Richard Tuttle - Winged Warrior

“And what do you see happening if things remain divided?” asked Levitor.

“If I read Avalar correctly,” smiled Maraton, “he will leave Elvangar to parley with the humans. I suspect that he will take the princesses with him. That is when we will strike.”

“Yes,” Salfour nodded vigorously. “Alycia will not be in command as she was when Avalar was lost. Her guard will be down.”

“And Karaza will not be around to bar Kanis entry into the palace,” added Levitor. “Do you think the sister can be counted on to kill the queen and seize power?”

“Our task is to ensure it,” smiled Maraton. “Kanis is not a mage. I think we can safely put her under our spells without detection. That way if she changes her mind, she will be powerless to refuse our commands, although I suspect that she will eagerly jump at the chance to seize control of Elvangar.”

“Which leaves us with finding a way to eliminate Avalar and the princesses before they return from the land of the humans,” summarized Levitor.

“Exactly,” replied Maraton. “When the time comes, it might be wise to suggest that the king take his most loyal soldiers with him. That will get them away from Morada. There will be many ways to prevent his return. Each of us can easily sink a ship. No on need be any wiser about his fate.”

“How do we stand with the Council of Elders?” asked Salfour.

“Less than half support peace at any price,” frowned Levitor. “I spoke with Amber this morning. He is afraid that a vote right now would give Avalar the backing that he needs.”

“But Avalar is not sure,” interjected Maraton. “If I read the king properly, Avalar will want to be sure of the votes before forcing the issue. We have some time left yet to woo a few more members of the council.”

“We need to inspire more demonstrations by the citizens,” suggested Salfour. “Perhaps we should bring in some people from the outlying villages to bolster the ranks.”

“An excellent idea,” nodded Maraton. “We need to make sure that Avalar thinks the vote is too close to pursue. Then when we have all of the votes lined up as we want them, we call off the demonstrations.”

* * *

Avalar, King of the Elves, walked into the throne room. He saw Queen Alycia leaning on the railing at the edge of the room and walked over to stand beside her.

“Dwelling on the past again?” Avalar asked softly. “It is important to learn from our mistakes, but it is not wise to dwell upon what cannot be changed.”

“Avalar,” the queen smiled brightly, “look below. I was dwelling on the past a bit, but not how you think I was. Look at our daughters playing with Tamar and his friend.”

Avalar gazed down to the ground below the Royal Tree. He grinned as he watched his daughters practicing their swordsmanship against the two army officers.

“That is not exactly playing,” chuckled the king. “They are practicing their fighting skills. I asked Tamar to personally instruct them.”

“Practicing?” questioned the queen. “But they are laughing and having fun. I have been watching them for some time.”

“They are enjoying it,” Avalar smiled with a nod. “We have two very special daughters, Alycia. We should be very proud of what they did with their lives after the accident. They will make fine leaders some day.”

“I am proud of them,” Alycia smiled tautly. “But every time I think of them growing up in the human world, I berate myself for failing to find them. My thoughts always return to the day they confronted me in this very room. I am ashamed of the queen that I had become. I do not deserve to have such fine daughters any more than I still deserve to be your queen. I let all of you down.”

“It is not your fault,” soothed the king. “Karaza had you under his spell. Do not dwell upon it. Enjoy the girls while you can.”

“While I can?” echoed the queen as she turned to face her husband with a frown etched upon her face. “You make that sound as if it will not last long. Why are you teaching them fighting skills? Surely you do not expect them to join the army that will be going to aid the humans?”

“I have no such thing planned,” sighed Avalar, “but I have come to know our daughters rather well. They will want to go to the aid of their friends, whether I allow it or not.”

“You must forbid it,” the queen stated adamantly. “They must never be allowed to come into harm’s way again.”

“Forbid it?” the king shook his head. “As if I could forbid them anything. You had them in mage cells, and still they escaped, not just from this city, but from Elvangar itself. I do not doubt that they have the cunning to escape again if they so wish to. I will not take the chance that I can keep them safe from danger. I fully intend to see that they are trained in all of the arts, military as well as magical. While I will try to reason with them to keep them safe, I want them prepared to face the worst.”

“I don’t want to lose them again,” the queen frowned as her eyes dampened. “Perhaps if they were married?”

“I am not going there,” chuckled the king. “It will take special men to please our princesses, and special men are just as apt to follow them off to battle as restrain them here in Elvangar. There will be no arrangements regarding their betrothals. That decision will be left to them individually.”

“It was just a thought,” Alycia smiled with a twinkle in her eye. “How did your meeting go?”

“Not well,” frowned Avalar. “I spoke with Volox about the mood of the Council of Elders. He thinks the vote is too close to call right now.”

“Volox?” questioned the queen. “Why did you not discuss it with Malid? He is the Head Elder after all.”

“Malid may indeed be the Head Elder,” nodded the king, “but I trust the judgment of Volox more. He was one of those who saw through Karaza’s deceit. That gives me confidence in his judgment.”

“I understand,” agreed the queen, “but you need the support of Malid. Do not alienate him by going around him.”

“I will also solicit Malid’s views,” declared the king, “but I will go to Volox when I want the unvarnished truth. Malid would try to curry favor with me and tell me that everything is going along just fine. That is not what I need to hear right now. I need to honestly gauge the dissent among the Council.”

“And this dissent is strong?” inquired Alycia.

“It is,” nodded the king. “The Council of Elders is almost evenly split between aiding the humans and staying out of the war. I must find a way to bring around the dissenting half.”

“You feel strongly about this, don’t you?” asked the queen.

“Very strongly,” nodded Avalar. “I was imprisoned on the Island of Darkness for many years. I lived with the nightly screams as those fiends tortured humans and elves alike. They are truly evil, Alycia. This world must rid itself of the likes of Vand.”

“And the humans cannot accomplish this on their own?” questioned the queen. “Vand is one of them after all.”

“Do not blame the humans for Vand,” cautioned Avalar. “That is what some in the Council are trying to do. It is a false premise. Vand is a product of Dobuk and has been around since the time of Kieran. Dobuk could just as easily have seduced an elf for the role of spoiler. He chose a human.”

“Still,” pushed Alycia, “that is not the fault of the elves. If Vand were one of us, would we not try to take care of him ourselves? Why not leave the war to the humans?”

“They are not capable of defeating Vand,” answered the king. “Until just recently the humans were a fractious lot, split into numerous countries and further split into tribes and clans within those countries. It is an amazing testament to Kaltara that the humans are even working together on this problem. They cannot defeat Vand without the help of the elves.”