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 Da Silva touched his nose before continuing. “Ah, but you see Lord Ludvig, it’s not just Rubin Mudrock and his muckraking who’re responsible. It’s a symptom of the times we live in. The age of the Empires has come and gone. Bugrawlia is regarded more as a drain on resources than as any kind of asset.”

“This colony is the last outpost of a once great Empire. I’ll be damned if I’ll be party to the death of it. The people of Bugrawlia are still royal subjects and as such, they look up to the Empire for guidance, guidance that His Majesty delivers through us. I am His Majesty’s representative and I say that we need more funds to fulfil our task…Uhhnnnnn…”

Lord Ludvig had become almost apoplectic with anger and discomfort. His final outburst was accompanied by a colonic spasm even worse than before.

“Your Excellency, at the risk of being redundant, may I point out that, in certain instances, the Heimraden are not functioning as intended. Corruption is becoming increasingly widespread. Some drossaards are acting more like local strongmen, and tax revenues have fallen drastically.”

The structure of Heimraden had historically been the chosen form of government at district level, therefore serving as the tentacles through which the octopus of colonial administration could maintain contact with the rural areas of Bugrawlia.

The one who was at the head of a Heimraden – the sucker at the end of the tentacle, and by tradition always a man, except in the few matriarchal societies – was the drossaard. A drossaard had multiple duties, ranging from the legal to the administrative. Legal duties included judging of minor court cases, while among the administrative tasks were the much-despised post of tax collection.

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