“We never said that the discussion would end peacefully.”

- A memory of the Old Ones.

***Atlantis***

***Magnus***

“Now that I think about it... why aren't you using your own clan's pulpit, Tina? Don't you have one?” Sely asks. After listening for five long minutes to the elder's speech, she didn’t want to keep paying attention. So far, he hasn't said anything of interest. Instead he used the time to bore us with the most flowery speech I've ever heard.

Tina tilts her head and smiles. “Silly, of course the Rhondu have their own pulpit. But I decided to be generous and to honour my niece with my presence.”

I sigh. “She means that by sitting with us, she shows that we have her support. And the fact that I tolerate her guards, means that our two clans are in a very close relationship.” I turn around to glare at the two men and two women who joined us on the way to the coliseum. So far, they played the role of silent listeners perfectly. “It remains to be seen if that's to her, or to our advantage.”

Tina laughs. “Whoever ends up winning in this relationship is a moot point. My sister made it quite clear that she won't tolerate anything that harms her relationship with her daughters. And before you ask, I am quite close to my sister. She has been through a lot and I found her quite changed after rescuing her from Gavin. I don't want to destroy the fragile balance of her mind.”

Sely squints her eyes and turns to Tina. “What do you mean by 'changed'?”

Her aunt shrugs and turns her attention back to the elder. “Sis had a very wilful character. Even more so than she is now. She was the leader of our clan before she disappeared. She wasn't someone who would allow anyone to speak down to her. That would always end in blood. Since I got her back, I witnessed multiple encounters in which she was treated with disrespect and simply took it.”

“She wouldn't have allowed that before?” I ask.

Tina snorts. “Most definitely not.”

She doesn't elaborate further, so I turn my full attention to the elder's speech. “...and so we find ourselves here. We have to decide whether to tolerate the insult which the fae threw in our faces, or to act. I am of the opinion that leaving those miscreants alive was a huge mistake. We should have wiped them out back then. But due to our own losses and our laziness, we settled for a draw.”

He clears his throat and steps off the podium, just to be replaced by another elder. “I think we shouldn't concern ourselves with the fae. Who cares if they rile up a few humans? Whoever gets caught by them deserves to be removed from the gene pool. It's a natural selection process...”

I close my eyes and groan. “This will go on and on. It's been over a hundred years since the last time I listened to these geezers. Do they never get tired? Or do they simply like to hear themselves speak?”

Tina snorts. “They are old. And living proof that our race can get senile. We just show different symptoms than humans. The older we get, the more we are interested in long speeches.”

I place both legs on the balustrade and close my eyes. “Wake me up when they get to the point.” Then I try to tune out the voices and slowly drift off.

I must've actually managed to sleep, because I feel a little drowsy when Sely shakes me awake.

“They are voting!” She explains.

“Voting?” I ask.

“Whether we do something about the fae or not!” Tina explains and raises her hand, casting a green globe of light.

I raise my hand and do the same. “I suppose green is for genocide?”

“Green is for revealing ourselves to the humans in order to oppose the fae. The genocide solution was slapped down by the majority of elders before it even came to a vote,” Sely explains.

I furrow my eyebrows. “Since when can they do that?”

“They have a lot of influence, and many clans are just following their respective elder's opinion. If the vast majority of elders decides on something, then voting on it is just a waste of time,” Tina grumbles.

Oh, I see the logic in that.

The elder in the middle of the coliseum slowly turns his head, counting the globes. “Two-hundred and sixty-four are for opposing the fae. One-hundred and nine are against opposing the fae. We will reveal ourselves and continue to wipe out the fae wherever we can catch them. But we won't attack Fairy.”

The previously silent coliseum is immediately filled with the screams of the minority. The elder allows the protest to go on for several long moments, then he raises his staff and slams it into the ground, creating a huge shockwave. Everyone shuts up in an instant. It's not because they are afraid of him. It's more a matter of proper behaviour towards someone who is older.

My grandfather could've been an elder if he hadn't been resistant to going with the times.

The elder looks around as if he just had to silence a classroom filled with naughty children. “Since the matter was put to the vote, we'll abide by the majority's decision. We'll proceed with clan related problems. Anyone who wishes to start?”

The coliseum is immediately filled with light globes. The elder sighs and points his finger into the crowd. The projection of a man appears above the elder. When the man realizes that he was chosen, he starts to speak. “We have an ongoing border dispute with...”

I tune him out and rub my temples. “Such a shame that we didn't get to vote on invading Fairy. I didn't expect that.”

Tina runs a hand through her hair. “Most of the elders are reluctant to change something that has worked for a very long time. Largely ignoring the fae worked for thousands of years. I suppose that they are still hoping to resolve the situation with less drastic means.”

Sely shakes her head. “What else do the fae have to do? It's strange for an Old One to hold back so much.”

I place an arm around her shoulder. “They are trying to protect the humans and other supernaturals. It's they who would end up caught between the two front-lines. The elders are those who are old enough to have seen the war.”

Tina grumbles. “They are just relying on the myth they've built around them. Technically I could call myself an elder too, but I would never lower myself to play such a role.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Just how old are you?”

She shrugs. “No idea. Back then we didn't count time and the memories begin to blur after a while. The whole concept of time only came up after the first idiot started to play with fire. Older than twelve thousand? But there are older Old Ones. Some claim that there wasn't any spoken language when they were born. I actually have an old comb at home. My sister gave it to me as a present and I've always kept it safe. The radiocarbon method dates it at eight thousand B.C.”

Sely's expression turns mystified. “Why would you date your comb?”

Tina smiles. “I was curious. Like I said. Even very important memories begin to blur after a few hundred years.”

I just hope that I’ll never get that old. Without anything better to do, I turn my attention back to the ongoing procedures. Clan after clan seeks a public solution to their disputes. We may not have a government in the traditional sense, but there is a strict set of rules to solve certain issues in public. This meeting on neutral ground is the perfect opportunity to seek solutions, while having as many witnesses as possible.

If a clan doesn’t stick to a decision that was made here, nobody would bother to listen to them ever again.

I wait silently for a chance to announce my own issues until the elder chooses a certain pulpit on the other side of the coliseum. A harsh looking man with grey hair at his temples appears in the projection. “My name is Brennan, clan-head of the Baucheaux. I request that my son’s legal bride be rescued from the Bathomeus territory. For years, we thought that she is dead, just to learn that she was kept in custody by the Hammons.”

Stunned, I purse my lips to think about his words and their implications. Either Brennan is full of bullshit, or Emil never bothered to tell his clan the true reasons behind his marriage. “That would also explain why he didn’t take Sely with him. Being in control of herself, she could have told his clan about his machinations.”

I start laughing harshly and loudly. The sound is carried far and wide within the silent coliseum. Emil must have hoped that nobody would reveal his web of lies. How would we? The Bathomeus hadn’t appeared at a gathering in decades. So there would have been no voice to say otherwise. Too bad that the issue with the fae caused me to change my usual behaviour.

The elder turns to face us. “Why are you interrupting the proceedings?” He gestures and my projection appears next to Brennan’s.

It takes a lot of effort to regain my control quickly. “My name is Magnus Bathomeus! I am the current clan-head of the Bathomeus. And I claim Sely and Annia as mine. They sought shelter in my territory and I granted it to them. I am sure that you’ve heard of the whole issue with the Hammons. Sely informed me that Emil and Gavin tried to control her mind when she was forced to marry him.”

The elder turns back to the Baucheaux and their projections widens, including another man. He is large, with broad shoulders, and has reddish brown hair. “That’s a lie! After the marriage ceremony, I was told that Sely died in an accidental cave in. I saw her corpse and went back home. Now that I learned the truth, I want my legal wife back. She is my responsibility.”

Sely shoves me to the side, hissing. “Liar! You and Gavin were involved. I was supposed to be the ‘reward’ for something you did for him. You two tried to enslave my mind!”

Brennan’s forehead furrows into deep lines. This was clearly going very differently from how he imagined. Emil shakes his head. “They are clearly trying to destroy our reputation!”

I shove Sely back into her seat and reach into my pocket. “If you didn’t know about the mind manipulation, then why did you send your goons into my territory? It felt a lot like you were trying to silence us before any of this became public!”

Quickly, I toss the dice into the coliseum and the elder catches it with ease. He studies the enchantment on it, then he breaks the small cube between his thumb and index finger. The spacial spell matrix releases its contents and a heavy box lands on the ground in front of the elder. He bends down and opens it. His expression doesn’t show even a hint of uneasiness when he tilts the box and spills the contents on the ground.

Five heads roll out and in front of his feet. He points at one of them. “That’s definitely Marlene Baucheaux. Why do the Bathomeus have the heads of your subordinates, Brennan Baucheaux? Especially the head of your clan’s most renowned assassin?”

Brennan’s eyes flash red and he turns to his son. “You said that they abandoned the clan!”

Emil shakes his head. “They did! The Bathomeus are trying to trick us! And it doesn’t matter! She is still my legal wife! There are witnesses for the ceremony.”

I get to my feet and correct my suit. “Yes, about that. Sely belongs to me, since she carries my child. You may be the legal husband, but the way you forced her into the ceremony was by no means honourable. There is an easy way to change that. I challenge you, Emil Baucheaux. Give me your wife and apologize for invading my territory. If you don’t, I’ll kill you in a duel for all your possessions.”