Again Maelen smiled again, still grim. “I don’t care what they call you or I or any of us. The point is, we have some of the best-trained religious fanatics in the world five miles down the road, all looking for us. I suggest it is time for a plan.”
“What we need,” Archimage Tureledor stated, “is a plan.”
“What we need,” councilor Davron retorted, “is to know why the Rod of Tiernon is marching up the path to our door.”
“Given their normal reticence to discuss anything with the Council,” Councilor Trevin D’Vils stated, “all we can do is formulate a plan. Since they’re not likely to bother informing us why they’re attacking.” She looked around trying to get people to agree with her.
“We don’t know that they’re attacking us,” protested Sier Barvon. “Do we? All we know is that they’re coming this way.”
Damien simply shook his head. He’d called this late night council session to warn his fellow council members of the imminent presence of the Rod. As he should have known, getting them to agree on the situation let alone what to do about it was proving difficult. He couldn’t even get all twelve of the currently appointed thirteen member council to show up.
Lenamare and Jehenna had declined to attend as had Exador and Randolf, the Archimage of Turelane. Apparently the two factions had no desire to be in the same room and civil to each other. Zilquar was away somewhere and had not been reachable at his school.
Alexandros Mien shook his head, the old Archimage from Garander spoke up. “Look, we have to assume they’re coming here, we don’t know why, but there is no place else they could be going. The question is why? Why are they coming? We haven’t had a major disagreement with them in over six hundred years.”
“I suspect,” Trevin stated, “it has something to do with Lenamare and Exador’s spat. They’re the ones we should be asking.”
“And how?” Lord Archimage Gandros, chair of the Council of Wizards spoke up for the first time, “do you propose we ask them? They haven’t been exactly cooperative in resolving their own dispute which they brought before us. You expect them to be any more forthcoming on this?”
“Since they’re here and it would be their necks on the line as well, I’m sure they’d be willing to cooperate.” Sier Barvon tried to point out. Damien just snorted, knowing Exador and Lenamare.
“What about the inquisition?” Several councilors paused in their thinking to look at Trevin as she brought this up. “Given that the Rod is coming, is this a good time to be sending our members out on fact finding missions?”
Tureledor answered, “It probably would be best if we were all present to present a united front.”
“Since when in the last six decades, have we presented a united front?” Davron asked. Tureledor simply glared at the man.
“United in fact, or united in appearance, Trevin has a point.” Gandros stated. “I think, Damien, we may want to postpone your tour until we understand the situation better.”
Damien nodded, he wasn’t so sure. He felt that perhaps his tour could shed some light on what was up. Especially since he was positive that it had something to do with the dueling wizards. This point in time was not, however, the time to disagree. There was already enough disagreement around the table.
“I think,” Damien said for the first time since answering questions on the advent of the Rod, “reticence or not on the part of the Rod, we should at least arrange a messenger to find out what they’re up to. If it is Lenamare or Exador they want, then at least we’ll know. If it is us, they’ll probably simply capture the messenger so he or she can’t return to warn us. Knowing the Rod, it is highly unlikely they’d simply kill the messenger out of hand. Unless we sent a demon.” Several council members muttered about this, but none could really come up with a good objection other than complaints from the less optimistic ones.
After a bit more fruitless discussion they adjourned. As they were standing up, Alexandros looked to Gandros and asked, “We can assume you shall be informing our brother Council as to the situation.
Trevin D’Vils snarked, “Oh, do you think they’ll notice an invading army?”
Damien smiled at her, laughing at the inside joke; “I fear Lord Felgraf has already noticed. It was he who alerted us to the Rod marching through his city.”
Home of the Council of Wizardry, the Council States is a federation of city states dedicated to the preservation of knowledge, the responsible use of wizardry, and free trade.
While the implication is that the Council states are governed by a “Council” there are actually two councils that provide the necessary inter-state regulation, adjudication and other federal functions.
