Vincent strode down the hallway, his robes loosely billowing around him. Ever since Irian had finally delivered them two years ago, he'd taken any chance provided to be able to wear them. The man was damn good at what he did. Even Lucrecia had approved, counter to his expectations given the predominantly red and black colors. She'd only laughed, saying they fit his brooding nature well and that Irian had once again made the perfect outfit for the wearer.
He hadn't been entirely sure how to take that. Yes, he was never the loudest person in a room, and he did prefer silence, but brooding? It felt a touch extreme. Right?
Shaking the lingering thoughts away, he picked up his pace. It wasn't every day the Council summoned someone to a closed session, much less without providing an explanation as to why. Lucrecia hadn't even hinted it was a possibility earlier that morning before she'd left to attend, which he imagined meant she hadn't known. Vincent tried not to let that worry him any more than he already was.
The giant stone door leading to the council chamber came into view and he paused outside for a moment, taking a deep breath. No big deal. Nothing to worry about. Just pop inside, see what they needed and then he'd be on his way. Praying it would be that simple, he tugged on the rope dangling to the side to signal his arrival.
"Enter," a voice he recognized as Eola's called out—her magic allowing him to hear as if she were standing next to him.
He pushed the door open on silent hinges, still surprised at how easily it moved despite its gargantuan size. On the other side, the council room spread out before him in all of its glory.
The walls of the colossal tree that made up the room extended upward out of sight where they eventually reached the branches, forming the roof of the chambers far, far above. It was the oldest known tree in the world, named the Originator Tree. Legends said that it was the location where Gaia had first touched the Planet, where all life had started. Some even thought it was where she slumbered, deep beneath the surface, although Vincent personally didn't subscribe to that line of thinking. The Goddess was everywhere, in everything.
Spread out around the far edges of the room sat several, raised, crystalline thrones—the Seats of the Council. Each was occupied by a member of the Council, dressed in their formal garb. His eyes immediately settled on his wife. Lucrecia had never been a fan of the cream-blue robes, but he thought she looked beautiful in them. She was seated to the right of Eola with Raena on the opposite side to the elderly woman's left.
Realizing they were in the middle of a discussion, Vincent found a spot along the near wall and leaned against it to wait. He didn't mind that they weren't ready for him yet, it was an honor to be able to attend a closed session. Even if he would have preferred to stay home.
"Continue, Loremaster," Eola said, turning her attention to the woman. The acoustics of the room were impeccable, allowing him to hear her with ease despite the distance.
Lucrecia met Vincent's eyes across the room briefly and she gave him a quick smile before also turning to look at Raena.
"As I was saying, there are no mentions in the records of the Humans having the ability to . . . extract the Lifestream."
The words sent a spike of alarm racing through Vincent. Extract the Lifestream?! What in Gaia's name did that even mean?
"And we're sure that's what's happening?" a member of the Council who Vincent wasn't familiar with asked, sounding skeptical. "It sounds more like some kind of tall tale. How could they possibly figure out how to do something like that?"
"We're not sure," Lucrecia said. "As unusual as it seems, it's the most likely explanation for what's happening. Both Myrna and Ifalna were clear in their reports: the reactors the Humans are building are the source of the spreading blight. Myrna suspects that what the Humans refer to as 'mako' shares some relation with the Lifestream."
"They're sucking it directly out of the Planet! The lifeblood of Gaia herself! Is it any surprise the forests are dying? That the lakes are drying up? How much longer are we going to sit idly by and watch as the situation only continues to grow ever worse?" Raena demanded.
Lucrecia shifted in her seat, clearly frustrated with the Loremaster. "While it's undeniable what they're doing can't be allowed to continue, the Humans also haven't done anything directly hostile to us."
"Yet. It's only a matter of time. Who knows what they're doing with this 'mako' of theirs? I can assure you it's nothing good. We need to—"
"That's enough," Eola said, interjecting. "This is why we called for the Archmage's husband to attend, after all."
Vincent perked up, although he couldn't understand how he could possibly be related to the current topic. He met Lucrecia's worried eyes before realizing that it wasn't just her—everyone was now looking at him. "What can I do to help the Council?" he asked after clearing his throat.
"I still think we're acting far too quickly," Lucrecia said. "Are we absolutely sure that—"
"This decision was already made, Archmage." Eola returned her focus to Vincent, slowly rising to her feet. "Vincent, the Council offers you a position amongst us as the first Warmaster in centuries. Do you accept the role and swear to do everything in your power to act in the best interest of our people?"
He blinked. It was the only reaction he allowed himself even though his jaw wanted to drop to the floor. Him? A Council member? And the Warmaster no less? Vincent had never heard of the title before, but its name was more than enough to worry him. Despite Eola making it sound like he could decline the position, he knew that wasn't an option.
"I would be honored to."
"Then welcome to the Council. A seat will be made for you, for the time being, please join your wife."
Stunned that this was apparently real, Vincent walked over to join Lucrecia in a daze. "What the hell just happened?" he asked in a low whisper. There was no room for him to sit so he settled for leaning against the side of her throne.
"I tried to stop this, but Raena forced the issue. We'll talk more later."
Vincent wanted to talk more now, but Eola had retaken her seat and started speaking once again, her attention still focused on him. "I'm aware that this is sudden, but as Warmaster, should we declare war on the Humans given their recent transgressions?"
For the second time in only a few minutes, Vincent felt like the floor had dropped out from under him. Was this a serious question? It had to be, but if he said yes, would they actually go to war? Just like that? "Of course not."
"Now wait a minute, this is hardly fair!" Raena immediately protested, rising to her feet. "We haven't had a chance to—"
"The Warmaster has given his opinion, Loremaster. It is not your place to protest his decision," Eola admonished.
Vincent could have sworn he saw a pleased twinkle in the older woman's eyes, but it was gone before he could be entirely sure. For her part, Raena looked decidedly not amused as she dropped back down into her seat, her lips twisted into a scowl.
"With that matter decided, I believe we should call this session closed unless there are any objections?" Eola asked, rising to her feet.
The rest of the council members shook their heads, also standing, and with that, Vincent's first Council session ended as abruptly as it had begun. The other members began filing out of the room—both alone and in groups—although, to Vincent's alarm, one member, in particular, was stalking over to where he and Lucrecia still sat.
"I hope you're happy with yourself, Warmaster," Raena spat, coming to a halt a short distance away. "I wonder how you'll feel once the residents of Duskbell have lost their homes and the forests of their childhood are no more. What will you say to them when they ask why you allowed it to happen? That you sentenced their village to death!"
Before he could so much as open his mouth she'd already spun back around—robes whirling through the air—and stalked away. Vincent had already had an extremely low opinion of the woman given how she treated his wife, but it was the first time she'd ever directed hostility toward him. It didn't help that a part of him had no answer for her question.
"Charming woman, isn't she?" a voice said from off to the side, and Vincent turned to find Irian walking over to join them with a bounce in his step.
"That's not the word I would have chosen," Lucrecia muttered at his side, softly enough only he would be able to hear.
"So, my finely dressed friend, how was your first day participating in the Council instead of merely just watching? Invigorating, no?" Irian was smiling widely, although Vincent knew him well enough to recognize that his friend was worried about him.
"Would we have actually gone to war if I'd said yes?"
To his horror, Lucrecia nodded. "We would have, although not solely based on your decision. As Warmaster, your vote carries far more weight, but no single person on the Council is ever responsible for a decision. Not even Eola."
"So a vote had already been held and I was essentially acting as a tie-breaker?"
"In essence, although not exactly," she replied, a look of exhaustion spreading across her face. "There were several more votes to declare war than to not. Fortunately, your vote was enough to quash that nonsense."
Vincent was relieved to hear that, although it was still concerning to hear the majority of the Council had voted for war. That was a worry for later. For now, he had plenty of questions about the new position that had been so suddenly thrust upon him. "How did this even happen? Why me of all people?"
Lucrecia and Irian shared a look before he spoke up. "I'm sure you're already aware, but Raena has been pushing for us to go to war for quite some time now. She was the first one to bring up the missing position of Warmaster a few years back, but at the time no one had any interest in finding someone to fill the vacancy."
"That all changed today with the latest reports regarding the reactor near Duskbell," Lucrecia said, picking up where Irian had left off. "Raena used them to back her cause and forced a vote on whether the Humans had gone too far and if it was time to finally declare war. The only way I could think of to stop her madness was to point out that we couldn't go to war without a Warmaster on the Council, as per her original argument."
"And that's where I came in, Vincent said, making the connection. "But why me and not literally anyone else?"
"A fair question," Irian said, nodding his head. "And yet, my friend, yours was the only name that came up."
Vincent blinked. "Wait . . . what? Why?"
"How many people do you know of who practice with a weapon? Everyone knows of your time creating and training with that gun of yours. The truth of the matter is, we've been at peace for so long that we no longer know what it even means to fight. I could possibly talk someone to death, or so I've been told, but using a sword?" Irian laughed loudly. "Gaia forbid."
"But I know next to nothing about actual combat!" Vincent protested, looking between the two of them. "I only built my gun out of curiosity based on the ancient records, more to see if I could than to actually use it. I've never fought in a battle, and rarely even take it with me when I go hunting."
"Trust me, love, I know, and I hate this just as much as you," Lucrecia said, running her hand up and down his back in a soothing gesture. "But this is the world we live in now, and change is coming. I only hope we don't lose sight of what we used to be."
Vincent sighed, running his hand down his face. "So other than having a large amount of sway on whether or not we go to war, what else am I supposed to do? I have to imagine it's more than just that."
"Training, mostly. Getting people used to weapons and fighting together as a unit. Working with the mages to find ways to adapt the spells they're familiar with into something more offensive." Lucrecia looked pained as she said the words, and he knew this had to be killing her. Magic was something used to create, not destroy. "We know how to grow trees and make water, but almost no one practices in things like throwing fire or calling down lightning anymore."
"I just pray all of this ends up being a waste of time and we don't have to use any of it," Irian muttered. "They're going to be having us make uniforms for battle, I'm sure of it. Upsets me just thinking about it."
"We'll pull through this, together," Lucrecia said, forcing a smile. "Once this is all over and nothing actually comes of it, we can look back and laugh about how silly it all was."
Vincent prayed she was right.
It's been quite a while since we last saw the Council and now we get the last of the major views of how the last seven years have gone. Things... aren't looking super pretty, with Raena leading a majority of the council members in a desire for declaring war. Thanks to his new, not entirely wanted, position, Vincent is able to quash that for now, but tensions are certainly rising between the Humans and the Cetra. One little spark could ignite a very large fire...
I hope everyone enjoyed this little peek into the Cetra world. I've said this in a few comments, but we're going to have to wait till the adult years for the Cetra to really show up a bunch more. For now, our focus is very much on Midgar and all the crazy stuff going on there.
As for next time, a certain PoV has been noticeably absent from the teen years so far. I think it's probably about time we go and check in on them...
Next Chapter: Blade
