Steven Burke - The Broken Council

General Yukio called a halt to his vanguard. They had just caught a glimpse of their homeland of Nairi off in the distance. He whistled three sharp blasts that sounded very near to the call of a warrior hawk. Silence was the only answer before the call was actually returned. A dark spot appeared on the horizon and appeared to be getting bigger and bigger as it neared their position. It was obvious that a bird of some kind was approaching at a very fast pace. This was the hawk that the general had apparently called to. The bird went into a steep dive as he approached the group. Yukio stuck his arm out, and his faithful servant landed lightly. He gave his trusty companion some food and stroked his chest affectionately.

"I need you to carry a couple of important messages for me," he said to his feathered friend. He tied two messages onto each leg of the warrior hawk. The messages contained requests for a meeting with the government of the new nation of high elves. This first trip to his homeland was important for him to make not only because he had been gone from the service of Queen Daria for far too long, but also to request her presence at a summit at the capital city of Alanderas. He needed to explain what had happened and to ask for military support. He had a very difficult task in front of him. The messages on the hawk were for the kings of men.

The hawk took off with an unexpected urgency as if Yukio had somehow communicated to him the necessity of ensuring the messages were delivered as fast as possible. The warrior hawk was heading in the direction of King Leroy Ishrafle of the realm of Landen. Yukio thought that he would get a positive reply from him regarding Queen Kira's request. When he had the king's reply, the hawk would return with it to his master before he delivered the next message. His next stop would be King Derek Udrugi of the Forest of Aran. The general was not as sure about that particular reply. He knew that the Udrugi was close with the elven king and would not be happy about the division. It remained to be seen if he would come or not.

"What do you think will be your queen's reply to our summons?" questioned Bronwen Merindiel. He eyed the general passively as he waited for an answer.

"Well, I would understand if she was angry with me, but I do not believe she will turn her back on the high elves in their hour of need. She will respect my judgment in this matter," General Yukio said with great confidence.

"Are we going to visit any of the dwarven kingdoms? They would be very important allies to have if a war comes of this," said Bronwen. He continued to watch the general as they rode along the path that led down to Nairi.

"We will visit King Edric Nognili at his island kingdom of Mount Ennis," Yukio replied. "He may not personally come to the summit, but he will likely send someone in his stead. I believe he will provide us with provisions, armor, and weapons. He does not like to get involved in other people's affairs. He has the only dwarven warriors close enough to us to do us any good, so that is why we will visit him. The mighty kings Jarvis Dagnolir and Kasim Thokrog are too far to the south for a visit. I will send my hawk to deliver messages to them once the other kings of men have had their invitations delivered." His eyes were focused on the beautiful cliffs of Nairi. He did not notice the looks that Bronwen was giving him.

"That sounds like a prudent course of action. What of the giants? Will we visit them?" queried the chairman.

"When the queen and I were speaking with Mistress Kana, she gave us the impression that they would side with the elves. It would not be wise to venture into their realm. We may not come out again. We should not send them any messages either because that would give away our plans. Secrecy is vital to our success where they are concerned."

"With a guardian on our side, we will not fail. I believe that there is great wisdom in not involving the giants. They are too unpredictable and violent. They would ruin our plans even if they were on our side. Their aggressive tendencies have made them an isolated people. Even King Ciel could not deal with them for very long," Bronwen explained.

"Well put, my good friend. Our hope lies with men and dwarves. They are powerful allies in seasons of peace and even more so in times of war. We must be persuasive in our meetings with my queen and with King Edric. Those two alone would provide us with sufficient protection and much needed supplies. When we meet with Queen Daria, please allow me to do the talking at first. I will need to explain my actions and seek her forgiveness. I will let you explain the division that has taken place. Then we will ask for her support together," Yukio explained.

Bronwen nodded in agreement with Yukio's plan. He understood that the queen may not be too happy at first because her general had not reported back for many months. He knew that Yukio was a very persuasive man and would succeed in securing her pardon. Then he could present the case for Queen Kira and the high elves. Obtaining the military support of the Nairian army would be vital to their success. Their first meeting was the most important. His thoughts were beginning to consume him so much that he did not take notice of the immense beauty of the ragged canyon lands that the general called home. He knew that he must succeed in securing the support of the people of Nairi if their new nation was going to survive.

The small group continued their journey into the canyon lands as the sun began to wane. Far to the west the sun was setting and the clouds overhead turned an auburn color. Mount Ennis could be barely seen, but it too looked like it was alive with the evening colors. It was truly a picturesque scene that they took in while descending the steep canyon switchbacks. Torches lined the path as they continued down to the canyon floor. They needed to reach the palace before too long, or they would have to make camp for the night and meet with the queen in the morning. They wanted to meet with her before night fell so they could have a nice place to sleep.

As they turned another winding corner, Queen Daria's palace came into view. It was a wonder to look at because of the way it was constructed. The structure was built into the side of the canyon walls. All of the dwelling places were constructed in this manner. There were no freestanding buildings in the entire kingdom. Their construction was very similar to the dwarven mountain homes. The dwarves had a special affinity for the people of Nairi because of their many similarities. Most of the people were miners and blacksmiths, which made them very close with their dwarven neighbor on the island of Mount Ennis.

The front of the palace was made of smooth marble, which could withstand the harsh winds that frequently assailed the canyons. There were symbols carved into the marble that represented their different gods. These carvings were filled with silver and gold to represent the various guardians. They believed that the Elementals were their personal deities. This was yet another similarity between the dwarves and this particular nation of men. As they approached the entrance, they were met by the captain of the home guard. Commander Zareh Hacus bowed slightly to General Yukio as they approached the gates outside the queen's home.

"General, the queen has been expecting you," Commander Hacus said stoically.

"Commander Hacus, how good it is to see you, my old friend!" barked Yukio as he slid off his beautiful steed and shook hands hardily with the commander.

"I hope that you have been well, General. We have missed you dearly these many months. We have not heard anything aside from the troops who returned to us with the tale of an elf witch saving you all from a pack of demonic wolves," the commander said with a genuine tone of concern. He was very much the senior of the general in years and had many silver hairs to prove it. He had been the head of the queen's home guard for many years. While the commander and the general spoke pleasantly to one another, General Yukio had never fully trusted Zareh. Yukio was never able to read his thoughts or intentions. He considered this to be a sign of someone who was hiding something.