"I don't think so, though we might want to move quickly after talking to the priest in case rumors spread."

Elatra nods. "Of course."

The priest is a man in poison green robes, walking peacefully around the temple.

"Hey!" Glint greets him. "I was curious about the Ritual of Ascension for Dementia?"

"Seldom is the subject ever bro-... wait a moment, did you want to hear the history of the Ritual?" he asks, turning to them.

"Not so much that, as how it would work if a new Duchess was needed," Glint says.

He nods. "Very well. To become ruler of Dementia, the current leader's heart must be cut out and brought to the Altar of Arden-Sul in the Sacellum. Once this is done, I can pronounce the heart-bearer a Duke or Duchess. Then, all that is required is the blessing of our lord, Sheogorath."

"...Can anyone bear the heart, or does it have to be the same person as the killer?" Glint asks, humming.

He shakes his head. "The latter. As it happened so many years ago, my lord Arden-Sul divined that there was a traitor in his people's midst. Not wishing to find himself on the wrong end of a blade, he gathered his flock here in the Sacellum. By poisoning the sacramental wine, Arden-Sul was able to suppress any such conspiracy in one fell swoop. He then removed their hearts from their bodies and used his ancient scrying technique known as visceromancy to read their lifeblood. When Arden-Sul couldn't divine the traitor's true nature in their hearts, he became distraught and took his own life in the same way, revealing himself as the traitor he'd foreseen. From that day on, the Ritual of Accession for the throne of Dementia was set."

"Huh. Is there anyone who could take over the throne, right now?" Glint asks.

"No," he says, evenly, "At least not of Dementia. Her lady the Duchess Syl has been rather thorough in weeding out discontent. Still, outsiders are allowed to ascend, though I don't think someone from Mania would be swiftly accepted."

She nods and thanks him, then once he walks on turns to her group. "Well, that's an interesting ritual."

"Very macabre. And rather... constricting."

"Unfortunately I don't think the Duchies can change it, even if I made myself Duchess."

"What are the duties of the Duchies?"

"I'm not entirely clear on that! I know they both hold court, and they address concerns of the populace, so I guess they might be judges and all when needed? Though I've heard Syl leaves the day-to-day running of her realm to her steward, so she doesn't have to interact with too many people. Probably they have some military function."

"It seems to me that taking up such a mantle would interfere with any other activities one might wish to occupy their time with."

"I bet my atronachs could kill her, and Rei's pretty competent... And I bet wouldn't be the first Duke they've had they couldn't understand... Though I can also ask someone what the duties are, that seems important, or figure out if it's abdicatable later."

"More information, I think is the best bet."

"Yeah. Hm, who though... I ran some errands for her after the whole blood bay thing, so I think I might have an idea who to ask?"

"That is good, because I do not."

And off to see the only person in Duchess Syl's court willing to talk to people who might want to unseat her. (Everyone, of course, is Syl's enemy, but funerals are usually fairly quick for those open about it.)

Syl hasn't actually been doing her duties, it's revealed - she stopped holding court a few days ago. The Dukes can, actually, step down peacefully, technically, but none of them have ever done it. A few outright arranged for their own assassinations instead. There'd probably be some disconcertion if tradition was broken, but as long as whoever stepped up was considered reliable and strong they likely wouldn't have to field too many assassins themselves. (The precedents for stepping down come from times Dukes died in accidents or similar, mostly, and someone new can step up or be elected. The person they're talking to suspects that in the case of someone stepping down, whoever they appoint would be considered to have their endorsement, rather than being guaranteed to be the next Duke.)

"Well. We could just assassinate her and let them sort themselves out, but that seems somewhat counter to the spirit of the task."

She laughs. "Really does! And I don't super want to spend time right now looking for someone to put in her place..."

"So we could try forcing sense into her, or one of us could take her place."

"Pretty much! And honestly from talking to her she super doesn't have much sense to go around."

"If the title is not permanent to death, most of my objections to the latter course are nullified. Though as the native, you get first claim, naturally."

"Thanks. I think I'll take it? I wouldn't mind trying to help fix this world up some anyways."

"Then there's just the small business of the assassination."

"Exactly! We should try for clean and no witnesses, even if we'd be powerful enough to walk in the front door and kill her - I think the people'll respect that more."

"An invisibility spell, perhaps?"

"I like the way you think. Mine's pretty short duration, though if I'm not using any other magic my magicka will regenerate before it runs out, so we'd just have to time being out of sight whenever it runs out."

"I have one that lasts sixteen minutes."

"Neat! What're the limits on it?"