-Peace Party Conference-
[The Peace Party Conferences are held to discuss various
Topics and hold votes for what is believed should be done about issues
Across the world of Spire. They span four days, each day devoted to
Different regions and areas.]
After finishing our dinner and a good night's rest, the sun arose on the first day of the Peace Party Conference. We awoke a little after sunrise, though it can be hard to tell when sunrise is here in Ish'din. We all met at the base of the stairs that lead to the palace, every member of the party dressed in their uniforms and fancy dress clothes. For a moment, I thought Lord Kats'anum was missing. Until I realized they were now dressed in a fanciful dress, instead of the suit they'd been wearing the day before. I thought it was odd, but shrugged it off. After all, who was I to judge a full blown Lord?
Once the full party was gathered, we were organized into our formal formation by Lady Shen'anum. The Lords and Clan representatives stood at the front of their respective groups. The Humans would stand directly behind their Lord, in a two person wide line, with the Half-Demons standing split up along the side of the line. We then ascended with the Ishen group first, the Incol second, and us Tsumi following in the rear.
I was grateful we had a couple days to rest and recuperate. If we had to do this climb right after the climb from Sanctis to Ish'din, I probably wouldn't have been able to make it. The stairs were steep and long. I was also keenly aware of the eyes watching us climb. Oroske instructed us to keep our eyes forward and climb in silence, but I could feel the stares of the crowd watching us at the foot of the stairs.
After what felt like an eternity of stair climbing, we finally reached the top. The Ishen and Incol had moved over to the side, and we came up and stood in the middle. Supposedly, the Ishen were placed to the left and the Incol to the right to mirror the Clans' geographical position. Which would leave us in the middle.
The pillars that adorned the front of the palace, and held up the upper section of the mountain, were much larger up close than I thought they would be. They stood at least eight stories high, and were several feet thick. There was also a large open space with a handful more pillars. It was decorated with some tables and chairs, and lit up by magic sources placed on the pillars.
We were greeted by five members of the Demon Parliament, the same five that would be participating in the conferences, about half way from the pillars to the palace's main gate. They silently greeted us, and walked in front of the group, guiding us into the palace. There was slight tension in the silence as we walked, but I didn't sense any hostility.
The palace gate was huge, and looked much newer than the palace itself. It spanned at least two story's worth of height, and was wide enough for our three groups to walk side-by-side. I would learn from Oroske later that the gate was put in within the last hundred years, around the same time that entry into Ish'din became so strictly regulated. Before that, the palace was always open to visitors, though there were naturally some spots you couldn't get into without an escort.
The interior of the palace featured a lot of orange and brown tones. Pristine tile floors with intricate patterns, tall walls and vaulted ceilings. The air was still, and no noise made it in from the outside. As we walked in silence, only our footsteps echoed through the main hall. Which with a group as large as ours, was still a fair amount of noise.
Dead ahead, a large, ornate staircase led up to a large door. Behind said door was the main audience chamber, with a large, overly fancy throne sitting near the back wall. A long table was set out with ten chairs along the sides. Eleven, if you counted the throne.
A young man, who couldn't have been more than three years older than me, sat on the throne, one leg over the other and his head resting on a closed fist. He was dressed very formally, and despite his age had a presence that commanded respect. Standing next to the throne were four well-dressed individuals. A man, seemingly nearing his fifties, two pretty women that looked to be in their mid-twenties, and a large man whose age was hard to determine, but if I were to hazard a guess I'd say his late twenties, early thirties.
The Lords stepped forward and kneeled in respect. Oroske and the other Clan representatives followed suit, and gestured for us to do the same.
Lady Shen'anum pierced the silence with a firm declaration, "Prince Ars'erib, and members of the Demon Parliament, we thank you for allowing us into your home, and allowing us to uphold this sacred tradition. I, the head of the Fourth Household of Aerdin, Ibiryn Shen'anum, will be acting as our party's leader and primary representative for the duration of our conference."
The prince stood up from his chair, and spoke loudly, "Welcome, Lords Shen'anum, Kats'anum, Sen'anum. We are honored to be graced by your presence. I also welcome the representatives and members of the Half-Demon Clans, and thank them for bringing the Lords here safely. You may stand. The Lords and Clan representatives may take a seat at the table."
Kared guided everyone else where to stand along the walls of the room as the leaders all sat down. Due to the difference in numbers, there would be a handful of humans between each half-demon. Jarou ended up on the other side of the room from me, as the three Clans' members were also shuffled around.
"Now then," The older Demon spoke once everyone was in their spots, "Let all present act as witnesses to the first day of the one-hundred-thirty-seventh Human-Demon Peace Party Conference."
I had received instruction beforehand that I'll mostly have to hold still and be silent during the conference, so I was left simply to observe my surroundings as well as the conference itself.
The start of the conference allowed me to glean some information about the Demon Parliament, as well as Prince Ars'erib. Kared and Nadred filled the gaps in my basic knowledge of them during a break.
Prince Ars'erib, as I had guessed, wasn't much older than me, being only sixteen. He had wavy, golden hair that he had tied into a pony-tail, and intimidating red-gold eyes. His outfit was certainly befitting of a prince, a mostly black ensemble with accents that matched his eyes well. From what Nadred and Kared told me, his mother disappeared, and his father was murdered several years ago, and since has been taught how to rule by Regent Der'rel.
Regent Der'rel was the older man present. Despite his age, he was in remarkably good shape, I'd wager he could match Oroske in a contest of pure physical strength. He had long, grayed hair, which matched his rather ashy skin. His eyes were the only source of color I could find on him, and even then they were a soft, faded burgundy. He acted as the Realm's ruler until the prince would reach adulthood, at which point he would resume his old job as chief royal advisor.
The only other person I was able to examine very well was sitting next to him. A young lady I couldn't imagine was very old, and I'd simply guessed she'd be in her mid-twenties. She wore a mask and a hooded robe, very effectively preventing me from getting a good look at any of her features. I'd learn later on that her family name was Shadowchild, and she was the youngest member of the parliament.
The other two members of the Parliament that were present had their backs to me, so I wasn't able to discern much of their appearance. I knew that the man had greenish-hair, and the woman had silver hair, similar to Venn's. The rest I'd have to learn later. The man was called Sir Erun, and the woman Lady Meia, except by the prince, who called her "Seiu." I would later learn that it means 'teacher,' and that she's the Prince's instructor for all things academics, combat, and magic.
I had generally spaced out the actual conference, but I knew they were talking about the issues that had been brought up during our forums in the Realm's various cities. I learned that the city known as the Port of Pyr'ra has been having a lot of issues with crime lately. They spoke about the issues the Southern cities have been facing, primarily that this year they've had a much worse drought than normal. Oru'ou has had a lot of shady dealings occurring lately as well, and the bandits in that area have been more active as of late.
After lengthy discussions, most of which I was tuned out of, they brought my attention back when they started talking about the bridge over the 'elrik ke fyrun.' I was able to piece together that they meant the bridge that led from Fyrun to Sanctis.
"We are aware of this issue," Regent Der'rel spoke in a heavy, deep tone, "This issue doesn't just affect the local region, nor just the entire Realm's commerce. Even here in Ish'din we are feeling the effects of the bridge's destruction. We've received reports that this incident is also causing issues in the Human Realm. We have ordered three separate shipments from various companies in Quarry, and not a single one has arrived."
"That's especially concerning, considering I myself signed off on those deliveries," the Ishen Clan's representative said, "My involvement ended there, however. My understanding is that the materials were handed directly to the companies' demon branches, and in the cases where the company didn't have another branch, it was handed off directly to the buyer. None of my Clan's people were involved in the trade beyond signing for it to cross the Rift."
"That's odd," the Regent said, his hand on his chin as he processed the information, "I, myself, placed the orders. And I ensured the companies we bought from had personnel on this side of the border. Yet, you say there were some where the shipments were picked up directly from the buyers?"
"That's correct. Our Clan can supply our copies of the paperwork if you'd like."
"That would be helpful. Then there's the matter of numbers. I only ordered three shipments, but you spoke as if there were more than that. How many shipments did you sign for?"
"I don't remember the exact number, but I want to say seven or eight. Do you think perhaps someone is commandeering the shipments, in addition to ordering their own? What purpose would they have for that?"
"That's the possibility I'm considering, yes. I don't like it, but it's possible that someone, or some group of people, are using the stone for their own construction project. However, between the three orders there was supposed to be enough stone to complete the bridge's reconstruction. I do find it hard to believe someone would have a use for that much stone, and harder still to believe they would be able to hide it. Needless to say, this certainly warrants much deeper investigation than we've performed at this point."
"There is also the issue of why the bridge was destroyed, and who is responsible for it," Oroske spoke up. "I would like to know how the investigation on that front has fared."
"Of course," Meia responded, "Mind if I take it from here? This is related to my work, after all." The Regent merely nodded in response, and she continued. "To put it simply, we have leads, but nothing concrete. With the rise of bandit activity in the Oru'ou and Fyrun regions, we have reason to believe it may have been one of those groups. However, even outlaws rely on this bridge, and often use it to their advantage, so it's hard to believe they did it on a whim. Then there's the matter of the method used. It seems the explosions used to destroy the bridge were created using explosive powder, rather than magic. On one hand, magic on that scale would have left behind some residual aether. On the other, there's the distinct smell of gunpowder, as well as burn marks on the stone that wouldn't be present if the explosion was powered by aether.
"My investigation team and I have a handful of working theories at this point, that address primarily the intention, rather than the method. First, the woods leading from Fyrun to Oru'ou are known for bandits residing within. It's not inconceivable that one of these groups managed to get their hands on the necessary resources to blow it up, with the intention of re-routing traffic to their zones. This seems to be the most likely option, but it still doesn't narrow down which of the bandit groups it is, as the woods are home to nearly half a dozen.
"Our second theory is one that's been going around for the past year or so. In the last year, there has been a definite rise in terrorist attacks and other events that are easy to see as provocation. Only a couple months before the bridge was destroyed, an attacker nearly succeeded in destroying Al'din. They would have been successful if not for the Tsumi. These events are not exclusive to the Demon Realm, and the Humans have seen their fair share of similar things lately. Considering the seemingly organized nature of these attacks, and the manner in which they have prevented the bridge's reconstruction, I think it's about time both sides start thinking about the possibility of a third faction rising up.
"This theory not only explains the timing of all of these attacks, but also how each one of them have aimed to cripple some part of the world's economy, as well as how they were able to fund them. Regardless of your sources, the materials and know-how to be able to destroy a massive bridge, or even an entire city, can't be cheap.
"The third theory is that some other group for some reason decided they wanted to destroy the bridge and ruin our economy. There are a lot of possibilities, and the most concerning part is that we don't really have enough evidence to say which is most likely."
"I myself have heard that second theory going around, and us Lords have discussed it at length in the past," Raen spoke next, "The theory seems to be gaining traction by the day. I think it may be beneficial for both sides to more seriously consider it, and begin a proper investigation. I would like to propose that we do just that, and in a few months time meet again to discuss our findings."
"That seems like a good plan to me," Meia responded. "All in favor of tentatively implementing this idea, raise your hand."
Everyone sitting at the table raised their hands silently. Those of us along the wall were instructed that we were not a part of the decision making process, so we kept silent and still.
Shortly after the vote we took a short break. I was very grateful for the chance to sit down. Standing in one spot without moving really made my feet and legs sore, especially for four hours like we had just done.
After the break, the talks continued for another four or so hours, though I didn't really pay attention to the discussion, and just kinda zoned until we were done for the day.