[A/N] Okay, so I did not meet me predetermined deadline. However, I have finished a chapter now. Last time, N 'collected' Hay-Lin in his collection for Guardians, now consisting of a whopping two members. But before we will get to the next two guardians (you probably know who I'm talking about :P) we need to get some people to move. After all, nobody has ever reached his goal without moving a few pawns around. [A/N]
While N was busy talking Yan-Lin and Hay-Lin over, Taranee went to Caleb's house. She walked towards the door and noticed that some flowers were less frivolous than normally was the case. Taranee knocked on the door and Cassidy opened.
"Oh, hello Taranee. What can I do for you?"
"Hi, Cass. I'm looking for Caleb." Taranee said. "Is he still here?"
"No, he just left for the castle, I'm afraid. He has a meeting with the Grand General in less than ten minutes, you see." Cassidy responded.
"Oh, yes. Do you have any idea how long that meeting will be?" Taranee asked.
"No, I'm afraid not." Cassidy said.
"Okay, thanks anyways." Taranee said. "By the by, I noticed some of your flowers are starting to hang. Might be because of the heavy sun we had for the past week."
Cassidy looked at the flowers and indeed saw two or three flowers starting to hang. She lifted her pointing finger ever so slightly and the flowers got back to a nice position.
"Are you sure?" Cassidy asked. "I don't see them."
Taranee looked around and couldn't find them anywhere. "That's odd. I could've sworn some of them were starting to hang."
"Sometimes you're simply mistaken. You can't always be right. And don't worry about the sun, next week we'll have some rain and it'll be cloudy. At least, that's what the weather forecaster told me when I was in the flower shop this morning. But eventually there's a time their natural death will come. Just like every living thing, a plant eventually has to die too. And then not even magic can save them." Cassidy said, musing.
"And necromancy?" Taranee bluntly asked, before her eyes got bigger and she looked around.
"Necromancy can, indeed, give somebody immortality, by a ritual. I don't know the specifics, but I know it's only a temporary 'life-boost' and you constantly need to keep it up to become immortal. No, there is no real way to become immortal, no real way to not die if you get shot, slashed in half or obliterated. And I think it should be that way." Cassidy whispered back. "After all, after a while, life would get boring. Look at me. I'm just sitting here, cleaning the house and attending the garden all day. Of course I would love to be with my friends. But one day they'll join me in the afterlife too. And then we can really be together forever."
With those words she walked to the plants and sniffed them. "Oh, just listen to me talking. Just the words of an old woman."
Cassidy had a smile on her face and Taranee smiled too. "No, it was a pleasure listening to you. But I'm sorry, I must take my leave. Maybe we can chat again this afternoon?"
"Oh, yes, of course. Say hi to Caleb for me!" Cassidy responded.
Taranee quickly hurried to the castle. Along the way, she saw prince Phobos walk past her. He smiled at her and nodded. She nodded back. She remembered the things she had heard him say this morning. She didn't know what it was about, but he apparently wanted Nicholas gone, after which N had said he 'would leave sooner than he might think'. Oh well. She would let N solve this.
She walked up the staircase she had met the Prince for the first time and went to the floor with the throne room. She opened the door that separated the staircase and the floor and, instead of the room becoming brighter, became even darker, as there were no windows in this hall, and only a few candles to light it. She knew why this was done. If the doors to the throne room were opened, the light from the small windows in the throne room would make the king seen divinely appointed, as they were right behind the throne. That was a really nice idea, but Taranee didn't know why the Grand General had then insisted on making the rest of the room completely dark with torches on the walls. When she entered the room she could only feel awe and her eyes always immediately focused on the god-like general sitting on the throne. Although, that might just be the intended effect. If it was, it certainly worked.
She had only been in the throne room twice. The first time she had been seven. She had to take the oath of loyalty to the Grand General and the country. She remembered how awestruck she had been at the time by the size of the room and Marcus Escanor's god-like appearance. The second time she had entered the room when the Grand General had asked N how much progress his apprentice was making. He had then said she could demonstrate. It had been one of the most frightening moments of her life. There she stood, as a girl the age of eleven, showing off her tricks. The Grand General never smiled, never applauded, he just looked. After she had shown him everything she could and turned to him, he sat still for a full minute or something before passing a judgment.
"Very well. Commendable. You have been training this young girl very well. She is indeed quite the prodigy. Carry on with her training. You have my blessing."
She remembered those lines clearly. He, the Grand General, had found her to be commendable!
"Hey, you." One of the red cloaked guards said. "You've been standing here for ten minutes, and we've tolerated that, but now it's time for you to leave."
"Oh, no, I'm terribly sorry. I am looking for Caleb. I'm Taranee Cook, apprentice of the Archmage Nicholas." Taranee said, excusing herself.
She could see the facial expression of the guard, but she couldn't figure out what he was thinking. The other guard nodded.
"I recognize her."
With that, the first guard nodded as well. "You may wait here. I must warn you though, we do not have any idea how long it will take before they are done."
Taranee thanked the guards and sat on the ground. She started meditating. She could at least try to spend the time in a useful manner.
…
Caleb was standing in front of the throne, on which Marcus Escanor sat.
"Caleb, you are a prodigy of the army. You are one of the best generals this country has ever seen. With the situation in Cryssandor, we might have to call upon our military forces if the other countries are willing to attack us. I, for one, do not think they will go that way, and I think we can settle the current conflict over the trade deals with Cryssandor in a diplomatic way. And it is about this diplomatic part of the conflict I wish to talk to you about. For Cryssandor has called a meeting, as you know, and you have been chosen to go there, as you know. However, it is now time to discuss details and strategy. I will guarantee you, the others will have a strategy too. We will need to think of a strategy that will get us what we want, which is a portion of the currently dug up crystals around two-thirds of the total amount, and the trade rights to Cryssandor." Escanor said, calmly and clearly.
"We will indeed need a strategy, my lord. Is there any suggestion on your majesty's behalf?" Caleb asked.
"I want to hear your plans first." Escanor replied. "If your plan does not seem to be able to work, according to my vision of course, then I will give you one of my strategies."
"Very well. First, I will need to make clear to the other ambassadors that we have come to settle this dispute peacefully. Therefore, we will come with but a small division. It will consist of a few guards, and a few magicians which I will hand pick. We will set up camp near the border of the city, but not on its territory, to show we are not there to besiege or claim the city. Then, the actual negotiations will begin." Caleb said, thinking about each line.
"Yes, you show that we are there for negotiations, not fighting. You do, however, take a small fighting force with you to defend the camp. How will you react when the others take this as a sign of aggression? What if they jump to premature conclusions?" Escanor asked.
"I am quite sure they too will take a small fighting force with them to defend their camps. Therefore I do not think it will be a problem. If it might show to be a problem though, that's where the magicians come in. I intend to take at least three mages with me. One to shield while the others create a portal to here. We can then bring in as many troops as we need. I assume that, if they are hostile to us and try to attack us, they are not willing to negotiate anymore." Caleb responded to the question.
"Yes. And after all, the entire idea of this embassy that is set up in Cryssandor at the moment is to declare it a neutral zone. Any aggressors will be expelled from the camp and be blocked from the trade rights. The only way to risk this agreement being broken is by openly proclaiming war. Then everyone will immediately combine their efforts in an attempt to break you down. Yes, I can see you have a good idea of what to do to make sure you don't seem aggressive, at least military wise. But, in the real discussions, are you going to be aggressive and speak a lot? Are you going to be silent and try and take away their claims when they say them? How are you, in the actual negotiations, going to get us those two-thirds of the diamonds?" Escanor commented on his strategy, and asked.
"I guess I don't really have an answer to that. After all, we don't know how the other countries are going to negotiate. If there are too many aggressive ambassadors, we will never get to our goals. We will need to assess the situation before we can make a decisive call on what negotiation strategy we are going to use. However, let's go with what I think might work best for us, thinking of the positions of the other countries." Caleb said, calculative.
Escanor sat back on his throne and strangled his fingers into one another, his arms resting on the armrest. He nodded, to show his appreciation. "Tell me what you've got."
"First, let us assess the situation of the separate countries which will be present at the negotiations. For example, let us take the country of Idylswylde. It is one of three major countries, our country of Aetherfall and the country of Adalian being the other two, although our country is, of course, bigger than theirs. Idylswylde will probably know that we intend to get the most out of this and will want to get second place, securing dominance over Adalian. Also, I have investigated the current position the countries are in. It seems to me that Idylswylde has a small budget problem. This can, if left unattended or by bad leadership, turn into a huge budget deficit. This aids my theory that Idylswylde's ambassador will want to be aggressive in the negotiations, as they can use the crystals to instantly solve this problem." Caleb said.
"And Adalian will probably be another aggressive negotiator." Escanor said.
"Yes, I think so." Caleb said. "This is an assembly of all major forces, and they surely want to show they are one of the dominant forces, just like Idylswylde. They know they cannot compete with us for the higher position, and they too will want second place."
His story was, however, interrupted by the Grand General.
"Hahahahaha. As if that foolish leader of Adalian will ever be capable of competing with us. Their current king is an incapable fool. A year or twenty ago he challenged me to a war. I, of course, told him about the Treaty of Peace, like the…good…man that I am. There was not to be waged open war. He disagreed, however, his lust for more power too great, and attempted to invade our country. I then rose to the challenge and defeated him and his son in a battle, during which I cut one of the king's eyes out and…disposed of his son. Oh, the joke 'rest in pieces' has never been more accurate. Oh, you should have seen it."
Caleb looked shocked. "Why don't I know about this war?"
Escanor's face showed he realized he had said too much. "We didn't want to have the new generation, which was too young to remember it, to know the pains of such a war. Many of the young men in both countries have died in battle. No, peace and the memory of it had to be preserved. That's why we also destroyed all records of the war: battle plans, treaties, letters which had been exchanged. The king of Adalian, Christopher Hemsley, I believe he is called, of course got all the blame. The borders of his country are now heavily guarded, and we got a strategic piece of his land, which has a favourably positioned fortress on it, which is now used to guard the border. I am sorry to tell you this."
Caleb seemed distressed about the information. Escanor snapped his fingers and a door opened. A lackey came in.
"Care for a refreshment?"
Caleb shook his head.
"Bring me a strong beverage, Cedric."
"As you wish, my liege." Cedric responded, and he walked away.
Caleb noticed that his s was being drawn out. Maybe he had a speech impediment?
"Anyways, forget about all that. What were you saying before I so rudely interrupted you? I believe it was about Adalian's negotiation strategy."
"Oh, yes. As I had said, they will probably be aggressive. I think our strategy has to be as aggressive as them, otherwise they will try to overrule us. But there are of course the other three countries and the four major city states to attend to." Caleb continued.
"Ah, yes. The countries of Oracion, ruled by Queen Rai the First, Gardenia, ruled by King Astafar the Third, and Cressali, ruled by Queen Britannica the Seventh. Then there are also the four major city states of Lotharic, Elzas, Lienn and Kacia. I do not think they will be much of a threat compared to Adalian and Idylswylde." Escanor said. "Or do you think otherwise."
"I do not completely agree with you, but I also do not disagree." Caleb said, as humble as he could.
Cedric entered the room with a glass, filled with a bloodred drink.
"Your drink, my liege." Cedric said, as he bowed and presented the glass.
Escanor rose a hand towards the glass and it floated towards his hand. He inspected it and seemed to whisper a few words. At the end, he was seemingly happy with the result and took a sip. He then placed it at the tip of his armrest.
"Take your leave, Cedric." Escanor commanded.
Cedric bowed, rose and left the room, nobody speaking as Caleb watched him leave and Escanor's gaze was fixed on Caleb. When the door had closed, Caleb turned his attention to Escanor.
"I was not aware that you could use magic."
"Only a little. Just enough to make sure my surroundings, and drinks, are safe." Escanor said, as he took a sip of his drink. "But you said you were disagreeing with me."
"No, no, no. Not at all. I am just not agreeing with you." Caleb said, excusing himself.
"Explain yourself." Escanor commanded.
"Of course, your highness. You see, the city states know quite well that they are there because of formalities. They are well aware that they don't have any leading role in world politics. I do think, however, that the other three countries might try to heighten their status. And if we underestimate them, we might be placed into an unfortunate position and end up empty handed. For Aladian and Idylswylde will be mostly quarreling among themselves, not daring to touch us. If we underestimate the other three countries, they might pull off a wonderous and clearly admirable trick, although this trick will be unfavourable to us. And this is where the city states come in. The city state of Elzas is firmly under our control, or at least, they favour us more than the others and have pledged their allegiance to us. If one of the lesser countries, however, allies up with the other three city states, they might still pose a threat." Caleb said.
"Yes, indeed." Escanor said. "A major power backed up by three city states might pose a threat, even though we have the strongest military. What do you suggest?"
Caleb shrugged. "I cannot say anything more about this matter. We don't know if they will, we don't know how the city states will react. I do suspect, that the city states will mostly be silent and not say anything, and only say things like 'I agree' when a friendly major power has done their part in the negotiations. But I cannot say anything about Oracion, Gardenia and Cressali."
Escanor took another sip from his glass, placed it at the end of his armrest, and placed his fingertips against each other.
"I good analysis. I will take actions to prevent this, as I seem fit and necessary. I assume you will take an offensive stance yourself?" Escanor said, receiving a nod from Caleb. "The opening of the assembly is due in two weeks. It will take you five days to get there, even on horseback. So gather your following and move out. You are dismissed."
Caleb saluted and turned around to leave the room. Escanor shook his drink around and let some spill on the ground.
…
The door opened and Taranee opened her eyes. She looked towards the door, and saw Caleb come out of the room, who immediately noticed her. He nodded at her and she rose. They were silent when they left the hall. Only when the door behind them had closed, they started talking.
"And?" Taranee asked.
"Just strategy-talk, nothing to bother you with." Caleb said.
"I am the apprentice of archmage Nicholas and I will be archmage myself, at a point in time. I do say that I should be bothered with this." Taranee retorted.
"That is indeed very true. Maybe I will ask you for advice about the situation in Cryssandor, when we arrive there."
Taranee looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"The Grand General has given me the opportunity to assemble my own following. I will take a few guards and cooks along, and five mages. You, of course, are one of those mages. N said he wanted me to take four other people along, after he met me this morning. He tried convincing me I needed to bring an army with me and station them somewhere out of sight, just in case. I declined. I didn't want to risk the other countries finding out about the army. Might they find out, all hell could break lose. He tried convincing me for another half an hour, but I stood my ground. In the end, he reluctantly agreed, and he said he would bring me four mages for my quest, who he was about to gather anyways, saying that 'this might be an experience they need to have'. I wonder who they are…" Caleb said, thinking about who N might have meant.
Taranee seemed surprised. "Four other mages? Who?"
Caleb shrugged. "I have no idea who they are. N just told me he would search a 'special following of mages' for me."
Taranee frowned at this news and she was silent from then on. They had already been close to the exit of the staircase and they soon reached the bottom floor. Caleb opened the door, and let Taranee pass through the door first. They entered the main hall, and arrived just on time to see a green flash.
N and Hay-Lin were standing in the middle of the room. Hay-Lin seemed really surprised and was looking around. "How did we…?"
"Be silent for now. I will explain later. " N commanded, receiving a pout from Hay-Lin.
"N!" Caleb said, rushing towards him, Taranee on his tail.
Caleb looked at Hay-Lin and nodded at her. Taranee bowed to her. "My Lady. N, who might your companion be?"
"This is Hay-Lin. Hay-Lin, this is Caleb, General of the army of Aetherfall, and Taranee, my apprentice and the future archmage." N said. "And you are currently standing in the hall of the castle of Grand General Marcus Escanor of Aetherfall, after I teletransported us here."
Hay-Lin looked at N. "Teletransporting? Into the castle of…the Grand…General?"
Her mouth fell open. "We're in the castle of Grand General Marcus Escanor? Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, of my gosh! This is soooooo awesome!" Hay-Lin chirped, looking around the hallway to take it in.
"Caleb," N said, "I want to you to take this girl with you to Cryssandor. She will be of much help."
Caleb rose an eyebrow, and Hay-Lin got out of her chirpy state and looked at N.
"What help will she be to me?" Caleb asked.
"She is a natural talent in controlling the powers of air. Taranee, although incapable of using elemental attacks which are not of the element fire, can teach her how to harness this power and use it effectively." N explained.
"Hold on." Caleb said. "You want me to take an untrained girl with me in my delegacy to Cryssandor? What use can that be?"
"Do you not believe in my judgment?" N asked.
"Of course I do, but this…" Caleb started.
"Then why are you so hesitant and resistant? I have never given you any bad advice or a false judgment." N asked.
"You know that as well as I do, N." Caleb retorted. "No sane general would take apprentices with him to a place which may be hostile. And even if they would, they would not take them along on a task which matters this much to the kingdom."
N took Caleb apart. "The place of Cryssandor will eventually become hostile, Caleb. At that point, these girls which I am assembling might be your only advantage you have. I have never given you a false judgment, as I have previously said, and I hope you trust me now."
"How can you be so sure that the place will become hostile?" Caleb asked.
"There is so much on the line here, namely, the balance of powers in the region. I know just as well as you do that, might we come out of this affair in an unfavourable position, this might affect world politics in an unforeseen manner. That is why Escanor wants to be as prepared as possible, and why he had so many meetings with you about this affair, since the crystals are found. The one who controls those crystals will become as rich as all the other countries combined. The other countries know this just as well. They too, will want to try to become the new superpower, or at least strengthen their position. You know there are going to be hostilities in and around the region. One wrong move, and all hell will break lose." N explained.
"Like bringing an army?" Caleb asked, causing N to shake his head and whisper 'not this again'. "You said you would bring me four mages. At that point I assumed they would be four powerful mages, who could at least defend a small camp. Instead, you bring me an untrained girl. What about those other three, huh? You mentioned 'girls' in this conversation. Are they also going to be untrained girls, like this one?"
"No." N said. "One already knows how to control Earth fairly well and she will need no training. The girl I bring you who can control water knows the basics very well. Taranee just has to explain to her how she can create a shield with the water and it is done. Then I also bring you a special girl. You will see how she will be of use. But I tell you, this last girl also knows how to use her magic and she does not require a training."
'She knows how to use her magic pretty well. She learned it the wrong way, however." N thought.
"Can you guarantee me that these girls won't get in the way? Can you guarantee me that they will be useful?" Caleb asked.
"I guarantee it." N said.
Caleb seemed to think and then shook his head. "Fine. I trust you. You've never disappointed me before."
N sighed in relief. They walked back to Hay-Lin and Taranee. "Then, it is settled. Taranee, train this girl in the art of air."
"What will you be doing, N?" Taranee asked.
"I will send the other three mages I have promised. Expect two of them to join you soon." N said, as he teletransported away.
Caleb immediately gave orders. "Taranee, Hay-Lin, go tell Cassidy we are leaving for Cryssandor tomorrow morning. I will go and assemble the guards we will take along with us to guard the camp."
Taranee nodded and Hay-Lin followed Taranee as she nodded. They walked over the path in the midst of the flower garden.
"Who is this 'Cassidy', Taranee?" Hay-Lin asked.
"Cassidy is Caleb's mother, Hay-Lin. He knows she would like to be informed, so that is what we will do."
"Ok." Hay-Lin chirped. "Is she a nice woman, or more the 'evil-mother-in-law' type?"
Taranee laughed. "She's a really nice woman."
What neither Taranee nor Hay-Lin noticed, was a whisper, which was traversing the field.
"Hay-Lin…Hay-Lin…Hay-Lin…Hay-Lin…"
Phobos looked around to one of his murmurers, which was standing in his room and could hear the whispers of the murmurers in the garden. Phobos looked out of the window to see Taranee and Hay-Lin walking through the garden, then clapped in his hands and Cedric came in.
"Yessss, my prince?" Cedric asked.
"Have you ever heard of a girl called Hay-Lin?" Phobos asked.
"No, my prince, I have not." Cedric said in an apologetic tone.
"Find out who she is then." Phobos commanded.
"As you wish."
…
That night, the doors to the throne room opened and three cloaked men entered. They saw Escanor sit on the throne and kneeled.
"What is your bidding, master?" The one in the middle asked, with a heavy voice.
"You will follow Caleb and his following to Cryssandor. You must make sure we get the best possible outcome for us in the affair: the trade rights and two-thirds of the crystals." Escanor commanded. "By any means necessary."
Escanor rose, and the three cloaked men looked up. Escanor rose his hand, signaling they could rise as well. The three men did so, and stood still on their place. Escanor walked to behind his throne and spoke: 'Is nur alante.' A crack appeared in the back of the throne, taking the form of a square. Escanor placed his hand on the square, and the square vanished. It revealed a hollow part in the throne. Escanor put his hand in it, and pulled out a sword. The sword was made of onyx, a stone as black as can be. The handle had a knob at the bottom and a crescent moon shape at the top of the handle, from which the onyx blade appeared. When Escanor touched the handle, a loud shriek was heard through the room. Escanor seemed to not be impressed by it, apparently having heard this many times before. The three cloaked men, however, seemed agitated at the sound and the cloaked man at the right grabbed for his ears. When the shrieking had faded away, Escanor spoke 'Is nur alante' again and the square reappeared. He placed his hand on the square, and it disappeared, now leaving the throne as one solid piece of stone again.
Escanor walked towards the man in the middle and handed him the sword.
"Is this…?" The man asked.
"Yes." Escanor replied. "Use it if necessary."
"As you wish, my liege." The cloaked man on the left said in a dark voice, as he bowed.
"We will not fail you, my lord." The cloaked man on the right said, as he bowed too.
"Then leave now. If you fail me, you know the punishment." Escanor said, towering above the kneeling men, in his dark armour and dark robes. He would have truly seemed like death to them.
The three men winced at the thought of their punishment. The man on the left instinctively grabbed his left arm, obviously having been through the punishment once.
"We will not fail you." They spoke as one.
The three men rose and left the room. Escanor watched them leave, his hands crossed behind his back. The doors slowly closed and the only light in the hallway was cut short by the doors, leaving an eternal darkness behind.
[A/N] So it seems Escanor isn't only sending Caleb over to Cryssandor. And Phobos wants to know about Hay-Lin. I, too, would want to know about everybody who's moving around, so I can sympathize with him there. We still don't know much about Phobos' plans, but we'll find out eventually. I hope you liked this chapter. Once we get to Cryssandor itself (which I think will be in 2/3 chapters), things will really start to happen and we'll see some interesting developments. Until next time! [A/N]