Mortance: A Miscarriage of Hope

Angus Ⅴ

Six of the seven members of Sha Orion's council awaited my knights and I as we stepped into his great chamber. It was as grand as it had been just days ago, only this time it wasn't so empty. The sky was sunny above us, and the chamber was brightly lit. Ser Fred and Ser Robert entered just behind me, wearing the same blue, white, and gold garb as I, just less grand. The elves took Supremacy before we entered. I would've protested against it if Ser Robert hadn't advised me not to.

Sha Orion had his witch advisors seated closest to him. The young one was on the left, the ageless one on the right. General's Ford and Flora were also seated to the left, while an imposing elf I could only assume to be Lord Commander Steel sat on the right, an empty chair next to him. Their seats were all raised above us, all in a row. It was as if we were meant to kneel.

"Knights of Sacreon," Amarantha the ageless witch spoke first. "Kneel in the presence of the great and powerful Sha Orion."

"I will kneel to an ally," I said. "But that pact has not yet been made."

"You will-"

"We will get nothing done by arguing over who kneels," Sha Orion interrupted. His voice echoed across the chamber. "Prince Angus is right, we are not yet allies." He turned to me. "Let us fix that. Tell me why. Why should I ally my forces with yours."

"Because you must," I told him. "Viri is far larger than either of us. Only together can we beat them."

"As you say."

"Viri is your threat, not ours," Lord Commander Steel argued.

"Do you think they would simply stop at Sacreon's southern border?" Ser Robert asked.

"They would not," I agreed.

"No," the young witch called Krystal agreed. "But they would be weaker when they reached it." She smiled to figure that out. The elf girl had a beautiful smile.

Sha Orion smiled back at her. "As always, there are two sides to this issue. Both have their benefits, and both have their flaws. As a leader, I must choose the better path for Elsinct," he frowned in concentration. "If I choose the path of war now. We will be dragged into a conflict of immeasurable scale. Good elves will die for your cause. Mine own people will be slaughtered by the thousands. And when it's over, and Viri is defeated, we shall be forced to take up arms against our allies. More death, more destruction.

"But if we let you fight Viri alone, the victor of that war will be an even greater enemy to us. The enemy will end up right at our doorstep. Innocents will die. I cannot have that, I will not have that. The path in which my citizens survive is the path I must lead Elsinct along. Even if this is that path, I am not such a fool as to believe we will survive the first stage of it unscathed."

"You would not," I agreed. "War knows no boundaries or borders."

"War does not begin without reason," General Flora pointed out. "An alliance between Elsinct and Sacreon would surely provoke the vir. Why should we deliberately bring the Thousand-Year War back to Ert?"

"Right, of course," the sha nodded. "Do you plan to attack Viri, Angus Kingson?"

"Not at the moment," I admitted.

"Then tell me, Prince of Sacreon," Sha Orion leaned forward on his chair. "What have we to fear from the vir? What bloody war is there that we should make allies with you?"

"You've heard the prophecies, have you not?" I said. "For the first time since King Richard the Conqueror's coronation, the two moons will be full on Ascenday. The end of the Thousand-Year War will begin. It is written. There is no avoiding this now."