Gifted [UNEDITED]

Chapter Two

"I hereby call this meeting to order" Councillor Gnarim announced, his voice was coarse and rough, in that moment silence fell on the hall. The small council hall, that had only six seats and one large cedar wood table in the center. Soldiers stood centry outside the hall, and inside too. Each councillor had their most trusted household guards with them. Kamirel stood behind his Lord, Councillor Borath.

"Councillor Ignarim set forth your report to the Council" the old councillor commanded, he had no piece of humility in his voice.

"Yes, Head Councillor", Ignarim began. "This two weeks passed, the borders have reported nothing out of the ordinary. However, the commanders at the Western borders request that we send them new weapons as they have received new recruits. The scouts on the Eastern borders have also sent letters, they complain of the lack of food. They request that we send them enough food for the rest of the summer."

Councillor Gnarim gestured at him to take his seat. "Councillor Nazam, you will arrange for the weapons to be sent to the Western borders, I hope the forgery can handle all of that."

"Yes, High Councillor we can. But as you know, all of these cost money to run. We are going to need more money to pay the blacksmiths, and also to buy other things for the forgery. We have been low on money this past week, due to the high demand from the academy, the army, and now the borders"

"Don't worry, money will be provided. Councillor Borath, how is the Council Treasury. Will we be able to take care of the costs?" Gnarim asked, he was so composed.

Kamirel noticed his Lord's face, he saw that he was troubled. "High Councillor, given the costs, we may not be able to", Borath started. "As we know, the Meiden clan recently experienced a sandstorm, their buildings and other monuments were destroyed. We have spent a lot of money on rebuilding, and we should not forget that the Council is also in debt"

"How much do we owe, and how much have we spent on rebuilding", Gnarim asked, his voice was stiff and straight.

"In total we owe four hundred thousand silver lions, and we have spent more than eight hundred thousand gold lions on rebuilding", Borath answered, his voice was also calm and undisturbed.

"That's not so much of a problem. In order to pay our debt, and restore the treasury how much do we need."

"We will need about a million gold lions"

"No bother", Gnarim said, he paused for a while, stroking his full white beards. "We will just tax the people more, probably ten percent extra. General Uzrath, you will make sure your men collect the taxes."

"Yes, High Councillor", the general replied.

Gnarim nodded, and faced Councillor Chomirel "I trust the harvest this summer was bountiful, and you will be able to take care of the soldiers at the borders, and the people"

"Yes, High Councillor. The harvest was bountiful, the farmers worked hard, and the harvest was plentiful. They are also satisfied with the payment they receive. Also, the bakery is most pleased with the payment, and they have added to the stock. We have food for the rest of the summer, and some part of winter", Chomirel assured.

"Now, let us face the next item on the agenda", Gnarim started. "The Umiroth clan, they have sent word, telling us of the way some young elves massacred a lot of children, men, and women. They are calling themselves The Voice. They claim to be agitating for equality, they want the rich and the poor to be considered equal. What do you say to this?"

"I think we should meet with the leaders of this group, and reason with them" Ignarim suggested.

"Don't be foolish Ignarim, these people don't care to reason, all they want is blood. I think we should send the army in", Nazam fired. He gritted his teeth, and stiffened his muscles. The Umiroth clan was his clan, and he wanted revenge on the perpetrators.

"Calm down Nazam, this doesn't need the army. Bringing the army in will turn the city to a war zone, I think we should offer protection to the Lords in the clan." Chomirel suggested.

"No, that will only prove them right. I think we should send in the army, but we should send them in with the motive of peace keeping. Rather than a frontal war, we pick them off one by one", Borath explained. The Council nodded at his suggestion, Kamirel smiled, and he was awed at the way he had so much influence in the Council.

"Very well then, Uzrath. You will send in your soldiers, remember don't engage in a frontal war, pick them off one by one. Don't turn this city to a war zone" Gnarim pronounced.

"I understand that High Councillor. I will send the new recruits, the youngest set of them" Uzrath told him.

Borath was angered, his brows lowered, and he clenched his fists. Kamirel didn't notice, he was busy admiring the Councillors and their regalia. They had forest green gowns, and they all had white hair, they looked like school uniformed children. "Why?!" Borath yelled. He was shaking, and so was his voice.

"Why-why do you have to send the young ones! The inexperienced ones! It is not right!". The entire Council was dumbstruck, the outburst was too sudden.

"What do you mean?" Uzrath asked, surprise was written all over his face.

"Why do you send the young ones. Haven't we lost enough children, enough loved ones. Why do you send other elves' children to the battle fronts, they are inexperienced for The Celestial King's sake!"

"Borath control yourself. This is a Council meeting" Gnarim reprimanded, he gestured at Kamirel to escort him out of the Council hall. Kamirel nodded and took his Lord out through the doors of the hall, to the courtyard, and then to his castle.

On the way, Kamirel wondered why his Lord suddenly broke down. Then he realized that Borath was angry because his wife had died during a mission, and she was sent to the front because she was young. Kamirel felt heartbroken, he realized he was also still young and ripe for plucking. He could be sent to the front anytime, he gave a heavy sigh.

When Borath was safe and well in his room, Kamirel left the castle for a drink like he does everytime he was distressed. Like the incident with Aora at the academy, it left him crestfallen. He had drank to stupor, and the bartender had to leave him outside the bar.

"A cup please" Kamirel requested. The bartender turned to pour him a cup, he stopped when he realized it was Kamirel, "hey it's you again!" he exclaimed.

Kamirel groaned, "just pour me a cup, will you?". He was getting impatient, "I said pour me a cup, is that hard to understand?"

The bartender looked at him, he saw the Miaddrian Army signet, and he knew Kamirel was a soldier. "I'm sorry I can't pour you a cup", he said. He hadn't noticed the night before.

"Just pour the elf a cup", a voice from behind said. Kamirel looked behind him, and he saw an elf dressed in casual cream and black leather. He was not so tall, he had brown hair, they were long like every other elf. The bartender scoffed and poured Kamirel a cup.

The elf looked at Kamirel, his grey eyes fixed on the soldier. "My name is Mignorath", he started. But Kamirel said nothing, he only downed his cup and requested for another one. "What's a soldier like you doing here?", the elf asked.

"What do you want?", Kamirel asked, his voice was rigid, he wasn't in the mood for a conversation. "Leave me at once"

The elf took a sip of his black wine, "you know, you could be court martialed if any of your superiors found you here, if by chance they do come here. But what if, the bartender exposes you, or anyone else notices and reports you".

"I don't care at all, I'm not one to be scared of being court martialed", Kamirel told him, he had taken his third cup now.

"It looks like you have only just joined the army", Mignorath remarked. "My guess is you just left the academy last winter?".

"And what's it to you?" Kamirel asked, he faced Mignorath, his nose widened and his lips were moving uneasily.

"Oh nothing, just that I'm a close friend of the general". Kamirel looked at him, his expression changed from anger to surprise in moments. Mignorath noticed and he smiled, "don't worry, your punishment will surely be mild"

"I'm still not scared", Kamirel told him. He drank his last cup and left.

The cold early morning before the rise of the sun, the cold harsh breeze, and the dreadful owling. All of these did not distract Kamirel from his training, it was his early morning routine. He always trained early in the morning, while everyone slept he secretly trained in the courtyard. He would swing, and bend, and run, and do all sorts to improve himself.

After training for an hour and half, the sun had come up and Kamirel was breathing heavily. He rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand, he closed his eyes for about a minute and let out a very heavy sigh. The soldier started towards his quarters where he slept with the rest of the household guards, then he heard a voice from behind. "A message from general Uzrath!", it was a messenger from Uzrath's castle.

"Who is it for?", Kamirel asked without looking back.

"For Kamirel!", the messenger answered. Kamirel turned and paused, wondering if the message had any connection with the threat he received yesterday. He gestured at the messenger to ride in, which he did. He received the scroll and sent him off, "Kamirel, you are amongst the soldiers chosen to fight against The Voice, you are to report to The Den as soon as possible", the scroll told him. He scoffed, 'so this is the punishment' he thought to himself. He folded the scroll and made for his quarters.

Kamirel had a long bath. He let the cold waters relieve the stress on his tensed muscles, he laid still and it was like the cold massaged his legs, back, and arms.

"You were also chosen to fight against The Voice?" Domrath asked. He was sharpening his arrows, and his dark eyes were fixed on the edges. His gold colored hair shone very brightly in the morning sun, and when he stood holding the arrow very close to his eyes, his slender and tall stature was clearly revealed.

"Yes I was. I received my scroll this morning", Kamirel answered, tightening his belt buckle.

"I received mine yesterday", Domrath's brother cut in. He had the same features as his twin, the only difference was that he had a scar right above his eyebrow. He had received the scar when he was only twelve years old. Dwarves had raided their home, and he tried protecting his brother.

"Gnorath", Kamirel started, still testing his sword against the air. "Get your arrows ready, we leave soon".

Gnorath stared at him, when Kamirel noticed he said "Did you not hear me?". Gnorath smiled and carried his quiver, he had never liked Kamirel's commanding attitude. Kamirel was older, but he still didn't like it.

"Don't take Kamirel seriously", Domrath consoled, hugging his brother tight. "Let's leave the room, it's stuffy", he urged. The three elves left their room hurriedly and joined the seven other soldiers in the courtyard.

"I wish you all luck, I pray that The Celestial King watches over you", Borath told his household soldiers. They were on elks, and they had their Miaddrian Army uniform on. Some had spears, some had swords, some had bows. He wept inside of him, these soldiers had just joined his household and now they would be sent into battle. He wept especially for Kamirel, the one he had taken keen interest in, the one he trusted so much.

The soldiers gave a uniform shout of approval and enthusiasm. Kamirel led the party out the castle gates and to The Den. They didn't greet the guards, there were no guards. The gates were open, and The Den was extremely busy, soldiers were patrolling up and down. Kamirel could see Uzrath and Gnarim in the Council hall, he also noticed the archers who were at the battlements of The Den.

"Over there", a soldier pointed. He was pointing at a pavilion, where the soldiers chosen to fight The Voice were registered and certified.

"You're late", the registrar complained. He was pale-faced, he looked like he hadn't smiled in two years. "Fall in with the others", he told Kamirel and his party. Without delay, they joined the others. A stout elf, of about forty, he was brown skinned, unlike the other elves, came to address the soldiers. "You have been hand-picked by the general himself, he trusts you. He believes in your potential". Kamirel paid no attention to the elf, his only focus was on the mission at hand. "Now I urge you to fight with your heart, and give your lives for your people. May The Celestial King watch over you", the elf added, he gestured at some other soldiers to hand out some scrolls to them.

Kamirel smiled when he read the scroll. It contained the locations of the agitators, and been appointed commander of the squad. He was called to the front of the group, they were about fifty in number. Kamirel said nothing, he just stared into space as the elf introduced him. When the elf was done, he rode for the gates, and the others followed him. The sound from the hooves of the elks mixed with the shouts of the soldiers, and the atmosphere became very war-like.

When they entered The Nothern Isle, as they rode through they noticed that the streets were very quiet, a little too quiet. "Looks like The Voice has affected the whole of The Northern Isle", Domrath told Kamirel.

"Yes. Seems like it, the ills of the Umiroth clan has affected the other clans here.", Kamirel replied.

"The Northern Isle is Umiroth dominated. The Darra clan and the Kiroth clan only constitute a small population of The Northern Isle", Domrath explained.

Kamirel nodded, and stopped abruptly, "something isn't right", he said. He pulled his sword, and almost immediately the others drew their weapons. Just then, Kamirel noticed an elf on one of the roofs. He was holding a bow, with an arrow already drawn.

"Shields!", Kamirel shouted. Immediately the soldiers removed the rectangle shaped shields strapped to their backs, and came together clustered. Hundreds of arrows rained on the soldiers, some of them were hit and when the agitators were drawing again, Kamirel shouted "Forward!". The group marched forward on their elks in such uniformity, as though each elf was in the mind of the other. "Scatter!", he commanded again. The elves quickly broke formation and hid behind the walls of the houses.

Domrath, Gnorath, and some other archers came out and fired at the agitators. Domrath landed his shot, and so did Gnorath, but some others missed. Another set of archers came out and fired at them, killing some of them. Kamirel signalled some soldiers and they nooded, as they turned to execute their orders they were stabbed by the agitators. Kamirel looked around, he saw other soldiers getting stabbed too.

"Fourth column formation!", he shouted, waving his hand. The soldiers with spears came forth in groups of four, with their shields in front of them. They knelt on one knee and braced for impact, the agitators started coming out in numbers, as Kamirel thought they would. They charged at the soldiers and stabbed them in their head, they didn't mind getting impaled by the spears.

Kamirel saw that the soldiers were reducing in number, and the agitators kept coming. He didn't fetter, he charged at them, the other swordsmen followed suit. They were able to kill a number of them, but they were greatly outnumbered.
"Retreat!", Kamirel yelled. He ran to his elk, he immediately rounded and raced to The Den. There were about six soldiers behind him, the only survivors left.

The agitators still chased them, killing two more. Domrath turned and shot one of them in the head, he pulled two more arrows and fired at two more agitators. One of them aimed a spear at him, but Gnorath noticed and shot him down. Domrath shouted and smiled, indicating he was enjoying the chase. The soldiers safely escaped, immediately they left The Northern Isle, the chase stopped.

When Kamirel presented the reports of the mission to The Council, Councillor Nazam was outraged, "What do you mean you were ambushed?", he asked. His nose was twitching, he struggled to hide it but it was too obvious.

"When we we had advanced into The Northern Isle, we were ambushed by the agitators, they knew we were coming", Kamirel explained.

"That's impossible, I heard they were not very organized. They couldn't have planned such an attack, more so they don't really dominate The Northern Isle."

"The elves we faced seemed very organized to me... Sir. They were able to break through our formation, they seemed like trained soldiers. And how... Sir, do you know that they don't really dominate The Northern Isle."

"Because it is an Umiroth dominated area, and I know my clan very well".

"But you don't actually live there Sir", Kamirel told him, his face was straight, he didn't care what the Councillor would do.

"Kamirel, control your tongue. Councillor Nazam is an elf of prestige", Borath reprimanded. Kamirel nodded and heaved.

"You're dismissed", Gnarim added. "We will discuss the matter". Kamirel bowed and left.

"That was one hell of a mission eh?!", Domrath shouted. Kamirel saw him as soon as he came out of the hall, he opened his arms and Domrath hugged him.

"We could have been killed you bastard", Kamirel teased and they both laughed.