Elf Lords: 01 - Pearls of the Elf Lords

by Richard Saunders

  From his station, Jaylen observed that many of the Elders nodded approvingly at Boric’s claim and he began growing somewhat concerned at this trend. Josh waited for Boric to take his seat before announcing the third claimant. “Thirdly I present Lord Thenamin Sergius, Duke of Shoal; son of Chance Sergius, Duke of Shoal; son of Winston Sergius, Duke of Shoal; son of Sir Knight Roderic Sergius the Second, Knight of Alexon; son of Prince Roderic Sergius, brother to King Jason Sergius, great grandfather to King Semmit: Making Lord Thenamin Sergius the third cousin to King Semmit.”

  Thenamin Sergius stood before the council. The Duke of Shoal did not appear to be the fighter that his reputation proclaimed. He was tall, thin and not at all the image one had of a field commander or a hero. But, truth be told, he was both. Joth addressed Lord Thenamin with the same question. “Lord Thenamin, do you make this claim of your own free will and accord.”

  “I do.” Thenamin said with a polite bow before being seated.

  Jaylen watched the Elders, trying to gage their reaction. Only one nodded reverently this time and Jaylen feared that if the vote were held today that Boric would win. The vote did not need to be unanimous, but it was required to be at least a two-vote margin of victory. Should that not occur, then the top two candidates would continue to be voted on while any others were dropped. The Elders would continue to vote until someone received a minimum of six votes. Jaylen knew that Thenamin did not stand a chance, and Jaylen was growing certain that Petra would not win a vote against Boric. Then a near-sinister grin appeared on the elf’s face as he plotted a way to upset the process entirely.

  Joth stood once more. For reasons of legality alone he asked, “Are their any others who wish to claim their legal right to the throne of Alexon?”

  Jaylen stood.

  “Does the Swordmaster of Alexon have something to add?” Joth asked.

  The elf fixed his gaze on the Chairman of the Council of Elders. “There is one more who wishes to claim his right to the throne. Landis, Half-Elven: First-cousin of the late King Semmit, by virtue of being the son of Princess Meagan Sergius; Sister to King Henrad Sergius, who was father of King Semmit Sergius. Thereby making him the closest of kin, with the exception of Princess Petra Sergius.”

  Landis glared up at his father in shock, wondering what in the abyss his father was trying to do. Jaylen looked down at intently, his fingers working in a manner that only Landis recognized. Startled, Landis wondered where his father had learned the almost indiscernible and secret finger language known as thieves cant—Trust me on this. You must declare your right to the throne.—Landis pushed the mystery aside and concentrated on his father’s message.

  The room was filled with voices as everyone began discussing this sudden turn of events, which worked to give Landis time to consider his father’s action. Feeling very uncertain of himself, he stood. Joth banged his gavel once, calling for silence. When order had once again been restored he faced the half-elf. “We have a fourth claim. Landis, Half-Elven, son of Princess Megan Sergius, sister to King Henrad Sergius, grandfather of King Semmit Sergius, thereby making him first cousin—and closest living relative beside Petra Sergius—to King Semmit Sergius. Landis, do you make this claim of your own free will and accord?”

  With all eyes upon him, including those of the Princess, Landis wanted to flee from the hall. He had no idea what his father was up to but knew that he must act at once. Trusting in his father’s judgment, Landis replied, “Yes.”

  “And do you confirm that you will take upon yourself the surname of Sergius if chosen King?”

  “Yes.” Landis agreed, never having thought of using a surname before.

  Joth repeated the required questions, seeking for further claims and seeing no response he banged his gavel declaring, “The proclamation session is now complete. The Council of Elders will now take the names of the four candidates into private chambers and we will announce our decision at the appropriate time.

  “I now call upon Arch-Prelate Seebaul to close this session with a prayer of guidance for the Council so that we will make the right decision. And then everyone is dismissed.”

  Seebaul stood and delivered a lengthy blessing, being certain to mention each Elder and each candidate by name before closing his prayer. When the prayer ended Landis bolted from the room. He could not help but see the look of betrayal in Petra’s face when she locked eyes with him. Mercifully for the half-elf, others soon obstructed her view and he continued out of the hall undisturbed. Once in the hall, he made his way to Jaylen’s room to wait for his father. When Jaylen arrived he confronted his father before the elf had time to close the door behind him. “What are you trying to get me involved with?” Landis demanded. “The last thing I desire is to be the King of Alexon, let alone the High King of the Westland. All this will do is hurt Petra.”

  Jaylen crossed the floor to look out his window. “Relax. All will work out for the best, with Petra taking the throne as the new Queen.”

  “What makes you so sure?”

  “Think about something, Landis.” Jaylen turned away from the window. “Alexon has just finished a war with elves. Sure, they were a different race of elves, but they were elves just the same. You understand the prejudice around you all too well. Many of the Elders are afraid to turn the throne over the Petra because she is both a child and a female. They remember that they once had a queen: A very nice woman who ruled for nearly twenty years. But that was long before anyone in that room, other than Seebaul and I, lived. And she did not have any wars or serious conflicts to deal with. So they have what they believe to be a valid concern.

  “The answer is simple. Name Boric king, as he is the closest living male relative to Semmit. They cannot bypass him for Thenamin. So it is between Boric and Petra.

  “Now I have put a wedge between Petra and Boric. You are the first cousin of Semmit. You are easily the closest relative save Petra. You are a royal prince who practically grew up in the castle, whereas Boric was raised in Freeport. And you have plenty of experience with conflict. They legally cannot pass you over for Boric.”

  Landis began to see what his father had done. “So, by throwing my name into the mix you are using their prejudices against them. In order for them to prevent having a half-elf king they must choose Petra.”

  “Precisely.” Jaylen said, feeling very proud of himself “You see, Landis. When you spend enough time living with the humans, you learn how to think like them.”

  Landis liked the idea. “It should work. But why didn’t you tell me this before.”

  “I only just came up with it while sitting there.”

  Landis thought of Petra and how upset she must be with him now. “We need to let Petra no what we are doing?”

  “I will see to it that she receives word.”

  Landis thought about the look on the Elders’ faces when Joth announced his claim. Then another thought came to mind. “Father, what if the Elders decide to call our bluff and name me King, believing that I will decline?”

  “If that happens then you will not decline.”

  “I cannot be king.” Landis said.

  “Landis, I do not believe that there is any chance that they will select you to be King of Alexon. But if they do so in an attempt to get you to back down, you must accept and become King. Then you can marry Petra and make her your Queen. Once she is Queen you can abdicate, naming Petra as your successor. Since she is a direct descendant, they would declare her Queen. Especially if you inform them ahead of time that they must approve of the decision before you step down.”

  “You really do think like a human.” Landis said to his father. “But there is one flaw in your plan. I doubt seriously that Petra would marry me after all that has happened.”

  Chapter 30

  More people were packed into The Great Hall of the Council of Elders than anyone could ever remember. The official time of mourning had passed and the Elders were free to make a public decision as to who would be named the next monarch of t
he kingdom. It was said that the Elders had met until dawn discussing and debating their options. It was not known how many votes may have been taken or if they came to a resolution before casting their first tally. Rumor had it that they were not so much as arguing over who to select as they were searching the charter for a way around Landis’ claim. Rumor also had it that they had failed. This speculation pleased Landis and Jaylen, who were anxiously hoping that Landis’ last minute claim to the throne would force the Elders to select Petra as Queen.

  The four claimants for the Throne of Alexon would be seated at the foot of the empty throne, facing the Elders. Petra and Landis were already in their seats, with the Princess on the far right, facing the Elders, and Landis sitting to her left. Petra spoke her first words to Landis since before the half-elf had departed Talboth. “I understand why you are doing this and I thank you.” She whispered to him.

  “It was my father’s idea.” He said.

  A grin adorned the princess’ pretty face, “You know, after listening to Jaylen’s explanation, I almost considered stepping aside in favor of you being selected, that way you would be forced to marry me.” She said with a wink.

  “Assuming that the marriage would occur faster than one of the many contracts that would be put out against me with the Stalkers came to fruition.” Landis replied.

  “There was that concern.” She granted.

  Landis was pleased that Petra no longer seemed to be angry with him. But he still could sense that all was not right between them just yet.

  “Any word on Trevor?” She asked.

  “He is still confined to his quarters in the garrison. I am told that he is being treated very well. Much better than he would be if General Bix had taken him.”

  Thenamin stopped in front of Petra on his way to his seat. “Good luck, Princess.” He said to her then continued on to the seat at the far left, designating his place in the order of birthright.

  “Thank you.” Petra replied, wondering if Thenamin’s words were as genuine as they sounded.

  Lord Boric Tulia, Duke of Freeport, entered from the opposite side of the room and took his seat between Thenamin and Landis without speaking to anyone. The room was silenced by three raps from Joth’s gavel. The Chairman of the Elders looked older this morning than he had at the outset of this process. Landis guessed that the man had received very little rest during the past three days. “The Council of Elders has come to a decision, of sorts.” He mumbled the latter part. “All four candidates have a true and valid claim. But the law is pretty clear as to who our choice must be. But we have added a provision to make sure that our decision is the correct one.

  “The Council of Elders declare that the new ruler over the Kingdom of Alexon is Petra Sergius!”

  A cheer erupted throughout the assembly. Landis was awestruck by the support Petra was now receiving. Thenamin Sergius stood and advanced on Petra, drawing his sword as he took three steps and turned to face his new queen. Landis was about to jump to his feet in Petra’s defense, until Thenamin quickly dropped to one knee before Petra, holding his drawn sword forward so that it lay in the palms of both hands. “It shall be my pleasure to serve you, my Queen. I am your servant always.”

  Petra graciously thanked Thenamin then gave Landis a hug when he offered his congratulations. Boric sat stoically, his eyes looking straight ahead as Joth resumed pounding his gavel to silence the audience. When he had regained control he continued. “As I said, we have made a provision to go along with this decision. The council has decided that due to Petra’s age that she will need someone to serve as Regent to aide her. The Council has selected Lord Boric Tuladad to serve as the Queen’s Regent until she has reached the appropriate age of adulthood, or has married a suitable Regent.” Joth was looking expectantly at Prince Eric in hopes that the Prince of Birhirm would rise and make an announcement. But Eric remained seated. Boric looked to his Queen. “It will be my pleasure to serve with you, Queen Petra.”

  Joth stood, “This session is adjourned. We will assemble again at noon tomorrow in the Royal Throne Room of the palace where the new Queen will be coronated.”

  Chapter 31

  The afternoon was a busy one for the newly appointed Queen. She now had to meet with her closest advisors and some of those who she would be closely working with to fill in many details for her monarchy. This gave Landis the opportunity he needed to exit and seek out other activities. He could not locate Katryn and he knew that his father would be in the meeting with Petra, so he decided that he would go to the garrison to visit Trevor. But upon arriving at the Garrison of the Knights of Alexon, he learned that Rathkemp DuJurnor had already escorted Trevor to the castle. So Landis began the walk back to the palace pondering how much longer he would remain, for the city was already growing tiresome for the half-elf. He entered the palace and saw Eric in the distance speaking with a man whom Landis did not recognize. He had assumed that the Prince would be in the meeting with Petra, but now that she had been officially selected he guessed that there was no need to continue their unspoken charade of being betrothed. Landis was just about to walk over to join them when Natis came up to him from behind.

  “There you are. I have been looking all over for you.”

  “What do you need, Nate?” Landis asked.

  Natis looked about before speaking. “We need to prepare to send the artifacts to Lonia. We have spent enough time diagramming them and have taken all the notes necessary. And Renald is growing tired of the hoops that have been requiring him to jump through in order to keep him delayed. He wants to know where Twaller Oakleaf is with the Green Staff.”

  “I wish I knew. I have asked Katryn, but she insists that he did not tell her anything.”

  “There is another who has been asking about that staff,” Natis informed him, “the Arch-Prelate, Seebaul, has been down twice asking about it.”

  Landis was concerned with this news. “Why would Seebaul have any interest in the staff? He has nothing to do with any of this.”

  “Agreed, but he has been asking questions. I also have some concern for Renald. He is of the opinion that he can carry these things back himself. I would not even dare such a task because I can feel their draw upon me just while touching them during my examination. I told him that we need to use non-magic users to transport them but he does not believe that is necessary.”

  “Then we will have Petra order it.” Landis said.

  The two were still discussing this when Eric approached. “Landis, I have something of utmost importance to discuss with you.”

  “What is it?” The half-elf asked.

  “We cannot talk here. Follow me outside.” Eric began walking briskly towards the exit with Landis and Natis in tow. They walked away from the building and stood a good distance away from any prying ears before Eric spoke again. “I have just received word from my father as to who is behind Petra’s assassination plot.”

  “Who?” Landis wanted to know.

  Eric glanced about, wanting to ensure that no one was nearby. “Boric.”

  Landis was astonished. “Is he certain? We cannot accuse him without being able to prove it: The man is going to be named Regent, and if we cannot bring evidence it will look like an attempt by Petra to get revenge for his opposition to her claim to the throne.”

  “My father is certain, Landis. Our sources were able to discover someone in Birhirm who was aiding Diabolis when he attempted to kill Petra there. After questioninghim, he revealed his source of contact with the Stalkers.

  “The Network went to work back-tracking the source and eventually located a go-between used by Diabolis and Boric. The man was using carrier pigeons and other means to send messages back and forth both from the person who contracted the assassination and with Diabolis.

  “They had this man in custody when a message arrived from here in Alexon demanding to know what Diabolis was doing when word came that Petra was in Talboth. It seems that Diabolis’ death had not yet been discovered, assuming that
it has as yet.”

  “Was the message from Boric?” Landis asked.

  “Not exactly,” Eric continued. “The message was from someone who is close to Boric. A man named Carter, who worked with carrier pigeons for Boric in Freeport. He moved here to Alexon after Boric came to assist in the war. Boric put him in charge of Nathan’s birds.”

  Landis remembered that Prince Nathan had an interest in carrier pigeons that he had developed due to his friendship with Boric.

  Eric continued his explanation, “It was this man who was sending the messages. My Father had people sent to take him into custody…”

  “You father had a citizen of Alexon arrested in the city of Alexon?” Landis interrupted.

  “Detained might be a better word for it. He was afraid that we could not trust reporting this to anyone here for fear of the person responsible finding out about it. So he simply took matters into his own hand—which is not the first time—and questioned Carter until he gave Boric up.”

  “You mean tortured him.” Natis corrected.

  “The point is that Carter had evidence that Boric was behind it. He still had the notes hidden away, penned by Boric’s own hand. There is nothing in them directly linking him to meeting with Diabolis and arranging the assassination. But there are plenty of notes informing Diabolis of Petra’s movements to aid him in locating her.”

  “That is enough to prove treason.” Landis acknowledged.

  “There is more,” Eric went on, “Carter swears that Nathan’s death was not at the hands of the snow-elves in battle. He claims that Boric confided in him that he ran Nathan through when the two of them were secluded and Nathan had his back to him. He knew that Semmit was dying and understood that the only thing between him and the throne was Nathan, and perhaps Petra.”

  “Do you have this proof?” Landis inquired.

  Eric patted his pouch. “It was just handed to me by someone here in Alexon that I trust.”