Bane of Gnosis: Chapter 1 – Inheriting Greatness

Chapter 1 – Inheriting Greatness

While King Scitus fights against a dictator with the control over the world hanging in the balance, his son, Prince Bane, is attempting to steal books from the royal library with two other nobles. They almost get caught by some of the librarians and duck into one of the many secret corners to avoid detection.

“I swear you’re going to get us caught one of these days, Bane,” one of the nobles say.

“I doubt it. We know all the nooks and crannies to hide in and they haven’t caught us in the years that we’ve been doing this,” Bane says as they move through the tight spaces between the bookshelves.

“Our luck might run out soon if we keep it up.”

“Have a little faith.”

“In you? That’s a tall order.”

“Is it now? I’ve been delivering on my promises and getting you and yours what you want, right?”

“Right…” both nobles agree.

“Then you have no reason to worry even if we get caught. We’re close to the book that I want. Let’s do what we do best.”

The nobles create noises behind certain bookshelves to attract the attention of the librarians while Bane ascends a tall ladder to get the book that he wants. When he gets it, he can’t help but open it a read it a bit before he hears someone coming his way. He then sneaks back to where he and the two nobles meet up.

“Do you see what I told you? Easy peasy,” Bane says.

“Where is Prince Bane at?” his teacher says to a librarian.

“I don’t know. Probably around here taking books from the library like usual,” the librarian answers.

“I’ll check to see if he’s back in his room. If you see him, tell him to go back to his studies immediately or else.”

Hearing this, Bane says to the nobles, “I have to hurry back!”

“What about our payment?” one of the nobles say.

“You’ll get it later. I never leave a debt unpaid, do I?”

“Uck, fine.”

Bane rushes back to his room while avoiding the attention of everyone, and when his teacher gets to his room, she sees that he’s doing his studies like he’s supposed to be doing.

“Is something the matter?” Bane smugly asks his teacher with an expression to match his tone.

“Where did you go? You’re supposed to be here studying,” the teacher says.

“I was just taking a little breather. It’s important to take breaks after all.”

“You seem to take longer breaks than needed and fantasy books from the library happen to disappear on the days that you take your long breaks.”

“Fantasy is a popular genre. It’s no wonder that it is because of how much my father likes reading them and using them as inspiration for the style of his banners, decorations, and speeches.”

“I know that you like reading them because he isn’t here to read them to you, but-”

“I don’t care that he isn’t here. He’s always off doing things to save the world from whatever tyrants are out there, so it doesn’t matter to me because he’s doing more important things.”

A messenger comes barging in with news that’s already made its way throughout the entire world.

He says, “I have urgent news! King Scitus has slain the dictator at the cost of his life.”

“So? Father was always risking his life to save others, so his luck would run out eventually,” Bane dismissively asks.

“Bane!” the teacher says.

“So, Prince Bane, you must take your father’s throne at his request,” the messenger says.

“This was his request?”

“Yes, it says so on his living will, which he wrote in case he didn’t make it back.”

“Then let’s get the crowning ceremony over with. I’m sure my father would want me to get to work as soon as possible.”

“But your studies!”

“My father’s dying wish is for me to be king and a king doesn’t sit around and study especially when there’s so much more to do, am I right?”

“…you are, Prince Bane.”

“That’s King Bane to you. Have the maids make new kingly robes for me and have the throne room decorated in the style that I want.”

“Yes, King Bane.”

A crowning ceremony is done the next day. After the crowning, Bane gives a speech.

“I am glad that you’ve all come to my crowning ceremony to show your support. With my father’s passing, an age of tyranny also passes, but we shouldn’t be mourning. We should be celebrating. Thanks to my father, the territories and resources of the tyrant are ours, and I will be putting them to use effective immediately starting with our own kingdom. Our new age will be of peace and prosperity so our industries of art, labor, and statecraft will increase while our production, research, and army will have to deal with a decrease in funding.”

Bane’s older brother slams the table as he stands up.

He says, “That’s absurd! Father treated all industries equally! It’s what separates us from the other kingdoms. There’s no reason why you should prioritize some over the others.”

“Would you like our allies to see that we’re building up our armies rather than putting more effort into repairing the damage done by the tyrant? It’s true that all industries of knowledge are equal, but some forms of knowledge are better for certain situations. For example, you don’t hire a farmer to do a king’s job nor would you hire a story writer to run a bakery. New times require new solutions, don’t you agree?”

“Hardly.”

“Then consider this. We will be rewarding the hardest workers while taking away from the worst. Inspectors will reward more generously so even if a particular industry isn’t prioritized, they will still acquire more than an adequate reward for their work.”

“I still don’t agree with your decision. This isn’t a meritocracy.”

“And yet, certain fields of knowledge are valued so much that entire kingdoms are based around it and the most knowledgeable are rewarded more than the least. Even father valued the arts and statecraft above all when he needed to gain allies and supporters. This isn’t something that you can make change my mind on, brother. The king’s decree is absolute.”

Later in the celebration, Bane’s brother takes him aside and says, “I hope father was right to put you in charge, brother.”

“Don’t worry about me. I know what I’m doing.”

Within a few days of Bane’s new policies, he sees his people’s unrest at his decisions with protests happening outside his castle. The leader of these protests steps on a stage so Bane can clearly hear and see him from his balcony that isn’t too far from where he is. He silences the crowd before speaking.

“King Bane, I humbly ask that you debate us in the same way that your father once did to settle serious matters between people,” the leader says.

“Those debates happened between the nobles and the commonfolk, not the king and everyone below him,” Bane responds.

“Even then, the king still listened to those below him for advice and the daily lives of his people. Why won’t you do the same?”

“He listened only to his most trusted advisors, and I am doing the same.”

“You listen to the people in your own echo chamber.”

“We all listen to people that we can agree with and push away the ones that disagree with us, and I know for a fact that you do the same because everyone’s work is inspected and judged by the same high standards that my father had. If you want what you were earning before, then ask yourself what you can do for your kingdom rather than what we can do for you and you will be rewarded accordingly. I’ve been waiting these past three days to see if you will listen to me and you’ve returned my attention with rebellion. Continue to protest and put the kingdom in a state of unrest and the only reward that you will be getting is a jail cell.”

Bane walks away from the rowdy crowd and orders his guards to arrest those who don’t walk away. He then goes to his carriage that’s been waiting for him along with his older brother.

“The capital along with the rest of the kingdom isn’t going to take kindly to what you said,” his brother says.

“The ones that support me won’t have a problem with my words and I’m sure I have the majority in my favor.”

“You need someone to calm them down and remind them that you have their best interests at heart if it’s true.”

“That’s why I’m trusting you to do that here.”

“Are you sure that you can manage relations with the other kingdoms without my help and the help of the rest of the family?”

“I wouldn’t make this decision if I wasn’t. Try to keep the castle in one piece while I’m gone.”

Bane leaves on his carriage and as his carriage makes its way through the streets, he is showered both with praise and scorn by his people, but all he hears is the praises as he thinks that he’s doing the right thing.

“This is just like in the books, but my story entirely happens as a happy ending,” Bane says to himself.