The country of bloodless war

The country of bloodless war - passage Five *DRAFT*

On a day that was not particularly unlike any other, Kagare gathered his children in order to announce that he would not be immediately nominating one of the four to succeed him. In the eyes of the ageing king, They were all much too driven by selfish interest and greed, a trait in poor choice for a leader dedicated to the land and its people.
When such a time arrived where the four siblings found the maturity to tolerate one another, it would be at that point, which Kagare would consider passing on his duties. Up until then, Sigrum, Desali, Gilfred and Himbley would be dispatched to the four corners of Salrig. In isolation they would be given charge of ruling their own kingdoms, to be led as seen fit.

In approximation, the habitable land mass consisting of Salrig could be de divided into four sections of equal size. Kagare split the land in exactly this way, bordering the ground through the spreading of pigment both luminous and long lasting, produced as an excess from the common rocks hauled up alongside the valuable ore buried underneath Soosalp.
The four equal chunks of land were named kingdoms in their own right, with each of such possessing identical resources spread about The vastness. No division was subject to a major advantage, such as for instance, having, a greater quantity of forests to choose from, richer fields from which to grow crops in, or towns that thrive with its people more so content than all others.

At the central most point of Salrig where each kingdoms border line would eventually cross paths, Bellerat stood as a buffer, preventing so much as the smallest amount of land from clashing with one another, a minor detail that would surely spark a petty squabble.
At the peak of the cities second highest hill where the bustle of fisherman travelling out to sea could be watched from within its heavily fortified chalk white wall, Kagare ordered for a mighty, square shaped tower to be constructed. The structure was built to be higher than the most dominating of pine trees, with the design planned by brilliantly minded architects, each detail in turn being placed by a masterful workforce accustomed to fine detail.
Climbing the tower at just below its highest point, a lookout room that had an appearance similar to that of a lighthouse, only angular rather than rounded, could be found. At the centre of the chamber, a large hexagonal device of clear glass infused with extraordinary properties was found. A fine wooden board rested at the base of the shape, with the detail of such being embedded with a complicated series of adjustable circular dials labelled with confounding jargon, and delicate bulbs arranged in peculiar patterns.
From the centre of the glass, a thick amber pipe rose to the roof, passing through a circular hole that was cut precisely to match its circumference.

The hexagonal glass located at the top of the tower served as a display for the unique telescopic system for which the structure was purposefully built for, with each face on the pristine shape displaying the same reflective imagery, only at an alternative perspective.

The complex mechanisms that worked the telescope were arranged in the attic, aligned precariously throughout the cluttered space. Many of the devices present worked together as part of a highly complex set of optical devices, where others possessed much stranger design, having being imported from far off countries that posses a much greater scientific understanding.

The contraption fed into a telescopic lens that was crafted in a peculiar way, with its design being unique to the building. A ring shaped lens of tempered glass coupled with streaked lines of both peculiar gemstones and metals, coiled around the peek of the tower, just below the simple dome roof.

-

With the exact working being lost to only but a handful of masterful inventors, The board located in the room beneath the attic allowed for a trained operator to skew and rotate the mass of equipment in seemingly impossible ways through adjusting the dials, which in turn, altered the resulting reflection shown on the faces of the glass shape.

-

Kagare commissioned for the tower and its intricate mechanisms to be designed for the purpose of scanning all corners of his country with amazing accuracy, which in addition to providing a means for threat and occurrence to be detected in good time, also aided the king in keeping track of his four children upon their dispatch to the countries four corners.
By watching the movements of his children, Kagare was able to observe how each child developed as a leader. More importantly so, such a powerful telescope gave him the means to be certain that the four of them respectfully played to the rules of the succession game, he had devised.
The purpose of the competitions existence and the conditions to follow were simple. In order to avoid the backlash of his kingdom being left without a king at the time of his death, Kagare would choose one of his children as a successor, following the span of several years.

The decision to name a successor would be based upon the positive choices that each child has taken to steer their own kingdom, and how they have developed as a benevolent ruler. Alternatively, if by chance the four could could settle the issue through peacefully reaching an agreement, this conclusion would also be respected and taken seriously.

On the other hand, there were two simple guidelines for the siblings to follow, with the punishment for disobeying such under normal circumstances, being disqualification from the competition.

Firstly, save for the most dire of circumstances, Kagare's children were forbidden from travelling past the walls of Bellerat. If they should need to talk with their father, a messenger should be sent to communicate in place.
Secondly, the children were forbidden from taking any action whatsoever that would result in an intentional war between one another, with the observation tower in Bellerat and it's docile yet ferocious military providing countermeasures against such.
While the four children may scheme to attack one another, the chances of alliances being formed to eliminate one another without any attempt to back-stab would be slim to impossible with regards to odds. Years of constantly attempting to cruelly outsmart one another had made the siblings paranoid and non trusting of the presence of anyone but themselves.