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Given all that Queen Helen had said previously when Hector first broached the subject with her, it was clear that she wouldn’t be terribly pleased by this news of their expansion. She had, in essence, expressed concern that his bank might grow too powerful too quickly, and while Hector found that understandable from her perspective, he also knew that he had to do what was right by the people that were depending on him.

And if they didn’t expand into Lorent soon, then it wouldn’t be a matter of simply “slowing” the Bank’s growth. The Bank would begin to stagnate and even lose money, thanks to Atreyan regulations.

Or at least, that was his understanding of the situation. He did worry that perhaps these veteran bankers who were advising him were pulling the wool over his eyes, trying to make the situation seem more dire than it truly was so that he would be more agreeable about the expansion, but as far as he’d been able to tell, they were all being straight with him. He’d read the regulations himself. Learned about why they were implemented. And he’d consulted with several reapers and Rainlords who were knowledgeable about finances and politics.

This needed to be done. He was convinced. Even if it made the Queen unhappy with him.

The more time went on, the more Hector began to wonder what would happen if he and the Queen ever had a true falling out with one another. He felt like his relationship with her was probably the most important one that he had, politically speaking. And after all she’d been through, all she’d done for him, he hated the idea of allowing things to break down between them.

Was there something he could do to help ensure that they remained on good terms? There must’ve been, right? Yeah, of course there was. He just had to think about it.

He could feel a few ancient memories from the Candle bubbling up, wanting to assert their relevance to his current line of thinking.

Hmm.

A kingdom in decline. A class of warriors raised to nobility generations ago, now being disrespected daily in the king’s court. Soon, the king himself begins to chip away at their political power, little by little. Near a decade transpires, and they are a shadow of their former glory, figureheads at best. Talk of civil war has been bandied about for years, and it finally becomes more than just talk, but it is far too late. They have not the influence nor the resources to succeed, and in the end, they are all beheaded.

But the war still cripples the kingdom. Makes it even more vulnerable than it already was. And another war soon breaks out as the neighboring king seeks to take advantage of the opportunity.

Conquest follows swiftly, and the kingdom in decline is a kingdom no longer.

Huh...

Well, that wasn’t very comforting. And perhaps a little biased. Maybe one of these other memories would be better.