Inheritor Of Magic: The Magi King

The Coven Leaders looked just as nervous as the Gormana Representative was eager to try their cooking. The foods of the Council were very different from what was normally popular among the lower levels where Wolfe had grown up, and they were prepared by chefs that had been passing down recipes through their families for generations.

It was unlike anything that the Demon had tried before, as Gormana was fond of spicy sausages and pickled cabbage in their cuisine. The food was good, but the flavour choices made him think that the people of Gormana might have been a Wrath Demon cult at one point, and their food reflected that angry flavour profile.

“I suspect that the legal team will be all night going over the clauses, despite the short length of the contract. Do you mind meeting with us early in the morning? Say, after breakfast?” One of the Council members asked Wolfe as they were finishing their main course.

It seemed that they were trying to cut Reiko out of the negotiation process, where the amendments would be added or subtracted from the agreement before a final version would be sent back to the legal team for verification.

“That is fine. We can all meet after breakfast, and then once we have the amendments worked out, I will spend a little time visiting with our families here in town, if that’s not a problem with you.”

The Witches smiled. If Wolfe was concerned about his family here, he wouldn’t be too hard on them or try to collapse their city completely. At least, they assumed that was the case, and he wasn’t calling the Family to a “Final Meeting” the sort of Crime Family meeting where an entire Family’s leadership would die, no matter who won.

The conversation remained light, and the Witches seemed to be willing to accept both the new Advisor, and Arthur unquestionably. That was much better than Wolfe had been expecting. Better than even Arthur had been hoping for. Everyone had heard how stubbornly set in the old ways they were, even older than the witches Wolfe had found in the Free Covens who were still operating as if the war were ongoing.

“I am pleasantly surprised that this process is proceeding so smoothly.” Wolfe noted as they were finishing their dessert, a local specialty of shaved ice and fruit.

“We had a long discussion about the topic before you arrived. The way that things were going is unsustainable. First after the rebellion, and then with the attacks. We’re not oblivious, we know that the world is changing fast.

But you have to understand, this is our home, our family inheritance. We have run this city since it was built, and it won’t be easy to change that.” The Council Leader pleaded for Wolfe to understand.

“Do you know the origin story of the Morgana Coven? How the two of them were censured by the world for their experiments and formed their own Coven instead?” Wolfe asked, and all the witches went silent while staring at him.

“Where did you hear that version?” Reiko asked carefully.

“From a memory crystal left by someone who knew them both personally. I know a considerable number of things about the past now, and how things changed in the lead up to the war.

But my point is that times change. Even if your family controlled the city for generations, your influence might not last forever. It wouldn’t be the first time that an influential family simply disappeared from existence.

But that’s not what we’re asking here. We just need you to accept that everyone can work together to make the continent safer and more stable, even if it doesn’t lead to more power or influence for them personally.” Wolfe explained.

“And when did you do that?” One of the witches asked in a snarky tone.

“Do you think that there would be Guardians in each region if I hadn’t? I am a Saint. A Magi Saint. I could have taken the continent by force if I wanted, there wasn’t enough coordination to have stopped me. I know there are hidden weapons still from the war, but the will to use them is lacking.

So, when it became imperative that the mana levels and threats to the world were managed, I asked both the Fae and Demons to help out. And that’s what they did.

The reason that I’m looking for power here is because you’re within the trade zone for Forest Grove, my new home. If Morgana Coven were still strong, things would be different, but you can’t manage the territory anymore, and let’s be honest, nobody really was for a long time.

I’ve talked to the Elders of the Villages, and they barely knew the last Coven Leader’s name. Most of them had never seen a Morgana Coven Guard, or a Security Team, and that’s still relatively close to the Academy.”

Wolfe finished his rant and the witches’ silence continued for a moment before Reiko sighed.

“He’s not wrong. Even your mother’s generation didn’t actually control Morgana. They controlled the city and claimed Morgana Territory. If this is what it takes to set things right and start rebuilding, I will sign off on it.” She announced, lending her voice a bit of authority through the Coven Leader’s link.

The youngest of the Council members, still a woman in her forties, sighed. “In that case, let us put formality aside. What we need is to save some face. Leave us a bit of dignity in the autonomous region deal, so we don’t have another rebellion on our hands. The Crime Families are with Leader Reiko, we know that, but they’re not necessarily with us, we’re just working together.

The deal with Gormana will help, but we can’t have it overshadowed by Forest Grove just running roughshod over the Fortress.”

Cassie smiled, and poked Wolfe to get him to tell them more of his plans.

“There will be no need for that. In fact, I have no intentions of micromanaging your operations. There is a guardian here as an Advisor now, and she will report to me if there is anything that really needs to be done.

Other than that, she will help you get things working right, and choose the team that we send over to help her with the renovations that were promised.

We will build an underground highway from Sylvan to you, and to some of the locations in the Forests and Swamp.

That should allow you enough mobility to talk to them about rejoining the Coven, but I will warn you that you should likely wear body armour for that. I will personally help clear out the last of the bad elements who can’t play by the rules I have set, and then the region will be mostly left alone to do its thing with a collection of protectors.”

Wolfe paused, then recalled one last point. “Oh, and an airstrip. I almost forgot that we need to build you a proper airport for heavy cargo planes. There are millions of people here, and small road shipments will not be enough for long. Plus, there’s your trade with Gormana to factor in, and air travel is faster than by water.”