Manifestation: the Coming Dark/Chapter 7

"They have WHAT?!" I said, alarmed, forgetting for a moment all proper protocol and turning away from Sigarin and the queen to stare at Jano in horror and confusion. "How? Why?"

"They took advantage of the confusion of the party. With much of the Guard diverted there and others responding to the altercation in the center of the city and with you absent, my lord, they seized an opportunity."

"You would have me believe that the Drakel left the armory undefended enough to be seized? With all of their defenses and they were incapable of holding the armory against what amounts to a sudden attack of opportunity, an unplanned attack!"

"Lord Governor," the queen said, her voice holding the slightest hint of reprimand, "never in thousands of years has anyone breached the outer walls and for Kruath'ri to attack the armory is incomprehensible. The armory is our safety and security. There are stories of a few De'me'thar who accepted bond service to attempt such an uprising, but the results of those efforts were invariably fatal. Of course the K'eld is unprepared for such an attack: it amounts to an attack from within."

"With respect, Lord Governor, Lady Kithia," Nel said, the familiar title attesting to his years of friendship with the queen.

"Yes, Nel," we said in unison and, despite ourselves and the situation, smiled slightly.

"Lord Sigarin has an observation that I believe holds bearing on the issue."

"Please, Lord T'palo, speak your mind."

"Thank you, Lord Governor. Alorin had a long and tortured path toward its current state where all of the people are Kruath'ri. In our K'eld are citizens of all of the world's living races and several members from races long believed extinct. Until Lord Tralin did what he did in K'eld Ner, no city had remotely a similar trajectory. Tralin's change is even more threatening because he livens openly in the human world, while Alorin lives in the depths of isolation. Yet if parallels are to be trusted, we must allow for the possibility that the Kruath'ri allowed the De'me'thar to seize the armory."

"Why would they put themselves in danger? To prove a political point?"

"If they believe the political point will force you to use your power and cast out the De'me'thar again, they just might. For you would uphold tradition and defend the city against incursion. What is more, this may be precisely what the De'me'thar want. If you cast them out and set a precedent that upholds tradition, they may hold the line against the Elementalists yet.

"They risk death to hold on to tradition. That is utter madness..."

"Yes, my lord, but it is millenia of tradition, a tradition bred into the thinking of the Drakel people for whom it has been a matter of survival. It took Alorin more than 300 years to firmly settle the issues and nearly 300 more before the final grumblings were put to rest, and our change was only within our community, which all started as De'me'thar rebels themselves."

"So they have me trapped..." I cursed, frustrated. "They know that I cannot let this slide..."

"Can't you, my lord?" Kithia said with a smile.

"My queen, you cannot seriously suggest that we allow the De'me'thar to go unpunished for taking the armory..."

"No... Yet if the De'me'thar are as tied to the old traditions as it seems, we may be able to play them as only you can do...."

"I am not sure I follow you, my lady."

"She means," Nel said, smiling, "that you can reverse the situation to our advantage. If they want charge of the armory, well, then allow them to have it..."

"Hmm?" I said, still confused.

"You are the designated servitor of the king who is a T'palo from the De'me'thar. The position of T'palo is held with almost religious reverence. While they might act against his wishes, they dare not openly accuse him of falsehood. If you make a proclamation backed by Lord Jano stating that the De'me'thar were doing as you wished, the De'me'thar and the Kruatha'ri, though knowing your duplicity, may well not challenge your words."

"Isn't that a rather risky gamble?"

"Yes," Sigarin said matter-of-factly, "it is."

"But the alternative is to clearly go against the king's wishes and reaffirm centuries of division," Kithia added. "It is a gamble that must be made. If they call our bluff, then we can answer their call."

"I will be formally challenging the social structure of the entirety of Drakel culture. I will be calling an end to tradition utterly."

"Have you any doubt," Jano asked, "that such was the king's wish all along?"

"No," I said, my resolve strengthening. "Let us do this..."

We moved then to the cart, which carried us in silence toward the main gateway. There was nothing that could be said that had not already been voiced. As we arrived, I saw the massive crowd that had gathered outside of the central armory. The Drakel Guard tried to hold the masses back from the armory, while a single De'me'thar stood at the top of one of the towers, leering at the people below. I ignored him and strode with purpose toward the captain of the Guard, a stocky Drakel encased in battle armor.

"What is the meaning of this, Captain?" I demanded. "Why do the people abandon my party and attend to this spectacle?"

"Have you not heard, Lord Governor?" he asked in consternation. "The De'me'thar have seized the central armory..."

"De'me'thar?" I asked with exaggerated distaste. "Captain, have your forgotten the king's orders?"

"My lord?" the captain asked, confused.

"There are no De'me'thar, Captain. There shall never be any De'me'thar. There are only Kratha'ri," I declared firmly. "Citizens, there is nothing to see here. The central armory remains in the hands of the king's citizenry."

As I spoke I began to here a chanting in the distance and I wondered what new disturbance could shatter my peace. Still I continued.

"That those you deem De'me'thar control this armory is exactly as the king has ordered and as I have instructed them."

The growing volume set me on edge.

"I sought to have this done during the party to make the transition as smoothly as possible. I had trusted that your honor of the queen would prevent disruption. Unfortunately, I have already seen that this is not the case. Several misguided citizens have already attacked a youth out of ancient divisions. Let it be known that neither I nor the king shall tolerate such. These divisions ARE ended; if you have any hope of defeating the Devourer, the Uncreator, you must end your actions, which play directly into his hands. I think the king has made his will on the matter quite known. There are no De'me'thar, only Citizens, and in Deren, citizens acting against their nation are considered treasonous. I need not affirm that the fruit of treason is not exile..... it is death."

"C'tal Efo Lin Degi!" the voices shouted loud enough to hear clearly. The alarm was sounding through the city.

"C'tal Efo Lin Degi!"

"The Brilhado come..." I said in dismay. For the first time in all ages, the K'eld had been discovered.