HavenGuarde

Chapter 49 - Something in the Air

Chapter 49

Something in the Air

- Whispers of a strangeness beyond the walls -

The walls and ceiling of the grand chamber were white, the floor a bloodred marble. Silence reigned in the chamber. Seated in a crescent ring of bloodred seats of plush, the Angardian Council waited upon one who would soon enter their presence. Two seats were empty, one of which would remain empty. The other empty seat was waiting to be filled by one who was not yet present. There was a tension in the air for they had been summoned to a meeting by none other than Lord Daniell Ramonth, King of Staves, the foremost Lord of the Angardian Council. This was an unusual occurrence.

The old man sat in the center as always. To his left was Raphina Semyasha, Lady of the Hunt. Beside her to her left sat Lord Beefheart. To Lord Ramonth's right was an empty seat. The Bishop of Blades, Dragba Damon, was not present. But beside his seat was another seat and the man called the High Paladin occupied it, a bored expression on his face. The great doors to the grand chamber opened and in strode the black-robed Felix Vanyaga. His face betrayed a look of perplexed concern. It was clear to all that he had a message to deliver.

"Speak!" rang the stern voice of Lady Raphina. Her tone was authoritative and commanding. She was Speaker, the one who spoke on behalf of the Angardian Council. Felix was about to speak when his gaze strayed to one of the empty seats. He frowned.

"Peace, Felix Vanyaga. I am present. You may speak", said Lord Damon softly, appearing suddenly in their midsts. "Apologies, I, ah, had an urgent matter to attend to. I express my gratitude to the Council for their patience in awaiting my arrival." At this, a crease appeared on Lady Raphina's forehead.

"Ever punctual you remain, Dragba," commented the man with the bored look on his face, suddently. The rest of the council remained silent.

"Thank you Sailem", said Lord Damon. The Bishop of Blades walked slowly to his bloodred seat and with an elegant swirl of black robes he sat down comfortably. His eyes met Felix's and they exchanged a brief look but Lord Damon quickly looked away before gesturing for Felix to speak. Felix bowed and began his message.

"Greetings your Lordships, my Lady", began Felix Vanyaga, with his usual clear booming voice. "I bring news of a worrying nature. You may recall I entered the presence of the Council on my last visit bringing news of our exploits in the eastern hemisphere. Members of the Angerius Order were ready to be deployed to assist in securing the remaining eastern islands. However, following a change in instruction from Genevar Winterbourne, governor of the realms of HavenGuarde, the Angardian Council and the Angerius Order were no longer to participate in the securing of the remaining eastern islands. A month ago, Winterbourne himself instructed for an order to be issued to the commander of the realm to deploy four military units for the eastern expedition."

Felix Vanyaga paused his recount and frowned before continuing.

"The order was then executed. Four military units left HavenGuarde by hovercraft on the first day of the eastern expedition. As your Lordships and Ladyship know, a unit comprises one hundred trained HavenGuardean soldiers. Four units comprise four hundred such soldiers. The Order was not given any information on the movements of the force of four hundred. However, given the speed hovercraft technology allowed, we estimate that the four units must have arrived within the day and set up base with a communication center following proper military procedure. A day after their departure, I authorised the sending in of two highly skilled guardians to act as a scouting party, to covertly gather information on the activities of the military units for our own intelligence. The two were given instructions to remain concealed, hidden within the shadows, while they gathered reports for our intelligence. The reports that have come back to me are of grave concern."