Chapter 39: The Council

Chris had never seen such a motley group of men and women as the people assembled in Chief Yuiri's council chamber. Besides the Kinese chieftain, the Council of Chieftains was comprised of Chief Lucia of the Karaya, Chief Dupa of the Saaraks, and Chief Rina of the decimated Safir Clan. Representing the Gani-Bara was Hugo's friend, Sergeant Jordi, who seemed more comfortable with the short form 'Joe'. Also present, to everyone's astonishment, were Lucia's traveling companions – Nash Latkje, revealed as a Harmonian spy, and his secret employer, Bishop Sasarai, former commander of the Harmonian invasion force.

This is a sight we shall never see again. The leaders of the clans sitting face to face with the Knight Captain of Zexen, and a bishop of Holy Harmonia.

Two more were present in the room, though they sat apart, trying to keep a low profile. Caesar and Apple had proven themselves on the long retreat from Chisha, and their counsel had saved many lives. For this service, they had been given seats at the council. Chris hoped that they would provide an outside perspective, a voice of reason that might help cooler heads prevail.

"Bishop Sasarai," Chris said, "Can you end the war?"

Sasarai stood while the others sat, steadying himself on Nash. Despite his lingering weakness from having the True Earth Rune wrenched from his body, the impression he gave was that of a monarch standing over his subjects rather than a supplicant refusing to bend.

"The Masked Bishop is master of the Harmonian army now. While he lives, I cannot command my army."

"Then you're of little use to us," Yuiri said, fuming. The Kinese chieftain's wounds at the hands of the Masked Bishop were too fresh. Faced with a twin to her tormentor, she struggled to master her anger. "Why shouldn't we ransom you back to your spirits-forgotten land?" She stared daggers at the bishop, but Sasarai met her eyes and did not back down.

"You may try," he said. "Although, you would be hard pressed to find an agent of Holy Harmonia who would carry your demands to Crystal Valley. The Masked Bishop is unlikely to entertain such notions…"

Chris shook her head. "He is right. No Harmonian would act upon such a serious matter without first bringing it to the attention of his ranking commander. And that would be the Masked Bishop."

Dupa slapped his heavy foot against the floor. "Bah! Let us kill the tiny man and be done with it. How many clansmen have died for the sake of this Harmonian worm? He deserves death!"

All eyes turned to Yuiri. As chieftain of Alma-Kinan, the fate of the prisoner brought into her village rested ultimately with the youthful warrior-priestess. Even Dupa remained silent for a time, respecting the chieftain's prerogative. Yuiri rubbed her chin thoughtfully, as if considering the request.

Chris looked at Lucia, and tried to read the noncommittal look on the woman's face. It was she who had brought Bishop Sasarai here. Surely she had some plan in mind? But the Karayan chieftain looked lost within herself. Since she found out about Hugo, Lucia had been withdrawn and brooding. Chris could not fault her, but she had hoped Lucia would speak her mind. The words would carry more weight if they came from the Karayan chief.

"Hear me out, please," Chris said. A few of the chiefs muttered protests at the interruption, but no one stopped her. Yuiri motioned for her to go on. "The Harmonians are stronger than ever. With the Destroyers pulling their strings, our position is precarious at best. The Masked Bishop wields the True Wind Rune, and now the Destroyers have the true runes of earth and…" Chris felt her throat go dry as ashes, but she carried on. "And the True Fire Rune." There. She had said it. Beside her, Lucia flinched, but said nothing.

"Forgive me for saying so," Chris went on, "But Alma-Kinan is no longer safe. Now that the Destroyers possess the Sealing Rune, we stand on the brink of destruction." Scattered protests rang through the room, but Yuiri did not protest. "What we need is a bulwark against the Harmonian forces. A stronghold that will not fall to their rune magic."

Dupa snarled. "Where would you find such a sanctuary, ironhead? We've seen the True Runes rip houses from the earth, snap trees in half."

Chris steeled herself with a deep breath. What she was about to say would not be popular. "There is one place."

Lucia's face turned up at that, as if she had been awoken from a daydream. "You speak of Brass Castle…"

The audience chamber erupted into loud protests. Chris pressed her lips together into a grim smile, and raised her voice to be heard. "Where else could we halt the Harmonian approach?" She waited for the others to settle down, then lowered her voice again. "The walls of Brass Castle have deflected each and every assault over the years. It can stop even the True Runes. Of this, I am certain."

Dupa burst into an angry, mocking laugh. "Brass Castle! An ironhead fort… You would have us march our forces into the den of the lion? Do you think us fools, Silver Maiden?"

Chris strode forward to stand in Dupa's tall shadow. "You would march into Brass Castle as allies to Zexen."

Lucia grunted. "Your truce…"

"We need something more than a truce," Chris said. "We need an alliance. That is what I have learned while among your people. Zexen and the Grasslands must stand together against this threat, or we will both fall."

Dupa barked a short laugh. Once more he stamped his feet against the hardwood floor, drawing annoyed glances from Chief Yuiri. "There will be no alliance between the saarak and the ironheads while I draw breath. Perhaps you would like to kill me too, She-Devil?"

Chris did not respond. Inwardly, she cursed the lizard clan warrior's stubbornness. She knew that Dupa and the saaraks would be by far the hardest clan to convince of her plan. But she had to try. She was committed to her course of action.

"We need an alliance," she repeated. "We draw back to Brass Castle. There, at the gorge, we stop the Harmonian advance. That will buy us time… time we will use to find a way to defeat the Masked Bishop, or frustrate his plans. If we can stop him, all of this ends." She gestured to indicate Bishop Sasarai. "That is why we should not harm the bishop. We need him alive, and cooperating. Because, once we defeat the Masked Bishop, he is the one who will march their army back home to Harmonia."

Several hours later, Chris left the council chamber, frustrated. Once she had made her case, a hot argument had erupted among the chiefs. Before long, it was clear that no easy accord could be reached. When the arguments had gone back and forth several times, Chief Yuiri stood and called a halt to the proceedings. She took Chris aside and told her that she, and all the non-clansmen, should leave for the time being.

"In your absence," Yuiri explained, "Perhaps we can find agreement."

Chris stood beside the bed, regarding the unconscious form of the man stretched out there.

Geddoe had not yet awakened. Kinese healers had bandaged his arm and chest, and dark blotches marred the white wrappings where blood risked soaking through to the sheets. His dark leather coat had been stripped away, and his bare chest was pale and covered in a web of cuts and bruises – a grim testament to the power of the Masked Bishop's True Wind Rune. Geddoe, who had seemed a pillar of strength when he stood beside them in battle, now looked a shadow of himself, his eyepatch just another reminder of the True Rune bearer's many wounds.

She saw the man in a new light, now. Geddoe had been a companion to her father, all those years ago. The revelation that her father had been an immortal True Rune bearer, that he had staged his own death and left Chris and her mother behind, had struck her like thunder. She now stood at Geddoe's sickbed, watching over him, as if being near him would somehow bring her closer to her own father, and to the answers for which she yearned.

"Even true rune bearers have their limits," said a voice behind her.

Chris turned to see Chief Lucia stride into the room. The warrior chieftain took up a position beside her, standing over the injured man, arms folded. Lucia put on a strong façade, but Chris knew where to look for the subtle signs of distress. The creasing of the flesh around the woman's eyes. The tightness of her jaw. As if her ordeal as a captive of the Harmonians had not been enough, finding out that her son was missing should have been enough to reduce the woman to a wreck. The fact that Lucia still could still function as a leader of her embattled people utterly amazed Chris, and filled her with admiration for the Karayan chieftain.

"How goes the council?" Chris asked. It was only now that she realized just how anxious she was to hear the decision of the chiefs. Had they reached an agreement? What would it be – an alliance, or utter catastrophe?

Lucia gave a lopsided shrug. "Broken up, for now. We have all said what needs to be said. Now each of us must consider the matter in solitude." She turned to give Chris a pointed look. "Some of us are undecided."

Some of the tension washed out of Chris, but not all of it. No decision was better than the wrong decision. But not by much. For a time, they stood in silence, watching the sleeping Geddoe, and Chris found herself fidgeting like a restless child. The problem was, Lucia's presence was itself a source of tension. Chris had hoped to speak with the woman, to learn more about her father's recent years. Yun had said that Wyatt Lightfellow – a knight of Zexen, no less! – had passed himself off as a Karayan warrior for years. She had so many questions, all tumbling through her head with the force of boulders racing downslope.

But first, there was something else that needed to be said. She had dreaded having to explain to the chieftain how she had let the Destroyers take her son. What was there to explain? Chris had failed to protect Hugo, and she hated herself for it. The unspoken words hung between them, thick enough to cut with a knife.

"I am sorry for…" she started. Her throat felt dry, like sand. She could barely speak. "I would have given anything to prevent them taking your son."

Lucia stiffened visibly at her words. "Please, Captain Lightfellow. Your words twist a mother's heart. Do not speak as if Hugo were gone."

Chris bit her tongue. Percival's words haunted her mind. They wanted his rune, that's all. "I am at fault," Chris said at last. If the Karayan chieftain called for her head, she would understand. It seemed a fair price, to her.

"I do not blame you, Captain Lightfellow," Lucia said. "Betrayal cuts deeper than any wound. You could not have known."

"I should have known," Chris said bitterly. "Somehow, I should have. Percival will face justice."

Lucia spun around to face her. "With your people?"

"He was a knight. He will face the judgment of the knights."

Lucia's face hardened. She advanced on Chris. The chieftain stood nearly a head taller than Chris. Her legs were long and sinewy, her arms lean and muscular. Chris could see how her stare might intimidate even a strong, powerful man. Lucia spoke slowly, "You must give over your man to face the justice of the clans."

It took a lot to meet Lucia's stare, but Chris managed somehow. "Percival is a traitor to Zexen. He must answer to us for his crimes."

"No. You can either have Percival, or you can have your alliance. You cannot have both."

Chris frowned. "Traitor or not, I cannot give a subordinate over to face the justice of foreigners. As a knight of Zexen, it is my duty—"

"Your duty," Lucia said, firmly, "Is to preserve Zexen." The woman paced around the bed upon which Geddoe slumbered. "Consider your situation as it stands. You seek the goodwill of the clans. Most of my people loathe your people. You may have proven your honor and devotion to this cause, but your knights have decimated our people. You burned Karaya…"

"An act I shall forever regret," Chris said. She lowered her head.

"And yet, I find myself willing to speak in favor of the alliance."

Chris looked up, startled. Lucia had a thoughtful look on her face, mouth twisted with distaste, something faraway in her eyes. "Our peoples have warred," Lucia said, "For far too long. Peace would be welcome. Karaya needs time to rebuild. A new era of friendship would benefit us both. I believe Chief Rina feels the same. Her Safir have suffered the most at the hands of the Harmonians. But make no mistake. There are others who would never support the alliance. Some of us would rather die than ally with Zexen. The Saraak, for example."

Chris nodded slowly. She had expected as much. "But you would speak in my favor?" she asked.

Lucia raised a fist, squeezed shut. "Give us your fallen knight. Deliver him to our justice. Then, and only then, shall you have my support."

Chris hesitated. She turned to look at Geddoe, sleeping calmly on his sickbed. She wondered how long it would take for the man's strength to fully return. If it ever would. Alone, injured, among strangers, the man lay. Far from home.

Could she abandon Percival to the clans?

"I will think on it," Chris said.

"See that you do," Lucia said. The chieftain spared a lingering look at Geddoe before turning to leave.

"Wait," Chris said. Lucia spun to regard her, a look surprise on her face. "Please, tell me about the man named Jimba."

The Council of Chieftains convened again at sunrise the next morning.

Five chieftains sat on pillows in a wide circle, facing each other. Chief Yuiri of Alma-Kinan, at the place of honor. At her sides, Chief Lucia of the Karaya and Chief Dupa of the Saraak. Further away sat Chief Rina of the Safir. And lastly, a little apart from the others, Chris.

Warrior Chief of the Zexen.

No one else had been allowed in the chamber, this time. Nash and Bishop Sasarai waited to learn of their fate in a separate cottage, guarded by about a dozen Kinese warrior-priestesses whose real duty was to keep the Harmonians safe from vengeful clansmen and clanswomen.

Hugo's Karayan warrior bangles hung from Chris's wrists. It had been a deliberate choice on her part to wear the bangles, and from the moment she stepped into the council chamber, they had drawn wide eyes, even gasps of surprise.

Chris fingered the lacquered wood self-consciously, and willed herself to meet Chief Lucia's questioning eyes. She wore the bangles as a gesture of goodwill towards the clansmen's culture, and as a sign of her dedication to the alliance. It was a sign of how far they had come, that the Karayan chieftain's son had gifted the bangles to an outsider. She knew that the chiefs assembled may not approve of her wearing the bangles, but she also knew that such gifts, when given, could not be taken back. They may disapprove, even hate her for wearing them, but they could not deny that the warrior bangles belonged on her.

Chief Yuiri slapped her thigh to get their attention. "Let the Council of Chieftains be convened. We who gather here today are the voices of our clans. Some of our fellow clansmen and clanswomen now lack for leaders, but we who sit at the council will bear their voices with us. We are gathered here today to settle an important matter which has been brought before the Council of Chieftains. Captain Chris Lightfellow, speaking on behalf of the Council of Zexen, offers an alliance against the Harmonian invaders. What say you?"

Chief Rina rose and smoothed her skirts. "The Safir have suffered much at the hands of the invaders. Our homeland lies in ruins. Many of our people were slain, and the survivors now face enslavement, remaining on their ancestral lands, but as thralls to the Harmonians." There were nods of agreement from the assembled chiefs, and their eyes filled with equal measures of anger and sympathy. "My people have had no quarrel with Zexen. We will stand with our fellow clansmen, but as chieftain, my primary concern is to liberate our lands from the iron fist of Harmonian rule. I speak for the alliance."

Chief Rina sat back down, and Chief Dupa straightened. The lizardman towered over the others, and he had to bend his head to avoid hitting the low ceiling. "The ironheads are faithless cowards." He turned his gleaming yellow eyes on Chris. She felt hate smoldering in those glowing orbs. "This woman has brought nothing but death and destruction to our people. Alliance? Hah! The ironheads would sooner throw their gates open for the approaching invaders!" Chief Dupa sank back to his seat and gave a dismissive gesture. "I speak against the alliance."

Chris held her tongue. The thinly veiled fury of the saarak chief came as no surprise. She had expected as much, and one voice of dissent would not sway the council's decision. She looked around the room, tried to gauge the reaction to Dupa's words. Rina looked down, arms crossed. Lucia and Yuiri took in the arguments, their faces inscrutable. She needed their support. Both of them must speak for the alliance, or it would never come to pass.

Chief Yuiri looked at Lucia. "What say you?"

Lucia crossed her arms, a frown creasing her beautiful brow as she considered the matter. "The Destroyers have my son," she said. "I am a mother. But as chieftain, I must be a mother to all of Karaya, indeed, to all of the clans, before I am a mother to my son." Chris ached for her, seeing the anguish written on the woman's face. "The question is, would a mother trust Zexen with the safety of her people?"

As she spoke, Lucia had turned her head to face Chris, and her eyes held a question. It was clear to Chris that when the Karayan chieftain spoke of trusting Zexen, she was really wondering if she could trust the Captain of the Knights. "It's a matter of good faith," Lucia said. "If we are to surrender our hatred, Zexen must first show that she is willing to surrender something, too." She raised her brows in a silent question.

Chris understood. The chieftain was asking her a direct question: are you prepared to make that sacrifice? She thought of Percival, chained in the basement of the very building where she now sat. She thought of the knights, the camaraderie that would never come again. She thought of Karaya village burning, the winds fanning the glowing embers. She considered Lucia's question.

She gave a curt nod.

Lucia sat back, letting out a deep breath. She had her answer. "I speak in favor of the alliance."

Yuiri nodded slowly. The chieftain of Alma-Kinan held the fate of the Grasslands in her hands. If she sided with Chief Dupa, there would be no alliance. She took some time to gather her thoughts before she spoke.

"The people of Zexen have caused us much harm. The bad blood between our peoples goes back generations. It's poisoned any attempts at peace, in the past. So much of what we've done to each other cannot be taken back. So much cannot be undone. Spirits know, I question whether our peoples could ever see eye to eye, and an alliance requires trust. Indeed, Captain Lightfellow has proven her honor and fidelity in my eyes – even though she has at times given insult to our traditions. Still, she has placed the need for an alliance before her own pride. But she is but one woman. We know her, but what about the tens of thousands of people who call Zexen home? Are they as eager to have his alliance? We do not know them. We do not know their leaders. And it is hard to trust a stranger."

The Kinese chieftain paused to gather her thoughts. Chris's heart pounded in her chest as she waited for the woman's verdict. Goddess, it was hard to keep her hands still in her lap.

"The force arrayed against us is formidable," Yuiri went on. "I believe Captain Lightfellow's assessment of the situation to be correct. Chisha has fallen. Alma-Kinan will fall, too. We cannot remain here. We cannot continue to wage war alone against the invaders, while the Zexeners hide behind their walls. Harmonia will crush the clans, then strike for Vinay. Our lands will be conquered, and we'll all be made slaves."

Yuiri allowed a moment for her words to sink in. Then she said, "I'll not see our children enslaved. I'd rather trust that bad blood can be cleansed, and strangers can be made into friends. I speak for the alliance."

Silence descended upon the council room as the chieftains considered the outcome of the vote. Chief Dupa was the first to speak, pushing to his feet. "When the snake stalks your young," he said, his voice quivering with rage, "You do not turn to the scorpion for succor. You're mad. You're all mad!"

"Dupa—" Yuiri started.

With a frustrated howl, Dupa charged at Chris. The lizardman towered over her, and before she could react, his clawed fist had caught him by the front of her tunic and lifted her off the floor. He held her there, legs dangling, face inches away from his scaly snout. She felt his breath on her face, hot and acrid. His eyes were wide and furious, the vertical pupils contracted into tiny dark pinpoints.

Chris did not resist. The Saarak chieftain was four or five times her weight, and his body bulged with muscle beneath the glistening green scales. She stood no chance of breaking his grip. The neckline of the tunic sawed against the skin of her throat, making it hard to breathe. Dupa could snap her neck, or he could slam her against the wall. He had her at his mercy.

If she fought back or begged, it would merely prove his point. The lizardman meant to intimidate her, but he could go no further. He had broken the peace of the council. If Dupa caused her actual harm, he would violate the laws of the clans. The lizardman knew this, and he counted on Chris's ignorance. If she allowed herself to be intimidated, it would show how little she understood the clans. The lack of trust would be an insult to everyone assembled.

Hanging limply, arms at her sides, she met the lizardman's gaze, and challenged it. Rage and frustration burned in his eyes – rage that ebbed, and frustration that built, with each moment she did not yield to his wrath.

Finally, Dupa released her. Chris stumbled back, regaining her feet before she fell. She touched her throat where the tunic had dug into the skin.

"Sit down, Dupa," Yuiri said. "This is not our way."

The Saarak chieftain's chest heaved with each breath. He would meet no one's eyes. Chris understood. She had shamed him. The loss of honor he had thought to inflict on her, she had inflicted on him.

"You're all making a mistake," he said, growling.

Chief Rina stood and approached the lizardman. "Please, Dupa. We need your strength now, more than ever. It is the will of the Council of Chieftains that we lay aside our blood feud with the Zexens and seek an alliance. Can you not abide by the will of the council?"

Dupa laughed, a low, rumbling sound. His shoulders sagged, and he looked around desperately, tail coiling in despair. "The council has spoken," he said. "The clans will stand side by side with the Ironheads in this coming war."

Lucia gave a grim smile. "Thank the Spirits. Let us—"

Dupa silenced her with a gesture. "I am not done. The clans will stand beside the hated Ironheads, yes. They will, however, do so without the Saarak." Ignoring the shocked gasps that filled the council room, Dupa turned his back on the chiefs and lumbered over to the doorway, undersized for his giant frame.

"As of this moment," he said in parting, "We of the Great Hollow are no longer bound by the Council of Chieftains. We are finished with you."