Chapter 37- Seline's Wrath
Looking up into the sky, I took note of the sun's position. It was midday as Sinaan, Matron Forelain, and her entourage of armed maids returned to camp. Of course, I knew they were on their way back for some time. Skye, the latest of Burza's daughters and one of my twenty avian wives, had returned and reported that the army was mobilizing.
Hours had passed in anxious impatience since the predawn meeting and subsequently, first Sinaan and then Forelain had left for the svartalf army camp. What could they possibly have been talking about during all that time?
It is hard to admit, but I'm scared. Not so much for myself. Rather, I fear for my wives and children, for my family back in Valeheim, and for the inhabitants of the Valelands.
Turning just enough to look at Huxian, I try to sublimate my anxiety by admiring her beauty. She was still thickened from pregnancy and she was carrying two of our children in slings, one was on her back while the other was in the front just beneath her breasts, but still, she was so beautiful.
The babes were quietly sleeping within the folds of the soft blankets they were swaddled in. Tampa and Orsa were similarly encumbered with the other four children. Surrounding the three of them were Bastet, Coella, Liandra, Shahad, Burza, and the rest of my harpy wives that weren't currently scouting. Should the worst happen, they were to make sure Huxian, Tampa, and Orsa escaped, and in doing so, ensure their survival of themselves and the children growing in their bellies.
Turning to the west again, the direction Sinaan and Forelain were coming from, I resisted the urge to take hold of Glenna and Hlina's hands. They were both standing beside me. Glenna to my right and Hlina to my left. I was finding it hard to be patient and wait for Sinaan and his Matron wife to arrive.
Before they could draw close I called out, "So, how did it go? Will there be peace? Will they parlay?"
They smirked. They actually had the audacity to smirk!
Taking a deep breath I released it in an attempt to mitigate my anxiety and temper. After all, it wasn't their fault that I was apprehensive.
They remained silent as Sinaan led his Matron the final few steps and stopped ten paces away. Sinaan bowed while Forelain curtsied appropriately for her station if not her actual influence.
"We return, Lord Viridian," Sinaan intoned formally as Matron Forelain unwrapped her arm from his and started to sign.
"Champion of Moon and Earth," Forelain signed formally and was voiced by Fjallindae instead of Sinaan.
I had to admit, I appreciated Fjallindae's feminine delivery more than Sinaan's. Aside from the fact that Fjallindae had a pleasantly husky speaking voice it also made it feel as if Forelain was truly the one communicating verbally, "I have successfully negotiated parlay between the General that leads the svartalf army and you."
"Very good," I replied with a relieved sigh.
"However, you will be hosting the parlay. Since your party is so small," Fjallindae finished for Forelain.
"Then may we have the use of your meeting tent," I requested.
"Of course," Forelain signed, "Also, you should know General Aalyn Abendroth will bring a personal bodyguard, several of her lieutenant colonels, and a couple priestesses as her councilors."
"Noted," I replied, then thought to ask, "What of her army?"
"They have broken camp," Sinaan replied as he laid his hand on his matron's arm in apology for interrupting, "They will march to within a half mile of our position. They want you to see their full strength and what you will face should the parlay fail."
"I see," I mumbled contemplatively.
Having looked down at the grass while I thought, I looked back up at Sinaan and Forelain and asked, "Will you accompany us while we wait?"
To Sinaan more directly I asked, "Would you be so kind as to tell me about your sister? What will impress her most? Also, her councilors, what will sway their thinking on this matter the most without bloodshed?"
"Let us retire to the pavilion then," Forelain signed while Fjallindae spoke.
I nodded and we turned toward the large clearing where Matron Forelain's maids, Gloa and Svartsilki, were quickly erecting the structure.
----(!)----
The appointed time finally arrived and Aalyn Abendroth and her honor guard arrived in muted but poignant fanfare. Since Matron Forelain's group numbered sixteen, and my group numbered thirty-two adults, Aalyn's honor guard and councilors came to number forty-eight including herself. It was a power play. A show of force that made me sigh inwardly in resignation as I regarded them. Taking a deep inhalation I calmed myself as I stepped forward to greet the General.
Sinaan had graciously described his oldest sister to me in such intimate detail that I easily picked her out. Truth be told, after seeing her and the way she carried herself, I could have easily identified her as the leader of the svartalf army.
"Salutations Brigadier General Aalyn Abendroth, Second Seat of House Abendroth, and Commander of the Sven'dahl Guard. Thank you for accepting my invitation to parlay. I am Viridian Vale," I said in as graciating a voice as I could muster.
Aalyn Abendroth looked young, but then all alfari do until their last century of life. Her skin was black as coal, her short-cropped white hair was of a pixie style I found particularly appealing for her sharp features, and her one eye was a vibrant amethyst. She was darkly resplendent dressed as she was in black lacquered plate armor over black leather.
She was also the most fully clothed of all the females in her group. Her attire took after the males, focusing on dexterity and protection of vital areas. The other female officers wore armor as well but most of it was focused on sensuality rather than practicality offering views of rounded thighs and buttocks, slim legs, firm bellies, or sleek breasts. And then there were the priestesses.
There were three of them. Their robes were made of diaphanous silks or lace in patterns of spiderwebs that hid nothing. Their bodies were fully displayed and highlighted by ornamental underwires beneath their breasts made of silver or gold. Their robes were cinched with matching waist chains, and all three wore a variety of jewelry including bicep bands, bangles, anklets, necklaces, and rings.
However, unlike the warrior females among the soldiers, their bodies were soft and sensual.
Flatly meeting their gazes I recognized that none of them had taken their eyes off of me since their arrival. Now that I really looked at them I recognized their expressions as that of awe and lust.
Dismissing them from my immediate attention I returned it to Aalyn. I wasn't certain. I couldn't be certain since she was wearing full armor, but as I regarded her expression, and the way she held herself, I got the distinct impression that she was as physically hard as she was resolute. Aalyn was fully in command of herself and her army. The position she held had been earned through years of dedication, brilliant strategy, and marshal ability. I would not underestimate her at all.
I gave her a brief but respectful nod combined with a slight bow. The smile she returned was beautiful even if it never reached her eye.
Placing a hand where her sword usually rested and was missing from her waist. As a matter of fact, all weapons were missing from all of the delegates as well as shields and helmets, having been left in the care of their attendants. Aalyn returned a very formal military bow. It was slight and more than a little condescending, but I accepted it and even returned a slight smirk.
"Please allow me to make introductions," I offered warmly, pointing to my right and left, "This is my mother/wife, Glen'nathel Moonlilly, Oracle of Seline; and this is my wife Hlina Alvasdottr, Oracle of Gaia, and behind me are my concubines..."
"I don't need an introduction to your animal playthings," Aalyn interrupted briskly as she boldly considered Hlina and Glenna, giving them a once over as she assessed them as threats.
Judging them to be negligible threats at best she turned her hard eye on me and made a show of judging me as she looked me up and down, then she cast a side-eyed glance at Sinaan and Forelain and continued, "I was led to believe that you were an imminent and implacable threat. A power that could destroy my entire army. What I see here seems to be little more than one male's conceit run amok."
Taking a deep breath in through my nose I released it through my mouth. The only thing that kept me from showing this--this intolerable female just how dangerous I could be was the need to follow Seline's directive to accompany this lot back to their city. I was about to say as much when Glenna spoke up, "Appearances can be deceptive. The only reason we are making this overture is because Seline has commanded us to do so. Otherwise..."
Glenna left the threat hanging in the air between us and fell silent. Hlina took the opportunity then to speak up in a more pacific tone, "Why don't we retire to the pavilion? Once we are more comfortable with wine and food at hand, then we can negotiate."
Aalyn looked at us suspiciously. Maybe that was just the way she always looked. Then she regarded Sinaan and Forelain. They gave subtle nods and Aalyn agreed with a grimacing nod and a gesture for her companions to follow, "Fine, let's be about this then."
"Apologies," Forelain signed while Fjallindae spoke for all to hear, "I have only so many chairs."
Forelain began to sign again and Fjallindae announced, "In a few minutes my staff will bring in drinks and food. Those outside will also be attended to."
"Thank you, Matron Forelain, for your generous care," I replied.
Aalyn only nodded. She waited for several seconds to signal that she was about to bring the meeting to its main topic, "Yesterday and for many days previous, I have traveled the lighted realm with only one mission given to me by my Governor which in turn was given to her by the Matron Queen. Sack and raze Valeheim and the Valelands. Everything in your lands has been given into our hands. So, why should I listen to you instead of my Queen?"
Glenna, Hlina, and I all sat for a moment and digested Aalyn's opening statement before Glenna sat forward and replied, "Before I was Seline's Oracle I was her Apostle. I am a missionary in a land not of my birth and a month ago I looked very much like my brethren. Then, I was summoned by two Messengers. Huxian, the vulpes-alfari just outside, was sent by Seline, and Sequoia. She is an arboreal who I am beginning to think more and more was sent by Gaia or Lauma, or maybe both. By vision I was bid to commune with my goddess which has forever changed me, and by dream I was commanded to leave my son in the Messengers' care so that he and I would be ready to meet you today here in this place and stop you."
