[center] [h1][b][u]The Council of Acadia[/u][/b][/h1] [i]Eighteen years after Antiquity…[/i] [/center] [hr] Queen Avelina of Acadia sat at her council chair with a disdainful expression, and brushed her blonde hair behind her merelli horns. These council meetings were tedious. They were necessary, and she always tried to give them her full attention, but they were still tedious. Her gaze briefly flickered toward the open balcony doors, where a cool breeze flowed in. She looked at her human counterpart, King Hugon. The heads of state of Acadia were the King and the Queen. The King was always human and male, while the Queen was always a merelli female. The King and Queen were not actually married to one another, and kept their own consorts, but it was not uncommon for affairs to occur between the two. She had considered it, upon first rising to her title, and she knew he considered it too. Hugon had once been a handsome man. But now, he had aged. He was nearly forty, and his hair was beginning to grey. She no longer had an interest in him, and he recognized that. She looked to the rest of the table, where the Pontiffs were debating about whether or not they should elevate the lesser Goddess Gibbou to the status of a major Goddess - and thus create an additional pontiff. Unsurprisingly, most were against it, for they did not want to create another political rival. Yet a handful were insistent, and raised this issue at every meeting. There had been a recent incident where a garrison had been granted strange new equipment by that same goddess, and it was far more durable than any metal they had seen before. “If we show her more devotion,” the Pontiff of Oraelia, a human woman in her fifties, had argued, “she may grant us additional boons.” “Such a thing would distract from other more worthy gods,” countered the Pontiff of Neiya, a Merelli with black hair. Avelina could not recall her age - it was always hard to tell, with a Merelli. The only way to be certain was to ask them directly, and the older ones were always reluctant to provide a truthful answer. “If we dedicate time and resources to praising Gibbou, that is time and resources which could instead go to the others, and they may take offense.” She took a sip from a goblet of wine. The debate carried on, with each councillor voicing their opinion. Except Avelina. It didn’t matter. It was three against five. Even if she added her own vote in support of elevating Gibbou’s status, they would still be one vote short. Eventually the matter was dismissed, and they moved on to other matters. Such as where they would deploy the soldiers Gibbou had supposedly equipped. Or to which units the strangely-waterproof weapons from the blessed forge should be given to. There was also the matter of a village which had been late on tribute payments. And finally, an update on the search for the daughter of the Pontiff of Aurius - she had still yet to be found. These matters were traditionally considered to be under the purview of the King and Queen, and Avelina nodded along with Hugon’s suggestions. She was no puppet - far from it - but in this particular case the King’s advice had been sound, and the Queen saw no reason to dispute it beyond the occasional question for clarification. It was better not to speak unless necessary, Avelina had long ago decided. They would think she was not paying attention. Or that she was accepting of what was going on around her. And thus, they would underestimate her. But, just like in war, the best way to lure your enemy into an ambush was to feign weakness. A few inexperienced pontiffs had already fallen for that trap, being caught off-guard by a sudden and unexpected barrage of rebuttals and criticisms from someone they did not even realize had been paying attention. Eventually, the meeting came to a close, but before they could rise from their seats, there was the sound of a pair of feet striking the floor. They all turned. Standing at the balcony was a silver-haired man with purple eyes, a bright purple traveller’s cloak, a white tunic, and an oaken staff. The Councillors leapt from their seats and took a step back. “Who in Tekret’s name are you?” challenged a Pontiff, who represented the very god he invoked. Overcoming her initial shock, Avelina quickly noticed another detail about the man. He was attractive. It was a struggle to tear her eyes away from his figure, and when she did, she found herself looking at the Pontiff of Neiya, who was also eying the stranger with a look of deep interest. That was rather surprising, since the Pontiff of Neiya had once told her in private that she never once found a single human to be attractive. The Pontiff noticed Avelina’s stare and flushed. Meanwhile, the Pontiff of Evandra - a man - had also been taken in by the stranger’s appearance, which seemed to fall in line with a rumour that had been going around for some time. Avelina shook the thoughts off. He was an intruder! He shouldn’t be here! Her hand fell to the sword at her hip, and in the same moment both she and Hugon drew their weapons. “What is the meaning of this?” Hugon demanded. Two guards burst into the room shortly afterward, their own weapons raised. The stranger smiled reassuringly. [color=purple]“I am Mekellos. The Avatar of Cadien.”[/color] Whatever answer the council had expected, it was not that. “The only one in this room who speaks for Cadien is I,” the Pontiff of Cadien, a round-bellied man with greying hair, countered defiantly. Mekellos frowned. [color=purple]“Is that so?”[/color] he asked. [color=purple]“Tell me, when was the last time you ever heard from my master? If you heard from him at all…”[/color] The Pontiff was about to issue a retort, but Mekellos continued speaking. [color=purple]“Pontiff Julien,”[/color] he went on. [color=purple]“You claim to speak for Cadien, yet he has never spoken to you a day in your life. You claim to embody his ideals, yet since taking his office you have grown fat and complacent.”[/color] Then Mekellos’s eyes narrowed, as he stepped closer and closer. [color=purple]“You poisoned your predecessor.”[/color] Pontiff Julien’s face paled. Then Mekellos’s hand launched forward, closed around his throat, and lifted him a foot off the ground. King Hugon rushed forward and swung his sword at Mekellos, only for Mekellos to grab the weapon by the blade - it didn’t even break skin - wrench it from the King’s grip, and jam the pommel into the King’s stomach. The guards rushed forward, but Mekellos raised a dismissive hand. Suddenly they were out of breath, and too weak to even lift their spears. They collapsed to their knees. The Pontiff’s eyes bulged, and his face turned red. [color=purple]“You’ve committed other crimes too,”[/color] Mekellos went on, in a cold tone. [color=purple]“You thought they were secrets. But I know…”[/color] Then the avatar tightened his grip, crushing throat, bone, and veins in a single squeeze. He dropped the Pontiff to the floor with an expression of contempt. Then he waved his hand, and suddenly the guards were no longer wheezing for breath. He turned to regard the rest of the council. [color=purple]“Some of you are good,”[/color] he said after a moment. [color=purple]“Some of you… are not. Know this: your gods are watching. They always have been. If you are guilty, then I leave your punishment up to them.”[/color] The Avatar approached Julien’s old seat, pulled out the chair, and sat down. [color=purple]“Now then,”[/color] he said lightly, as if the grisly sight of the Pontiff’s murder had not just occurred. [color=purple]“What’s the condition of the city?”[/color] [hr] [hider=Post Summary] The post introduces the Council of Acadia, with brief descriptions of some of its members and how they do things. It’s shown through the perspective of Avelina, the city’s Merelli Queen. They discuss whether or not Gibbou should be elevated to the status of a major goddess and given her own branch of the priesthood. That debate doesn’t go anywhere so they move on to simpler matters. Just as they’re about to conclude things, Mekellos shows up, dropping down on the balcony from above. He casually strolls into the room, announcing himself to be the Avatar of Cadien. The Pontiff of Cadien, Julien, refutes this claim. Mekellos declares that Julien has never spoken for Cadien, and was also guilty of multiple crimes - including the murder of Cadien’s last pontiff. He then kills Julien. After Julien is dead, Mekellos takes charge and tells the other councillors to give him a report on the city’s condition. 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