The bell ringing wound down and Kerek could feel a metaphysical switch manifest in his head.

  Everyone saw it differently, for him, it was a metal lever of humble make beckoning him to push it down and so he did.

  When he opened his eyes again he was still standing on a plain.

  Yet, that was where the similarities ended.

  A look upwards revealed a drastic deviation from the typical sphere of gray. The sky shone with an unrealistic light blue that made sense only in the context of a mental space.

  That was not the end of the absurdity. Gray floating shapes covered the light blue sky.

  Clouds were their name and one could find about anything in them with enough imagination. Sometimes they reminded him of monsters and other times of everyday farm animals.

  Last time he saw a book lazily floating up there. Then its image started to warp. Eventually, it looked more like a wardrobe but with funky proportions.

  This was what true magic looked like, the sky was the limit. Well, not exactly, not even the sky was the limit corrected himself Kerek with a chuckle.

  The plain was not empty.

  Countless amphitheaters dotted the land and he, the same as everyone else, was seated in one of them.

  They obeyed the standard design: made of stone and circular in shape. Each row of seats was higher than the previous one and in the middle of it stood a marble podium.

  Thanks to this seating arrangement every citizen could hear and see the speakers clearly.

  One amphitheater would be picked at random. That’s where the counselors would make their proposals.

  To all the other places mana copies of the speakers would appear on their podiums. They were so lifelike that without knowing you'd mistake them for real people.

  This space was not bound by conventional rules. Which was a big benefit as a thought was enough to teleport to your desired destination.

  With everyone ready, the first projection appeared.

  Adam was an old man pushing his sixties, his balding head adorned with two curled horns.

  He stood hunched at barely 5 feet tall. His attire, while not rugged, was practical and far from new. The clothes of a craftsman and he had the hands to match them, calloused and rough.

  That was the visage of one of the most popular politicians and the current Speaker. An elected function, somewhere between a moderator and a ceremonial representative.

  “Dear colleagues, it is an honor to welcome you to this week's Ekklesia. Yet before we start I wish to remind us of a fact that we can't forget."

  "To govern ourselves is a privilege our ancestors bought with their blood and tears. It was them who bravely fought off their oppressors and carved a place in the world that they could call home."

  "Now two hundred years later their home is prospering like never before!" he said with fervor in his eyes.

  "Let us rejoice at our good fortune," he finished more calmly.

  His eyes went around the amphitheater verifying that the audience understood his seriousness. His gaze carried a solemn weight.

  "However, it is not luck that made it possible. I thank the ancestors!" bellowed Adam.

  “I thank the ancestors!” answered the citizens.

  "I thank the Tree!" he continued.

  "I thank the Tree!" they shouted

  back, Kerek being no exception.

  “Of the 50 councilors one has gotten injured during a scouting mission. There will thus be only 49 new agenda items today."

  "After we finish those we'll hold the second readings of yet-to-be-accepted bills. Then we will draw lots for next week's counselors, followed by a few educational speeches,” Adam informed them

  “Let the Ekklesia begin!" he announced and started introducing the first counselor.

  "Matthew Brown proposes the creation of a Temporary Investigation Unit. He has noticed a possible case of misappropriation of city funds.”

  A different person appeared as the Speaker faded away: a tall, lanky human with stubble covering his face.

  “It’s nice to meet you, my name is Matthew and I work as a construction worker. There is a restoration project of the cobble buildings in the Corner Street and …”

  Matthew went on for another five minutes. But, by then it was clear that something might be amiss

  The project was progressing slowly and the site often went days without anyone working on it.

  When Matthew noticed that, he shared his suspicions with a friend. She double-checked the company's accounting and found many potentially incriminating entries.

  Kerek could focus perfectly and feel the time fly by much faster than usual. That was the beauty of these gatherings.

  It wouldn’t be possible to go through 10 agenda items outside, you could forget about fifty.

  Here? Every person felt the world move at a pace comfortable to them.

  If there was an agenda item you couldn’t be bothered with, it was over in a few blinks for you. Others could’ve been debating about it for hours, and somehow that all happened at the same time.

  To tell the truth, he didn't understand how that worked.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  That made sense. The last time that he opened a magical textbook was years ago, and only because he had to learn for his final exams.

  He had passed them, but he wouldn't be becoming a wizard any time soon.

  When Matthew finished his spiel many people raised their hands. Showing their desire to react.

  Even in Kerek’s circle, there were a few. They promptly disappeared, teleported to the chosen amphitheater.

  Nothing happened for a second. Then their projections started appearing on the podium one after the other.

  Each got two minutes of subjective time. They mostly used it to either question Matthew or add their perspective.

  Some accused him of overreacting. Others thought he was meddling in an area under the competence of the Executive Committee.

  Which as far as Kerek understood was not the truth.

  The Committee took care of the day-to-day operation of the city. Even so, the Ekklesia had the right to initiate investigations.

  He found it reasonable. People should have some degree of oversight over their own tax money.

  It seemed that most saw it the same way. Except for a minority they voiced concerns about the possible misappropriation. Some were even eyewitnesses of the tardy project themselves.

  Matthew was called upon often to give more details and corroborate his story.

  As well as to distribute copies of all suspicious documents. That was made easy by the immaterial nature of their location.

  Kerek was persuaded that there was a reasonable suspicion at play. He thought that forming a temporary investigation squad was the correct choice.

  Or they could pass the information to the police. That was an option too, not a very practical one though.

  Korgadar was not big enough to warrant a big police presence. That left them either quite free or very busy depending on how hectic of a period the city was going through.

  There also weren't that many dedicated corruption investigators in the police force.

  Not to mention that the perpetrators would get an opportunity to cover their tracks. The police would need some time to start investigating after all.

  So, instead, if the proposal went through then an investigation would start immediately. Meaning before the Ekklesia even ended.

  All suspects who were participating would be detained for 24 hours. A search for the ones left in the city would start right after the gatherings end.

  Then the Temporary Investigation Unit would call on the city's accountants and lawyers. The professionals would go through the documents while the investigators visited the site.

  It was a swift and efficient process.

  The discussion was starting to go in circles. Further questions didn't seem to be constructive either. Matthew was instead bombarded with variations of previous ones.

  So, that’s when the Speaker jumped in and pronounced the agenda item well debated.

  A marble appeared in the palm of everyone’s hand and a voting urn materialized itself on the podium. There were two tubes leading from the urn, one left and one right. Both led to two smaller urns.

  The marble was an artifact made from golem ore, a material malleable to mental instructions.

  It would obey three distinct ones. You could wish for it to destroy itself, move left, or move right.

  It was currently in an inert state and would do nothing. Yet as soon as the activation spell got cast all would come awake and follow the imbued instructions.

  A line formed and the people put the marbles inside the urn one after the other. Kerek stood up and joined the line.

  When everyone placed theirs in whoever wanted could check for tempering. Many paranoid wizards did.

  The voting committee made of bureaucrats, journalists, and volunteers counted the marbles.

  They verified that their number matched the number of voters.

  Then the committee members placed themselves around the urn and started chanting.

  Some of the marbles instantly exploded while others moved to their respective urns.

  “317 in favor, 161 against, 23 have abstained” declared the committee after a few minutes of counting. Or what he thought was a few minutes of counting, for him it was over in a blink.

  When he focused again they already had their result. “65 433 in favor, 21 299 against, 2355 have abstained. The proposal passed” declared Adam.

  Many cheered, while others clapped politely. It surprised him that so few people abstained from voting. Not everyone was interested in everything, so it was usually more people than that.

  The rest of the Ekklesia continued in a similar spirit. Though most proposals were much less impactful.

  Most of them were introductions of law tweaks or new regulations. This meant that they would only be voted on next week.

  With the new proposals finished the second readings started.

  The minimum pay for apprentices increased. Requesting a building permit was simplified.

  The recurring proposal to sink the participation age for Ekklesia didn’t go through. It was a core change and those required three-fifths of votes.

  The proposals continued in a similar light except for a single outlier.

  Last gathering a faction member of the Crown made an extensive core change proposal.

  It would change the city’s political system into a hereditary monarchy. Reinstating a descendant of the Blood Prince to the throne.

  The second reading of it was promptly shot down with an overwhelming majority of votes.

  However, the fact that the idea found more than three thousand supporters was surprising. On that worrying note, the second readings ended and came the time to draw lots.

  The Speaker encouraged everyone interested to throw a paper with their name into the now-empty voting urn. Fifty of these would be drawn to become the next wave of counselors.

  The content of the urns teleported itself to the chosen amphitheater.

  There a comically big hat stood, now filled with papers. From it, a wizard with a randomization spell drew the lots under the watchful gaze of a committee.

  Shortly after, the picked joined Adam. He handed out a medallion to each of them. They had a depiction of Korgadar on the front side and the Tree painted on its back.

  Those symbolized their status as counselors.

  Now that the most important part was over some people promptly left. Most stayed, happy to listen to the speeches.

  The researchers from the College of Arcane Arts introduced a new cultivation method. It would help people with the Narrow syndrome to widen their mana channels.

  They would still progress slower but most of their symptoms would be cured.

  Kerek saw multiple people openly shedding tears. Unsurprisingly the announcement was met with thunderous applause.

  Next came an engineering corp from the Institute of Mechanization and Weaponry. They introduced a new type of war machine. A tank.

  It was based on historical references from the records of the Traveler. Deemed largely a legend in the past. However, the rapid progress of vehicle creation revived the idea.

  Then it was swiftly buried after the great car ban five years ago.

  The vehicles were too inefficient, dangerous, and loud to operate in the city. They also made foot traffic almost impossible.

  Too fragile to travel outside the city wall and too inconvenient to use inside.

  The idea of a car seemed to be destined for burial.

  Until A new alloy of enchanted metal revived the dream a year ago.

  Cheaper than the alternatives, sturdier than most monster scales, and light enough that making a vehicle out of it was feasible.

  That's what the people from IMW would make their prototype from.

  Kerek, the same as many other people saw the writing on the wall.

  This was not only about tanks. Now it was only a question of time before private companies released cars again.

  They might be banned in the city, but if they were fast and durable enough they’d be ideal for the long distances caravans had to travel.

  What would help too was the practical fact that wealthy merchants were the ideal clientele.

  All this together meant that cars might be a few months away from making a huge comeback.

  What an exciting time to be alive.

  Last came a group from Erwin’s University. The teachers wished their students good luck with mid-terms and departed the stage.

  It seemed that the University had no groundbreaking research to share today.

  Kerek clapped with the others while the final projections faded away. It was an anticlimactic end to an otherwise exciting event.

  One thought later he opened his eyes in the real world. He blinked blearily and got up from his sitting mat only for his stomach to grumble.

  It was difficult to say, but it must've been around the early afternoon. His mouth watered when he looked around and saw the endless expanse of food-covered tables.

  Perhaps the comprehensive buffet was the true reason why so many people attended.

  He imagined a group of friends zoning out through the whole gathering. Salivating at the thought of the awaited buffet.

  That made him laugh out loud as there was certainly someone like that going to the Ekklesias.

  Kerek headed to the closest table with a spring in his step. It was time to enjoy the provided catering.