*
The Unifier’s infinitely deep, blue eyes absorbed the vision of worldly power gathered before Him.
The massed gathering of generals, nobles, lords, barons, counts, emirs, ambassadors, boyars, chieftains, prelates, bishops, and other various powers of humankind were assembled within the Great Hall, the stately edifice located on the second level of His towering mountain citadel.
The environment was much different from the last time the Unifier had convened a similar gathering, commanding the presence of emissaries and representatives of the secular, ecclesiastical, and other religious powers of Ave. That convocation had been just another routine audience with the Unifier, a time to deliver tributes, express loyalties, curry favors, and be issued expectations and commands. This occasion was much more than that. It carried the vibrant atmosphere of a formal celebration, on the eve of a grand new era, the air buzzing with energy born of anticipation and desire. It was a very befitting space for such a prominent, momentous assembly to occur.
The side walls of the long, rectangular hall were richly adorned with tapestries from many lands across the world. They were interspersed with the magnificent, recessed fireplaces that lent a further elegance to the hall. The various scenes of battles, eminent figures, and hunts played out splendidly upon the suspended cloths, the vivid, colorful designs woven by the most skillful of hands to be found within Ave.
Sunlight bathed the resplendent hall through the high clerestory windows, where the arched openings were set farther above in the walls. The light reached far into the shadows, revealing the hall in all of its grandeur.
Intermittent pilasters soared up the side walls to support intricately carved capitals, which in turn served to support the elaborate ribs of the vaulting gracefully fanning out across the ceiling far overhead. The ceiling itself was painted a deep blue, and dotted abundantly with stars of reflective silver. The series of chandeliers down the midst of the hall, whose multitudes of beeswax candles brought forth a scene of splendor from that ceiling when lit, were devoid of flames, but added to the stateliness of the environs nonetheless.
The brilliant painting of a white star wreathed in red flame graced the dark background of the apse, where the high dais was located. All eyes were turned towards the elevated stone platform holding the singular throne set into that apse, at the end of the majestic hall.
Standing upon the stone surface before the ornately carved throne, His head crowned in a bright golden circlet, was the Unifier. His piercing eyes seemed to look into each and every person in the room. He was clad in a long tunic of pure white silk, secured with a white belt brocaded with golden thread that was tied about His waist.
A sword rested in an ornate scabbard attached to the belt, the silver and gold inlaid hilt, circular pommel, and wide, upturned crossguard gleaming brightly. His rich locks of dark hair shined luxuriantly, with a slightly wavy texture. To those gathered, The Unifier was a living personification of strength and authority.
A few paces behind the Unifier, echoing the strength of His presence, were the members of His High Council; Gyriel, Morrigan, Niketas Palaeologos, Dragone of Girosan, Reginald FitzOsbern, Lothario Dandolo, and Ahriman.
The seven eminent figures were gathered in a semicircle upon the dais. Great warriors, Wizards, sages, and sorcerers, male and female, the members of the High Council were greatly feared by all who were familiar with them. They had the power to shake kingdoms to their foundations, able to speak with the unsurpassed authority of the Unifier. It was no secret that each one of them held great favor with the Unifier, more so than any king or emperor within all of Ave.
It was also lost on no man or woman present as to from whom the members of the High Council derived their lofty authority. While the seven of the High Council were rarely seen gathered all together before a large audience, none of those crowding the length of the hall were distracted from the singular reason for their collective presence.
The hall, from the bottom edge of the dais’ steps to the great, iron-banded pair of oaken doors in the back, was filled to capacity with representatives from lands that had placed their will into the hands of the Unifier. Many had come on very short notice, from the farthest reaches of the known world.
Most were very sore and exhausted from long travel by sea, air, or land, worn out by the forced pace of travel needed to reach Avalos in time for the imperative assembly. There were many who looked forward to the feast that would be placed before them that very evening, and to the undisturbed rest that would soon follow the prodigious repast.
Yet such thoughts were pushed far to the back of their minds. For the moment, their attentions were fully focused upon the perpetually rising world ruler elevated before them.
Their eyes looked upon Him with a mix of fear, awe, respect, and loyalty in varying degrees. The Unifier had first risen with the authority of the seven great western kingdoms behind Him, and He was now crafting and nurturing the ascension of an unprecedented new order, all across the entire world.
As the vision of this new age was being unveiled, many believed that it was to be the most advanced and flourishing empire that any scholar had ever witnessed or written of. The Unifier’s power knew no boundaries, and it was becoming evident that no land or populace could stand in open opposition to Him.
The submission to His greater authority was not without reward, as the wealth and power of the high lords, leaders, and rich merchants of loyal realms were expanded to ever greater degrees. Wars had decreased, and trade had expanded, even if the former had not altogether ceased.
That the age had grown more difficult for millions of commoners in the kingdoms and empires, however, was of little or no concern to most of the prominent figures in the Great Hall.
With the Unifier’s seemingly mythical ability to lead, gain consensus, vanquish enemies, and expand power, it seemed to most that He was beyond human. Whatever deity or god any of them prayed to, they had no doubts that the Unifier curried the favor of the divinities themselves.
He did not age, He did not get sick, and He trod upon a path of astounding success, one that left His enemies broken and conquered in its wake.
The belief continued to be ingrained that no mere man could wield such power and authority. No ruler could possibly be graced with the incomparable victories that The Unifier had enjoyed, without having the greatest of blessings from a Creator or gods alike.
“Loyal generals, lords, kings, ambassadors, great merchants, emirs, boyars, and nobles, a profound time is at hand,” the Unifier began, His voice rising to a crescendo as it expanded to saturate the capacious hall with its melodious resonance.
His articulate, smooth voice was understood in all languages spoken by those within the Great Hall, a tremendous phenomenon that was further attributed to divine favor. One of the earliest stories in the Sacred Writings spoke of the disintegration of communication amongst the enemies of the All-Father in a distant age, as they tried to build a great tower to reach the heavens themselves. To have one voice that was understood by all, each in their very own tongue, was nothing short of a miracle, whose nature could not possibly have been derived from any dark source.
“I have called all of you here, as we begin the first step of our final struggle. Our armies are now massed to strike upon Saxany and the Five Realms. You have responded well to My call, as another great army and fleet is forming rapidly… growing with each day that passes
… in the port at Thessalas.
“It will not be much longer before we move to attack Midragard. The end to this dying age, and a dying history, is now within sight. The time is soon coming when the greatest achievement in the entire existence of this world will be attained. An order such as has never been seen before will be brought to the whole world.
“You shall all be the richer for it. You will see that our paths go together, as one, in unity and common purpose. That which you seek is gained from the path that I guide you forward upon. It is a wide path, paved in gold, which brings together so many other paths. Only one narrow path, that of folly, does not join this triumphant way. Only the misguided and the foolish trod upon it with their archaic ways. Your destination lies just ahead with Me, and is now within sight.
“One world. One focus. One Great Authority.”
Some in the audience felt a deep tinge of unease at the Unifier’s bold, elegent words, but not one of them was about to speak out in protest. As if absolutely nothing radical had been said, the Unifier smiled resplendently at His audience, seeming to exude the warmth of an invitation to a great feast upon each of them. The effect was simply mesmerizing, encompassing all who beheld Him.
Though inexplicit, their minds viewed him as the living embodiment of all their hopes, as well as the incarnate change that needed to transpire to realize those lofty ambitions. When He continued with His oration, they were hanging upon His every word, as if He was speaking to them personally.
“You have no doubts of My intentions towards each of you. You have greater wealth, power, and resources than you have ever known. I have always given a strong hand to crush and suppress any that would be enemies of those who have given their full allegiance to Me. History testifies that this is true.
“This path has not always been easy. But I have never led you astray. I have healed your lands. I have shown you the folly of fighting amongst yourselves… and you have all tasted the great power that we can bring forth together. The future will be no different for My loyal vassals, or for My enemies. The choice is each man and woman’s to make, an exercise of one’s own free will.”
The Unifier’s words thundered from His mouth, His voice having swelled again to fill the hall and the ears of His rapt audience.
“From the Seven Western Kingdoms, who have always stood as one behind Me, to the lands that have since pledged themselves as allies, to those that stand here this very day, know that the path ahead will still be difficult. But know also that it will lead to a world the likes of which none of you have ever before dreamed could exist… a world that you can only barely imagine.”
As the sound of His voice trailed off, a broad smile formed upon His face. His full lips spread wide to show His perfect, opal-pure set of teeth.
To a few of those standing nearest to the base of the dais, those teeth appeared at that moment to be unnaturally sharp and long. Those very same people dismissed the perception a moment later as being a mere trick of the light, spurred by their own nervousness in the sheer radiance of His overwhelming presence.
Though they knew not the reason, others in the hall who were not yet wholly subservient in heart and mind to the Unifier felt a coldness permeate their bodies. Their skin felt clammy before the chill sank deeper within them, causing them to visibly shudder in the wake of the Unifier’s open mention of that future world.
Among this small number were two Kiruvan boyars, whose senses were still struggling to adjust to the bold display of might and power all around them. There was something very foreboding and threatening underneath the brilliantly adorned images that most were holding fast to within their minds. Without the same anchoring grasp as those who were given over fully to the Unifier, the awkward sensation that these boyars endured only heightened their anxiety.
Yet as with the others, they were also not about to speak out, knowing that their voices would be shrill and tiny in the face of such regal authority. It was as if a force compelled them to remain complacent and silent.
For most, that unsettling feeling passed like wisps of smoke in a gust of wind, as the Unifier continued with His address once again.
“We are ending religious conflict. We are feeding the populations of great kingdoms and smaller lands. We are bringing an end to all wars. It is going to be an unrivaled golden age, and you will share with Me in the glory for bringing it about. Let no enemy stand in our way!” The Unifier boomed, His powerful voice thundering through the hall, as He thrust His clenched right fist high into the air.
The spontaneous gesture brought forth a vigorous roar of adulation from the gathered powers, representing countless armies, uncountable wealth, and immense populations from all across the surface of Ave. There was not one being in the room that would have doubted for a moment then that nothing in the world could stand in the way of the Unifier’s aims. All were caught in the throes of the intoxicating moment, as if a flood of euphoria and enlightenment was coursing thoughout the Great Hall.
Seeing the assembled powers that they were in communion with inside the Great Hall, many of the lesser lords and representatives of smaller lands felt a tremendous sense of relief that they had chosen to submit themselves to the rising Lord of Avanor.
It could be seen by all that it was sheer folly to stand against the Unifier. All of those gathered could not help but marvel at the great power of the Unifier, now expanded far beyond the initial collective power wielded by the Seven Western Kingdoms.
They could not see how anyone could even remotely hope to wage war against the exalted Eminence standing upon the great dais. There were even a few within the spellbound crowd who already had begun to feel pity for the Saxans, the tribes of the Five Realms, and Midragard.
Of that diminutive group that had still managed to retain a little compassion, in the face of all the exhilaration and unrestrained ambition, there were those two Kiruvan boyars, more than any other, that felt deep misgivings about the fates of the three targeted lands.