The Broken Council (The Guardian Chronicles 1) (7 page)

After
a few minutes of rain the clouds dispersed and the sun high in the sky hit them
with full, blinding force once more.
 
The
chill that had their bodies shaking immediately vanished.
 
They felt oddly cleansed and renewed after freezing
rain.
 
They did not know that this elemental
had broken the laws of the guardians by intervening in lesser beings’ lives and
by commanding an element that she did not have stewardship over.
 
She had used her command of the winds to
bring the storm clouds to their location to do her bidding even though she
should not command water in any form.
 
As
soon as her servants were cleansed, she commanded the wind to remove the clouds
to their previous position.
 
Then she
commanded the heat of the sun to dry and solidify the change she had wrought in
these two unlikely partners.

“You
two are now bound together forever.
 
No
one can break the bond that has been created here today,” she said with a
commanding voice.
 
“Your mission is to
bring the elves that see the truth of things to this place to begin building
their new home.
 
They will be blessed by
the guardians for following their chosen servants.”
 
She spoke in a way that led them to believe
that she represented the guardian council.

“We
will do as you have asked,” replied Yukio and Kira in unison.

“Good.
 
Now is the time to do the work of the
guardians and to prove your loyalty to our cause,” Kana said with a smile.
 
At this point, it was unclear what she meant
by this statement.
 
The couple smiled
back at their new master while peace filled their souls.
 
They felt as though they were floating in the
clouds above the cares and woes of their former lives.
 
They just knew that their happiness would
last forever, but it would be tested by the shortsighted elven high council.
 
They also knew that Kira’s father, King Ciel,
would not tolerate what they had done.
 
He would try to make an example of them for sure.

There
was a subtle shift that could be felt throughout the different races of
Tuwa.
 
No one could explain what exactly
had changed, but they all knew that something for ill or good had taken
place.
 
An elf had broken their sacred
laws by marrying a man, and an elemental had violated the laws of her
order.
 
Everyone felt a permanent change
in their hearts that was unmistakably linked to the events that unfolded on
Mount Quang though were not consciously aware of these events.
 
The guardians felt the rift more profoundly
than anyone else because of the severity of the violations made by the guilty
parties.
 
They would have to wait and see
what would arise from these heinous acts.

The
sun shone brilliantly over the high peaks of Mount Quang to illuminate the new
and partially completed structures.
 
The
elves, who had recently seceded from under King Ciel Tiranidrol’s reign, had
given themselves a new name so that they would be unique and separate from
their woodland kin.
 
They took on the
moniker of high elves because of their new location on Mount Quang and also
because they felt morally superior to those who remained behind in
Renshaw.
 
Mist clung to the mountainside
as the light of this new day attempted to burn its way through the thick, moist
barrier engulfing the entire snow-capped mountain.

Kira
had been made queen, the rightful ruler of the high elves with Yukio at her
side.
 
He was a king in title only
because only an elf could be a monarch over elves.
 
The people had decided to uphold elven law
with only a few alterations.
 
Her sister
was still a princess and was the next in line to the throne.
 
While the people accepted General Yukio as
the spouse of their queen, they did not like him because of his constant
manipulation of everyone around him.
 
Their attitude did not sit too well with the charismatic military
man.
 
He hid his displeasure so that he
may be able to win the hearts of the people when the time was right.
 
An envoy was sent out with Yukio at the head
to the different nations that represented the free lands of Tuwa.
 
He had been asked to act as an ambassador for
the queen and the newly formed nation of high elves.
 
He was the perfect choice for the job because
of his connections with the leaders of the nations of men, giants, and dwarves.

All
of the homesteads had been completed before the high elves had moved from the
Forest of Renshaw into their mountain home.
 
The capital city of Alanderas encompassed much of the southern side of
Mount Quang.
 
Scaffolding surrounded many
of the buildings in the central part of the city like great skeletal
creatures.
 
These structures had not been
completed before the people moved in because they were for meetings and
commerce.
 
The dwelling places were the
most important thing to have finished, and that was why they were all complete.
 
Some of the residents lived outside the city
while the majority lived within the protective wall around the capital.

The
city looked beautiful and decadent, but it was also fortified against any
potential assaults.
 
High walls had been
erected around the perimeter to provide a certain level of protection against
unwanted intrusions or most aerial attacks.
 
The walls were three times the height of the tallest elf.
 
The width of these walls allowed a wagon to
ride easily along the top.
 
Naturally
magic had been used to speed up the construction of these solid barriers.
 
Trebuchets lined the top of the walls as the
main deterrent against a siege.
 
There
were several areas where the elven archers could be posted with a reasonable
amount of shielding.
 
The main entrance
had a gate that was half as thick as the defensive walls, which required ten
elves on each side of the dual doors to open and close them.
 
Alanderas was truly a mighty fortress that
could not be easily taken from the outside.

The
design used to build this enormous keep was patterned after the impenetrable
dwarven strongholds.
 
The queen and her
family resided in a castle located at the northern most part of the city.
 
This building was surrounded by another
massive wall that was twice as thick as the outer wall.
 
The dimensions were double that of the first
barrier in every respect.
 
In addition to
the trebuchets and archers, there are swordsmen and knights patrolling this
inner perimeter atop the massive bulwark.
 
There were catapults situated strategically behind the defensive barrier
as an additional protection against intruders.
 
The defenses were most impressive and awe inspiring to anyone who saw
them.
 
Those who did see these deterrents
believed that no one would be able to breach the impregnable fortifications of
Queen Kira’s inner sanctum.

Kira
felt it was vital to have protection and security this intense.
 
She did not know how the elves would react to
the division she had caused.
 
Also, she
could not predict how some of the other races like orcs and goblins would react
to this new power in the north.
 
They
might view the high elves as being weak and possibly vulnerable to an
attack.
 
They might take steps to destroy
them before they got an opportunity to grow.
 
She secretly wondered how the other elementals would react to the
intervention of the elder guardian Kana.
 
The only time a guardian got involved was to punish or destroy lesser
beings.
 
Her confidence wavered at this
thought.
 
She did not know if Kana would be
able to protect them against the other guardians if they too chose to get
involved or if they wanted to rectify the situation that the high elves had
instigated.

***

General
Yukio had a small group of high elven warriors with him to help protect the
chairman of the high elven council as they carried out their diplomatic
duties.
 
Bronwen Merindiel was the leader
of the council and was a very close friend to Queen Kira.
 
He was also a good friend the queen’s father
King Ciel of the woodland elves.
 
It had
been a difficult choice for him to leave the Black Forest, but he knew that
Kira’s ideas and beliefs were more in line with his.
 
He knew that the elven kingdom was headed
down a path that would diminish their standing in the Tuwa over time.
 
He could not bear the thought of such
weakness when he knew that there was a better way.
 
He truly felt that the queen was inspired in
her actions.
 
The fact that an elemental
was on their side brought him a great deal of comfort and resolution.

Chairman
Merindiel had long silver hair that glimmered softly in the early morning sun
as he rode along the eaves of the northern edge of the Black Forest.
 
He had very dark skin that contrasted this
shimmering silver mane.
 
He was so dark
that many of the elves referred to him as the dark one.
 
Any person who had never spoken to this wise
and gentle leader would probably assume that he was evil because of his ominous
appearance.
 
There were many of the high
elves that distrusted him and worried that he would betray their new
queen.
 
This line of thinking could not
have been further from the truth.
 
Next
to General Yukio, Bronwen was the most faithful and loyal supporter of the new
monarchy.
 
This skewed perception of the
council leader would cost him dearly in the end.

“Where
are we off to first, General Yukio?” the chairman asked airily.

“I
have been absent from my responsibilities for far too long, so we are going to
make our first visit to Queen Daria,” Yukio replied.
 
He had been gone for over six months without
returning to Nairi since his initial report after his union.
 
Queen Daria would want to have an update from
her general.
 
She would be very pleased
to make an alliance with the high elves.
 
King Ciel had denied an equal partnership with any race, so this was an
opportunity for mutual trade and for developing a strong relationship that
renewed old ties.
 
He was confident that
this first meeting would produce the best results out of all their visits.

“That
sounds like the most prudent course of action of course,” Bronwen agreed.
 
“We could definitely use a strong ally like
the people of Nairi.
 
Their proximity
will allow a new nation like ours to grow quickly and safely.”
 
The chairman truly believed that this plan
was a good one.
 
I hope that Queen Daria is as accepting as the good general believes.
 
His dark face hid his reservations while he
put on a confident smile to shore up Yukio’s diplomatic plan.
 
It was still difficult for him to overcome
his prejudices about men.

***

Queen
Kira sat in the newly constructed council chambers pondering a course of action
she would need to take if diplomacy did not work.
 
She was fairly certain that her husband and
the chairman would be successful as ambassadors for the high elves; however,
she was worried about their last visit.
 
She did not think her stubborn father would want to have anything to do
with her or the elves that followed her.
 
She stood up and began to pace around the open space where the council
table would soon be situated in front of her throne.
 
I
certainly hope that we are able to ally ourselves with the race of men and
dwarves; that way we will be able to withstand any retaliation from the elves.
 
She shook her head at such a dubious
thought.
 
This was going to be much more
difficult than she had originally thought.

The
door to the hall opened slowly to admit a slight dark figure.
 
After a moment, Queen Kira recognized her
sister as she walked further into the light that shone through the stained
glass dome.
 
She immediately sensed
something different about her sibling, but she could not attribute the change
to any one thing right away.
 
Kishi did
not have a favorable look on her face as she stared at her sister.
 
Clearly something was amiss and, from the
look of it, it was not going to be a pleasant conversation.

“Kishi,
what brings you here?” Kira queried pleasantly.

“Why
you of course, my queen,” Kishi replied sarcastically with an equally mocking
bow.
 
She had a wry smile on her face and
her mirthless eyes stared boldly at her sister.

“Kishi,
there is no need for formalities between us.
 
What is it that I can do for you?” countered the queen.
 
She had knots forming in her stomach at this
point.
 
She had never seen her sister act
like this.
 
What is going on?
 
What is she
playing at?

“My
queen, do you truly think it wise to trust a goddess of the elements to help us
without reciprocation?”
 
Kishi was not
going to waste time; they did not have much left.
 
She did not trust the guardians and was even
more concerned by only one of them showing any interest in them.
 
It also was troubling that the other elementals
did not choose to involve themselves in something as trivial as a coup while
one of their own did.
 
Something does not add up
.
 
What
is Kana doing getting involved with lesser beings?
 
Why help my sister of all people?
 
What makes her so special?

“You
do not believe that the guardians would help lesser beings like us.
 
You do not believe that they help others for
the simply reason of doing that which is right.
 
You have never trusted anyone but yourself,” Kira retorted angrily!
 
“You have always looked out for yourself and
cared for no one else.
 
Why did you even
bother coming with us if you did not believe in our cause?”
 
Her face flushed red with anger.
 
This is
pointless to fight amongst ourselves. Why is she really here?
 
What does she want?

“I
do not need your permission to do anything, dear sister.
 
I am more capable than you in every way
imaginable, and you know it.”
 
She was
not going to tolerate her younger sister’s idiocy.
 
“I came here because I too believe that the
elves were on the wrong path.
 
Politics
had taken place of traditions and freedom.
 
I believed the bureaucracy had taken over and that our inept father
could no longer control them or use them.
 
I do not believe, however, that you should be the one to lead these
people!”
 
An uncomfortable silence fell
between the two powerful sorceresses.
 
The issue was now in the open.

Kira
straighten up and walked toward her sister who stood in the very center of the
room.
 
“What are you saying?
 
Do you really believe that you could lead the
people?
 
You only care for yourself and
your own rapacious needs!”
 
The words
were like venom––thoughtless, but lethally intentional.