Reputation was as solid as stone, yet as fragile as glass.
It was like a clear, flawless gemstone... In King's hand, it was a treasure beyond price. On a windowsill in Shack Row, it was just a shard of glass.
The Singers' Competition awarding its championship to Madeleine seemed entirely deserved... But how many people, how many contestants, had complaints about her performance?
At that point, Annan only had to relinquish control and leave the decision to the audience.
No one could accuse him of unfairness or rigging the result, because the champion would be chosen by countless people casting their votes.
Even if the winner beat second place by just one vote, the winner was still the champion.
A screen rose above the stage, displaying the ten contestants' live vote totals and a countdown.
The moment voting began, the numbers beside all ten contestants surged.
Silver Throat Bernd: 7255 Siren Imo: 10917 Bard Francis: 5515 Saintess Leia: 14545 Undead Sorcerer Alshir: 8193 Silver Dragon Onyxia: 11131 Orc Hama: 7733 Golden Dragon Tarragon: 7789 Brass Dragon Marduk: 9838 Bailey Knight: 9214
Standing around through the voting period would have been dull, so Annan gave the ten contestants time to speak and win over voters.
In order of appearance, Silver Throat Bernd took the stage first to make his pitch.
But he misunderstood and simply introduced himself. Several contestants after him followed his example.
It wasn't that they failed to win votes... Their totals did rise a little after they spoke, but none pulled ahead of the others.
That changed when Saintess Leia appeared. Just standing there and speaking, she gave people a sense of inner peace, and her vote total left the others far behind.
When it was Undead Sorcerer Alshir's turn, he brought five skeletons onstage and