Chapter 169: The Gathering Of Kings 1

King Aldren Greymane stood from the dais at the front of the room. "Before matters turn to the discomfort of other nations, I suggest you remember why you’re here," he said. The murmurs of the crowd died down as Aldren looked over the assembly. "You would normally send representatives to an affair such as this. I asked every eligible ruler and recognised clan chief to attend personally, and those who couldn’t arrive by teleportation used the roads and skies to reach us," Aldren said.

Garrath folded his arms. "And some of us are still not pleased," he said. "This should change your mind," Aldren said as he gestured toward the teleportation chamber at the far end of the hall. "We have fewer than one-hundred delegates attending the gathering, but each ruler here has made his decision based on more than a feeling of obligation." The Lion King smirked.

"I’m sure you’ll be content as soon as you learn what the surprises have chosen for us," he said. "I sincerely hope so," Aldren replied. Aldren turned his attention toward Tanaka. "To begin the proceedings, we shall exchange introductions. Once every ruler has made himself known to the others, we may proceed to the discussions at hand," he said.

Tanaka bounced once, relieved. That was a good sign. At least we aren’t starting with speeches, he thought. The king gestured toward Garrath. "King Garrath Goldmane of the Lion Tribe," he announced. The golden-maned warrior rose to his feet. Though he took up most of the space in his chair, the sheer size of him and his crown of living gold wasn’t enough to blind the royal audience. His Monster King level aura radiated outward regardless, and his amber eyes studied the crowd before he focused on Tanaka.

"Presenting the sovereign of the Golden Pride and the Lion Territories, Garrath Goldmane. I was intrigued to see which powerful ruler had impressed a Star Wolf King enough to invite him here," Garrath said. Raizen’s expression remained the same. Tanaka gave him a friendly smile. "He’s a friend, not a follower," Tanaka said. "Is that so?" Garrath’s grin widened. "We shall see," he said.

He lowered himself back into his chair, leaving the verbal challenge open between himself and Tanaka. His manners grated on the slime king’s nerves, but the irritation wasn’t strong enough to make him walk away. Perhaps I should find a way to annoy him, too, Tanaka thought. Next, the introductions belonged to the Foxfolk.

Lady Veyra Vossari rose from her seat as she smoothed back the silver-red tresses of her hair. A number of tails moved out of sight as she stood, and the enchanted metal charms attached to her garments glowed faintly as their mistress prepared to speak. "The Foxfolk Council extends its acknowledgment to this gathering. I represent the houses of my people, their settlements and the merchants who trade within them," she said.

Her gaze swept the room before she settled on Tanaka. "And, of course, we are quite curious to learn about our new neighbour," she said. Veyra Vossari didn’t have a single hostile word in her message. That didn’t inspire trust in Tanaka. He remembered the assassin from the night before, the spirit magic and the tiny capsule of poison that had killed the man before he could finish his business.

Whether the attempt on his life extended to the Foxfolk leader remained to be seen, but the slime king would keep his eyes open for a repeat performance. "Vossari. I assume you mean our new neighbour?" Tanaka asked. Veyra smiled. "You will be interested to know that my stay in Varghelm has been most enjoyable," Tanaka said. "Good," Veyra replied.

Tanaka met her gaze. "As we are both interested in ensuring we won’t have any problems with our territories," he said. The silence that followed was so sudden it was almost a sound of its own. Then Veyra sank back down onto her seat, and the Foxfolk attendants resumed their posts behind her. Tanaka turned to Raizen. "Did that sound threatening to you?" he asked.

"Yes," Raizen replied. "Good. I wasn’t mistaken," Tanaka said. Aeryn Skytalon turned his head. "It sounded polite to me," he said. Tanaka looked at Zephyr. "Exactly what made it threatening," Tanaka said.

---

The next introduction was more restrained, but not by much. Queen Elowen Whiteburrow wore a green and gold robe decorated with flowery patterns, and her long, delicate ears twitched as she scanned the audience. She spoke of trade and maintaining order between the nations, and the need to prevent powerful kingdoms from swaying smaller settlements towards selfish ends instead of supporting them. Her words only caused a murmur of agreement among the minor races.

When one of the Lions muttered that it was easier to preserve peace if everyone feared the same king, the Rabbit Queen’s response was to turn and look on him. "Fear prevents people from attacking you this morning," she said. The smile didn’t reach her eyes. "It rarely prevents them from attacking you tomorrow." The lion scoffed.

"Words from someone who prefers to leave the fighting to others," he said. A few rabbitfolk stood and clenched their fists. Elowen didn’t. "Our healers treated soldiers from your territory last winter. You’d do well to remember that before you insult those who kept your people from rotting in the ground," she said. The Lion representative opened his mouth, but Garrath raised a hand and silenced him.

"Enough, Darius," Garrath said. Darius the lion sulked in his seat, but Garrath turned to Queen Elowen. "The Rabbit Queen has made her point. Let us leave the discussion for the formal proceedings," he said. Elowen inclined her head. Tanaka studied the Rabbit Queen. She reminded him of Relia, but her kindness didn’t extend to keeping quiet when someone had insulted her.

The neutrality of her nation would be difficult to test, but Tanaka suspected the consequences of any betrayal would echo throughout Bravelm. Elowen was another ruler who understood strength. The other introductions followed in much the same manner, punctuated by the frequent arguments among the various representatives. Urgath Ironhide, chief of the Bearfolk, arrived with two mountain guards who complained about the distance between his delegation’s quarters and the eastern gate.

Aeryn Skytalon of the Hawkfolk paid no attention to them as she explained how the trade roads had become dangerous routes for travel due to the increased monster activity near the northern mountains. That prompted Hrogar Bristleback, a representative for the Boarfolk, to stand and inform the assembly that the roads weren’t dangerous. They were poorly maintained and the merchants refused to pay for repairs.

Aeryn Skytalon’s feathers bristled. "Your people block the roads with their wagons!" she exclaimed. "Our wagons carry supplies to half the region!" Hrogar retorted. "And your drivers park them wherever they like!" Aeryn shouted. Aldren closed his eyes. Tanaka turned to Raizen. "Are all meetings like this?" he asked. "No," Raizen replied.

Tanaka exhaled in relief. Raizen went on, "This one is significantly worse." Tanaka’s body wobbled uncontrollably with laughter. The Deerfolk representatives, led by the Grove Matriarch Elaris Hartwood, nearly got the argument under control with a proposal for an inspection of the suspected hazard. That in turn resulted in a shouting match between two wolf clan representatives regarding which of them would be responsible for repairing the damage.

Within minutes nearly everyone in the hall was arguing about either increasing border patrols, lowering trade taxes or demanding greater representation from the minor races. The last point wasn’t appreciated by certain members of the Wolf Crown. "We’ve been given too many responsibilities for the good of all the nations within the Crown," one wolf chief grumbled in complaint. "Our patrols should be patrolling our own borders."

Veyra Vossari was one of several rulers who wanted to know what the Wolf Crown intended to do if the peaceful neutrality of the Rabbit Kingdom was ever broken. It would be complicated, Tanaka mused. A full war with the Rabbit Kingdom would drag on for decades because of the vast size of the land. Even more worrying was the fact that Elowen Whiteburrow’s forces seemed better trained than those of anyone else in the room.

It wasn’t a certainty, but the probability was more than high enough that the Wolf King would be watching the Rabbit Queen. At least, that Tanaka knew. In actual fact, Aldren Greymane was watching everyone. The Wolf King raised his hand, and the murmuring assembly fell silent. "Now that introduction is complete we may address the new authority which has attracted so much attention here in Varghelm," Aldren said. The Wolf King’s gaze landed on Tanaka.