Chapter 42: Difficult Decisions

The indecision of the Atenex leadership is a recipe for disaster. The neighbours around Atene’s small enclave are in turmoil. The dangers posed by the ambitious leaders of Merope and Thurn need the Atenex people uniting and preparing. While military invasion may not be imminent, subjugation can come in other forms. Elves originally from Atene already provide cheap labour for Thurnian factories and mines. Those same factories and mines supply the Thurnian war machine currently locked in a civil war. The Merope senate has dreams of territorial gains at the expense of its neighbours. Even if those threats don’t directly endanger Atene, the risk of scores of refugees arriving in Atene is higher now than at any time since our peoples emerged from the Potiora hibernation chambers.

It’s three weeks since our exploration party of ten arrived back in Atene. Since then we’ve received indirect news about the troubles in Thurn. That news is thanks to a message relayed from the Mariner settlement by Marianne. She travelled to the Merope Potiora to use the ability of the five strange Potiora machines to send messages to each other. When I visited the machine called Dioxippe in the Atene Potiora, I discovered Marianne’s message waiting for me.

“Marianne says that Captain Ortolan returned to the Mariner settlement a week after we left,” I tell Cassandra, Ikaroa and Nyree while they work in the Halls of Ancestors. “However, he wasn’t there to pick up the banished Elf Maidens and return them to Thurn. He abandoned another twenty two adolescent elves expelled from Thurn. The other news he carried wasn’t any more promising. The Chief Procurator’s coup has secured control of Thurn city, but those loyal to the Emperor still roam the surrounding countryside. The captain could only repeat rumours about the Emperor’s whereabouts, although it seems as though he’s still alive. Meanwhile Thurn’s ‘western’ cities have declared independence.”

Akenehi has taken my earlier warning more seriously than the Atenex council. From her group of Thurnian Elf Maidens, she has sent Horowai and Cena42 southwest to Makaziyamto to assess the situation in Merope. It’s unlikely that the two elves can do more than offer token support to Jalene and her people. However, anything they can do to delay the Merope’s senate’s dreams of conquest will buy us valuable time. At worst, the elves presence may provide an advanced warning of any invasion.

The risk to Atene from the southeast is more manageable. The Phebe’s city and Potiora is on the other side of a high mountain range. The steep winding path between Atene and Phebe travels through dense jungle, making it an effective barrier against invasion. However, the Phebes have other means of weakening the Atenex. Like the Merope, they claim to have a cure for the poor fertility of Atenex males. Whether it is true or not is anybody’s guess. It appears the Phebes have lured around thirty male Atenex to their city, supposedly to receive treatment. Their absence further distorts the gender balance among the elves in Atene. I would be very wary of accepting any form of medication from the Phebes after witnessing the problematic side effects of their potions on the Hrill and Tribu races,

“What are we going to do?” I muse to Cassandra. “The elves and Thurnians need to unite if we are to counter the threat posed by the Merope senate. Instead we see Thurn fragmenting into warring groups, and nothing but indecision from the Atenex.”

“That’s perhaps a reflection of those who have lead our races until now,” replies Cassandra. “Even my father has never truly ruled all of Thurn. Like Kahu, Akenehi and many others, the abilities of our leaders are deficient when it comes to ruling large numbers of people. Perhaps that’s what Marianne and Dioxippe meant when they said that our intended leaders were supposed to be roused in a second awakening from hibernation. We’ve witnessed the difference in how the Merope are ruled by their imposed leaders.”

“But waking the rest of our populations is a two-edged sword,” I reply. “How will the newly roused people assimilate into our societies? Our forebears are long dead. They were the ones who were educated and trained alongside those we intend to awaken now. The new arrivals will expect to be in the majority, only to discover they are only a small minority. We could end up fanning the flames of a civil war.”

“Yes, but something needs to be done,” adds Ikaroa, who continues to spend time doing research with Cassandra. “Kahu is out of her depth with all this, and the rest of the Rangatira simply go along with her decisions. The pioneers of the Atenex, Thurnian and Hrill races were all roused because Dioxippe rebelled against its instructions when none of our races were deemed suitable to inherit this land according to our ancestors’ criteria. However, Dioxippe also says that the failure to awaken the rest of our populations was entirely our own forebears’ decision. Maybe that choice needs to be reconsidered.”

“We are assuming that Dioxippe can rouse the remainder of our populations after all this time,” says Cassandra. “And can all three races be woken, or just one?”

Cassandra and Ikaroa take it upon themselves to research whether Dioxippe is able to awaken more of our populations, and if so, how. Meanwhile I go to help Drew and Seamus in the ‘pussy den’. The departure of nearly half of the Atenex males for the Phebe’s city, has left many more elven women in need of a source of sex. The rampant sexual needs of female Atenex is at complete odds with the response they receive from their males. Atenex males are more interested in possession and control over their females, whereas females simply want to fuck.

In addition to the Atene elves, the Thurnian Elf Maidens belonging to Akenehi’s group have also started frequenting the pussy den. Fucking so many eager elven women is a pleasant but demanding task. At least keeps everyone happy. That’s more than can be said for Kahu when she emerges from the latest meeting of the Rangatira.

“A gathering of all Atenex leaders is to be held here in three week’s time,” says Kahu. “A decision about our response to the threat from the Merope must be decided by all.”

While I understand Kahu’s desire to canvass opinion from all the Atenex settlements, a further three week delay could be crucial. Kahu’s time-frame is unnecessarily slow. It would take less than a week to get a message to even the most remote Atenex settlement, and for its leader to travel here.

“What about Akenehi and the independent Thurnian Elf Maidens?” I ask. “Are they going to be invited to your gathering?”

“No,” replies Kahu. “Only Atenex conceived by an Atenex male will be represented at the gathering. The Rangatira is concerned that our racial purity is being put at risk.”

Hogwash! Although Kahu makes her decision to exclude Akenehi sound reasonable, she knows that the racial purity of Atenex is never at risk. The biology of all Potiora races prevents any cross-breeding. Reproduction between different Potiora races always results in a perfect clone of the mother.

Kahu enlists Nyree’s and Ikaroa’s help in determining how to go about awakening the hibernating people deep below us. To some extent Cassandra and Ikaroa have already established the means of doing so. Kahu doesn’t prohibit Cassandra’s or my involvement in Ikaroa’s and Nyree’s research, but we are deliberately excluded when they present their findings to the Rangatira. The four of us know that any awakening is going to be fraught with problems.

Removing the stone sleeve around the Atene Potiora tower will be a major job in itself. Dioxippe believes that simply removing a segment near the metal door half way up the tower will be sufficient. However, reaching that section will be difficult, and the stone wall above the hole will need stabilising. Fortunately, Asima37, one of Akenehi’s group, has previously worked for a stone mason, and Kahu agrees that we may consult with her. It’s a fortuitous decision as Asima37 is able to suggest a means of carrying out the work.