King Avalar reached the stage and stepped to the edge of it. He waved to the citizens and received a chorus of boos from the protesters in the audience. Signs against the war were held high in the air, and red flowers were thrown towards the stage. While the protesters were but a fraction of the audience, they were extremely vocal. Every time the king’s mouth opened to speak, the protesters chanted slogans loudly. King Avalar waited patiently.
Princess Alastasia slipped through the crowd and found her sister. She frowned at the protesters around her.
“We both owe apologies to Garl,” Alastasia whispered in Alahara’s ear. “All three of them are now plant food.”
“Are you serious?” Alahara asked excitedly. “He did this alone?”
“By himself,” nodded Alastasia as she was distracted by the sound of distant singing. “I was wrong to doubt him.”
Unexpectedly, thousands of elves suddenly appeared on each street leading towards the Royal Tree. The newly arrived elves marched in columns and sang patriotic marching songs while converging on the stage. They raised high the banners that they carried. On each of the banners were the names of elven families. Larger banners, each requiring two elves to carry, indicated the names of the outlying villages that the elves had come from. Princess Alastasia excitedly poked her sister and pointed to the elves carrying the Etta banner. It was Eltor and Caldal.
“They did it,” Alahara beamed. “There must be thousands of them.”
King Avalar waved happily as the village elves mingled into the crowd of city elves. When the procession ended, the area was packed shoulder-to-shoulder. The first time the king tried to speak after the arrival of the village elves, there was a smattering of chants trying to drown him out, but it soon died as the villagers told the protesters to shut up and listen. The non-protesting citizens of Morada also joined in, urging the protesters to be quiet so that the king could speak.
“Thank you for this opportunity to address you,” the king said loudly. “Regardless of how each of you feels about this coming war, I am pleased that so many of you have come to listen to what I have to say. We are at the brink of the most important decision that the elven people have had to make in two thousand years. Some of you have been protesting every day in the streets of Morada against elven involvement in the coming war. Your chants and slogans make it sound as if I am trying to lead the elven people to their deaths in order to protect the humans. You are entitled to your opinions, but I want to set the record straight before the Council of Elders votes today.”
The king paused and surveyed the crowd. He was thankful that no stones had yet been hurled in his direction, although he was maintaining a magical shield around himself.
“I would never put human lives above the lives of my people,” declared the king. “Not because I think humans are less of a people, but because I am responsible for the elves, and only the elves. The humans have their own leaders to look after their people. A great many of you may then be wondering why I am pushing to join with the humans in the coming war. It is a valid question for a citizen to ask, and I do not think poorly of anyone for asking it. It is a question that I have asked myself a thousand times. It is not easy being a king and having the fate of your people in your hands. It requires one to constantly reevaluate his decisions to make sure that he is doing what is in the best interests of his people. But there comes a time when there is no easy choice to make. This is one of those times.”
One of the protesters shouted that the king should just let the humans fend for themselves. The king smiled at the protester and nodded.
“That is one of the options,” replied Avalar. “There is one problem with that position. I have been to the Island of Darkness. I have seen Vand’s army. I have also been to the land of the humans and seen their preparations for war. It is my firm belief that without our help, the humans will certainly fall before Vand’s armies. Still, you might ask, why is this any concern of the elves? Let me tell you why. Vand set out to capture the King of the Elves for a specific reason. That reason was to keep us out of the war against the humans. When I was held captive, I was Vand’s insurance that the elves would not interfere in his affairs until it was too late. He knows that he will have an easier time of conquering both the humans and the elves if he can just attack us separately.”
The citizens started talking among themselves, and the king gave them some time to digest his words before continuing.
“There is no doubt in my mind that Vand will turn his massive armies on Elvangar as soon as he is done with the humans,” continued the king. “The only way that we can escape attack, is if Vand falls before the human armies, and that is impossible unless the elves join with the humans now. Will elven warriors fall in the coming battles? Yes, no matter whether we fight in the land of the humans, or we fight here in Elvangar. War is coming, my people, no matter what we decide here today. It is only a question of where we will fight the enemy. Look around this great city and gaze upon what we have built together, for if we choose to hide behind the Gates of Elvangar, Morada will soon resemble the ancient city of Alamanda. I aim to avoid that fate for my people. Today I am asking the Council of Elders to vote upon a resolution endorsing my plan to aid the humans in their battle against the forces of Vand. I know the elders will vote what they think is best for all of Elvangar, but it is only natural to be swayed by public opinion. It is in that vein that I ask you, the citizens of Elvangar, for your support in this effort.”
For several moments there was silence from the crowd as the king’s words sunk in. Then a few protesters started to chant, but the other citizens quickly drowned them out. Some of the elders sat with surprise on their faces at the support the king had managed to garner. Malid rose and walked to the edge of the stage while the king retreated to stand behind the council.
“In fairness to the citizens,” Malid stated loudly, “we call up the leaders of the protest movement to speak their piece to the citizens. After that speech, the Council of Elders will vote publicly on the resolution offered by the king.”
Kara and his two friends made their way up to the stage. Alahara gazed up at the Royal Tree as she planned what she would say. She froze when she saw two people gazing down at the crowd. She nudged her sister and pointed upward.
“Kanis is with Mother,” Alahara said urgently. “You must get up there. Kanis will have a fit when she hears me speak. Who knows what she might do?”
Alastasia nodded and pushed her way through the massive crowd. The people yelled at her and cursed, but Alastasia did not care. She ran as if her mother’s life depended upon her speed.
The three boys reached the stage and encouraging shouts came from the audience. Kara grinned and waited for the applause to die down.
“Some of you may think that I am crazy,” grinned Kara, “but I have selected a very special person to speak this afternoon. I urge every person here today to listen carefully to her words because she knows the truth about this human war. She has lived among the humans and has been to the Island of Darkness. What better perspective could we hope to hear today? I call upon Princess Alahara to speak to the people.”
King Avalar feigned as much surprise as many of the citizens felt. The crowd parted and the princess made her way forward. As she walked across the stage, she reinforced the compulsion spells that they had placed on the three boys. She walked up to Kara and his two friends and whispered to them with a big smile as if she were thanking them for the invitation to speak.
“Whatever happens for the rest of the day,” she smiled, “remember that every word I speak brings you pleasure. You will smile and cheer when my speech is over.”
The boys smiled and nodded dutifully as the princess turned and walked to the edge of the stage to address the citizens.