Samudra's Journal

by vren55

Entry 81: Nostalgia

Kara’s progressing in her training and education very quickly and honestly, I… if… Well, if I was older, and if the times were more peaceful, I might have considered her a candidate for ascension to be Empress.

Why do I say that? Well, today, after months of interacting with only small groups of servants, with a disguised me on the side, just in case, I decided Kara should hold court.

Perhaps she didn’t do so well in directly impersonating me. I had seen so many courts in my lifetime that I must admit, there was a certain monotony that has set in. A boredom.

But with Kara leading court, she brought… I am not quite sure how to write this. A degree of freshness? It may have been her own nervousness, but she joked with the guards, tried to make the petitioners comfortable with some gentle questions and anecdotes, before hearing them out.

And she answered all the requests just like I would have. She was firm with those who would try to take advantage of the Empire’s generosity. She was kind with those who had no choice but to ask for our aid. She was also willing to ask her advisors when she herself could not recall the exact details of a situation, instead of making a mistake.

There was also a particularly difficult case that she dealt with very well.

There was a water dispute between two deep pony clans: The Nori and the Algae. A natural disaster - the eruption of an underwater volcano - had forced the Nori into the waters of the Algae. Issue being the food sources (fish, etc) of the Algae were also affected and they didn’t want to share.

Kara stepped in, and through promising some of the empire’s resources in food, but not too much, managed to negotiate a compromise, allowing for the Nori to stay in the Algae’s lands without any conflict breaking out.

And throughout the negotiations she conducted herself with a professionalism and calm that people half her age lack. Kind of like I did when I was her age.

… perhaps it would not do well for me to be nostalgic, but young talent is precious and something I wish I had more time to nurture.