The kingdom’s future

Erinara

Jin and I remained vigilant. The enforcers we had previously teleported away from were still on their way to the kingdom, even though it would at least take them another hour to arrive here.
Ebiron, Lazzal and Vorial stood their ground as well.

Before long, the heroes who had entered the stronghold returned, members of the royal lineages following behind them.
Right as they did, the effect of shadow’s eye contorted, before vanishing completely. It appeared as though the magic stockpile used to power the spell had run dry.
Lazzal called attention to her location by using runes that exploded in an amazing display of color in the sky. Where the explosions happened, words found themselves written in the air quickly after.

‘Meet at city square.’

The civilians quickly moved toward the city square upon reading the skywriting.
Jin and I first took a moment to check on the defeated enforcers and Elkcrest. I bound them with runes, just in case they would have regained consciousness while we were away. As an extra protective measure, we also sliced their weapons apart using my shadowy tendrils and Jin’s swords.

“Are you ready to go?”, Jin asked me as we finished our work.
“Yes. Let’s depart”, I replied.
We talked on our way.
“Do you have any idea what this is about?”, I asked.
“No. My best guess is that they want to discuss how to progress with the kingdom”, Jin reasoned.
“That’s probably it”, I agreed, “Then we’ll finally be done with this soon, Jin.”
He reached for my hand as we walked, holding it tight.
At long last, we found ourself on the final stretch of this mission.

“There you are”, Fyor called out, motioning for us to join him and the rest of our group on a heightened pedestal in the center of the city square.
After we got there, he turned to address the public:
“Citizens of the kingdom of crests. You have seen the last actions of the royal lineages Wolfcrest, Hawkcrest and Elkcrest. Now is your time to speak. What is it you want to ask?”

A variety of questions was instantly shot at Fyor.
Most of them focused on one thing in particular, the question about what was actually happening.
Fyor explained the situation, going into much more detail than Ebiron had in his speech during shadow’s eye.
Backed by the reputation of Eaglecrest, Lioncrest and Bisoncrest in the flesh, and freshly having been protected by the executives of the warlocks, the citizens seemed to be more willing to digest this information as truth. Of course, it would take a long while for a shift in mindset like that to actually happen.
The next thing that had to be discussed was how to handle the members of the royal lineages, the enforcers, and the four heroes who have sided with them. It was here that I learned that all of the council loyalist heroes tried to strike at the civilians without any hesitation, as did the enforcers. 

Ironically, as this topic had been brought to light, the three royally adorned councilmen and enforcers from earlier had found their way into the city center.
Jin and I immediately leapt for action, blades drawn and shadowy tendrils at the ready. We placed ourselves in between of the newcomers and the citizens.
The executives and Bisoncrest had reacted only a second later, joining us at the frontline. Fyor Eaglecrest and Lioncrest took a moment longer still.
For a few seconds, the citizens dared not move a muscle in fear.
Even I wasn’t sure what was going to happen.

To my surprise, the councilmen and enforcers promptly dropped their weapons and surrendered. Some, the particularly gruff and trigger-happy enforcer in particular, did so with a look of defeated disdain and hatred in their eyes. 
‘It appears they have a modicum of sense after all’, I thought to myself.
No matter how one tried to spin it, against this group they were facing, they never stood even the hint of a chance of victory. One executive alone could have made quick work of them.
They let themselves be bound by magic and joined the other captured royal councilmembers.

A new thought process found itself within the citizens.
In order to properly evaluate and punish the previous leaders in form of the royal councilmembers, a new leadership was required. More and more voices demanded for someone to take up the mantle.

Lioncrest was the one to respond to their cries.
As soon as he raised his hand, the entire mob became quiet as a mouse. He had gained their full attention. 
“Thank you”, Leptarus said, “The combat is done. While this is not the optimal time for this discussion, I personally recommend Jin Eaglecrest and Erinara as the next leaders of the kingdom. They have gained my full respect in the shortest amount of time, and have played the most impressive role in this liberation.”
Fyor nodded his head. All eyes focused on us.

Before any rumors or discussions even had a chance to see the light of day, Jin spoke up:
“I refuse this proposal”, he instantly stated with a powerful voice, “This is our battle no longer. I do not long for the position of a leader, especially of an entire kingdom. On top of that, I have no experience in leading anyone either, you should be looking for someone else in the first place. I have declared my loyalty to one person already, I refuse to join anything that is detrimental to that.”
“I second the refusal”, I immediately followed up, “I have been seen as nothing but a curse for most my life, only recently understanding the ludicrousness that is ‘normal’ to everyone else. My abilities lie in magical nature alone, politics are not suitable for me. I, too, have a devotion I am not willing to compromise.”

A stunned silence fell over the crowd.
Jin and I had just turned down arguably the most powerful political roles available without so much as batting an eye. 

Then two voices broke out into roaring laughter, those being Sera Bisoncrest and Vorial. As a matter of fact, that was the most anyone had heard Vorial be vocal in years. Their laughter quickly became the new focus of everyone’s bewildered stares.
Even Lazzal and Ebiron let out a chuckle.
“Yeah, there’s that determination I had seen in you two”, Bisoncrest roared.
“True souls”, Vorial stated with a combination of amusement and respect.
“You two really are getting old, Fyor, Leptarus”, Sera continued, wiping a tear from her eye while still shaking with laughter, “hey, why don’t you just become the leaders. You’ve got good relations to the executives and the full trust and obedience of your subjects already.”

Sera’s idea quickly gained traction. The citizens already had a very deep sense of faith and trust in those two names of legend. This comment of Sera quickly resulted in Fyor and Leptarus being appointed as the new leaders of the kingdom of crests, at least for this confusing time.
Sera herself also rejected the invitation to be a third member of this renewed council, stating that she had spent more than enough time restrained to four walls and senseless talking while imprisoned.

The very first decision Fyor and Leptarus made with their new political power was to officially reinstate the treaty of peace that had been made with the executives of the land of warlocks dating all the way back to the war.

After that, Ebiron, Lazzal and Vorial all officially introduced themselves. Or rather, in the case of Vorial in particular, he was introduced by Lazzal.

Not wanting to cause any more worry or fear to the citizens of kingdom of crests, the executives of the warlocks then decided to take their leave, letting Fyor and Leptarus handle the situation at hand for a couple of days.

Jin and I joined with them, standing together in a circle.
Ebiron and I combined our magic to cast shadow teleportation with all five of us.

We returned to the citadel.