Chapter 487: Contingencies (1/2)

Chapter 487: Contingencies

SERIS VRITRA

I stood silently, surrounded by a collage of orange, purple, and aqua with yellow and white The Hall of Lords within Lodenhold was a surprisingly pretty place for the gruff dwarves to convene, but I’d always found the dwarven people to be a cautious alcheh they would certainly find the description insulting

Around the long, ornate table at the geode’s heart were several dwarves representingthem were the Earthborns and Silvershales Also present were Virion Eralith, de facto leader of the re elven people, Kathyln Glayder, who represented the affairs of the human nation of Sapin, and Gideon Bastius, chief inventor and scientist behind the advent of the Beast Corps, Dicathen’s neeapon

Their conversation had gone on for quite some time with minimal input from me This suited ons had retreated to their home of Epheotus with only a cursory notice to this world's leaders Few beyond this charona Vritra

Alacrya was free of him, even if it didn’t know it yet

But his sudden absence created a host of new dangers for rona and Kezess Indrath to further weaken each other had been essential to the continued safety of our world I feared this was a h, I could not see all ends, and only tiht myself and tamped down my frustration before it could leak out onto my face No, perhaps not undone entirely But, if Arthur isn’t able to dissuade thereater threat

Near the far end of the table, Durgar Silvershale, heir apparent to his father, Daglun, Lord of Clan Silvershale, had been silently stewing on soht for several minutes as the others discussed the situation in Vildorial I’d watched the way he tossed his graying hair, scratched at his freshly triray eyes full of fear and contempt

Finally, he burst out “Why do we not take the battle to Alacrya?”

The hall went silent as the other lords and their guests turned to hi the center of attention, Durgar nonetheless lifted his chin and e “We have many of their warriors i, the nu out two additional fresh prisons just to hold thereatest powers defeated For the first time in this whole dath!”

Although several of those present glanced ata response, I was not invited to speak, and while that was not strictly a deterrent, it was in my benefit to adhere to their decoru within the people of Dicathen over the last couple of weeks, but I also saw their fatigue and ariness Although soar had correctly suggested, the balance of poas perhaps tipped toward Dicathen, I did not think there was any danger

Lance Mica Earthborn leaned back in her seat and kicked one leg up over the other Her black gemstone eye reflected the many-colored crystals around us “Arthur is in Epheotus Lance Varay is recovering froard and depleted frorona really is defeated, then there is no reason to continue the war”

There were a few ree her own father, Carnelian Earthborn, whose voice would be essential to any decision the council caesturing to Gideon “The Beast Corps and…what did you call these things again?”

“Exoforertips brushed over patchy brows as he considered the table His eyes only barely touchedon Lord Earthborn “Since Arthur isn’t here to speak—and it was on his orders and with his support that the Beast Corps was forree to attack Alacrya”

Daglun Silvershale, lord of his clan, tugged at his braided beard anxiously “And is Arthur Leywin, a hu of all Dicathen now? Perhaps I missed his coronation, but last I checked, he was a Lance in service of the elven eth and his service to Dicathen”

“Not to ot so many killed,” Lance Mica said under her breath I made note of the comment and set it aside to consider more deeply later This is a problem that Arthur will need to address before it can fester

There was a glassy clatter as Lance Bairon Wykes shi+fted his stance, the steel of his boots ringing against the crystal slab on which we all stood “Arthur is not our king, but he nonetheless represents both our continent and our world in communication with the asuras If e’ve learned is accurate, he is in their land right now, certainly treating with their lord Can anyone else at this ti?”

I held back htforward defense of Arthur, and all the more because his words were true

Gideon cleared his throat He pointedly met Virion’s eyes, then Kathyln’s, and finally Carnelian Earthborn’s “No, but I do think Durgar is right on one point: the Alacryan presence in Vildorial is a burden the city can’t support The cost of food alone, even prison gruel, is likely to bring the city to its knees in less than a month” Finally, the old scientist turned his attention to ree, that the only way to move forward is to release the Alacryans and send theu up to this iven both his audience and his station a theh Not sharp or victorious, but soft and grateful, as if I were hearing his words for the first time

It had been difficult to communicate properly, as I had only recently been allowed to leave the prisons that still held the rest of side the Dicathians like Caera Denoir and Lyra Dreide lіght

оvelworld~cо with me, and, even after my release, I hadn’t been allowed to leave Vildorial to communicate with the hu toand patient ave his voice an outsized weight in coer an armed conflict to be commander of, and his people were decimated and scattered I expected hiht for my people when his own needed so much of him

It had been in Gideon that I had found the attentive ear I needed to bend He saw the proble his people and my own clearly and without the haze of hatred or sorrow For a ent, but most of all, he was unburdened by an overdeveloped sense of propriety,the powerful

These thoughts and others bounded swiftly through my mind in the beat of silence that followed Gideon’s proclamation

“We’ve tried to live peacefully beside theht around and attack us—”

“—deserve justice for the crione, but we can’t trust them!”

One of the lesser dwarven lords, a blister-cheeked woray hair naave you authority to estions at this table?”

It was Virion’s rough, calm voice that answered “Master Gideon has proven hiain Even if he lacks an official title after the dissolution of the Tri-Union Council, he has been integral to every stage of this war Even now, he represents a significant military power in Dicathen Should those he represents not have a voice if we’re to rely on their strength?” He gazed around the room levelly When no one responded, we continued “That said, I must ask: even if ished to release the Alacryans, how could so many be sent back across the ocean? We lack shi+ps capable ofthe journey, and our capabilities for teleportation can’t ht them to our shores”

“We could send the of her small shoulders “They’d come out in Alacrya eventually Those that survived, anyway”

Virion frowned “Many would not, and ould have no say over who lived and who died, should we be considering justice”

Lady Kathyln Glayder folded her hands together on the table in front of her “Keep in mind that there are children i on the very border of the Beast Glades, left with only the protection of their non-e caretakers Any solution needs to ensure that we are not unjustly punishi+ng those who have had no choice in this war”

Seeing , I took half a step forward The sh to draw every eye to ainst you and your peoplethis war Alacrya is not a nation where leaders earn the respect of their people Rather, it is one where beings more ancient and powerful that we can fully appreciate control the people absolutely, even defining their very worth on the purity of their blood It is a nation where any sht mean death not only for you, but your entire family, even your friends and allies There are those who refused to fight, and we all watched theo to war, you go”

I let , you allowed hbors And the trust you placed in us through Arthur was betrayed But eforce that entered Vildorial searching for Arthur, it was not because you were or are our enemies I trusted to find here a way to save asyour own as little” I raised my chin and looked down at the seated lords and ladies defiantly “Can any of you truthfully say you’d have done differently? That, upon watching the ic within your own people’s cores erupt and kill them, that you would simply let them die rather than comply? Because if you can tell er leader than I Or perhaps you are simply more ruthless with the lives of those who rely on you”

Blinking faces regarded er for soar roared

“To be called ruthless by an Alacryan,” another of the dwarven lords spat, his thickand flecked with spittle

“You should watch your tone, Scythe,” Lance Mica said, leaning forward in her chair, her one good eye narrowing

Carnelian Earthborn, her father, raised a hand “At ease, Mica Lord Silvershale” He shook out hisbeard “After all, we’ve invited Lady Seris here to represent her people, and that is what she is trying to do As for hter and the other Earthborn present, Hornfels, his nephew “I can’t say what I’d have done in your situation, but I’m not ready to condemn your entire people based on the orders of a corrupt lord If arves did that, few enough of us would have been left to fight this war at all” He glared at Daglun and Durgar “Or have you forgotten the Greysunders already?”

Daglun Silvershale sputtered “Forgotten…? It ho led the resistance, who fought and refused to submit, refused to take sides ith…” His eyes narrowed at Carnelian, who only smiled back “Yes, well…I concede your point, Lord Earthborn”

Gideon cleared his throat “Commander Virion, I believed you asked a rather io off the rails How could we hope to send so many people back to Alacrya at such a distance? Thanks to our asuran ally, Wren Kain IV, I already have an answer” He raised his half-grown brows and looked sly around the table “The Alacryans’ last attack was accoy Well, I say new, but the reality is that it is as close to what the ancient ht