King Warren Ainos sat in the rather modest seat that had been built for him at the head of the table in the castle council meeting room. His bearded chin rested between his thumb and forefingers, which absently would slide down his beard as he stared intently at the map before him. The map was of the entire kingdom of Pantos, and across it had been set several black markers that represented the troubles that had spread throughout his kingdom. This meeting was a secret one, one his wife and his two most trusted officials were in attendance. His wife, Queen Aria, was an accomplished diplomat and knew the ins and outs of every kind of political situation, as well as the repercussions any actions taken in his kindgom might have. She was a wise and noble woman. The Lord General Feyne was also there, a strongly built man with graying hair that had one been a burning red. He was in full steel plate armor, excluding his helmet. Lord Feyne was the King's closest friend and a master tactician. His war and battle experience were invaluable, and his opinion was highly regarded by the king. Finally, there was Lady Ophelia, one of the most powerful wizards in the land. She had a knowledge of arcane lore and magical influence that was unmatched anywhere in the kingdom, or at least, she claimed as much. She was by far the youngest of those gathered, being only in her mid thirties, but her mind was supremely sharp and attentive, accompanied by a no nonsense attitude and a fierce loyalty to Queen Aria, who had appointed her as advisor to the king.
The King stared for a moment longer at the large map. Two months before, when they'd first began keeping track of the strange happenings and dark dealings that had begun to plague his kingdom, there had only be a few scattered marks here and there. Now, only two months later, the map was completely peppered with black marks. Of course, they had been keeping track of the rumors and tales through the use of Ophelia's magic and discernment of what could be discounted combined with the Queen's intelligence network and the Lord General's knowledge of the land. It was quite possible that many of the black markers represented troubles that had begun as a side effect of another mark, ones that were deeper than the rest. Still, it was impossible to keep track of everyone one of them, or to tell which ones were likely to be the most important. That was part of the reason they'd decided to assemble this group of magic users.
At first, the King had been suspicious of the idea of giving the fate of the land into the hands of magic wielding strangers. However, Ophelia had proposed the idea and stood by it fervently and the Lord General had pointed out that the king's men could not take care of all of the problems either, firstly because they would not have the discernment needed to solve the problems and secondly because such a large number of the king's men roaming the countryside literally looking for trouble would cause panic, or worse, resistance or rebellion. The Queen had supported the Lord General's points and so the King had given in, giving the order for the most powerful magic users that lived close enough to the palace in the capitol of Hiran to be summoned to the castle.
Now, only hours from the time of the meeting with the magic users, King Warren looked up at his General, his gaze shifting from him to the Queen and he said, "So then, when should we expect the first of these magic users to arrive?" The Queen smiled gently and put her hand on her husband's arm. "Patience, my lord. Of the 12 letters that were sent, 7 replied by letter and two by other means. Ophelia has assured me that those who did not reply are likely to show up anyway, simply because of the nature of the summons." She looked up at Ophelia, seeking confirmation as a slight worry in her eyes, but it vanished when Ophelia nodded stoically and the Queen turned back to her husband. "The first of them should be arriving any minute, my King. When we sent the letters with the summons, Ophelia included a small rune that would serve as a token to be shown to the guards. I've instructed the guards at the gate that anyone who comes to the gates bearing one of these runes should be allowed inside and escorted here." The King nodded thoughtfully at his wife, then turned back to the map, his eyebrows drawn together into a worried frown. "Let's only hope that they are able to carry out this task we shall ask of them."
The King stared for a moment longer at the large map. Two months before, when they'd first began keeping track of the strange happenings and dark dealings that had begun to plague his kingdom, there had only be a few scattered marks here and there. Now, only two months later, the map was completely peppered with black marks. Of course, they had been keeping track of the rumors and tales through the use of Ophelia's magic and discernment of what could be discounted combined with the Queen's intelligence network and the Lord General's knowledge of the land. It was quite possible that many of the black markers represented troubles that had begun as a side effect of another mark, ones that were deeper than the rest. Still, it was impossible to keep track of everyone one of them, or to tell which ones were likely to be the most important. That was part of the reason they'd decided to assemble this group of magic users.
At first, the King had been suspicious of the idea of giving the fate of the land into the hands of magic wielding strangers. However, Ophelia had proposed the idea and stood by it fervently and the Lord General had pointed out that the king's men could not take care of all of the problems either, firstly because they would not have the discernment needed to solve the problems and secondly because such a large number of the king's men roaming the countryside literally looking for trouble would cause panic, or worse, resistance or rebellion. The Queen had supported the Lord General's points and so the King had given in, giving the order for the most powerful magic users that lived close enough to the palace in the capitol of Hiran to be summoned to the castle.
Now, only hours from the time of the meeting with the magic users, King Warren looked up at his General, his gaze shifting from him to the Queen and he said, "So then, when should we expect the first of these magic users to arrive?" The Queen smiled gently and put her hand on her husband's arm. "Patience, my lord. Of the 12 letters that were sent, 7 replied by letter and two by other means. Ophelia has assured me that those who did not reply are likely to show up anyway, simply because of the nature of the summons." She looked up at Ophelia, seeking confirmation as a slight worry in her eyes, but it vanished when Ophelia nodded stoically and the Queen turned back to her husband. "The first of them should be arriving any minute, my King. When we sent the letters with the summons, Ophelia included a small rune that would serve as a token to be shown to the guards. I've instructed the guards at the gate that anyone who comes to the gates bearing one of these runes should be allowed inside and escorted here." The King nodded thoughtfully at his wife, then turned back to the map, his eyebrows drawn together into a worried frown. "Let's only hope that they are able to carry out this task we shall ask of them."