Blood And Stone

Chapter 15: The Council's Approval

A couple of days had passed since Neri discussed heading to Sitharu with Lyric and she often stopped to speak with her about it. Neri could see the unease and worry in the young girl's eyes but she did her best to try and comfort the girl, assuring her that everything would be alright. She often reminded her that she had not received permission from the Council yet so, she could not head into the sacred lands anyways. To do so without permission would essentially be an act of war against the Council, something that Neri had no desire to do.

Neri sat in her room, perched quietly at her desk as she ran down the list of rents due from her tenants and who owed her for food and drink. Several were behind on payments, mostly the King's guard that often came to stay. It was no secret that the King was not willing to pay his guard or any of his men at arms what they deserve so, Neri took pity on the poor fools. She knew that most of them had been forced into the work as they owed the King substantial amounts of gold and were unable to pay. So, she gave them discounted rooms and food but, some of them took it too far. She would always have pity and help those that needed it but when they spent their coin on a piece of ass from the streets instead of their debts to her, Neri found shit quickly lost patience. As any generous businessman or woman would. Especially since her hunter had fallen ill and was unable to bring in as much meat as she requested to give them a hearty meal. She considered going out on her own hunt to see if she could at least bring some squirrels or rabbits to baby through the evening meal. Perhaps she could convince Lyric to join her. She needed the practice.

Shaking her away from her work, an ear splitting caw erupted through her window followed by a flash of dark feathers and flapping wings. She gave a started little yelp as the bird landed directly in front of her, nearly toppling her ink that sat open beside her ledger. She quickly snatched up the inkwell and moved it, swiftly placing the stopper back in it's place. This was Xandra, the bird Neri had sent to The Winged Council. Neri felt her heart begin to pound in her chest, her pulse vibrating at the edges of her vision. Neri knew that within the scroll attached to this bird's leg was likely what would spark the beginning of a war.

What she hadn't explained to Lyric was why her life was so important. Lyric was not just a simple servant as many who knew her often believed. The girl was not very learned as she was intended not to be in her place with the farmer but that was not because she was stupid. Undoubtedly, the girl was incredibly intelligent and gifted with thinking and planning. That was why they needed to hide her. Lyric likely did not know that they resided in one of the Nine World connected by the Life Tree. They lived in Jötunheimr, the world filled with the bloodlines of the gods with a population of humans that had been brought to tame the powers of the gods. It would be alot to explain to a girl like Lyric at the current time but she was one of the Jötun. Her parents had carried the bloodline and lost their lives in the Final War between the sister cities Ishkatell and Ishkaveil. Having never been given the chance or the knowledge of her powers, Lyric likely had no knowledge of them whatsoever.

Lyric was a descendant of the God Hræsvelgr. He was able to take the shape of a large eagle. He often sat at the very edge of the Heavens and provided their world with wind as he beat his wings about. This wind could be helpful or harmful depending on what his purpose for flapping his wings were at the time. His children mated quite often with humans, as many of the Gods often did. His descendants would often discover the ability to transform into smaller eagles, control the winds, even the ability to manipulate the air around them to do their bidding. Hræsvelgr did not have many descendants, as he was not a great fan of the human race, believing their many flaws would taint and ruin his self-proclaimed perfection. Because of thoughts like this, The Winged Council was created. They were to keep watch over all of the old Gods' children and descendants, protecting the bloodlines and assuring their survival as time passed.