“Not for long,” grinned Alastasia. “I found a more efficient way of getting rid of them. I ordered Kara to do it.”
Princess Alahara laughed heartily as she turned to follow Kara’s progress.
“Levitor was just threatening Kara,” informed Alastasia. “Then Garl appeared and demanded that he return to the Society of Mages. Do you know what the old man is up to?”
“No,” Alahara shook her head, “but Avalar has faith in his uncle. That should be good enough for us.”
“I suppose,” responded Alastasia. “Look. The Council of Elders is coming onto the stage. I guess things will be heating up real soon. We need to start worrying about the mages. They can make the difference this afternoon.”
“You go to the Society of Mages and check up on them,” suggested Alahara. “I am going to keep close tabs on Kara and his friends. I will not let them start a riot.”
Princess Alastasia nodded and ran off towards the home of the mages. Alahara scanned the crowd until she found Kara and then moved in to follow him. She did not stop him from ordering the boys to get rid of their stones, but she kept close to him while he did so.
* * *
The Council of Elders sat behind a long table on the newly built stage. They peered at the thousands of citizens before them. The crowd was quite noisy, and the citizens could not hear the elders speaking among themselves.
“This is quite a protest,” remarked Amber. “There must be thousands of demonstrators here.”
“It is hardly fair to call all of them demonstrators,” replied Volox. “Most of the people have gathered today to hear the king address the people. If it is protesters that you seek, look at the ones carrying the signs.”
“Not all protesters are carrying signs,” retorted Amber. “Do not try to sway this council with false words.”
“I think the mood of the people will be clear to those who listen to the responses to the king’s words,” interrupted Malid, the Head Elder. “Having said that, I think the duty of an elder is to vote with the best interests of Elvangar in mind, not necessarily the fickle mood of the uninformed public. It will be our responsibility today to vote on a proposal put forth by the King of the Elves.”
“And why are we holding this vote in public?” asked one of the elders. “The council never votes in public.”
“Are you afraid of the people seeing how you vote?” taunted another elder.
“That is not the point,” frowned the first elder. “The question is a legitimate one. Why is this vote being held in public?”
“Because the king requested it,” answered Malid. “This council has been torn evenly on this subject for some time now. That is all about to end. The king has offered to address the people in public, and he has requested that the council vote in public. This decision is so important, that I felt that we could not refuse.”
“In all fairness,” interjected Amber, “someone from the opposition should also be allowed to address the public before we vote.”
“And would that be you?” asked Volox. “Are you prepared to stand and speak against this war?”
“I am prepared to speak against it,” nodded Amber, “but I can do so as part of the council proceedings leading up to the vote. I think a member of the public should be chosen to speak.”
“And suppose they do not choose wisely,” smiled Volox. “Will you then ask for another voice to be heard?”
“Of course not,” balked Amber. “Let’s just make an announcement and let the protesters choose whoever they want. That would be fair in my book.”
“Do we need a vote on this?” asked Volox. “To formalize it, I mean.”
“Well,” pondered Malid, “this council is not in session yet. If we want to bring up any motion, we must start the session. Perhaps we should wait until the king’s speech is over.”
“No,” protested Amber. “Give the protesters some time to choose a spokesperson. If we have to start the session early, then so be it.”
The Head Elder scanned the faces of the council and nodded. “Very well,” he said. “I open this meeting of the Council of Elders. Are there any motions?”
Volox waited patiently for Amber to present his motion. It passed unanimously with little discussion. A runner was called for, and a hasty message was constructed for the leaders of the protest.
“While we are waiting for a reply,” Volox said, “I would like to make another motion.”
“Speak, Volox,” nodded Malid.
“Because this vote today is so important that we are abandoning long set protocol,” Volox began, “I would like to invoke an old procedure that has not been used in many years. This motion is certainly not meant to cast aspersions on any elder, but to assure the public that they can have the highest confidence in their Council of Elders.”
“And what is this procedure?” asked Amber.
“Many years ago, particularly on important votes,” answered Volox, “the Council of Elders would submit to a magical examination to ensure that none of them were functioning under a spell of compulsion. This procedure verifies that no outsiders are exercising undo magical influence on the votes of the Elders.”
“A spell of compulsion on an elder would be a despicable act,” scowled Malid. “If ever there were a justified use of such an examination, today’s vote would fit that description. Are there any opponents to this motion?”
“May we vote on who shall administer this examination?” asked Amber.
“The Head Mage of the Society of Mages would be the one to administer the examination,” declared Volox.
“But Garl is hardly impartial on this,” protested Amber. “He is the king’s uncle.”
“Are you afraid of this examination, Amber?” taunted Volox.
“Absolutely not,” spat Amber. “Any elder who allows himself to fall under a magician’s spell should be forced to resign. I am merely questioning the impartiality of the examiner.”
“The Head Mage has remained steadfastly neutral on this issue,” declared Malid, “as he has on all other political issues. If you are referring to Garl’s involvement in the Karaza affair, I would like to make two points about that. One, he was not Head Mage at the time. Two, his involvement was not based upon politics, but rather his focus was on the well being of the monarch. I would find fault with any Head Mage who did not react to that situation as Garl did. Can anyone find anything offensive regarding the selection of the Head Mage to provide this examination?”
No elder spoke, and Malid called for a vote. While Amber grumbled because he did not care for Volox ever getting his way, the vote passed unanimously. Malid again called for a runner and dispatched a message to the Society of Mages.
The crowd grew restless as they waited for the king to appear. Suddenly, the lift was seen descending out of the Royal Tree. People shouted and pointed towards the lift on which the king was clearly visible. The protesters started chanting as the King of the Elves marched across the grass to the newly built stage. Some of the citizens remarked that the king did not have his usual contingent of soldiers escorting him.
Out in the crowd of citizens, the council’s runner went from protester to protester in an attempt to find one of the organizers. The runner finally ended up being directed to Kara who accepted the note.
“Well, imagine that,” Kara grinned. “The Council of Elders has actually invited me to pick a spokesperson to refute the king’s arguments.”
“You are a big man today,” smiled Princess Alahara. “I hope you speak well.”
“Not me,” grinned Kara. “This is your chance to speak. You did say that you would.”
“Only if you demand that I do,” shrugged the princess. “You have the right to choose anyone you want. Whoever you choose, you and your friends should march up on the stage and call for the selected person to come forward. That way everyone will know that the person truly speaks for the protesters.”
“That is not a bad idea,” grinned Kara, “but first we have to drown out the king’s speech. I’ll be back in a minute.”