Chapter 432: Why are you here?

“Commander Korvath, you are to ensure that every Hunting Party that leaves the Wall has thrice the numbers the current ones had.

Send your finest men if you have to.

We cannot have another accident like this again.”

The Matriarch gave her orders but then—

“This isn’t the time to Hunt.”

Lavinia shook her head, Morvain stared at her with a frown and the Mage continued—

“If you cannot have another accident like this again,

It is better not to move outside the Walls for a while, at least not till we have more information on the matter.”

“Are you suggesting that we confine our people inside the Walls?”

Draksis rebutted almost instantly.

It almost seemed like he had made it his life’s purpose to counter anything Kael or Lavinia said.

The worst part?

He was glancing at Kael again and again as he countered Lavinia, almost as if he wanted him to say something.

“I am not trying to restrict our people, I am simply suggesting that we be more careful for a few days.”

Lavinia answered calmly, treating Draksis not as an ally or an enemy, but another Council member and answering his question in as politically correct manner as possible, completely unfazed by the open hostility the Elder was showing.

This was the woman who had spent most years of her life in the Drakthar Royal Castle, unlike the Heights, where scarcity was common and hunger drove most decisions, the Castle was a place filled with abundance. The decisions there weren’t affected by hunger, but purely out of greed.

The Meetings there were where the true politics was played, with each participant of the meeting being part of a different Faction and every Faction having different Goals.

Compared to politics played there, where Corruption, Backstabbing, Betrayals, Conspiracies, and Oppression were commonplace, the politics here in the Heights, where all Council Members had but one Goal and that is the betterment of the people, was… cute at best.

Even Draksis himself, the only reason the old man was even against them was because he felt they were relying on outsiders too much and wasn’t comfortable with the sudden shift of Power that he was seeing. He feared that the two of them might harm people once they had their trust and he wanted to avoid this no matter what.

This was also the reason Lavinia was almost never affected by Draksis’s words, the emotional wall she had built in these past few years was simply too strong to be affected by someone as… simple-minded as Draksis.

“More careful for a few days? Be careful of what? The enemies? You think we are so weak that we need to be scared of a single Tribe that lives far away on a Mountain Peak because their ancestors were too scared of ours?”

Draksis snorted.

“Being careful is different than being scared.”

Again, Lavinia’s tone didn’t change.

“We do not actually know whether the enemies are truly the Stormcallers. There are too many odd things in this case that cannot be explained for us to conclude this so… easily.

What are the Stormcallers doing so far away from their home?

How did they ambush us? Were they waiting? Or was it purely a coincidence?

How did they manage to completely annihilate our party without us knowing?

Why did they do what they did with the bodies of our men when they never did something like this before?

For all we know, the enemy can be some other Faction using the Stormcaller’s Language to divert our attention elsewhere.”

The Mage explained her thoughts.

She then ignored Draksis and turned towards Morvain instead—

“Before we make any decisions, I believe we should investigate the matter more carefully.

We need more information.”

She urged.

But again—

“The responsibility to collect that information was on your friend’s shoulders, which he had clearly stated that he cannot do anything in this matter.”

Draksis countered, staring right at Kael.

“Says the man who didn’t know one of their own was giving live updates to the enemy for years.”

Kael snorted.

He then turned towards Lavinia and sighed,

“You were correct, Incompetence is indeed painful to watch… and hear.”

“Yes, that is correct, Incompetence is indeed painful to watch and hear.”

Draksis nodded, using the words with an entirely different meaning.

“Hearing the Warden of Vigilance say how he cannot observe and stay Vigilant is…”

The words drifted off, after all, he didn’t need to complete them.

“Of course, expect a single man to do everything, why don’t you just sit in that pit of yours hammering a few metals while we make the decisions here? That would honestly make you much more productive than you are right now.”

“Expecting everything from you? If you count doing what you were tasked to do as everything, then please, let me apologize for my rude remarks.”

“I didn’t think incompetence came with ungratefulness.

To think some people can forget who saved their ass from an all-out attack just a few days ago, people are indeed… different.”

Kael didn’t back down, he had already had it with this old man.

“Is this how you are going to hold that over us, now? Like a Weapon?”

The Forge Leader narrowed his eyes.

“I am simply showing you my Competence, something I haven’t seen you do even once.”

Kael answered, staring right into the old man’s face.

“Whose weapons and tools do you think the people are using?”

Draksis narrowed his eyes but Kael just laughed dryly at those words.

And as if to take this a step further,

“Commander Korvath, it goes without saying, he is wise and a strategic genius. He has complete trust of his people, so much that they are even willing to lay down their lives for him.”

He began, pointing at Korvath. Then, his gaze moved to Aelindra,

“On the day Lavinia showed her Magic and how she herself could single-handedly improve the average level of Velmourn Mages, Elder Aelindra moved that very night, collecting information of Velmourn Mages and their current status, giving us a thorough, complete report the next morning, allowing Lavinia to hold her classes.

And that was just one incident where Elder Aelindra showed why she deserves to sit in this Hall.”

Kael then turned towards Tarevian and—

“It was Elder Tarevian that moved when I started catching the Corrupt Provisioners, although that backfired because of my foolishness, that day, I did see how much power Elder held, how the people looked at him as if he was their own, treating him as their family, sharing everything with him.”

After Tarevian, it was Nymeris’s turn,

“Elder Nymeris, I obviously have nothing to say here, the knowledge she holds guides every single one of us, her existence is extremely important for the Council. It has happened more than once where I found myself turning towards her just to get her nod, reassuring me when I speak, or guiding me in any other way. I cannot imagine a Council Meeting without having her to turn to.

And last but not the least, Matriarch Morvain.

She holds everything together, she has displayed her leadership skills more than once, so much that even though I have been here for a few weeks, I feel like I can rely on her with my eyes closed.”

Kael spoke as he nodded at Morvain, then, he finally turned back towards Draksis and—

“Every single person here, including Kayden, has a different presence than the rest of the Velmourns I see, they have important roles they play and hold a key position that is important for the people—so much that I simply cannot imagine someone else in their stead, holding this place together.

But then there’s you.

When asked the proof of your competence, you talk about the weapons and tools that the Velmourn people use.

You asked who made them, correct?

The Blacksmiths.

The Velmourn Blacksmiths were the ones who made them.

Sure, there might be a few you made personally, but those aren’t any better than what other experienced Blacksmiths made.

Then let me ask you this, Elder Draksis.

Why are you here?

What makes you any different than those Blacksmiths?

What skillset, other than hammering some tools, do you bring here?

What gives you the power to sit together with the people I mentioned before?

In my eyes, any one of them could replace you and nothing would change.

If anything, things here will only become more efficient since we wouldn’t have to waste time on such useless discussions when we have so many important things to deal with.

I refuse to believe every single blacksmith is as ungrateful as you.”

Kael answered and this time…

Silence.

Absolute Silence fell over the Hall.

Draksis froze, unable to utter even a single word, staring at Kael wide-eyed. For a moment, he did try to look around, at Korvath, Aelindra, and other Elders,

But while some were looking at him with worried looks on their faces, no one said anything. Korvath even sat with his arms crossed, staring at him with a cold look on his face, it was clear that he supported Kael in this exchange, even Aelindra seemed like she was on his side.

In the end, the Forge Leader turned towards the Matriarch, wanting at least some support from there but—

“That is enough.”

Morvain simply stood up, staring at Draksis and then Kael.

Then, she turned towards Tarevian and—

“Talk with the families of the deceased.”

“Yes, Matriarch.”

Tarevian nodded.

The Matriarch then turned towards Korvath and—

“You will do as you were told.”

Korvath nodded and finally,

“This Council Meeting will resume in two days, hopefully by then, the Council Members will learn not to put themselves above the Council, else there will be a need for serious actions, something I, as someone who cherishes this council, do not want.

Keep in mind, the Council serves the People, not egos.

I will not warn again.”

With those words, the Matriarch walked out and the meeting ended.

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