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Another round of thunderous applause filled the great hall along with scattered shouts of "Lord General Thane!" and "Victory!" Toward the back of the great hall, a few even took up a bolder chant, shouting "Death to the humans!" as the flames of vengeance stirred in their hearts.

Sitting next to his wife and surrounded by Eldritch men and women from clans he’d never even seen before, Daithi shifted awkwardly in his chair, shifting to position himself protectively close to his wife as his hand dropped to the dagger at his waist. The scaled men and women closest to him didn’t seem to have become caught up in the rising tide of hostility that followed Lady Nyrielle’s latest announcement, but he’d seen how quickly crowds could turn before, and he wasn’t about to be caught unprepared now.

"Silence," Thane said, filling the single word with the power of the Voice of Command as he looked out over the people gathered in the great hall. The discipline of the soldiers had held for the most part, but far too many of the common folk bore scars of battles in the past. Some of those scars were still fresh and tender, covering wounds only beginning to heal after Owain Lothian and Liam Dunn’s summer offensive had ended.

Others bore long nurtured grudges for fathers, grandfathers, uncles, siblings and husbands lost in conflicts dating back to the War of Inches and even longer ago.

Their hurts and their hatred were well justified, but Nyrielle had chosen her words carefully when she spoke about their enemies in the Kingdom of Gaal and within the Church without claiming that all of humanity were their enemies.

Now, Thane stepped forward to ensure that the people gathered here understood the difference.

"I understand the people who shouted ’Death to humans, ’" Thane began. "But please, listen to a few words from a man who was once human himself," he said, subtly reminding the people in the room that not only were Nyrielle’s progeny human, even Lady Nyrielle’s parents had once been human, and so had the Mother of Trees. They might all be counted among the Eldritch now, but that didn’t mean that they had forgotten their roots.

"Most humans are weak," Thane began. "They must gather together in vast armies or don heavy armor before they can threaten the Eldritch people.

But the right to don such armor or to command those armies is restricted to a very few humans, mostly those born as descendants of their powerful lords.

Humans are not like the Eldritch. It is all but impossible for a person born of humble origins to gain strength and power sufficient to issue a challenge for the right to rule. "

"Our enemies are, and always have been, the powerful lords and priests who command the humans’ armies," Thane explained.

"There are some things that we can learn from our enemies, and the methods for raising and commanding vast armies who can retake lands long lost to our people is one of them, but make no mistake," he said as he infused his voice with power and his half cloak seemed to grow into a great cloak formed of both fabric and inky black shadows.

"There is one thing we will not learn from our enemies," Thane commanded.

"When we defeat them, we will defeat them as Eldritch lords.

We will claim their lands and their people, and we will welcome the defeated into our nation as our brothers and our sisters.

It is the way of the Church and the Kingdom of Gall to slaughter the innocent and the helpless, purging the land of all who once lived there, but we will not resort to their savagery. "

"Make no mistake," Thane said. "There are already humans among us who are our most valued friends and neighbors, and they are but the first of many thousands who will follow.

So prepare your hearts well and think not only of the day we claim our victory, but the days of peace we will build afterward and who you will build that peace with. "

Whispers broke out across the hall, and a few people who lived in Ollie’s village began to speak favorably of the humans who lived in their community.

A few of them pointed to the figure of Daithi and his wife at the table where they sat alongside merchants from the Scaled Clan and officers from the Black Wolf Brigade, but increasingly, as the whispers spread, one name came up again and again until finally, Daithi couldn’t bear it any more, standing up to ask the question that was on so many lips.

"Lord General Thane," the former Lothian soldier asked, swallowing heavily as he stood. "Where is Sir Ollie? If there is anyone who represents the very best of us, who has taught many of us to live alongside our Eldritch neighbors in peace, it’s him, but... why isn’t he present at the tables for Honored Guests? Surely Sir Ollie is worthy of such an honor after everything he’s done! "

"Ha ha ha ha ha," Thane chuckled warmly, smiling broadly as he looked at the nervous soldier.

"Ollie was right about you, Daithi," Thane said.

"Your sense of justice and fairness, combined with the courage to speak up in this gathering, make you worthy of the trust he’s placed in you.

Your village is lucky to have such a man as their constable. "

"I don’t know that I deserve that praise," Daithi said, bowing deeply in the Lord General’s direction. "But if I do, then Sir Ollie deserves it more. Is he joining us, my lord? I think it would be good for the people here to hear his tale."

"You aren’t wrong, Constable Daithi," Ashlynn said lightly as a slight smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "You’re just impatient. It wasn’t yet Sir Ollie’s turn.

But I agree with you, it’s important that everyone present hears his story.

So, as long as Mistress Nyrielle is willing, I would not mind calling Ollie before us now. "

"When have I ever failed to indulge your willfulness?

" Nyrielle asked lightly with a twinkle in her midnight eyes. "I’m sure the lovebirds won’t mind waiting their turn, and I agree that everyone here must understand that we have much more to gain by uniting our disparate peoples than exterminating our foes.

So call him forth," she said with a dazzling smile.

"And let the people see what happens when a human is untainted by the ambition and greed that drives the rulers of the Kingdom and the Church."