Evander could have felt irritation at Diogenes Blackwood for having thrown the vote off course, but he didn’t. Though inconvenient, the old man’s observation was a reasonable one - simply one that did not work in their favor. He also could have felt disappointment on Keion Blackwood 's behalf, but he didn’t feel that either. Keion’s particular skillset would always be a necessary one, so he ran no risk of fading into obscurity simply for want of a title. He accepted the applause with nothing more than a gentle, polite nod.

The whole atmosphere in the room shifted as Cyrus Parric started to speak again. The celebratory murmuring had been replaced by an apprehensive silence as if every family member was holding their breath. That breath was released in scattered gasps of surprise and exclamations of outrage as Cyrus arrived at his proposal. Though he still held command over the room, you could feel the unity of moments ago scattering as Blackwoods began to argue in hushed tones. If Evander was surprised, it wouldn’t show. As ever his emotions remained hidden behind a mask of calm. Evander returned his brother’s smile with a raised eyebrow and the slightest curl in his lip. Yes. Entertaining indeed.

“If I may,” Evander’s silky voice carried - admittedly with the aid of an enchantment - as he rose to his feet, “I too would be interested to hear more about this unique opportunity. But as we do, I urge you to consider whether it is wise to value justice for justice’s sake." Evander's eyes scanned the crowd, cold gaze making direct contact with more than a few Blackwoods. "Do you think the children of those responsible will thank us for distinguishing between the guilty and the innocent? All they will see is the blood on our hands, and they will want their revenge.” Evander glanced at Keion, eyes shining with what compassion a creature like him was capable of summoning.

“The Llewellyns were granted no mandate to govern. Should they remain it should be only for the opportunities they can provide. But when the royal family no longer bears fruit for our kingdom, I urge you not to be tied up in questions of culpability. If Arynn Frey is to prosper, when the time comes, we must be ready to uproot the whole tree.” Evander turned back to his seat, saying to Cyrus quietly with a smirk on his face. “And now I, brother, defer to you.”

Diogenes swirled his wine about in his glass as he drained it. It then magically refilled from the jug at his side.

"The Llewellyn family is a symptom of another problem. Technically speaking, a Blackwood's life is not legally more important than that another citizen of Arynn Frey. If you want to look at it through a moral or ethical lens, that's different."

Obviously much different, but. He took another sip of wine.

"But, they came to power with the aid of a foreign kingdom. I can't tell you what the public thinks about the royals or the Nevermereans, at the moment, so if we're going to do anything it would be wise to take our time before acting. So I vote against removing the 'royals' at this time."

Evander’s lip curled in a smile as Cyrus gave him a ‘now watch this,’ look. He knew what was coming: though Cyrus hadn’t said explicitly, it was a logical assumption given their previous conversation. The slight smirk remained as Cyrus continued to speak, his dark eyes scanning the crowd as if by doing so he could sway them to his own will. Because his opinion had already been made known to his brother, and he wouldn’t wait long to voice it. The Rainecourt virus was spreading, and the Blackwood family was the cure.

As soon as Cyrus had finished, Evander waited for only a beat before he stood to replace him. The enchanted silver button attached discreetly to the side of his neck came into effect once more, allowing his soft voice to fill the room.

“No gods, no kings…” Evander repeated slowly, walking forward as his eyes continued to shift from Blackwood to Blackwood. There had always been something unsettling about Evander, which at times like this he thought worked to his advantage. “Those are the words that have governed our family since time immemorial. They have brought us to the pinnacle of scientific excellence and to the highest plains of philosophy. They have driven us to achievement unshackled from the political squabbling of the foolish and power-hungry.” Evander was close to the audience now, black eyes shining like those of a viper.

“But in this unprecedented age, we must make a choice: Will our creed be limited to the kings that are convenient to conquer, to the gods that we can topple without reaching too high?” Evander put his hands behind his back, resolved. “I urge you to choose bravery over cowardice, idealism over compromise. Only then will we have done justice to our most sacred values, and honored the contributions of our forbearers.” Without fanfare, Evander returned to his seat, glancing at Cyrus as he did.

Keion nodded to himself as the vote passed on the resolution he agreed with. He did not much like the idea of taking innocent lives, though he feared in the end they would all be guilty. If not directly, then by omission of truths by not telling the Blackwoods what had happened to their missing family members. But they were patient, and time would tell what the actual outcome of the investigations would be.

Keion listened intently to Cyrus's next words, soaking them all in before allowing himself to ponder the vote. His lips twitched upward at the family mantra. No gods, no kings. They were words that had served them well thus far, and would continue to. His gaze was brought to Evander as his brother stood and spoke, pacing about the room. He listened just as intently as he had for Cyrus, offering equal respect to both of his brothers' words.

When Evander had taken his seat, Keion would rise next, turning to face the crowd. "Some of you may wonder why we would use resources on other kingdoms when we already have certain issues to handle here in Arynn Frey. But, I encourage you to challenge yourself on this. As Cyrus has said, our own crown prince is set to marry a Rainecourt. The Rainecourt family already rules both Lorendale and Nevermere. Do you truly believe they would not then seek to put Arynn Frey under their rule?"

He paused for a moment, scanning the crowd, "Kings are inherently greedy individuals. They always seek to expand their reign, to make themselves as powerful and wealthy as they can. While those kings sit on their thrones of wealth, other people suffer. We would suffer. All of our scientific and philosophical achievements would be taken and attributed to this family. Our enchantments and our military used to their advantage. Which kingdom would we be used to conquer next?"

He shook his head back and forth slightly, looking at the crowd for a bit before turning back to Cyrus. "I believe we should take the steps necessary to stop this ever expanding influence, before it is too late to do so."

Pietro was definitely learning a lot today. There seemed to be quite a lot about his own family that he really wasn't privy to just yet. While it came as a surprise in many ways, in others he could see the hints in his family members that made all of this make sense. It actually made him even more eager to prove himself so that he could be privileged to the honor of the inner workings of the Blackwoods.

However, in this particular conversation topic, Pietro had neither the live experience nor had he ever actually thought about the subject to add anything that might be of value. So, once again, he decided to remain silent and just listen for the time being.

The old man waved his hand at Cyrus in a gesture as if to say 'anytime, nephew'. He appreciated the thought but if everyone thanked him for everything he did he'd have everyone in the entirety of Arynn Frey bothering him personally, citizen or slave, on a daily basis. More than they already did.

Diogenes knew good and well about reaching the higher plains of philosophy and regularly reminded others that he endeavored to do so until he died, after which point Terra Nova would have to remember how to fend for itself.

He sipped at his wine, listening to his nephew, then another and a third. What could have been the Crown, Trunk, and Root, but at least now he was getting around to what their plans probably were.

"These rulers are childish by our standards," he began. "Of course, their contries are not dedicated to freedom of thought, of men. They age quickly, die quickly, and breed quickly; generations of them pass in barely one of our own lives. For the time being, we're going to use their simple, infantile notion of one supreme ruling family heading a kingdom to communicate with them. As I see it, destabilizing them would be a trifle given the vices of the uneducated and the reach which the Blackwoods have."

He took another sip of wine, very used to talking to crowds ranging from none to the entire family. Occasionally without much purpose, depending on who asked. He continued pacing amongst those seated and gesticulating with his wineglass.

"I am sure we can do all this, as no doubt almost everyone here present is. The problem is not a matter of how, we have the means. The problem is what will happen after. Either their so-called 'dynasties' and kingdoms will crumble or they will be crushed as a result of war. And whomever is left from the crumbled royal kingdoms or the ashes of what forces our hand; I am forced to ask if the plan is to give them the choice we all have as citizens of Arryn Frey? That is to say, the choice of education, enlightenment, reason? The choice to renounce their previous ways. I am sure more than one poor farmer in all of these kingdoms would prefer to work towards something rather than give half his crops to a king or queen on top of whatever taxes they already pay. The ones who benefit from other nations' faults will likely consider themselves educated already and probably rebel against the idea of true enlightenment. Were there free thought in Loren or Skia, there would be no kings or gods there as well."

He turned towards the front of the theater, regarding Cyrus.

"Choice should matter. Men are creatures of reason. If some of these petty little lords want to make the wrong choice, we cannot stop them. Again I am tempted to vote that we do nothing, but the Blackwoods have never acted in haste or without proper reasoning, so I will leave it to each citizen here to vote the way they believe. Personally, I think we've got enough experts in the nation to do a thorough job of searching within and without, even before counting the ranks of our illustrious family."

With the outcome of the vote in favor of what he wished to happen, tension fell away from Keion's shoulders. A small smile graced his face briefly before it was replaced with a look of purpose and determination. He knew with his position under Cyrus that he would be sent out sooner rather than later to conduct business in one of the kingdoms, and he was ready. He stood, briefly resting a hand on Calliope's shoulder before moving towards Cyrus Parric.

He moved behind Cyrus, standing and scanning the noisy crowd. "Well, brother, where shall we begin?"