Chapter 3: The Council of Chaos

The teleportation charm had sent Hiroshi spinning, his vision fading as he staggered to his feet. When eventually the dizziness passed, Hiroshi discovered himself on some curved chamber of impossible loveliness. Great stone walls carved with delicate runes encircled him, lit by floating orbs of light that shed a soft radiance. Above, the ceiling reached infinitely high, its middle decorated by a shining crystal chandelier that vibrated with magic.

There was a large dark mahogany table with gold symbols inlaid into it, round and large enough to feed a hundred people, dominating the center of the room. A cluster of people stood around the table, and they were so wackily diverse from each other that Hiroshi couldn't help but wonder if he had wandered into a cosplay convention.

"Welcome to the Council of Races," Arkanis proclaimed with great show, clearly proud of his handiwork.

Hiroshi blinked, looking at the people sitting in front of him.

By his side sat a statuesque, refined woman with piercing silver eyes and flowing, moon-white hair. Her very presence emanated royalty, and the golden circlet upon her brow bore witness to it. This must be Elven Princess Altheria, who had nearly brained Hiroshi previously with her magical arrows. She regarded him with raised eyebrow and incredulous look difficult to believe.

To her left was a short, stout woman whose bright red hair cascaded down about her shoulders like molten lava. Her armor was dented in spots, and it was clear she preferred to fight rather than talk. She leaned a gigantic hammer against the table, its enormous head resting idly against the wood, as she eyed Hiroshi up with piercing green eyes as if ready to battle him. This, without a doubt, was Brunhilda, Queen of the Dwarfs.

Across from her sat a reticent figure, barely hidden behind a pile of scrolls. Spinning out from behind them in anxious manner was the Beastfolk maiden Lila, her fox ears quivering and her large amber eyes wildly flicking back and forth between Hiroshi and the rest of the room. Her tail wagged back behind her, displaying her accumulated nervous energy.

Arkanis aggressively cleared his throat to get their attention. "Ladies and gentlemen of the Council, I am pleased to present Hiroshi Takeda—the Chosen Sovereign who shall reunite our realm!"

There was a oppressive silence that ensued. Hiroshi's forced smile crumpled under the pressure of their staring.

Brunhilda leaned forward, placing her hammer on the shoulder of her armor. "This puny stick is the 'Chosen Sovereign'? He couldn't even pick up a pebble, let alone a kingdom."

Altheria smiled, her silver eyes sparkling with amusement. "Maybe fate was in a mischievous mood when it selected him. Or maybe Arkanis messed up the summoning ritual."

"I said it was a flawless execution!" Arkanis complained, his cheeks flushing.

Hiroshi advanced, trying to recover what little pride he had left. "Listen, I'm as bewildered as you are. I don't know what prophecy you're referring to or why I'm here, but I—"

"Can you use a sword?" Brunhilda cut in, moving closer.

"Uh… no?" Hiroshi confessed with a blush.

Can you cast spells?" Altheria went on, her eyebrow rising even further.

"No, too," replied Hiroshi.

"Can you do at least something useful?" Brunhilda complained, impatient.

"I'm extremely useful at instant noodles?" Hiroshi suggested hopefully.

The dwarfs exchanged skeptical glances, and Altheria shook her head. Lila, however, cocked her head to one side, her tail swishing as if weighing his words.

"Well, this is just off to a wonderful beginning," Altheria said, leaning back in her chair.

Arkanis put a hand on Hiroshi's shoulder, as if protecting him from their doubt. "Don't discount him! The prophecy promises Hiroshi is the answer to centuries of war between your peoples."

"War?" Hiroshi repeated in fear, glancing at the group. "What war are we discussing here?"

Lila's ears wrinkled, her voice gentle and doubtful. "The dwarfs and elves. have. big disagreements. Many. big big disagreements."

Brunhilda snorted. "Disagreements? It's the fault of those elves for always taking resources out of our mountains!"

Altheria glared at her. "Your claims are unsubstantiated. It's the dwarfs who mindlessly pillage the land, without care for the effects on the rest of the realm."

"Because we actually *use* the land rather than just sitting around writing poems about it!" Brunhilda retorted sharply.

"Writing poetry is a heck of a lot better than causing cave-ins and filling up the rivers," Altheria snapped coldly.

Lila whimpered, shrinking back into her chair. "It's scary…"

The debate raged back and forth, the two leaders shouting at each other and hurling insults back and forth across the table. Hiroshi's head spun as he tried to keep pace with the mounting argument.

"Okay, okay!" Hiroshi shouted, waving his hands in a futile attempt to calm them down. "Can we all just chill out for a second?!"

The commanders paused and turned to look at him both of them together. Hiroshi swallowed. *Great, everyone is looking at me now.*

He breathed deep, considering. "Listen, I don't know anything at all about this prophecy, or why you think I'm your answer to prayers, but this one thing I do know: war is going to be an answer that will not work. If you want peace, though, then you're going to have to begin by… uh… communicating with each other as adults."

Altheria arched her eyebrow, curling her lip into a sarcastic smile. "A selfless gesture, but said lightly."

"Especially when pointy-eared snobs who believe themselves above the rest of us have gotten us into these messes to begin with," Brunhilda grumbled silently.

The room was strained, but before hostilities could explode again, Arkanis raised his fingers and clicked. "Good rhetoric, Hiroshi! Absolutely inspiring! Now, what about plotting how to get unitary?"

"Strategies?" Hiroshi repeated. "You expect *me* to come up with those?"

"Certainly!" Arkanis declared. "You are the Chosen Sovereign, aren't you?"

Hiroshi collapsed into the chair Arkanis had dragged out from the wall behind him, staggered. *How am I ever going to unify this crowd of quarreling idiots when they can't even agree what color the sky is?!