The Unreached Duchy

Chapter 12

It was all as Senara had said it would be. They assembled in the Great Hall and then instructed by a human in the Trireme where to stand. The transformations for the Ancestral Races barely took a few moments and before Derketo knew it, it was his turn as he waited on his platform that was simply made of wood and stone with a ramp on either side.

King Hun with the high priest and high priestess ascended onto his platform that stood slightly higher than the one Derketo was standing on so the King was higher than his subjects. Once he was on his platform, King Hun raised his hands with what looked like a small crook in each hand causing the crowd to once again fall silent as they had for the previous two groups transforming. King Hun was a short man, maybe only five foot tall with olive colored skin, but he had eyes that were so blue and kind that it was no wonder to Derketo why the crowd loved him so much. Derketo decided that he would be proud to loyally serve such a beloved King.

King Hun speaking brought Derketo out of his fantasy and back to the reality that he was about to be transformed from a human to a Kabouter. The high priest and priestess were behind King Hun on the platform chanting the same incantations as they had for the previous two groups of transformations.

“With the powers granted to me by the good God Arausio and gracious Goddess Avesta, I do hereby declare you are transformed from human to a Kabouter. I also declare that you no longer are bound to the realm that sent you here and you are now bound to the great Kingdom of Makara! You are charged with carrying out your duties to the best of your ability and to defend this peaceful realm with all that you possess!!” With that heartfelt and emphatic declaration, King Hun lowered his hands towards Derketo, who had not taken his eyes off the gentle looking king the entire time. Derketo suddenly realized that the king seemed to be farther away and much higher than he was when the ceremony had started, then the thought hit him. He had been officially transformed into a Kabouter and was now only six inches tall!!

“Here is Derketo the Kabouter!! Let him be welcomed into Makara with open arms for he is also the newest Scribe in the Royal Courts in Thargelion!” King Hun cried above the crowd’s cheers. Before King Hun descended all of the way off his platform to continue with the Transformation Ceremony, Derketo could not help but bow to his new King with a smile on his face. King Hun noticed and simply smiled at him in response.

Derketo saw why his platform had a ramp on both sides as he carefully walked down the ramp that was to his left and it was the most direct route to the waterway behind him to Senara who was waiting with Ade.

“Very well done!” Senara called over the row of the crowd. “Now we go back to the room you were in to collect the clothing and sandals that were placed there during the ceremony. I highly suggest you ride Ade, it’s quite a distance for a Kabouter.”

Derketo decided that being transformed into a Kabouter was the best decision he ever made, it was painless but it would take getting used to. Maimakterion also put on quite a show for Avesta at the Alaiceaus Festival. Being able to ride on Ade was pretty fun too now that Derketo was small enough.

Being only six inches tall did have some disadvantages since it was harder to notice Derketo, but Ade made sure that her owner was always noticed since having a Leontophone is not a common pet. Derketo decided to remain in Maimakterion after his Transformation Ceremony to partake in the rest of Alaiceaus Festival.

After the Transformation Ceremony, there was so much to experience now that Derketo was a Kabouter. There was so many places that only Kabouters knew about and could get to because they were small establishments, some places had a doorway smaller than a stone block and were only tall enough to accommodate Kabouters.

While strolling through one of the Kabouter markets looking for parchment scrolls, quills, and ink that he would need for his work as a Scribe in the Royal Court; Derketo couldn’t help but remember the last time he was shopping for Scribe supplies back in Dacia before his banishment.

Thinking about Thrace was something that Derketo had attempted to not do much over the last three months since his arrival in Makara. The main reason for that was Derketo did not want to be associated with an empire that was so crooked and corrupt with greed.

Derketo was a scribe in the Royal Court and worked with the tax collectors. There was one tax collector, Tanidela was the man’s name, which was crooked and would say people owed more than what the scrolls showed. Most of the people accused of having a debt were unable to pay, so they lost everything and sometimes were sold into s*****y to pay their debt. Derketo was sure that Tanidela got some sort of a percentage of the s*****y sales but was unable to prove it. Tanidela was also married to the Royal Proclaimer’s sister; if Tanidela wanted to do something, he simply did it and got away with it.