Zaire Solaris
I wasn't looking forward to today. It was the first time I would be present at the council of rulers since our clan's destruction, thanks to the prime minister. I looked at my watch, and the time read noon.
I should be called into the meeting anytime now.
I wasn't sure how I would be received at this meeting, since my son has been wrongfully deemed a terrorist and public enemy number one. But Nagomi insisted that I come; he said the matter was of great importance and that a member of the Solaris Clan should be present.
Normally, the great clans would take turns hosting the meeting in their own country, but this year it would take place here in Xhatal.
As I looked out the lobby window, the clouds drooped, painting the sky grey. I sighed; there was no sunshine in sight.
I was often worried these days. Ezra still hadn't shown any signs of waking, despite Solmane's and my efforts. I also hadn't heard much from Cyrus since he started at the academy, and I could only hope he was doing all right.
The door cracked open to my right.
"Zaire, please come join us," my friend Nagomi said, standing in the lobby area.
He looked worried
"Nervous?"
Nagomi rubbed his forehead. "No, we just got word about some suspicious movements around the entry points of the border."
"I'm sure it's nothing. Xhatal is one of the most secure cities in Valonara."
Nagomi scanned me, catching a glimpse of my shaking hand.
He raised an eyebrow, "And you're worried about me."
I clenched my hand to stop the shaking. "I hope this will be civil."
"Don't worry, old friend, they understand the rules."
We walk into the room. A giant circular table stood at its center, with a holographic projection floating above it. There was plenty of space between the seats, enough for each ruler to sit comfortably alongside a couple of trusted guards.
All of the rulers except for the High Chief of the Corvantis were here; all the looks I received were cold and dismissive.
"Shouldn't he be locked away in a cell?" Aruma, the ruler of the Shademaul clan, asked, sitting up straighter in his chair, his grey skin blending with his metallic seat.
I ignored the question.
The brat acts just like his father.
"Lord Shademaul, Zaire is a trusted friend of mine, and do I need to remind you that the charges and claims are not made against him?" The prime minister said, still standing at his seat.
Lord Shademaul grumbled in response.
"Now that we have everyone here. I would like to get straight to the matter at hand. I assume by now we all have received a message from the Rift Defense Association regarding the detection of a category five rift forming in the northern hemisphere."
A chilling sensation washed over me. That meant there was a possibility that an astral behemoth of the cosmophage rank could escape it and wreak mass destruction on the planet.
"Of course, we have seen it." Krieger, the Vortaris Warlord, said in a commanding tone, his green eyes sharp with intensity.
The last time a category five rift showed itself was over two thousand years ago. A time before the planet and its inhabitants were shackled.
"Yet another curse bestowed on Valonara," Baram, the new leader of the Kazehoshi clan, said.
"You don't need to remind us. We are made aware constantly that starbounds are not allowed to ascend past the stage of astral knight." The King of Greed said, twirling a gem-encrusted scepter.
"That is why we need to come up with a plan quickly," Nagomi said.
"If we all worked together, we wouldn't need to use our clan relics. We should be able to clear the rift." The ruler of the Araknos family said.
The room was silent. The use of our sacred clan relics was only a worst-case-scenario option because they served as deterrents to every other great clan and could be used only once every hundred years.
Sparing glances at the rulers before me, none of them wanted to be the first to speak on that proposal. The idea of us all working together sounds great for humanity. But none of the rulers wanted to put their country and clan at risk by keeping their strongest warrior away for a long period.
If this were a couple of years ago, I would have offered my help. But now I needed to be selfish. My sole mission is to preserve the Solaris line and find any exiled members out there alone. But the silence of these current rulers sickened me.
I stood up from my seat.
"I'm disappointed in you all," I said, letting my words sink in.
"I have been around for a long time. I have battled with and against your forefathers, and I know none of them would have wasted a second to rise to the occasion to defend their people and this world.
So I ask. What has made you such cowards?"
Cosmic energy roared in the room, the seat behind me rattled, and the walls shook, vibrating to the point I thought they would crumble.
"Care to test it, old man?" Kreiger said to me, his grip crumbling, his part of the table.
"I don't beat children," I said, allowing my cosmic energy to ignite.
Kreiger stood up from his seat.
"As far as I am concerned, you are not a King, Zaire. Your clan is all but extinct, and you no longer hold any weight in political matters." He said, his arm slowly being coated by a metallic layer.
"We learned in our previous meetings without you that the old guard was poor at risk mitigation. Do you want to follow in their footsteps and continue your disrespect of my power?" he said, his silver aura pulsating.
"Everyone settled down now," Nagomi said, floating in the air to get in between us.
The energy in the room simmered.
"Good, now does anyone have any other ideas?"
"Well, we could evacuate the people who live on the Antora continent into the astral realm," Lady Myra, the Matriarch of the Slytharion clan, stated.
"What about the people who are not starbound? You know non-starbounds cannot enter the astral realm," I responded, matching my gaze with hers.
"They must learn how to become one. Unless you want to stay behind and look after them." She shot back.
A wicked smile formed on her. "But what good is a Solaris who can't even protect his own people?"
My blood began to boil.
"To think we almost let our families merge with that union. Thank the Pantheon that fell through. Sharing a grandchild with you would have me a laughing stock."
"This is not what we are here for." The Nagomi said, stepping in.
"What about the moon colony, and what about our exploration team? Have we heard word from them?"
"The moon colony is too small to transport the entire continent's population there." The ruler of the Zmei clan said.
"And as far as the exploration team, still no word," he said, his eyes focused on the projection floating above us.
That was an elephant in the room. His daughter led the exploration team in space. He was adamant that she not go, but she went against his wishes.
"So our only options are to work together and fight, or do the impossible and find a way to make full-time astral realm living viable."
"Or we could explore more of the ancient ruins and figure out how to wield the power of our ancestors," The Storm Lord said, lighting dancing in his eyes, piquing his father-in-law's interest.
"Aren't you too old to believe in those myths?" the Vortaris Warlord said.
Everything I thought I knew about this world and the Astral Realm has been turned on its head after learning what Cyrus is connected to. The Brontarion king's suggestion didn't feel out of the realm of possibilities.
"A lot of ideas have been thrown out. I think it's time we vote on what our next course of action should be." Nagomi stated.
"All hands for joining together and taking on the rift."
There was a lull, but a couple of hands went up; rulers for the Vortaris, and Araknos, and even the Zmei.
"Now show hands for the evacuation to the astral realm."
Six hands went up.
I could see the look of disgust on the Brontarion king's face as he looked at his fellow rulers. I felt the same.
"So how long does the council have to prepare?"
"Right now, the rift opening is small, and it wouldn't be big enough for a guardian to escape for another two to three years. Right around the time of the next planetary alignment." One of the Prime Minister's assistants said, " Quick and matter-of-fact.
"Well, if that is all, I will be leaving. I have matters of my own to attend to back in the Valador region," the Matriarch of the Slytharions said, swiftly leaving the room.
Soon, many followed suit, and the prime minister and I just sat in the room for a while.
"That could have been worse," he said to me.
"I can't believe…" My communicator began to buzz. And I saw a message from Arya.
She was on her way, and she had news she couldn't discuss over the phone.