Abuse of Magic

Chapter 178: Meeting Part 3

"Give me an overview of each of your problems, or we'll be here all night," said Joseph. He was feeling more tired, than angry at the moment. This was such a huge mess; he wasn't exactly sure where to start.

As each of the council members listed off the top problems, Joseph kept silent. He had so many problems with the laws forcing some of the races to starve, or destroy their society, it was starting to look like he would have to scrap them all. Only the first one, Do not harm another Wizar, could be kept. In fact, it was this law, that had managed to keep so many of them alive, despite some of the other laws.

Once they had finished, Joseph turned to them.

"Overall, how would all of you feel about having been brought here? Do you believe, despite all of these problems, that the people are happier here?"

They all looked around at each other, some whispering back and forth, until finally, the wolf-kin, from the last council stood up.

"Your majesty, despite some of these issues that we have brought before you, it is the council's belief that the people are happy. They are not being treated as slaves, are fed and have shelter, with the understanding that they work. In our old realm, we never had any of that. While some of us may have been in a place of power, it was only at the disadvantage of others."

"It may take me years to work out some of these problems, but I do not want any society in my kingdom to suffer death because of a misunderstanding in the law. If there are social misunderstandings, they need to be addressed so that they don't happen again."

They all nodded in agreement, as the Wizar template they had all agreed to forced them into believing following the law was the best. It was up to Joseph to make sure that the laws were good for everyone.

"Your majesty?" said a koala-kin, standing up with her big black nose taking up a large chunk of her face.

"Yes?" he asked.

"The progress with your castle is coming along nicely. A lot of the modifications that you had requested are almost complete. The builders wanted me to assure you that they hoped to have the work done in six months, with all of the mages that have been assigned to help them."

Joseph nodded. He hadn't given them many, and the changes were extensive. He was honestly surprised that they would be done that quickly.

"There is still much room for improvement. I can do better than I have. Thank you everyone for all of your hard work, and for being able to meet so quickly. I will think over the various problems that you have presented to me, and see if I can come up with some solutions before I have to leave. If you do not hear from me, before I leave, I promise I will have some solutions for you when I return, even if they are not complete ones. You are dismissed."

They all nodded and bowed in various ways, as they stood and left. William gathered up their notes and reports, to give to him.

"You may be king, but it is good that you are not trying to do everything yourself. Perhaps if you do not come up with your own answers, you could ask the people? If it is their problems, they may have some answers that would solve them, without causing too much damage in the process."

Joseph nodded at Williams words. His mind was going over all of the problems they had presented, and while he could think up a few quick fixes, none of them were permanent solutions. It looked like he was going to have to make some very detailed laws that pertained to each separate group of people, without harming other groups. This was going to take years to work out.

The small runner from earlier, who had left to inform someone to gather all of the bunny-kin together, arrived at the door, out of breath.

"Your majesty, the bunnies are ready..." he said, panting heavily.

With a nod, Joseph stood and took Stella's hand. "I will speak with you before I leave, father."

TELEPORT.

There were over a hundred bunnies in the room before him. They were all trembling in terror, unable to comprehend what was going on. Many couldn't stand the feel of clothes, and had already stripped them off, despite the gently coaxing of handlers. Others couldn't stand the slightest sound around them, and had their ears pulled down tightly to block off any and all sounds.

Some were so used to being used sexually, that Joseph could see them trying to attack their handlers and other bunnies with sexual advances, unable to realize what they were doing was wrong.

RELIEVE ADDICTION.

RELIEVE MADNESS.

INSTANT REGENERATION.

INSTANT RESTORATION.

The bunnies before him stopped their trembling, looking down at their hands in confusion. Those who were self-harming, started to cry. He may have removed all of the problems they had, but they still had their memories.

Joseph stood there debating whether to remove them or not. Would they go back to being crazy if they remembered? From what he had been told, it seemed like they didn't have a choice in the matter. Yet, if he removed their memories, how would they be able to fit back in to their society?

PERMANENT FORGETFULNESS.

The tears dried up on their faces, and they looked around with lost looks, not sure what was going on.

Turning to one of the people near him, Joseph said, "I want each of them to see a counselor, so that it can be explained to them that they had bad things happen, but that I removed the madness associated with it, and the memories, so that they could try and live somewhat normal lives. If any of them develop problems, because of what happened, I want to make sure that they have the opportunity to get help."

The bunny-kin, one of those who had not been damaged, nodded in understanding.

"Thank you so much, your highness," she said, with tears in her eyes as she turned to attend to his orders.

"You look tired," said Stella, looking at him.

"I could use some of those cookies, you mentioned before," he said, with a small smile.

"Want to help me make some? I'll even share my recipe," she said with a smile of her own.

"Even the secret ingredient?" he asked.

"Absolutely not," she answered with a laugh.