Silvertree Chronicles Bk. 01 Ch. 30

She nodded, "Yes. I have heard of you. I know my father and the Dwarven King both made you a Duke in their courts when you were made one in the Elven court. Because of the cross-border treaty. He was very impressed with your knowledge of treaties. Also your skill on the battlefield."

Eldar looked at her, "There is one formality I need you to do and that is to call for a royal conclave. Scholars summarize the page in question."

The Baron yelled at Eldar, "She cannot rule!"

Eldar looked at him, "I have not asked her to rule. I asked her to follow your own procedures and laws. Which requires the highest member of the royal family to call for a royal conclave. To settle any and all disputes in regards to succession. There is no age limit on this requirement."

She looks at the Scholars who finished reading the page now and they nodded their agreement.

She looked at Eldar, "Then as the only Royal Heir to survive this atrocity I ask for a royal conclave."

Eldar nodded to the Princess and then looked at the general, "As the senior Ranking Noble of age in the room, I order you to arrest the Barron and his cohorts. The charges of attempting to overthrow the crown. They have no valid claim as such what they are doing is considered a coup punishable by death. All titles and land are stripped from them and their heirs.

This is by your own laws. No trial is required as they have admitted to the crime, conspiring, and refused to relinquish the false claim. The order is to be carried out by either the senior general or head of the palace guard if they are still alive. I assume you are a general?"

He looked at the scholars who confirmed the rule of law. Eldar looked at the military representative, "My authority as a Field Marshal does not extend this far. It is only when troops are deployed to your northern border. That makes you the senior military officer here.

Any member of your group who attempts to draw a weapon will be disintegrated on the spot! You do not get to where I am without having the power to back it up."

The General's men swooped in quickly and arrested the baron and his allies. While he was being cursed at and they were being taken away, "She still cannot rule!" One of them shouted out.

He looked at who was left. "By your laws at a royal conclave, the Dukes or higher in attendance nominate and vote on a successor if there is a succession order claim. The problem is your document with all of its size does not cover this situation. This is what placed your scholars in a bind.

I am recognized as a Duke in all three allied Kingdoms. I run the only cross-border protection force on your northern border. While of age and title I could rule but the people would hardly accept an elven ruler over them. I cannot rule your country and nobody here of age can rule.

As such a consensus has to be reached as to what to do. I am the only voting member present of age. Your father's Military adviser is fairly new, I take it?" She nodded. "Do you have a member of the royal treasury here?"

She pointed, "The highest member to survive. He was fourth in line." He is alive but very near death."

Eldar nodded, "I request a short recess to confer with my Queen on this matter, please wait here."

He moved away and pulled the crystal for Lord Regal, "Get Jarron and Charlemagne on with you. We have my father's body but I was asked to help resolve the issue as I knew the content of their laws. The laws do not cover this situation. I need to know what human agents you have in the area that can act as advisers for military, diplomatic, and economic issues here?"

He waited for Lord Regal and Jarron replied, "We have a few retired agents in the city that can fill those roles. Why?"

Eldar sighed, "A royal conclave was called, I requested it from the Princess as the only surviving member of the royal family. I am the only one here with a Duke status and the Princess is too young to rule according to the local laws on the books.

The only option I have, other than trying to run a human country myself which would never be accepted, is to appoint an interim government until the Princess is of legal age. I am asking for humans who can work on human problems. Can you get them here in an hour?"

Jarron muttered, "Yes, I got an agent in the area I can communicate with and they can round them up."

Eldar sighed, "Thank you. Please inform the Queen of the fate of my father. Leave notification of his death to my brother to me on my return. I also ordered, again based on their laws, the immediate execution on the Baron and his cohorts and seizing of all titles and assets. For planning a coup."

He heard silence. Then Jarron asked, "Understood, you eliminate one faction tell me about the other factions."

Eldar replied, "There is no other faction, it was the military adviser who is a general but completely clueless and incapable of leading the government by his own admission. I will get back with you shortly as I may have more for you to do."

He walked back into the room and softly requested, "Can I have a few minutes with the Princess please?"

The Princess walked forward and he grabbed her by the shoulders and hugged her to him and whispered into her ear, "We both lost fathers in this tragedy. We will work to make this right and keep the Kingdom strong for the sake of us all."

She hugged him back and whispered back to him, "I do not know if I am ready to rule."

He chuckled and continued the low toned conversation, "Less than a year ago I graduated from the academy as a Grand Master Blade Singer. I held to title, land, or anything of value other than the gear I wore. I have married two lovely wives, established the first cross-border mercenary group, been appointed a Knight Champion by one of our gods and his wife performed my marriage ceremony.

I have done so many things you will learn about in your father's journals. I was made the holder of my family Moon Blade, became head of my house who despised my existence, survived five assassination attempts, been made a Knight, and then a Duke for my actions on the field. I have had so much thrust on my shoulders and I thought the same thing.

The key is to surround yourself with good people. I need to have a private meeting with you in the Elven ambassador's office. If you are willing."

She nodded, "We are going to the ambassador's office. Please guard that corridor and give us some time." Her guard detail walked over and took up positions along the hall in both directions.

Eldar used his crystal, "Find out if you can get Jarron and Lady Silver Hair to come to the ambassador's office to speak with the Princess."

Lord Regal did not respond, the two of them appeared in the office with us. Eldar looked at Jarron, "She has to know so she understands what I am doing."

Jarron grunted after getting a nod from Lady Silver Hair. He had her sit down.

Eldar looked at her, "Your father worked with a covert group whose sole purpose was to keep things stable and make sure small conflicts do not turn into large conflicts. This was started over 7,000 years ago and restarted around 800 years ago. The Saatorixx Knights named after the Silver Dragon who founded the group."

She nodded, "So you are a part of this group."

He nodded, "With the support of your father, the Elven Queen, the Dwarven King, and numerous other leaders. Your Kingdom falls into an area Jarron oversees. We have a slight overlap because of my diplomatic status. I work at the same level as Jarron but on your northern border and the elven southern border. As such here is what I am looking at doing for you.

There are retired Knight agents with expertise in military, economics, and diplomacy that are all human. We are going to draft them back into service directly to you to serve as advisers until you reach the age at which you can assume the crown. Here is how it would work; it takes 3 out of 4 of you to approve a decision.

No decision can be approved if you do not approve of it. This gives you a chance to get the best educational assistance in these matters that we can put at your disposal. Dragons are not allowed to interfere in our affairs. If something happens a balance has to be maintained. Something did happen which created an imbalance. There is a cache of gear and coins that will become available.

Once you are of age and fully vested in what the Knights are doing to keep stability. Knights do not overthrow Kingdoms. We do not normally get involved this directly in the internal affairs of a Kingdom. This is not normal as my title also muddies the water. The wizard who went rogue was a traitor and was in league with the enemy we have on the border I am working.

Your father was aware of this. You look over his dispatch of troops and his journal for reference to me and you will likely be shocked. Your father knew the danger at his doorstep and the attempt to prevent this tragedy failed. The takedown of this spy did not happen in time to prevent this tragedy.

As such we are giving you a small amount of aid in order to keep your Kingdom running. Does this make sense to you?"

She nodded, "So you support me having the crown?"

He smiled, "I support your laws, they do not cover this. I cannot rule to change the law.

But I can look to add this amendment to cover you until you are of age to claim it legally. This is something I can do as a Duke within a royal conclave. We will leave you as the head of the royal family and you assume the crown when of age. In the meantime, you have surrounded yourself with strong advisers who will help to guide and teach you those things you have not completely learned yet. Is this acceptable?"

She nodded. He looked at Lady Silver Hair. He cocked his head and she nodded. He looked at the Princess, "The Lady with Jarron I call Lady Silver Hair. She is with the Council of Nine and one of the Ladies overseeing that the namesake organization ran by us does not overstep. She monitors us to ensure we do not abuse our authority. When and if we find a potential threat to the Peace Treaty of the Dragon Wars, they are informed."

He looked at Jarron, "Is that a good initial summary of the group?"

He nodded, "We will get a senior active agent to work with her on any of her father's journal entries that might cover our group so she understands what is going on."

Eldar sighed, "I never met your father face-to-face. He was brave going day-to-day with a traitor next to him and not giving that information away. Taking out a powerful caster is not an easy task."

He looked at her, "Where is the caster's body?"

She shrugged, "I was told it turned into dust."

Eldar closed his eyes and turned and looked at Jarron, "Lich. It would explain much. Who witnessed this?"

She pointed at the door, "The guard who took command of my protection detail."

He rolled his eyes.

He sighed, "You need to get more agents into this area."

He looked at the Princess, "You will have to ensure the coup participants are destroyed and stripped in accordance with your own laws. They had 3 chances to back out and they refused. If they are the puppet to a lich getting them stripped of power is the next best thing to do."

She nodded, "I will see that it is done today."

He looked at Jarron, "I am going to do what I can to try and minimize any appearance that the elven Kingdom 'installed her' into power."

He nodded and chuckled, "Good luck with that."

Eldar stood, "We better get back out there, your Highness."

She smiled at him as he opened the door. They headed back down the hall and Eldar looked at the Scholars. "My formal request. As the Senior Member present for this conclave that an amendment is added to the age requirement section. I assume the Scholars know the section dealing with what can be done at a royal conclave in amending laws?"

They shook their heads, "Our senior leaders of Scholars are among the dead. We are apprentices."

Eldar sighed, "I hope you are taking notes for this meeting page 20,710 is the beginning of what can be conducted at a royal conclave, and notes of this meeting are to be made. Due to the nature of this issue, a public posting of the meeting results would be demanded. It should also include that while I had the legal authority to claim the crown, I refused it.

I instead added an amendment to the existing law within the rules of what could be done at a Royal conclave. This amendment will put known human experts in these key advisory roles. As my title goes across Kingdoms, I wanted to ensure that the human Kingdom was managed by humans for the sake of the human people. Not for the sake of the elven or dwarven Kingdoms in which I also hold this same title.

The amendment needs to be applied to the age requirement of who can rule. This amendment should state that in the event that the line of succession cannot be resolved at the Royal Conclave and the heir is within 4 years of eligibility to take the crown then a military adviser, diplomatic adviser, and economic adviser be appointed by the Royal Conclave.

They will work with the Heir apparent in ensuring the running of the country until the heir is of age to assume the crown. The heir retains the current title they have until such time. This council will require a 3 out of 4 agreement on all decisions and the heir must be one of the 3 for an action to take place. During this time no other Royal Conclaves can be called to challenge the right to rule the country.

The Senior Member of the last Conclave will work to replace any adviser who is found unfit or incapable of serving in this role due to health issues. This does not change the standing law or strike a law. That can only be done by the King or Queen who rules the county. It merely provides a solution to this problem within the scope of your existing documents.

The fact is there is not one person who can rule unless I did it and I formally decline. For now, she is the Ruling Princess until she can assume the crown herself. Is this agreeable with everyone here, scholars? They finished reading while one of them followed Eldar's conversation and wrote it all down, "This is new but you understand why we had issues."

Eldar nodded, "One of the first things that you really need to look at is if that document cannot be streamlined and shortened."

She nodded, "I will put that on the scholar's list of things to look at so it is ready when I am crowned. I heard I cannot change the law during this time and nobody is in a position to change the law until I assume the crown?"

He looked to her, "I know your father supported our efforts up north and I hope you will as well. That decision is yours and you should read his journals to truly understand his thoughts on the matter."

She nodded, "I will make sure it is a priority for my heirs as well. As it led to the death of my father."

Eldar nodded to her and looked at the Royal Guard detail, "You will protect her like she is the Queen. Who assumed command here?"

A guard stepped forward, "I am a Captain of the guard. I was not in the Throne Room until the end of the battle."

Eldar nodded, "As part of my investigation, I need to know where the wizard was standing, how did he die and any words you can recall him speaking at the time. Also, who struck the killing blow."

The guard looked at Eldar, "The Barron you took away stabbed into the body and it went to dust. The only word I caught him saying 'eta' before drinking from that broken vial over there."

Eldar groaned, "If that Barron has not been killed yet, bring him to the elven ambassador's office. Royal Princess I may need to do a further interrogation of the prisoner. To ensure he was not in league with the wizard to take control of your Kingdom. I request that you allow me to take him to an undisclosed location inside my area of authority. Once we have confirmed or refuted this concern, I can execute him on your behalf. My concern is that the wizard may still exist."

She looked at Eldaralarmed, "This Baron might have been in league with him?"

Eldar nodded, "To establish a puppet government. We would need to explore this issue to get an answer."

She looked at the Captain of the Guard, "Retrieve him and his belongings and turn them over to Duke Silvertree so he can check on this threat."

Eldar walked the ambassador back and showed him the location, "The glass fragments need to be collected and analyzed."

He pulled the Princess aside, "After I leave, have your military adviser bring in all remaining Guard Captains to find a new head of your royal guard. Right now, that Captain would be at the top of my list as his first thought after these events were to secure your safety." She nodded. "Also, I am going to send in a group of arcane experts in the next day or two to examine the location.

Which our ambassador can look at directing them to this location. They will also want to deal with the wizard's quarters which is likely trapped to the nine hells and back. We have some of the finest casters in the world who can deal with these kinds of wizards and examine any information left behind. They can also remove any particularly harmful items from the castle. Will this work for you?"

She nodded, "I appreciate the offer. I will order this room and the area around the wizard's quarters off-limits for the time being except to your investigators. I expect a report back on what they find."

Eldar nodded, "In that regard, I am also going to request a communication crystal from you so I may keep you apprised directly."

She nodded, "I have a purple set available if that works for you?"

He nodded, "That would be perfect."

She headed back to her quarters and got the crystal for him. The guard returned with the Barron and sack with his gear in it. Eldar reached into his bag and attached manacles to him. The Guard looked at Eldar strangely, "I have captured several spies and assassins. These became stand gear for me to carry. They are also enchanted to prevent spell casting." He nodded.

She gave a weak smile, "Thank you for coming."

Eldar shook his head, "Like you, I had a duty to be here. No need to thank me. I do expect an invitation to the funeral, coronation, and your wedding." She nodded as those thoughts drifted into her mind. "I need to go and work the arrangements to bury my father and notify my brother."

That snapped her out of her daydream as she remembered they both lost here today. He gave her one final hug. He checked the gag on the prisoner and headed back to the Ambassador's office. He looked at Lady Silver Hair, "This one needs to be taken back with us. He needs further interrogation. I will also request you contact my wife Annette and have her return immediately."

Lady Silver Hair looked at me, "We can discuss it."

Lady Silver Hair then nodded when she realizes he was not asking but demanding. They got back to the Elven Palace, "Jarron I need him in the isolation cell with the spies we caught."

He nodded and took the man out quickly and came back. Charlemagne looked at Eldar and the body of his father, "You Alright?"

Eldar looked at her, "Far from it. I am running on rage at the moment so let me finish this first."

Eldar looked at the group of them, "The Queen should be here as well."

Jarron pulled his crystal and Eldar searched his father's belongings. He found two Silver crystal communication crystals, a yellow crystal, a blue crystal, and a green crystal. He looked at the group. Lady Silver Hair ran her hand over the crystal and took the green crystal.

"This went to his sponsor, thank you for returning it."

He looked at Jarron, "This one goes to you?"

He looked over, "The yellow one does." He stuck out his hand. Eldar stuck it into one of his pouches. Jarron chuckled. Eldar went back and continued the search finding only one thing obviously missing. His sword and sheath. The Queen arrived and was crying, "What is happening with the government? Is it as bad as it sounds?"