Chapter 19 – War Council

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Having greeted the king with a bow and Gabriel and Lady Raphael, who came following him, with an handshake we were ready to enter the room of the meeting.

Gabriel and Lady Raphael opened the doors, remaining at its sides and I entered first.

The room had no windows and was dimly lit by two magic stones near the entrance and one in front of each of the chairs placed around the annular table. Slightly raised from the ground, inside the hole of the table, there was a detailed map of Kilis. On the other side of the table from the entrance there was a small, unlit alcove with a single chair on which Raziel was sitting and a small table on her side with a metal box on it.

She was wearing a long, black dress with black gloves and a dark veil in front of her face, her whole body hidden from her clothes except from her black hair.

When I reached her she lifted her right hand without saying a word and I kissed it. A small smile appeared on her face behind the veil and I smiled back to her.

I turned my back at her and went to sit on the chair in front of the doors, waiting for all the other participants to get to their seats.

The others entered one after the other and, like me, they went to kiss Raziel’s hand before going to sit at their place. Unlike me though each of them also gave her a ring she then put in small slits all around the box. The first to do so was Count Achar who sat at my right, followed by the three generals, the first being Kemble who sat to my left. When all the generals and the two dukes were at their seats the king entered the room, followed by Lady Raphael and Gabriel, who locked the door behind him. They both went ahead, leaving the king in front of the doors, who moved only when everyone was already sat.

When the king was in front of Raziel she removed her gloves and he kissed her right hand. As he kissed her hand I inadvertently frowned, seeing that Count Achar leaned towards me and whispered “don’t take it personally, as the only living being directly blessed by the goddess only the king and the oracles are above her and there hasn’t been a living oracle for a while now. It would be weird if she didn’t keep her gloves on with us.”

I only nodded, not really wanting to have a conversation about that now, as the king gave Raziel his ring. The moment the ring slid in place the box opened, revealing a white crown which was faintly shining. Raziel took the crown from the box and put it on the king’s head. The moment the crown touched the king the light coming from it became a bit brighter. Curious I [looked] at it as the king sat on his chair and found out the crown was actually an oracle.

(That was unexpected. Thank goodness that goddess is too weak to see I’m a god.)

The king looked around the room for a moment before saying “we are here today for the four-thousand-twenty-first official war council. All the ringed members are present. One special observant present.”

He looked straight at me and said “observer Fortuna Tullius, noble rank baroness, special title Hero of Humanity. The matters that are going to be discussed during this council are to be considered a state secret. Do you swear to secrecy?”

(Oh. I wasn’t aware of this, guess it was to be expected.)

I looked at Raziel who was still in the alcove behind the king and behind the veil it looked like she was mouthing “sorry, I forgot.” to me. She looked a bit nervous while doing so but I figured we wouldn’t have gone anywhere if I didn’t accept.

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“I swear.”

“Guardian of the crown Raziel, do you accept the vow?” Said the king without turning to look at her.

Suddenly I felt something weird inside me, like a magic I couldn’t completely grasp, which lasted for just a short moment.

I stared at Raziel and she seemed to mouth “sorry” to me, followed by what looked like a “I’ll make up for it later”.

I was probably smiling a bit as the king repeated “Guardian of the crown Raziel, do you accept the vow?" with a tired look on his face.

“Ah. Yes, the vow is accepted.” She said a bit flustered.

To what probably looked like an unusual response to them the generals, the count and Duke Cahel turned towards Raziel with baffled looks, for some reason Lady Raphael had a small smile on her face while Duke Besalel, Gabriel and the king were trying to remain impassible. The latter immediately tried to shift everyone’s attention saying “do the ringer members accept to renew their vows?”

Everyone immediately regained their composure to confirm their intention to which Raziel responded with “all previous vows are renewed” in a flat voice.

“I officially declare the start of the council. Duke Besalel, please update us with the current situation.” Said the King.

“Yes, sire. After the attack to the coastal city of Glasport the demons managed to conquer until halfway to the Lykwood forest before our forces managed to halt their advance. Thanks to the success of the operation “icewall” we managed to cut their supplies and reinforcements by sea. We expect the sheet of ice to melt by the end of Dis at the earliest; if the weather is favorable it is possible for it to last until the mid of Sel of next year. After the operation the demons retreated inside Glasport, currently an encirclement is in act around the city. While successful, considering the relative small number of troops involved there is a high possibility the attack on Glasport was a diversion from an attack on the Armored Dukedom. The information we managed to gather from the Demon Country seemed to support this theory until the operation “icewall”. After the operation troop movements in the Demon Country seem to suggest for a war on more fronts.”

“What do you mean?” Asked Kemble.

“There is information suggesting they are building a new fleet on the east coast of the Demon Country, the remains of a small scouting vessel have been found on our shores. Also, a recent report suggests a high number of scouts, estimated around two-hundred have been sent to the Dragon Peaks over Tureg.”

Duke Cahel burst into laughter as Besalel finished his report and said “are you saying the demons are willingly trying to traverse the Dragon Peaks and the Sea of Monsters to avoid the Armored Dukedom?”

“It looks like it. They are probably trying to find a safe route.” Answered Besalel.

“There is no safe route on the Dragon Peaks.” Said Aeithne.

“Nor in the Sea of Monsters.” Said Murdoch.

“Even if that proves to be true I suggest we dispatch troops to guard the border with Tureg and a small fleet on the east coast for emergencies. It should be safe to keep our ships in the first twenty miles from the coast, shouldn’t it, General Murdoch?” Said Besalel

“Yes, the waters are safe at that distance if we don’t pass the mouth of the river Turoil but we’ll have to build a whole new fleet there, a few patrolling ships won’t be enough in case of attack.”

“Count Achar, would a new fleet be feasible?” Asked the king.

“If we build a new shipyard east of the Great Forest the supply of timber and cordage won’t be a problem. A lot of ports on the east coast are still operational, an accurate survey is needed but they should be enough to support the new fleet. Everything considered the costs of the operation should be minimal.”

“Very well, we will keep the encirclement already present around Glasport until the ice starts to melt or they decide to come out on their own. General Aeithne, scouting and guarding the Dragon Peaks is now a top priority, you will coordinate the operation” – I saw Aeithne frown for a split of a second the moment the king said so but she still answered with a “yes, sire”.

 “General Murdoch, relocate half of the navy’s troops to the east coast, you have permission to navigate river Gran for moving troops from the Inner Sea.”

“Yes, sire.”

“Duke Cahel, the probability of an attack to the Armored Dukedom is not to be considered nil, stay on high alert.”

“Yes, sire.”

“Hero Fortuna, your training from now on will focus on raising your level.”

I was a bit surprised by the king speaking to me out of nowhere after being a spectator for the entire council but still answered “yes, sire” mimicking the ones before me.

“Has any of the members anything to add?”

The king looked at each of us after saying so and, seeing as no one spoke, said “Very well, the council is adjourned to the second month of Dis.”

After he said so we left the room after him, ending my first war council.