Dawn of the Unconquered Sun (Part 8 of the Ignaius-Saga)

The Plan

As no one got to bed early - except maybe for Variel, who did not sleep - the meeting with the Lord-Magistrate did not happen in the morning and everyone seemed to accept this as the natural order of things.

Tanier decided that he could get used to sleeping in. Maybe.

As the main purpose was to get the man to talk open and drop as much of the diplomatic smoke screen as possible, Tanier allowed only Variel and Vis to accompany him. After greeting the man, he opened the discussion and tried to set the tone by not beating around the bush: "Lord-Magistrate, I know you are wondering what brought us to Aurora after such a long time of mutual silence. We are here to fight the horrible crimes of the Disciples of Ignaius. Recent events lead them to transfer their madness to my country and I am here to fight them on their home turf - and with their own weapons."

The lord-magistrate listened quietly as the king spoke, then stood and began to move. He stepped out from behind the crescent-shaped table that he occupied by himself, removing it as a barrier between himself and the three men standing not far away. This wasn't a setting for a relaxed discussion with wine and pastries, so no one had been offered a seat. Now, the Auroran leader was standing, too.

"I must say, Your Majesty, the tales that preceded your arrival caused quite a stir, even for me." He spread his arms in a grand gesture. "The king of the southern realm, with power and authority unchallenged and lovers beyond counting!" He faced Vis. "Visorro-Kior: son of Kior-Rovik and Airy-Anaya, whose tragic murders were felt all throughout the east!"

Variel felt his stomach sink to the floor when the lord-magistrate turned to focus on him. The man bent at the waist, as if he wanted to get eye-level or even lower with the shortest man in the room.

"And of course, the king's newest favorite and the young lord who will be the first man to ever call himself consort to a king. The stories I have heard say he is a boy as beautiful as any fair maiden, with eyes as deep and blue as the sea, hair like the purest of silver, and skin as white as the southern sands. A boy who rarely speaks, who never disobeys, and who carries the name and the power of the legend we have all come to fear."

Variel wanted to melt into the stonework.

Kaen-Ontaro straightened up and looked to Tanier again. "I must admit that I am not sure whether to be honored, or to fear for the very survival of my people. Your arrival here is a glorious and historic occasion, but his - " He pointed to Variel " - is a terrifying omen."

The king smiled, when he heart Variel's praise in such beautiful words, but he was completely down to earth again when he answered: "I understand your concerns, but have you and your people arranged yourself so much with the atrocities committed in Ignaius name that you are not interested in the best chance offered to you to stop them ever since all of this started? In other words: The best chance in centuries?"

"Believe me when I say that destroying the Disciples of Ignaius would be the best thing to happen to my people in a thousand years, but forgive me if I must call your priorities and your methods into question." He clasped his hands in front of himself. "You come here because the Disciples came to your doorstep. They have been trouble for you for - what - two or three months. My people have suffered at their hands for centuries, and now you come here with the object of their desire at your side and announce that you will stop them when Aurora has failed time and time again."

Vis had taken up his usual conversational pose, arms folded and a slight lean. He now spoke up. "Apologies, Lord-Magistrate, but this 'object of their desire' is a powerful weapon, a weapon Aurora does not possess. This is the chance His Majesty speaks of."

"A powerful weapon that the Disciples will stop at nothing to acquire," Kaen-Ontaro pointed out. "This battle you intend to fight - fire with fire, as it were - may, in the end, burn down Aurora. As Aurora is an island - albeit a very large one - those fires would not touch your people. Thus, in your quest to stop those who have recently offended you, how am I to expect that you will give consideration to people who are not your subjects and who have had nothing to do with your realm for so long? Please understand my skepticism and caution in trusting you."