SaDiablo Hall, Dhemlan, Kaeleer
Jul. 21st, 2011 04:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
glacial_queenThe meeting took place after dark. For all that the Hall was filled with dark power that had seeped into its very stones, it was still easier for the demon-dead to arrive after the sun had set. Several bottles of yarbarah were already warming--this might be a war council, but Mrs. Beale would never allow Mephis, Prothvar, and Andulvar to go without refreshment.
Nor were they alone. Karla had told her friends at Fandom that the coven and boyos could not help her and that was true. All of them were too highly-placed in their respective Territories; all of them could claim kinship with their homes' sitting rulers. To have any one of them show up inside Glacia's borders to help rescue Black Widows could lead to a war between their Territory and Glacia. But being banned from actively helping did not prohibit them from offering Karla counsel and so they had come to the meeting as well: Morghanne and Khary from Scelt; Gabrielle and Chaosti of the Dea al Mon, their clan sigil a twin to the one worn by a witch in Fandom; Aaron and Sabrina from Dharo, though Aaron stood close to Kalush, from Narkhava; Sceron and Astar from Centauran; the satyrs, Jonah and Zylona, from Pandar; Grezande and Elan of Tigrelan; even tiny winged Katrine, from the Paw Islands. In a way, it felt much like the first party again, when they'd all tumbled into the Hall and Uncle Saetan's life--save that party had been a joyful reuniting of friends and the making of new ones.
There were no smiles here. Even Khary looked unexpectedly grim, and Ladvarian stayed quiet and still at Kaelas's side. Mrs. Beale's repast remained largely untouched.
When everyone had found a spot to sit--or, in Lucivar's case, lean imposingly--Karla squeezed Warren's hand and stepped forward to speak. She'd given this issue a lot of thought over the past few days and had come to what she was starting to think was the only conclusion.
"I will not fight," she said. There were restive murmurs at that, Sceron's forehoof hitting the floor in an impatient gesture, but she looking only into Morton's tired eyes. "More specifically, Glacia will not fight. The time is not far off when I will call my people to turn and battle one another, but that time is not now. I am not yet ready to be Queen, not yet ready to make the Offering. I cannot yet even fill my Court. Fighting now will do nothing but waste innocent lives."
"You cannot mean to let this stand!" Chaosti argued.
Karla shot him a withering glare and had the pleasure of seeing him take a half-step behind Gabrielle--who jabbed him with her elbow. "Of course not," she retorted. "But war is not the way to handle this. Hobart has had almost ten full years to convince the people that Black Widows are to be feared and mistrusted. Leading them into a war against their own people will do nothing but send people flocking to Hobart's banners. Right now, they are victims. Let them loose and they will become the enemy--and, by association, so will I."
"The Territory bleeds when Black Widow march to war," Saetan murmured in his chair by the fireplace. Jaenelle and Gabrielle nodded in unison to that and, for a moment, a hint of unease flickered across the faces of the others.
Even here, the knowledge of what Black Widows were capable of was enough to disquiet Karla's staunchest allies.
"Then what will you do, Sister?" Katrine asked, voice high and piping. "You said you had a plan."
"We run," Karla said quietly. "We hide. We leave. Glacia is trapped in a long, dark winter; we do what we must to stay strong until spring returns. By evacuating the Black Widows, their families, their males and their retinues, not only to we keep them safe from Hobart's forces, but we deny Glacia their strength. We spirit them away, to return when I am ready to march upon Sidra and become Queen."
"To where?" Andulvar asked, his wings opening and closing restlessly behind his back. "There is no place in Glacia safe enough for so many to hide." He would know; he and Morton had spent days going over the maps of the Territory. "And no other Territory can offer them shelter, not without going up against Glacia and the Dark Council. And that will lead to that war you are so desperate to prevent, witchling."
"Hell?" Prothvar asked, but Saetan was already shaking his head.
"No," Jaenelle agreed. "It isn't safe for the living to remain long in Hell. They would need the High Lord's own protection for that. Either to live in the Hall or on one of the unclaimed islands."
"By which she means, it's no different than inviting them to Dhemlan," Grezande said, her tail lashing furiously behind her.
"Who would know?" Aaron pointed out. "It's not like we would advertise that they were staying in Hell."
"There are some who claim that Hell has a High Priestess, as well," Mephis said stiffly. "And those who give her loyalty have no great love for the High Lord."
"And how would they get there?" Sabrina asked. "The dead may find their way with ease, but the living require a Gate. I am sure Glacia's Gate is well-guarded by Hobart's males. No, Hell will not do."
"Warren had an idea, before we left Fandom," Karla said and pitied her boyfriend as every eye in the room zeroed in on him. "Creating safe places, havens, in Arceria. It shares a border with Glacia, just over the mountains, which means that its accessible to people, even with the Winds being locked from us. We can put them in the blank spaces between the winds, layered with Craft and illusions. Arceria is a kindred Territory as well, so threat of war is lessened. The Dark Council would have to believe in kindred first. I would need to reach some kind of accord with the Arcerian Queen, of course, but if she grants us land, we can create villages and towns over the border in Arceria for the Black Widows to relocate to."
Which would also solve the problem of her people settling down in an already-populated area and choosing to stay. An unworthy thought, perhaps, but Karla couldn't pretend it wasn't a valid one. Saving their lives came first, of course, but that didn't mean she would be happy to lose a quarter of their number anyway simply because they had formed ties to another Territory.
"Our plan is, as yet, still simple and unrefined," she admitted. "I know that for it to work at all, we'll need to do a lot of planning and smoothing and hammering it into shape. But of all the options I have heard and thought of thus far, I feel this one has the highest chance of working. It is also the one I feel most comfortable with--it involves us building and protecting, not fighting and killing. I know this is by no means a truly safe plan, but then, nothing is. I feel this one has the best chance of not only saving the lives of Black Widows, but also providing them a chance of something more than mere survival over the next few years."
Some of the boyos were frowning in either skepticism or disapproval, but most of the coven were nodding thoughtfully, ideas of their own running through their head.
"If anyone else has a brilliant idea, I'm all ears," Karla continued, a touch of wry humor in her tone. "Hell's fire, any ideas at all are appreciated. Same with reasons why this absolutely won't work. But I do need to remind you--our time is short and growing shorter. And for some, it's only measured in heartbeats."
[Establishy, unless them that are there wish to talk to people! NFB.]
Nor were they alone. Karla had told her friends at Fandom that the coven and boyos could not help her and that was true. All of them were too highly-placed in their respective Territories; all of them could claim kinship with their homes' sitting rulers. To have any one of them show up inside Glacia's borders to help rescue Black Widows could lead to a war between their Territory and Glacia. But being banned from actively helping did not prohibit them from offering Karla counsel and so they had come to the meeting as well: Morghanne and Khary from Scelt; Gabrielle and Chaosti of the Dea al Mon, their clan sigil a twin to the one worn by a witch in Fandom; Aaron and Sabrina from Dharo, though Aaron stood close to Kalush, from Narkhava; Sceron and Astar from Centauran; the satyrs, Jonah and Zylona, from Pandar; Grezande and Elan of Tigrelan; even tiny winged Katrine, from the Paw Islands. In a way, it felt much like the first party again, when they'd all tumbled into the Hall and Uncle Saetan's life--save that party had been a joyful reuniting of friends and the making of new ones.
There were no smiles here. Even Khary looked unexpectedly grim, and Ladvarian stayed quiet and still at Kaelas's side. Mrs. Beale's repast remained largely untouched.
When everyone had found a spot to sit--or, in Lucivar's case, lean imposingly--Karla squeezed Warren's hand and stepped forward to speak. She'd given this issue a lot of thought over the past few days and had come to what she was starting to think was the only conclusion.
"I will not fight," she said. There were restive murmurs at that, Sceron's forehoof hitting the floor in an impatient gesture, but she looking only into Morton's tired eyes. "More specifically, Glacia will not fight. The time is not far off when I will call my people to turn and battle one another, but that time is not now. I am not yet ready to be Queen, not yet ready to make the Offering. I cannot yet even fill my Court. Fighting now will do nothing but waste innocent lives."
"You cannot mean to let this stand!" Chaosti argued.
Karla shot him a withering glare and had the pleasure of seeing him take a half-step behind Gabrielle--who jabbed him with her elbow. "Of course not," she retorted. "But war is not the way to handle this. Hobart has had almost ten full years to convince the people that Black Widows are to be feared and mistrusted. Leading them into a war against their own people will do nothing but send people flocking to Hobart's banners. Right now, they are victims. Let them loose and they will become the enemy--and, by association, so will I."
"The Territory bleeds when Black Widow march to war," Saetan murmured in his chair by the fireplace. Jaenelle and Gabrielle nodded in unison to that and, for a moment, a hint of unease flickered across the faces of the others.
Even here, the knowledge of what Black Widows were capable of was enough to disquiet Karla's staunchest allies.
"Then what will you do, Sister?" Katrine asked, voice high and piping. "You said you had a plan."
"We run," Karla said quietly. "We hide. We leave. Glacia is trapped in a long, dark winter; we do what we must to stay strong until spring returns. By evacuating the Black Widows, their families, their males and their retinues, not only to we keep them safe from Hobart's forces, but we deny Glacia their strength. We spirit them away, to return when I am ready to march upon Sidra and become Queen."
"To where?" Andulvar asked, his wings opening and closing restlessly behind his back. "There is no place in Glacia safe enough for so many to hide." He would know; he and Morton had spent days going over the maps of the Territory. "And no other Territory can offer them shelter, not without going up against Glacia and the Dark Council. And that will lead to that war you are so desperate to prevent, witchling."
"Hell?" Prothvar asked, but Saetan was already shaking his head.
"No," Jaenelle agreed. "It isn't safe for the living to remain long in Hell. They would need the High Lord's own protection for that. Either to live in the Hall or on one of the unclaimed islands."
"By which she means, it's no different than inviting them to Dhemlan," Grezande said, her tail lashing furiously behind her.
"Who would know?" Aaron pointed out. "It's not like we would advertise that they were staying in Hell."
"There are some who claim that Hell has a High Priestess, as well," Mephis said stiffly. "And those who give her loyalty have no great love for the High Lord."
"And how would they get there?" Sabrina asked. "The dead may find their way with ease, but the living require a Gate. I am sure Glacia's Gate is well-guarded by Hobart's males. No, Hell will not do."
"Warren had an idea, before we left Fandom," Karla said and pitied her boyfriend as every eye in the room zeroed in on him. "Creating safe places, havens, in Arceria. It shares a border with Glacia, just over the mountains, which means that its accessible to people, even with the Winds being locked from us. We can put them in the blank spaces between the winds, layered with Craft and illusions. Arceria is a kindred Territory as well, so threat of war is lessened. The Dark Council would have to believe in kindred first. I would need to reach some kind of accord with the Arcerian Queen, of course, but if she grants us land, we can create villages and towns over the border in Arceria for the Black Widows to relocate to."
Which would also solve the problem of her people settling down in an already-populated area and choosing to stay. An unworthy thought, perhaps, but Karla couldn't pretend it wasn't a valid one. Saving their lives came first, of course, but that didn't mean she would be happy to lose a quarter of their number anyway simply because they had formed ties to another Territory.
"Our plan is, as yet, still simple and unrefined," she admitted. "I know that for it to work at all, we'll need to do a lot of planning and smoothing and hammering it into shape. But of all the options I have heard and thought of thus far, I feel this one has the highest chance of working. It is also the one I feel most comfortable with--it involves us building and protecting, not fighting and killing. I know this is by no means a truly safe plan, but then, nothing is. I feel this one has the best chance of not only saving the lives of Black Widows, but also providing them a chance of something more than mere survival over the next few years."
Some of the boyos were frowning in either skepticism or disapproval, but most of the coven were nodding thoughtfully, ideas of their own running through their head.
"If anyone else has a brilliant idea, I'm all ears," Karla continued, a touch of wry humor in her tone. "Hell's fire, any ideas at all are appreciated. Same with reasons why this absolutely won't work. But I do need to remind you--our time is short and growing shorter. And for some, it's only measured in heartbeats."
[Establishy, unless them that are there wish to talk to people! NFB.]
Tags:
- altering canon cause i can,
- are all uncles assholes?,
- dark council's made up of dicks,
- fandom folks will use this against me,
- how does protocol work? i dunno,
- i'm not a lady; i'm a witch,
- kaeleer,
- lessons: being a queen,
- nfb,
- post: closed,
- teal deer crossing,
- the establishment works for me!,
- they're guardians not vampires,
- where: dhemlan,
- who: jaenelle,
- who: karla,
- who: lucivar,
- who: saetan,
- who: the boyos,
- who: the coven
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-07-22 05:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-22 06:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-22 09:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-23 03:28 am (UTC)Though there was also Jono now, and what had once seemed a simple decision was not nearly so easy. Teleportation would let her move easily between worlds, but could she truly live in both?
no subject
Date: 2011-07-23 05:36 pm (UTC)