Why Power Is Always Indirect

Power Without Presence

Real authority doesn’t shout. It sets conditions.

Power that requires visible enforcement is already weakening. The strongest figures in Lanista shape behavior without touching it. Their silence speaks. Their absence pressures.

Roman Models of Quiet Control

Historically, Roman patronage worked this way. Commands weren’t issued—they were implied. Everyone knew the consequence of failing to intuit the will of the powerful.

I designed Lanista to reflect this.

Obedience Without Orders

Indirect power complicates choice. It forces characters—and readers—to interpret rather than react.

Misreading a signal isn’t just dangerous. It reveals who truly understands the world. Who sees the system shaping them. Who doesn’t.

This Is the World We Live In

Modern hierarchies aren’t so different. Lanista exaggerates nothing. It simply refuses to flatter the illusion of freedom where structured influence defines every move.