Council

            After leaving the site of their momentary confrontation the soldiers appeared less concerned with Reinhardt being near his host. It surprised him how little these soldiers cared now that they had been soothed. He would have assumed that a few of them would at least be suspicious of him still.

            Now walking again he began looking around, trying to figure out everything he could about this army. It was clear that they had plenty of soldiers from Ental. Almost every other soldier bore the uniform of the Ental army, a spear backed by a mountain. Many had more than one sigil but he didn’t recognize any of them. His guess was that they all showed the independent houses they belonged to.

            Ahead of them a large building stood out compared to the rest of the camp. While almost everything else hidden underneath this hill was quickly constructed and made of normal tent cloth this one structure was solid and looked like a house. It would have taken a considerably strong elementalist to build this. Almost four stories tall, this was a very unique construction.

            Guards at the door pulled the large wooden handles, revealing the entrance for them as the tall woman approached. As they passed through the doors their company of soldiers stopped not coming inside. The only person to follow them inside was Roas, who Reinhardt had forgotten was nearby. She didn’t look very happy to have been ignored once their new entourage arrived. Slowing to be besides his only real acquaintance in this strange place, he wanted to ask a few questions.

            “Who is she?”

            “That’s Clara KineTros, wife to the councilor of tactics. It would have been he who ordered you brought to the council if she was sent to meet us.”

            “How many councilors are there?” Reinhardt needed a strong background of what was about to happen if he was to understand the situation he was in. He knew how ill-suited he was this kind of endeavor, having been born to nothing more than a sub-lower class family. With no formal education or training in courtly manners he would stand out in the group, especially dressed as he was.

            “There are ten councilors with one overseer. Only the overseer and three councilors are here at the moment, the rest have stayed with the army.” The phrase ‘with the army’ gave Reinhardt pause.

            “What do you mean by ‘the army’?”

            “This is only a forward division of the army. I am not privileged to know our actual strength in terms of soldiers, but I would estimate that this is only one tenth of our forces, maybe less.” There was a lot going on that Reinhardt didn’t understand. How could a rebel army stand up more than one hundred thousand soldiers? He was in over his head.

            The building was designed for simplicity and ease of movement. One main hallway ran from the front door to a rear exit. A staircase near the entrance gave users access to the upper floors though they didn’t use them. Halfway down the hallway a set of doors stood alone, guarded by a pair of soldiers. These two soldiers didn’t wear the traditional Ental uniforms he had seen outside, but instead wore long brown coats that touched the tops of their boots. Each of the soldiers had two spears black gloves standing in direct contrast to the white spear shaft. In unison the two men moved aside and let Clara pass, they didn’t even show signs of noticing the two guests.

            As the doors parted Clara entered walked into a large beautifully decorated room. People already sat at one large table, centered evenly off all of the walls. Twelve chairs surrounded the dark wooden table, with an equal number of chairs set directly behind them.  Already seated at what Reinhardt believed were their respective seats were four men, all of whom were currently staring at him.

            Clara moved around the table and took a seat behind the more attractive of the men at the table. Reinhardt made the assumption that this was the councilor of tactics, her husband. The man at the head of the table stood and made his way towards Reinhardt. Compared to the others he was a very tall man, though he still had to look up slightly to meet Reinhardt’s eyes.

            “It’s good to finally meet you Reinhardt. My name is Klaas Winern, Overseer of the Council, and we have been keeping an eye on you since we heard about Briccio and your incident with the Four Winds.” Reinhardt noticed Roas turn at the mention of those four elementalists. Reinhardt didn’t know much about this war or how they played a part in it but he did know they were trouble.

            “I’m impressed that you have heard of me. That only happened a few days ago, and in the middle of the mountains.”

            “You had a one on four fight against the Four Winds, survived, and expected someone to not find out?” These four must have been more dangerous than he thought.

            “I wouldn’t really classify that as a fight, it was more of a testing of each other’s skills.” He didn’t feel that he was exaggerating the details of the fight. Only a few exchanges had taken place between them, though neither side had fully devoted to the encounter. There was no way of knowing if he would be able to hold off all four of them in a real fight.

            “Whispers of the event are already reaching the Master of the Winds. It may not have risen to the top of his priorities list yet, but he knows about you Reinhardt.” Klaas turned his attention to Roas before he continued. There was something in his eyes that Reinhardt couldn’t place but after a moment it slipped away. “Lieutenant, you have brought me the man I was searching for. You will have free pick of any duty in the camp and receive a promotion for your service. Please report to your leadership for a new assignment, Captain.” That same look ran through Roas’ eyes before she nodded and turned to leave.

            “Overseer Winern I would like to make a request of you.” Breaking their stare down brought a strange look from Klaas and Roas. Reinhardt didn’t know what was going on between these two but taking a chance to throw himself in the middle seemed like a smart way to handle this situation.

            “How can I help you?”

            “Captain Roas has been with me since my arrival in the camps, and has given me invaluable assistance in the form of knowledge. I would like her to stay with me while I am here as a guide, if that would be okay.” He couldn’t tell if the Overseer was angry or amused. His face was blank as he considered the options. In a split second decision he decided to add more to his case. “Also I hate having to repeat myself, and if I tell you the entire story now I will not have to repeat it to her later when she comes to bother me.”

            “Of course that would be okay, I hadn’t assumed Captain Volkert would want a job that required her to stay in out of the field. If this is what you wish than I accept.” As he turned to take his seat at the head of the table Roas took a seat behind the tables opposite head. While she didn’t the same grace Clara displayed when taking her seat, she did have a slight ease to it. Deciding on a seat to take Reinhardt moved to take a seat near one of the other councilors but Roas stood and took his arm, pulling him to the seat in front of her own.

            “Are you joking, there are seven seats closer to them than this one?”

            “That doesn’t matter here. Every person has their own seat and this one is for guests of the council and overseer.” Reinhardt was happy he had asked her to stay behind and advise for him. The way these people handled every aspect of their lives seemed ridiculous to him.

            “That doesn’t make any sense, am I supposed to yell across the room every time I need to speak?” Roas grinned at the comment but he knew there was a strong point to his argument. The table was nearly fifty feet long, and the room itself was twice as long and wide.

            “If there are any messages that must be relayed to the other members that they cannot hear from where you are sitting I will relay them to their servicers.” She made a motion to Clara and her husband who were speaking with each other at the table.

            “What are they discussing?”

            “It’s very unlikely that they will have discussed everything about you and the conversation you just had with Klaas so the servicers will be filling them in on the situation and any information that might be relevant to this discussion. I will do the same for you as your guide and advisor.” Reinhardt nodded and turned back to the group. From where he sat he could see Clara and her husband to the left of Klaas. He still didn’t know who the other two people at the table were.

            “Who are the two I have not met?”

            “That would be Violet Boren and Ake Brun, they are from Rornin. Violet is the only female councilor and Ake was nothing more than a blacksmith who services these meetings. It’s not known if there is any larger connection between them but there are rumors.” With a quick motion towards the only group sitting on Klaas’ right she introduced them. “That is Alder Bracken and Anders Edzard. Unlike the others these two are dangerous. Alder is one of Ental’s most renowned elementalists and has won his fair share of victories on the battle field. Second would be Anders, who is not any less known than his councilor. He is very a powerful shifter and without a doubt just as dangerous with his mind as with the weapons he carries.”  Finally finished with her introduction she nodded to the Overseer and waited for the council to begin. It was no surprise to Reinhardt that Klaas began.

            “This is a very special occasion! Recently there have been many sad and horrible events falling on our cause. To make matters worse we lost one of our own, councilor Donovan. With this loss we are losing momentum with the Duzee and Icilee people. Luckily we have someone here who was with Councilor Donovan prior to his death, and will fill us in on the details leading to his leaving us.” Lifting a hand in Reinhardt’s direction he sat and waited for the Icilean to begin.

            The story wouldn’t take Reinhardt long to relay. Most of its events began when he had entered Duzee so there would be no need to discuss the murder of his family. Reinhardt relayed the events that led up to Briccio's death, including the battle with the Sherwyn Zephyrus, the west wind. After he had finished his story they all sat quietly for a moment. It was Violet who spoke first, in a soft hushed voice. Her smaller build was interestingly similar to Ake who sat behind her. Reinhardt played with the idea that they might be relatives.

            “Briccio never had any real gift with his shifting. I always told him to pick something better suited for his style but he loved that stave. He was irreplaceable, as a leader and as a friend.” Violet had no further words to give the group.

            “We will need to find another councilor to replace him, but I don't know of anyone who can fill the position as well as he could.” Alder didn’t sound shaken or disturbed by the story, he assumed that Alder was more rational than an emotional man. Reinhardt hadn't known much about Briccio but he was apparently a very important man.

            “I told Briccio before he died that I would assist you in fighting the Duzee master and force someone into power who will fight to end this war. That was my promise to a dying man, who gave his life to save mine.” 

            “Reinhardt, will you take Briccio's place on the council?” Klaas really didn’t waste any time getting to his point. Reinhardt almost fell over in his chair, not having expected the question. Roas also looked shocked by the by the turn of events.

            “We only just met him! You can't just ask him to lead with us! Nobody here knows anything about him!” Alder yelled from his seat.  

            “Andres, please.” Klaas said softly, ending the argument.

            “He's right, I have no place leading your men. I am here to assist any way I can to overthrow Duzee, but after that I will part from this rebellion. You must find someone who will be with you for until you reach your goals.” Silence settled into the room but nobody seemed overly angry. If Roas hadn’t been in the room everything could have gone wrong very quickly. He would have to speak with her more about the groups goals and desires to fully understand what they were trying to accomplish.

            “I accept your decision. As an honored guest here in the camps you will be given anything you need, just ask.” Klaas seemed to be a genuinely kind man, but Reinhardt still couldn’t get over the moment between him and Roas earlier. That is another question he would have to get an answer to.

            “Thank you, I just need to know when I will be needed back? There is something I need to do I continue.”

            “In one month we will be holding another council. All ten councilors will meet and discuss plans for our strike at Duzee and their master.” Klaas handed Reinhardt a map and pointed to a spot on it. 

            “I will meet with you all there.”