A plan of liberation

Jin

“I hope I wasn’t bothering you with my actions”, I said, suddenly very unsure of them.
“No, no. It was quite…”, she paused as if looking for words, “I mean- What I’m trying to say is”, she got quiet again. A pink hue found itself on her cheeks.
“I’m glad I didn’t make you uncomfortable”, I said, trying to reassure her that she didn’t have to speak right now. I probably was not any more subtle with how flustered I felt.
“Ah, yes”, Erinara turned her head away for a moment. She silently took a deep breath.

“Alright, I feel better now. Thank you for watching over me. Are you ready to go look for our mentors?”, Erinara asked me. She stood up from her bed. I followed suit getting up from the chair.
I forced myself to push the embarrassment I felt into the corner of my mind.
“Of course, after you”, I replied.
Erinara reactivated her shadowy concealment spell as we walked.
We found Ebiron and Fyor still sitting in the dining hall.

“Welcome Erinara, Jin Eaglecrest”, Ebiron said as we entered the room, “please have a seat.”
Erinara sat down next to him while I moved across the table to sit next to Fyor.
“Are you feeling better, my disciple?”, Ebiron asked.
“Yes, thank you. I just needed to regenerate my mana”, she answered. Her voice was cool and neutral.
“Marvelous. Fyor Eaglecrest, would you be so kind to tell your story now?”, Ebiron continued.
“Of course”, Fyor said.
I was amazed at how amicable these two seemed. It appeared that they had a deeply rooted respect for another.
“I shall be quick with it”, Fyor started, “The council of crests had deemed Jin to be a failure of a hero based on information they most likely gained from their enforcers. Since their ‘fated hero’ hadn’t returned after a day of disappearing with nothing but his severely damaged helmet left, they used the opportunity to mark both him and myself as traitors to the kingdom. As such, they sent enforcers after me, trying to get me under their jurisdiction. They made two mistakes in that aspect, however. First, they only sent five of their enforcers, and second, it appears to have slipped their mind that they’ve used a similar set-up to capture the hero Bisoncrest, who was much more open about her distaste of the council. Seeing the similarities in these situations I escaped, using the ruined city of Bearcrest as a refuge. They are probably still looking for me to this day. And for you as well, Jin Eaglecrest.”
Erinara spoke up first: “They would punish arguably the most prominent legend of the war over his student losing a battle? A loss against an executive, one of the three warlocks to have never known defeat, no less?”, the baffled tone in her voice matched the one in my head. While I had accepted that the royal lineages were corrupt, this overshot my wildest nightmares.
“Quite happily, too”, Fyor answered, “The council has been scheming to get Bisoncrest, Lioncrest and myself out of the picture ever since the war ended. They imprisoned Bisoncrest after she initiated a revolt against them years ago, she is still held captive. Lioncrest’s reputation is too beloved by the people still, as he was known as the most active protector of the general populace so the council can’t touch him yet. The other four heroes are neatly wrapped around their finger. Not that I’d call anyone who is so blind to inflicting misfortune on the people they are sworn to protect a hero.”
“What should we do now then?”, I asked.
“There are two options”, Ebiron said, “we could ignore their antics and leave things as they are, or we could try to change it. Even in their desperate state, they know very well that an all-out war with the land of warlocks would annihilate them.”

“It’s true”, Fyor agreed, “The fated duels alone should have made them realize this. However, before we continue, I would like to request how the fated duels are seen from your point of view. I was able to gather some information on it, but I want to hear it from you, executive Ebiron.”
Fyor’s eyes shone with focus. He clearly wanted proof of something. He locked on to Ebiron, who stroked his chin wistfully.

“Very well. The council of crests challenges an executive, who then sends one of their disciples to battle. Originally, before the council’s actions became more…” Ebiron paused briefly, “…extreme, the duels were used by Vorial and Lazzal as a rite of passage for their disciples. After a few years, the council began trying to assassinate our combatants with enforcers, and the duels were changed to be to the death. Since then, we have been trying to use simulacra to keep losses from occurring on either side. Unfortunately, the council had no qualms eliminating their own people, if they even so much as showed a hint of distrust to them. The fallen were then used as martyrs. Lazzal and Vorial have helped some of the heroes disappear from under their noses. They live in our land. As for myself, I only ever accepted one duel. In full honesty, it was mainly to train the simulacrum we were working on. As fate would have it, the combatant sent against me was Jin Eaglecrest. I would not stand idly by as a warrior similar to Fyor Eaglecrest was sent to their grave.”
In that very moment, I realized that any hero who returned from their fated battle was always fully supportive of the council in every topic.

A silence fell over the room, then Fyor quietly began laughing which slowly became louder, turning into a guffaw. He was pleased with what he heard.
“You are a good person after all, Ebiron. I am sorry to have doubted you”, he said, “the information you’ve given lines up with what I learned in the kingdom. May I see the previous recruits that have been relocated here then?”
“That can most certainly be arranged”, Ebiron replied.
The tension that hung in the air had dissipated instantly.

“Back to the matter at hand then. Allow me to ask you, Jin Eaglecrest, what would your choice be, between the two?”, Ebiron asked.
I took a moment to align my thoughts.
“I don’t want the kingdom’s people to suffer from a war that doesn’t exist any longer. However, I am uncertain how to go about such a topic”, I answered.
“Erinara, your thoughts please”, Ebiron continued.
“I want to help Jin as best I can”, she said, then quickly adding, “and anything that keeps unnecessary fighting from happening is good.”
Ebiron ever so slightly raised one eyebrow before a grin crept on his face.
“Then all four of us are in agreement. Something must change. Fyor and I had discussed parts of this before you two had returned. We propose using the council’s malice against them.”

Ebiron and Fyor then explained how they wanted to get the warlock executives Lazzal and Vorial, as well as the heroes Lioncrest and Bisoncrest to stand as a united front against the council of crests.
“But how do you want to make the council create its own downfall?”, Erinara asked.
“They want nothing more than to remove the Eaglecrest lineage. We can use their blind hatred against them. The council is currently made up of three royal lineages. Their power dynamic is continuously held in a precarious balance. The only reason none of them have usurped the other is because they don’t give each other the slightest room to do so. Chances are that we won’t have to do anything at all”, Fyor replied.
“We believe we can win without having to be the aggressor even once. But before we can set that plan into motion, we must gather our allies”, Ebiron added.

Fyor and Ebiron assured us that they would personally collect their respective allies to set this plan in motion.