“The Elder Circle was founded by the races that have first discovered the Transplanar Crystals. The Circle was initially composed of the leaders of the four founding nations, only to soon turn to other influential individuals of said races. Most commonly, those are in order:
The Dragonheir of Drakkara, the firstborn of the current leader
The Lilinlord of Dralarag, the oldest Lilin Demonkin in the lands
The Diamond Lady of the Nazjara, commonly the abdicated former leader
The Traversing Root of the Dendrin, any of the largest mobile Dendrin
The Circle usually met in secrecy, and the meeting place would rotate among the participating nations. Every Elder is commonly allowed a guest, someone that has personal, political, or influential ties to the nation they represent.”
—The Political Practices of the Past Eras, Mr Philip Darsanur, 2060 AS
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I’d usually prefer to do a little sightseeing before going to the Circle, enjoying the varied landscapes of foreign lands. The last years of the War had done wonders to trap me in Dralarag with little means of escape.
But today would be quite different. I looked behind me, Sarron’s body scrunching as he tried to follow in my hoof steps. ‘Children today, they lack even basic training. Well, this Circle will steel him.’
I chuckled into my chin, anticipating the Circle now. I am no longer in Dralarag under the watchful eyes of Herod’s Shadowlings, so my freedom has vastly increased. ‘Yes, children sometimes need to be put in place.’
I was furious with him before, and I can’t say it had changed any. The mere look in his eyes is sometimes enough to make my heartbeat rise and my breath fume. ‘Is this revenge? Retribution?’
I mulled over the correct phrasing to use as I passed the spacious hallways and sun-lit gardens on the outside. On different days, I’d enjoy the Drakkari plantlife. My entourage, if it may be called that way, has positioned in front of and behind me, as if I needed protection.
But in the end, I paid little mind to everything that happened around me at the moment. The stellar doors towards the Circle Room were sprawled in front of me.
It would take only a slight nudge, and everything would begin.
The doors clicked with the tiniest ounce of effort on my part, the large circular dome spreading as far as eyes could see. The Drakkar did tend to exaggerate at times. I looked over the few faces in the room, and finally, the word that I had been looking for came to me.
I made my way over to my seat, coincidentally on the other side of the room, as Sarron followed me all the while. I noticed that at least one other member of the Circle stayed the same. ‘Perhaps she could deliver much more than I had hoped for with the punishment?’
I toyed with the idea for a brief moment then let it go. It would perhaps be too cruel to do such a thing. ‘Then again…’
I passed by her, putting a small smile on my face. We had known each other for long enough to be more than simple acquaintances. She responded in kind, although any smile on her looked more ominous than it actually was, the hissing not helping sate the feeling of dread. I enjoyed watching her face on occasions, there was a glimmer of vigour and empathy behind the facade she preferred to put on. ‘How times pass.’
My cold hard seat awaited in all its obsidian glory, joined by the Language Gems for every language the races present. I had long lost any use of those. Knowing the languages by heart made for a much more intimate understanding of people you converse with. There was a certain essence and finesse that the crude Gems could never impart on the user and sadly, the one I gave Sophia was no better. I was glad when she started putting in the effort to learn the language. ‘I do wonder what she is doing at the moment.’
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Dismissing the image of her face in my mind, I sat down, allowing the Elder Circle to officially convene. It was times like these that made up for the boring days.
I looked around the room, three chairs similar to mine positioned to make a circle in the middle of the dome, overseeing a sprawling well that made up the centre of the dome, stacks of papers spread around each and every one of them. The Dendrin looked similar to the one before, perhaps even the same, but their minute differences were far past my observation skills to pick up on. The branches slowly moved as the trunk of the body settled in the darkwood chair, the irony of a tree sitting on a tree not escaping anyone in the room. The Dendrin did not seem to voice concerns regarding the arrangement, and the ancestors were the ones who made the first rules.
The multitude of eyes shone brightly along the knots and creases of the wood, as multiple stray pixies circled their home that was the Dendrin. One of the limbs of the branches came slightly down in a greeting, something every Dendrin learned to do separately when coming across one of us. I nodded my greetings in return and looked onwards.
The Dragonheir has changed, to my disappointment, or luck. Perhaps some congratulations are in order after this lengthy affair. The youthful person sitting in the chair the colour of endless skies I couldn’t recognise. His face was slightly longer than the average snout Drakkari possessed, and his tail seemed much more muscular in turn. He reminded of a Wyvern in a way.
To my left was the emerald chair of the Nazjar. She filled the spacious chair with her tail, letting the end swing lazily barely off the ground.
I gave Sarron the Drakkari Gem and motioned him to stay by my right. He watched the other Elders in trepidation. This excursion did have a goal of teaching him important things along the way, and my sidetracking will surely not allow those learning opportunities to pass.
Finally, the Drakkar started the introductions.
“Greetings, Elders. I am known as Dragonheir Malkorok. This will be my first time in the Circle after my father has ascended the throne.” The Drakkar spoke with resolve but tried to rush it through, still inexperienced in the manners we adopted.
I now recognised the face behind the name. I’d seen Malkorok on few occasions, more so when he was still a small hatchling playing with toys. But that was decades ago, and times changed. The Dendrin was the next one to introduce itself.
“This Dendrin is known as Antyr. This one was present at the past ten meetings of the Elder Circle. Greetings to all.” The cold voice resonated through the dome, amplified by the multitude of voices that coalesced to make it. The voice softened for a bit, and a lone pixie came out of the top of the Dendrin’s head. It shimmered as it hovered above the wood, ropes of light connecting it to the main body. We acknowledged the colony queen, as the particular pixie was called, as she procured a gentle wave.
The pixie returned to the Dendrin as soon as it came out, the knots brightening up as she disappeared among the leaves and branches. We turned our heads to the emerald chair.
“It is a pleasure to meet you. Some of you may already know me… personally. I am Medusa, the Stone Maiden of the Nazjar. This would be my third time as an Elder.” She swung her wide hips as she talked, slithering slowly inside her chair, the snakes on her hair hissing in accord with her speech. It made for a mesmerising experience, and she didn’t even use any magic she was known for.
Finally, it was my turn, and it was the time to begin the charade.
“Greetings everyone. My name is Cerolus Kreshorok, the Lilinlord of Dralarag. This would be my…” I stopped to count the times I had sat in chairs like these surrounded by people similar to ones in front of me, “... eighteenth visit to the Circle. I hope we all have a wonderful time together.
“And this,” I pointed to my right, “is someone I am quite eager to introduce to the Circle.” Sarron looked at me partly in disbelief, partly in awe, not knowing how to react as all eyes turned on him.
“This is the First Prince of Dralarag, Sarron Kreshorok. He is my special guest for this Circle, one that should be locked up to the wall of the well in the middle. Now then, if you would be so kind to escort this fine gentleman and introduce him to the chains.” I motioned towards the two Drakkar that stood behind me and they took no pause to grab Sarron by his arms, as he finally realised the implications.
“Uncle Cerolus, what are you doing?!” His screams were mixed with fumes of anger and fear as he tried to squirm out of the grasp of the two much larger men than he was.
“Does anyone oppose?” I looked towards the Circle, met with a silence as the three seated people looked at me.
Medusa was the first one to answer. “Cerolus… what did he do?”
I leant back into my chair, embracing the cold stone. “This little piece of shit tried to rape my wife, and this… this is vengeance.”