower. His mother was somewhere unconscious in there while her Dominion slowly crumbled around her.

’As if,’ Thaedric smiled darkly. ’I’ll build this Clan or nothing else!’