The area around the new stage was crowded. Thousands of elven citizens had gathered to hear the king. Mixed in with the crowd were hundreds of angry protesters. Many of the protesters carried signs demanding peace; others handed out red flowers to signify the elven blood that would flow should the king get his way and drag Elvangar into the human war.
Princess Alahara and Princess Alastasia moved systematically through the crowd casting compulsion spells on protesters that carried pouches of rocks. After several hours of making the boys return the rocks to the river, the princesses thought the protest would be fairly tame. Suddenly, shouting drew the attention of Princess Alastasia. She turned and saw Levitor arguing with Kara. Being careful not to draw attention to herself, she made her way closer to find out what was going on.
“I don’t control them,” yelled Kara. “I made all of the arrangements, but I cannot force them to act.”
“Be quiet,” hushed Levitor as he grabbed the boy by the arm and dragged him around the corner of a building and out of sight of the other protesters.
Princess Alastasia moved cautiously along the front of the building until she had almost reached the corner. She stood with her back to the building and tried to listen to the conversation, which had dropped decidedly in volume.
“Don’t ever raise your voice in my presence again,” warned Levitor.
“How was I supposed to know that you are in this with Salfour,” argued the boy. “No one told me. I thought that someone had discovered my part in this.”
“Well I am telling you now,” Levitor shot back. “The point is, no one is carrying stones. How do you expect to start a riot if you are the only one with stones.”
“We delivered stones to everyone,” frowned Kara. “I saw them carrying them before. I don’t know what happened.”
“Well you better find out, and fast,” threatened the mage. “The king will be coming out to speak soon. I want blood flowing in the streets.”
“We have time,” argued the boy. “The soldiers have not even arrived yet. They will come out well before the king.”
“So you are an expert on royal protocol now?” taunted the mage. “Just obey your orders and make sure that plenty of people have stones to throw. If this fails, I will have your hide. Do you understand?”
“I understand,” replied the boy.
Unexpectedly, the mage cursed. Princess Alastasia frowned as she tried to imagine what was going on around the corner. She looked across the park and saw Garl marching towards her. She bit her lower lip and hoped the Head Mage would not give her away.
“What is it?” asked the boy.
“I have to go,” Levitor said. “Make sure that you don’t let us down.”
Suddenly, Levitor emerged from around the corner. He tried to move quickly away from the protest, but Garl called loudly to him. Levitor stopped and turned to meet Garl.
“Look at the crowd out here today,” Levitor said innocently. “Have you come to listen to the king speak, too?”
“I do not have time for such things,” Garl replied gruffly. “I have been looking all over for you. Come with me to the Society. We must talk.”
Princess Alastasia exhaled slowly as Garl’s eyes passed over her. She saw the look of recognition in his eyes, but he said nothing.
“What about?” Levitor asked nervously. “I was hoping to hear the speech.”
“You will hear nothing new in today’s speech,” replied the Head Mage. “I have spent time this morning thinking about my replacement as Head Mage. I need to talk to you in the garden of the Society.”
“While I am flattered that you are considering me for such an august position,” replied Levitor, “I would prefer to talk about it here.”
“I am not considering you for the position,” Garl replied. “There are others who are better qualified, but it is your services that I require right now.”
“Perhaps later,” Levitor shook his head.
“Now,” Garl said adamantly. “Or would you care for me to tell Maraton that you could not be bothered speaking to me?”
“Maraton?” Levitor echoed, his voice showing a hint of fear. “Oh,” he continued more calmly, “now I understand. Yes, Maraton is an excellent choice. There is little more that I could add to that recommendation.”
“Very well,” shrugged Garl as he turned to leave. “Maraton is waiting in the garden. I will tell him that you are too busy to attend. He will be disappointed by the lack of support for his application.”
“I already gave my recommendation,” Levitor called after the Head Mage, but Garl ignored him.
Levitor cursed again and ran after Garl. Kara came around the building and stood staring at the retreating mages. He turned and saw Princess Alastasia leaning against the building.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Resting,” smiled Alastasia. “Truthfully, I am a bit nervous about this afternoon.”
“Nervous?” frowned Kara. “About what? It is not you who will address the people from the stage.”
A boy walked by carrying his pouch of stones and heading for the river. Kara watched the boy curiously and then called him by name. The boy did not respond, and Kara appeared ready to run after the lad.
“I guess he didn’t hear you,” smiled the princess. “What do you think the king will say today?”
“What?” Kara asked in confusion as he was torn between running after the boy and hiding his involvement as one of the organizers.
“The king,” Alastasia repeated. “What do you think he will say?”
“How would I know?” snapped Kara as he turned to run after the boy.
Princess Alastasia swiftly cast a spell of compulsion on Kara. The ringleader stopped suddenly and turned around. He walked over to the building and leaned against it.
“Are you sick?” asked the princess.
“What?” Kara said groggily. “I just feel weak.”
“Then you should make sure that everyone’s stones are safely returned to the river,” smiled Alastasia. “That will make you feel better.”
“Yes, it would,” Kara nodded enthusiastically. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
“You did think of it,” chuckled the princess.
Alastasia watched Kara wander off into the crowd of protesters. She saw him tap a boy on the shoulder and point to the river. The boy looked back with confusion on his face, but he complied and soon headed to the river to deposit his stones. Princess Alahara soon walked up to her sister and leaned against the building.
“Taking a break?” asked Alahara. “There are still more stone-throwers out there.”
“Not for long,” grinned Alastasia. “I found a more efficient way of getting rid of them. I ordered Kara to do it.”
Princess Alahara laughed heartily as she turned to follow Kara’s progress.
“Levitor was just threatening Kara,” informed Alastasia. “Then Garl appeared and demanded that he return to the Society of Mages. Do you know what the old man is up to?”
“No,” Alahara shook her head, “but Avalar has faith in his uncle. That should be good enough for us.”
“I suppose,” responded Alastasia. “Look. The Council of Elders is coming onto the stage. I guess things will be heating up real soon. We need to start worrying about the mages. They can make the difference this afternoon.”
“You go to the Society of Mages and check up on them,” suggested Alahara. “I am going to keep close tabs on Kara and his friends. I will not let them start a riot.”
Princess Alastasia nodded and ran off towards the home of the mages. Alahara scanned the crowd until she found Kara and then moved in to follow him. She did not stop him from ordering the boys to get rid of their stones, but she kept close to him while he did so.
* * *
The Council of Elders sat behind a long table on the newly built stage. They peered at the thousands of citizens before them. The crowd was quite noisy, and the citizens could not hear the elders speaking among themselves.
“This is quite a protest,” remarked Amber. “There must be thousands of demonstrators here.”
“It is hardly fair to call all of them demonstrators,” replied Volox. “Most of the people have gathered today to hear the king address the people. If it is protesters that you seek, look at the ones carrying the signs.”
“Not all protesters are carrying signs,” retorted Amber. “Do not try to sway this council with false words.”
“I think the mood of the people will be clear to those who listen to the responses to the king’s words,” interrupted Malid, the Head Elder. “Having said that, I think the duty of an elder is to vote with the best interests of Elvangar in mind, not necessarily the fickle mood of the uninformed public. It will be our responsibility today to vote on a proposal put forth by the King of the Elves.”
“And why are we holding this vote in public?” asked one of the elders. “The council never votes in public.”
“Are you afraid of the people seeing how you vote?” taunted another elder.
“That is not the point,” frowned the first elder. “The question is a legitimate one. Why is this vote being held in public?”
“Because the king requested it,” answered Malid. “This council has been torn evenly on this subject for some time now. That is all about to end. The king has offered to address the people in public, and he has requested that the council vote in public. This decision is so important, that I felt that we could not refuse.”
“In all fairness,” interjected Amber, “someone from the opposition should also be allowed to address the public before we vote.”
“And would that be you?” asked Volox. “Are you prepared to stand and speak against this war?”
“I am prepared to speak against it,” nodded Amber, “but I can do so as part of the council proceedings leading up to the vote. I think a member of the public should be chosen to speak.”
“And suppose they do not choose wisely,” smiled Volox. “Will you then ask for another voice to be heard?”
“Of course not,” balked Amber. “Let’s just make an announcement and let the protesters choose whoever they want. That would be fair in my book.”
“Do we need a vote on this?” asked Volox. “To formalize it, I mean.”
“Well,” pondered Malid, “this council is not in session yet. If we want to bring up any motion, we must start the session. Perhaps we should wait until the king’s speech is over.”
“No,” protested Amber. “Give the protesters some time to choose a spokesperson. If we have to start the session early, then so be it.”
The Head Elder scanned the faces of the council and nodded. “Very well,” he said. “I open this meeting of the Council of Elders. Are there any motions?”
Volox waited patiently for Amber to present his motion. It passed unanimously with little discussion. A runner was called for, and a hasty message was constructed for the leaders of the protest.
“While we are waiting for a reply,” Volox said, “I would like to make another motion.”
“Speak, Volox,” nodded Malid.
“Because this vote today is so important that we are abandoning long set protocol,” Volox began, “I would like to invoke an old procedure that has not been used in many years. This motion is certainly not meant to cast aspersions on any elder, but to assure the public that they can have the highest confidence in their Council of Elders.”
“And what is this procedure?” asked Amber.
“Many years ago, particularly on important votes,” answered Volox, “the Council of Elders would submit to a magical examination to ensure that none of them were functioning under a spell of compulsion. This procedure verifies that no outsiders are exercising undo magical influence on the votes of the Elders.”
“A spell of compulsion on an elder would be a despicable act,” scowled Malid. “If ever there were a justified use of such an examination, today’s vote would fit that description. Are there any opponents to this motion?”
“May we vote on who shall administer this examination?” asked Amber.
“The Head Mage of the Society of Mages would be the one to administer the examination,” declared Volox.
“But Garl is hardly impartial on this,” protested Amber. “He is the king’s uncle.”
“Are you afraid of this examination, Amber?” taunted Volox.
“Absolutely not,” spat Amber. “Any elder who allows himself to fall under a magician’s spell should be forced to resign. I am merely questioning the impartiality of the examiner.”
“The Head Mage has remained steadfastly neutral on this issue,” declared Malid, “as he has on all other political issues. If you are referring to Garl’s involvement in the Karaza affair, I would like to make two points about that. One, he was not Head Mage at the time. Two, his involvement was not based upon politics, but rather his focus was on the well being of the monarch. I would find fault with any Head Mage who did not react to that situation as Garl did. Can anyone find anything offensive regarding the selection of the Head Mage to provide this examination?”
No elder spoke, and Malid called for a vote. While Amber grumbled because he did not care for Volox ever getting his way, the vote passed unanimously. Malid again called for a runner and dispatched a message to the Society of Mages.
The crowd grew restless as they waited for the king to appear. Suddenly, the lift was seen descending out of the Royal Tree. People shouted and pointed towards the lift on which the king was clearly visible. The protesters started chanting as the King of the Elves marched across the grass to the newly built stage. Some of the citizens remarked that the king did not have his usual contingent of soldiers escorting him.
Out in the crowd of citizens, the council’s runner went from protester to protester in an attempt to find one of the organizers. The runner finally ended up being directed to Kara who accepted the note.
“Well, imagine that,” Kara grinned. “The Council of Elders has actually invited me to pick a spokesperson to refute the king’s arguments.”
“You are a big man today,” smiled Princess Alahara. “I hope you speak well.”
“Not me,” grinned Kara. “This is your chance to speak. You did say that you would.”
“Only if you demand that I do,” shrugged the princess. “You have the right to choose anyone you want. Whoever you choose, you and your friends should march up on the stage and call for the selected person to come forward. That way everyone will know that the person truly speaks for the protesters.”
“That is not a bad idea,” grinned Kara, “but first we have to drown out the king’s speech. I’ll be back in a minute.”
King Avalar reached the stage and stepped to the edge of it. He waved to the citizens and received a chorus of boos from the protesters in the audience. Signs against the war were held high in the air, and red flowers were thrown towards the stage. While the protesters were but a fraction of the audience, they were extremely vocal. Every time the king’s mouth opened to speak, the protesters chanted slogans loudly. King Avalar waited patiently.
Princess Alastasia slipped through the crowd and found her sister. She frowned at the protesters around her.
“We both owe apologies to Garl,” Alastasia whispered in Alahara’s ear. “All three of them are now plant food.”
“Are you serious?” Alahara asked excitedly. “He did this alone?”
“By himself,” nodded Alastasia as she was distracted by the sound of distant singing. “I was wrong to doubt him.”
Unexpectedly, thousands of elves suddenly appeared on each street leading towards the Royal Tree. The newly arrived elves marched in columns and sang patriotic marching songs while converging on the stage. They raised high the banners that they carried. On each of the banners were the names of elven families. Larger banners, each requiring two elves to carry, indicated the names of the outlying villages that the elves had come from. Princess Alastasia excitedly poked her sister and pointed to the elves carrying the Etta banner. It was Eltor and Caldal.
“They did it,” Alahara beamed. “There must be thousands of them.”
King Avalar waved happily as the village elves mingled into the crowd of city elves. When the procession ended, the area was packed shoulder-to-shoulder. The first time the king tried to speak after the arrival of the village elves, there was a smattering of chants trying to drown him out, but it soon died as the villagers told the protesters to shut up and listen. The non-protesting citizens of Morada also joined in, urging the protesters to be quiet so that the king could speak.
“Thank you for this opportunity to address you,” the king said loudly. “Regardless of how each of you feels about this coming war, I am pleased that so many of you have come to listen to what I have to say. We are at the brink of the most important decision that the elven people have had to make in two thousand years. Some of you have been protesting every day in the streets of Morada against elven involvement in the coming war. Your chants and slogans make it sound as if I am trying to lead the elven people to their deaths in order to protect the humans. You are entitled to your opinions, but I want to set the record straight before the Council of Elders votes today.”
The king paused and surveyed the crowd. He was thankful that no stones had yet been hurled in his direction, although he was maintaining a magical shield around himself.
“I would never put human lives above the lives of my people,” declared the king. “Not because I think humans are less of a people, but because I am responsible for the elves, and only the elves. The humans have their own leaders to look after their people. A great many of you may then be wondering why I am pushing to join with the humans in the coming war. It is a valid question for a citizen to ask, and I do not think poorly of anyone for asking it. It is a question that I have asked myself a thousand times. It is not easy being a king and having the fate of your people in your hands. It requires one to constantly reevaluate his decisions to make sure that he is doing what is in the best interests of his people. But there comes a time when there is no easy choice to make. This is one of those times.”
One of the protesters shouted that the king should just let the humans fend for themselves. The king smiled at the protester and nodded.
“That is one of the options,” replied Avalar. “There is one problem with that position. I have been to the Island of Darkness. I have seen Vand’s army. I have also been to the land of the humans and seen their preparations for war. It is my firm belief that without our help, the humans will certainly fall before Vand’s armies. Still, you might ask, why is this any concern of the elves? Let me tell you why. Vand set out to capture the King of the Elves for a specific reason. That reason was to keep us out of the war against the humans. When I was held captive, I was Vand’s insurance that the elves would not interfere in his affairs until it was too late. He knows that he will have an easier time of conquering both the humans and the elves if he can just attack us separately.”
The citizens started talking among themselves, and the king gave them some time to digest his words before continuing.
“There is no doubt in my mind that Vand will turn his massive armies on Elvangar as soon as he is done with the humans,” continued the king. “The only way that we can escape attack, is if Vand falls before the human armies, and that is impossible unless the elves join with the humans now. Will elven warriors fall in the coming battles? Yes, no matter whether we fight in the land of the humans, or we fight here in Elvangar. War is coming, my people, no matter what we decide here today. It is only a question of where we will fight the enemy. Look around this great city and gaze upon what we have built together, for if we choose to hide behind the Gates of Elvangar, Morada will soon resemble the ancient city of Alamanda. I aim to avoid that fate for my people. Today I am asking the Council of Elders to vote upon a resolution endorsing my plan to aid the humans in their battle against the forces of Vand. I know the elders will vote what they think is best for all of Elvangar, but it is only natural to be swayed by public opinion. It is in that vein that I ask you, the citizens of Elvangar, for your support in this effort.”
For several moments there was silence from the crowd as the king’s words sunk in. Then a few protesters started to chant, but the other citizens quickly drowned them out. Some of the elders sat with surprise on their faces at the support the king had managed to garner. Malid rose and walked to the edge of the stage while the king retreated to stand behind the council.
“In fairness to the citizens,” Malid stated loudly, “we call up the leaders of the protest movement to speak their piece to the citizens. After that speech, the Council of Elders will vote publicly on the resolution offered by the king.”
Kara and his two friends made their way up to the stage. Alahara gazed up at the Royal Tree as she planned what she would say. She froze when she saw two people gazing down at the crowd. She nudged her sister and pointed upward.
“Kanis is with Mother,” Alahara said urgently. “You must get up there. Kanis will have a fit when she hears me speak. Who knows what she might do?”
Alastasia nodded and pushed her way through the massive crowd. The people yelled at her and cursed, but Alastasia did not care. She ran as if her mother’s life depended upon her speed.
The three boys reached the stage and encouraging shouts came from the audience. Kara grinned and waited for the applause to die down.
“Some of you may think that I am crazy,” grinned Kara, “but I have selected a very special person to speak this afternoon. I urge every person here today to listen carefully to her words because she knows the truth about this human war. She has lived among the humans and has been to the Island of Darkness. What better perspective could we hope to hear today? I call upon Princess Alahara to speak to the people.”
King Avalar feigned as much surprise as many of the citizens felt. The crowd parted and the princess made her way forward. As she walked across the stage, she reinforced the compulsion spells that they had placed on the three boys. She walked up to Kara and his two friends and whispered to them with a big smile as if she were thanking them for the invitation to speak.
“Whatever happens for the rest of the day,” she smiled, “remember that every word I speak brings you pleasure. You will smile and cheer when my speech is over.”
The boys smiled and nodded dutifully as the princess turned and walked to the edge of the stage to address the citizens.