Almost everyone gasped as the words left Wolva's mouth.
"So it was all a ruse to get people to fear you, huh?" Yna asked and Wolva nodded.
"I see. What do you plan on doing now? Now that you find yourself in front of a Golden Knight." Yna asked.
"I- I don't know."
"What were you going to do if I hadn't shown up?"
"I…. was going to try and escape, but they never undid my binds." Wolva said prompting Yna to nod.
She then paced around him while looking him over. His dirty body clearly illuminated by the bright and hot sun.
"Mmm… you're pretty scrawny, but you grey heads were never a chunky lot." She muttered.
"Alright, I've decided!" Yna declared dramatically.
Anda wasn't sure, but it looked like she was speaking like Katsíki.
"You'll be coming back with me, but before I leave, I need to speak with Olen." Yna said.
Wolva's eyes widened as Yna walked towards Tal.
"Wait! What do you plan on doing to me? I've done you no wrong. Aren't you knights an honorable sort?" Wolva asked with a panicked expression.
"Come on. Let's go!" Yna said while dramatically pointing northward.
Yep. Anda concluded.
She was definitely behaving a lot more like Katsíki.
"Wait! What are you going to do to me?" Wolva cried as the guards rushed closer to him with their weapons raised.
Yna simply ignored him as she followed Anda and Tal who tried their best to ignore Wolva as well.
.
..
Everyone eventually reached to New Eimval and at this point Anda was beyond exhausted. His eyelids were heavy and hid feet ached painfully.
"Alright, bring Olen here." Yna said prompting Tal to rush into New Eimval.
"Oi! Could you please just let me go. I'm not even that good a magician." Wolva said.
Anda didn't know if we was telling the truth about not being a good magician, but he knew for a fact that Wolva was a dangerous man.
Nowhere near as dangerous as Yna, but still…
Speaking of Yna, she walked up to a fatigued Anda.
"Hey, umm… this is just my advice, but you might want to ditch those old farts." She whispered.
"Mmm… I can understand your reasoning with Olen, but why Tal as well?" Anda asked.
"Think about it. Both of them were willing to betray Katsíki. It's just that Tal chickened out in that last moment. I suggest that you find a group of people that you can trust because when the sky burns, it's people like them who'll betray you."
"How… how do you know for sure?" Anda asked.
"Call it intuition." Yna said before walking away.
Sil and the others cautiously approached a tired Anda.
"What did she say?" Sil asked.
"She said that I should ditch the high elders." Anda said softy.
Sil opened her mouth to speak, but her attention was quickly drawn to Olen, who exited New Eimval with Tal in tow.
The two stopped just in front of Yna and Olen looked her right in the eye before sighing.
"What now? I'm assuming you'll be making am example of me." Olen said. He was clearly distressed as seen by the sweat on his forehead and his gnashed teeth, but even then he stood upright.
"No. I want to watch how Anda deals with it."
"What?" Anda asked as everyone stared at him.
"You said you were the High Elder now, right? You get to decide what happens to these two for conspiring to assassinate your allies." Yna said.
Anda looked at Olen, who glared at him.
He then looked at Tal, who's head was lowered before looking at the scouts, who all stood behind him with tired, but concerned expressions.
Anda wondered what Karish would do in this situation.
He wondered what his father would do.
What would Katsíki do?
"I… I think we should strip them of their titles." Anda said while wincing.
"There you have it. From now own, you two are ordinary Rendaro. Let it be known!" Yna said before gesturing that Wolva follow her.
"Anyway, bye. I'm curious to see just what this guy can do." She said as she led Wolva north.
Some time passed as everyone else silently stood in the Dark Expanse.
"Who will the guards answer to now that Olen's no longer elder?"
One of the guards asked and at this point, Anda's brain could process anything, but just as his spirit fell in defeat, Sil walked up and placed her hand on her chest.
"I will. I may be an elder, but cooperation between the Eimval's will be key and who knows the surface better than the scouts?" She said.
The guards all hummed in agreement, but Olen clicked his tongue in response.
"Please. Nothing has changed. All this has done is push back our plans. I still intend to free the Ia from our golden shackles-"
"No. They're right, Olen. It's time that we step back and allow the young leaders of the Rendaro to take charge. Our mistakes could have led to disaster and I will no longer stand by the side in silence." Tal said.
"What? You cannot possibly think that they'll go far without us." Olen said, but Tal simply took off the topmost layer of his fancy gown.
"If it wasn't for them, both Eimval's would be burning right now. I suggest you take those malicious feelings put them towards something more constructive." Tal said before walking away.
"Tsk! What about you, guardsmen of Eimval? Who do you trust will do what's best for our people?" Olen asked as the sun slowly set.
"Mmm… I was gonna say you, boss, but from what I gather, it was young Anda who stopped what could have been the second biggest mistake the Rendaro made."
"Yeah. Just who's lives were you willing to sacrifice if your scheme didn't work? By the way, it totally didn't work."
Such things were said by the guards, who although passionate, remained rather calm.
"The scouts are the ones closest to the Dark Vessel. I'll be siding with them."
"Speak for yourselves. I'll stick with the boss until I'm sure the knight won't burn Eimval on a whim."
"But can we at least agree that Anda and the scouts are our best shot if we want to continue receiving the protection of the dark vessel?"
"Yeah, I suppose."
"Good!"
The guards then all lined up in front of Anda, who struggled even standing.
"We'll gladly follow your orders, but don't forget that our loyalty lies with the Ia. If your decisions compromise the safety of the Ia, we'll do everything in our power to stop you, whether you're under the dark vessel's protection or otherwise." The captain of the guards said.
Anda nodded before gesturing towards Eimval.
"Thanks for the support and the trust you've placed in me. Let us continue to work hard for the Eimvals." Anda said and received a short burst of cheers.
Everyone the made their way into New Eimval and Anda along with the scouts made their way to the high office where Anda tiredly sat.
He then looked at his men.
"It seems as though I really won't be able to do this alone. Especially now that elders Olen and Tal are unable to-"
Anda was stopped by a knock on the door.
Yiden opened it to find Tal, only he was dressed in far simpler clothes.
"What brings you here, el- Tal?" Anda asked.
"I quickly realized after returning to my home that I am a man of few talents. But the fact remains that I was in charge of resource management in Eimval for the last ten years. I wanted to help in whatever way I can. Even if it's just as an advisor." Tal said.
"Oh? I'd really appreciate that. But since you aren't an elder anymore, someone else will have to conduct your duties-"
"I volunteer!" Fìor said rather loudly.
"Why?" Anda asked.
"Everyone's been working so hard. I don't want to look like the useless one."
"I don't know… resource management sounds like a taxing job. Are you sure you weak mind will be able to keep up?" Yiden asked with a smirk.
"Say that again, brick head." Fìor hissed.
"Ahem! If you're up for it, I suggest that you and Tal work together to ensure that everything gets where it needs to." Anda said prompting Fìor to nod and for Tal to bow.
"Sil, you said you wanted to take control over the guards. I'll leave that to you. With that said, we can conclude our first meeting, not as the scouts, but as the as the very pillars that will ensure both Eimvals stand." Anda said as he stood up.
"Hey! What about me-?"
"We'll need a name for you two. Elders is far too archaic. Any suggestions?" Anda asked, completely ignoring Yiden.
"Well… we've always watched over the Ia, but overseers sounds… bad." Fìor said.
"Yeah. What about caretakers?" Sil suggested.
"What? Are we running a day care center?" Yiden cried.
"Well? Do you have any better ideas?" Anda asked.
"Ahem. I actually do." Yiden said with a smirk.
"Custodians. This implies that we aren't so much leaders and more of protectors, guardians, if you will." Yiden said while puffing his chest.
"Err… that's not bad." Fìor said and everyone hummed in agreement.
"Then it's settled. From now own we are Custodians and we will dedicate our very lives to protect and serve the Ia to the best of our ability!"
TO BE CONTINUED