While they were chatting, Perceval, Shanna, and a rather tall, fit woman with a short blonde ponytail entered the meeting room, laughing away. When the new woman, who looked to be in her early fifties, came through the door, she immediately made a beeline for Emory.
When she got close enough, she extended her hand towards Emory and interrupted softly, "Welcome, Lady Aurelias, it's good to finally meet you. My name is Clarine Violet."
"The pleasure is all mine. My name is Emory," Emory smiled as she shook her hand, "You've got quite the sphere, if your fellow clan members are any comparison."
"Oh? Have you met members of my clan before?" Clarine asked.
"I'm in charge of a discovery mission for the High Collective and have fought and trained with a girl my age from your clan," Emory detailed, "Her name is Nephenee Lavender."
Clarine grinned, "My little sister's girl? Well, that's very high praise from an Aurelias; thank you very much!" She bowed before returning to her seat with her plain off-white robe by Lilina and Shanna while Perceval had taken the seat in between the three ladies and four youngsters. Everyone continued chatting as they waited for the last three members to arrive for almost an hour. Finally, a trio of people, two men and a woman, entered the room, each one very different from the other two. The first man was in the same age group as the young four; he was average height with short, dark red hair and wore a bright purple, nearly magenta, robe. The woman looked to be in the middle group with dark purple hair and a voluptuous figure covered by a similar dark purple robe. She was just a hair shorter than Emory but had the curvy body of a well-endowed woman.
However, Emory immediately recognized the third person, a mountain of a man with thinning brown hair and a large protruding belly that jiggled slightly as he and his crimson robe moved. This man was the leader of the Grado Clan and Gwen's father, strange as it was for he looked like he was old enough to be her grandfather. When he entered, the room became still, and the air grew thick. His nostrils flared when he met eyes with Emory but quickly found his seat without formally acknowledging her presence. The young man followed him while the woman remained frozen as she stared into Emory's eyes before slowly trailing the others to her seat as well.
Once everyone was settled in their seats, Perceval knocked his cane against the floor three times, "Welcome everyone. Thank you for agreeing to move this meeting up a week. Unlike normal, I would like to begin with a piece of new business first, so we can deal with the elephant in the room. As you all can plainly see, the Aurelias Clan has been reborn."
"With a mere child as its leader?" Zephiel interrupted grumpily, "She knows nothing of our ways."
"True, she is new to our ways, but the chair recognizes her blood. And as the last known living Aurelias, she is entitled to the rank of Councilor," Shanna chided him.
"Is she even an adult?" Roy, the young man in magenta robes, echoed, "Perhaps we should test her strength to prove she really is fit for a Councilor."
Emory started forming five tiny orbs on the end of her fingertips, "Does this prove my adulthood, or would you prefer a duel to verify my strength? I have to warn you; I've recently been in combat with the Mantoan, so I don't know if I can pull my punches very well right now." The room fell dead silent as they all took in the meaning behind the orbs on her fingers. If she could cast Contract, she was definitely an adult by the old rules of her clan.
"Quite a plucky Aurelias," Perceval chuckled, "Well, are there any other objections to this girl's position?" One by one, everyone shook their heads. "Very well then. I will let this young woman introduce herself briefly," he motioned to Emory with his hand.
"Hello, my name is Emory Reiss, only daughter of Marty Reiss and Roselin Aurelias," Emory bowed her head slightly, "I grew up on Mars, away from the Council, but I decided it was time to take my mother and aunt's place in this group due to the growing number of threats humanity faces."
Perceval nodded, "And we thank you for finding your way back to us, Lady Emory. Now that we have a full Council again, we are better equipped to deal with the issues before us. On to the first order of business, the war with the Mantoan continues to escalate. Betty sent over some incredible information that I forwarded on to you all."
"Excuse me, Lord Ide," Clarine raised her hand, "Since Lady Aurelias has first-hand battle intel, would it not be more appropriate for her to speak about the enemy?"
"I'd be happy to, Lady Violet. As you all may or may not know, the Mantoan are only one part of a large alliance called the Apleem. So far in the field, I have also encountered one of the other races called the Uthid which look like scorpion centaurs. The one I fought against had the Poison sphere and a body only damaged by magik attacks from a sphere higher than three. My sources tell me that the true Apleem force numbers in the billions," Emory started.
"Your sources?" Zephiel scoffed, "How could the High Collective have such information?"
Emory shook her head, "Not the High Collective. However hard it may be to believe, I came into contact with the Fae during my exploration of the planet Yuzuno. Right now, two Fae leaders are on the planet Temia, solidifying an alliance with the High Collective." A cascade of gossip rumbled through the room with a wide variety of differing opinions.
"Surely, you are exaggerating," Roy cackled, "The Fae have not shown themselves for over a millennium, and you just happened to come across some in your travels. What are the odds of that?" Emory smirked and shrugged before staring right at Roy and snapping her fingers. He immediately cowered at the motion into a strange vapor that seemed to come from nowhere.
"Emory. You know, I shouldn't have taught you that trick. How can I help?" Athos beamed as he appeared behind Roy.
"Athos, sorry for calling you on such short notice," Emory apologized, "This is the Council of Witches, the descendants of the families that first learned magik. Could you please tell them who you are?"
The woman in the dark purple robe, Brunnya scowled, "How can we verify the truth of your claims? You could have." But suddenly she found no sound coming out of her mouth despite her lips moving and her jaw opening.
"My apologies, I am quite busy, so though I am duty-bound to help my pupil, I can't afford to waste time with silly questions," Athos cut her off, "I am Athos, and I am an Elandrian or, as you referred to us a long time ago, a Fae. I was part of the original group that taught your ancestors magik. Most importantly, Emory is humanity's ambassador to our people, and as such I have supplied her with all the need-to-know information to pass along to you. Thank you." And with that, he disappeared once again in a puff of vapor, leaving everyone except Emory in utter shock. As he left, Brunnya could feel her voice returning, so she took a deep breath and slouched into her chair.
"Well, with that testimony in mind, I think it is clear that we need to revisit our stance on supporting the war more aggressively," Perceval cleared his throat after a few moments.
"If we are going to war, we need to fill the Supremacy," Zephiel growled, "We have operated long enough without one. The time is now!"
Perceval grinned, "I actually agree with you for one, Lord Grado. Would anyone like to nominate another Councilor?" Roy raised his hand immediately.
"I propose Lord Grado for Supreme Warlock," Roy stood up quickly, "He has wartime experience and is the strongest of us." As soon as he finished, Lilina raised her hand as well.
"I nominate Lady Aurelias for Supreme Witch. She's actually the strongest and is an Aurelias," Lilina interjected.
"First, we allow an outsider to join the Council. Now, you want an outsider as the Supreme Witch!" Zephiel fumed, "What kind of a mockery is this circus?"
Clarine laughed, "Lord Zephiel, calm yourself. An Aurelias has generally led this Council in the past; it is a fair suggestion."
"Does anyone else have a nomination?" Perceval paused, refocusing the conversation, "If there are no others, let us hear from the nominees why we should vote for them. Lord Zephiel, you may go first."
"As you all know, we will soon face dangers unlike we Witches have ever faced before. I am the only Councilor from the last war who returned alive. In uncertain times like these, you want a leader who represents both power and wisdom; I am that leader. Between my magik talent and long history in the Council, I'm the right candidate to lead us against these issues," Zephiel announced before motioning with his hand to Emory.
Emory cleared her throat, "I'll be the first to admit that I'm new to the ways of the Council; however, I'm confident that I am more than capable of leading this incredible group of people. While the Council sat here, I went to the stars on an exploration mission for our people. When humanity reconnected with the Fae, I was there, fostering and caring for the budding partnership. And when the enemy came to humanity's doorstep, my allies and I were the ones that sent them packing. Make no mistake, if I have to save humankind alone, I will do what must be done to survive. I didn't come here for your outstretched hand; I came to offer you mine."
Murmurs echoed in the meeting hall because, without realizing it, Emory's eyes glowed like gold while she was speaking. Still, for a girl her age to speak with such strong conviction, it was unbelievable. After all, the closest to her in age were still more than ten years her senior with three of them more than a century older.
"Well said by both of you," Perceval encouraged, "Everyone who wants to vote for Lord Grado to become the next Supreme Warlock, please raise your hands." Brunnya, Roy, and Zephiel's hand raised instantly followed by two sheepish hands from Cath and Elffin.
"Okay, you can put your hands down. All those for Lady Aurelias, please raise your hands," Perceval said again. Clarine, Emory, Lilina, Perceval, and Shanna all raised their hands together.
"I'm abstaining," Galle gulped as the others turned to him in disbelief, "I can't decide who would be a better Supreme. It's better for this go to a duel."
Shanna nodded, "With a tie vote, Lord Galle is right; either one of you can admit defeat or we can have a duel between the two candidates. Am I correct to assume neither of you wish to admit defeat?" Zephiel glared and shook his head while Emory remained smiling but shook her head as well.
"Very well, let us pause our discussions and setup the arena," Perceval grinned as he stood up, "Councilors, please follow me."