Sons of Ironstorm - Book 1: Griffon's Rise

Chapter 37: Truer Words Never Spoken

"And there will be chaos upon the land,

Upheavals and all manner of tumult.

Both in land and in People,

As the Dark One, the Deceiver of Mortals

Is loosed to gather his minions from the Shadows

And wreak havoc upon the Faithful."

- from the Norak Utterance, 2nd Stanza

The cold, flat statement elicited several nods of agreement, not only among the council members, but in the gallery as well. It was obvious to the Sovun'chul elves that Kordin's people weren't looked on with much favor in the lands of the Torvus'sel.

Used to such sentiment, Kordin smoothly pressed on, unflustered by Darkfin's hard words.

<<If anything, master councilor, that would be precisely the reason why I've the place to question,>> the big dark elf pointed out. <<Our faith in the Silver Flame brings us to the Maker. Yet the darkness boiling in our veins allows us to see the other side, to gaze into the Abyss itself. We know what the price of failure will be, having tasted that dark destruction already. And we don't wish it. We must be victorious; there's no other way!>>

As Kordin's words, ringing with passion and conviction, rang through the chamber, much to his chagrin, Ciradaan found himself rising to his feet, words hurling themselves from his mouth before he had the chance to stop them.

<<Kordin's right,>> he began, speaking clearly despite feeling his heart clamber up into his throat to thicken his tongue. The sound of his voice swiftly brought every eye to him, some of those gazes piercing indeed.

Feeling their power, the king of Aquila shifted uncomfortably under their weight. Yet, adding to his amazement, he felt impressed to carry on.

His mouth fell open and again the words came, almost without his will behind them. As they tumbled from his mouth, Ciradaan felt the Sword of Aesthegon warm his thigh through its scabbard. 'Frost me!'  he silently shouted. 'So that's the part the sword had to play in all of this.' Then he was speaking out loud once more.

<<He has only pointed out what I, myself have pondered these last few watches since arriving in these northern lands. We seek to influence that which has already been set down by prophecy. I cannot but wonder if, by doing so, we'll harm the balance the universe has established for the event that's about to transpire.>>

<<So you suggest we stand by and do nothing and hope the Utterance won't leave us without recourse?>> Darkfin asked flatly, eyes hard.

Ciradaan quickly shook his head.

<<I am an elf,>> he replied. <<Standing by and doing nothing isn't in my nature. No, I simply wish to question the validity of what you are proposing to do. Which is playing a part in the Wielders' development. Can we, or even Cephanon the Seer himself, see the consequences of tampering with fate and the balance of the universe? How can we truly know that we're meant to search for the Wielders, find them and train them, and not leave it to the humans, who are equally capable of such training?>>

Darkfin opened his mouth to retort, only to close it a moment later, the expression of growing frustration and anger sloughing off to leave only thoughtfulness. Beside him, the other members of the council looked at each other, questions etched into their features. It appeared as though they hadn't considered Kordin and Ciradaan's point during their deliberations with the Utterance.