Chapter 845: Five Rings

The transport kept descending, and for a while neither Trafalgar nor Rhosyn said much. The light outside had changed from blue to something darker, almost black in places, broken only by the lamps running along the vessel and the occasional glow of something moving far beyond the glass.

The pressure outside had to be monstrous by now, but inside there was barely anything beyond the low vibration beneath their feet. Rhosyn was the one who eventually broke the silence.

"So once we get there, what exactly happens first?"

Trafalgar looked away from the window. "Probably the boring part. They'll show us where we're staying, I'll contact the girls so they know we arrived safely, and then Lyren will explain the rules properly."

"You're expecting a lot of rules."

"I'm walking into another Great Family's succession as an outsider. If there aren't a lot of rules, I'll be more worried."

Rhosyn gave a small nod at that. "I understand why we're there. Lyren thinks someone may already be interfering with what should be happening inside Myrrhvale, and he needs someone from outside to figure out whether that's true."

"That's the important part." Trafalgar leaned back in his seat. "Right now, he has suspicion. Suspicion doesn't get you very far when the people you're accusing can start a war."

"And that's where we come in."

"More or less." Trafalgar shifted slightly in his seat. "Most of the attention is going to stay on me. I'm a Morgain, I'm one of the official observers, and everyone there is going to want to know who I'm speaking to, where I'm going, and whether I'm helping someone I shouldn't be helping."

Rhosyn's expression remained calm. "So while they watch you, I move."

"Yes. You're still an observer too, so don't do anything stupid enough to give them a reason to accuse us of interfering. But you'll have more room than I will. People are going to care a lot more about what Trafalgar du Morgain is doing than what the woman beside him is doing."

"That's usually how these things work."

"Good. Then use it." Trafalgar watched her turn her attention back toward the glass. Rhosyn stayed there for a moment before speaking again.

"And if we find what Lyren is looking for?"

Trafalgar folded his arms. "Then we give him something he can actually use. If someone's been moving behind the succession, especially if there's outside interference, proving it changes everything."

"It clears obstacles out of Nerith's way without making it look like another Great Family put her there," Rhosyn said.

"And once Myrrhvale has a proper head again, the Council can finally move." Trafalgar's voice turned more serious. "They've been stuck for some time because Myrrhvale has no head. Once someone takes that position, I'm almost certain a Council will be called sooner rather than later."

Rhosyn understood immediately. "And you need that."

"I really do. There are too many things waiting for a Council already, and most of them aren't getting any better while everyone sits around waiting."

A change outside caught Trafalgar's attention before the conversation could go any further. At first it looked like light spreading through the dark water, but as the transport continued descending, the shape began to come together.

Trafalgar leaned closer to the window. Far below and ahead of them sat Meraval, and even from this distance, the city was enormous.

Five vast circular rings spread beneath the ocean, each one built around the next and connected through thick enclosed tunnels. Lights ran along the structures in long lines, turning the whole place into something that looked less like a city and more like a machine built beneath the sea.

The outer ring was the widest. From this distance, Trafalgar could already see denser buildings packed closer together there, along with storage areas, workshops, maintenance structures, and large sections that looked built around keeping the city alive rather than making it beautiful.

The next ring was different, with broader streets, larger buildings, and far more docks and transport channels. Trafalgar remembered what Lyren had told him about the powers moving behind the succession.

The Tide had the fleet and the guard, while the Canal Houses controlled money, trade, and much of what moved through Meraval. It didn't take much effort to guess which part of the city both groups would care about most.

Rhosyn leaned toward the glass slightly. "You can already see the difference."

"Yeah. And it gets more obvious the closer you get to the centre."

The deeper rings became wealthier as they moved inward. Buildings spread farther apart, more open space appeared between them, and the architecture grew cleaner and far more elaborate, with private compounds, administrative structures, gardens enclosed beneath smaller domes, and waterways running between entire districts.

The tunnels connecting each ring were impossible to miss either. Every one of them had checkpoints, heavy gates, and guard posts positioned around the entrances.

Trafalgar's attention settled there longer than anywhere else. Rhosyn noticed almost immediately.

"You're counting them?"

"So are you." Trafalgar glanced at her before looking back outside, and Rhosyn didn't bother denying it.

Neither of them needed to explain why. If something went wrong inside Meraval, those tunnels would decide who could move from one ring to another and how quickly anyone could reach the centre.

The centre made everything else look small. A separate dome rose from the middle of the city, reinforced by thick supports that disappeared into the seabed, and inside stood the main Myrrhvale castle.

If castle was even the right word for something that size.

It was closer to a fortress district. Multiple towers climbed beneath the dome, connected by enclosed bridges and lower structures built around a huge central palace, while guard stations, courtyards, and entire wings spread across the rest of the complex.

"That's the castle?" Rhosyn asked.

"Has to be. Though calling that a castle feels a little generous to the word."

"It looks like half a city."

Trafalgar couldn't disagree. Lyren had mentioned that the main family lived there, but a place that size would need far more than blood relatives to keep it running.

Servants, guards, officials, healers, administrators, and workers responsible for food, maintenance, security, transport, and everything else required to keep a Great Family functioning would fill the place constantly. Two thousand people inside at any given time suddenly didn't sound unreasonable.

The door behind them opened before Trafalgar could keep studying it. Lyren stepped back into the cabin and followed their attention toward the window.

"I was wondering when you'd start seeing it properly."

Trafalgar looked at him. "You undersold the size."

"I usually do. It's easier than trying to explain Meraval to someone who's never seen it."

Rhosyn looked toward the central dome. "We're staying there?"

"Yes. The transport will take us directly into the lower entrance beneath the castle, so you won't need to cross the city today." Lyren moved closer to the window and pointed toward one of the reinforced structures beneath the central dome.

"Once we're inside, I'll show you where you're staying and explain the rules properly. The observer role sounds simple until you start dealing with all the details, and there are a few things I'd rather make clear before either of you starts moving around on your own."

Trafalgar turned from the city to him. "Anything I should worry about before we get there?"

Lyren gave him a measured look. "Just don't assume everyone is happy you're coming because you were invited. There are people inside Meraval who would've preferred this succession stayed entirely within Myrrhvale."

Trafalgar had expected as much. The transport changed angle beneath them as Meraval rose larger across the glass, the castle filling more and more of the view with every passing second.

Rhosyn remained beside the window, and Trafalgar stayed there with her as the vessel carried them toward the central dome. Soon enough, they would be inside.