Deus Ex Fina (2/2)

As the days stretch by, Haalfrin starts to notice something… a little strange.

Well, let's start with something unsurprising, first.

Haalfrin is quite familiar with all the inter-clan feuds by now – Coyotes and Hawks, Lions and Hyenas, etc.

Those clans certainly don't dare to spill each other's blood while in these halls, though they're still sure to stay on opposite ends of the palace at all times. When they pass each other through the halls, they edge to opposite sides of the hall and coldly ignore each other.

Plus, when the Clans DO move through the halls, they're always sure to stick close together and not mingle with the other clans.

However, what surprises Haalfrin is that this distant, cold feeling between the clans is completely ignored whenever Fina is in the room.

When the Queen arrives, all the clans seem a lot more lively, and they start crowding around her. They even start sitting next to each other at the feast tables, despite hating each other's guts and wishing to spill them.

At first, Haalfrin thought that these clans were merely willing to keep up the pretense of civility in order to not displease their host.

'I don't know if that's the case, though,' Haalfrin thinks with a frown. 'I can sense golden Spirit Threads weaving between all the different Clan. Is Fina doing something to them with her magic?'

Haalfrin's suspicions only get deeper when he starts to see the various clans greet each other in the hallways – even when Fina isn't there to watch them.

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To be fair, there has never been an individual on Arra who had a Spirit as strong as Fina's. Nobody was prepared for the level of worldwide manipulation she has at her fingertips.

It only takes a few short weeks before all of the Clans are mingling together and treating each other like old friends.

Only now does the Queen call everyone together for her meeting.

With everyone gathered together, she sits at the head of the table, and she uses her Spirit to subtly press her desire upon all of them. 'Hush now,' her Spirit seems to say. 'I want to talk, so listen carefully.'

Once she has everyone's rapt attention, she opens her mouth and addresses them all:

"Everyone knows by now who Dakka and I are. You may have heard that Lord Fheldin retired. But, that's not exactly the case. Lord Fheldin is dead."

This elicits several gasps from the crowd. That old dragon was so ancient and powerful… He'd been around much longer than any of their histories.

"I'll tell you how he died," Fina says somberly. She points at Dakka. "When my husband came to visit his Grandfather, Lord Fheldin, the old lord wished to pass on his kingdom to him. However, it is the Dragon's tradition to inherit through ritual combat."

There's a short pause as she stops to think. During this pause, many of the Rehkin get a little uncomfortable. Are they about to hear a grim tail of patricide?

The idea of slaying their own kin is so alien that they can't help but grow more anxious as the silence hangs over them.

Before the Rehkin can get too uptight, Queen Fina starts talking again.

"My husband was a 6-Horned dragon, while Lord Fheldin only has 5 horns. Out of love and respect for his grandfather, my husband held back his strength and let the fight linger for many days. Eventually, he pinned Lord Fheldin to the ground and defeated him without harming him."

Fina lets another pause sink in. This time, most of the Rehkin noticeably calm down. 'Good,' they all think, 'Fheldin wasn't murdered by his own grandson.'

"Lord Fheldin was, understandably, quite proud of his grandson," Fina continues, "In fact, he was so happy and content with his life that he lost his Desire and Ambition. He aged on the spot and passed away soon after."

The Rehkin hear this, and many of them start tearing up. Hearing of the love and respect between an old man and his grandson is just… so touching to them.

Fina then puts a hand on her chest. "As for me, Mistress Arla passed on some final words to me, before she followed her husband into the Death Realm. She wanted me to take care of this world in a way that she never could."

She takes a deep breath (also giving her another moment to think of her next words).

"She… She told me that a good Queen should treat her kingdom as her home, and its citizens as her children. She… she always regretted that she spent all of her time researching her alchemy and ignoring the kingdom."

This time, Fina actually lets a tear run down her cheeks. Arla never actually told her this, but Fina knew that the old phoenix was thinking this anyway. Her Spirit magic is far too strong for anyone to hide their desires and regrets from her.

"So," Fina announces, "I've gathered you all together and spent so much time getting to know you all. I did this for a reason. I plan on fulfilling Mistress Arla's last wish. I'll become a better Queen than she ever was. I'll make this World my home, and all of you will be treated like my children."

Fina's Spirit suddenly becomes sharper and more threatening. Despite not changing her tone of voice or putting on a dark expression, everyone can tell that her next words are NOT to be disobeyed.

"…Since all this world's clans are my children, and this world is my home, then I WILL NOT tolerate any infighting. All of you shall treat each other as one clan, and clan-mates don't kill each other. Brothers and sisters are supposed to forgive each other."

When Queen Fina says these words, there's a noticeable stirring in the crowd. Many of the Rehkin suddenly feel uncomfortable.

It's as if their very blood is rebelling at the idea of forgiving their neighbors.

Yes. Their blood is the blood of their Ancestors. Their Ancestors remember all the pain that their enemies have caused them.

The Coyotes remember the pain their Ancestors felt suffering under the Hawks' abuse. The Hawks always made it a ritual sport to bury, up to their head, any Coyotes they capture. Then, they'd make a sport of pecking their eyes out and pulling their brains out of their empty sockets.

In turn, the Hawks remember how their clan members were tortured by the Coyotes. Be it man, woman, or child, any captured Hawk had their wings torn from their back, and they were slowly picked to pieces by a thousand bites.

The Lions remember the Hyenas kidnapping their young and dashing their brains on the walls for no apparent reason.

The Hyenas remember the Lions crushing their spines and leaving their Ancestors to die in agony.

Everyone at this meeting has grudges for SOMEBODY else. Plus, the Rehkin have intimate ties with their Ancestors, and those Ancestors demand that their anger be appeased with blood.

Suddenly being told that they have to forget their grudges is deeply uncomfortable for everyone present.

Seeing their gazes harden and their Spirits rally a resistance against her, Fina's Spirit becomes sharper, and her Spirit clutches all of their hearts – threatening to tear them out.

Feeling horrified and intimidated, all the Rehkin bow their heads, and they keep silent and still, for fear of angering the Queen.

Just as suddenly as her threat came, so does it leave. Her threatening mien is replaced with a warm smile and inviting Spiritual Aura.

The Queen of Aura slowly raises her hands up and says to everyone, "Lord Fheldin is able to rest easy in the Death Realm because he's proud of his grandson. He's proud of Dakka because the child proved himself to be a better dragon than the elder."

She points at the crowd. "Don't you all want to make your Ancestors proud? You have to prove yourself to be better than them, first. Your hearts have to be bigger than theirs, and you'll have to do what they could not. They selfishly put their own hate over the peace and wellbeing of their children."

Before any of the Rehkin can refute this, Fina quickly adds, "In know how hard it is to let go of your anger. However, it becomes easy if you think of your children. Hatred is selfish. Forgiveness is selfless. Hatred is all about appeasing your own emotions. Forgiveness means that you'll bear with a little discomfort in return for giving your children a better future."

This shuts everyone up, and they all look down in shame.

Frankly, if anyone else had given this speech, the Rehkin all would've been up in arms, and a blood bath would probably be happening right now.

However, the magnetic force in Fina's Spirit is so strong that they all can't help but agree, even if they don't want to.

What's even more bizarre is that all of the Rehkin's Spirit Threads are reaching towards Fina and weaving themselves into her own Threads.

…And these threads aren't thin and wisplike, like the Threads of emotions. No, these Threads are thick and chainlike. Haalfrin has only seen Threads like this between fellow family members – between a mother and her children, more specifically.

With all of the Rehkin accepting Fina as their Clan head, they are, by extension, all siblings under her roof.

The fact that they were all willing to agree to this (at the same time, no less)…

'That's scary…,' Haalfrin thinks with a shudder.

For tens of thousands of years, Lord Fheldin and his sons had tried and failed to keep the peace between the clans, yet Fina had unified them all with a few months of casual mingling and an afternoon speech.

Seeing all of the Clan members start to warm up to each other (under Fina's influence), Haalfrin sits back and observes it all.

Suddenly, his ideas and grand plans of spreading peace through the clans with his little alliance… It all seems so childish.

'I guess, even after all this time, I never understood the Rehkin,' Haalfrin thinks with a smile.

With the tense part of the meeting out of the way, Haalfrin stands up and leaves through the back door. Even when he shuts the door behind him with a clang, none of the Rehkin guests notice his departure.