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Landsbyen -Into the North- An Epic Poem 34

“Yes, well, we will determine that at another time,” was the Lead Councilman's response, “Now we must decide on DynDoeth's charges.”
Cutting him off Rian said, 
     “I vote to have DynDoeth placed in the custody of the Council Guards, awaiting the removal of his magic.”
The other council members gasp, but gathering his wits about him the representative from Erin shouted out, 
     “I second that.”
     “And you,” Rian inquired of the Village Councilman.
While coming up with this plan, DynDoeth told Joulupukki about each of the Councilman and who they would likely be able to count on and who they knew could not be trusted.  The Village representative was the wild card.  He was very young for his position and moderately ambitious.  He was from the Village but he was mentored by Rian and almost always voted with him on the Council.  DynDoeth knew this young elf.  He played with Lumi growing up, although he was a bit older.  He listened to the tales of the great King, Erlenkönig, and was in awe when he found out that he was Lumi's
Dia Athair.  He constantly pretended to be Erlenkönig when he played in his youth.
     “Yes,” Joulupukki inquired? “Where do you stand?”  His question was not one of how he would vote, but deeper.  Are you with us or with them?  The elf looked deep into Joulupukki's eyes.  He did not know if this was the son of Erlenkönig or not, but he knew he could not take the chance and no matter how much Rian had done for him, he refused to stand against the son of his childhood hero.  Without looking at Rian he chose his own words carefully, 
     “I stand at the side of Seileach.”
Rian blew up.  He jumped to his feet but did not utter a word, the anger apparent in his reddened face was so intense the veins popped from his forehead, his eyes bulged.  Paying no attention to Rian, the Forest Elf turned to DynDoeth,
     “The vote is four in your favor and two against.  You are welcome to go DynDoeth.”
Upon hearing these words uttered from the Elder Councilman, Rian raised his staff and brought it down hard against the floor.  He whispered to himself, 
     “This will be the last time you stand in my way old elf,” as a burst of pure
energy went from his mind through his body and into the shaft of his staff, 
its destination Seileach.  A silent untraceable attack was something Rian
had been working on and perfecting for many years. No one in the chamber
was aware of his purpose, no one except Joulupukki.  He had been paying 
especially close attention to Rian from the beginning of the count.
He saw his intention in every movement of his body.  As soon as the 
staff struck the floor Joulupukki reached out with his magic and entered the
the crystal.  He met the energy of Rian's magic with his own impregnable force.  He realized at that moment that Rian was not one to be trifled with.
The force of both magics was so intense that the crystal broke into four pieces.  Rian's magic was thrust back into his head and he had to stifle a scream as he collapsed in his chair.  DynDoeth thanked the Council who in turn promised to send what information would be needed for Joulupukki to
prove his claim and let him know when they would reconvene to discuss
his position.  The extra guards filed out of the chamber first, followed by 
the Northern and Southern Councilman, then DynDoeth and Joulupukki.
As they walked past Rian, Joulupukki touched DynDoeth on the shoulder to
get his attention and commented in a sincere tone,
     “Oh my, Rian you must be more careful with your temper.  Look what you've done, when you slammed your staff to the floor you broke your crystal.”
DynDoeth's eyes widened with the implication of Joulupukki's words and
Rian, who was drained, gazed at the crystal on the end of his staff in amazement.

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