The sun was setting on the city of Amplus, bathing the brilliant city in the sky's orange hues. The young Prince Reginaldus the Sixth was being taken on a walk in the palace gardens by the Queen. They were rarely seen in the courts and just about never spoke in public, but they were seen enough, such as through glimpses into these gardens, or overlooking the city from a balcony, so that they were known to exist by the citizens. King Reginaldus the Fifth had just finished eating his dinner in the throne room in the dwindling light from above. The servant came to remove the trolley, and once he was gone Reginaldus the Fifth stood from the throne and retired to his bedroom through the door behind the throne on the left. He closed the door behind him and bolted it shut, leaving the room in total darkness. And he was alone.

In a single gesture, all the lamps in the room came to life, restoring visibility. And the man who stood by the door was not King Reginaldus the Fifth. No middle aged jolly-looking king stood here. Instead, a gaunt, imposing man with greying hair and a wiry grey beard stood, although dressed in the same style clothes and with the same wisened eyes. King Reginaldus the Fifth did not exist, and neither did his queen or heir. They were all illusions, perfectly crafted by the man standing here to make everything appear normal. Only the members of the High Court were in on the secret, and they were watched very carefully. While Reginaldus the Fifth was an illusion, Reginaldus himself was very real. He undressed, washed and toileted in the en-suite, changed into his night gown and sat down upon his bed. At a wave of his hand the oil lamps in the room dimmed so he could have some peace. But rather than lie down to sleep, he crossed his legs, closed his eyes, took a deep breath and let his mind expand.

And expand.

And expand, until it covered almost all of Cyprus.

What Reginaldus saw was not a landscape, or cities. Instead, he sensed dreaming minds. For the night had just begun, few people had yet fallen asleep, so what he mostly sensed was vague, fuzzy minds, blurring together in clusters of villages and cities with their thoughts indiscernible. But a few hours into his meditation and the kingdom was largely asleep. Now he could feel the mind of each sleeping citizen and sense their dreams. But he could do more than simply sense dreams. With some gentle manipulation, he let positive emotions influence the dreams across the kingdom, providing a vague feeling of satisfaction with the state of Cyprus to each and every citizen. With the good dreams sent out, Reginaldus could now do the real work. He concentrated his consciousness on each village and town in Cyprus and swept over it, scanning for any irregularities or demands.

And throughout the night he watched over his sleeping citizens through omniscient eyes. It was another night in maintaining his centuries long rule.