Many Fauns of different species walked through the halls, chatting with each other. They were all dressed in black, flowing robes and had golden chains around their necks. Some walked with sticks or staffs in a very distinguished manner, and only a couple gave them a sideways glance.
“Where are we?” Thomas asked as the guards closed the doors.
“Under the Palace of Nations,” Bolswaithe answered. “The Guardians created this building as the host of the League of Nations. At some point between the wars, the Guardians wanted to open the lid of the existence of Fauns to the world at large. The League of Nations was to be the instrument for that transition, but the Warmaster and Hitler stopped it from happening. The United Nations then formed for humanity, while the League of Nations remained for Fauns and humans. One day we hope to unite them again.”
“Human governments know about this place?”
“Of course,” Bolswaithe said, “but only at the highest levels. Almost all nations of the world have a representative down here, and all Faun tribes are represented.”
“And why are we here?”
Elise pulled on Thomas again. “I've told you already! We are talking with a friend. Come on, today's session is about to begin and we don't have much time.”
Thomas followed Elise down one hallway until she stopped in front of a door. “Now don't embarrass me okay?”
“I got that,” Thomas answered through clenched teeth.
Elise paused again before knocking, and then she turned toward Thomas. “And don't be afraid, okay?”
“Afraid? Why should I be afraid?”
Elise knocked on the door.
“It's open. Come in,” a deep, growling voice called from inside the room. A strong, musky odor struck Thomas as Elise opened the door.
He had to admit: he was becoming a little bit afraid.
Minister Idar
The room was austere and the lights were dim, almost completely dark. They entered the room and closed the door behind them; the strong, musky odor permeated the room making Thomas twitch his nose. He had visited a meat factory once in Ohio, and the odor reminded him of that visit, like entering a butchery. Then he saw a plate with half-eaten raw meat on a table, and a form stirred on the far side of the room.
The form grew large, wide and tall, but he couldn't make it out because of the dim lights. It was muscular though, and furry. Two large triangular ears rose up on the head, giving the silhouette a demonic appearance.
“Princess Erisham!” the form half-yelled, half growled. A row of huge, white teeth and fangs reflected a sliver of light, and two large eyes shone red toward them. Thomas could feel each step the creature took through the floorboards.
“I'll call you Minister if you don't stop that, Idar!” Elise playfully said as she ran toward the figure. A deep laugh resonated just as the creature kneeled and extended his arms to receive Elise. The arms ended in powerful hands with large, sharp claws. Thomas refrained from saying anything, but a chill ran down his spine as Elise nearly disappeared in the embrace.
“But I win more from that transaction!” Idar laughed. “I'm just a poor bureaucrat while you're a princess!”
“Isn't that why you became a politician in the first place?” Elise teased. “To win in transactions?”
Idar laughed again. “Ah,” he said, releasing Elise. “I always thought you would make a great politician. Your place is in this assembly, Erisham. And there's still time, you know? I would certainly vouch for you.”
“I'm fine where I am. I always wanted to be a Guardian.”
“I know, I know,” Idar growled. “How's your family? Your parents and brother?”
“They are great. Working at home.”
“I hear that Ukiah is stirring. No news from Eidameran?” Idar asked, letting Thomas know that the Fauns were very much in contact with what was happening to the Pillars of Magic. Ukiah was a life elemental, one of the most powerful magical forces in the world. Like the other pillars, she was dormant, but the coming of the Oracle had begun to permeate the world with Magic and the Pillars were stirring. The Guardians had a room devoted to monitoring the known Pillars. The fire elemental, Mi Tze-a-da-zi, that slept under Yellowstone was of particular concern to the Guardians since a volcanic eruption could send the world into a new Ice Age. Ukiah resided on the Mendocino National Forest, and her power fueled the redwoods growth and many populations of Fauns and especially of the Elves. Eidameran, the seat of King’s Seryaan kingdom and home to Elise’s family, was very close to Ukiah.
“Lush as always,” she said. “Nothing to report.”
“Good,” Idar grunted. “Now pleasantries aside, what can I do for you?”
“I brought a couple of friends to meet you.” She pointed toward the door where Thomas and Bolswaithe were waiting patiently for them to finish their meeting.
“A human,” Idar said, sniffing the air, “and something else.” He approached them, growing larger with every step.
As the faun approached, Thomas finally recognized his species.
It was a wolf!
Strong, muscular, and incredibly imposing. His dark fur was streaked with white, and his muscles rippled under its fur. It was like looking at a Hollywood movie monster coming to life, and Thomas could not refrain from taking a step back.
“Don't be scared, little one.” Idar smiled at Thomas, his jaws full of glistening fangs. “I don't bite.” He extended a claw toward Bolswaithe. “I am Minister Idar of the Raksha clan.”
“A pleasure, sir.” Bolswaithe shook his hand. “My name is Bolswaithe.”
Idar approached Bolswaithe and sniffed twice. “And you're not human,” he said matter of fact. “You smell of oil and grease and metal and plastic. No offense intended. What are you, Bolswaithe?”
“A robot, sir.”
“A robot?” Idar glanced back at Elise. “Not mere toys and tools anymore, are you? Are you sentient?” he asked. “And are you an individual, or just an extension of some human sitting on a chair?”
Thomas grimaced; intended or not, the questions seemed incredibly offensive.
“I am my own, sir,” Bolswaithe told him with a smile, which Minister Idar returned.
“Congratulations then, Bolswaithe!” he said, “and welcome to the world of sentient beings! Maybe your tribe will have a delegation down here in the future.”
“Thank you, sir. I'll certainly propose it when we become a tribe.”
The Minister nodded at Bolswaithe appreciatively and then turned toward Thomas, extending his paw at him. “And you?” he asked. “Who might you be?”
Thomas extended his hand; Idar’s paw completely engulfed his, and he felt the strength in those fingers despite the Minister’s refrain from shaking or even squeezing a little bit. “Thomas Byrne, sir,” he said. “Nice to meet you.”
Idar kept holding his hand. “Byrne?” he asked. “I heard about some things attached to that name already.”
“What have you heard, sir?” Thomas gulped.
“Oh…” he waved his claw nonchalantly in front of Thomas’s face. His ears folded close to his head in a very threatening posture. “Something about Hussahassalin and something about the Warmaster. But you can't have been in both places at once, can you?”
Thomas gulped again and exchanged a worried look with Elise. She walked toward them “You slick wolf!” she said. “You already know there are two! You're just looking for confirmation. Stop torturing Thomas.”
The Minister let out a laugh and let go of Thomas’s hand. “The world's a little place,” he told them as his ears lifted up, “and I have big ears.”
“The other Cypher is his grandfather,” Elise said. “Now, tell us what you've heard about him.”
“Hold it right there,” the Minister said. “First things first.” He turned to Thomas. “Lights!” he said, and the room illuminated. Thomas watched as Idar’s pupils grew smaller. “I guess this is better for you,” he told him. “Would you like something to drink? I have
tea, water, and even some soda around here.” He walked toward the large table, the right size for the Minister, but a little large for the humans. He picked up the plate with raw meat and bones and threw it into a trash container. Then he opened the door to what looked like a fridge.
“Water for me, please,” Elise said.
“Nothing for me, thanks,” Thomas said, climbing up into the chair.
“You sure?” Idar wiggled a can of soda with his clawed hand.
“Well,” Thomas said, “Sure, I'll take it. Thank you.”
“Anything for you, my mechanical friend?” he asked Bolswaithe. “I can ask for some oil or grease or something else for you.”
“I'm fine, sir,” Bolswaithe said. “Thank you.”
The Minister sat down at the table, extending the water and soda toward them. “So, was it a sign from the Oracle in Hussahassalin?” he asked Thomas.
Thomas didn't say anything; he wasn't supposed to. The Doctor had strictly forbidden him from talking about the Oracle with anyone, but Elise gave him a nod, and she officially was the Doctor’s right hand.
“Yes, it was,” Thomas replied.
“Aha!” The Minister clapped. “The time of Concord is again upon us, and you, my boy, could be the one who finally brings everyone together.”
Dear God! Thomas thought. Not with the Fauns too! Everywhere he went and everyone he met just expected him to be and do great things. He was tired of hearing the same greater-than-life future he was supposed to live. All he could do was read strange languages. He was just a translation dictionary with legs.
Idar seemed to sense Thomas’s frustration, because he immediately reclined back. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “You do know what’s expected of you, don’t you?”
There was an awkward pause that Elise interrupted, “That’s why we came,” she said, “So he could meet Fauns in person and learned about their needs and motivations.”
The Minister closed his hands in front of him. “Well, that’s easy,” he said. “We want respect, to become known to humans…we want protection to our anchor species, our own lands and resources, and thrive as a people. In short, we want to become partners of humanity.” He leaned forward in his chair. “Of course, that’s what we want in the long run, but right now we are focusing on avoiding a war with humans and survival.”
“A war?” Elise asked.
“Of course, my dear!” Idar slammed his hands on the table, his claws embedding themselves into the wood. “Do you know how much clout I would get with the Azure Guard for killing this Byrne in front of me right now?” he asked. “Oh, it would be such a victory for them.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Thomas saw Bolswaithe inching closer to the table. Thomas knew that if Idar even came close, Bolswaithe would surely take him on in a hand-to-hand battle.
“The truth is that the Guardians are failing us,” Idar continued. “The Pillars are stirring, the tribes are restless… There is almost no faith left on the Clans for the Guardians’ promises.” He pried loose his claws and pointed at Thomas. “We need you to do something for us if we want to avoid another war.”
“We have done much for you,” Elise said. “We created the National Parks initiative. The zoos. We are pushing conservation and the responsible use of the resources. Recycling—”
“Too little,” Idar interrupted. “Too late. Ask the whales and dolphins. You can’t even stop the massacres of their anchor species every year. They are threatening to do something about it themselves.”
“Like what?”
“You’ll have to ask them yourself. The Norway, Iceland, and Japan representatives have had to be…ahh…protectively escorted outside of the forum a couple of times.” Idar looked directly at Thomas. “We Fauns depend on our anchor species, our ‘little brothers’ to survive. When an animal species becomes threatened, Fauns lose strength and magical powers. We begin to whither, and when that species becomes extinct, its faun counterpart dies as well. In this day and age, there are many Faun clans in danger.”
“And you?” For the first time, Thomas spoke directly to the Minister. “What about your clan? I know wolves are threatened too.”
“Well,” Idar reclined back again, a grin drawn on his snout. “My particular clan is safe thanks to the forethought of my ancestors. You see, we were the first to recognize humans as an emerging power, an animal unlike any other we’d seen. We actually thought that you were the Fauns of the Cro-Magnons! But you are not; you are an anchor species. So, we decided to throw our lot with you, and we pushed our anchor species to live with you and become your companions.” He waited for the idea to dawn on Thomas.
“Dogs?” Thomas asked. “Your anchor species are dogs?”
“Yes, dogs,” Idar told him. “Isn’t that wonderful? All dogs trace their ancestry to wolves. Our ancestors knew what they were doing. They taught humans how to care for our anchor species, which insured that as long as humans survived we would too. We went to war over that with many other clans. It took some of them—I don’t know…seven or eight thousand years—to understand what we already knew, that humans were here to stay. Then other clans followed our example, the B-beeki, the Phoy, the Ochran-Threr…” Thomas had never heard those names, and Idar stopped and translated the names for him. “The Chickens.”
“Chickens have fauns?”
“Oh yes!” Idar said, “the Ochran-Threr are true martyrs of our cause. Their leader is the president of the League of Nations. She is both wise and powerful.”
Chickens! It was a little difficult for Thomas to think that a chicken was both powerful and wise. He nodded with an involuntary chuckle.
“What’s so funny?” Idar growled, his claws raking the table as he closed his hand into a fist.
Thomas immediately stopped chuckling. “Nothing, sir,” he said. “It’s just that chickens, well…”
Idar slammed his fist on the table, taking a chunk out of it. “You haven’t taught him anything!” Idar reproached Elise.
Thomas gulped. Elise’s eyes grew wide.
“Listen, here,” he said as he pointed a claw at Thomas. “You humans think you’re masters of the planet. You have no sense of history, and you forget easily. To you, twenty, fifty, a hundred years is a long time! We have lived eons, and we do learn from history. You discount the Ochran-Threr…the chickens,” he said angrily, “based on your perception of them. They are a proud clan. Do you think it was easy for them to offer their anchor species to you knowing that untold billions would die to sate your hunger? You humans practiced slavery among your own kind! In some places you still do!” He stood up from the table. “You’re barbaric, brutish, and because of your nature this experiment…this League of Nations, is on the brink of collapsing. I haven’t met the other Byrne, but I’ve heard that he is committed to our cause and that he is, at the very least, respectful.” His eyes turned into slits. “If you, boy,” he said, “are the best the Guardians have to offer, there will be war.” He turned around. “This interview is over.”
Thomas silently stood up from the table, feeling the full intensity of Elise’s glare on his face. He had screwed up.
Badly.
“Princess Erisham,” Idar said as they opened the door. “Would you remain a second please?”
Elise pushed Thomas from the room and closed the door behind her. Thomas and Bolswaithe walked along the corridor for a short while before Bolswaithe commented in a nonchalant tone, “That could have gone better.”
“You think?” Thomas said. “Dammit, Bolswaithe! I’m way over my head! Everyone thinks I’m this great savior or guide or something! Everyone expects me to change the world somehow…” he stammered. “I am not a hero. I just can read anything. That’s it. Scribble whatever you want, any way you want. I’ll read it,” he said, then mocked himself with a “whoooohoo.”
“That’s not what we saw in Ormagra,” Bolswaithe said.
“It wasn’t me who stopped the Wraith; it was the statue. I was just a conduit,” Thom
as said. “It was a fluke.”
“It’s funny that only you view it this way, Thomas. Everyone else was quite impressed, including King Seryaan.”
“You know, I’m getting tired of that,” Thomas said angrily. “From the Guardians, to the King, and now the Fauns. I don’t know what the hell you expect from me.”
“I’ll tell you.” Elise was standing behind him, and he didn’t know just how much she had overheard.
“I’m sorry, Elise…” he began to apologize.
“Shut up and follow me,” she snapped as she led him toward a stairway. “Minister Idar wanted me to make sure you saw this.” She led them through a circular corridor and stopped in front of a door. Thomas could hear a lot of muffled noise coming from the other side. “We still have a couple of minutes before today’s session begins,” Elise said as she opened the doors.
They were standing on an inside balcony of a dome overlooking an assembly hall. From the top, the floor of the hall looked like a spider web. Large squares of seats and wide passages interconnected and divided the hall into smaller squares as it reached the center. Thomas could see a whole section of the hall filled with water where the seats should be, and large animals, whales, and dolphins were swimming. There was a circular table in the center that rotated slowly with a semicircle of chairs arranged like a pyramid, and in front of it stood an elevated podium.
Thomas leaned on the guardrail. Thousands of different animal fauns were chattering down below them as they walked toward their seats.
“The assembly hall,” Elise explained, pointing out at the hall below. “It is arranged in expanding lines from the center toward the outer ring. At the center is the presiding council; those Faun clans that have more contact with humans. Minister Idar sits in that ring. Individual Faun clans are affiliated in fourteen great tribes,” she pointed out the separating lines. “Three for America, North, South, and the Amazon league. There is one tribe for all of Europe, one for India, and Madagascar. There’s one for the Middle East all the way into the Himalayas that also covers China, Mongolia, the Steppes, and Siberia. There are three tribes for Africa, and there’s one tribe for the Indochina Peninsula that encompasses Australia and New Zealand. The whales and dolphins have their own tribe, as do raptors. All other birds belong to the different continental tribes. There used to be a tribe for each of the poles, but the polar tribes have banded together because of the climate change. The inner ring is made up of their tribal representatives, and the representatives of each clan sit behind that ring. That section...” Elise pointed out one composed of humans and Elves, “is for the representatives of the Methos, the Elven, Dwarven, and Fae Nations, and behind them are the representatives of humanity—one for each country. The last section is the Guardians delegation.”
Guardians Inc.:Thundersword (Guardians Incorporated #2) Page 6
