The Duke of the Sapphire Coast looked around the room, his fear battling with his
bloated ego. He saw the doubt in the eyes of the other Lords. They were looking at
Jee-shahn's small stature, his messy hair, and the way he looked more interested in
the fruit platter than the crown of an empire.
"A vacation?" the Duke suddenly barked, a desperate, hysterical laugh bubbling up.
"You expect us to believe that the Great Monster, the Conqueror of the North, decided
to leave his two Empresses, his armies, and his thrones just to take a 'relaxation
vacation' in our forest? Without a single guard? Wearing robes that look like they
were stolen from a laundry basket?"He slammed his meaty fist onto the obsidian table. "It's a shame! Jasmine, you found
a boy with a silver tongue and a coincidence of hair color! He is a commoner playing
at being a God!"
Jee-shahn let out a sound that was half-yawn, half-groan. He looked up at the ceiling
of the Great Hall as if pleading with the heavens for a moment of peace. "You people
are so loud," he muttered. "I leave home specifically to get away from the 'Your
Majesty' this and the 'Emperor' that. I find a nice tree, I find a nice breeze, and then I
get dragged here to listen to a man who smells like old fish tell me who I am."
He turned his gaze back to the Duke, his eyes cold and flat. "I am on vacation. And the
first rule of my vacation is: No Noise. You, Duke, are currently the loudest thing in the
South."
"I'll show you noise!" the Duke roared. He signaled to his two personal
bodyguards—elite Lizardmen warriors clad in heavy, black-iron plate. "Grab him! Strip
those robes off this imposter and throw him into the deep trench! Let the Draco
ancestors see how an 'Emperor' swims!"
The two guards lunged forward, their massive footsteps vibrating the crystal floor.
Jasmine screamed, her staff glowing blue as she tried to step in, but Jee-shahn didn't
even move. He didn't stand up. He didn't even stop chewing the grape.
He simply snapped his fingers.
SNAP.
The sound wasn't loud, but the result was absolute. The two black-iron guards didn't
just stop; they were instantly folded into the floor. The crystal beneath them didn't
break—it was as if the space they occupied had suddenly become a thousand times
heavier than the air around them. Their armor crumpled like tin foil, and they were
pinned to the ground in a kneeling position, unable to move a single muscle, their
breath coming in shallow, terrified wheezes.
Jee-shahn looked at the Duke, who was now shaking so hard his gold-woven nets
were jingling.
"I'm on vacation," Jee-shahn repeated, his voice dropping to a terrifying whisper that
resonated through the water-walls. "If I have to snap my fingers a second time, I'm not
just going to quiet the guards. I'm going to quiet the entire coastline. Do you
understand, or should I start the 'relaxation' by making you a permanent part of this
floor?