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"So this was why King Martinus was resistant to your manipulation?" said King William. "You wanted to change something in him that was too old?"

'I... suspect that was the reason, yes, but I do not know for certain.' Hanton ruffled his feathers. 'That was the first time I had ever attempted to influence him telepathically. All throughout our childhood, I never once tried it. He was my friend. Even if he would never find out about it, I still felt that doing that to him would have been a betrayal.'

William held his one hand up to his chin, thinking. "Then are you saying that there could have been a different reason why he resisted you?"

'Well, yes. Some people are simply resistant by nature. Or even... immune.' He eyed Hector again. 'I know not why.'

He didn't know? Hmm. Hector considered that morsel of information a bit further. During that first encounter with Hanton, Hector had gotten the impression that it was his ability to think in parallel thought processes that allowed him to ignore the Sparrow's attempts to freeze his mind, but considering what Hanton had just said, Hector couldn't imagine that the blessing of Focus was particularly common. He'd be surprised if someone had even heard of it, much less possessed it.

Hector had to ask. "How many people have you met who were immune to your telepathy?"

'Including you? Only four.'

Hector tried not to seem so surprised, but it was difficult. "Over the course of your entire life?"

'Yes. People who are merely resistant are less rare. Regardless, cautionary tales regarding such individuals have been passed down through my family's generations. It is a foolish Sparrow indeed who disregards that possibility and instead tries to solve every problem with such an invasive method. One might even argue that it was precisely such carelessness that caused the downfall of my ancestors.'

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That was... actually kind of a relief to hear, Hector felt. The Lord Gaolanet's powers were terrifying enough already. It was nice to know that he had his limitations.

"Could you elaborate on this 'art' of mental manipulation?" said King William. "What difficulties did you run into, specifically?"

Hanton took a moment to think. 'If I am being perfectly honest with you, Your Highness, I would rather not share that information with anyone. I believe I am already taking quite a large risk in telling you as much as I am.'

"I understand that concern," said the King with a nod and a brief glance at Hector, "but I feel that I must press you on this, nonetheless, Lord Gaolanet. Amicable though this meeting may be, we are still in the nascent stages of building trust between us. Sharing sensitive information such as that would go a long way toward improving our relationship, I think."

Hanton was briefly quiet again, and his eyes returned to Hector. 'And do you feel that way as well, Lord Goffe?'

"...Yeah, I do," said Hector. "Your abilities are quite... frightening to the imagination. A better understanding of how they work might dispel some of the unease about them." Or it could make them worse, Hector thought, though, he kept that to himself.

Hanton sighed. 'Very well, then... Where to begin?' He took another pause for deliberation. 'Generally speaking, the older a memory is, the more difficult it is to erase. When a memory--or any idea, really--has time to become entrenched in the mind, it invariably acquires emotional connections. This is what is commonly referred to as "sentimental attachment." Typically, that term is used to express an emotional connection to physical objects, but the concept is essentially the same. This persistence of ideas can make the task of mental manipulation prohibitively difficult, if not impossible.'

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"What did you do, exactly?" asked the King.

'In short? I redirected perceptions of his policies and ideals onto myself. Since I was already ousted from his inner circle, I could be safely regarded as an outlier whose opinion no longer held any power.'

"Yes, but how did you do that?"

'Oh, it was not easy. The endeavor consumed my life for several years. Following members of the royal court, tweaking their memories, their perceptions. It was a constant project, and it pushed me to the brink of exhaustion. I was sure that I had missed some, but if you really had no inkling as to Martinus' true views, then perhaps I did a better job than I thought.'

"You freely admit to tampering with the minds of your fellow lords?" said William.

'Do I "freely admit" it? You say that as if to accuse me of some crime. As far as I am aware, there are no laws in this nation regarding the erasure of memories or the use of telepathy.'

The King just returned a frown.

'Perhaps there should be,' said Hanton. 'I will leave that matter to Your Highness' wisdom.'

King William shook his head and sighed. "If the other lords knew of this..."

'It would be enormously problematic, yes.' Hanton's marbled eyes went briefly to Hector. 'But we are past the point of dancing around difficult truths, I feel. You must decide for yourselves whether my actions were unjust.'

Hector had some questions of his own, now. "Why didn't you just manipulate King Martinus' mind directly? Why go through so much trouble working on the people around him? And was it really necessary to take the flack for his views upon yourself? Why not just erase them entirely and avoid blaming anyone?"

'Mental manipulation is an imprecise art,' said Hanton. 'If it were as simple as you were making it out to be, then yes, I would have had a much easier time and been able to avoid many sleepless nights.'