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Authors: Jacob Cooper
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felt himself lifted by two strong sets of arms while a third inspected his wounds and dammed the flow of blood from his nose.
Brother, he calls me. One day, he will beg my forgiveness
.
SIX
High Duke Emeron Wellyn
Day 5 of 1 st Low 406 A.U.
“YOU HAVE ALL EXAMINED THE EVIDENCE, I believe?” asked High Duke Emeron Wellyn, ruler of all Senthara. “Let us move to ratify the motion.”
The meeting chamber was silent as the four men sat at the long stone table. The fifth chair, made from a heavy wood, was empty. Its ornate carvings of trees and shrubbery with a round stone in the middle of the back rest chiseled with the Triarch-leaf emblem, the sigil of House Kerr, was exquisite but almost seemed profane now that it was vacant. Never had the Council of Senthara had only four participants, not since the unification of the Realm. No Archivers were present either, an odd occurrence for a meeting with such notable members present.
The fire in the large stone hearth at the other side of the chamber offered no noticeable relief against the cold, even inside the chamber. Cold drafts invaded the chamber, tickling the flames of the torches that hung from crude sconces and caused long inconsistent shadows to dance on the floor and walls. A stone moth flirted with the torches, attempting to land as close to the flame as possible before being evicted from its perch by the heat. It seemed mesmerized with the danger, though the hardencrustations on its wings, from whence its name was derived, no doubt gave the insect a certain resilience to the fire’s temperature. Distorted winged shadows were cast by the moth’s flight and the wind’s tickling of the torches. The effect was somewhat unsettling.
It was freezing in the Northern Province, but not just due to the season. Being bordered by glaciers that were rumored to be larger than the Realm itself did not help in tempering the bite of the constant chill in the north. Wellyn often wondered why his ancestors had chosen to settle in such a place when they had the whole Realm to choose from. They had, after all, won the right to rule after the defeat of House Kearon more than four centuries earlier. Events recently set in motion, however, would change where he called home not many years hence.
Present with High Duke Wellyn at this emergency session was Lord Calder Hoyt of the Southern Province, Lord Grady Orion of the Eastern Province and Lord Erik Gonfrey of the Northern Province. Two Khansian Guards stood at the entry way still as the walls themselves.
“I have reviewed the evidence, and am satisfied,” Lord Gonfrey proclaimed. His snowy beard shook when he spoke.
No one else spoke for several moments. Wellyn looked to Orion and Hoyt.
“I as well,” Lord Orion said. The vapor from his breath reminded them all of the chill. They were anxious to be done and start their journeys back to their own holds where warmth awaited them.
“Lord Hoyt?” Wellyn inquired.
The Provincial Lord of the South sighed. “It just doesn’t feel right. I knew Lord Kerr, we all did. Surely there is something we’re missing.”
“No one finds this harder to accept than me, Calder,” Wellyn stated. “He was my friend. From childhood, even. I have fond memories of him, but I cannot ignore the evidence. I am the High Duke, and that duty rises above my friendship. The Archivers’records are explicit, not to mention the physical evidence uncovered. There is no room for doubt.”
Calder Hoyt lifted his eyes to once again stare at the obsidian tablet in the middle of the stone table. The Archiver tablet was inscribed with the evidence they had all reflected on. A sizeable weapons cache was said to have been recovered near Hold Kerr, though none of those present except Wellyn had been allowed to examine it.
“But a traitor, my Liege? Surely there is some other explanation,” Lord Hoyt pleaded. “What of his wife? His family? What will become of them?”
Wellyn sat back in his chair. “The
Brother, he calls me. One day, he will beg my forgiveness
.
SIX
High Duke Emeron Wellyn
Day 5 of 1 st Low 406 A.U.
“YOU HAVE ALL EXAMINED THE EVIDENCE, I believe?” asked High Duke Emeron Wellyn, ruler of all Senthara. “Let us move to ratify the motion.”
The meeting chamber was silent as the four men sat at the long stone table. The fifth chair, made from a heavy wood, was empty. Its ornate carvings of trees and shrubbery with a round stone in the middle of the back rest chiseled with the Triarch-leaf emblem, the sigil of House Kerr, was exquisite but almost seemed profane now that it was vacant. Never had the Council of Senthara had only four participants, not since the unification of the Realm. No Archivers were present either, an odd occurrence for a meeting with such notable members present.
The fire in the large stone hearth at the other side of the chamber offered no noticeable relief against the cold, even inside the chamber. Cold drafts invaded the chamber, tickling the flames of the torches that hung from crude sconces and caused long inconsistent shadows to dance on the floor and walls. A stone moth flirted with the torches, attempting to land as close to the flame as possible before being evicted from its perch by the heat. It seemed mesmerized with the danger, though the hardencrustations on its wings, from whence its name was derived, no doubt gave the insect a certain resilience to the fire’s temperature. Distorted winged shadows were cast by the moth’s flight and the wind’s tickling of the torches. The effect was somewhat unsettling.
It was freezing in the Northern Province, but not just due to the season. Being bordered by glaciers that were rumored to be larger than the Realm itself did not help in tempering the bite of the constant chill in the north. Wellyn often wondered why his ancestors had chosen to settle in such a place when they had the whole Realm to choose from. They had, after all, won the right to rule after the defeat of House Kearon more than four centuries earlier. Events recently set in motion, however, would change where he called home not many years hence.
Present with High Duke Wellyn at this emergency session was Lord Calder Hoyt of the Southern Province, Lord Grady Orion of the Eastern Province and Lord Erik Gonfrey of the Northern Province. Two Khansian Guards stood at the entry way still as the walls themselves.
“I have reviewed the evidence, and am satisfied,” Lord Gonfrey proclaimed. His snowy beard shook when he spoke.
No one else spoke for several moments. Wellyn looked to Orion and Hoyt.
“I as well,” Lord Orion said. The vapor from his breath reminded them all of the chill. They were anxious to be done and start their journeys back to their own holds where warmth awaited them.
“Lord Hoyt?” Wellyn inquired.
The Provincial Lord of the South sighed. “It just doesn’t feel right. I knew Lord Kerr, we all did. Surely there is something we’re missing.”
“No one finds this harder to accept than me, Calder,” Wellyn stated. “He was my friend. From childhood, even. I have fond memories of him, but I cannot ignore the evidence. I am the High Duke, and that duty rises above my friendship. The Archivers’records are explicit, not to mention the physical evidence uncovered. There is no room for doubt.”
Calder Hoyt lifted his eyes to once again stare at the obsidian tablet in the middle of the stone table. The Archiver tablet was inscribed with the evidence they had all reflected on. A sizeable weapons cache was said to have been recovered near Hold Kerr, though none of those present except Wellyn had been allowed to examine it.
“But a traitor, my Liege? Surely there is some other explanation,” Lord Hoyt pleaded. “What of his wife? His family? What will become of them?”
Wellyn sat back in his chair. “The
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