Malcolm Tent
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Wish upon the Stars chapter 990
🕑 Added 2025-10-08 01:48:19 +0000 UTC“So we have five positions to fill.” I said as I paced around the room. “You mentioned having suggestions. But why do I feel like it isn’t going to be QUITE that simple.” I paused, thinking back to Fade and the Hall of Steel. “Shit. I’m going to have to fight a bunch of these people, aren’t I?”
My dad snorted. “Told you he would get it. Or close enough. Not fighting. Most Wyndhams aren’t the fighting type. Though to be fair, the ones who ARE mostly occupy the group you’re scouting.”
I frowned. “Well, I mean there are a few mixed up in my business from the succession war, I could invite some of them, right?”
“A few,” he admitted. “If you want. But I recommend you focus a little outside the candidate wheelhouse. You know from Chelsea that not everyone in the family inherits the bloodline. It skips generations sometimes, and some branches it gets bred out completely. But those family members are still family. They usually end up joining branches as security, staff, or couriers.”
Zeke snorted. “Or they leave. It’s not easy for Wyndhams who don’t have the gift. They’re treated as second class citizens. I mean, I know Chelsea was getting lots of attention at your ceremony, but that was because she’s politically well connected and powerful. For most of those kids they end up being seen and not heard. Kept around for their usefulness and ignored. Especially for siblings that DO have the gift.”
My dad grimaced. “Like Trevor and Natasha,” he admitted. “Though to be fair, my father isn’t exactly the best example of good parenting.”
“Exactly,” he turned back to me. “But they ARE still family. And you can make connections with some of the more insular dynasties AND help talented kids who really need it make their own way in the world. I know the politics can be annoying, but you could actually do some good here.” He shrugged. “Not my thing, but I know you like that kind of stuff.”
I huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, I’m a fan of human decency,” I said dryly. He just grimaced like I’d mentioned liking pineapple on pizza. “But that’s…well, hopefully I can help. I was honestly kind of envisioning a full cabinet of candidates and bloodline holders, but this does open up some possibilities. You’re saying I’m going to have to fight them to find the right fight though?” I wasn’t sure where he was going with this.
“Not fight,” my dad corrected. “Like I said, Wyndhams don’t tend to be fighters. There are exceptions, but you aren’t LOOKING for those. You’re looking for talents in specific areas. Which means-”
“You think he should check the tournaments,” Zeke said with an understanding nod. “That’s not a bad idea. They have them for everything. There are probably tournaments for each of the seven positions or some analogue. Except the Substitute. Not sure where we’d even look for that.”
I stared at him drolly. “Seriously?” I asked him with a snort. “I wear an impenetrable wooden mask at all times. Just make another one for ANYONE my height. Maybe include a voice changer or something. I was basically born for this.”
“That’s…a good point,” he admitted. “So that one should be easy then. Only four more to handle.”
My dad nodded. “I have some ideas for where to find the others. There are quite a few tournaments and contests that might make someone a suitable choice for the Master of Ceremonies. But I think the closest you’ll get to someone with the kind of aesthetic and organizational talent is going to be the Tea Ceremony Competition. Most of them are formation Masters, but it takes an extra little bit of style. I was fairly accomplished at Tea Ceremonies myself in my youth.”
I stared at him blankly. “You…you did TEA ceremonies? Isn’t that a little…mellow for you? Was the tea poisoned? Did you trade people the leaves for their souls?”
My mother giggled at that. “Your father has a very peaceful heart. He just sometimes takes it out and puts it in a box when he needs to do business. But he DID do tea ceremonies when he was young.” She gave him an adoring smile. “He made tea for me on our first date.”
Clearing his throat, my dad shot her a slightly sour look. “There’s no need to go into all that now,” he said in an almost pleading voice. “The point is, there’s a subset of the family that practices. The Wyndham clan is HUGE. We’ve been around for tens of thousands of years, and the majority of the descendants don’t inherit the gift. Bloodlines aren’t universal, otherwise the universe would be overrun with bloodline holders. Every clan would have people lining up to bribe them to marry in a third cousin to get their hands on some more power.”
“I mean, that DOES still happen,” Zeke pointed out. “It’s just not super successful. I mean yes, higher ranked bloodline holders are more likely to pass on the genes, but it’s still hit or miss. And for the weaker ones, or the ones who don’t HAVE the bloodline. Well, mostly only the desperate or powerless families try to aim for that kind of interbreeding.”
Chelsea snorted. “Yeah, plus it can be dangerous. Mixing bloodlines or racial traits can result in…unpredictable outcomes.” We all looked at her, and I was a bit alarmed by the slight bitterness in her words. When she saw the glances, she put on a big happy smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Not that I know anyone like that. Just thinking out loud.”
We all knew who she meant, and I felt a pang of sympathy for my cheerful vampire “bestie”. Bethy was so good at being zany and effervescent that it was easy to forget how much she went through every day. But that was the whole point. She didn’t want to be defined by the bad parts of her life, and did her best to make every day exciting and fun. I promised myself I’d spend more time with Bethy, especially now that she was going to be my champion. I got so swept up in the show she put on that I forgot to check on her sometimes.
“Anyway,” said Zeke, refocusing us. “That’s one. We still need Secrets, Development, and Banking.”
“Well there’s a few Crafting tournaments,” my dad said with a shrug. “That one I’m more up in the air about. Banking we’ll want to check out one of the merchant competitions. And secrets…” he frowned. “That’ll be the hardest one. It takes a very specific kind of person to become a Master of Secrets. And not the kind you can take out an ad for.”
My grandmother spoke up. “Maybe you can do just that, or something similar. Just get a list of information brokers and use wishes to narrow it down. Obviously just asking for the best candidate wouldn’t work, given the nature of the position, but if you just write them all out…”
“We go page by page,” I acknowledged. “Or even more. Wish to know which half of the list the best candidate is in, then halve that half, then again. Then get it to page, then eliminate individually. Time consuming but not a bad idea. I’ll have to get the scrolls from a relative, but I have a few I could call. My retinue is mostly on Stratholme at the moment, but a few of the cousins from the succession war should be around.”
Delia and Roland came to mind. I had a decent stock of points left I could probably pay with too. It felt good to have actual currency. I’d been kind of speedrunning from one financial bit of nonsense to the next, getting by on bartering and doing tasks to get what I needed. Now that I was the Wishmaster (or would be soon) it would be embarrassing for me to be broke and trading for everything. Speaking of which.
“What about the coronation?” I asked anxiously. “Do I need to have my cabinet picked by the time that rolls around? And when is that? And WHERE? You said it would be held somewhere more neutral and outside the core of the Wishworld. Does that mean not in the Palace?”
“They’ll use the Back Palace,” my dad said with a nod. “It’s connected but not part of the main building. It’s kind of a…halfway point. It’s connected to the actual Palace, so we can reach it easily, and the guests will stay there. Your grandparents were allowed in because the old man decreed it, and because Aiden escorted them. MOST of the visiting dignitaries will stay in the Back Palace for the duration of the coronation event.”
I grimaced at that. “Coronation…event?”
“Of course,” he grinned. “You know how important reputation is among Ascendants. We never miss a chance to have lavish parties and show off. The coronation is a week long celebration with the actual ceremony taking place on the seventh night.” At my horrified expression, he just laughed. “Be grateful. It USED to be seventy two days. It got whittled down over time because it tends to get in the way of business.
“As for your cabinet, yes, you do want to have them chosen before the ceremony,” he admitted. “I know it’s a stressful proposition, but if anything, the ceremony will help. More tournaments will be going on during such a big event. It should make it easier to find the right fit. I assume Aiden neglected to mention the whole thing because…well, like I said, he never had one. I wouldn’t be surprised if he just forgot about the whole concept, really.”
Zeke snorted. “And the rest of the council probably assumed you knew. He WAS supposed to tell you. Or the old man could have. Though knowing him he probably talked to you for ten seconds and never looked you in the face.”
“No, Shane had information he wanted,” my father corrected. “He probably offered him a wish and THEN ignored him.”
Realizing I’d gotten sucked into this whole conversation as soon I returned, I decided to sit down and fill them in on everything. Getting worried about the future was fine, but the present came first. Literally.
So I filled them in on everything. My dad nodded along, and when I finished, he beamed at me. “That…was the best choice you could have possibly made.” He complimented me.
My mom nodded her approval. “It really was. Safety always comes first, both for you and Calliope. Ensuring that was the wisest use of that kind of power. In fact, I’m sure your ancestor gave you those technique books as a reward for your forward thinking and prudence.”
Dad did NOT look sure of that, and like me probably suspected the old man had done it on a random whim and forgotten about it ten seconds after it happened, but he wisely chose not to say anything to that effect. We all laughed a bit, and a lot of the tension flowed out of the room as we relaxed.
This was just another part of the job, and I shouldn’t get so hung up on details. Sure, I needed to find these people, and sure I’d have to TRUST them, but I was sure my dad would help with the contracts. I’d have a safe and reliable fallback, and they could take care of things while I was out making connections and preparing for the war.
Ultimately, this was all formalities, and couldn’t compare to the quest I would be going on when it ended. The idea of heading off into the Void to find Mourne Kayze again (for real this time) and beseech the Lady for help was…heavy. But it helped put things in perspective. Before that though, I had a seven day party to get to…after I got some damned sleep.
