[A/N] Hey guys and girls! First of all, I'm really sorry for the long wait! I've had some troubles with writing (or doing anything at all for that matter!) in the past months. I've started a new year at college and some things that had been playing in my life for a while have been culminating in the past three months, such as the unofficial yet official enough divorce of my parents, among others. I've had it difficult to find the motivation to do anything at all, but I've managed to squeeze out a little bit of it for you guys and girls, to end the year of 2013 with one more chapter of Royal Destiny. So, I present to you a new chapter of Royal Destiny! There's lots of diplomaticness in this (which explains why it was so annoying to write), but I hope you still enjoy nonetheless! [A/N]
That morning, Caleb had awoken early, at around five O'clock and had taken a walk through the city himself. The city of Cryssandor was silent, as nearly everybody was still asleep, including the birds. Caleb walked past the different camps of the other nations to see how they had settled and, by the amount of tents, see how many people had come along, estimating the amount of people sleeping in the same tent to be between three and twelve, their number depending on it either being a barracks-tent or a tent for the higher officers and diplomats. It seemed that the average number of people that had come along was 30, which was about three times the amount he had with him. He nodded and saluted at the guards that protected the tents, and he noticed the guards kept a close eye on him, no matter which camp he was at. So far for truly hoped the sorcerer-girls could protect themselves and the soldiers as well as N had promised him. It was strange. Normally he would follow N's advice to the grave, but now he was doubting. He thought it over for a while. Maybe it was because this was his first big assignment and he didn't want to screw it up. And right at that time, N shows up and hands him three girls with a low amount of magical experience. He sighed and walked along.
He went to the mining construction sites to see how they were placed and how big the entrances to the mines were. From that, he could deduct the amount of minerals taken to the surface per hour. That said, he hadn't even seen one of the crystals. Only the true heads of states had seen some of the crystals. The diplomats, which included he himself, would also be shown a sample. He hoped they were well worth it and that everything would go well. His biggest fear was that everybody would just start pointing out why they were the best and why they should get the crystals. There had to be a mutual sense of trust between the parties at the table, otherwise negotiations had no purpose. It differed from the war deal meetings he had had for practice. In peace deals, one party had won and thus could try to get something out of it, and the other just had to accept it, otherwise their country would be devastated even more. Of course, this was only a global sketch, and the truth was much more nuanced. But it was a sufficient image to contrast it to these kinds of diplomatic treaties and negotiations. These kind of treaties had no winner or loser from the start. Some sort of mutual trust, to be more precise, a trust that both parties would honour the deal, would be needed. Judging by the attitude of the guards earlier, that would be hard…
He had been so lost in thoughts that he hadn't noticed he had already walked straight past the mining sites. Now it was too late to inspect them. Now that he thought of it, he couldn't really remember why he thought seeing the mining entrances were important at all. It just seemed to be what one would do in a city that turned around mining. He shrugged as he walked back to camp, hearing the first chirps of birds in the morning, as the sun slowly rose and touched his body. A smile crept on his face as the warm rays touched it. What a nice way to start the day. Hopefully the rest of it would be just as great.
…
The birds chirped for the first time that morning, and Will awoke. Still sleepy, the sun's rays touched her face and she hid her face under the pillow.
"Rise and shine, sunshine." N said, as he burst into her room.
"The sun is outside." Will said, sleepily and barely audible due to the pillow. "Let it shine and let me sleep for a few more hours."
N took the sheet and pulled it aside, revealing Will, laying in her pyjamas. Will grumbled as she threw the pillow off of her face to N. Will got up and looked at him.
"Do we really have to get up at sunrise?" Will asked.
"Do you really want to learn how to use and control your powers?" N asked.
"Yes…" Will softly said.
"Then we'll do just that, my way." N said, as he threw the pillow back to Will, who caught it. "So get dressed."
Will mumbled and let herself fall backwards, back onto her bed. She then felt a small spark near her butt.
"Now."
With that, N left the room. Will got up and looked out the window. She saw the road leading to her usual training ground. A few houses were also visible along the road. She looked through her room and confirmed she was still in this god forsaken place. Such a nice way to start the day. Well, at least she was one day closer to leaving, together with Susan and N.
Will dressed herself and went to the living room. N was already sitting at the table, his legs crossed, and a plate in front of him, with a sandwich on it. He opened his hand to the chair across him, with a plate in front of it, indicating she should sit there. She took the seat and stared at him. Was this all part of the training already? Was she being tested? He simply stared back at her.
"You may eat, Will."
Will immediately took the sandwich and took a big bite. N smiled and shook his head in amusement. He quickly became serious again.
"Before the training really starts, I want to tell you a few things. Firstly, you're probably going to get mad at me. A lot. Secondly, you will follow my advice, no matter what it is. Third, I'm not only going to teach you how to use your powers, but also to control yourself. This will mean that we will also have meditational lessons. You need to be able to free yourself of dark thoughts, which is only to be achieved by combining reason with your feelings. Together, they will form a harmonious whole that will make you tougher than you've ever been. But the road is going to be hard and you will, of course, fail multiple times before you will actually achieve anything. Understand?" N asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes." Will said, "When will we start?"
"When you've finished your plate." N said.
Will looked confused. "But you haven't taken a bite from your plate yet."
"I have already finished my plate, this one is for Susan. I thought it to be the least I can do, for letting me live here during your training. Now, hurry up and eat."
Will ate in silence, as N constantly watched her. Will felt a little uncomfortable, with his eyes constantly resting on her. Was he pondering if he had made the right decision in trying to teach her?
N looked at Will. Many thoughts crossed his mind. For one, he would only have two weeks to teach her things, after that, he had to send her to Caleb. He wanted to make sure Will would be at Caleb's side when things would go wrong, if they would go wrong. He hoped not, but this was a highly tensed subject and all nations probably had something on the line. It was a gathering of tense people who could start blaming each other at any given time. He had watched Caleb every night, to make sure things were still going all right. He also needed to get to another place by that time, far up in the North. He wondered why he had planned this so badly. Was his age finally catching up to him. He shortly took his eyes off of Will and looked at his glove, which covered his skeleton hand. Luckily, he was not near the castle at the moment, otherwise he probably wouldn't have been anything else than a walking skeleton. For a second he thought of the reactions he could get when he would scare people, before his mind turned back to more serious matters. N looked at Will again and saw her looking back at him. Her eyes told him so much. It was showing doubt, first of all. Not doubt of her abilities, surely. Maybe she was doubting him? Or she was thinking about him doubting her. That was the problem he had. He could read people, but his mind would think up all kinds of possibilities. Thus, he never assumed anything when it came to people. He wondered if he could train her how to use her magic from the good energy in her, and not let it feed off of her anger and frustration. How would she take the lessons he would give her? These lessons would be far different from those of Taranee. With Taranee, he had more or less been the tutor, the scholar. Here, with Will, he had to be the psychologist. He would have to see to it that she could utilize her good thoughts to harness the power of Quintessence. Once she had done that once, it would be easily accessible to her. The Heart would make it even easier. But he hadn't given her the Heart yet. He wanted to make sure she could access it on her own, without its help. She didn't quite need the Heart yet. It would be unwise to do so. He looked at the top of his staff. The crystal let out a soft, pulsating, pinkish glow, which was hypnotizing. He didn't need to part with it yet. Not quite yet…
"N, are you even listening?"
N shook his head and looked at Will.
"I've been saying I've finished for like, the fifth time now."
"Sorry," N said, apologizing, "I was lost in thought for a second."
N rose, and so did Will. "Then your training can commence."
…
Taranee, having awakened at around four O'clock, had eaten and dressed herself, taken a stroll and was now sitting on her bed, reading a well-known book by prize winner Howard Henry Jacob Collins, called 'The art of diplomacy. Divide and conquer.' She hoped she could get some useful tips out of it. For the first time, a book failed her, as she had learned most of this with N already. Some things she hadn't learned, but she noticed why N hadn't told her of those tricks. They were humiliating for the opponent, or just straight out cruel. She wondered why this book was even held in such high regards. All it was seemingly about was to bring down the opponent so much that you were in such a favourable light compared to them, that you simply had to be the obvious choice since the rest was just utter shit. She put the book away and looked at the ceiling. Luckily she had had some lessons in rhetorica during her studies with N. It would come in handy during the negotiations that started at twelve O'clock, even if today would be only introductions. After all, you need to know who you're talking to. But that was not the biggest thing today. It would be an excellent opportunity to see who was a weaker diplomat than others and try and judge their strategies. Would they be submissive, assertive, or maybe be utterly silent and just say their names and whom they represent? For, she remembered, first impressions counted the most. You could learn a lot from people during the first impression and many people would base their opinion on it. There was, however, one flaw in this logic, as N had taught her. It was an obvious, yet almost always made mistake: You must not only judge a book by its cover. So many people did this and it was an obvious trap to fall in. She knew a bit of telepathy, but…her morals stopped her from using it to their advantage. You shouldn't read someone's thoughts without their consent.
Hay-Lin entered her tent.
"Oh, there you are."
Taranee looked at her. Hay-Lin was wearing a long white dress, with a red flower as broche on the front on her left breast. She also had a red flower in her hair.
"Is something wrong, Hay-Lin?"
"Well," Hay-Lin said, "I was wondering…You know so much of my magic and have taught me a bit during the way over here, but…how do you know so much? Did N teach you all of it?"
"Well," Taranee started, "I am highly knowledgeable in all kinds of magic that exist, including the more material stuff, like divination. I'm also familiar with philosophy, rhetorica, tutoring and a little bit of military tactics. This is mostly due to N, although I've also studied a few things myself, especially on the area of fire, since that is my speciality. I have always been gifted in fire magic, which has only recently been revealed to me to be due to me being the Fire Guardian, whatever that really means. N has always been a man of secrets."
"Wow, that's a lot of studying. That must have taken a lot of time." Hay-Lin said, impressed.
"Well, I have been N's apprentice for…let's see…about…twelve, thirteen years? I started when I was four, five, and I'm sixteen now. So, yeah, twelve years. I started with the basics in fire. It's why he noticed me, you know. He was severely impressed with my fire magic. Although, now that I think of it, maybe it also had to do with the fact I am the Fire Guardian."
"How was your training like? And what did he teach you about air?" Hay-Lin asked, emphasizing the last part of her sentence, obviously wanting to hear about that the most.
"Well…N was a really patient teacher. He never forced me to do anything I couldn't. He was kind and didn't ever yell at me, although he was critic of what I said. He let me figure out things on my own and only gave additional information if he really needed too. Although he would also sometimes give lectures. Reaaaally long lectures. He would sometimes talk for a day, then stop in the middle of a sentence, we would go to sleep, and the next day he would go further at the exact word he had stopped at, like nothing happened."
"That must've been really awkward and annoying sometimes." Hay-Lin remarked.
"Well, sometimes you just didn't know what he was talking about, until he was like five minutes in. But after a while you start to recognize what he does and you automatically memorize the end of the day before and read your notes before the lecture." Taranee said, thinking about her time with N.
"Wow. How early did you have to get up to keep up with that?" Hay-Lin asked, clearly amazed.
"Early." Taranee answered. "Really early. But I'm up already for a long time. I'm used to it."
"But, it's, like, nine. How early did you get up?" Hay-Lin asked.
"At four."
"MY GOD TARANEE. How do you even manage to live like this?" Hay-Lin chirped.
"I guess it comes naturally after a few years. I don't know any other way. I usually get up really early, take a little stroll, study, and then…Well, normally I'd wait for N to teach me something new, but now I'm just waiting until it's 12 O'clock and I can go to the first meeting alongside Caleb. I was reading a book before you came in, but I don't really like it."
"That must be a new one. Taranee doesn't like a book." Hay-Lin chirped, laughing slightly.
Taranee made an annoyed-face. "Yeah, what a killer. Hilarious. Anyways, do you have any more questions?"
Hay-Lin thought for a while. "How exactly does air magic work? I mean, of course you move air, but…"
"Ah," Taranee said, delighted. "Excellent question."
Now that she had somebody to explain magic too, she could see why N loved it so much. This was just great.
"Air magic works, since some people can use magic to move the air particles that are all around us. By manipulating them, they can create gusts of wind, air currents or other smaller variations of winds. If you have a natural talent for air magic, you are more 'in tune' with the air particles, to use the same term that N did when he explained it to me. This means it will take only half the effort for that person to do what a 'normal tuned' person would need. In other words: 'in tune' persons can move twice as much air simultaneously as a 'normal tuned' person can."
"So," Hay-Lin said, "Is it really magic then? If you simply make use of what happens around you anyways?"
"Well, yes." Taranee stated. "You need to be able to feel it, to make use of it. You can only do this due to a mystical connection. There are actually very few people who can use elements outside of their very basics. Lots of magicians can make a small flame in their hand for a minute or so, but only a very limited amount of people can do more with fire. The same goes for all the other elements or branches of magic. Some, like Caleb, cannot use any form of magic at all. That mystical connection makes sure you can use what's around you. Just think about it. If you didn't have magic, you wouldn't be able to make use of the mystical connection. That's why most people never use it and wars are not fought in a magical way. You need to first become aware of it, then feel the connection. Only if you know you have this connection. N has found us out perfectly. How he did it, I have no idea. I have so many questions now that I would like to ask him. Maybe he can answer them."
"I still don't get how that is magic. I thought magic was the ability to use your…well, magical powers, to do things others can't." Hay-Lin said.
"Ah, I see. Well, in my vision, magic is the ability to do something special, without the need of equipment to help you, that others can't. This may seem the same, but it is not. To me, the 'other' is, for example, Caleb. He cannot use magic in any shape or form. I can, which makes me 'special'. I can therefore do something without the use of equipment or help from anyone else. I can create fire out of seemingly nothing, which Caleb cannot. Then again, elemental fire works a little different than air."
This confused Hay-Lin even more than she already was.
"What? How does fire work then?" Hay-Lin asked, clearly confused.
"You heat something undefined in the air and boom, fire, which feeds of off the air around you. This is for real fire, mind you. You also have fake fire, also known as cold fire, since it uses the warmth around it to feed itself, thus making it colder instead of hotter." Taranee explained.
"See, that's what I mean with magic. There's something undefined in the air, apparently, that only you or a few others can control and manipulate. That's magic. You have a special power that allows you to use that…thing, or whatever it is. That's magic." Hay-Lin chirped.
Taranee was baffled. Now that she thought of her own thesis, her thesis seemed really sloppy. It was so lacking, and she had no cohesive answer to Hay-Lin's question.
"Now I'm not even sure what magic is myself." Taranee said, making Hay-Lin laugh.
"Now I'm not the only one who is confused." Hay-Lin said.
Taranee sighed. "I hope N can answer this question as well. That makes me wonder. He said he was going to get the last guardian."
"Oh yeah, the guardian of Quintessence!" Hay-Lin chirped, "That name was on the ground in his message, and it was the only element he didn't say when introducing us all to each other."
Taranee nodded. "Indeed. The Guardian of Quintessence. I wonder who she is, and what she's doing now…"
…
"Again!"
Will sighed. She took a deep breath and tried to focus herself on the rock. She brought her right index finger and middle finger in front of her face, went from left to right with those fingers pointing to the ground, then pulled back and pointed towards the rock, taking a small step forward with her right foot at the same time. Nothing happened. She looked at N. He shook his head.
"Again!"
"We've been doing this for the past few hours and there has been no improvement whatsoever!" Will angrily yelled back. "You've explained it to me once, and I've been trying to do so ever since, but it's not working! You're not telling me anything at all!"
"I am. I'm telling you to do it again." N said. "So, again."
Will furiously did the movements and this time, lightning shot out of her fingers to the rock, shattering it in many small pieces. She turned to N.
"Satisfied now? There, I shot lightning."
N smiled at her. "I am satisfied. Calm down, Will."
Will didn't like the smile on N's face, but nonetheless she started to control her breathing and stopped being angry. Once N was satisfied, which took at least ten minutes of breathing, he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Turn around and see what you've done."
Will looked at him questioningly, but then turned around. She saw what he meant. The rock wasn't the only thing that had been shattered. There was a large lightning track in the ground, grass was burning and it was only due to N putting it out that it didn't spread into a wildfire. In the distance, behind the rock, a tree was split in two.
"There sure is a lot of collateral damage, don't you think?" N asked.
Will looked at him. "Captain obvious to the rescue."
N smiled at her, but then his face became serious. "I hope you realize that I intentionally made you mad just to show you this. Imagine if you used your power like this in a city. How much worse would the damage be? Quintessence is a tricky element, Will. It is the element that binds them all, unites them. It's a balancing force. Therefore, it also exists in two ways: a negative and a positive side. The side that comes to the surface is dependent on the user and his or her mood. At least, in the primitive state, before you have learned to master Quintessence. I will teach you how to channel your powers, so that it is concentrated and will not cause this much unnecessary destruction."
Will looked N in the eye and nodded. "Yes…"
N nodded back. "Then it's time to get to the real work."
N turned his back to her and looked to the city. "Breathe. Do not allow yourself to think. Just try to feel the energy flows in your body."
Will went to sit on the ground and closed her eyes. She focused on her breathing.
"Try to become calm. This is essential. No hatred or anger may cloud your mind when we actually try to produce lightning. Once you've done that once, it'll come to you naturally. Even if you're angry it'll be concentrated. Remember, anger isn't bad, it's human. What is bad, is uncontrolled anger. It mustn't control you. So breathe. Imagine your favourite things, feel the joy flow through you."
Will tried her very best to think of something that made her feel the greatest joy in her life. She let her memories flow through her mind, and tried to relive that moment as best she could, to feel the emotions as they flowed through her at that moment. It was hard to keep going through all the grief and the anger, and the moments she had tried to repress nearly got a hold of her. She felt N's hand on her shoulder.
"I know this is hard for you." He whispered. "You only need to go through this once, until you've found that perfect moment."
"All those rapes…the dark thoughts…the idea of suicide…"
"They're all a part of you, and you need to have your mind at peace. You have repressed your feelings for so long. Repressing things always makes them worse when they come back, and they will eventually. Find that perfect moment."
Will kept thinking, but all she could feel was pain or anger. Sometimes there was a slightly happier moment, such as when she found a beautiful flower, but after a while that flower would die. She wondered if there was a moment that she was actually happy. And then she found it.
"My happiest moment was when I found out I had my powers…but I've only used them when I'm angry. I was happiest when I used them. I am happy when I am angry…"
"Wrong." N said, shaking his head. "You felt both happiness and anger at the same time. You felt angry about what was happening to you, which made you use your powers. And you were happy that you could do something about the situation. Of course, it is not advisable to use your powers to hurt people, but given that they were raping you…"
Will looked up at N, tears in her eyes. "You actually approve of what I did?"
"Not entirely, of course." N said, "But sometimes the situation justifies the means."
"Isn't it 'the ends justify the means'?" Will said confused, a small smile on her face.
"Yes, but that doesn't work all too well in this situation." N said.
"Why do you approve of what I did? Isn't it normal that people shouldn't use violence?" Will asked.
"And since when has mankind ever thought of stopping violence? Violence is the easiest way to get something. As long as people exist and they have their primal urges, there will be violence. And mankind cannot get rid of those primal urges, so violence is here to stay." N said.
"That's not an answer to my question." Will said, who was genuinely interested.
Would she understand what he did? Could she sympathize with him? She had never had any friends before, how could she understand. Nobody could really sympathize with him. Nobody would…no, he didn't want to think of that.
"Let's just say that I too once used my powers to get what I want…and I also used it to get rid of those that tried to stop me." N said dryly.
"They had what was coming to them." Will said, making N cringe inside. "They shouldn't have gotten in your way. They should've known they were dealing with the strongest sorcerer in the world."
"You're wrong." N stated dryly. "You're making assumptions while you don't know the situation. You are making a statement without any evidence to back it up. I do have that knowledge, and I can tell you, that they weren't wrong when they got in my way."
Will's eyes narrowed and she looked at him questioningly. "What do you mean?"
N walked away from her. "I do not wish to talk about it. Not yet. Focus on your breathing again. Feel the joy of using your power to fuel it. If you can make yourself use your power by wanting to use your power, it'll make it all the easier to do so. Focus on that. Just focus on that one thought, that one feeling, and let it flow through you. That'll be all that we'll be doing for the rest of the day."
Will looked at him. "That's all? No actual attempt to use Quintessence?"
"You did do an attempt to use Quintessence, remember?" N said with a small smile. "I'm the ma…teacher here. I have the knowledge on this matter. Trust me. I know what I'm doing."
N had a little difficulty explaining his relation with her. Taranee always called him 'master' and he had thus usually referred to himself that way, but with Will's history of being dominated by rapists, using that term might not be the best idea.
"Fine." Will said, closing her eyes.
She took a deep breath. This would be a loooong day.
…
Caleb walked to Taranee's tent. Hadn't he told her to meet him in front of his tent at a quarter to twelve precisely? Yet, she still wasn't there. They were wasting precious time, and if they arrived too late at the diplomatic meeting, it might give off a wrong signal. He saw the tent and didn't even care to knock. He just rushed in and burst into Taranee and Hay-Lin. Hay-Lin was apparently telling a story, and Taranee didn't seem all too excited.
"…but it was actually a cat, and not a duck, so we had been chasing that thing for no reason for the past few hours." Hay-Lin happily chirped.
"But…" Taranee said, obviously baffled, "What happened to the duck you saw in the first place?"
"I don't know, maybe it flew away! I wish I could fly!" Hay-Lin said.
Caleb coughed to announce his presence. Taranee immediately looked in his direction and seemed extremely happy to see him. "Caleb!"
"Taranee, it is now…" Caleb took out a watch out of his pocket and looked at it. "Ten to twelve, and we have to be at the meeting at twelve. You were too late at out meeting place."
Caleb looked at her with a strict gaze.
"I'm sorry!" Taranee said, apologizing, "I was talking to Hay-Lin and I forgot the time."
Taranee bowed to Hay-Lin. "Excuse me, Hay-Lin, but I really have to go."
Hay-Lin nodded. "I understand. Sorry that I kept you busy for too long!"
"If we hurry up it won't matter." Caleb said.
Taranee walked to Caleb and waved at Hay-Lin as she left the room. Caleb followed her and it was silent for a little while when they got outside.
"You should be more careful next time, Taranee. I'm not used to you arriving too late, so I thought something was wrong. Make sure you're on time next time and don't let Hay-Lin distract you."
"I'm sorry," Taranee apologized, "But as you might've heard, I was pulled into the weirdest stories I've ever heard in my life."
They took a turn to the left. The street they were walking on now took them straight to the center square.
"How so? I know, it was weird, but how did you even get into that conversation?" Caleb asked.
"Well, Hay-Lin came to me this morning asking me about air magic and how it was living with N, when we eventually wondered about the last Guardian. Wondering about something made her think about her grandma, which also often wondered about things and tried to gain knowledge. This thought led to a story, which led to the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the…"
"I get it." Caleb said.
"Anyways, we eventually ended at a story in which she, maybe you heard it, chased a cat instead of a duck, because she thought the cat was the duck. As this wasn't even the weirdest story of them all, you might imagine why I was distracted." Taranee said. "Thanks for coming by, otherwise I probably would've gone insane right then and there."
"How can you miss the difference between a cat and a duck? They're totally different." Caleb remarked.
"I KNOW!" Taranee exclaimed.
Caleb laughed. "Don't worry about that now. We have more important matters to attend now than the incomprehensible stories of the Air Guardian. Let me do the talking and look as relaxed as possible. We must not look aggressive and we must try to ease tensions, should they arrive."
Taranee nodded. "I understand."
Taranee and Caleb arrived at the main square at precisely twelve o'clock. The bells on the town hall just started to swing to let their sound create beautiful music for everyone in the city to hear, indicating the time. On the middle of the square, a platform was created, with a large table for everyone to sit around. They could see that most people had already arrived. Duchess Alexandra saw them coming.
"Well, well, like to be fancy and arrive at the exact noted time?" she said, a slight hint of a laugh audible.
Caleb smiled. "But of course. It is the only thing that can trump fashionably late, and it's harder to pull off to boot!"
Duchess Alexandra smiled and bowed. "Please, delegates of Cryssandor, Taranee Cook and Caleb Chacon, take your seats on the main table. We are still waiting for some people who do like to be fashionably late. Please make yourself comfortable."
Caleb grabbed her hand and kissed it. "Thank you, duchess."
Caleb and Taranee then left the duchess alone and arose the small staircase to get on to the platform. They could see twenty seats. This meant that every country and city state would have two delegates. He exchanged a quick nod with Taranee, both notifying the other that they had seen the amount of people presence and acknowledging that they were not at a numerical disadvantage. Of course, in diplomacy, the amount of negotiators didn't immediately transfer into power, but it did increase the chance of at least one of the diplomats actually being capable. Caleb hoped he would hold his own with Taranee's help. He was a general, not a diplomat. If the others were fully trained and professional diplomats, he would severely rely on Taranee, which they would probably take advantage of.
He could see that, on the other side of the platform, there were about fifteen other diplomats, indicating there were three missing. Caleb tried to see if he could figure out who was missing. He didn't recognize too many people, neither could he see where they came from by their uniform. He did recognize Arthur Delaware, though, who was a diplomat of Cressali. Arthur saw him too and seemingly excused himself from his partner and walked over to Caleb.
"Caleb." Arthur said. "What a pleasant surprise. Are you the guard of the diplomat?"
Caleb shook his head. "Arthur, you know Aetherfall doesn't have real diplomats. I am the diplomat."
"I see." Arthur said, looking around. "Do you have any plans? After having received such a big su…honour, from the Grand General himself, we will, naturally, support your point of view. We know this will serve in our best interest as well."
"We have a plan yes, but nothing gets wiped out as much as a plan when we're talking diplomacy." Caleb said with a smile, receiving a nod from Arthur. "Could you tell me who's who? If you recognize anybody?"
"With all due respect, I don't think that will be necessary, since we'll all introduce ourselves in a few minutes." Arthur replied.
"That may be true, but I want to know who the diplomats of Idylswylde and Adalian are before the meeting begins. Just to not get off on the wrong foot with them." Caleb replied.
"I see, well…" Arthur said as he looked around. He pointed at the two men in long red robes. "Those are the representatives of Idylswylde. It's the red of the flame on their national symbol, much like you have the fleur-de-lis on the crown."
"Do you know their names? Any information about them?" Taranee asked, showing she was still there.
Arthur looked at her. "Oh, I'm sorry. I hadn't noticed you. I am Arthur Delaware. And you are…?"
"Taranee Cook, apprentice of archmage Nicholas and company of Caleb for this meeting."
"I see, even the archmage's apprentice gets sent. Are you trying to show your power, Caleb?" Arthur said with a wink.
"No. Trying to show authority. But answer Taranee's question."
Arthur noticed it was not a question. "I only know one of them. Her name's Sharon Gatsby. She's one of the diplomats that negotiated during the hidden war."
Arthur exchanged glances with Caleb, and both recognized the other knew what they were talking about.
"She made sure Adalian's army was weakened and made possible the annexation of parts of the frontier with Idylswylde. This, in turn, allowed Idylswylde to rise to great power status. From then on, Idylswylde, Adalian and Aetherfall were the three great powers." Arthur continued.
"She's been along for a long time and very capable diplomat." Caleb said, receiving a nod from Arthur. "Do you see the representatives of Adalian?"
Arthur shook his head. "They are the only ones missing. We were waiting for their and your arrivals."
"Ok, thank you Arthur." Caleb said, dismissing Arthur.
Arthur nodded shortly and walked back to his colleague.
"She might be a problem." Caleb said. "We'll have to be cautious with her around."
"Never mind that." Taranee said. "The hidden war?"
Caleb knew this question would have been asked and cursed Arthur under his breath for saying it so loud. Caleb remained silent.
"Caleb," Taranee said, placing a hand on his shoulder, pulling him a little closer. "What is this hidden war?"
Caleb knew she was much stronger than him due to her magical abilities. "Apparently there has been a war after the Treaty."
Taranee's eyes widened. "Impossible! That was forbidden!"
"You have too much faith in people, Taranee. If somebody can expand their power and has the will, manpower and ideas to do so, no rule or treaty is going to stop him." Caleb responded. "In short: Adalian attacked the surrounding neighbours, probably to try and weaken the other powers to the extend they would lose their Great Power status, especially Aetherfall and the rising power of Idylswylde. It failed, and Idylswylde managed to annex certain areas around the Adalian border, making it a Great Power. Aetherfall got a bit of land as well, and a fortress, to look out over Adalian in case of any renewed hostilities."
"Why do I not know this? I am the archmage's apprentice! Why didn't N tell me this?"
"For the same reason I didn't know until Escanor boasted about it to me during my meeting with him: we need to keep the idea of peace and diplomacy intact. Everybody is now unwilling to go to war. Everybody was, except a mad king of Adalian. It was covered up to keep a good ideal in the world, instead of returning to violence." Caleb said.
"Don't you see, Caleb! The world is living on a lie! If diplomacy is a farce to anybody, then we should just blow this all off and fight for it. Maybe they even have armies stationed nearby! I dare say this meeting will result in disaster and fighting will erupt anyways." Taranee said.
"Quite the bold statement. I would concur that idea with the fact that every state did in fact sent diplomats, and not an army. If they'd all think it's a farce, they would've sent an army. At least I would've. Therefore, not all is a farce. They are actually trying to stop the fighting, or use it as a last resort. I pray for the first." Caleb retorted.
Taranee's eyes narrowed. "Maybe. We'll see who is right in the end. And then I'll tell you 'I told you so'. People will grab a chance to expand when they get it, especially when it's about money and power. We've just changed to Realpolitik. Changing the balance of powers on a calculated aggression basis."
"I know what Realpolitik is, Taranee, thank you." Caleb said. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Taranee. I don't want to get into open conflict. Have faith in me, and in them."
"Not a few minutes ago you told me 'You have too much faith in people, Taranee. If somebody can expand their power and has the will, manpower and ideas to do so, no rule or treaty is going to stop him'. What happened to that?" Taranee retorted.
"I am not mad. Nor are these people. We know the risk of open warfare, especially with magic involved. Trust me that I will do everything to keep the peace." Caleb said.
"I trust you, Caleb." Taranee responded. "But I don't trust them!"
She hugged him and he patted her back. "Don't worry."
Duchess Alexandra came to them. "The last party has arrived. Would you be so kind to take a seat around the table?"
"Yes, of course." Caleb said, with a nod. "We will be right there."
Caleb and Taranee walked to their designated seats while others were walking up the stairs to the platform.
"Hey! Watch where you're going!" one of the men said.
"You suddenly walked slower. I can't help it that I then bump into you." A woman replied.
"Yeah, right. Excuses, excuses. You're just trying to…" the man started, before he was interrupted by Caleb.
"I see we don't even need armies here. Just place some diplomats together on a staircase and they'll create such a big drama out of nothing that war is inevitable."
The man and woman looked at him, and then at each other. Both took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry for bumping into you." The woman said.
"And I am sorry for making such a big deal out of it." The man replied.
They shook hands and went to their seats. Caleb and Taranee sat down and exchanged a glance. This was going to be a long diplomatic convention.
Duchess Alexandra rose, and looked over the diplomats. She nodded at each of them, acknowledging their attendance.
"My fair attendants, I welcome you to the humble city of Cryssandor. We do not need to discuss the reason why we are here, seeing you have all been chosen and briefed for this mission. We, the people of Cryssandor, are seeking for a solution that benefits the most nations simultaneously. But, before we get to business, let us take into account the humble beginnings of diplomacy and show some courtesy towards one another. There must be some unfamiliar faces for everybody. Please, introduce yourselves."
The diplomats looked at each other. There indeed were unfamiliar faces, but those were mostly from the city states. All of the people were fairly familiar to the Big Three of Idylswylde, Aetherfall and Adalian. Nevertheless, they recognized the emphasis on courtesy Duchess Alexandra had, and they would need to get into het favour. Thus, they agreed to a round of introduction.
First up were the diplomats of Idylswylde.
"Greetings, my fellow diplomats. I am Sharon Gatsby. Many among you may, and will, have heard of me, for I have fixed several matters throughout the years for Idylswylde, always working towards a most favourable outcome for all parties involved."
'But always slightly more favourable for Idylswylde, I presume?' Taranee thought.
'Of course. You're not a good diplomat if you make it as favourable for the others as for you.' Caleb responded.
"I strive to do the same on this meeting." Gatsby continued. "Only if all parties are satisfied, shall my work be done. I hope we are all striving towards the same goal."
Gatsby looked at each person separately before sitting back down. Her partner stood up.
"And I am Christopher Lorenz. I may be a more unfamiliar face, but you can trust me when I say I, too, have accomplished much in my lifetime. I may not have been part of any ground breaking diplomatic meetings actively, but I was always there. I am honoured to be in the presence of so many people that I can learn from, and hopefully, I can teach them a lesson or two too."
'Weak. He's nothing more than Gatsby's assistant. He's nothing without her. He'll probably have not lied when he said he was there, but he didn't specify the location. Probably somewhere unimportant in the larger scale, or running after Gatsby. We need not be afraid that he'll take an aggressive stance, he'll probably let Gatsby do the talking and support her view with arguments.' Caleb thought, to which Taranee slightly nodded. 'This inter-thought communication is amazing.'
Taranee smiled, as Lorenz went to sit down and the first representative of Adalian rose.
"Karl von Heidewegen, pleased to meet you all, members of this gathering. I, like Gatsby, hope that we are all striving for the same goal, and I, too, have attended several diplomatic meetings, mostly as an intermediary between two powers, in which I, as a neutral person in the conflict, tried to create a most favourable outcome for everybody. I hope to do so again, this time."
'I know a little about him, but I'll have to do some more research. For now, I'd say he is a strong opponent, even if it's only because he's from Adalian.' Caleb thought.
'He was Gatbsy's opponent during the Secret War, and she led him into a position in which he HAD to concede the territory, to avoid further problems. I'm sure he'll want revenge.' Taranee responded.
'How do you know?' Caleb asked.
'I read his mind to figure out who he was.' Taranee responded.
She could see a small, but noticeable, frown on Caleb's forehead. Surely, he wasn't as excited with her application of magic as she was.
Heidewegen's companion rose as Heidewegen went to sit down.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to this meeting. On behalf of the country of Adalian, my lord the king myself has appointed mister Heidewegen and me, Carol den Trente, to this meeting. I hope to have good relations with each other, at least during the course of this extraordinary event. Personal affaires should not dictate the larger balance of powers. I hope to work together, to a compromise in which all nations feel as equally represented."
She then sat down. Caleb looked at her.
'I know her. Den Trente was at the castle in Aetherfall a few years back for an exchange of sorts. I believe they exchanged diplomats for a month to improve relations. I don't think it had all too much effect. Did you hear her talk about the balance of powers and personal affaires? She's obviously here to keep Heidewegen in tone and to make sure the balance of power isn't transformed too much. She wants to keep everything the way it is now. Unless she can tip it slightly into her favour, of course. Keyword: equally. Conservative, wanting to keep the nations from fighting and make sure everything stays as is.'
'How can you read all that?' Taranee asked.
'People seep through more than they think and want in their sentences. Which is why I am so afraid of my own turn.'
'We're last. Don't worry, I'm here to help.' Taranee responded.
The city-states brought forth their representatives. Oracion had sent Princess Solar the Third, daughter of Queen Rai herself, and her servant. Gardenia had brought two seemingly bumbling buffoons, as they proved to be quite incapable of introducing themselves without nearly knocking the table and the glasses over. One of them, named Apulca, even tripped and fell onto Caleb's lap. Taranee did a quick check on Caleb, but he seemed to not be harmed in any way, physical or magical. This wasn't quite an unusual sight, as Astafar had gone increasingly mad over the years. The second representative was called Jatri. Cressali's representatives at the meeting were a brother and sister named Won and Wan, with Won being the woman and Wan being the man. Lotharic had sent two men named Charles and René, Elzas had sent Theuderic and Boniface, Lienn had sent Adalrich and Adalsbert, two older men with large grey beards, and Kacia had sent two women, Katal and Boudicca. Nobody paid any real attention to these people, since they were just considered pawns anyway. Every player knew from the beginning that they had an allegiance to one of the Big Three and that they would support their point of view no matter what. Sometimes the continuation of their very country depended on it, although lately that would not be done by force but by diplomatic integration. Caleb, however, had been listening very carefully to each of them. With every name that had been given, it was one closer to…
"Caleb. I am sure many of you have already heard of this protégé of the kingdom of Aetherfall. Please, Caleb. Stand, and give us a few words."
'It's alright. I'm here.' Taranee said, supporting him.
Caleb rose from his seat and placed his hands behind his back, as he was used to doing as a soldier when he brought out report. He could see many of the diplomats look at him. In some he saw an immediate shift in attitude as he took that stance, while others seemed amused or just interested.
"I bid you all welcome to what might be considered one of the most important treaties of the coming decades. You all know who I am. I am Caleb Crossnic. We have all seen the tensions that had been building up to this moment, and we do not want those tensions to erupt in fully fledged conflict. For this matter, Grand General Marcus Escanor himself has sent me to this meeting. He is confident that we, as respectable and noble diplomats of our respective countries, can resolve this question in a manner that will leave all participants with a feeling of content. I give to you my full cooperation to this. That will be all."
Caleb went to sit down. Taranee looked at him from the corner of her eyes, just like Gatbsy. Heidegger tapped on the table with one finger, while the others in one solid motion looked back to Duchess Alexandra.
"Thank you for your kind words, Caleb. I am glad that all of you seem to grasp the situation very well and know what is at stake. As it is nearly time for dinner already, time passes so easily if you're enjoying yourself, doesn't it, I would like to close this meeting, and continue tomorrow. At the same time?" Alexandra asked.
Slight nods were given from everybody.
"Very well, then I shall meet you all again tomorrow, at noon. I wish you all a good evening in Cryssandor. It's nightlife is very appealing to most travelers, maybe it does so for you too. Meeting dismissed!"
Everybody got up and moved away from the location, back to their camps. Caleb and Taranee were speaking of the meeting, and Taranee complimented Caleb on his performance and how he 'had said exactly what needed to be said, with the right amount of cooperation and dominance'. What they didn't know, was that they had been watched the entire time. On top of one of the rooms, a dark figure loomed.
"This should be easy…"
[A/N] Yeah. There are more people here than just the diplomats, if you remember from the previous chapters. I wonder what they're up to… I hope you enjoyed this Late Christmas/ early New Year's gift! Next chapter should be a little more eventful, but I cannot give you an approximate date/ time on which I'll give it to you, regarding my current state of affairs and motivational problems. I'm sure TTigerz will be pushing me like crazy, so…there's that. Maybe it'll help. We'll see. Anyways, I'm also writing another chapter for The Legend of Jin at the moment (since I didn't write one for that story in a long time and I really should upload more!), which is a smaller side story, next to this big one, so look out for that as well. I'm also converging on plans for a new story after this one is finished. It'll be quite the chill! Lack of motivation does not mean my mind keeps still. It's always full with ideas. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed. Rate, review and have a good New Year's and I'll see you all next time! [A/N]