Kanieta's sparkling eyes slid over the group that had barged into the Conclave with no decorum at all. It was to be expected of badger-kin, as nothing they have ever done could be considered subtle, but this was another level. A smile touched her lips as she felt a flash of excitement. She had never experienced a Conclave this awsom—

"As was the tradition of old," the old badger-kin proclaimed in a grand voice, "we have brought a prisoner to tell us the events transpiring in Olimpia."

"I'm a messenger!" Called out a voice that Kanieta recognized. "I came to deliver a message to Chieftain Kanieta!"

Kanieta didn't see a human as she expected when looking past the intermingled blood and dirt covering the huddled figure in the cage. She saw an elf trying to look past the light shining in his eyes.

The fact that he wasn't locking eyes with her told her he couldn't see clearly into the darkness surrounding the platform. Kanieta studied his face and saw no fear in his eyes, only a deep well of resolve.

Resolve and a healthy dose of caution as his eyes continually flicked to the badgers around him, most of whom seemed to be studying him while licking their blood-covered lips. Or the blood dripping down their claws. Or staining their fur.

It would say more about him if he wasn't cautious while trapped in the center of such creatures. There was a very good reason badgers were generally left alone.

"Just kill the filth defiling these… hallowed chambers and get on with this farce." Called Derg radiating contempt with every word. "Or, let me."

Glancing over at his words, Kanieta saw him flick his wrist, and a blur left his fingers streaking toward Green.

Reaching for her mana, Kanieta's mind fumbled for a spell that could save Green's life. She hadn't expected to need to cast anything, so she wasn't holding a spell ready, and all of her defensive foci were meant for personal defense.

But even as she pushed her mana into the world, forming a spell frame that would project a shadow wall, she knew she would be too late.

Shadows were not known for their defense, but if she angled it right, she should be able to deflect the projectile.

Part of her mana snapped into the necessary runes while the rest flowed along the path that the power circuits would make to feed the spell her mana. In a fraction of a second, the simple spell took shape before her outthrust hand.

Anyone who was using their mage sight could see it. The Shadow, Project, and Shield runes were connected in geometric lines and circles proven to best contain and guide the mana flow.

Kanieta could have put the same rune multiple times, strengthening that aspect of the spell. An example would be adding more Shadow runes to pull more shadows from the surrounding area making her shield thicker and denser. Putting more Project runes would make it travel faster, and more Shield runes would affect the quality of the shield and how it looked.

Though the runes used didn't matter nearly as much as the will and perception of the caster, as a spell could be stretched to encompass far more than most would think, the only limit being how long a caster could hold on before the spell breaks. Or, more likely, it sucks up so much mana that casting the spell would be pointless or, in rare cases, lead to death as the mage's life force is sucked out to fuel the spell.

Kanieta's spell only used one of each of the runes. While more would make it stronger, it would also make the casting time longer. "Shadow shield." She hissed out, focusing her mind on casting the spell faster while dumping her mana into the spell.

Shadows collected around her hand, causing the area around her body to look almost lighter in comparison. Then a foot-wide sheet of shadows boiled across the room.

Not even a second had passed since Derg had thrown whatever he had, and she had started casting her spell. Simple as it was, the casting might be one of the fastest she had ever done.

But Kanieta knew that she was already too late. Derg was already placed closer, and she had to spend a moment casting her spell. She still had to try, though.

She put every drop of mana within her core into the spell, causing her head to throb and an empty feeling to appear inside of her. Ignoring the feeling, Kanieta's eyes were focused along her spell and ended at Green.

Throwing her will behind the spell, she forced it to move faster. The mana efficiency of the spell was atrocious as she pushed it to act beyond what most would think possible, but she kept going. That was the most positive aspect of simplistic spells. If you dumped enough mana into them, almost anything was possible.

An instant later, her condensed shadows streaked past Green, causing him to flinch back.

A moment later, her spell slammed into the wall, causing a crack in the wood, and that was all. There was no other impact on her shield, as she didn't feel a sudden demand for mana or struggle to hold the integrity of her spell.

It felt like her stomach dropped out of her chest and to the floor at the realization of what it meant. With her dumping her whole core into the casting, her magic dissipated after another couple of seconds.

Moving her eyes away from her dissipating spell, she expected to see blood pouring from Green's mouth as he slumped to the floor of his cage, but he only looked around in surprise.

"That was exciting," said the gray-furred badger, his bord voice saying it was anything but. "One faction tries to silence my prisoner, and another tries to protect him. I wonder if you two are on different sides of a disagreement? Ahh, but it doesn't really matter. Here."

Stolen novel; please report.

Kanieta was staring at the old badger, who was rolling a ball with spikes around it between his finger. Then his arm was outstretched, and a loud crack sounded.

"Argh!" Screamed someone in pain a moment after a meaty thunk sounded.

Head snapping to the side, she saw Derg's left hand clutching his right peck. His snarl of pain filled the chamber as he slowly reached over his shoulder before his arm jerked with another grunt of pain. Slowly, Derg brought his hand to his front, and the blood-smeared ball he had just thrown was between his fingers.

"I thought you would want it back." Barlot said, his voice neutral, like nothing of note had happened, "Hmm, I guess I might have thrown it a little too hard for you, though." The badger brought his claw up to his chin to take it, "I guess that's my bad. I have just been hearing so much about how strong you are. Anyway, sorry."

Dergs face twisted with outrage as he dropped the spiked ball to the ground and ground out his clenched jaw, "Apology accepted."

"Sure, sure," the elder badger-kin said, waving his hand as if trying to clear the air, "It was all my fault, we all must realize our own strength, and in my twilight years, I forgot how strong I really am."

"Here, here!" shouted the badgers behind the elder, waving their arms in the air or flexing arms showing off their muscles.

Dergs's face flushed red at the not-so-subtle insult, and he clutched the armrest of his chair so hard that the wood splintered. The snickering laughter running around the room wouldn't help his anger.

Every chieftain present knew how proud Derg was of his physical strength and talent for enhancing that strength with magic. The elder badger-kin, long past his time, had overwhelmed him with contemptuous ease.

He was a badger, so it would mean less than if someone else had done it, but within a matter of hours, everyone would know.

Quickly glancing over, Kanieta saw that Derg's face had shifted into an empty mask devoid of all emotions. But his eyes shone with a cold light as he looked at all of the other chieftains and Faction Leaders.

"As I was saying before, all of the excitement," The elder badger started speaking again, turning to face the Master of Ceremonies for the Conclave. "According to ancient tradition, any clan that has a captive and brings them before a Conclave has the right for their captive to speak should they have relevant information. With the sudden aggression of the Olimpians and his sudden appearance, in which we may have come across him without the need of running him down," which old badger almost sounded disappointed at that part, "while claiming to know one of our esteemed faction leaders, I believe he might be able to shed some light on the situation."

A moment of silence passed before someone spoke up, "I musst admit, I haven't heard of ssuch a ssection in the charter of the Conclave, but I haven't gone looking." Hissed the Shimmer Scale Faction leader. "What do you ssay, Massster of Ccerimoniess?"

The old rabbit-kin closed his eyes briefly, then opened them and nodded. "While it hasn't been invoked in centuries, there are records of such a tradition existing. Though they have not been transferred to the modern rules for the Conclave. As such, it will be up to a vote to decide if we will proceed with the witness."

"Ahh, a vote," said the old badger stepping in as the rabbit sucked in a new breath, "who will challenge me on this?" The way the old badger's voice dipped to an eager growl when he said challenge made it clear he would take any opposition as a personal slight and call for violence.

With Derg's wound fresh in everyone's mind, no one wanted to cross the homicidal badger over something so simple. No one who wasn't already nursing a grudge, at least.

As such, the vote to interrogate the elf scout was passed eight to one.

It wasn't long before Green's cage, and the passed-out badger inside with him were carried to the center pedestal placed there, the badgers moving back to stand at the edges of the light. They were facing Green and his companion as if their blood-stained and haggard bodies were an actual threat.

"Give us your message, Olimpian," said the Master of Ceremonies, "Explain to the Conclave and our clans why you are here while your people are launching an attack against us."

Green stood and straightened his stained clothing as he looked around. His eyes looked into the surrounding darkness, lingering on certain spots as he must have picked out the occasional shadowy figure. "My Commander," Green said, his voice clear and calm in contradiction to his appearance, "the Legatus of the 15th Legion and Guardian of the Northern Line, believes that the People are sincere in your efforts for peace, and he has taken your warnings seriously. But events have transpired to take the decision out of his hands. A portion of the Senate has decided that we need to take back the forts of the Triad, so they will be taken back. However, I have been informed that once we have retaken the forts, my Commander will be able to prevent any further aggression on our part."

Green stopped talking and stood at attention, waiting for those of the Conclave to take in his words.

After a few seconds, the leader of the Blue Sky faction stood, and a ray of like broke off the center pillar, revealing him. "Do you have anything that will provide proof of such claims?"

Green's face twisted in disgruntlement, then shrugged. "Besides my presence here, I can offer nothing more to prove my Commander's sincerity."

"Excuse me if I cause any offense, but as far as I know, an elf's life means very little to your people. From what I have been told, it would mean less to them than it would mean to us." The bluebird said this as a fact because it was.

But there was still an unasked question at the end that Green decided to answer with no hint of anger in his words. "That is true. But the legion does not throw away a good tool for no reason, and there are few scouts my equal. But more to the point, I have the… best relationship of someone between your people and mine. There might be little trust, but I believe there is a certain level of respect between me and Chieftain Kanieta. Throwing that away on an errand that I will more likely die before completing would be wasteful. At least so long as you believe the action has no sincerity. And what would the gain be?"

"To confuse our warbands. To put some doubt in our minds while your people strike hard to overwhelm us." The Faction Leader answered, then he threw a questioning look at Kanieta, joining the others looking at her as he said, "Though I am not a war leader." Kanieta inclined her head, acknowledging the elf's claim.

Green shrugged as if he was indifferent. "Perhaps, but I doubt anything I say will affect your battle plans already in motion. And from what I can tell of this city, you don't even need the fort anymore. And I have no doubt there are many more hidden defenses surrounding the fort. I am only here to ensure the chance of peace between our peoples doesn't fully die."

The merchant prince of the Blue Sky Faction only nodded his head slightly and sat down.

A few more of the Chieftains had questions, but everything that needed to be said already had been.

Finally, Kanieta stood up and Spoke, "Since he has come to see me, I will take him into custody until it is decid—

"Suck on my hairy balls, ya bitch!" Shouted the badger that just awoke inside the cage.

"Get the fecker!" Screamed one of the badgers standing around the cage.

"Nock out his brains and beat some respect into them!" Shouted another.

As one, the badgers started casting magic, forming jagged rocks and propelling them at the foul-mouthed young badger-kin in the cage.