Mel Brooks was Wrong.

[jla-extras.livejournal.com]

It's not good to be the king, or at least, not the Regent of Atlantis right now. There has been months on end of these meetings. Every few weeks, another cave or another city to see another fire that gets put out only to flare up in two weeks after his departure - and that's if he's lucky. Court gossip abounds about the Regent and Lady Dolphin being on seperate schedules now. Mera is still mourned openly, but few seem to make the connection that the beloved queen and the Regent before them had any relationship at all. Some of the tactless ones point out that it isn't if the former king adopted his assistant. The city-states are entrenching themselves against themselves.

Worse, Aquaman took his communicator during that...problem with Manta and he hasn't been seen since up until now and news from the surface has been squashed.

So as of now, Garth sits with representives from these cities. Half who gave their oath have not appeared. The other half...

"Cerdia will want to break away meaning..."

"...meaning, my liege, no will have access to..."

"...Surface flith! These new radicals dare to undermine the worship of..."

"...Drugs. Of all kinds. Some of them even with magical properties flirt in from my neighbor who profits..."

"...off the oil profits that are expressly against this charter signed last year and retified by you own hand"

All speak of drastic times and to what measures they are willing to take to dissolve the undersea kingdom.