Song of the Ascendant

16. The Mirzali Compact

Twenty-fourth of Harbinger

At the centre of Narandir was an expansive clearing that had once been used as a city for the elves. Mishtar had constructed massive towers to concentrate the clan and assert his power over them. One had been shattered in Ashelath's attack, and the elves had torn down the others in the weeks after Belkai had seized power. What remained were scattered remains of those towers, as well as two distinct graves. On the west was a flourishing flowerbed. Just off to the side was a patch of disturbed earth, a sword planted at its head. Mishtar had been buried there, a last mercy to one who had been so tragically misled. What caught the eye, however, was the broad patch of blackened earth with a single rose growing in its midst; the last resting place of Ashelath, the Father of Serpents. It was no accident that Belkai sat on a piece of rubble with that earth behind her, a visual testimony to her blood-bought authority. Davos and Lithmae sat to her right, Brimur and Arak to her left. Sashai and Lasiri sat beside Barilax, the leader of the Ikari who had travelled with Arak. They werejoined by two Wexton Spellcasters who had arrived during the night. It wasn't an immense gathering, but Belkai knew that it represented an alliance that had not been seen for centuries, if at all.

"Lord Belkai, I confess, I did not believe the stories," said the senior Spellcaster, a serious-looking Wexton named Raman, as he looked past her to Ashelath's ashes. "It did not seem possible."

"It never was," Belkai told him. "But a new age is dawning I am glad Lumina chose to side with us and send you."

"To be honest with you, we haven't heard from Lumina." He smiled sadly. "She has been silent for too long, it seems. But the princess Eiréne requested that we stand by you, and she is not to be refused."

"I did not think that the princess cared much for our affairs," Belkai said. "I have heard nothing from Wexburg."

"Princess Eiréne is a good friend of our school," the Spellcaster replied. "When she heard what happened in Lustria, she demanded that we come to your aid. She is not to be refused, regardless of her age. Wexburg will stand with you, despite the king's misgivings."

"I am grateful," Belkai assured him. "Though you may not be so willing once you hear what I have to say."

All eyes were on her as she began to speak, recounting events from the death of Ashelath until now, though she only gave the barest outline of what she had found within the dwarven ruin. By the end, Barilax was leaning forward with a grin on her normally dour face.

"So we need to kill some dwarves," she growled. "I would be happy to oblige. Especially if they serve the one who has twice defiled our Dominion."

Raman was more cautious in his response. "This is concerning, Belkai. If the Mirzali Compact has truly been violated, then Wexburg must go to war. But administratively, Nimura is our land. Our people live in the shadow of the Five Mountains. All their lives are at risk if we march east."

"All our lives are forfeit if the dwarves gain their prize," Brimur told him. "Their forefathers buried this secret for a reason. If Delorax gets his hands on such power, the results would be catastrophic. This is not about our earthly kingdoms. This is about a complete shift in the cosmic power structure. Nothing will escape unscathed."

"Then what do you propose?" Raman asked.

"Narandir cannot survive a determined assault by dwarven armies," Belkai announced. "The elves are too few, and even with the Ikari and the Orders sending some to our aid, it will not be enough. The dwarves once ruled these lands with an iron fist. We have no idea what might they can bring to bear upon us.

"I have sent messengers to every capital – Raman, they were probably arriving the same time you were coming here. I need every army to come to Narandir's aid, or this war will be lost and Delorax will be free to unleash his fury upon every world."