"Attacking the Redblades won't do us no good, your majesty", Ser Daimen Norr said as he kept glimpsing at Jroff. "The boy does not seem to understand war. Hasting right into is as good as sealing your own death warrant", he added.
"And what counter do you suggest?" the king said, wanting to hear more from him, and out of real concern unlike in Jroff's case.
"Savages, their men might be, but the old Greyians who sit on the Red King's council are no fools. I'm sure this could be handled with a less violent approach." Replied Ser Daimen Norr, he hinted at using the diplomatic skills of the masters of their own council. But some clearly disagreed.
Before the king could even say anything, Ser Greg Lynn rose from his seat which was in the opposite direction of Ser Daimen's seat, with a bang of his first down the armrest. "Not fools, you say!?" he shouted as he looked at Ser Daimen Norr. He then instantly turned his look towards Ayden and continued, "I must apologise, your majesty but what Ser Daimen Norr says sounds absurd. Yes, the old Greyians are no fools, but the bastards knew damn well about your peace treaty. If they desired a civil approach, they could have done so! But the fact is, they did not! They knew, and yet they did nothing about it. Perhaps not them, but we sure would be fools enough if we tried a 'less violent approach'. That is all I had to say, your majesty, pardon me for my insolence." Ser Greg Lynn sat down, his thick face had turned red, and his brown sideburns were slightly wet from sweat.
"You are pardoned, Ser Greg." Ayden said, looking at the fat man trying to adjust into his seat. "What Ser Greg says is true, Ser Daimen. Would you like to say anything to this?" asked Ayden. Any other time, he might have simply called him just 'Uncle' or 'Uncle Daimen', but in court he always had to call him 'Ser'.
"Yes, what has been said by Ser Greg is indeed true, your majesty, and nothing I could say would change the fact that the old 'tellers' and councilmen of the Red King's court knew about the treaty we were about to approach them with. But it's hard to make sense of their purpose, your majesty. Call him a fool if you may, but the Red King would not be so foolish as to attack a nation ten times the size of his own without any reasoning. I believe it's important for us to know the intent behind this all before rushing into a war that we have no preparations for. That is all I meant, your majesty." Ser Daimen bowed as he finished.
"What you say is not half wrong Ser Daimen, but do you really think the Greyains would be willing to hear from us in these times? Their actions seemed clear of doubt, they knew what they were doing and why. Even if we decided for a civil approach, what way do we have to execute it?" asked the king. Ayden was thinking with a clear mind, considering all possibilities and obstacles, he had to do what would be the best for his people. He was half-convinced that going forward with an approach less violent would be the best thing for his kingdom, and perhaps the best for himself as well. He felt something deep inside him, he wasn't sure what it was, but the feeling was oddly similar to fear. Fear of war, maybe, for he never had to cross paths with one in all his short years of rule.
"I'm afraid I have no answer to that right now, your majesty. But I'm sure the other great strategists of our court will figure a way out." Replied Ser Daimen. He was a good enough strategist himself, but he liked to be modest. He believed in giving others the chance to do things before him, he observed and evaluated the suggestions and actions of every person keenly and only opened his mouth at last, that too, only if he felt that there were some things left unsaid. He gave the Master's and Ser's all a look, with a little but bright smile, and then said, "I trust the men who sit here, your majesty. I have given you my advice and that was the most I could do for you right now. I believe I have done the work that was required of me today, and I leave the rest to them. But I can assure you, your majesty, that if it comes to it, I will be the first one to draw a sword for you." He said, and finally sat down after giving a small, graceful bow to the king.
"Very well", Ayden said, "your good advice has been taken into account, Ser Daimen and I'm glad that I have your great sword right beside me", he gave him an approving smile.
Instead of inviting the next person in line to speak his mind, the king looked at Ser Greg and asked him if he had any counter arguments. Ser Greg got up readily, almost as if he would have interrupted the court once again if the king hadn't asked himself. He was an impatient man, to say the very least.
"I have to say that Ser Daimen's intentions are in the right for searching for an 'intent', your majesty, but to ask of 'intent' from the Redblades is the same as asking an animal for your way, there's simply no point to it. I share the same worries as you, your majesty, how are we to execute the said 'civil' approach? Say, for the sake of it, that somehow, we do succeed in approaching the Greyians, and we do get to talk things out, but what then, your majesty? What then? Do we forget that they have slayed our good men in cold blood? Do we forgive them for their 'mistake', if it is a mistake at all? It all is too bold to be a simple miscommunication, your majesty." The fat knight seemed much calmer now, his voice was loud by nature, but it seemed controlled and not angered. He had shifted everyone's intrigue to his words and by the looks of it, his counter was bound to win over Ser Daimen's. "From the looks of it, and my understanding as a knight of more than twenty years now, all of this must have been planned intricately, your majesty, for the 'Red King' does not strike me as the type who would decide for a war on a sudden whim."
"This morning I, by chance, stumbled into the father of one of the men under Chief Venas Kirp's squadron. He was clueless, had no idea what has befallen his son, and the worst of all, your majesty, is that there is not even a single recognizable bone left of his son to show the poor man. Say, the matter gets sorted and there is no need to go to a war, but what of him, your majesty? What of the numerous wives and children and fathers and mothers of the men that lost their lives? What do we say to them? That to avenge their husbands and sons we 'talked things out'? Now think for a second how absurd that sounds, your majesty. No matter what anyone says in this court today, I for one, shall not back down from my idea of payback, and that is that. I apologise if I crossed a line anywhere or offended anyone with my blunt manner of speaking. That is all, your majesty," Ser Greg Lynn sat back down as he finished his words. By the looks of it, and the sudden quiet that had befallen the court, it seemed as if he had swayed almost everyone in his direction.
The king nodded at his words, while he tried to think of what to say. He looked around a bit, trying to read the faces of the people who sat there and finally broke the silence by saying, "It is good that you have chosen one clear side, Ser Greg Lynn. I understand your concerns. The Redblades have hurt the very thing that makes up this kingdom's pride, its people. And to let them get away would be an insult, I don't like the notion as well. Rest assured, we will deal with the Red King one way or the other, Ser Greg." These words weren't just meant for Ser Greg, but for everyone sitting in the court, they were meant to make them confident in their king, and to tell them that the king understands all.
Master's and Ser's stood and sat, all saying the same two things over and over again, but in different words. "Attack", "Approach", "Defend", "Revenge", "Avenge", "Hold steady", "Stay calm", "Confront". Some fools went as far as suggesting doing nothing, neither face them in war, nor approach them with any talks. But no one seemed to suggest any other way out, mainly because there wasn't.
The king heard everyone out, no matter if their words had been said a hundred times already. Among all this, Evarius, whose mother was Gregor Norr's sister, sat in the row of the royalties and got a chance to speak as well, but he passed it on and said nothing on the matter.
At the end of it the king looked at Master Fey, who had been writing and recording everything that was being spoken, and gave him an indication. Master Fey rose from his seat, holding some thick papers in his hand, and started reading out loud, "It has been observed and concluded through the numerous suggestions by everyone present here that his majesty Ayden Norr's court has no more than two choices to act upon. The two choices being, either face the Redblades in battle, or make our diplomats visit the 'Red King' in his court to clear all forms of doubts and miscommunications." The old master had not even bothered accounting the third choice which begged for nothing at all.
"Forty-four members say we go to war, and forty-four say we handle things with diplomacy." The room was suddenly filled with murmurs and soft whispers, no one had expected a direct tie of opinions. "The rules of the court decree that I, the conductor of this session, shall have no opinion of myself and hence my vote doesn't count. There were seven people who chose to say nothing at all while five whose ideas have been respectfully discarded out of the picture all together, for they seemed too absurd to even consider. Now, the scale hangs perfectly balanced. If anyone wishes to change their decision, or anyone wishes to add theirs shall do so now…" the old master waited, but no one spoke up. "From what it seems, the decisions of the court members are final. Since there is a tie, the King shall decide the final verdict. His majesty's words bear the weight equivalent to that of the words of 10 court members, and to counter his words 10 members must change their decision. If no one is willing to change theirs, then the decision chosen by the king shall become the victor. So, this is the last chance you'll get to change or add to anything you've said. I believe this much has been understood by everyone?" the master looked around as he asked. Like before, no one said anything, they simply nodded.
"Seeing that everyone agrees, the weight now rests upon your shoulders, your majesty. Whatever you decide shall be today's final verdict." The master concluded his words as he looked at the king.
Not just the master, but the whole court was looking at the king now. It felt as if even the walls, curtains and candles stared at Ayden. A thin line of sweat trickled down on his neck as he shifted in his seat. He had feared something like this might happen. 'What was the point of wasting my hours hearing these people if it all had to come down to me?'
The calmness and serenity left his thoughts and they all started clashing with each other. Somehow all the arguments he had heard and all the remarks he had given them stopped making sense. He took deep breaths in, but they didn't help. His mind started going blank and he was on the verge of losing himself to a pit of thoughts. But a loud voice and a strong hand pulled him back to his senses. 'You cannot waver! Not now!' it screamed in his head, but that is not what he wanted to hear. The stakes were as high as they could get, and he knew that, and the last thing he needed was a constant reminder. He wanted peace in his mind, instead of screams and shouts. 'Think calmly' another voice said, much lighter than before. He closed his eyes, just for a fraction of a second, but even that fraction of a second was enough for him to gather his thoughts. He recollected everything that had been said in the court, and then he recollected his opinions. Just this morning, he had thought of something, but he couldn't remember what it was. 'Something…something…something! Yes! The white knights!' he remembered suddenly. Though it was a plan only half plausible, it could do with the polishing from the masters and the so-called strategists of the kingdom.
Yes, now he had it all figured out. 'This could work. No, this must work!' He thought to himself. He blinked once again, looked around. The expressions on everyone's face hadn't changed, nor had anyone looked away. They were all still staring at him, waiting eagerly for their majesty to say something.
"Hoping for the best way out, we must prepare for the worst. Everyone here knows that our army, as it is now, is in no way to fight right off. And going to the Red King's court comes with its risks as well. Go to war, or build a relationship? We can't do both, but I say we do!" His words didn't seem to make much sense to those sitting in court and he could sense mockery in some people's eyes. But he was not about to let that come in his way. "We do both, yes. We shall fight, and we shall be civil with them as well. Or at least, we shall pretend to." He took a pause, inhaled, and then continued. "Our troops need more time, that is known. And our diplomats, on the other hand, know exactly how to buy time." He had slowly started making sense, it was pretty clear now where he was going with this. "We shall send the best of our councilmen, or so we shall tell them, to his (Red King's) court, and try to buy some time, stalling him with deals and such. Meanwhile, we shall prepare our men for war in the best way we can. Once everything is done, we shall attack them right away, in a surprise, like how they attacked us." He finished while looking at Ser Greg Lynn, who had a faint smile on his face.
"I wholeheartedly lend my support to his majesty!" announced Ser Greg in a loud voice, rising from his seat and drawing his sword and holding it high in the air.
"So do I!", "And so do I!", "Me too", "Me as well" and just like that, most of the court members were now standing and holding their swords and spears high in the air. Some still sat, those who were too old to display such energy and a few who didn't like the idea at all. But regardless of what anyone thought, the decision had already been taken by the king and it could not be changed no matter what they did now.
Evarius was sitting down as well. No one seemed to be asking the real questions that were bothering him the most. 'And what if the Red King does not allow any meetings? What if he attacks right on the morrow? What then? What will you do?' He was looking right at his cousin, the king, when the thoughts crossed his mind.
Ayden, who had risen from his seat as well, met Evarius right in the eyes when he looked at him. Out of all the people sitting down, he saw the most doubt in his eyes. 'His eyes, yes.' He suddenly got reminded of the primary reason he had never liked his cousin very well....
To be continued.