Horizons

7 Unknown threat

The six seats in the council chambers were filled, this was the first time in fifty years that all members had attended a meeting together. This was also the first time in fifty years anything so important had happened. Most of the council's decisions were about fairly mundane situations that had no major impact on the community. The past councils had done their jobs so well that all the calamities that would require the action of a senior government were already prepared for in laws and procedures that made these meetings almost meaningless. The council's primary responsibilities now were to oversee the schools, the faculties respective research, and the use of the library. Most members had other business to attend to when a meeting was planned, so the decisions were usually made by less than half of the council.

The members sat around a simple circular table, in sturdy wooden chairs, in the center of an over sized room. The number of seats and size of the table had shrunk over the years, as less Shamen elevated to the enlightened position. There were no elaborate designs or pictures on the wood slat walls; this room was not meant to show off to outsiders, it was for the purpose of the members to meet in congress together. It was at the top of the library tower located at the center of Alexandria. Outside of its single door were each member's individual offices that were rarely used, the majority of their work was done outside of this dusty stone building.

Some of the members  appeared ageless. Their faces were strangely smooth, free of wrinkles and blemish, with hair as white as freshly fallen snow. These councilors had attained enlightenment.  In the past this level of insight was the only and absolute requirement for a master to be ordained as Grand Master. Along with the changes in their youthful flesh and pigmentless hair came an oddity that affected their eyes. A strange and enchanting sheen that caught the light in a peculiar manner and made them appear to shine; it was what truly separated them from the average person. The other council members skin and hair directly showed their age, they had not reached the lofty connection that their peers had achieved. They were asked to fill a roll for their knowledge in the discipline they had pursued. It was decided several generations ago that the council could not wait for masters to attain enlightenment and still maintain the degree of scholarly diversity that the councils purpose prescribed. This bridging appointment brought with it a new name, Esteemed Master. Despite their different levels of qualification they all dressed alike, long white robes, worn as a symbol of their role and to remind them of the path they must maintain.

Nymaria, the Esteemed Master Healer, started. "I have found Raider's news to be extremely disturbing. Does anyone have any clue of what those things were that he saw?" She was especially exhausted after the healings of the previous day. A particularly sick patient had kept her at the clinic late, and her tired brown eyes expressed her fatigue. Her grey hair was pinned back, with the odd strand slipping out of the tight bun. Giving her the look of a grandmother that had just finished a long day in the kitchen. 

"I find it hard to believe those creatures were natural. I would bet that they had something to do with the old society." Said Leo, the Grand Master Engineer. His gnarled craftsman fingers played at his long white beard, a long time habit formed to keep his busy hands active while his powerful mind orchestrated complex problems into simple solutions.

All members looked to him in puzzlement. He was about to clarify his thought, when another member of the council jumped in.

"I haven't seen anything in the books speaking of beasts like that, but there is a lot of mention of beings of that sort in legend and lore. Perhaps they weren't myth; maybe they lived once and have returned after the breaking." Melvil, the Esteemed Master Librarian, said with pride. He was the only member who sat comfortably relaxed in his chair, this mystery was no more than a drama unfolding before his leather bound world. His entire being didn't quite fit with the rest of the council, his grey hair and beard were unkempt and his robes were dirty and stained.