"You act as if you were speaking from a position of strength" Mazdak countered, slowly moving from the room, but still close enough to be heard. "What my prince has lost by forfeiting a title, you could gain by altering yours. The throne you sit on is too large for you, too small for Ternoc, so to speak. You make claims above your station, while he is forced to kneel to a position above his own. Even as a king, you would still technically outrank him in order of prestige, though not of actual force. The 'dreams' of hegemony which Hekaga has could easily become reality if you mistreat an emissary, such as myself. All it would take is one report from me and-" He was out of earshot by then, but Kali had grown nervous with the ramifications of this meeting. It wouldn't have been the first time Rughoi had made a bad call, even if he wanted to do good for his people, in a strange sort of way. She was determined that this not be the last chance he'd get to make things right.

"-my lord, allow him to say his piece, please! Ardasa, please speak some sen- [i]advise[/i] our lord, for the love of all the gods above!" Kali exclaimed, greatly concerned. 

Mazdak stopped his egress and marched back into the room, staying near the doorway, much to the consternation of the guards. "And I'll have you know that Ternoc's demotion was forced on him by the other major city-kingdoms! He cannot replace his title with anything else,lest they crush him as surely as Hekaga can crush you! The other realms will only recognize a Grand Prince of Hekaga, not a King, not a Grand Duke, not anything more or less. It will be that way until they decide that we have atoned for siding with Dememoras. That could take several lifetimes if nothing is done. The Grand Prince has lost quite a bit just by failing to have the title of king. Many of Hekaga's vassals only bow down to the city's king, many taxes on trade can only be collected because they are owed to the king, many ceremonies in the city require its king to perform them... I think you get the idea. His ability to levy new taxes and laws to go to the grand prince has been limited by the reluctance of many of the higher-ranking nobles. Its no surprise that the institution of the Royal family in Hekaga has taken quite a few hits these recent decades..." he let it trail off there, waiting for a response.