Chapter 826 826 Change Comes To Everyone
Once breakfast was over, they were all back to business, but not all in a good mood. The Council Families were livid at the terms that had been forced upon them, while also trying to come to grips with the change in their power balance now that there was a Fae "Advisor" who was completely loyal to the Coven Leader and not under the influence of any of their factions.
They hadn't made a single misstep that they could see, but they had still lost big today, and the blow felt like a slap in the face. Even the Council Members, the cronies that they had carefully handpicked, had let the power get to their heads, and they had used their new authority to overrule the wills of their Families.
Even worse, they were being forced to sit through the presentation of an entire negotiation that they had no part in making, which didn't contain a single kickback, sweetheart project or no strings attached funding source for them.
But just when they thought that it couldn't get any worse, that damnable Magi brought out a pamphlet on the details of the new currency that everyone was using for international trade.
Their mana crystals had always been under the control of the Council Families. They determined how much wealth was floating around the city, and they could track it. Now, even that was being taken from them, and they couldn't even object, as it was in use by every other nation that they dealt with already.
Even the Sylvan Coven was using it, and they were liking it, from what the Priya woman had said.
A card, a crystal card, that not only held mana for transfer as currency, but that displayed the charge. They couldn't even get the markup that they charged every business in the city for the monthly maintenance on their crystal measuring devices anymore.
"Are there any other of our traditional business ventures you would like to shut down today? Perhaps you would like to take over as landlord of our properties? Or should I just empty my closets and turn over everything?" One of the Family Heads stood up and shouted as Wolfe finished answering questions about the mana storage cubes.
"Oh, she's snapped. This is going to be good." The Fae Advisor whispered, unnoticed by anyone but Reiko and Wolfe.
The woman continued to rant, screaming about how they were taking everything from her, while the other Family Heads watched in amusement. Their desperation and sense of hopelessness were fading as she made a fool of herself, but they still didn't see a future where they managed to keep the majority of their power.
They might be able to control most of the money, at least at the start, but they could no longer control the flow of new money. They couldn't silently authorize themselves to make a few hundred new mana crystals when they wanted something from the commoners, and they couldn't forge this new currency either.
But there were still things that they could make, and they owned most of the profitable businesses in the city. The fact that the Crime Families were here and so calm that they had to be scheming was the rock that anchored them and kept them sane through the witch's outburst.
Reiko just waited for the woman to finish, then tapped her knuckles on the table.
"Are you about finished?" She asked.
"You're going to kick off another rebellion with your grandstanding, little witch." The woman threatened.
"From what I can see, it is only the lingering corruption of a few Families that is causing a problem with this plan. Everyone else is on board. They still keep all their businesses, they can directly convert all their money, and only one rule has changed within the city.
The only thing my grandstanding is doing is opening opportunities and closing corrupt loopholes." Reiko informed the room in a dry tone that dared any of them to find a flaw in her logic.
The youngest of the Family Heads darted a cautious look around the room, assessing all of her competitors and the chances that she would be able to leverage her assets to grow into the new trade areas with Gormana.
"When will the new currency be ready?" She asked.
"It is already in use. I can have a shipment brought here in the next few hours, if you can spare me for that long." Wolfe informed them.
Everyone in the room assumed that meant that he had it under some sort of protective spell and needed to go get it himself, which was partially true, but mostly Wolfe was just planning to make a fresh batch to trade for the local currency.
"But if you don't need any coins, I can make empty cards and cubes right now, though I need to personally perform the conversion, as it is my aura that is attached to all the money, and any other will cause the coins to shatter or render the cards worthless." He suggested.
Reiko looked to her Council. "What do you think of a simple experiment? We could go completely cashless for anything larger than the credits we already use coins for. Just convert all the mana crystals in the city to the new cards and cubes, and use the existing coins for change until they are eliminated or replaced."
The youngest of the Council members shook her head. "It would just make things difficult for travellers. I think that it would be better if we just made a full switch to get on board with the continental currency as it is forming, and then worked to bring all the outlying villages on board.
Once the trade restrictions are gone, and we are all on the same currency and under the same basic rules, it will be much easier to sell them on the benefits of belonging to the Morgana Coven.
If we're going to split the city duties from the Council duties, and have proper ministers take care of the city, then it becomes our primary duty to see to the wellbeing of the Coven itself."
As expected, the younger generation was getting it more quickly. She was still too old to have gotten the full benefit of the changes, but it would be her children at home and not her grandchildren or great-grandchildren that were growing in power now and preparing to take over the reins.
Without the extra generation of separation from the changes, the urgency of the matter was much easier to see. Rank Two teenagers would not listen to or respect the leadership of women a century old and weaker than they were, unless it was in matters of wisdom, and not magic.
So, the best route for the Coven was a good Public Relations campaign.
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om