Read Online The Broken Council (The Guardian Chronicles 1) by Steven R. Burke - Free Book Online

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