The Curia
Eighty Years Ago
It was good to be home, Sirene thought to herself as walked through the gates of Valenca. Well, as much as a place that wasn't Isca could be home, that is. She'd been away from the Court for nearly a century, and she knew that meant a bunch of fights and surprises when she arrived, but she was a bit curious to find the main entrance deserted. Where was the guard?
"Had they forgotten how to even use this entrance?" Sirene asked out loud as she looked around the empty square. "No matter, they'll be even more surprised when the vaults energise."
Sirene walked around the square for some time, tapping stones. Eventually, she returned to the centre, and chuckled before hitting the stone in the centre.
"Won't they be surprised." She whispered, as the ground rumbled, before giving way entirely and dropping Sirene down into the Shadow Court.
Dropping into the main entrance chamber of the Court, Sirene's cloak immediately turned black, and then became covered with drawings of books, to remove any doubt that she was the Conservator of the Court. Snapping her fingers, every magical source of light in the chamber turned on immediately, and she opened the door into the main library.
Inside it was chaos, with Court members running around everywhere, trying to figure out why some of the oldest magical systems in the Court were now active in response to Sirene's arrival. Sirene just laughed as they ignored her, and she walked around inspecting her library, making sure the books were unharmed. Once that was done, she started to head for the meeting hall, but a man stopped her.
"Hey, where are you going?" He demanded. "There's a lot of work to be done!"
"That's Conservator to you." Sirene replied icily. No matter how she felt about it, rules were rules and the leaders of the Court had to be addressed with respect.
"Fuck off the Conservator doesn't exist! Now quit screwing around and help me." The man said, dismissing her.
"Umbra Curia, sera!" Sirene shouted, and the library roared to life. She always did love this part, she thought to herself.
The many members of the Court inside the library started yelping with surprise as doors slammed shut, and staircases turned into slides. The walkways on the upper levels began to tip, and within a few seconds, all of those who were within the library were now in front of Sirene, some of them groaning after having fallen from large heights, their falls made non-lethal by the effects of the Curia's magics. Bookcases turned around as long dormant Dwarven golems clicked and whirred, making themselves known with loud thumps.
"Custodio!" Sirene shouted, and two smaller golems leapt down from the upper levels and landed by her side. "Magus et Imperator ad me adducite!"
The crowd in front of her clamoured and shouted, demanding to know what was going on. Some were accusing her of plotting a coup, of invading the Court, and all sorts of other crimes. But then, a man in the crowd recognised her cloak.
"It's her!" He shouted. "It's the Conservator!"
"The Conservator isn't real! She's just a myth!" A woman yelled back at him.
"Conservator, the position of Magus is currently open." One of the golems said to Sirene, causing her to raise an eyebrow.
"The position of Magus is never open. By Court law, it must be filled immediately upon resignation or death." Sirene said, crossing her arms, and ignoring the argument and shouting from the crowd. "Where's the Imperator?"
At that moment, a golem could be seen dragging an orc by the scruff of his neck across the carpeted floor of the library, much to the orc's protests.
"Unhand me you thrice-damned golem!" He shouted. "Don't you recognise me I'm the damned Imperator!"
"Sorry Imperator, but the golems only answer to the Conservator." Sirene shouted with a playful smile. "Now then, let's deal with all these primitive fires, shall we?"
Sirene snapped her fingers, and all the lit candles in the library blew out in an instant, briefly plunging the library into darkness, before the ceiling turned blue and the brightness of the day above ground presented itself in the underground. Turning to look at the Imperator, she winked.
"They didn't even tell you how to work the ceiling?" She asked, pointing up, when the Imperator shook his head, Sirene sighed. "I've been gone for too long, I can't let this happen again. Alright you lot, listen up!"
The clamouring and shouting from the crowd began to die away as Sirene's booming voice startled them. Her face was still hidden by her hood and only her mouth was visible, so they had no idea who she even was. Once they were finally silent, she grinned before speaking, thinking of how they would react.
"I am the Conservator of the Umbra Curia! I am the 3rd Conservator the Umbra Curia has ever had! I have held this position since the time of your great-great-grandparents! No matter how much you argue with me it matters not, for the Umbra Curia itself recognises the last citizen of the Rozen Republica!" Sirene shouted, before pulling down her hood, revealing the unmistakable face of the Hero of Karand, Sirene Ignitis. "On to my second question, why is the position of Magus unfilled?"
The crowd was silent for a moment, before it erupted into shouting and screaming at the reveal of Sirene's face. Crossing her arms and smiling, Sirene waited for the crowd to simmer down, before nudging the Imperator with her foot.
"We can't find him." The orc said, shaking his head. "The magic of the Curia rejects everyone we nominate."
"Interesting. I love a mystery. Anybody who has been nominated as Magus may leave." Sirene said, snapping her fingers again, and the library returned to its previous configuration, stairs and walkways transforming back to normal.
To Sirene's surprise, nearly all of the members of the Court filed out, some giving her suspicious looks but not voicing any concerns. The Imperator recognised her as Conservator, so the matter was considered settled. A large group of nearly 100 was now a group of just 6, including herself and the Imperator.
"You tried that many?" Sirene asked, looking over at the Imperator and raising an eyebrow.
"We ran out of ideas after the first ten, so we just tried nominating anyone." The Imperator said with a shrug.
"Pity, you were so close. You there, tabaxi, what's your name?" Sirene asked, pointing at a gray furred tabaxi. "You're the perfect fit."
"M-Me? I don't even know any magic!" He stuttered.
"Rrrrrreeeeaaaalllllyyyyy?" Sirene asked, a large smile on her face. "You're a quadruple mage at least. So what's your name, young man?"
"Natsuki's a quadruple mage? Fuck off he's useless!" The Imperator laughed.
"Watch and learn. Come on Natsuki, you too Imperator." Sirene said, gesturing for the group to follow her to the meeting room.
"Why does the Shadow Court feel so much more... alive with you here?" Natsuki asked as he matched pace with Sirene, the two smaller golems in lockstep beside her. "We've never even met anyone who's even heard of these golems."
"The Umbra Curia recognises Miss Sirene Ignitis, the final citizen of the Rozen Republica." One of the golems said in its metallic voice. "Many systems are locked out if Miss Ignitis does not regularly return to approve their usage.