The time for the Mage Council finally arrived. I would convene and govern the Council, but the king would preside. It was made a little vague just what that meant, but in essence, he would be there to dictate policy or direct conversations as he desired. Or he would remain silent the entire time and let me sink or swim. I sort of assumed it would be the latter, given the circumstances.

  I arrived early, as was my duty, and saw to arrangements.

  The grand hall looked similar with its long tables, but they were situated a little differently. There were fewer tables, but they were longer. Like the banquet, each table was at an angle so all those seated could look up at the throne or podium. The aisles between tables were also wider. There would be several hundred mages present, but the seating looked comfortable.

  The hall itself in some ways seemed smaller to me, but it was still expansive with intricate scrolling woodwork and vines that I had missed during the dinner. Or perhaps, they were newly added for Council.

  The servants and guards who moved around the room were not as festive and were more attentive than I recalled as well. It would not be a typical Council session, and everyone sensed that.

  I spoke briefly with each of the three Reeves, who also arrived early to have conversations with a very select group. And so, I made my rounds, speaking briefly with a wide range of mages and was welcomed across an equally wide range. On the positive end, most of the masters of Elven Silver and enchanters welcomed me warmly. Few of the elementalists had kind words for me, and neither did the conjurers or alchemists, who no doubt knew my part in dissolving their fellow guild in Keelwell. In fairness, they had some cause for those feelings because of my actions, my race, or my age.

  Still, other than those guilds, I received nods of encouragement or outright support from other guild mages. A few strange sorcerers and some stodgy summoners wanted to speak with me at length on subjects that I had no basis for understanding, and I had to be rescued by the Commander or Captain Leomys to make an early escape from them.

  Of equal note and never once mentioned by a single elf mage was the unusually large number of soldiers spread around the perimeter of the great hall, interspersed with a half dozen clerics. Also, the servants were all cleric apprentices, dressed in their colors and not the king’s servers as usual. They rushed about as young people do, filling wine glasses or bringing a limited selection of breads and cheeses. Neither did they comment about the two triplets of stationed wizards, paladins, and clerics around the king’s throne, and my position on a small stone dais with three steps up to its platform top, known as the Speaker’s Stone.

  Because these changes to routine were so obvious, it would be insulting to comment upon them or inquire why they were there. It would occur to all the mages that I was trying to ensure a little more security, given the attack on my life and the implied threat to the king.

  And while they were not wrong, they would be surprised by the true reason for their attendance.

  I was not sure if the second paladin would come at my summons, but the role of Seneschal oversaw all armies, and so I was his technical superior. Thankfully, Sir Daeqen spoke with him, and I was warmly greeted as he entered. When we clasped arms, there was a spark and shock similar to the one I received when first meeting Sir Daeqen.

  Since nobody else was around when we clasped arms, I asked him, “What is the spark and shock all about?”

  His name was Sir Aeson Yesbaler, and he was much younger than Sir Daeqen at only two centuries and a quarter.

  “I had forgotten this happens when two paladins meet for the first time. There are so few of us that it has not happened to me in a hundred years. I think it is a way for us to recognize our own given that we live in a fallen world full of treachery and deceit. It is a gift to let us know that we are not alone.”

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  I nodded. “It is good to know that there are other paladins among us, although I am still uncertain as to my path in this.”

  He tilted his head. “I did not refer to fellow paladins when I said that it was a reminder that we are not alone.”

  The knight paladin walked away from me, chuckling to himself.

  “That was not as instructive as it could have been,” I remarked quietly to nobody in particular.

  Actually, it was. You just don’t see it yet. Bella whispered to me. I have not heard her voice or felt her presence much today. I did not know what was up, but I put it down to recovery from her earlier ordeal.

  I also introduced myself to the two clerics and the two wizards. The mages were handpicked by Wizard Iolas, as were the clerics by Monsignor Bill. They were polite but remained focused and vigilant. Even while speaking with me, their eyes never met my own but roamed over the hall in all directions.

  As the time neared for Council to convene, the hall steward called me over to the Speaker’s Stone. “Seneschal, when the king enters, I shall strike the staff upon the floor once to alert the hall. All should stand. When he takes his seat, I shall strike it a second time, and all shall be seated. I will look to you for the command to strike it a third time, which will order the guards to close and lock the entrances. Do you know what to say to open and close Council?”

  “I do.”

  He nodded to me, and we both went to our assigned stations.

  Thankfully, I was given a quick tutorial on protocols by the Reeves and was told that if I ever floundered or was unsure of what to say or do, I could call upon them. In a typical session, the king speaks the words I will recite and then just turns it over to them to run.

  Today would be different.

  A loud and echoing BOOM filled the chamber as the Steward of the Hall struck the floor, and all eyes turned to the high entrance where the king had just emerged.

  Mages stood

  The king spoke with the paladin stationed by his throne. The king actually smiled despite himself and clasped arms with the holy knight. The king nodded and had words for the wizard and cleric, but did not extend the same level of familiarity.

  He resumed a neutral face quickly after the brief surprised smile and made his way to his seat. He stood before it, nodded slowly to the Reeves, and then sat down.

  A murmur ran through the crowd at his lack of acknowledgement of me, but it was drowned out by the Steward’s second BOOM from his staff.

  As the echo of the Steward's second call filled the hall, a pair of elves moved down the outer passageway and entered just as I nodded to the Steward, who struck the ground a third time.

  A movement caught my eye. A very, very old elf dressed in sorcerer’s robes stood up from where she had been sitting and moved to a different location in the hall. She took a seat between two conjurers who, based on their body language, were none too thrilled with her addition.

  Interestingly, one of the two latecomers, a conjurer, took the seat next to the one vacated by the sorceress. I would keep an eye on those three.

  I announced loudly, “Close and bar the portal. Only those masters having business herein will remain. Close and bar the portal.”

  At my repetition of ritual words, the Steward struck the floor a third time. If he struck the floor again, it would send a magical surge through the room similar to the one I recently experienced in the Enchanter’s guild hall. All seated here would experience it as entering the hall implied acceptance of a magical bond of obedience laid down many centuries ago to ensure civility. It was not powerful enough to deter a motivated attacker, but it was uncomfortable and would usually silence the hall. I planned to use it immediately to set a tone.

  The guards near the main entrance moved to close the double doors and slide home a large, double set of wooden beams that offered a physical lock that was mirrored by a magical one that activated as soon as the first bars were sealed.

  A green colored ward sprang into place across the walls, ceiling, and floor of the great hall. We were sealed in until the ritual words, spoken by me, opened them once more.

  I spoke to the room, “I convene Council.”

  It was the shortened version of two optional conventions. The other was far more flowery and lengthy. I had no interest in memorizing it or setting a soft tone that its near celebratory words conjured.

  “Finally.” A snorted comment was heard to ring across the room from the other of the two latecomers. By his robe, he was a master elementalist, and the angle at which he sat back in his chair and the insolence of his voice made his opinion of me and this gathering clear.

  I decided to ignore him for now, but it looked like he would be my huckleberry today.

  “Roll call is ordered. Guilds, account for those present and absent.” I stated firmly.

  There was a round of groans from the mages. This was a technical part of Council that was nearly always waived by a loud majority of Mages. It could be tedious, and guilds rarely thought to bring their rosters. Thanks to some advance warning by the Reeves, each guildmaster was privately warned that this was a likelihood by the new Seneschal, and to come prepared, so they did not look foolish among their peers.

  It was not a good start to the meeting, and many in here resented me for it, I was sure.

  Some noise broke out as guild leadership began working their rosters to identify who was present, who was not, and if not, then where they were. The elves did not automatically sit with their guild fellows, so there was a lot of pointing and looking around to locate missing guild members.

  I got a number of angry glances from frustrated mages, and the rogue elementalist spoke loudly about his own opinion of this waste of his time. Fortunately, there was enough noise that I could continue to ignore him.

  Ten long minutes later, I got a signal from Grandmaster Mirajor, the rune master seated at the Reeves table, and I stated loudly, “Collect the rolls and deliver them to the Reeves.”

  The cleric apprentices scurried around the room, taking the rolls from the assembled guildmasters and walking them quickly to the Reeves. They had already done a count of mages in the hall and did a quick comparison against the guild tallies.