Chapter III: Hive of Revelations

The next morning all I could ever spare a thought for was the council meeting that should take place a few moments from now, when all council members have been assembled.

The Lunafall Consortium is an ancient order founded for the sole purpose of granting counsel and imparting the wisdom of elders to the Moon King.

Consulting with the council is never an easy task, as you must win their full support if action is to be taken.

It is a challenge made more challenging by the sacred responsibility of every Moon King to sleep for a very long time so as to keep the Great Tree alive.

Thus, the hulking avoirdupois of a burden is vested on the Commander's shoulders, to consult with the council in the king's absence.

If a pupil at Nightfostre Phrontistery becomes absent for a day, they get exposed to the risk of getting to study for additional hours at the phrontistery library everday lasting an entire fortnite.

But what does a king get for being absent to his duties for an entire millennia? Nothing at all, he totally gets to sleep through it.

While I was waiting outside the great doors of the Lunafall Xanadu, a familiar visage was fast approaching towards my direction.

I was lavishly elated to see Rosden, because I'm in desperate need of someone to talk to right now for a little "confidence push" before meeting the council.

"Eludri'al Viljuma, Rosden. I see your wounds were swiftly taken care of by the healers, no less from the finest infirmary in our side of the realm."

"Kath-liru Errga, Sis. The finest indeed! *grins widely* One of the nurses even gave me the address to her bungalow."

"Atleast one of us is still getting to enjoy the little things."

"What little thing? Hers where ENORMOUS!"

"ROSDEN!"

"Sorry! But Sis, It's the little things that matter most, don't ever forget that. Wow did I just give a life lesson to my favorite Archery Rog'unne? Is this really happening?!"

"*chuckles* Yep, I guess you just did. I appreciate the advice, I really need to get me some chill. Though I don't always say this, I want you to know that I'm really proud of what you and your brother Mikko has become as highly skilled Scout-Rangers and as promising individuals. I'm proud of the others aswell, but it was under my hands which they had fallen."

"Don't say that. Lyria and Ronn'ar died performing their duty to their kin. Since we were young, we were already taught the parts we were destined to play, and we had our entire lives to train for the thorough execution of our roles in this story called life."

"And now Sis, you play your part. Sap all the wisdom and support you need from the council, and let's show Alice who it is that she's messing with. With your timeless beauty and diplomatic negotiation skills - mostly just your timeless beauty - you probably don't need this but, good luck."

"Hey my negotiation skills are just fine, no need to rely on something as small as an aesthetic aspect of myself! But thanks, right now I need all the luck I could get."

"First-Bow Miya, the council of 7 has been assembled. They require your immediate presence in the Masters' Hall. I am to escort you there."

"Well, that's my cue... thank you for everything, Rosden! Aratura!"

"No probs, my Sis! Aratura! .... Now, about that nurse's address... it should be right around the corner beside this edifice that is the Lunafall Xanadu... Mother Moon guide me tonight!"

*Hours into the meeting*

"Facing Alice and her loyal group of blight elves head-on would stretch not only our forces, but also our resources too thin. I suggest we wait here instead, at the capital, and prepare every last defense we can give to her walls." replied Councilman H'undras.

"I acknowledge your point H'un- I mean Councilman H'undras, but how much more of our precious Emerald Glade will we allow to be desecrated by the Blood Queen and her mindless pawns?"

"How much more of our kin's future will we allow her to take from us? Attacking her head-on may indeed stretch our military forces and our resources too thin, but if all we do is wait then we'd already lose everything."

Silence filled the seven corners of the room.

I might have been carried away on my last statement but I sincerely believe that an offensive, preventative attack may just be the more correct course of action.

After a brief moment of deafening silence, Elder Councilman Califax, the Supreme Head of the Lunafall Consortiun, finally began to speak.

"I have thoroughly considered the ideas that were presented. But before I give my thoughts and the final word on the matter I would first like to acknowledge Councilman H'undras, once a student of mine and a very promising one at that, for a strong argument as to why we should wait and defend; and I would also like to praise our one and only Commander and First-Bow for her renowned cunning and valiance which she has so kindly allowed us to witness today."

"...Now, to the matter at hand. Both ideas repel the other as how fire is with water. One is bold and headstrong but may just be a reckless thing to do while one is the complete opposite, steady and patient, a patience which may cost us the entirety of the Eastern Glade which largely composes the Emerald Glade on the whole. Both are noble in their own right, but both are also wrong."

Well, that's one way to put. I can see the disappointment from Councilman H'undras' eyes, but like him, we are now both all ears as to what should be the right thing to do according to the Elder Councilman.

"It cannot be a talk about military bulk as the Blood Queen's forces outumber us 300 to 1. Nor can it be about -"

"300 to 1?!"

Elder Califax was interrupted by a question from one of the councilmen. Silence became of him because it sounded rather rhetorical. Of course, it can only be Councilman H'undras whose only job apparently, is to question what everyone says in this room; not even his Elder Councilman is excused.

H'undras and I actually go way back into my childhood, but that is a story for a different time. Now where were we? Oh right! To stuff that actually matter....

"How could Alice's forces outnumber us on such an alarming scale as you say, when her army is strictly composed of blight elves? We've enough data to prove that only 13.2% of our population were converted into blight elves over the years, and half of the remaining 86.8%, 43.4% are our soldiers and fighting men. So how then, could that 13.2% outnumber the 43.4% by 300 to 1? Is it not us who outnumbers them? Please enlighten me, my former Rog'unne and venerable Elder Councilman."

I've got to give it to H'undras this time, it's clear he really did his research. But then again, he always does.

Meanwhile, his factual remarks also led me to questioning if it is us who are outnumbered by, or who outnumber our foe given the odds he presented.

Curiosity became of me as to why the Elder Califax thinks we are outnumbered by Alice on such a massive scale, considering that her army is made up entirely of blight elves as our scouts had reported... I guess I'll have to wait and see."

"Councilman H'undras, let me ask you this. When a foe outnumbers you on such a terrible scale and you are aware of it, do you press on an invasive movement on your opponent's lands knowing you may not emerge triumphant?"

"Of course not, my Elder Councilman."

"When a foe, again, outnumbers you greatly and you know it, will you stay and pursue that enemy or instead move on and forward in life?"

"The answer is easy to see, Elder Councilman. Any man whose had the proper education knows when not to, and when to give up. And, like any wise man, I would also move on and forward in life rather than fight a battle I cannot win."

"And yet Alice grows all the more confident into sending her minions deeper into the glade as we speak. If she knows we outnumber her, which she does, why then does she pursue us, being so bold as to make camp ever so nearly our borders, and not just move on and forward with life? Why do you think so?"

"*jokingly* Because she's stupid? That could only be the logical explanation. She lacks decisiveness which is a visible weakness."

The other councilmen had a brief giggle before the venerable elder began to speak again.

"A weakness one flaunts is a strength one hides. Alice was a student of mine before you, and I can assure you she is all but "stupid". As a student she showed greater promise than all my students combined ever did; she is every bit of cunning as she is a possibilities and probabilities thinker."

H'undras became silent, taken aback, almost as if he regretted what he had said.

"She is doing all these things, which may appear stupid to the shallow mind, because she knows she will emerge triumphant; because it is she who outnumbers us 300 to 1 as I have said."

Everyone in the room ran deep in thought recounting all the things that the Elder Califax had said and finding sense in it all.

As for myself, I was overwhelmed by his staggering remarks. Now, we have reason to believe that Alice indeed outnumbers us because of her behavioural patterns so accurately pointed out by the sagacious elder.

One question remains...

How?

"My venerable Elder Califax, with the wisdom you imparted I understand now that Alice DOES outnumber us, or even BELIEVES she could defeat us; but one question still stands."

"What would that be, Commander?"

"How could she outnumber us when blight elves make up all of her forces?"

"Could you say that more slowly, Commander?"

It's strange of the Elder Councilman to request that of me, knowing him, the speed of his mind is rivaled only by the speed of light. But okay, I'll play along.

"*slowly* How could she outnumber us when blight elves make up all her forces?"

And then it hit me, a moment of realization. How could she when only blight elves make up all of her forces? Because she has ALLIES! She knows she can't win this war alone so of course she'll seek the aid of her comrades! Duh! Oh Mother Moon I feel so stupid! It's like I've only been lectured to what connections, a lesson taught to us at first grade, really mean in the real world.

"Now do you understand?" asked the elder in a tone that felt like he knew that I had just realized what he was making us realize all this time.

To which I replied, "Y- Yes." Still confounded by the realization which my mind approached ever so slowly.

"Because... becuase she has allies beyond our knowledge, or beyond the knowledge of most of us. When one feels as though there is a battle he or she cannot win, it is one's natural instinct to search for allies with the same goal and form alliances built in the name of that goal, in order to succeed. "

"...Alice knows she can't win this war against us, you said it yourself Councilman H'undras that we outnumber her blight elves. When Elder Califax insisted that her forces instead outnumber us by 300 to 1, I soon realized that it could only be because she has allies. So to speak, the army she made for herself is only a part of a motley throng of dark forces which in total, outnumber us 300 to 1."

The other councilmen were shaken by my realization, and it is evident in their faces that they have only realized this now.

After a short while of blabbering amongst the councilmen, the youngest of them, Councilman Agatha, began to speak. Agatha speaks rather slowly, and has hiccups in between her lines. I feel sorry for her.

"We now have solid reason to believe that *hiccup* the Blood Queen outnumbers us if she *hiccup* does indeed have allies. But we are still baffled as to *hiccup* who could ally themselves with *hiccup* such an evil person? *hiccup*"

Alice serves a being much stronger than herself. A powerful, cosmic being who, although unable to enter in our physical plane of existence, is ingrained as an eternal aspect of our universe; as old as the stars in the heavens and as vast as the ocean called space with which they rest. It who had existed since the shaping of the universe, It whose name is unspoken of."

"Who could such a being be?" Asked Councilman Zignon.

At that point everyone was all ears on the Elder Councilman who seems to know alot about this celestial being. It apparently holds great power, not to mention is Alice's dark master who most likely gave her the powers she now possess.

My curiosity skyrocketed by the second, who could this dark master be?

Sitri the self-righteous fairy?

No, she wouldn't ally herself with "*squeaky fairy voice* a low, dirty hag such as you."

How about that evil raccoon who keeps dropping his nut shells at my bed everytime I leave home?

Honestly, I can't be so sure.

"It can be no other than...

...The Lord of the Dark Abyss!"

Upon hearing the name everyone retreated into confabulating with one another as they recount their encounters of such a name in old tomes and grimoires, and in dreams or visions. I could hear a councilman say,

"It can't be! Mother Moon help us!"

And another flat-out chanting in ancient elven a blessing of protection,

"*rythmic* Agnu'dal Ator'anar, Vuldri'sal Duran'shufar..."

I could also hear Councilman Agatha in the distance,

"*hiccup intensifies*"

I personally have not encountered this name, not once in this life to say the least. That does not make "It" any less of a big deal though.

When the councilmen began to calm down a bit, Elder Califax continued.

"As you may all know, the Lord of the Dark Abyss' influence have spread far and wide all over the Land of Dawn. No race is immune. It is without doubt that he has made thousands give in to his will... all at Alice's beck-and-call...

... That is why in desperate times such as these when the very safety and lifeblood of our race is endangered, it can neither be a talk about military forces nor resources...

... the single, rightful action to be done can only be...

... to awaken the Moon King from his slumber!

When we heard what Elder Califax had said, the other councilmen once again began blabbering with one another. As for me, I felt as though I was stuck in a moment in time. I could still faintly hear voices saying things like...

"Their is a high price to be paid in awakening the Moon King!"

... and the like. I didn't really care. I felt so stuck up on the words "awaken" and "Moon King". A million thoughts raced on my head.

Awakening him was a choice this entire time? I've waited for so long when I could've done so centuries ago!

... and why can he only ever be awakened in dire times? What does this say for our relationship? Do I need to start up a war everytime I want to bring this man to my bed?!

The thoughts just go on and on and on...