“This recent evidence notwithstanding, the fact is that thus far no vessel bearing the Morgathian standard or a Talon ship has attacked an Alliance ship of any kind, and this vote would be unfair to the Morgathians and detrimental to the standing of the Alliance with most other kingdoms and our allies. As far as the chromatics having Morgathian ties or being supposedly directed by Morgathia, they were just trying to get their fair share of the metallics’ treasure, for they were likely hungry and needed precious gems to feed themselves,” the lady senator vainly attempted a point in the raging argument.
Valianth’s deep, booming voice then interrupted all ongoing arguments and cited the Dragon Speak article of the Alliance, specifically the dragon call for a senate vote with a unanimous weir consent. “Senator Gindren, I incite the vote call measure of the last clause of the Right of Dragon Speak Article. I call for the vote to nullify the cessation treaty with Morgathia since there is now no evidence that they support it. A more blatant attack could not have been made on the weirs and the Alliance itself than what has taken place in the recent months. The Shidanese alone could not have possibly assembled a force that size with all the thousands of chromatics in support. Atlean and Talinor Weirs and their legions were barely able to hold against the juggernaut that was thrown against us. Even they needed to be reinforced by the Capital, Draden, and eventually Denar Weirs. We have tolerated a great deal: direct attacks on our separate province of Battle Point, the repulsion of a large force heading for Eladran Weir, to the direct assassination attempt against our riders. Our time for tolerance is ended. The denial of all of this is not only ignorant and foolish, but borders on treasonous. Debate is done; the evidence is indisputable, and action is now called for.”
Senator Gindren was now able to pound his hammer and call for the vote. On the roll call of the senators, all but three voted against the POEs, and the measure for returning to hostilities with Morgathia was passed. Upon the vote tally and announcement of the measure passing, the uproar from the Enlightened was immediate but somewhat muted in that the evidence of heavy Morgathian involvement was overwhelming. Premier Reagresh then took the floor as Gindren silenced the hall to give the republic’s leader the final word of the gathering.
“King Aleslade, first, I want to thank you and your people for a valiant effort in defending the coastal areas of the Alliance. I want to strengthen our ties and offer you and your sea elves any relief and aid that you might need to help your kingdom get back on its feet,” he stated as Aleslade nodded in both agreement and thanks. “I also want to announce that our ally, the nation of Ian, has been attacked by Shidan and three of its neighboring kingdoms. However, they have successfully defeated this attack, based on their unconquerable resolve, the strength of their land dragons, and the power of the wing of brass, copper, and now avenger dragons we stationed there. As for our nation; the Alliance is now back on a total war footing with the unfortunate ending of this last thirty some years of relative peace. I fear this will be a different kind of war as compared to the last Great Dragon War. Our enemies have learned from their mistakes and are using provocation as much as barbaric brute force. Additionally, I will see this internal issue of potential treason fully investigated, and those found guilty will find justice, I promise that.
“The ensuing years will be challenging and difficult, but as our true strength is within all of us, our people, our allies—the elves, dwarves, and the rest—and of course our dragon partners and benefactors, we will inevitably prevail. The light that is the Alliance will cast away the shadows; this I am sure of. Thank you for your perseverance and may the Creator bless this republic and all who dwell in it, and see us to victory over the gathering darkness,” Reagresh ended to the applause of the majority of the senate and approving croons of the dragons.
Mkel leaned over to Jodem and whispered, “I hope they keep that Black Scarab safer than the one we captured and Senator Nebelon. Key witnesses seem to have a propensity to be killed when they have any contact with the Enlightened.” After the applause subsided, the Shidanese assassin was surrounded by dragon knights and escorted away. Arguments and accusations continued to be bandied back and forth between the Enlightened senators and other members of the senate; however, the key POE leaders were quickly ushered back to their meeting room.
Hilrodra signaled to Terrjok and Tekend to gather all the key Enlightened senators for an immediate discussion of the ramification of the vote for war against Morgathia and all who supported the attack. They rushed to the back room of their gathering chamber in the rear of the Senate Pyramid.
“Everyone move to the inner chamber, we must address this failure of the senate and minimize its effects on our cause,” Hilrodra quickly spoke over the din of angered conversation. All the leaders of the party moved into the large chamber and sat down as workers left trays of food and drink. “All servants and lesser members out now!” Hilrodra screamed in her usual screechy voice for the aides and workers to leave. “You all know that we must mitigate this vote somehow, but the first and foremost issue is that Scarab now in the custody of the dragon knights. The wizards or the dragons will get him to talk sooner or later, and a potential connection will be made,” she spoke out to get the meeting underway.
“We will just have to have him eliminated,” Senator Katsleez answered.
“This will not be easy, for after the Scarab from Draden died in confinement and Senator Nebelon died en route to prison, as well as those who gave them the poison, they will be on total alert,” Terrjok countered.
“Our contacts in the Draconia prison will see to this Scarab’s demise. Enough gold to the right people and to a few of our key, more extremist supporters will either get poison to him or one of his own fellow assassins on a suicide mission will accomplish this. That is one thing that the desert mongrels are good at,” Tekend stated smugly.
“And if they take him to the weir for added protection, especially in the vicinity of a gold dragon with their foresight ability and their cursed power to make those they stare at tell the truth? This is what foiled the majority of the assassination attempts on the dragonriders in the first place,” Hilrodra shot back.
“We will handle the Scarab issue one way or another, but the vote against Morgathia is the real issue that we must address, for our friends in Aserghul will not be happy with an all-out campaign against them, especially after such a large defeat and minimal casualties among the metallics,” Senator Turbic asserted.
“Yes, this will affect their flow of gemstones, dark crystal, and lizard meat from the northern Canaris Twin, thus hampering their war effort and will cut into my merchant fleet’s profit in taking those products to the Morgathians,” Tekend chimed in, concerned about his family shipping business as much as the Enlightened’s illicit plans. Hilrodra then contacted her husband, whose image was projected in the center of the room so he could join the discussion.
“Senator Turbic, I wholeheartedly agree with you on the importance of helping our Morgathian benefactors, but this bothersome Scarab could derail us completely. Senator Tekend, since you feel this issue is of little trouble, you will be the one to address it,” Bilenton ordered.
“Premier, my family took care of our problem with Senator Nebelon and aided in the elimination of the other Shidanese; my family is under more scrutiny,” Tekend protested.
“My dear, Senator Tekend, your family has more experience in these matters, as your father demonstrated in the past. You have more expendable people along with the remaining Scarab assassins on your island, and you of all people know that the rule of assassinations is kill the assassin. If you fail in this, our powerful friends in the east might find another shipping merchant guild to ferry their cargo and your ships could find themselves starting to fall under pirate and saragwin attack. The free pass that they currently enjoy could end, and you would have to request the Alliance fleet for escort, which could also curb many of your less-tha
n-legitimate imports from being transferred,” Bilenton cautioned.
“We and our partners must remain above the fray if we are to bring the weirs and their allies down. You all and Hilrodra will attempt to block or at least slow any movement against the Morgathians. We must also step up the activities of our infiltrated spies and cohorts in the diplomatic corps to undermine the Alliance foreign policy of Reagresh. We will also have our friends in the Truth Saying guilds put out a massive information campaign to discredit the dragons and the weirs with the message that they hoard wealth from the people and could give the comfort crystals for free if they were as generous as they claim. This will create discord among the citizenry and the civilian population,” Bilenton continued.
“I don’t know of the certain power our eastern friends have anymore, especially with their somewhat easy defeat of this supposedly massive and invincible armada,” Senator Katsleez questioned.
“Even in their defeat, they still challenged the weirs and were able to attack Alliance soil, if only in Atlean. This can be used by the Truth Saying guilds as a tool against the weirs in that they were unable to protect the republic, which is a partial truth and can’t be struck down by the truth-saying law. They can then put forth the notion that only through skilled negotiations and understanding, along with targeted capitulation and compromise at the lead of the Enlightened can the Alliance move forward to a stable and prosperous peace,” the young senator Masheam theorized.
“An excellent idea, Senator, you actually might be more than a stable boy within our circle someday,” Bilenton chided the junior Enlightened senator while begrudgingly complimenting him. Terrjok and Tekend quickly glanced at each other as they chortled at Bilenton’s joke at Masheam’s expense, knowing that the schism between those two was in their favor. Masheam politely smiled at the jab, but in the back of his mind, he was planning on Bilenton’s and his wife’s downfall and his rise to power with the help of the Kallysh Arianans and Morgathian backing.
“All right, we have to contact the Morgathians and let them know of what has transpired today, for bad news will only grow worse with time. Senator Tekend, have your sorcerer contact him with his dark crystal,” Bilenton directed.
“What? In the Senate Pyramid? We will be detected,” Tekend worriedly objected.
“No, your sorcerer is on your family’s island; he will direct the images through your seeing crystal. We did not spend tens of thousands of drachlars lining this room with lead, soundproofing, and mithril to keep all conversations secret for nothing,” Bilenton sharply answered.
“Yes, Premier,” Tekend reluctantly knuckled under to Bilenton and called his sorcerer through his seeing crystal. “Remsin, contact Prefect Stalenjh and direct the conversation through my seeing crystal,” Tekend ordered of his sorcerer. Soon Stalenjh’s image appeared beside Bilenton’s as projected by Tekend’s seeing crystal.
“Premier Bilenton, members of Enlightened, I have learned of your failure in preventing a call for war against the empire. This does not please us, especially Queen Tiamat. You have failed in your end of the bargain,” the Talon sorcerer said menacingly.
“Prefect, the defeat of the armada and the capture of a Scarab assassin by the sea elves has tied our hands,” Bilenton apologetically replied.
“Our defeat was the fault of that incompetent Dreadstone, who is now lying at the bottom of the sea off your coast. As for the mongrel assassin, he is your concern, not mine,” Stalenjh retorted. “This means that our scatter-fire plan to systematically spread the Alliance military and the weirs thin must be implemented sooner, and we are not ready. We must destroy them piecemeal or our ultimate goal and yours will not be achieved. With that, you all could find yourselves at the death end of a dragon’s breath, be it metallic or chromatic,” the Covenant sorcerer angrily indicated. This clearly made even the normally calm and calculating Bilenton nervous.
“Prefect, in spite of our missteps and the failure of your subordinate, with what we have discussed here today and Morgathia’s swift retribution and provocation powers and talents, we can go forward with our combined plans to weaken and eventually destroy the accursed weirs and their dragons. We just have to rely on and exploit their one true weakness, and that is their sense of honor and their need to defend the weak. Their love of freedom and fairness will be their undoing. Draw them out to defend all who ask for help and make more request it. Unleash all the disruptive and destructive powers of the empire, but not directly, and you will draw them out individually and be able to destroy them individually,” Senator Masheam quickly but eloquently injected.
“Yes, young insolent one, we can make up for our numbers with the blood and sacrifice of the lesser, like the millions of thoughtless Kallysh and the greedy Kaskars. We will work on our end immediately. Until then, ensure that my interests are adhered to and protected in your senate, if you can handle this simple task. Soon, we will unleash terror across the world, and you will support the weirs in answering it, at least until they are spread across the far lands, and then pull support from the non-weir Alliance military forces while creating dissent against the metallics within the republic. You have your orders, now carry them out,” Stalenjh ended his message as his image disappeared.
“Quick thinking, Masheam. That seemed to at least slake the sorcerer’s anger and will mesh into our plan,” Terrjok complimented the young senator for his articulation and fast thinking as he looked at Bilenton’s image and the scowl on his face. A wide grin came across Masheam’s much-tanned face, almost over-accenting his large ears.
“Then we proceed as we had planned. Tekend, you have your orders; Terrjok, see to it that he succeeds. For the rest of you, keep to your oath of the Enlightened and we will see a new dawn over this land soon,” Bilenton stated as he ended his message. His image then disappeared.
A week after the senate gathering, most of the Weirleaders and many in the Draden regiment and the eastern combined weir division leaders had gathered at Draden Weir for Pekram’s funeral. There were dozens of dragons and hundreds of others meeting at the grassy hillside of the weir’s gentle northern base. This was where the honored dead from the weir had been buried for hundreds if not thousands of years. The Weirleader dragons formed an outer ring around the hundreds of gathered mourners as Mkel walked up to the ceremonial stone podium that overlooked the gentle slope.
“I want to first thank all who are in attendance to honor one of Draden weir’s fallen soldiers. Many of you knew Senior Company Sergeant Pekram, or at least knew of him and his very auspicious reputation. To sum up a man’s life, what can truly be said? Pekram was a man among men, a leader among leaders, a true soldier to be emulated, looked up to, and relied upon. His no nonsense, beat-you-over-the-head, common-sense style of leadership inspired all those who knew him and served with him. Pekram’s favorite saying, I remember, when I first took command of the company was, ‘Lieutenant Mkel, as the commander and Weirleader, you command the company, but I run it.’” Mkel smiled as his statement brought a few chuckles from the crowd. “Even before this, as a young, freshly commissioned platoon leader in the weir infantry company, I remember a senior platoon leader had a disagreement with him and demanded a meeting, to which he said he was going to ‘straighten this senior sergeant out.’ Even though I was the Weirleader and a dragonrider, I would not interfere with this, so the meeting took place. Well, to put it bluntly, the lieutenant’s discussion did not go well, as he misunderstood his rank for Company Senior Sergeant Pekram’s authority. As the lieutenant walked out of the meeting, with his head held low, Platoon Senior Sergeant Lenor asked him how it went. To which his reply was, ‘Don’t ask.’” Mkel paused as the crowd laughed at the story.
He then continued, “Pekram will be missed by many, and the hole left by him will not be easy to fill. As a comrade and leader to many and a friend to many more, he will be missed but never forgotten. We look up to Pekram, a man who was larger
than life, loud, gruff, abrupt, dedicated, loyal, brave, fierce, and honorable. He touched many lives through his leadership and actions. A true lead-by-example sergeant, his oversight of the Draden Weir infantry company and garrison has been the key to the weir’s success and has saved many lives. His bravery against the fire giants and in the defense of Atlean was awe-inspiring. We all owe so much to him and his memory…” Mkel had to pause to regain his composure. “ . . . for he will live on within the weir, its loyal friends, and in our hearts. Guard, salute the fallen,” Mkel finished his speech and ordered the honor guard to commence the salute.
The nine members of the sharpshooter section raised their crossbows after lighting the short wicks at the end of the exploding tips on their bolts. Senior Sergeant Gemorg then gave the order to aim and fire, upon which the nine bolts were sent streaking into the air and detonated almost simultaneously. This was repeated three times, after which Gallanth bellowed out a tremendous roar and unleashed a plasma fireball that darted into the air toward the Severic River. He then fired a sunburst beam that struck the pulsating ball of energy, resulting in a thunderous and brilliant explosion. All of the Weirleader dragons then lifted their heads and bellowed a haunting, crooning sound that sent shivers down the spines of most in attendance.
Gallanth had told Mkel this was the dragons’ sound of sorrow, akin to crying, which dragons almost never did. Tegent’s bugler then played the final honors, and upon completion, the master weir bard sang a lament to Pekram that left many of even the toughest, battle-hardened veterans and dragonriders with tears rolling down their cheeks. As the ceremony ended and Pekram’s body was laid to rest, Mkel invited everyone back to the weir for food and drink. General Becknor walked up to Mkel and put his hand on his shoulder, as he could see the younger dragonrider was very upset but trying not to express it.
Dragon Alliance Dark Storm : Dark Storm Page 61