Chapter 78 The Lingering Shadow
"Rever, have you heard what the new body is going to do?" Nalin's voice was slightly above a tale, his tone tight with a blend of concern and annoyance, as he leaned forward over the massive oak table in the shadowy war room. His eyes, overshadowed by fear, scrutinized Rever's face for any sign of resoluteness.
Rever's aspect was solemn, his hands tracing the lip of his mug, smoothed to a thin line." I have," he replied still, the turnabout of remorse and determination in his tone." Though Pier is long dead, his gospel still infests our figures like bane. I sweat that the mischief body is being led not by genuine concern for the survival of our pack, but by the specter of his treacherous dream.".
Farren, his tone short but unmistakably wounded, cut in," So you are telling me that his words, his ideas, have infected our very decision- making? That while we are fighting to hold effects together, some of our own are echoing Pier's evil plans?"
Rever's jaw tensed." Yes, Farren. I have seen it in the fiery arguments, in the furtive ganders changed down corridors. There's a new group that addresses of strict action — a militant response to any perceived trouble. They talk of caution being something we can not go presently, that only nippy, exacting action will serve to deliver us. And I believe that in their rhetoric, Pier's heritage lives on.".
Nalin lowered , leaning back in his president. “ But is n’t it natural for us to be on edge after all we’ve lost? maybe some call for boldness because they’re tired of staying for leaders who vacillate. ”
Rever's eyes darkened with a bitter recollection." frippery without wisdom is idiocy, Nalin. Pier's heritage was n't just his atrocity it was a attractive, sharp gospel that converted wrathfulness into despotism. I worry that if we allow this group to mandate our docket, we will fall into the same trap of divisiveness and endless bloodshed.".
A thick silence fell, and was only broken by the creak of aged timbers. Eventually, Farren broke the silence with a cutting laugh," And what would you have us do, Rever? Sit actively by and await attack from the foe? Some of us believe that the days for soft words are over. Our pack lies bare, and weakness is a process to catastrophe."
Rever's tone had been inversely measured, his voice strong and compassionate." I know that you're worried, Farren, and actually, I suppose you ought to be. But the price of unrestricted violence is too high. We may lose it all if we abandon the values of harmony and just beget that have helped us navigate once ages of tumult. Not just do we fight the outside peril, but corruptive troubles that still hang our minds through Pier's."
Nalin stepped out, his eyes honest." Rever, how can we stand against this evil influence? The body grows bolder with each passing day, and they're filled with those who are disabused by the ways of the past.However, Pier's shadow will fall across us all, If we do nothing."
Rever breathed in deeply," We must meet it head- on. I'll call the council meeting — a gathering of our most trusted of leaders where we can bandy all these issues openly and without fear and without deceitfulness. We must bring to the van all aspersion and all hidden docket so that verity and not sweat will guide us.".
A murmur of agreement from a many corners of the room, but Farren's eyes remained turbulent." And what of that council to expand the schism? I've seen enough backstabbings, enough secrets lurking in the dark passages of our castle. How can we hope that any speaking will lead to concinnity and not further divide our species?"
Rever's voice softened, anguish and resoluteness," I can not promise an easy path, Farren. But I can promise that I will not let the ghost of Pier mandate our fate. Every decision, every fight, has to be innovated on verity and on the memory of all we have lost. We owe it to our dead friends — and to ourselves — to stand together, indeed when the verity is painful.".
Nalin proposed," maybe we should begin by discovering who has been hurt most by Pier's testament. We need to know what they're worried about. maybe, if we defy their fears directly, we can deflect that wrathfulness into mending rather than destruction.".
Farren strangled," You suppose a many words can cure the backstabbings? occasionally the only thing these aggrieved spirits admit is action. And if that means taking up arms against anyone who would challenge their vision, also so be it.".
Rever shook his head, his eyes burning with inner conflict." Violence, born of unbounded rage, only serves to strengthen the cycle of treason. Pier's heritage is n't what he did, but what poisonous ideas he left us. We must renounce that path. Our strength is our concinnity — our capability to overcome our differences and make a future together. That's the only cure to the moping shadow of his heritage.".
Mara, until now silent, spoke out in gentle urgency," Rever is right. I've examined the injuries of our own, the despair sown by abandonment by our own.However, we shall be as broken as the adversaries themselves, If we allow these allegations and archconservative demands to destroy us. We must be the interposers, not those who inflame strife formerly more."
Farren's face softened for a moment, but his voice still had a note of pertinaciousness." I have been wounded, yes. I have known my share of treason, and my heart still burns with the need to unbend out the shafts we have suffered. But I am hysterical that if we shelter ourselves behind false solidarity, we risk losing our chance to exact revenge on those who decomposed beside us. How do we balance prudence with the call for action?"
Rever's eyes did n't formerly leave theirs as he addressed the room," The answer is balance in openness and collective responsibility. We need to be responsible for each other for what we do, and we can not have anyone use ourintra-disagreements as a stepping gravestone to further violence.". I propose that we produce a temporary oversight commission — a group conforming of both patriots and change proponents — whose sole responsibility will be to probe these allegations and to negotiate our differences before they develop into full- scale warfare.
Nalin's eyes sparkled with conservative stopgap." That might be a means of bridging gaps between factions.However, indeed around our differing opinions, maybe we can conduct our wrathfulness into productive change, If we can work together.".
Tamsin, a voice of wisdom among the elders, spoke in hushed tones," We must keep in mind that our people are watching. What we say, what we do, will set the tone for what's to come. We can not risk letting the moping shadow of Pier's testament continue to centralize us. Our oath must be to the lesser good — honor, verity, and the pledge of a future united."
Rever's own passionate and vulnerable voice reverberated through the tense air," I've returned with the heavy cargo of reality from the sanctuary, and I now understand that our conflict within is our topmost foe. We stand at the crossroads where our choices will either mend these cracks or expand them. I ask you all — to set aside your particular complaints for the sake of our participated fortune.". Let us form a council that does n't step back behind silence but confronts our pain face to face, so that we may form a way to heal.
Farren's eyes disaccorded with Rever's, a blend of fury, hurt, and reticent understanding flashing between them." I still have dubieties, Rever, but if this council can offer us certainty and insure our conduct are driven by verity and not by revenge, also I'll be by your side. But let me advise you if our concinnity is hovered further, I'll not vacillate to expose effects to my own bias.".
Rever jounced solemnly." I understand you, Farren. And I make you this pledge every decision we make from this time forward will be counted with the utmost care. We owe it to our departed friends, to our folk, and to our future. Let our conduct be the ground that unites us, not the ocean that divides us."
Nalin, his voice establishment but with an turnabout of compassion, concluded," also let us approach this council session with open hearts and clear minds. Our pack's fortune hangs on our capability to settle our internal differences and to stand together against the outside pitfalls that impend ever larger.". Let us not be driven piecemeal by fear and dubitation , but rather, let the moping shadow of Pier's authority remind us of what we can noway achieve.
When the gathered elders and soldiers burst into the cold corridors of the castle, the weight of broken oneness clung to the air. Rever remained in the great hall, his eyes on the whirling firebugs that traced along the ancient walls. In that quiet, stimulating moment, he spoke to himself," Our heritage is n't sculpted in the scars of treason, but in the courage we've to heal them. May our conduct moment pave the way for a future where harmony is lesser than disharmony."