Finn suppressed a groan as he took seat at the council table. Part of him wished he had been a little bit faster in chasing after the Boggans, but given the crowd and situation, they probably would have dragged Ronin in. That would have been bad. Ronin was probably the only person who could handle Nod in his current disoriented state. So Finn found himself settling in for what looked to be a very long and frustrating council session, reminding himself that filling in for Ronin was part of his job.

The members of the council members were already working themselves into a panic.

"What are we going to do?"

"If the King commands Rot will the forest die?"

"We can't let that happen!"

"Maybe, maybe we should lock the heir away."

A hush fell over the council as the significance of those words hit. Finn found himself tensing. Ronin would never agree to imprison Nod, but if the council wouldn't follow Nod's rule Moonhaven would be in chaos. Looking over, he identified the speaker as Girvan Hargreave, a young lord and recently appointed to the council with the retirement of his father.

"If the heir is a danger to the forest," The young lord continued, "we should set him aside until it's possible for him to pass the life of the forest onto a more appropriate heir."

"I agree." Lord Runnymeade added, "We can restrict him to the royal suites, and share the traditional duties among the council, or appoint a regent until the next pod ceremony."

"What rubbish!" A clear commanding voice rang out.

All eyes turned to a tall, slim, elegant rose Jinn. It took Finn a few moments to recognize her, he took a brief moment to give thanks to Ronin who had drummed the names of various nobility into his head despite his protests. The speaker was Lady Primella Rosecrea Splendiferous, oldest of theretired queens still living. One of the oldest Jinn living for that matter. Finn resisted the urge to kick back and just watch. He expected that the Lady Primella would put on a very interesting show.

Lady Primella swept a stern eye over the gathered council, her lips pressed into a tense frown. "Imprison the chosen heir! Nonsense! This is not the first time we have had the pod bloom in the dark, or had a ruler with command of Rot."

Finn found himself sitting up a little straighter at that announcement, his eyes going slightly wide. He could remember many of the previous rulers from his time in school, but he couldn't remember hearing any of them using Rot. From the shocked whispers and murmuring, it seemed like no-one else did either.

"Lady Primella, are you sure?" Girvan Hargreave asked, his voice now unsure and timid.

The look Primella gave the young lord could have soured the sweetest wine. "Yes I am quite sure. I may have only been a young girl at the time but I remember Queen Laeti Ramari. Stormclouds blocked the moon the night of the pod ceremony, and so it bloomed in darkness. She commanded Rot just as the current Heir does. She ruled well and fairly for a hundred years until the time came for her to choose an heir as well."

Turning her sharp gaze and tongue to Nim Galuu Lady Primella continued, "Sir Galuu, as the Keeper of Knowledge you will be able to confirm the history of monarchs with command of Rot.

"Uh yeah. I guess I can do that." Nim fidgeted under Primella's harsh gaze, "It uh, it might take a while if the records are as old as you say."

"Then I suggest you get to work quickly." Primella stated, "The people will need reassurance that the forest has had rulers like young Nod before and not merely survived but thrived."

"But Lady Primella." Lord Hargreave interjected, "Surely you can agree that this is a different situation than a simple natural storm interfering with the pod blooming. This was the work of Mandrake and the Boggans."

"Nod is no more responsible for Mandrake's actions then Queen Laeti was for the stormclouds." Primella responded her voice dripping with disapproval of the young lord.

Finn held back a smile as he leaned forward, "Thank you Lady Primella for the history lesson. I wasn't aware my teachers left so much out. It will make things much easier. As to the suggestion of imprisoning Nod, that would require the cooperation of the Leafmen. Cooperation you're unlikely to get for a couple of reasons. One, without any historical precedence for imprisoning rulers with command of the Rot, General Ronin would be well within his rights to dismiss any order to imprison the heir as unlawful. Two, Nod is Ronin's godson. There is no way you'll be able convince him that imprisoning Nod is in any way necessary. Ronin knows him too well."

A round of knowing and understanding chuckles spread throughout the chamber. There were very few who didn't know of the relationship between Ronin and Nod, even if only by reputation. People still talked of the time years before when someone said Nod should be sent to live away from Moonhaven so he wouldn't be such a distraction and burden on Ronin within the man's earshot. Apparently the foolish speaker still occasionally had nightmares of Ronin's response. Slowly the council members relaxed.

"Well since we've apparently settled the question of if Nod is going to rule Moonhaven or not, time to ask a different question." Nim brought up, "Who's gonna train him on the magic?"

"Hmm," Primella said, "Even with the Rot, Nod still holds the life of the forest and the connection that it brings. I will train him."

"I will help train him as well." A second voice offered.

For the second time all eyes turned to an unknown speaker. Finn recognized her as another former queen, but one more recent than Lady Primella. Lady Gertrude Coccinellidae, a ladybug jinn. During her rule she was known to be very kind, sweet, and shrewd. She had served on the council ever since she had stepped down.

Smiling sweetly at Primella, Gertrude continued, "The dear boy will need a friendly face to counteract your sour one, Primella."

Finn leaned back in his chair as the two former queens began to bicker, no longer bothering to keep a grin off his face. He felt a small wave of pity for Nod. The kid had no idea what he was in for with those two at his side.

Far away in Wraithwood.

Sakda landed his bat just outside the cave, frowning. He had declared that Jinn boy his king in front of his men, and now he had to inform and convince the rest of the boggans. As his remaining men landed and dismounted from their own bats Sakda barked out an order, "Go tell everyone what you saw. Lord Mandrake is dead, killed by a Jinn who commands the Rot."

His men nodded, heading off to join the crowds of returning soldiers. Sakda himself marched off to join the other Boggan generals in the war room. Boggan warriors ran around, carrying the injured to the healers. It looked that nearly all of the returning warriors had sustained injuries. Mandrake's obsession had cost the Boggans much. When the word of Mandrake's death spread the generals would each declare themselves king leading to a brawl where all but one of the contenders would die. A waste of life and talent. And one likely to lead to more war as many of the generals agreed with Mandrake's hatred of the Jinn. Unless an alternative was presented.

Sakda thought back on the leafman he had witnessed kill Mandrake. He had looked young, but he held incredible power. Plus Sakda had heard Mandrake declare the boy his "dark prince," his heir. He could be strong enough to lead the boggans, and if not, then only one Jinn's life would be lost and not the best and strongest of the Boggans. Now to convince the other captains and generals to accept him.

When Sakda entered the war room most of the Boggan leaders left had already gathered and were arguing.

"Where is King Mandrake?"

"Who signaled the retreat!"

"I did," Sakda declared, "After I saw Mandrake fall."

Sakda stood tall as the captains and generals turned to him, meeting each of their hard stares.

"King Mandrake fell to the Jinn?"

Sakda nodded an affirmative, "He did."

"HA!" General Mabuz, one of Mandrake's fiercest generals and rivals, laughed "So Ronin finally did Mandrake in." Grinning wildly he turned to face the others, "Time for a new king. Who's up for the challenge?"

"It was not Ronin who struck the killing blow." Sakda corrected. "And we already have new king."

A rumble of confusion spread among the crowd.

"Explain yourself Sakda," Blagdan demanded, "DO you claim one of us betrayed Mandrake in battle and killed him with Rot? If someone has they are not worthy or honorable enough to rule us."

"It was not a Boggan who killed Mandrake." Sakda snapped back. "it was a Jinn youth, who commanded the Rot. The result of Mandrake's wish that the pod bloom in darkness."

"You would have us bow to a simpering boy of the Jinn." Mabuz said glaring down at him. "Why should we not simply find the strongest of us here to find out new king?"

"I would have us follow our laws. The laws that have preserve and strengthen us for hundreds of years," Sakda sneered at the large boggan. "You would have us defy them for your own vanity. You were never strong or brave enough to challenge Lord Mandrake for his throne. I watched that "simpering boy" kill Mandrake with a simple push. He has earned the right to rule us, until he is challenged and falls to one stronger."

Around them the other captains and generals murmured in agreement.

Mabuz snarled, "Fine then Sakda. We will fetch and crown this boy king of yours. And we will see how long he keeps his head."

"Then we have plans to make." Sakda nodded motioning the others to circle close.