Lord Valen walked swiftly across the dark, wooden floors of the temple to reach the meeting place for the Elders. His long, light blue and grey hair was neatly tied into a braid at his back and was swaying slightly as he walked. He was wearing one of his ceremonial robes that was a thick black material with deep red hems and designs woven into the fabric. The Kalina Clan Crest was displayed on his back in a silver/grey color. Much to Abena and Horacio's dismay, he always carried a weapon, or two, along with him; today it was a thin, short sword on his hip; held by a dark brown leather belt. He would sometimes have a sword on each side, a manageable axe on his back, or any other weapon with a sharp blade.
Wren followed closely behind with Michael by her side. Wren also wore her ceremonial robe, which was a lighter weight, grey material with a black hemline and also had the Kalina Crest on her back with the thread was black with some silver woven in between. Her dark grey shirt had dried just enough from the rain to make things bearable. Michael was not an Elder or anyone with significant status to be able to attend the formal gathering, but because he was a high ranking member of The Guard, within the Lightening Unit, and Wren's personal Guard, he was privy to stand outside the room in which the gathering took place. Unlike Wren, Michael's clothes were still fairly wet and his once loose shirt and pants were sticking to his body. 'How embarrassing, at least I will not have to directly be in front of Elder Abena and Horacio,' Michael thought to himself as he lightly shook his head.
"Michael, if you are that uncomfortable, there are other members of the Guard that will be present. You can go to your living quarters and change, I'll be fine." Wren said as she looked over to Michael with a light smile. Michael sighed, "Will Thaddeus be in attendance as a Guard?" "Yes, I believe he will." Michael cautiously put a hand on Wren's forearm, 'Be wary, if something seems off, contact me right away. I won't be gone all that long.' Wren nodded slightly as Michael disappeared. 'Always so worried,' Wren thought to herself as she closed the distance between her and Lord Valen. "Are you ready to deal with these two?" She asked Lord Valen, but before he answered he pointed to his head and Wren nodded in understanding.
'What is with all the secrecy Valen?' Wren "said" to Lord Valen, who was using his ability to hear her through his own mind. 'Many things happened when you were gone from here. I received word that some information had been leaked at a high ranking level. I did not believe this at first until I did my own small investigation.' As Lord Valen and Wren "spoke" to each other, they slowed their walking pace slightly as to not arrive to the meeting right on time. As they walked around Wren looked in the direction of some of the maids and other temple workers they passed, and nodded slightly. Most of the temple workers had worked for many years and were well aware of who Wren was and her status within the temple. Most workers smiled genuinely back to her, but others seemed to have something hidden behind their smile. 'Abena placed one of her internal guards within my-' 'Valen, why now? Have we not been at relative peace for years as we fought to rebuild? Why are all of these things happening? I know I do not meet with them often, but there are a few faces within the temple workers that I don't recognize. This puts me on edge.'
Lord Valen nodded and sighed quietly, 'This is why I wanted to meet with you once you returned from your mission. I need you and a few members of the Lightening and Lunar Units to complete a bus...well, a mission.' Lord Valen looked to one of the temple workers and waved him over; the younger man quickly obliged. "Will you contact Sir Dai and tell him to meet me in the Westernmost garden within the hour?" The younger man looked somewhat confused but nodded and headed off in the direction from which they came. Wren looked at Lord Valen curiously, 'Sir Dai? Is there more I missed? We never employed anyone-' 'No, he had someone else's spiritual energy slowly seeping out of his body. He was sent here by someone, so whoever is aware of this boy will be running in circles or they will end their search and the boy will probably return to the land of the deceased.' 'Oh,' Wren responded.
After walking for a few more moments, Wren and Lord Valen arrived at the entrance of the hall, and were greeted by the older man that usually accompanies Lord Valen. "Greetings My Lord, Lady Abena and Sir Horacio are awaiting your presence." He bowed deeply and opened the door for Wren and Lord Valen to enter. Abena and Horacio stood up from their seats and bowed slightly. Once Lord Valen had arrived at his seat, the older man closed the door and they all took a seat around a large round table. The older man rolled out a small tray that had two pots of tea and some pale colored snacks on different plates. "It is so good to see you again My Dear Wrenny," Abena said with a smile on her face. Wren was startled, but made sure not to show the expression on her face. "It is nice to see you again Abena, as well as you, Horacio." Wren had a small cup of tea in front of her, and just as she was going to put the cup up to her lips she stopped for a split moment, then pretended as if she took a sip.
Lord Valen picked up on her expression and simply let the refreshments sit in front of him. "Can we please proceed with this meeting? I have other matters in which I need to attend," Horacio asked as he took a sip of tea. "Why of course we can. Lord Valen and I will share with you what we learned from Cole and Ravi." Wren told Abena and Horacio parts of what they saw within Cole and Ravi's minds, making sure to leave out certain parts as Lord Valen instructed. "Is this all the information that could be gathered? How come they do not-" "What is the purpose of their attacks on our people?" Abena's face soured as Horacio interrupted her once again. "Please mind your manners. This is only our first time encountering an attack in recent years. We are still working to gather as much information as safely as we can," Lord Valen said in a cold and stern tone.
"You are always slow to send in our Guard, My Lord. We should be sending many young, fresh, members into their territory to strike ba-" "Horacio, need I remind you of the events that occurred the last time YOU took it upon yourself to send in The Guard?" Lord Valen was staring directly into Horacio's eyes, and after that comment Horacio shrunk back in his chair. "Why are you acting like a scared child Horacio? Just this morning-" BANG! Horacio slammed his hands on the table loudly, cutting off Abena. "If you do not know of the cause, then why speak?" Horacio's breathing was ragged, as if he was reliving moments that traumatized him. 'Valen...?' Wren cautiously "spoke" to Lord Valen, 'Peer into his mind.' As Wren and Lord Valen were discussing things amongst themselves, Horacio and Abena were still arguing to themselves. Wren took a deep breath, "Do excuse me for a moment, I will return shortly," With that Wren stood up and walked outside, preparing herself to delve into Horacio's mind.