Chartile: Prophecy (15 page)

Kylani turned slowly back to Leo. “Well?” he
asked, “What say you, little man?”

“
Because she’s mean?” Leo
answered.

Kylani and Brande fell into a fit of
merciless guffaws and laughter. Leo’s face turned bright red. After
several uncomfortable moments, the two men took several deep
breaths and wiped the tears from their eyes. The man called Brande
moved the cage back to the ledge. He held the door open, but Leo
did not move.

“
Come, young friend. We
believe your intentions to be true. My name is Brande, and this is
my brother, Kylani. Let us speak.”

Leo stepped unsteadily from the cage. Kylani
caught him, and patted Leo firmly on the back. Brande led the way
back inside as the guard who had first caught Leo glared.

The dwarves were beginning to emerge from
their homes again. They cautiously skirted around Leo, and pulled
their children away from him as they went. Although the society of
The Black Diamonds seemed mostly comprised of men, Leo was
surprised to see a few women as well. The center square they passed
through had a number of tents and make shift merchant stands.
Everything from food and clothing to armor and weapons was
available for sale.

Brande and Kylani led Leo through another
door at the far side of the mine. It opened into a short tunnel
that turned sharply and immediately opened into another large,
abandoned mine. This mine consisted entirely of the little wooden
homes that dotted the edges of the first mine. Side by side, some
leaning awkwardly, others straight and nearly perfect, there had to
be at least a hundred little houses within, creating a unique
cityscape with walkways between rows of homes, and poles with
hanging lanterns.

Leo stopped in the doorway. His eyes gaped
at the scene before him. Brande clapped him on the back with a
chuckle and urged him forward through yet another door. This one
opened into a small, dusty room. A table and chairs sat at the
center, each with a large black diamond the size of Leo’s fist
fixed at the top and center.

Brande pulled three black chalices and a
glass decanter from a cabinet by the door. He poured the golden
liquid into the chalices, and dropped a pearl-like sphere in each
that began to bubble.

“
Pearl wine?” he asked
Leo. The boy hesitated, then took the chalice. There was a high
chance he could be imprisoned again after this meeting. This might
be his first and last time having an alcoholic beverage. He raised
the cup in a small gesture of a toast and took a sip. The wine was
thick and tart, and the pearl-like mineral created tiny bubbles
that rose up into Leo’s nose making him cough and choke. Brande and
Kylani laughed again and patted his back.

“
You take this black
diamond thing for real, huh?” Leo asked. He raised the black
chalice in his hand, attempting to steer the conversation away from
his embarrassing splutter. The two men took their seats across the
table.

“
And why not?” asked
Brande.

“
Do you know what a
diamond is, Leo, my boy?” Kylani set his chalice on the table and
leaned forward.

“
A clear
mineral…uh…carbon, I think, that….when put under immense pressure
in the right conditions forms a lattice-like structure. That’s what
makes them so strong.”

Brande nodded with a smirk and replied,
“Diamonds, though extremely rare, are absolutely perfect. There are
few other minerals that can penetrate its lattice work.”

“
Sometimes,” Kylani
continued, “a rogue mineral does penetrate it, and a beautiful,
even rarer mineral is created. Black diamonds, though more fragile
than their pure white form, are just as beautiful in their own
right, if given the chance.”

“
But the world can’t be
divided into just black and white. Think of all the other colors
that can be created when you mix the two together.” Leo sipped his
wine. The tiny bubbles rose into his nose again, reminding him he
was not absently drinking water. He attempted not to make a face as
the tannins spread across his tongue.

“
An intriguing point,
lad,” said Brande. He raised his chalice in salute and drained it.
“But if you only see the world as one color, and someone gives you
the opportunity to make it so, would you take it?”

“
You mean Taraniz, don’t
you?” asked Leo, pushing his chalice away from him.

“
She is planning to attack
Mount Kelsii within the month. By bringing the Dwarves under Elven
rule, it will also bring us under their law, where men and women
have more equal rights.” Kylani drained his chalice, too. He
slammed it on the table, making Leo jump. “We are tired of not
having a voice on the council! There are plenty of men who have
found their souls. They will not give us the chance to prove
it!”

“
I don’t understand,” said
Leo. He remembered Dimitri had said something about souls as well.
“What do you mean your souls?”

“
There are three Levels of
Understanding,” said Brande, holding up three fingers. “Your Mind
is what you know, what you reason to be true, just and moral. Your
Heart is your instinct, what you have never learned, but have
always known. Your Soul is your emotion, your ability to show
compassion or mercy. It is believed that men cannot, or have
difficulty, finding their souls. This is why we are not permitted a
seat on the council. An elder must be able to show balance in all
three Levels of Understanding. Princess Taraniz does not, however,
understand our religion in this regard. By aligning with her, we
gain rights to sit on the council, but we lose the right to
practice our religion. The Elves find our ways too magical for
their tastes, though this is not true. Dwarves cannot do magic. We
never have and we never will. It is not in our blood. Our council
would become more like the Elven Conclave of Nobles.”

“
So, if I speak to the
council for, you won’t fight for Taraniz?” Leo folded his hands on
the table before him. He wasn’t sure if it was all the
philosophical talk of souls and understanding or the wine, but he
was becoming light headed.

“
Not just speak, Leo. We
want a negotiated seat with the elders,” said Kylani. “The Black
Diamond Quarter has the right to a voice. Even if the rest of the
dwarves do not wish to follow our ways, we all have the right to
protect each other.”

Leo grabbed his head. This was all very
confusing.

“
We knew who you were the
moment you came to Fortress Kelsii,” said Brande. “Not all of us
are in hiding here. We have infiltrated every aspect of the
Fortress. Guards, miners, tailors, priestesses. We have a person in
almost every conceivable position and within nearly every household
and guild.” He paused and waited for Leo to sit up again. “And not
just here. We have begun to reach The Tutarian Mountains as well.
There are members on the council who are loyal to us. Even Queen
Isla. I refuse to believe that you finding us today was a mere
coincidence.”

“
So it’s true, what
Empress Nefiri said. Queen Isla’s been working with you. Is it true
she’s also got a boyfriend who is a Black Diamond, too?” asked
Leo.

Kylani stood slowly. He stared down at Leo,
his black eyes glistening with tears. “My dearest Isla has been one
of us since before her ascension to Queenhood. You are King
Florine, returned to us as the prophecy foretold. Right this wrong.
We do not want to kill our people.”

There it was. The weight of an entire race
had just been put on the shoulders of a fourteen year old boy. The
chance to interfere, for good or ill, had been laid upon the table,
ripe for the taking. Leo had thought he had been fighting it tooth
and nail. Now it seemed he had no choice. He was backed into a
corner. To refuse would mean he had been a bystander to the murders
of hundreds, probably thousands of people.

Leo remembered back to a video game he had
played with Jayson and Jack last year; so very long ago now. As the
king in the game, he could choose whether to negotiate with the
enemy or send his people to war. Jayson wanted to choose war. There
was better armor and weapons. Jack said he should choose to
negotiate because there were more level ups to intelligence and
persuasion. It was at that moment, the rain outside had ended and
they decided to go to their fort. The video game was never touched
again— a decision still waiting to be made.

Leo stood to meet Kylani’s gaze. Brande
stood with him. They looked at each other across the table, tense,
unmoving, black-brown eyes meeting blue eyes.

“
I’m sorry,” said Leo, “I
can’t do it. I’m just a kid. If this is what you guys want, then
you need to come out of the shadows and, like, fight for it. And
not by killing people and stuff, either. That’s not going to do
anybody any good. You have to prove you deserve to be there. You
can’t put this all on me.”

Chapter Eleven

The Meeting of the
Elders

Jayson was enjoying some sort of strange,
spikey fruit when Leo placed a hand on his shoulder.

“
What is that?” Leo asked,
his nose crinkling as Jayson turned.

Jayson nearly choked. “Dude! Where the heck
have you been?” Jack, Dimitri and Piper turned to see Leo shoulder
through beside Jayson to join their circle.

“
I got turned around.
Ended up in some abandoned mines.” he replied and reached for a
small stuffed mushroom.

“
You are lucky you made it
here at all then,” said Dimitri. He popped a mushroom in his mouth
with one hand, the other rested comfortably around Piper’s waist.
“Most of the abandoned mines are on the other side of the mountain,
and are quite dangerous. There is a reason they are no longer used.
It is rare their veins are dried up. It is more likely to do with
the stability of the cavern.”

“
Well, here I am! When is
this thing supposed to start anyway?” Leo asked. He seemed too
giddy. He bounced on the balls of his feet, and swung his arms to
his sides. His friends wondered if he had been given a glass of
pearl wine when he entered. No one said anything. The thought was
too unlike Leo. After the incident with Jack and Gemari, they were
looking for any reason to be cheerful. The dread and anticipation
of the council meeting seemed to be breathing down their
necks.

The activity in the room seemed to bubble
into a chaotic frenzy. Council members flitted back and forth
amongst their small groups, whispering to each other anxiously. A
horn sounded in the far corner of the room. Guards filed through
the large doors to stand around the perimeter of the room. The
council members took their seats at the long table. Nefiri, the
Queens and Princesses made their way to the plain, tall backed
thrones in front of the raised platform. Valar emerged from
somewhere amongst the bedlam of the elders and their retainers. He
touched Piper’s shoulder. She jumped, and the color drained from
her face as she turned to him. Valar nodded and smiled. Dimitri
kissed her cheek, then hurried away to stand behind Nefiri’s
throne.

Jack, Leo and Jayson looked at each other.
They seemed to be the only still figures as the occupants of the
room flitted wildly around them.

“
No matter what happens,”
said Jayson, “we have to stand together.” The wonder of their
adventure was beginning to fade, and a heavy weight seemed to be
settling on them with each council member that joined at the long
table at the center of the room.

“
Agreed,” said Leo and
Jack nodded. “I need you guys to just follow my lead, okay. Please
just trust me.” They did. They trusted each other unconditionally.
They had to. They had been through too much together not to believe
in each other. They turned to take their seats beside Piper and
Valar on the raised platform behind the royalty. The horn sounded
again, and silence fell.

The kitchen staff continued to bustle back
and forth, filling chalices with pearl wine and water. The boys
noted that while there were both humans with orenite cuffs on their
wrists and dwarves, there was not a single girl or woman among
them. Leo shifted uneasily in his chair as one of the elders stood
to address the council.

“
This Council has been
called to decide the succession of Empress Nefiri of the House of
Auldfr and the involvement of the Dwarves in the civil war of the
Elves of Chartile.” The woman sat and yielded to Nefiri. The
Empress stood and glided a few steps forward to address the table
of elders before her. The boys craned their necks to look at her
over their shoulders. Piper caught their eyes, and shook her head
only once. They immediately faced forward again and tried to not
fidget.

“
Good Elders, Royals and
honored guests. It has been my privilege and honor to serve as your
Empress these past sixty-seven turns. I now find myself beginning
to tire, as the stone does under the beating winds. I have felt the
calling of our Lady Rashiri, and wish to spend the last of my days
in service to our Goddess. Though I may depart from this throne,
our people shall never fade!” Nefiri paused, and spread her arms
wide. “Strength and stone!”

“
Strength and stone!” The
Council echoed her and raised their glasses in a toast.

“
Who now will speak on
behalf of Queen Isla and Princess Faeridae of the Tutarian
Mountains?” the same woman as before stood again and
asked.

An old woman, her beaded braids flecked with
gray stood. She had attempted to paint her skin to appear less
weathered, but the affect was quite the opposite. “I am Ulfwyn of
the House of Hallvor of the Cobalt Quarter. I speak for Queen Isla
of the House of Arnkatla. Queen Isla has served the people of the
Tutarian Mountains for over seventeen turns. She succeeded Queen
Carendeil of the House of Esjamourn when she went home to the stone
and our Lady Rashiri too soon. Queen Isla is trained in the ways of
war, and has been a valuable asset in training our army in the
Tutarian Mountains. She would be instrumental in protecting our
people during this time of upheaval amongst the Elves, should she
so choose our involvement. I vote that Queen Isla succeed Nefiri of
the House of Auldfr as Empress of the Dwarves of Chartile.”