Malcolm Tent
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Wish upon the Stars chapter 989
🕑 Added 2025-10-07 01:06:30 +0000 UTCAiden escorted me back to the suite of rooms my people were staying in. The walk was…informative. The WCP reminded me of nothing so much as a walled city. It wasn’t a building, for all the it was in one piece. Huge towering chambers, spatial manipulation, artificial sunlight, parks, there were amenities inside the palace that I hadn’t seen in actual cities, and the walls themselves were at LEAST A-rank materials.
The tour was educational and very entertaining, but the company sucked. If I hadn’t been communing with my wife and studying god level skill engineering, I might have been offended.
Once we arrived, he dropped me off with a casual wave and vanished, leaving me alone to push the door open and slip inside. My family was waiting. Chelsea, Callie, mom, dad, Zeke, Uncle Sam, and my grandparents. My grandfather let out a sigh of relief when he saw me, but my dad just rolled his eyes. “I TOLD you he’d be fine. If the old man wanted to hurt him he wouldn’t need a summons. You know how powerful gods are within their Domains.”
My dad shrugged. “He was fine. Like I said. Though now that we’re here…I think it might be time to talk about picking your cabinet.”
I blinked at him. “My…what now?”
“Your cabinet,” he repeated. “You know, the people who do most of the day to day work while you’re Wishmaster?”
“But…Aiden said that he does everything?” I said slowly. “He hates it. Says its the worst job of all time. He literally mocked me for taking over and went on about how much work it is.” I was poleaxed. Was the previous Wishmaster messing with me?
My dad snorted out a laugh. “Because Aiden is a control freak. He trusts almost no one. Have you seen him spending time with anyone? Talking to any friends? He’s a miserable paranoid lunatic. That happens when you completely dominate an entire generation through the threat of overwhelming violence. I didn’t think you took any of that seriously. I mean yes, he hates the job, but it’s mostly his own fault. People just don’t call him on it because he scares them.”
“Yeah, because people love you and you have so many friends,” I said dryly. “I can’t even mention your name in public without members of the family wetting themselves. No wonder you get along so well.” Besides, given the conversation about his wife, I wasn’t sure Aiden was as much of a loner as he let on. Still, it wasn’t pleasant news to get this late in the game.
“He’s right,” Zeke cut in. “I love you, bud, but if not for Sasha and I you would have no social life. You used to be more personable, but you gradually lost all ability to socialize.”
Chuckling at my dad’s glower, I turned to Zeke. “As fun as it is to mess with him, I really do need to know what this cabinet thing is. Because apparently Aiden didn’t bother to mention it, which is either entirely expected from him or so oblivious it's hard to fathom, and now that I say it out loud I think both of those are equally likely.”
“Pretty much,” my dad chuckled. “But basically, the Wishmaster acts as a counterbalance to the Elder’s Council, having about half the power in the WCP. But since half their job is to soak up renown constantly via their position, they can’t be expected to do everything. They usually bring on a cadre of loyal supporters to handle their business inside the family. It’s a useful series of positions to fill…but politically complicated.”
I groaned. “Of COURSE it is. Go ahead. Lay it on me. What fresh hell is this?”
He rolled his eyes. “It’s nothing absurd. There’s just some…considerations. Picking your cabinet is about making alliances, forming connections, and cementing your position in the family. Part of why Aiden never bothered. But YOU could benefit from that, especially given you’re probably going to be leaving on a sensitive mission soon.”
“I take it I can’t just pick people I already know?” I gestured to my wife and sister. “I can think of a few selections I could make right now.”
“That’s sweet of you,” my mother said with a smile. “And your sister may be a good choice, given her unique capabilities, but you shouldn’t choose ALL outsiders. One or two is fine, but some of those slots should go to politically connected dynasties, or uniquely talented individuals you want to hitch to your wagon. Plus the individual offices have different skillsets, so just picking people who punch hard is unlikely to work out well.”
Sighing, I nodded. “Fine, then fill me in. What are these positions and who do I need to fill them with? I assume you guys have suggestions? This is feeling less like you checking on me and more like a strategy meeting.”
She just shrugged. “It can be both. But there are seven traditional cabinet positions. Master of Ceremonies, Master of Banking, Master of Challenge, Master of Treaties, Master of Development, Master of Substitution, and Master of Secrets. Like we said, Aiden didn’t have a cabinet, so it’s not mandatory, but anyone with any social skills makes use of them. No one can do it all alone. Of course, if you dislike the positions, there are alternate offices that have been used in the past, or you could make up your own. But the traditional seats hold a certain amount of…weight.”
“Ok…” I said slowly. “So I get Ceremonies and Banking. What about the others? Secrets is like a spymaster?”
“Basically. There's some deeper significance given the role of secrets in the wishing process.” My dad confirmed. “But their job is essentially to gather information. It's a difficult office to fill because secrets are one of the few major issues with wishes.”
I grimaced at that. “So are people going to expect me to pick a Wyndham optimized to granting wishes of that specific kind for each office?”
He waggled a hand. “Not necessarily. I'll cover the positions on order. As you said. Banking and Ceremonies are obvious, though I would suggest you think CAREFULLY about both. The WCP is an economic powerhouse and events are a huge part of our interaction with the outside world. They're both crucial positions."
“Noted,” I said solemnly. “I’ll keep it in mind, but what about the others?”
Sighing, he leaned back. “The Master of Challenge acts as your Champion. They’re usually supposed to be someone close to your rank, all of the cabinet is, because they gain renown alongside you, albeit to a lesser extent. Your Master of Challenge will be your sword and shield against equal ranked enemies, and as you both grow will take a larger and larger role. When you eventually step down, your cabinet will retire with you, becoming your own household. MOST of the time a retired Wishmaster hits S-rank and his cabinet members become part of his branch.”
I blinked at that. “Wait…how many members of the Elder Council are former Wishmasters?” I asked slowly.
“Three,” my dad said bluntly. “Desmond, Cristoph, and Warren. Warren is the youngest, and was the reigning Wishmaster before Aiden. Cristoph was before him, and Desmond was four generations ago. Cristoph’s predecessor died under mysterious circumstances. It was kind of a scandal. Don’t bring it up.”
I frowned. “What, we’ve never had a female Wishmaster? Wishmistress? How would you say that.”
“It’s Wishmaster, because of the renown gain, and yes, we have,” he sighed. “A few of them. Adalind was the Wishmaster…I want to say fifteen generations ago? She was killed in a border skirmish after retiring. Cassidy was thirty generations before her, and she died of old age.”
That brought me up short. Hearing about that…it really brought home how old my family was. I mean yes, I knew S-rankers lived usually between fifty and a hundred thousand years, and that the Wishmaster office could pass on anywhere between a few decades and a few centuries depending on how big of an impact the new boss had, but still…how many Wishmasters had there been?
How OLD was the old man? Even if he was only a hundred thousand, averaging out Wishmasters to one change a century (admittedly a bit optimistic) that was a thousand potential Wishmasters. No wonder he didn’t get involved in the selection.
“Anyway,” my dad said waspishly. “The Master of Treaties is basically your voice in political matters. They decide where new branch locations will be founded, how many resources we funnel to EXISTING branches, and what we get in return for a branch existing in the territory of another faction. Basically they handle contracts, but on a much larger scale. The Master of Substitution takes your place for important events or when you need to be elsewhere. Like a body double.
“Finally,” he said grimly. “We have the Master of Development. That’s your head of research. You want something done? You give it to him and he does it. New item created? Now Skill developed? Need some lost knowledge uncovered? All of that goes to the Master of Development. The position is mostly assumed by the Wishmaster’s closest advisor and confidant, because it requires absolute trust.”
Frowning, I glanced around at the three of them, then at my grandparents. “You said you don’t think I should fill my cabinet with outsiders, that I should use tot bind some elements of the family closer to me. I assume you have candidates in mind? And how many of the positions can I reserve for my people?”
“Well, there’s nothing that says you need to have a hard number,” my mother hedged gently. “We can’t just come out and tell you what to d-”
“Two,” my dad cut her off. “You shouldn’t appoint more than two outsiders.” She turned to glare at him and he shrugged. “What? It’s true. No need to coddle the boy. Two is still plenty. I assumed he’ll be giving at least one position to his wife, and we can consider Chelsea as one of the other five.”
My sister shook her head. “Nope,” she said firmly. “None of those positions suits me. I don’t want a job just to ride my brother’s coattails, thanks. I can make my own way. But I think the Master of Challenge should be either Abel or Bethy.”
“Bethy,” my wife said firmly. “A connection to Lark in an official capacity would be huge, and she’s the scariest C-ranker we know. In terms of pure combat potential, the only one close to her is Abel, and he doesn’t have the same political advantages. As for the other one…Crell. You should pick Crell as your Master of either Treaties or Ceremonies.”
I didn’t like that, and I could tell she didn’t either…but I also knew she was right. Crell was one of the most devious people I’d ever met. He could talk anyone in circles, and always had a plan or an angle. Given that skillset…”Treaties,” I decided. “I’ll extend Crell an invitation to be my Master of Treaties. Him being B-rank won’t be an issue, will it?”
“Unlikely,” my dad assured me. “He only recently ranked up. He’s still close enough to you that it shouldn’t be an issue.” He gave me a reassuring smile. “For what it’s worth, those are good choices. The ones I’d have made myself.”
I nodded my thanks, but then glanced at Callie and Chelsea. To my surprise neither looked unhappy. I knew Callie had wanted to be part of my cabinet, I could feel it, but she knew it was only smart to do what was best for my position. Plus, I think she was secretly relieved not to have too much more responsibility. She was already dealing with a lot.
“Alright, we’ll that’s two down,” I said wryly. “Now we just have five to go. You mentioned some suggestions? Because I get the impression most of them are people I don’t know.” Or people I wouldn’t like. But I left that unsaid. No need to be rude where anyone could hear. That’s what the privacy of my own head was for.
Comments
LadyLark
Zeke should be the Master of Secrets, honestly but I guess he’s too high up for that position.
