The closing of the door heralded the arrival of the captain to the secluded room. With a clopping of hooves on a hard floor being the only sound filling the silent room, the captain quickly reached the only furniture in the room. A simple, circular, wood table with five equally simple, wooden chairs. Four out of five were occupied when he entered the room. Sitting down on the remaining chair, the oldest of the group began the meeting.
“As you all already know why we’re gathered here to discuss, I’ll simply cut to the chase. Eclipse must be nominated as dictator.”, the oldest of the five stated with a firm voice. He had the common physical characteristics of drones, with his slightly larger size and a deep scar On his left cheek being the only distinguishable things about him. The old blue captain helmet he always wore distinguishing him further. The other four nodded in agreement. “He is the only hope we have on preventing total collapse of the hive. Those nobles are too busy fighting amongst each other to ever properly rule, and those ‘generals’ only know how to do everything by the book.”, another one stated, looking up from a document he was reading. He was noticeably pale in color, with a thinner body build then the rest. Besides his torn and scarred ears, most would mistaken him for a librarian. “What about his mother? What do we do if she ever wakes up?”, a third asked. He was the darkest in color, with his mane giving away his status a prince. The others look towards the oldest for guidance on the question.
“She has proven herself incapable of leading us to victory or effectively. If she ever does wake up and attempt to reclaim her throne, she shall be taken care of. Fillo, are the guard of your division in place?”, he seriously said, before asking the youngest in the group. Being the only Thestral of the group hasn’t hindered his workability with the others. Being of midnight black in color, with a light blue mane and tail with toxic green eyes, he wore a retrofitted blue helmet to fit his head. “Yes, they are in position and ready if given the order. They are inside and around the House of Lords, and secretly passing the messages to their rightful sender as we speak.”, Fillo calmly stated while stretching his legs in order to get more comfortable.
“Good, good. Have them be ready to storm the House of Lords if it doesn’t go in Eclipses favor.”, he ordered, before turning towards the last one who has yet to speak. “What shall be our recruitable percentage be, dril?”, he asked the one known as Dril neutrally. With a sea of scars all over that culminates with a blind right eye, many would overlook just how pale their complexion was. “In total, we should expect to see a three percent increase from the old measly 0.25 percent. Around 0.50 shall come from both the garrisons and militias as a means of filling a few gaps that will inevitably form.”, Dril dully reported without ever looking up at any of them.
“Marvelous. That should be enough to fully supply the troop numbers for the foreseeable future.”, the eldest said happily, before clearing his throat and took a more somber look. “Remember, we must remain firm in this dire situation.”, he firmly said before raising his left hoof into the air. “Blood for blood.”, he recited. “Life for life.”, the others followed soon after. “Rip and tear for the foreign soul, for it we shall feast on for the rest of eternity. Harken, our foe. For if you wish to come, prepare to gaze into eternity.”, they all simultaneously said in unison, their voices reverberating throughout the entire room, and into the immediate hallway.
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“Now presenting, prince Eclipse Chrysallwing. Son of Queen Chrysalis, High General of the guard, and protector of the innocent.”, the greeter announces to the entire room, drawing the attention of all in the room and simultaneously ending any and all hushed conversations. Every single member of the House of Lords looked at the entrance with different expressions. Some looked with hope, some with fear, some with indifference, some with hate, while a few princesses looked on with lust dancing like a raging inferno deep within their eyes.
The Thestral guards on each side of the doors pulled them inward, giving all full view of a stone-faced prince Eclipse, and his nervous personal guard Adolf. Walking forward at a leisure pace with Adolf awkwardly keeping pace with him, they both fully enter the chamber. The guard then proceeded to close both doors with an audible thud, before returning to their original positions. Walking around the edge of the circular, multilevel chamber, he reached his normal chair to sit upon. What he thought as a chair, looked more like a dialed down throne carved entirely out of oak or pine. Farthest to the right was his sister’s throne. It was more comfortable and manageable for her needs.
As soon as he sat, Queen Helvia spoke in a voice not unlike honey. “Marvelous, everybody is now here. As such, I Queen Helvia of Ditrysium, as the only able queen of the Vesalipolis-Ditrysium Axis, I call this emergency meeting into order.”. With those words spoken, all within tensed up in and worry. Unknown to most, the Thestral guard looked at one another with a nod of confirmation, and proceeded to get marginally closer to all the occupants. “As it has been stated, we are at our most vulnerable state since Chrysalis the first’s guard fell to King delirium the second of the deer at the fifth battle of Walterloo in 645. With Queen Chrysalis the sixth unable to properly lead the Axis into stability for the in foreseeable future, we must vote on Who shall lead it into salvation.”, she said as she nodded towards a nearby guard with an old, wooden ballot box. Silently, the guard began going in an anti-clockwise circle around the room, passing out rectangular, lime green paper ballots to write their votes of choice on the candidate. As soon as they finished the circle by giving Queen Helvia her own, they moved back towards their previous position and waited for those to write their vote.
It a silenced, suspenseful thirty-five minutes with the sound of ink-quills hitting paper being the only thing that broke it. One by one, all began to fold their ballots in half and set their quills back into the inkwells next to them. The same guard then began to pick up the ballots and put them in the ballot box, this time in a clockwise circle. Once they reached Queen Helvia, and put hers in the box as well, the guard took it to the center of the room, where there was a small, ornate table made entirely out of jade. Besides it is a prince of great age, wearing a cloak of dark-green with blood-red outlines. His bearded, wrinkled face seemed to be eternally set on a sorrowful frown. Solemnly taking the ballot box with his faded green magic, he sets it on the table, and begins to sort them out with the help of the guard who brought it. All within the room watched as the prince slowly, yet meticulously, individuality opened each of the ballots, look at the name written on it, and set it on a pile. The guard helping did the same as well, but a bit quicker due to not having to squint to read some of the more fluid hoofwritng.
As time quickly passed by, it was becoming apparent to all those looking, that one stack was reigning supreme amongst them all. All waited with an a-baited breaths, while the guards inched closer and closer towards the occupants, with hard to read expressions seemingly etched onto their faces like a chisel on a stone slab. Once the final ballot was read and carefully placed into its corresponding, they then started to count and recount the number of ballots in each pile. This went by quicker, and were done in less than three minutes. “The ballots have now been read, grouped, counted, and recounted.”, the old prince loudly stated with booming voice that sounded like gravel grating against stone. “As per the traditions of old, the ballot votes shall be read from least to most.”, he also stated, before clearing his throat and listing off names, their position, and the amount of votes they received. “Pupa Chrysallwing, high princess of Vesalipolis. 15 out of 300 votes. Plumbel Pturd, veteran raid general of the Carthigan wars. 23 out of 300 votes. Prusia Napole, minor prince of hive gallopia. 27 out of 300 votes. Chrysall larvae, minor princess of hive Vesalipolis. 30 out of 300 votes. Chrysal Lupa, imperial war-mistress of the Vesalipolis-Ditrysium axis. 35 out of 300 votes. Eclipse Chrysallwing, high prince and high General of Vesalipolis-Ditrysium guard. 170 out of 300 votes.”, the old finished announcing and proceeded to where the shocked high prince of Vesalipolis sat. Pupa seemed rather unaffected by the outcome. In fact, she seemed rather pleased with herself, loudly clapping her front hooves. Seemingly following her example, those that voted for Eclipse and Pupa both then began to simultaneously clap in a more reserved manner. The others give looks mixed with both unhappiness and displeasure, but withheld saying anything that may compromise their standings.
As the old prince got around the table, he motioned for two other changelings in the same robes as him, who each held a ornate cape and crown, to come forth from their positions by the doors. The cape seem to be a sea of constantly moving of circles, lines, dots, curve and straight angles, and combinations of all the above that is constantly shifting and changing. The crown is made of a dark-grey Metal that end in smooth horns with jade as the tips. Once they reached Eclipse’s side, one of them motioned for him to move in the ways needed. He numbly complied, too caught up in one of the rare times that he was left speechless. Taking out a royal scepter of green and black from the satchel hidden under his cloak. “Under normal circumstances for these kind of situations, you would be given limited powers for 11 months and 5 days before another ballot takes place.”, he said before raising the scepter sideways towards Eclipse. “But, given these dire circumstances, this requires something more. By the power invested in me by Boreium, I name you as Führer König for life.”, he loudly announced to all within the room, before settling the scepter in Eclipse’s left hoof.
The moment that shocking declaration rang out, all were shocked. It didn’t last very long. Within a blink of an eye, many began decrying this very idea. “This is madness! The Referendum of 945 clearly states in section 2, paragraph 3, line 2, that only royal members of the Chrysallwing line may become Führer König!”, Chrysal Lupa heatedly raged out as she slammed her right hoof onto the table in anger. “Is he not the direct son of Queen Chrysalis Chrysallwing the sixth”, the old prince questioned back at those that are raving over something that isn’t up for them to decide. When none dared to respond, he continued. “As her only direct offspring, it’s his birthright and duty to rule in his mother’s stead.”, he calmly stated, as if he were talking about the weather. “Besides, while it’s within my power to crown him Führer König, but the same cannot be said in taking it back. By all rights, he has the power to order the remaining guard to round us up and have them execute us at this very moment.”, he offhandedly commented while looking at the back of his right hoof in interest. That comment made many of the occupants-even those that voted for him-then began look at The guard near them with a light touch of fear within their eyes, just now noticing how close they really are.
“My friends and comrades.”, Eclipse suddenly said, finally regaining his metaphorical footing. “I know that many of you fear what I may do, but know this. This is bigger than me, bigger than you. This is bigger than all of us individually. This is about those that entrust their safety into our hooves. Loved ones who look to us in comfort in times of woe. Children who up to us in admiration, awe, love, and guidance to a better future. I have seen that group time and time again be the sword and shield in the defense of the meek. I have seen that group time and time again be the hammer and anvil in shaping the guard of the axis to become one of the most respected and well loved by our people. I have seen that group time and time again inspire future generations to climb the ladder known as history, and leave their mark. I one question you all, who have done so much bleeding and toiling over this place. Where is that group now?”, he asked as he peered around the murmuring chamber questionably, none meeting his gaze of steel and blood.
“I see it tearing itself apart at the seams, gnawing and gnashing at one another over simple ideology. Have you forgotten what this group has done in the past? Or do you think that it was one individual at the helm of a colossus golem? No, it was done through a united effort that oblivion was vanquished, and prosperity grown and harvested to spread amongst the masses.”, Eclipse stated with a will of fire. A fire that was beginning to spread throughout all those listening, as murmurs of agreement began to fill the chamber. Even the guard were feeling this fire seep into them too, joining and stoking the fire already within them. “Now more than ever, we need to be united. Now more than ever, we must work as one. Now more than ever, we need to show a united front towards all who threaten that we were sworn to protect. Even now, our shows that the Vraks are once again bolstering their forces to storm us again in the north. The Jerva to the east has sent spies into our land, and the Grotia have sent scouts to their strongholds of old in the west. The hive confederation to the south has been quiet as of late, but it is only a matter of time before they realize that our forts along the border are only held by garrison troops. I ask you, are we going to lay down and die, undoing all that we have accomplished??!!”, he yelled out his question for all to hear. As if a spark was thrown to fuel, the room came alive with chants of ‘Nay!’ from all within. “Then I ask of you, help me forge this land into a place of unity. Out of the ashes of old, we shall forge a new, modern, organized fighting force that will stand the test of time. We must forge an army that will stand above all hives, for I have a dream. A dream of a united changeling empire that shall be a beacon the destitute and loss. I have a dream where hives don’t fight one another, but work together for a better future. I have a dream where brothers and sisters do not fight each other over loyalties to a certain hive. In the name of Boreium, who shall help me make this dream a reality??!!”, Eclipse asked all who could hear with a voice mighty as an avalanche.
The sound of the applause and yells of confirmation could be heard out in the hallway.