170 The Kings Speech (2/2)
Another round of pleasantries began between the two patriarchs' and we all bore witness to the flatteries and gift-giving.
\”I wanted to thank you properly for sharing your scent with me,\” Chris Pint laughed. He raised a hand toward Thea and gestured her forward. \”So I brought bottles of the finest scents I've ever sampled on my journeys in the Fayne… perhaps they can help to soothe your condition.\”
Thea carried a small gilded chest in her hands and offered it to Chancellor Kairon who stepped forward to accept it on the Auranos' behalf.
\”Thank you for the gesture… I'm sure they will be of good use to me,\” Auranos responded genially. \”I wonder if the scent I provided has been of use to you as well.\”
This was my question too. It was a really weird request he made of me and Aura after all.
Chris Pint nodded seriously. \”The scent of one who survived the taint of Drakon's Blight… now I have a cure if I ever get poisoned by that damnable stuff.\”
\”If only we all could share in the gifts you possess,\” Auranos chuckled to himself. Then he turned a curious glance at Darah and I knew he was looking for me somehow. \”Luckily, my clan has also been blessed with the legacy of the gatekeepers.\”
Chris Pint chuckled too. \”A sprout… that's what you have. Nothing more. Up to you how you bring him up. Whether he becomes the power you desire him to be or the tool of your destruction, heh, we're all double-edge swords, you know.\”
By the confused stares of many onlookers, I gathered that not many knew my secret, but those were aware of my fairy gift sent me wary-eyed stares.
Imagine being glared at by the most powerful people in the government with something that was half-expectant and half-annoyance, and tell me you wouldn't want to shrink out of view too.
Thankfully, the initial negotiations began and all thought of the young wielder of the sense of sight disappeared from the onlookers' minds. Their focus turned on the battle of wits between the two clan leaders.
\”So, I'll lend you soldiers to help in your war against one of the biggest and baddest clans in the Fayne,\” Chris Pint began. \”And you'll provide me with forces to ensure the southern clans don't band together against me.\”
Auranos nodded. \”Our long conflict with the Sunspire Dominion has dragged on for long enough… we require more strength to end their threat on our western border.\”
\”But will you stop at just the border?\” Chris Pint asked knowingly.
He leaned back on his seat and waited for the patriarch's response. It came after a long moment of reflection. But when the patriarch spoke, he addressed not just the Lord of Stars, but all of us who were gathered there.
\”Too long has our kind been in conflict with one another for no reason other than a quest for power. The bodies have piled up so high that the deaths of our loved ones rival the Peak of Bloodsword Mountain,\” the patriarch stated.
He struggled to rise from his seat but waved off any effort to help him.
\”We fairies have been leaderless for far too long… and there have been a great many dark days with no hand to guide us through… I fear that if this rudderless path continues then we will not survive to see the next century,\” he proclaimed. \”We will be wiped out by our own foolish desires long before the five gates open and Ragnarok comes to claim us.\”
Nervous murmurs permeated the hall at this pronouncement of doom and gloom.
\”I seek an ending to this warring clans era, not for myself…\” the patriarch showed off his bandaged hands to the crowd and we all saw the bloody stains forming underneath the white fabric, \”but for the generation that comes after us… to give them a chance to build a better world, a kingdom of the Fayne far better than the one our ancestors built.\”
The murmurs changed, turning now into inspired awe at the injured elf who stood up straight despite his many pains, who spoke with a strong yet quiet voice that imbued all of us with feelings of hope.
\”I do not seek the empty throne so that I might sit on it and impose my will upon the world…\” he turned his gaze on his fellow patriarch. \”I seek it only to right our course, to change our bloody fate…\”
He paused and took a long raspy breath.
\”And I know this path will be far bloodier than any conflict before it, and a great many will hate us for choosing it, but I will gladly take in their ire… I will gladly sacrifice myself so that we might carve this future into being,\” he spoke.
The officers and nobles of the Trickster Pavilion began to shout that they would follow the patriarch into whatever abyss he was running headlong into.
\”Together… we will unite the clans… we will unite the Fayne!\” He roared louder than I'd ever heard him before.
There wasn't a single person there connected to the Trickster Pavilion who didn't have their hands raised. In fact, there were even some among the Starfall clan who looked up at Auranos in awe. Even the Lord of Stars was gazing up at his fellow patriarch with a warm grin on his face.
All of us were caught up in that inspiring moment. At least until the patriarch began to cough and cough, and then doubled over to the point where Chris Pint had to help him back to his seat which in itself was an interesting conclusion to the beginning of the summit.