Chapter 10: A Council

The new Council Hall in the Royal Palace was much better suited for discussions, Macro found. King Odar had re-dedicated one of the rarely used audience rooms. There was no throne, just a large horseshoe-shaped table that could easily seat thirty people. King Odar sat in an upholstered chair at the apex, and his closest advisers had seats to his left and right.

The Queens, starting with Regula, flanked him to the left side, whilst the Princes sat to his right. The Royal Ministers sat next to the Princes and a few select people sat next to the Queens. Most of those were military commanders and other officials.

The King spoke up without much ado. He remained seated, and he spoke in a matter-of-fact way.

"My loyal friends, I have convened you today to discuss with you the process of rebuilding Tanitsar after the ravages of the last months. Before we begin with plans for the future, we have to deal with the recent past.

"In the recent fighting a large number of people on both sides perished. Among the dead I mourn the loss of Elbar of Clonal. Regardless of what most of his followers saw in him, I considered him a friend. His death leaves us the poorer.

"Botho of Clonal was my adversary for most of thirty years. Yet, he was open in his beliefs and I respected him as an adversary. So were others who rose against me and died for their beliefs. All those who perished I mourn, especially those I had to fell with my own hand.

"Many loyal soldiers and servants deserve the gratitude of my house. I name my old comrade, the Duke. I name Commander Ronan and I name the soldiers of my Guard. I also want to express the pride I feel for the young cadets of the Academy who joined our ranks so bravely and cheerfully. Their steadfastness and good discipline are a wonderful promise for our future. Among those cadets, one stood out. During the entire campaign against the rebels she proved herself time and again. Cup Bearer, show in Anais, Daughter of Ronan!"

Ronan was beaming with pride while the cup bearer led in Anais, back in her cadet uniform. She walked into the centre of the horseshoe table and stood with her head bowed.

"Anais, Daughter of Ronan, I find you worthy of distinction for your bravery and dedication to your duties. There will be no final exam at the Academy this year. You all had your final exam on the battle field and you passed with the highest honours. For your outstanding service, you, Anais, will join the Second Column of the Guards as Column Vice-Leader. Lamas!"

Lamas stood and presented Anais with a black bundle.

"Take this uniform from me, Anais. As Commander of the Royal Guard, I welcome you!"

Anais bravely fought the tears of pride and she swallowed a few times before she was able to respond in the prescribed form.

"I thank you, my King, for this high honour. I am ready to give my life for you and your family!"

Odar smiled benevolently. He picked up a large, heavy pouch and placed it on the table before him. It sounded distinctly like gold coins.

"Take this, Anais, and distribute it among all the cadets who fought at my side on Tanitsar's walls!"

Anais bowed. "I thank you, my King!"

The cup bearer then led her from the room whilst the men and women of the council congratulated Ronan. Next, the King cleared his throat and his council fell silent.

"Let us talk about the future now. We need to settle the issue of rivalling pretenders. There is but one scion of Clonal left, the Noble Alana. Whoever will marry her may claim the throne for himself and his children, and there are still many followers, secret and open, who will hold Alana for the rightful heir to the throne.

"I already said that I considered Elbar a friend. We had discussed this problem in private, and in private we had reached a conclusion that would have satisfied both sides. Unfortunately, old Botho did not see the wisdom behind our agreement and this set off the uprising.

"A resolution can still be reached, though. Macro, my son, I ask you to accept the Noble Alana as your wife in marriage, to merge the Houses of Odar and Clonal and to bring peace to the lands."

Before Macro could respond, Regula spoke up. "Macro is promised to Thesia, whom we have all come to respect and admire, and who has worked tirelessly to support us."

Odar nodded. "It would seem unfair to Thesia to be Second Wife behind Alana who, at least in name, was part of the rebellion. Yet, I can already hear the outcry of Clonal's followers if the daughter of Elbar had to cede the distinction of First Wife to a 'slave girl', as they would call Thesia."

Lamas raised his hand. "Before the rebellion there would have been no question that Alana could claim the primacy over Thesia. But the rebellion happened and we cannot give the impression that we reward the House of Clonal. After all, Eorl was a cousin of Elbar, and he murdered almost a hundred freed slaves in his rampage in the North."

"Macro, my son, what do you say?" the King asked.

"What Queen Regula and my brother said all has merit. I am promised to Thesia. I believe firmly that she would accept to be my Second Wife because she is intelligent enough to see the benefits for the realm. I also state freely that I feel respect for the Noble Alana. I believe that I can grow to care for her with time. There are two points, however that I want to raise. The first one is in keeping with what my brother Lamas said. Alana was a figurehead of the rebellion, even if unwillingly. My First Wife will be the one I trust the most and I already trust Thesia completely. I cannot know yet whether I will ever trust Alana that much. But the second point is more important. Thesia is the one I love. Before I shall make her yield to another woman I shall renounce my claim of succession and serve my brother Lamas faithfully for the rest of my life."

There was complete silence in the Council Hall. King Odar smiled at his son. "What about the angry outcry of Clonal's followers?"

"I don't care about them. I can accept Alana as my Second Wife and I shall honour her with words and deeds. We must make it known however that things in Tanitsar have changed. The old privileges of the nobility are void and what better a way to make that point than to place Thesia before the scion of Clonal?"