There was something that kept
Maximilian thinking. And despite the usual behaviour, the dark mage was not simply meditating. His house got violated: a group of mercenaries dared to invade his Hotel, and, even if the invasion force was divided, blocked and defeated, Max could not sleep as he wished. On the opposite: he did not sleep for days, simply sitting on his armchair in the middle of the Meditarium. Noone was able to make him move from there. Not even
Tier_Harribel or
Goth_Melanie. He was there, silent and, for the first time since many knew him, scary. Until the mage got what he was looking for: a revelation. Noone was more surprised than Harribel when Max appeared in the living room, his body tired but the resolution in his eyes was more than enough for an army. The Dark Mage and the Espada moved into the Arcaneum of the Magician Hotel while Max explained his idea to the silent and meditative ally, who listened at his words trying to figure if her apprentice and 'friend' was feeling good enough.
Noone knows what they said to each other, but more than once Max's voice echoed in the mind of all the inhabitants of the Hotel in a tone so dark and heavy that many figured the
Doombringer was into the room with Harribel. Max's voice remained calm, he never shouted, but he was not the same person they all met, at least when he talked. A few hours later, the duo came out from the room, and Maximilian returned to be himself. He even dared to smile at the crowd in front of the door: he was back, and had an idea.
Max explained that, even if all the inhabitants of the hotel were brave fighters, as they proved more than once, they could have not been able to protect each other at their best.
The_Ice_Witch would have sacrified her sisters, the rivalry between
Aayla_Secura and
Lelith_Hesperax was known even to rocks, let alone the 'situation' between
Jinx_Loose_Cannon and the
Excessive_Force. Maximilian needed someone else to protect them, guardians who were 'super partes', without personal preferences, secret plotting and loyal to him. And that forced him to prevent many of his friends from it. It was hard to explain to those that he trusted without hesitation that they would have been kept out from the 'Protectorate', as he called the new defense platoon. Harribel eyed at him, correcting the mage: The Dark Protectorate was about to rise.
ORGANIZATION
Max spent days with Harribel, trying to figure out which kind of structure would have been used for the new protectors, unless she put a pawn between his lips to silence him. Harribel smiled softly as she explained her idea to him. And the boy smiled for the plan. Chess. A King, a Queen, Towers, Pawns and so on. The King would have ruled on everyone, the Queen on Rooks, the Rooks on Bishops, the Bishop on Knights, the Knights on Pawns.
Max liked the idea, and rewarded a reluctant Harribel with the role of King, but she refused: she was the Queen of Hueco Mundo, so she would have been the Queen of the Protectorate. The Espada smiled softly kissing the boy's lips and calling him 'King': in the end Max was creating the Protectorate to keep safe all his friends, and he would have fought more than anyone else to make it sure. The mage pondered carefully for any possible candidate for each role on the chessboard Harribel was preparing. Maximilian smiled when Harribel forced him to rest using her aura to simply annihilate his mind. When Max woke up, two days after, Harribel had the plan complete. One King, one Queen, two Rooks, four Bishops, four Knights, Eight Pawns. Max knew it would have been impossible to fill all the roles at once, and the Espada was kind enough not to tell that she could have been enough for the whole Hotel. Deep into herself, Harribel knew that the Protectorate would have been another ace against the major menace for the Hotel: Max himself. Even the Espada could hardly fight the Dark Mage when he was at the edge of his powers without risking her life, a secret that she didn't share with anyone.
ROLES
King:
Maximilian
The King is the most important member of the Protectorate. It has to sit above the Chessboard, to care and love every piece on his side, to know them all and to respect each of them, and it has to sacrifice others if the situation requires it. That makes it hard to hold the crown, but the greater good has to be put in first place, even above the King's desires.
Queen:
Tier_Harribel
The Queen. Sometimes there is a power behind the throne of the King, but the real source of power for the ruler sits next to him. If the King has to be cruel, the Queen pushes the rage and molds it into sweet retribution. If the King feels generous, the Queen forges admonishment from the still warm ashes of absolution.
Rooks:
Two Rooks. Each one has to obey at the Queen, and they answer only to her and the King. A Rook has to be a majestic example of zeal and loyalty towards those that obey them. Rivalry between the Rooks do not exist, for they are equally favourite and loved by the Royal Consorts. Whenever a Rook disappoints the Queen, the Rook is forced to prove her loyalty to the Dark Protectorate, before returning to be a Pawn. The prove of loyalty is so harsh that no Rook ever disappointed the Queen.
Bishops:
Hungry_Jazmine
If the Rooks are the hands of the Queen, the Bishops are the eyes and the ears of the King. They serve the Rooks, but the two orders have almost the same influence among the Royal Consorts. The Bishops have no influence on the battle strategies, but they have to be sure of the integrity, moral and phisical, of each member of the Protectorate. They live to gather informations, and to share it. The Bishops are cold and meditative, but they're far from cold-hearted monsters: each of them loves the members of the Dark Protectorate with ferocious loyalty and they'd do anything to prevent pointless life losses among the comrades.
Knights:
Knights are the on-ground leaders, and the first answer to any menace for the Hotel. They lack the refined tactics of the Rooks or the soft, almost poisonous, touch of the Bishops, yet they know exactly how to react to an assault, structuring defensive lines and in general organizing the first line against intruders. They are chosen from Pawns, and only members with a high ability to react in stressful situations can be used for this role. That said, they are far from being polite or refined. They are warriors to the core.
Pawns:
