clothing and grazed her skin. Blood began to trickle down her sides as she struggled to stand erect.
'What did I do to deserve this treatment, Queen? I am your sister. Why do you attack me so? As a leader, you cannot allow for your passions and anger to rule your judgment. You must think outside yourself.' Kishi, with the help of the queen's guard, stood all the way up now to make the declaration she had come to make this day.
'I feel that my sister is not a competent leader, so I have taken it upon myself, the rightful heir, to start anew.' The queen looked shocked for an instant, and then her countenance fell.
'I have established the true kingdom of the high elves on Mount Konane without the help of the deceitful guardians. All those who wish to join us will be welcome on our mountain kingdom. What I have done cannot be construed as treason because I have followed the laws of our people. I have set up a monarchy that is in keeping with the right of rule established by high elven law. I vow to lead the people by their voice and limit bureaucracy to fulfill their purpose and nothing more.' She winced from the pain from the cuts on her sides. She turned around and used her magic to blast open the doors of the hall and departed into the unrelenting storm.
As the council's meeting was beginning, Jaali met with the people who had gathered together for their departure to the east. From their vantage point, they could just see the outer wall and the massive gate. There were only four guards protecting the entrance because of the high security at the council chambers. The people began to murmur amongst themselves that their escape would come off without a hitch. However, as the black storm clouds began to move in, many feared that this was an ominous sign that what they were about to do was wrong.
Jaali immediately took control of the situation. 'The clouds you see overhead were created by our friend Lord Diikker. He felt that a little darkness along with rain would assist in keeping our departure secret.' He knew something of how to inspire people and how to cajole others into accepting what he said. The people seemed to understand and had a surge of new hope to move forward with their plans.
'By the time our queen has made known to the council what her intentions are; we will be off this mountain. The rain will slow any pursuit if they choose to act so rashly.' He was a natural at this kind of leadership. He knew that he would get all of the people off this mountain and not get caught in the process. 'Tenanden will guard our retreat from any possible pursuit. As you can see now, the guards at the gate have been dealt with.' He gestured toward the main entrance. 'They have not been harmed, just rendered unconscious. The doors will be open by the time we reach them, so let's move out.'
The group that departed that day was not pursued. They made it all the way to their new home without seeing another soul. The total number of those that left the main body of the high elves under Queen Kira's rule was just a little more than half the total number of people. Many of them were traditionalists who felt that King Ciel was not bad but that he had lost control of the kingdom. They saw Queen Kishi as a powerful leader who would not allow the rule of her people to suffer the same fate as the elves. They also understood that Kira was leading them down a treacherous road with all of the rules and laws she had personally broken.
CHAPTER 6
General Yukio called a halt to his vanguard. They had just caught a glimpse of their homeland of Nairi off in the distance. He whistled three sharp blasts that sounded very near to the call of a warrior hawk. Silence was the only answer before the call was actually returned. A dark spot appeared on the horizon and appeared to be getting bigger and bigger as it neared their position. It was obvious that a bird of some kind was approaching at a very fast pace. This was the hawk that the general had apparently called to. The bird went into a steep dive as he approached the group. Yukio stuck his arm out, and his faithful servant landed lightly. He gave his trusty companion some food and stroked his chest affectionately.
'I need you to carry a couple of important messages for me,' he said to his feathered friend. He tied two messages onto each leg of the warrior hawk. The messages contained requests for a meeting with the government of the new nation of high elves. This first trip to his homeland was important for him to make not only because he had been gone from the service of Queen Daria for far too long, but also to request her presence at a summit at the capital city of Alanderas. He needed to explain what had happened and to ask for military support. He had a very difficult task in front of him. The messages on the hawk were for the kings of men.
The hawk took off with an unexpected urgency as if Yukio had somehow communicated to him the necessity of ensuring the messages were delivered as fast as possible. The warrior hawk was heading in the direction of King Leroy Ishrafle of the realm of Landen. Yukio thought that he would get a positive reply from him regarding Queen Kira's request. When he had the king's reply, the hawk would return with it to his master before he delivered the next message. His next stop would be King Derek Udrugi of the Forest of Aran. The general was not as sure about that particular reply. He knew that the Udrugi was close with the elven king and would not be happy about the division. It remained to be seen if he would come or not.
'What do you think will be your queen's reply to our summons?' questioned Bronwen Merindiel. He eyed the general passively as he waited for an answer.
'Well, I would understand if she was angry with me, but I do not believe she will turn her back on the high elves in their hour of need. She will respect my judgment in this matter,' General Yukio said with great confidence.
'Are we going to visit any of the dwarven kingdoms? They would be very important allies to have if a war comes of this,' said Bronwen. He continued to watch the general as they rode along the path that led down to Nairi.
'We will visit King Edric Nognili at his island kingdom of Mount Ennis,' Yukio replied. 'He may not personally come to the summit, but he will likely send someone in his stead. I believe he will provide us with provisions, armor, and weapons. He does not like to get involved in other people's affairs. He has the only dwarven warriors close enough to us to do us any good, so that is why we will visit him. The mighty kings Jarvis Dagnolir and Kasim Thokrog are too far to the south for a visit. I will send my hawk to deliver messages to them once the other kings of men have had their invitations delivered.' His eyes were focused on the beautiful cliffs of Nairi. He did not notice the looks that Bronwen was giving him.
'That sounds like a prudent course of action. What of the giants? Will we visit them?' queried the chairman.
'When the queen and I were speaking with Mistress Kana, she gave us the impression that they would side with the elves. It would not be wise to venture into their realm. We may not come out again. We should not send them any messages either because that would give away our plans. Secrecy is vital to our success where they are concerned.'
'With a guardian on our side, we will not fail. I believe that there is great wisdom in not involving the giants. They are too unpredictable and violent. They would ruin our plans even if they were on our side. Their aggressive tendencies have made them an isolated people. Even King Ciel could not deal with them for very long,' Bronwen explained.
'Well put, my good friend. Our hope lies with men and dwarves. They are powerful allies in seasons of peace and even more so in times of war. We must be persuasive in our meetings with my queen and with King Edric. Those two alone would provide us with sufficient protection and much needed supplies. When we meet with Queen Daria, please allow me to do the talking at first. I will need to explain my actions and seek her forgiveness. I will let you explain the division that has taken place. Then we will ask for her support together,' Yukio explained.
Bronwen nodded in agreement with Yukio's plan. He understood that the queen may not be too happy at first because her general had not reported back for many months. He knew that Yukio was a very persuasive man and would succeed in securing her pardon. Then he could present the case for Queen Kira and the high elves. Obtaining the military support of the Nairian army would be vital to their success. Their first meeting was the most important. His thoughts were beginning to consume him so much that he did not take notice of the immense beauty of the ragged canyon lands that the general called home. He knew that he must succeed in securing the support of the
