Twenty-five chairs were spaced in a semi-circle across an open stage under a sunlit sky. Twenty-four were occupied by twelve women and twelve men. Only the center chair remained vacant. The man who should have been occupying that chair, but seldom did, was pacing back and forth in front of it. This was the ruling council for the time being of Tantalus.

The council members shifted in their seats, unsure as to why they had been invoked. The brooding silence of the person who had summoned them made them no more comfortable.

At last, one member broke the silence. This man, although he looked just barely out of his teens, was as old as the one who paced in front of them and knew him well. He sat in the chair to the right of the empty chair. “Let us into your mind, what troubles you?”

The pacing stopped. A look was cast to the sky, he turned to the council. “A planet careens towards disaster with death to all on it. What would you have me do?”

“Stop it!” came the answer from a member of the Council. Vigorous concurrence followed from various others.

“And how would you have me perform this difficult task?” The dark figure spoke softly.

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“Use the all the unique powers you have. What do you need us for?” One of the women suggested with some impatience.

Pacing again, the man laughed. “Yes, with a wave of my hand, I could change all the minds in the macrocosm. What then?” He laughed, a harsh biting laugh. “This conversation we have had before, many times. I would turn them into mindless zombies, as others have done in the past, blindly following my will, all dependent on me.” He spun on his heel and scanned the council with a glare. They recoiled. “Why else do you think I hold myself apart from you?” He turned away. “No that is a path I cannot take.” There was silence for a moment. Then he spoke again.

“But I will take action. I will return to Tihab, which I so recently left, and some will come with me. The Circle will act on my behalf. Yes, they will be needed.”

There was a hiss of breath sharply drawn. At this, he looked back at the council then turned away again. “They will be my ambassadors, and their soft touch may change what has been written in the stars and avert the disaster that looms, but there are other factors at work including one that no one else sees.”

Glances were exchanged, frowns along with some nods. “Agreed. Who, in particular, will you take with you?” The man who spoke first seemed to be the acknowledged spokesman.

The man they called seigneur noir turned back to face the members of the council. He did not smile, but nodded and began to speak. But he did not open his mind fully to them.