Ezran sleepily got up from his afternoon nap. It was good seeing Callum, Rayla and their friend travel again. He felt so much peace knowing they were alive and well. It helped him through this situation. The Katolin king was not getting a lot of sleep, so he grabbed it where he could. Corvus had just woken him - for two important, related matters.
His battle mages had sent an official request for the bodies of the nine sun dragons that were lined up in the courtyard. The soldiers wanted to take them apart to use for magic.
Obviously, Ezran bristled at this idea. If there was a peace offering to be made to Sol Regem, the bodies of his underlings would be it. The Katolin king was keenly aware that convincing or at least cornering the king of the sun needed to be a pivot in his strategy. He assumed that Sol Regem had been informed of his losses at this point. To avoid more bloodshed, Ezran wanted to make sure that the dragon was mollified.
To that end, he'd asked Janai to send a messenger. That sunfire elf had now returned.
Ezran seated himself at a table that served as his desk and called for his visitor to enter.
"Excellency", said Janai in greeting as she stepped inside. He was glad that she had come herself.
"Prime Legate. Good to see you. Have a seat."
She pulled up a chair and sat.
"I assume you've been told that my messenger has returned. He brings… mixed news."
"How so?"
"The sun king has no more power. You have successfully destroyed enough of his warlike brethren to rob him of their support."
"Oh", Ezran said, sadly, "Can we expect them to be less… warlike now?"
"I think so. Sol Regem is still powerful, don't misunderstand me, but I doubt the lesser dragons will follow him in an overt attack again."
"What did he think of us returning the bodies?"
"My envoy says he seemed neither impressed nor upset", the Prime Legate kneaded her hands, "If I was in your place, I would still carry out the transfer. My own people would see it as an immense demonstration of good faith. However, I also understand if you would want to harness their bodies. You have paid a massive toll for their deaths."
Ezran nodded. "We can't bring back the dead using dark magic. I don't see how their body parts could be helpful here. I will have them brought over in due honors."
Janai's eyes watered slightly. "Thank you", she said, relieved, "For all their recent evil, the dragons mean a lot to us, Excellency. They are protectors and friends. Many have a personal relationship with our peo-"
"No!", a challenging voice split the air, "You need to stop giving them everything they want!"
Jorge de Peverell stepped into the room, two of his guards flanking him. He was wearing battle armor, richly decorated, his helmet clamped under his left arm.
"We are done being your puppets, Ezran! Evenere refuses to give up the dragons."
"My puppets?", Ezran said, angrily, "I asked your advice. You gave none. I asked your permission. You did not reply. Now, suddenly, you're here, barging into my meeting, bringing your goons? What's your problem, Jorge?"
"Oh, I have no problem. Not anymore, you twerp. You got your army torn to bits, buttsnack! Guess what! Now I and Del Bar have the most soldiers", an entitled smile spread across Jorge's face, "You try and stop me from sticking it to these horned bastards, and I'll waltz right over you and your stupid double-towered castle."
"You do not want to do this", Janai said, "It does not end well for either of our people. Come, sit. Deliberate with us. We can find a compro-"
"Blah, blah, blah. Bah!", the Eveneran prince laughed out loud, "Yeah I'll sit here with you, wasting time while you have reinforcements coming!", he turned to Ezran, "Did you know that? They have, like, three thousand soldiers marching this way. Two days away, give or take. Scouting behind the lines, bud, you should try it."
"I knew. She told me", he waved at the Prime Legate.
"Nice", Jorge said, frowning, "Good of you to pass that on to me, Ez-ran-away-from-battle!"
When he had finished laughing about his idiotic heckle, Ezran calmly sat back in his chair.
"I did. In the same letter I asked about your thoughts on the soldiers' burial and the dragon's bodies. Do you read any of your mail?"
"I'm a king! I'm supposed to lead, not to read! I don't have time for that crap; I have good people - the best, actually - doing that for me!"
"Yes, it appears you are startlingly well informed", Janai said with a wry frown.
"Shut it, bruiser!", Jorge yelled. He put on his helmet and drew his weapon, "You're both dead now, anyway. She can't leave to warn her buddies and you don't deserve a throne!"
Ezran shook his head. "Bad move; Yelling that. For so many reasons."
From outside the building, Amaya smashed into the two soldiers Jorge had brought with him, knocking them both into the walls on either side of the room.
"No! Wait!", the Eveneran King got out before being grabbed by the panels of his armor and thrown outside. His guard ran after them.
"Looks like we have a jester today!", Ezran said and offered his arm to Janai, who stooped bemusedly to allow his gallant gesture to work.
They walked outside together and stood to watch the fight develop.
Jorge was a plaything to Amaya. The only reason why he was still standing was because there were multiple guards with him who seemed quite determined to keep him alive.
It was quite the scuffle between the Katonlin and Eveneran crownguard. So far, nobody seemed to use anything other than their fists.
Janai balled hers, ready to join the fray. Ezran bode her wait. "You can't. Internal conflict, I can deal with, especially since he's an idiot. But if you hurt anyone here, we're done for. Go. Warn your people. Get ready for him. I doubt he'll listen to me."
Janai glowered in Jorge's direction, then gave a curt nod and ran off.
Once she had passed the gate, Ezran's voice rose, its youthful frequency cutting through the din quite handily.
"Stop fighting!"
The Katolin guard disengaged, grouping around their King.
The Evenerans seemed a bit lost. It was odd to have your quarry just… walk off.
"Why fight for a King who wants both you and your allies dead?", Ezran shouted, "What are you doing, threatening a Prime Legate and a fellow ruler? Do you not like your soldiers? Do you not want them to go home to their families?"
"I don't have a family to go home to!", yelled Jorge, "You know that! I mean, neither do you! It's their fault! Their fault! THEIR! FAULT!", he stomped, pointing across the breach, "You're protecting the enemy!"
"That's just a side effect!", Ezran yelled back, "I don't want everyone to die! What happened here is bad enough! We can't fight amongst ourselves, Jorge, do you want to destroy the Pentarchy?"
"I'm not destroying anything but Xadia, Ezran! If you don't support me, you're the one breaking our vows!"
"It's not a question of support! All you have to do to make this end well is nothing! Why is that so hard?"
"They killed my parents! I want justice!"
"We still don't know that for sure! And killing people who had nothing to do with their murder one way or the other won't be justice or even revenge, just more murder!"
"So what! Where's the difference between the people who killed my parents and the people who protect the people that ordered them dead!? I will march on them tomorrow, and I don't care if you stand against me! I will kill anyone who protects my enemy! You've been served! Let's go!"
The Eveneran crown guard reassembled around their king and marched back from where they had come.
"Corvus", Ezran said, quaking with anger, "Ravens. Aanya. Aahling. Florian.", he stabbed his index finger at the ground, "Here! As soon as possible!"
"Yes, Majesty", Corvus said, immediately springing into action.