“So there is no one present here who can go to the council, and no one either who has enough authority to decide what will happen here in the meantime?” Marah asked again, more than a little irritated now.
Everyone seemed to agree on that, until unexpectedly a voice appeared next to Liana, in Dutch.
"That is not entirely true. There is someone here who is on an equal footing with the council of councils in this world.”
Everyone suddenly looked at Izabel, and whispered while translations were made into various Nuanderran languages.
Marah looked at her with doubt in her eyes. "What do you mean, Old World Girl?" Izabel pointed to Liana.
“We have a person in our midst who represents this whole world to the Council of Councils as the ambassador of Oranderra, which also happens to be the world we are in today. I would think that is the highest position we can possibly have here at the moment.”
Everyone fell silent and looked at Liana, who felt like she wanted to sink into the ground and dissolve into nothingness at the same time, and Marah could only confirm what Izabel had said.
“Izabel here is right. Inaya-dinn herself confirmed this information to me the day before we left: Liana-dinn here represents this whole world that we are in now to the highest authorities of Nuanderra, and that means she has the highest authority here. Apart from her, Gorr is the only direct representative of one of the Councils of Nuanderra here. The council of Drotnira has sent him directly too.”
She had spoken in Dutch, but now there was whispering in several Nuanderran languages. Gorr wasn’t present, but Liana breathed a sigh of relief. Gorr she trusted. She’d only haved liked more if she herself would have been a little less visible now!
“Fate is ironic after all, isn’t it?” Someone said, also in Dutch.
All eyes turned to Andira and the reactions to her were highly divided, but she was greeted with sheer hatred from various quarters.
"Let's hold off on judging Andira now." Marah said in Nummersil. “After all, in spite of her crimes she also saved everything who’s still alive now with the shockwave bomb!”
No one could argue with that.
"And there's another thing: She’s a dimension folder, so she is the only one here who can travel between the worlds without the external aids that we lack now."
She turned to Liana. “Liana-dinn é, ambassador of this world, what do you say?”
Liana still wanted to disappear again when everyone looked at her, but she knew she had to say something. Andira was probably the last person in the multiverse that she wanted to speak to, and it was a strange idea that she could decide everything about the former leader of the Onnobolda, who used to treat her als far below her. Still, she knew she had to be serious now. Everyone expected to hear from the ambassador of Oranderra now, not the ramblings of a shy girl, so she took a deep breath and took a step forward. With a strange clarity of mind she spoke, even if reluctantly at first.
“Andira, I have two things to say to you. The first one is said as the ambassador of Oranderra: For the evil you've done and brought in here, you deserve to be banned from Oranderra forever. We have enough problems in this world under the shadow itself already without all your crazy plans. Our nawa have enough of their own problems.”
Andira stared at her, with a mixture of reverence and surprise, but with much less hatred than before. The idea of Liana as the ambassador of this world was clearly new to her.
“The second thing I also say as the ambassador: because you saved humanity in this world by acting on the very moment that it really mattered, and defeating the STC, your sins in this world will further be forgotten as far as I'm concerned, if you indeed don’t ever come back here. I will even add a thank you, on behalf of all of Oranderra, even though no-one in this world will ever know what evils they escaped from either you or John. It doesn't wipe out all those dead nawa on your conscience, but you still were the only one who could stop the evil that you brought in here yourself, and you did that. For that I am grateful.”
She turned to the rest.
“It is also true that we still need someone who can go back to Nuanderra to bring Inaya and the council here. I can't do that now, and I don't know how long it will take to recover. But is it even true that you can do that now? Aren't you splittered by those weapons? You've been taken down twice now by those things." Liana asked.
“Splittered? The body floating apart from the soul in between dimensions. No. That is not the normal effect these weapons have on Nummerfa. And not on Hmana either. You are just unique I think, little… Lady Ambassador.”
Liana looked around before she continued.
“Obviously there is no one here except Andira who has that gift. And it’s indeed true that there are no portals of any kind?”
A few Nummerfa nodded their heads.
“Then I’m afraid that the only solution that I can see is to send Andira. Or does anyone have a better offer?”
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From the silence, Liana could tell that no one had one.
“Andira, as Oranderra's ambassador to the Nuanderran Council of Councils and the Council of Nummerfa, I hereby instruct you to go to Nuanderra; and inform council member Inaya of all that has happened here. Do you agree with that?”
A certain resistance appeared in Andira's eyes, but then disappeared again. She seemed to have accepted her fate, and was visibly relieved with Liana's attitude, which was very different from how she had treated Liana herself.
“Yes, Lady Ambassador.”
"Then go! Now!" Liana said, with an authority in her voice that startled her.
Izabel looked at her open-mouthed. Nobody had ever seen her introverted classmate like this before! Andira nodded, and muttered a few words in Nummersil and made a strange egg-shaped movement, twice, with two outstretched fingers of her left hand, and stepped into the invisible door she had made and disappeared. Since there wasn’t anyone else in leadership present Liana continued in Nummersil now so that everyone could understand her. “In the meantime, we're going to help Gorr comb this base. All the wounded must be gathered, all the dead must be buried. From both sides."
Most of the Nummerfa and Drotnira set out to do all kinds of work, but a number of Nuanderrans kept hanging around. They were a couple of fierce-looking Nummerfa, and a group of disgruntled Drotnira who she'd felt would have loved to punch Andira in the head, too, like had happened to John. They now turned against Liana, who was standing by the cell with Marah and Izabel. She felt claustrophobic with those menacing armed persons approaching her.
A Nummerfil with a green face and pale hair spoke up. She pointed some kind of sword at Liana.
“Ambassador of the Council of Councils? Who even believes that? We have seen what kind of allies you filthy Gorchbolds are!”
She pronounced the word with a deep hatred in her voice, and the same accent as Andira had once used. The group of Drotnira with the weapons also came closer, and they seemed angry at her too.
Liana held her breath. Marah was standing in front of her, and Izabel was standing behind her, but they were in the minority now that almost everyone was searching the base for all kinds of things. She knew she was still too weak to do anything with telepathy or dimension bending herself, and she still had no weapon except for her shield. These creatures had been dragged into her world with lies and false promises, and might have died in the evil plans of her fellow humans. They indeed had reason to hate her kind, of which she was now the most visible representative. She thought of Andira's words "Fate is ironic"… Well it was indeed.
Marah tried to calm the attackers, but they were too angry, too frustrated, and they wanted revenge for what had happened to their colleagues on Kavanderra. Liana just seemed an easier scapegoat to vent their anger, especially now that she had let Andira go.
“Death to the traitors of Nuanderra!” A Drotniril shouted, while swinging one of the now useless beam weapons at her.
Liana grabbed Izabel's hand, closed her eyes, and waited for the attack. She had no strength left to do anything in her condition. But nothing came.
Everyone seemed to have fallen silent, and Izabel had breathed a sigh of relief.
Liana opened her eyes again and understood why the attack had stopped: A glowing rectangle had suddenly appeared in the room, on the same spot where Andira had disappeared, which was also midway between Liana and the band of Drotnira. They dropped their weapons, and Marah also let go of her knife in return.
Out of the gate (because that was what it was) Inaya appeared, in full regalia. Dressed in her official robe she seemed taller and more radiant than usual. A wave of troubled faces passed through the room. Apparently Inaya's authority was even greater than Liana had realised among the common Nuanderrans.
At this moment nothing of that all could bother her anymore. It was probably more than inappropriate, but she flung her arms around Inaya's neck and gave her friend a long hug, with everyone present staring at her. Inaya didn't protest, and held her for a moment. The last persons who still had weapons dropped them in shame.
Inaya let go of Liana and spoke in Nummersil.
“The council has been warned. The presence of so many Onnobolda and the battles that have happened mean that we have to interfere and put everything in order. Thandra and Ghirdol are coming here, and they will bring Burloch from the Drotnira and his people. We’ll put an energy field around this factory that no one can get in or out.”
Then she turned to Marah.
“Where's Gorr?" She looked into infinity for a moment, and Liana knew she was scanning.
"Not far from here, he and his people are guarding a group of prisoners."
Inaya nodded with satisfaction.
“We'll decide on that later. Where are the Nummerfa leaders of the Onnobolda? Andira said they were mostly still alive.”
Mara nodded. “They’re somewhere close, but no one has seen them in a while, and they shut themselves off. They fled when the Drotnira revolted and they realised that the anger was directed against them as well.”
Inaya nodded. "Then it's time to clean up here.”
She turned to Liana. “Thank you, Liana é. You've done your job for now. The rest will be a job for the council. I'll bring you back, and when you're rested, you can safely return to your own world with your fellow Hmana.''
Liana nodded. The transition was sudden but welcome. She beckoned to Izabel and together they stepped into the gate. They really couldn't do anything else now.