"Are there any bids beyond 35,500 Sanc? No? Then this vessel now belongs to the gentleman in the violet jacket."

A short round of applause was raised for the victor of the latest round of bidding, the subject of which was a vessel on the smaller end of what was to be displayed today. The vessel was hauled away from the display window as a much larger ship was dragged into view.

"Bidding for this vessel will start at 35 thousand Sanc." The woman standing at the podium did not bother to elaborate on the specifics of the ship, only allowed to provide the minimum value the Sanctum was willing to accept for its sale. "As per the rules of previous vessels, bidding may only be performed at increments of 100, 500, and 1000. Bidding will begin in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . you may now place bids."

- - - - -

"How do those little wands work?" Diana watched a rapid flashing of lights from an elevated room at the back of the auditorium, the room belonging to the Holifanian delegation, with fascination. The thin strips of wood that the bidders competing on the floor below lit up whenever they wished to bid, their color indicating how much they wanted to increase the bid by.

"You mean the bidding sticks?" Montaug sipped his tea, waiting for the price to reach 60 grand before he took action. "You send a thread of Split through it with the intended bid in mind, and the corresponding color appears."

"I figured out that much. I was more interested in the mechanics behind them. As far as I can see, they don't allow two people to bid the same amount at a time."

"Ah, I see."

"It's a function of the Great Csillacra's Veil." Gawan was nibbling on some of the snacks the delegation had brought with them. "The Arboreal Maiden would have to give you the details, but those 'wands' are made from the Great Csillacra. Through the Veil, it is able to 'communicate' with them, recognizing which was activated at the highest value first and shutting off the light of those who were later or lower."

"I never asked, but I would imagine they utilize this as a fair and impartial method to determine who is bids the highest first. When the number of participants grows into the thousands, it is damn near impossible for a single person to keep track of everything." The Montaug provided his insight on the topic as well. "Auctions are one of the many ways the Sanctum distributes Split crystals, though I cannot say they are frequent affairs."

"Still, one or two auctions every year for a infinite amount of time is an infinite amount of auctions. Not that the Sanctum has been around for an infinite amount of time, of course."

"No, no, I understand what you meant." Diana wrote something down as the Montaug finally took action. "The Sanctum's been around so long we might as compare time to infinity. Donovan told me it was possible the Great Csillacra has been around since this universe began, though it doesn't make much of a difference at this point."

"And to imagine we weren't even here for the halfway point. . ."

"Don't our chronologists estimate we were introduced somewhere around the 93% mark?"

"Hm?"

"Oh, don't worry about it." The Montaug raised the wand once more. "A subset of our academics, a team of archaeologists, historians and anthropologists, are focused on determining where everything fits in the grand story of this universe. In the grand scheme of things we were introduced fairly late, however I cannot adequately express to you just how long ago that was. The Holifanian Theocracy is but a child in the eyes of the Sanctum."

"Which makes you an infant."

"Oh you flirt! The two of you certainly have a knack for making a girl feel young." Diana teased Gawan for his attempt at lightening the atmosphere. "Though I must say, this is certainly an interesting way of holding a silent auction. Honestly, the way you described it sounded very similar to an online auction but well . . . I've never actually done one of those."

"Online auction?"

"One of many forms of highest bidder commercialism our people devised." Diana reached towards the table to snag one of the fruits. "Unless your country adopts whatever mass interconnected communications system we devise within your lifetimes on a national scale, I don't think you'll have to worry about it."

"I see. . ."

"Eh? You don't want to know more?" Gawan seemed surprised at his mentor's apathy. 

"I have plans to die within the next ten years or so. I struggle to believe they could get something of that scale up and running within that period of time, so I will simply do as the lady has suggested and not worry about it."

"You're no fun." Diana kicked her feet out in front of her chair, imitating a petulant child as popped the fruit in her mouth. "I wanted to boast about my people's achievements and you just ignored them! Woe is me!"

The Montaug was so taken aback by this divergence from her usual composed temperament that he nearly forgot to place a bid.

"Hmph! That's the problem with you women. You can never just come out and say what you want, always hiding it within layers of assumptions and contradiction!"

"What has gotten into the two of you?"

"Nothing serious, we've simply decided we don't want to talk about the auction for hours upon hours on end." Gawan leaned back in his chair, resuming the distant personality that was to be his life some day.

"Only one of us is allowed to bid at a time, and it would be boring to spend the day watching boats get sold." Diana too returned to normal, abandoning the teasing air she had assumed moments prior. "Besides, I want to get my mind off of that damn tournament."

"Oh . . ." The Montaug hadn't considered that Donovan might be on her mind as well. The realm of love was not one he had any level of experience in, though he guessed it should have been obvious. Despite the closeness with which they worked at times, Diana was not of the Holifanian Theocracy. She was not subject to the same limitations, traditions, and practices as he and his peers were, in some ways she needed to operate in direct opposition to them. Diana was not to be his successor, but an ally to his nation. Sometimes he needed to be reminded of the difference between the two.

"Even though I know he'll be safe, my heart just can't handle the thought of him dancing with death so casually." Diana seemed liable to curl up into a ball at that moment. "Donny's working himself too hard, he knows he's working himself too hard, and yet he shows no signs of stopping. Every time I tell him to dial it back a bit, he ends up pushing even harder. I don't know what I should do about it."

"Is he really working that hard? I mean, unless he's practicing more than he lets on?"

"I'm not worried about his physical condition, as strange as that might sound. When it comes to the body he knows his limits so well I don't have the right to protest." Diana sighed. Obviously, that was a point of pain as well. "What I'm really concerned about is his mental state."

"He hardly seems like the type to break down."

"No, he isn't, and I'm not worried about his emotions. His mind is the concern here." Diana turned to see both men providing their full attention. Well, almost their full attention. The Montaug had to bid every now and again. "Donny seems to spend every moment of his life thinking, analyzing, strategizing. I'm sure you've noticed, haven't you?"

Gawan and the Montaug both took some time to recall their interactions with Donovan.

"He certainly isn't one I'd describe as absent minded."

"Which is the problem - he refuses to let his brain rest. Even when he is supposedly 'relaxing' I can tell that his attention is elsewhere."

"And that's an issue how?" Gawan didn't see the problem. "I would kill to have the privilege of working with someone like him all the time. That level of mental acuity is damn near impossible to come by."

"I think that's what she is referring to, Gawan." The Montaug raised the stick once more, bidding in increments of 100 now that everything had started to slow down. "If Donovan continues as he has thus far, that mental acuity may begin to fade. Is that correct?"

"Pretty much. He'd never show it, but he is far more stressed out than he lets on. He's been under so much pressure for so long that I'm pretty sure he thinks its normal."

Montaug once more raised the stick in his hand. With any luck, this would be the last time he needed to bid on this ship. "I understand where your concern is coming from, Diana, but you should keep in mind that any ruler worth their weight in salt is going to be under some level of stress. This may be one of those problems that is simply beyond your ability to control."

"If the stress only came from administrating an empire, I'd be able to accept it as a necessary evil."

"So you're saying it goes beyond that?"

"Strategist, Theorist, Engineer, Economist, Logistician, Tactician, Urban Planner, Supply Chain Analyst, Scientist - if he isn't actively working in one of those fields, then he is in the process of learning how, and that's the abbreviated list. I wouldn't be able to tell you which specific fields he is delving into or how much time he devotes to each. All I can say is that it isn't healthy."

"That-" Gawan almost wanted to call Diana's claim spurious, but he thought better of it. Gawan had no idea what Terran education entailed, but it was guaranteed to operate above what had as a comparison. "-certainly seems like a handful."

"Are there any bids beyond 82,900 Sanc? No? Then this vessel now belongs to the delegation from the Holifanian Theocracy." Their conversation was interrupted by the conclusion of the current bid. The final price was well above what Diana was anticipating based on Arc's auction models.

"If you could-" The Montaug coughed to clear his throat. "Could you be a dear and raise the final price to 83 thousand? The poor sod in charge of our finances would appreciate it."

"If that is what you wish." There was applause from the stands, but not as loud as that raised for others. The flaunting of wealth was the norm here, but the Holifanian Theocracy's coffers seemed endless. In what amounted to something like a competitive sport, it didn't seem fair that somebody would ask to pay an appreciable sum in order to avoid a miniscule amount of work. 

"Bidding for this vessel will start at 18 thousand Sanc." Already another vessel had been pulled out, this one was a target Diana had given to Rize and Morizo. "As per the rules of previous vessels, bidding may only be performed at increments of 100, 500, and 1000. Bidding will begin in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . you may now place bids."

Diana marveled at the monotony with which the auctioneer could speak. Save for the starting price of each vessel and the sort of tutorial introduced alongside the first item, the spiel was the exact same. 

"The bids are trending higher than I had anticipated." Diana was a little bit frustrated by this, but she dispersed it with a sigh. "I guess that's the price of incomplete market data." There was no helping it. Without so much as a half-baked understanding of the market, the specific valuation of items was next to impossible.

"Unfortunate, but there is nothing to be done about it. We came here understanding that any ships secured are mere bonuses, not intended to be the bulk of our transportation capacity."

"I know that. Realizing my expectations are going to be left unmet is not a good feeling though."

"A feeling I can assure will return many times in the future." The Montaug grabbed a cheese cube from the board. "To lead is to live in the realm of uncertainty. Even when in complete control of one's self and subordinates, the machinations of enemy, ally, and the universe itself have an awful tendency to get in the way."

"Is what I'm doing really leading though?" Diana looked down at her papers, checking the anticipated price of this ship.

"You have done more leading in the past few hours than some will do in their entire lives." The Montaug adjusted the collar of his shirt. "Now if you would like to return to our prior conversation, I must admit I do have at least some interest in this communications system you mentioned."