Few days had passed and it was time for the council meeting. Just north of the World Tree was an open field that had an array of flowers with different shapes and size. At the center of the field stood a structure made of twisted vine, all leaders of each province were seated under a large dome made of vines supported by wooden pillars.
The dome’s roof was adorned with golden color fruits which glowed with a faint gold color, lighting up the interior. From the large wooden arcs both left and right, streams of people walked in wearing elegant dresses. Gilly had taken a seat beside Mizin. to Mizin’s left sat Ephini and Valmor. The seating position was like an arc and at the far front were eight distinct seats, designed specially for the Queen and the Elders.
The seats were all woven from vines and the had no leg but hung from the ceiling, merging with the dome. Majority of the Leaders and Elders were seated except for the Queen, an Elder and the leader of Tenma province. The queen soon walked in with three male figures, one, the elder Pasci, the other, the Chief of Tenma Lanri, with the third being the head of the Elven royal guard Garamil.
They took their respective sitting position and the meeting began with Katherine and Iylin acting as the coordinators and an elder Hana recording all that transpired in details on a book she had on her lap. The report was nothing significant for most of the provinces. The only important news was from Sen who had found an underground stream yet to be explored.
This left Gilly feeling uneasy. The second was from Fu which had recently cleared a new level in the constellation and had advanced a total of five levels that year alone. Snow province had increased trading with Estam with the airship barrier being improved by Valtur, the legendary craftsman. Soon, it was Elanor’s turn with all eyes falling on Valmor to give report but Ephini got up instead and this shocked all. She had the crest of the tress blessing on her head, indicating that power had changed.
The detail was a lot since she did not hold back, memories of her husband flashing in her mind. Concluding, she presented the case of the allocation termination and the Imperial Shadow unit not helping during the crisis. When she finished, she bowed and sat smiling at the queen. The report sparked a ton of murmurs in the hall, Katherine restored order and then beckoned on the leader of the Shadow unit to explain.
Stating bluntly that it was a lie, he gave an excuse, claiming the Unit did not making it in time. This brought nods of agreement as not many liked the idea of the half elf province. His countenance fell though, becoming pale when Ephini used Space Magic, bringing in an elf who had a moon symbol on his head. He was bound hands and feet by strong vines. He landed before the Elders.
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“This is your evidence” she said, sporting an unusually sheepish smile.
“She is scarier than Valmor,” Snow whispered to Goru. The discussion broke out once more and The shadow unit leader, Sai could not hide the truth. Distraught, he looked to the queen only to find her completely ignoring him while smiling, as she maintained eye contact with Ephini.
“Care to explain yourself?” Katherine’s voice boomed as her field enveloped Sai, creating a pressure that brought him to his knees. He was quiet, doing it on the order of the queen was wrong. Worse, he had no evidence to prove she was a culprit.
He did not utter a single word, “I take it you did this of your own accord. Then, you will face the consequence of making people cry needlessly”. Three powers existed in the council, first was the Queen, second was Katherine and the elders, the third was the chief of various provinces.
Vines rose up from the ground, entangling the Shadow Leader as Katherine raised her hand restraining him. Ephini continued with her plea,
“I want to push for full autonomy”. This did not surprise people; in terms of trade, Elnor was one of the top provinces.
“What do you mean?” The Queen’s voice echoed as she finally spoke up. The crowd was dead silent. This caused Ephini to feel a bit of pressure, doing something quite unusual. After a brief pause, she continued.
“I mean, like Snow and Fu.”
Murmurs arose again, the crowd divided on this topic. While some were in support of it, others felt jealous even though their provinces had contributed significant economic or military might to the dynasty. The Queen was displeased with her response, and the support she was getting.
“Then we put it up for a vote” Catherine shouted, seizing the stalemate between the Powers.
Majority raised their hand in favour of Elnor’s autonomy, especially five elders including Hana and the old elf Ponu.
“Then it is decided, henceforth Elnor has the right to engage in external trade with supervision from the counsel, this will be carried out by Pasci.” With that passed, the final event was on the two people who sat beside Ephini and Valmor. Valmor hand was missing and most people could guess why.
“What brings the Lord Mizin to our humble gathering?”
The queen was interested at the question that Pasci had thrown. They existed two councils that oversaw the world balance. One was the Divine council, the other was the Demigod council. A few members of the Elven court were members. Katherine was a member of the Divine council. Ponu was a former member of Demigod council. During his time, he held the seventh seat.
If an external council member attended a meeting of a nation which meant there was a matter to address or an investigation to be carried out. This uncertainty made Queen Elin uncomfortable. Mizin rose from her seat and walked towards the front, where the Elders sat. She gestured at a cloaked Gilly, who had followed her closely behind. The fox mask and the cloak hid her appearance while the seed necklace concealed her aura.
“Greetings, O Great Queen Elin. Greetings to the seven elders.” Mizin bowed while her hands were still in her white red Kimono.
Mizin smiled as she looked back at Gilly who took off the disguise in response, leaving only the necklace on her neck. The face of some people brightened up, this was especially true for Garamil. The Queen’s visage contorted, her face darkened seeing a spitting image of the person she despised the most made her blood boil. It was as if her sister had come back to life.
“How is this possible?”
Unable to maintain her composure, Elin asked in horror as she rose up. They did not expect Elna to return at a time like this. Garamil stepped forward looking at Gilly as he approached. He had triex to get closer but Mizin stretched out her hand, blocking his path.
“That's not Elna,” He shouted looking at Mizin who wore a rather devilish grin, enjoying the moment and basking in the relish of the expressions on all their faces, especially Elin who was standing and shaking.