Indeed, the next phase of Daneel"s plan comprised of solidifying Eldra"s standing in the hearts of the citizens of the Kingdom of the Elves using the Voice of Eldinor.
In the domain of news, everything was about timing. As the events of the Grand Debate happened too abruptly, the three news organizations had to scramble in order to change the drafts already prepared that extolled about Queen Eldara"s resounding victory in the debate.
It was this time period which was used to great effect by Daneel. Newspapers had already been prepared and printed beforehand, making it so that they could be sold on the streets from the moment the Grand Debate ended.
Not all of the families who had lost their children had chosen to attend the debate. Some, like Ellie"s mother, hadn"t been able to come either due to poor health or due to giving up hope.
Thus, the Voice of Eldinor managed to garner tremendous support due to its hand in informing the parents whose children were waiting for them in the designated government office.
In fact, they had even been faster than the government itself, which later announced the same using a citywide communication trinket that was only used in emergencies.
Also, the fact that the three big news organizations had previously defamed the woman now being hailed as the "Saviour of the Elves" did not sit well with the general public.
These factors contributed to an all-time record high sales for the Voice of Eldinor.
Each and every newspaper also had an advertis.e.m.e.nt for the Network of Angaria, with the attractive headline that the first 100,000 people who came to the designated location would receive the communication trinkets for free.
Trinkets were the pa.s.sion and livelihood of almost all the Elves in Eldinor. Thus, due to the information about this offer spreading far and wide due to the success of the Voice of Eldinor, people flocked over to see exactly what this revolutionary network was about.
A single source for news from all over Central Angaria! This was so ground-breaking that many wondered if it was a hoax.
For decades, only the rich had been in possession of means to be informed about the world. The common folk had no choice but to depend on newspapers which themselves had limited resources, making it so that the rest of the world was still a mystery.
Thus, it wasn"t a surprise to see all 100,000 communication trinkets disappear by noon on the day after the Grand Debate.
Of course, each trinket was blood bound and the people were stipulated to return them if they were no longer in use.
In this way, the Network of Angaria penetrated Eldinor easily.
Afterward, stalls popped up everywhere which sold the trinkets for a very minimal cost; even cheaper than regular communication trinkets.
Of course, due to the beauty of the a.s.sembly line, this price still allowed Lanthanor to make a profit.
With steady sales and increasing interest, it seemed that Daneel"s venture would see no hitch in becoming a grand success.
....
Inside the Palace of Elfaven, in the Throne Room.
6 elves were currently sitting facing each other near the empty Throne which was waiting for its rightful owner to be decided from the elections that were barely 2 weeks away.
Poring over recording trinkets, each and every one of them had serious expressions on their faces as they pondered over something.
One elf, who had a brawny build when compared to the Elves" usual lithe frames, sighed before breaking the silence.
"Lanthanor. Could they be dabbling in the elections? What word do we have from our spies in their Kingdom?"
The one who answered was surprisingly the same elf who had acted as the announcer on the stage of the Grand Debate.
The brawny elf had actually been talking to himself, so he was slightly startled to see the most powerful one amongst them answer.
"Their King is in closed-door meditation, he hasn"t been seen in the past 3 weeks. Of course, that doesn"t mean that we can jump to conclusions that he is directly meddling in our Kingdom. However sly he is, I doubt he has the gall to leave the protection of their formation with that puny strength of his. That network, though, is intriguing. We don"t have any new details about the process with which they are pumping out communication trinkets as if they are just regular parchment?"
The one who answered was a female elf whose blond hair was cut short, giving emphasis to her earlobes which were sharp, forked blades.
"None. There are only two individuals with full knowledge of the working. The others only have parts which are useless, and it is impossible to obtain enough parts to get the entire technique. We are still trying, but there will be no developments in the short term."
With a disgruntled expression, the aged Warrior Level elf said, "I fear that the contestant who is currently leading in the polls might be collaborating with Lanthanor. Either we find proof of this, or we watch while a possible puppet ruler takes control of our beloved Kingdom. We cannot have a repeat of King Aldevor."
It was as if just the mention of this name sent a cold draft through the room which made the others s.h.i.+ver.
With a slightly shaking voice, a short Elf with a mess of red hair asked, "Is…is that possible? Won"t the oath taken by every ruler to serve the Kingdom and act for its benefit stop her, if that was the case?"
"Did the oath stop our previous Queen from engaging in slavery?!"
The response from the Warrior level Elf made the others tense, as if their throats were being constricted by invisible hands.
Thankfully, the feeling disappeared after a few moments as the aged Elf regained control of his emotions.
"The oath has too many loopholes. The previous Queen probably believed that by engaging in slavery, she can gain money which would allow her to be elected again, which would mean that Eldinor would be in capable hands that would result in its prosperity. Hence, the oath did not restrict her in any way. We. Need. Proof."
The last three words were said with three thumps as the aged elf brought his hand down on the arm of the chair which creaked as if it would break.
After a silence ensued during which the others seemed hesitant to speak, he sighed and decided to end the meeting, saying, "Keep looking. Thankfully, King Aldevor"s actions allowed us to instate the rule that one can be investigated for treason without their knowledge even if they are on the throne. Just find that proof, and I will take care of the rest."
After the others nodded, they left the throne room, leaving alone the aged elf who sat on his chair still thinking about the matters of the Kingdom.
As he did so, he couldn"t help but think back to the King who almost caused Eldinor"s ruin.
He had been an elf so charismatic that each word resonated with almost everyone who heard him, building him a following that opened the gates of the palace after standing just once in the elections.
Only, after taking the throne, he started implementing orders which ruined the economic status of Eldinor while benefiting a foreign nation.
Since antiquity, the democratic system had existed in Eldinor because of the individualistic nature of the elves. Yet, this man had been able to twist each thing he did; fooling the people in the process.
It was only after a year that mounting evidence and disgruntlement made it so that a by-law was invoked, launching an investigation into the King"s actions.
With clear proof surfacing of his connection with the enemy Kingdom, he was immediately deposed while the additional rule of const.i.tuting a committee which could look into a King/Queen"s actions without the ruler"s permission if there was at least a little evidence was added.
Sadly, the damage had already been done. During that one year itself, that King had made it so that the enemy nation took a leap forward in trinket trade that seemed almost insurmountable until just a few decades ago.
Even though many of the commanders had desired to attack that nation, Eldinor had refrained as attacking would only leave them vulnerable to others.
To this day, the name of that cunning enemy Kingdom was still cursed often by commanders who knew of this tale, which had been snuffed away in history due to the embarra.s.sment it brought to the Elves.
It was the Kingdom of Arafell.