The Chambers of the Elder Council
1st of Ash, Year 122 Steel
As her mother's proxy in Kalzasi, Kala was present for the first round of debates regarding the succession. As a lord and her twin, Kaus was also in attendance. She wished Ceran and Indric could accompany them, as well. Since the Warrens and Atoria, they had become some of her nearest and dearest. Her brother, her boys, they all walked taller now, suffused with a confidence born of her nascent divinity. This made her anxious on the one hand; on the other, it looked good on them. These days, she meditated nearly as much as she had as a girl when her temper threatened to get the best of her. Self-knowledge had become a great challenge.
Thankfully, Kaus stood out, and with Torin's clever cloak hiding her wings from prying eyes and runes. She could fade into the background, which made her more comfortable.
They had not spoken. They merely observed, listening to arguments and gauging the flow of power around the room.
The Traditionalist faction seemed most likely to support Talon Novalys even without knowing his whereabouts. Kala wondered if there were any way she could find him with the powers Mother Naori and Lord Garel had bequested. But as much as she liked the Shinsei, she wondered whether he was the right candidate now. He was more powerful than any previous Shokaze, to be sure, but he was also a greater target and the enemies of Kalzasi had proven he was not invulnerable. There was no telling what tortures he might have undergone, some no doubt contrived for the express purpose of twisting a draegir. She had wept for him, even with the return of Lord Aoren. She could not imagine what she might be twisted into doing should someone threaten Kaus.
The Constitutionalist faction seemed most likely to support Karam Senue. Much had been made of the fraught relationship he had shared with his father, whether that made him a better or a worse candidate to those who supported whichever rival Great House. He had seemed like a good man in her few, if sometimes intense, interactions with him, but she was yet young and it was entirely possible he was just a wunderkind of politics and seemings. Though House Leukos owed fealty to Great House Briathos and the Queen-Regent, a Briathos, was Talon's mother, she didn't know whether that loyalty extended to the vote she would cast. She had to think of who would be the greatest leader for their people in this time and going forward. Change was a constant in life, and while tradition could help, it could also hinder the growth of a people.
The Monarchist faction was playing its cards close to the chest, though Kala got the sense that they would put forth Sahfri herself, which once again called into question whether loyalty to Great House Briathos ought to include maneuvering to put the true crown upon her. Rien did not seek the crown of his father. She didn't know the prince personally, but she could empathize with several reasons why he might wish to avoid personal participation in politics. There were still times Kala wished she could toss responsibility to the winds, and dance upon the world's stages while Kaus wrote his poetry. But they had been born both to priviliege and responsibility, and now her yoke was even heavier.
Perhaps you ought to become the Monarchist candidate. Though Kaus didn't even look at her, she could sense his humor even as she recoiled at the thought.
If I question the value of a God-Shokaze in Talon, who was raised to rule, how much more critically should I question the value of a Goddess-Shokaze who was raised to support?
The rest passed in a language of twins, one that couldn't truly be translated.
If anything, she wished what no one here present wished: for the seat of the Shokaze to be open to those of other races: the Orkhan who had built Kalzasi; the various others who made it their home. Nobody would unite behind that sentiment, though. She only feared that at some point, the people would feel compelled to take rights from the ruling class rather than wait to be given them.
Unsurprisingly, no consensus was reached on that first day.
There was a brief recess before other matters were brought before the Elder Council and the Queen-Regent. It was likely that had she not put in an urgent petition for audience, the Elders would have quit the premises. Certainly most of the court had left, assuming nothing of importance would follow. But Kala was pleased that her obscure House received its due attention; they would hear her. After all, House Leukos hadn't brought anything to the attention of the Council for quite some time. If they called a thing urgent, then it was likely so, they who were as mysterious in their way as their patron House.
Perhaps an ascendant demigod ought not to have felt nerves, but then she remembered Talon Shinsei and his grilling by these selfsame potentates. She could understand how he felt in that moment a bit better now, though she did not claim to know his mind or his heart. She felt nerves, though she had been running a litany through her mind all the while, fingers fidgeting upon the relic Saedene had left her. It was strange to realize that she was perhaps more powerful than the Ara now; certainly, she was nowhere near as wise. That was a thing she ought to remember. Mother Naori and Lord Garel had given her power and knowledge; wisdom would be up to her to grow within herself.
Keela bless me.
Kala wondered if the Dragon Goddess would hear her prayers more powerfully than others'.
The council came back to order, the room's population much diminished. The Speaker called the proxies of House Leukos to stand. Tizan Veyl looked at her curiously; they had met and had some interactions. She thought she might have impressed him with her work on behalf of her House's finances, expanding the family zaibatsu into runeforging, soldiers, and international shipping when, upon their first meeting, she had merely managed to ask cogent questions as a newcomer to political economy.
Marda Ahtivin pursed her lips as she regarded the twins; perhaps she approved of them standing together now as they had come into the world together, much thanks to her help. Twin births were dangerous for the Avialae, and she had called them a sign, though a sign of what, she still kept to herself. Kala wondered what omens she might draw from what Kala would reveal.
When she spoke, it was in fluent Synnekar as she planned to share something vital to her race. After making all due respects to Regent and Councilors, she spoke.
"My time in Kalzasi, let alone the world, has not been long by some accounts, and yet almost since my arrival here, strange things have happened. An Ara visited my brother and me when we were paying our respects to our departed father from the Temple of the Fallen Skies." The relic at her wrist might have caught the light just then; she wondered if she would grow to know Saedene well enough to understand her sense of humor. "Later, she came to me in order to deliver a quest that seemed impossible: to find Mother Naori on the other side of the Boundless Gate. I shared my little revelations with Talon Shinsei, and he encouraged my attempt to find the path that had been laid out for me.
"It took time, study, and risk, but finally, I followed a clue down into the Warrens. My brother and I, along with trusted friends, reached the Third Deep, where I intended to ask the Monument for guidance. I thought perhaps the Boundless Gate was one of the Hytori Rift Gates, hidden deep and deeper into the Warrens. Instead, we found an airship captain, who took us across the Haunted Reaches to what was, indeed, a Gate. We risked the Aether Sea and found Atoria."
There were gasps, though there were plenty of glances askance. She was young. She came from an obscure House. It was entirely logical that she might be telling stories.
"Atoria thrives. The descendents of many Firstborn remain there. Indeed, the spirits of the Firstborn abide there as well, along with our race's progenitor, the Necromancer Garel." She paused. She took a breath. "I spoke to the Masked Queen. She called for Unity among our people, and She and Garel between Them changed me."
Kaus stepped forward and removed her cloak. Her wings unfurled and spread wide, strong from midnight flights with him in which he taught her how to move through the air with control and grace, lest she prove clumsy and dishonor the gift she had been given. She would not reveal her godhead, not yet, but she had wings and a womb that would create new Avialae of any gender when the time came and she chose to do so. And there was also the book, which would allow her to pull forth the wings from those with Avialae blood once she mastered the requisite magic.
"They made me a Firstborn, and the power to make our race whole again."
