Chapter 25

“Sol Syntrivon, of planet Mercury!”

I was surprised and somewhat glad to see that I wasn’t the only one unfamiliar with the name, judging by the reactions of the members of the Council. All of their faces suggested that the name meant nothing to them and thus didn’t understand the gravity of Eirini’s words, nor could they fathom the trepidation in his voice.

Nova was once again the person to take the lead. He said, “Forgive us, Eirini of clan Henosis, but I am afraid that we aren’t aware of the individual you speak of. I don’t know if you are aware of this fact but we have been keeping ourselves away from the matters of the Four Rings for centuries now!”

Eirini gained a contemplative look at that statement. He looked around the chamber, probably trying to determine the validity of Nova’s statements, before nodding to himself, seemingly having arrived at a decision.

“If what you say is true, councilman, then I am afraid that a lot of things have changed in the Four Rings over the past few centuries. And not all for the better.”

Before he could continue on with his tale, I couldn’t help but interject, “I am sorry but what is this ‘Four Rings’ you speak of?”

Eirini took the initiative to answer my question. “I think I would be the best person to answer the question, David. The Four Rings are a group, a coalition if you will, of the four planets nearest to the sun in our system.”

Samuel interrupted before he could explain any further. “Why would planets need to have a coalition?”

Eirini gave him an exasperated look that looked really out of place on his face before saying, “The same reason I am sure nations on your planet have coalitions or treaties. Benefits!”

Samuel nodded stoically, although the faint colour in his cheeks gave away his embarrassment. Eirini ignored this, however, saying, “Anyway, Four Rings is a coalition of the planets which is pretty tentative in nature. It’s a threadbare agreement, to say the least, especially since Earth has been actively avoiding the other members of the Four Rings for centuries now. Now I find out that your Council hasn’t even kept up with the events of the Four Rings, which is going to make my explanation even more difficult, seeing as I am not aware of the events which led to the rise of the tyrant that is Sol Syntrivon!”

The Council members gained a flustered look after his words as he had basically called them out for being uninformed. I was almost certain that I saw the usually unflappable Nova squirm in his seat. He didn’t let it deter him though, “Our lack of information is inexcusable, Eirini, but I hope you can understand the circumstances that led to it. We were beset by monsters on all sides and couldn’t hope to hold them back while also maintaining our relations with the rest of the Four Rings. After that, it was a matter of consolidating our own planet rather than expanding our reach.”

The other Council members nodded along with him, fully agreeing with Nova. Shadow continued, “Last time we had any communication with the Four Rings, we had heard that the entire system was completely at peace, with an unprecedented level of prosperity. In our moment of ultimate crisis, we could curse our luck that our alliance with the Four Rings wasn’t more than just words. We could have really used the aid such an alliance would have provided.”

Eirini nodded at that before saying, “I am sure that necessary aid would have been provided to you, Council member. We didn’t know of such dark times on your planet, otherwise, we would have lent a helping hand regardless of the terms of the alliance. A threat posed by monsters on any planet means a threat to the entire alliance.”

I was struck by the passionate words of Eirini and it seemed, so were the Council. They all had grave looks on their faces and there was silence throughout the room, as the Council members bowed their heads in memory of their fallen brethren. At that moment, Eirini struck me as a true leader, one who could inspire loyalty in his people. I couldn’t help but want to emulate him sometime in the future.

Nova broke the silence by saying, “What’s done is done! We can only grieve and learn from our past failings and move on so that we aren’t forced to repeat the mistakes of yesterday!”

Eirini gave a solemn nod at that before saying, “Wise words, Councillor! However, while you were consolidating the position of Untethered here in your world, the rest of the Four Rings were fated to be thrown into despairing times. Don’t get me wrong, what you guys said was true, for a while.”

“Our alliances grew stronger. Trade routes were opened up. Agreements were signed. It really looked like we were about to welcome an age of peace and prosperity, an unbreakable alliance, if you will. I was just a kid then, born in those prosperous times, never knowing the struggles of war or famine like my ancestors had.”

He had gradually gained a forlorn look on his face as he continued his tale as if he was remembering those carefree times. For a while, there was silence in the chamber, as no one wished to bring up the topic of why the era of peace ended.

Eventually, he continued, “Alas, the thought of ever-continuing peace was a dream. In the end, it was our own hubris that took over. Secure in our knowledge that peace had spread through the system that we didn’t look out for any threats that could disrupt this harmony. And that proved to be our undoing.”

I couldn’t help but interject at this point, asking, “I am sorry to ask this but why didn’t you try to contact our planet when this era of prosperity ruled over the Four Rings. I mean, surely as a member of the Four Rings ourselves, we were also liable to enter the various agreements you put in place so that we too could reap the benefits.”

I looked towards Eirini, expecting him to answer but to my surprise, it was Nova who said, “We were offered the chance to enter into the various trade deals and alliances that had been forged within the Four Rings. But our leader decided that it wasn’t the right time for us to enter such an alliance. We were in a position of weakness and our leader didn’t think we could offer anything meaningful to the alliance. So he judged it would be prudent that we concentrated on improving our own state first before accepting any deals from the other planets.”