The Broken Council (The Guardian Chronicles 1) (8 page)

“I
take what is rightfully mine, dear sister.
 
I am the eldest and should therefore be queen.
 
Just because you have a husband does not give
you any more right to the throne.
 
I
believe my ability to look out for me gives this new nation the sense of
direction that your limited mind could not possibly imagine!”
 
She was not going to hold back her true
feelings anymore.
 
“Yukio is nothing more
than an unworthy little man who wants fame and glory!
 
He is not fit to wear a crown even if he has
no real power.
 
It is an insult to the
high elves.
 
There are many who agree
with me and are willing to follow me as their leader.
 
They recognize your weakness and do not think
you are capable of leading them.
 
Think
about that!”
 
Kishi felt all of the anger
and resentment she had bottled up for the past few months leave her body in one
big rush.

“Well,
dear sister,” Kira said while keeping her rage in check, “you have made it
crystal clear where you stand.
 
The
question now is what are you going to do?
 
Will you stay here with us or are you leaving?
 
I know that you are good at the latter,” the
queen said in icy tones.
 
Waves of hate
emanated from both of them.

“Why
don’t we let the people decide?
 
Or are
you afraid of what they would say?
 
The
monarchy serves the people, not your own selfish desires.
 
If I am guilty of greed and being
self-centered, then a vote would help you to inventory yourself.
 
You may find that you and I are not so
different after all.
 
The keystone in my
life is that I recognize and embrace who I am.
 
You pretend to be something you are not.”

“Now
is not the time to make more changes.
 
We
will wait until the city is finished and then bring the issue up with the
council where these matters should be addressed,” Kira replied coolly.
 
She turned her back to her sister to make it
clear that the conversation was over.
 
I’m the queen, not her.
 
She is just jealous of my position and my
husband.

“I
will wait until the appointed time, my queen.
 
Make no mistake; I will present this issue to the council when our fair
city is complete.
 
All I ask of you is to
honor whatever decision they make,” Kishi replied confidently.
 
She has
given me some rope, and now I am going let her strangle herself with it!
 

“I
agree.
 
We will wait until then, and I
will respect the ruling of the council.
 
Until that time, I am still your queen, and you will not openly disagree
with me.
 
Understood?” Queen Kira stated,
with her back still to her sister.

“I
will wait until the then to make my case to the council. You have my word,” the
princess replied sardonically.

Kana
soared high over the sprawling Forest of Renshaw on a strong easterly wind.
 
She smiled as she looked down at the third
part of the elves moving toward their new home on Mount Quang.
 
She thought that these immortal beings would
have been more difficult to persuade, but they seemed only too eager to do her
bidding without even questioning her motives.
 
Her plan was working perfectly thus far, but she knew better than to
lure herself into believing that there would not be any hiccups along the
way.
 
She still had to keep up her guard
with the other elementals for the time being.
 
She firmly believed that Lady Necia and Lady
Hilzarie would join her when they heard her plan.
 
As she continued to congratulate herself on
her first victory, she turned with the wind to head toward the guardians’
homeland.
 
She could not be seen from the
ground as she glided amongst the white clouds.
 
Her wings changed colors randomly as she continued her journey so that
she would not be recognized by searching or wandering eyes.

There
was not much known about the race of elementals throughout the lands.
 
The lesser peoples of Tuwa did not know what
they really looked like because they could take the form of the element they
were composed of.
 
Kana was considered an
elder guardian because she was made of both fire and air.
 
She has the ability to command these elements
to do her bidding regardless of the intended use.
 
There were limitations to what she could
command however.
 
For example, it was
forbidden to command elements that they did not have stewardship over.
 
There were four basic elements that the world
was comprised of: fire, air, water, and earth.
 
Lady Necia had command over fire, while Lady Hilzarie controlled the
air.
 
These two guardians were both
accountable to Mistress Kana.
 
These
three chose to appear as human females when traveling through populated lands.

The
other two basic elementals were Lords Keb and Neb.
 
They chose to take on the form of a male
human when they were not mimicking their respective elements.
 
Keb commanded the earth and reported to an
elder guardian, just like Hilzarie and Necia.
 
Neb ruled water in its various forms while being subject to the same
guardian as Keb.
 
Mistress Khalida was
their elder and was much more sensible than her volatile sister Kana.
 
She was made of both earth and water.
 
She was considered to be the most patient of
all the guardians and was more than a match for any of the elementals, with the
exception of their master.
 
He was more
powerful than all of the others combined.

The
guardian was made from all four elements.
 
This unique combination gave him ultimate power and command over all the
elementals.
 
He chose to appear in a male
human form when he traveled outside his eastern realm, which he had not done openly
for several centuries.
 
Even among the
guardians he was considered to be the rightful lord of middle Tuwa.
 
His power and wisdom was matched by none
other throughout the land.
 
No one could
utter his name because it had real power when spoken by someone with knowledge
of the sacred language.
 
No mortal or
immortal had ever attempted to speak his sacred name out of fear of
reprisal.
 
As a result of this, the
guardians simply referred to him as their master while the lesser beings called
him lord.
 
Kana did not care for him or
his power over her at all, but she was wise enough to respect his immense
capabilities for the moment.
 
The respect
for his name had changed over the centuries in regards to using his name.

The
mistress of fire and air desired to be more powerful than her master and she
was willing to do what it took to make that a reality.
 
She worked tirelessly to hide this secret
ambition from the other elementals, and especially from him.
 
She was gliding gracefully as she continued
her journey east flying over the high plains of Landen.
 
Her thoughts turned to the meeting that would
take place once she arrived at the council she had been summoned to.
 
It was imperative to not give the others any
ammunition to use against her at this crucial juncture in her plan.
 
She needed to keep her indecorous deeds
safely hidden and her malicious motives concealed until the right moment.
 
She knew that the only one she had to worry
about was the head of their council.
 
He
seemed to always know everything, but she had taken careful measures to act in
such a way that it would not be readily apparent what her intentions were.
 
It was as though he could read her thoughts
and divine from his intrusion what a person was plotting even through her
mental barriers.
 
She wanted that power
to be hers.
 
She just had to be patient
to learn all that she needed to in order to move her plans forward.

The
guardians gathered together from various parts of middle Tuwa for the council
meeting called by their master.
 
Only
Mistress Khalida appeared to have an idea of what the purpose of this gathering
was for by the confident manner she was displaying.
 
They were silent as they waited for the
guardian to arrive.
 
Belatedly, Mistress
Kana graced the council with her presence after her long trek from the western
lands.
 
She nodded to the others as she
took her proper place in the circle.
 
Then their master appeared suddenly in their midst.
 
He took on his human form after his
spectacular appearance.
 
The rest of the
council followed his lead and transformed themselves into similar forms.
 
A massive circular table appeared in their
midst with seven granite-looking chairs.
 
The guardian took his seat and bade the other to sit down so that they
could begin.

No
one spoke as they waited for their leader to start the meeting.
 
The air about them seemed to be alive with
some form of raw pulsating power.
 
Crackling noises could be heard around them as they sat patiently around
the massive table.
 
All eyes were
directed toward their master in anticipation of what he would say.
 
Clouds began to form ominously overhead, and
sounds of thunder tore through the near silence that had come over the balcony
where they sat.
 
An earth-shattering boom
rang out as he stood to address his ancient council.
 
Does he
always have to be so dramatic?
Kana thought as she rolled her eyes.

“We
are gathered here to discuss events that are past and that will come to pass,”
the guardian said calmly as he looks at his fellow elementals.
 
“It has been too long since we have met
together, and there has been a recent transgression by someone at this table
that must be addressed.”
 
He was careful
not to look at the guilty party.
 
He was
hoping that she would confess her error and make amends for the trespass.
 
I doubt
very much that she will come clean…especially in front of the others.

“Master,
tell us who has broken our law,” Lord Neb intoned slowly.
 
He instantly knew what was being referred
to.
 
Someone had commanded his element to
do his or her bidding.
 
He thought that
it was Mistress Khalida when it happened, so he did not worry about it because
she too had the command of water.
 
Now he
did not feel that this was the case because the matter was now before the
entire council.

“My
lord, I commanded the wind to bring storm clouds to me so that I could help
care for some elf children,” Mistress Kana said apologetically.
 
“I used my power to force the rain to be
unloosed from the clouds to cleanse the needy creatures.”
 
She bowed her head towards the council to
show her humility and willingness to accept punishment for her actions.
 
That
should catch them off guard. This new direction will be much more efficacious
than what I had originally planned to do.

“Mistress
Kana, what was the purpose of your actions?” asked Lord Keb sharply.
 
He had never trusted Kana and had the feeling
that she was hiding something.
 
Our fiery friend is up to something.

“While
traveling amongst the free peoples of middle Tuwa, I came across some travelers
who seemed to have lost their way,” she began smoothly.
 
“They looked like they had had a nasty
encounter with some wild beasts that were not native to the Black Forest and they
appeared to still be in danger when I found them.
 
Apparently the red wolves from the southlands
had picked up the scent of the two elves as they were attempting to flee.
 
I sensed immense good in the two children and
knew right away that this couple was important to the races of Tuwa.
 
So, I intervened in their behalf and drove
off the vile gigantic wolves.
 
It was at
this time that I caused the rain to come to cleanse them of the impurity left
by their encounter.”
 
She felt triumphant
as she looked at the accepting looks from the council.
 
These
fools will believe anything!

The
master of the council immediately knew she was lying, but he did not understand
the purpose of the lie.
 
He knew exactly
what she had done.
 
He knew that she
joined an elf and a man in a marital union that would not be accepted by the
elves.
 
He knew that by intervening she
had altered the future of the free lands of middle Tuwa.
 
What he did not understand was why.
 
What are
you after Kana?
 
What do you have to gain
from all of this?

“Kana,
since you have violated the law forbidding the command of an element not in
your stewardship and the law prohibited inferring with the races of Tuwa, you
will be banned from the West Land––” the master began to announce her
punishment.

“What?
 
Is this a permanent banishment?” Kana asked
while trying to remain calm.
 
She knew
that her lord was more than able to restrain her from going into the West Land.
 
She could not allow this to happen.
 
She had to think of something quick or all
would be lost.

“No,
it is only for the time it will take me to undo what you have done.”
 
He had a blank look on his face that did not
reveal what he was really thinking.
 
Let’s see what she thinks of that.

“Master,
I should be the one to undo the damage that I have caused.
 
I am responsible for what has happened, and I
should be the one to reverse the damage done.
 
Please allow me to make amends for my wrongdoing.
 
You may choose whomever you want to accompany
me on this charge.”
 
She knew whom he
would send and knew that she could easily control him.
 
Hopefully
he allows me to do this; otherwise I will have to accelerate my plans.

“Lord
Keb, you will accompany the transgressor on this task.
 
You will report your progress to Mistress
Khalida on a regular basis.
 
It may take
some time to redress the wrongs that have been committed, Kana,” he admonished
sternly.
 
He gave Keb a piercing gaze that
held him transfixed.
 
It was as if he
were communicating something very important through that look.
 
I do
not like the look of that silent communication
, thought Kana.
 
She hid her concern from the others so the
guardian would end his lecture.

“I
will do as you have commanded, my master,” replied the lord of the earth.
 
He felt equal to the task with the knowledge
given to him from the guardian.
 
His lord
had also given him a stern warning about the probable treachery of Kana through
their wordless communication.

“Then
you agree to allow me to repent of my wrong doing?” Kana humbly asked.

“Yes,
you are right about one thing, Kana; you alone will pay for what you have
done.
 
Know this, if you attempt to
deceive me again, you will feel the full extent of my displeasure.
 
I will not tolerate disobedience and
lies.
 
I do not fully understand the
purpose of your actions, but make no mistake, I will find out.”
 
He showed no emotion as he spoke.
 
The air about crackled and snapped with
immense power.
 
He seemed to be radiating
massive amounts of energy as he stood imperiously at the head of the council.