[b]Kozhapur, Svargiya[/b]

It was midday in Kozhapur, the capital of the Great Kingdom of Svargiya, and the sunlight was beating down on the great city. It was nestled within a vale along the Vandali River where Svargiya's first ruler had finally found the promised lands of the bandara's legends. All throughout the city people were busy with this or that, whether it was haggling with merchants underneath their bright awnings or bathing and washing clothes in the waters of the Vadali or simply scurrying along the wide streets and narrow alleys between buildings. Even high above in the palace of the Maharana, built upon a hill near the centre of the city, the murmur of the city could be heard. Though the Maharana himself was too busy to pay it any mind.

The midday sun flowed into the Maharana's throne room through several tall windows along each of the walls, illuminating the luxurious carpets and pillars and arches decorated with intricate engravings and gilding. There were servants standing around the edges of the room, dressed in fine silks befitting the Maharana's servants while members of the court, likewise dressed in even finer clothes and jewelry, stood around, chatting with one another or partaking in food or drinks from the various servants. And at the head of the room the young Maharana Manoratha II sat, dressed in a sleeveless open jacket of the finest pink silk embroidered with golden designs and loose silken pants alongside a turban of light green trimmed with gold, and with one end of the wrap falling down to rest on his shoulder; in addition he was bedecked with jewelry of gold and silver that was engraved and fitted with precious stones. Though the 'throne' he sat on was hardly a throne at all; in truth it was a raised dais covered in pillows and cushions, the largest of which the Maharana rested on as he reclined sideways, propped up on one elbow with an ivory and gold cup of wine in the other hand. 

Manoratha took a sip from his cup as he continued to pay rapt attention to the two men before him, who had come to him to resolve a dispute between the Sapheda Rana and Pila Rana. Though in truth he was simply feigned attention, as his thoughts were actually more focused on whether or not he had left the doors to his balcony open again and how he hoped that a bird wouldn't get in again before a servant saw and closed them if he had. And none could truly blame him; the two men that the Ranas had chosen to argue their cases to Manoratha had been arguing their case to him for over an hour. At least it had started that way; by this point the two men were simply arguing among each other as the Maharana and some of those present pretended to actually pay attention. Most didn't even give them that courtesy and were talking amongst themselves, and in one case leaning against a pillar and taking a nap.

And it wasn't as though Manoratha needed to pay attention by this point, the two men had been arguing the same points since they'd first began to speak. In all honesty, Manoratha was surprised that two men could argue for so long and say so little. Apparently a man from the Pila Ran had been exploring the countryside when he stumbled upon a cave which contained several veins of gold. When he brought this to the attention of the Pila Rana, he was more than happy to charter a new settlement and name the lucky individual as Thakura. Unfortunately, not long after officials from the Sapheda Ran arrived in the settlement and demanded to know what they were doing on the Sapheda Rana's land. The Pila Rana and Sapheda Rana were unable to come to an agreement themselves, the Pila Rana believing he had rights to the settlement and mine as it was his people who discovered the gold and founded the village. Meanwhile the Sapheda Rana claimed that the land was rightfully his, and thus the village and mine belonged to him. And to make the situation more complicated, the village itself was built nearby a ruined Vishput statue. A statue that had been used as a marker for the borders between the Sapheda and Pila Rans; the mine was indisputably on the Sapheda Rana's territory, but the village was actually half in the Sapheda Ran and half in the Pila Ran. 

Manoratha may have been impressed by the men's ability to talk for so long and say so little, but he had grown bored. He had planned to allow the men to say what they wanted to say, and then render judgement. But he wouldn't be surprised if he retired for the day and came back tomorrow to find them still arguing the same exact points. So he waited several minutes for a lull in the argument, without avail. Manoratha sighed, shaking his head in irritation before taking another sip of his wine, only to find it gone. A servant holding a jug of it started to come forward, but he held up a hand to stop her and she bowed her head respectfully and returned to her place. 

"I believe I have heard enough," Manoratha finally said, interrupting the arguing men who quickly stopped speaking before bowing respectfully, "And I will make my decision."

And then he said nothing. Instead, he called the servant with the wine over, deadpan as he stared at the men before him while the girl poured more wine into his cup. "Thank you," he said, looking up at the girl for a quick moment before looking back to the men. Then he very slowly drank the wine from his cup, deliberately staring at the men as he did so. Once he was finished, he set the cup on the ground and the men looked expectantly at him until he called over another servant. This one was carrying a handkerchief, which he offered to Manoratha. He took it from the servant, then blew his nose into it. And he blew his nose very thoroughly, taking the time to make sure his nose was a clear as it could be before handing it back to the servant with a thanks, who then took it to a small basin of water to clean it. And still Manoratha said nothing, and instead looked at the men before him with a deadpan expression.

"Your Highness-," one of them began, before Manoratha raised his hand to silence him.

"You wasted my time with your inane bickering, so I feel it is fair if I waste some of yours," Manoratha replied simply.

"Inane?!" the other nearly sputtered, "This is a serious matter your Highness."

"I agree, territorial disputes can lead to war if left to fester," Manoratha agreed, nodding his head, "But both of you argued with one another, saying the same things over and over again. I could have ended this over an hour ago, as that was the last time either of you actually said anything new. But I wanted to be polite. I wish you had thought to do the same."

Both of the men remained silent at that, though some of the others present snickered. Manoratha paid them no mind, though he did look to the two men directly in front of him. "So you have nothing to say now?" he asked, and when the men still were silent he smiled, "Good. Now, since I have other matters that need attending I will be brief."

"The village is in both the Sapheda and Pila Rans, so it would not be fair to give it solely to one or the other. Instead the village will be divided in two, one under the jurisdiction of the Pila Rana, the other the Sapheda Rana. Those in the village may choose which side they wish to live on, and should the Thakura decide to settle on the Sapheda Rana's side he will keep his title," Manoratha said, "And as for the mine, it is indisputably on the Sapheda Rana's land, so he may give ownership and allow whoever he desires to mine it."

"But there is no way he will allow my Rana's people to use the mine," the Pila Rana's representative protested, "And without the mine, there will be no village."

"Well I believe there is a village that is part of the Sapheda Ran right next door; they could always move there," Manoratha said with a shrug, "The mine is on the Sapheda Rana's land. I am even giving the Pila Rana the benefit of the doubt and assuming his chartering a village so close to a border marker was simple ignorance. I believe this is a fair resolution."

"Of course, your Highness," the Pila Rana's representative said, bowing to the Maharana. The other representative followed suit, though he couldn't hide the smile on his face. The pair left the throne room, one jubilant and the other angry, though the Maharana was just glad to be done with them.

But that, unfortunately, wasn't the end of the day. There were other petitions and the like he had to deal with, and despite it being his least favourite part of being Maharana it was still part of it nonetheless. "Who's next?"