Adventure of Ellana 1

Mist coils across the crossroads as Ellana arrives. Nine banners circle a rune-carved standing stone, each bearing the sigil of a realm, while councilors watch in rigid silence.

An orc delegation emerges from the white veil beneath a green-iron standard. Their spokesman is a broad-shouldered middle-aged orc man in layered hide and bronze plates, with one tusk capped in silver.

Across the ring, a young adult woman champion in crimson mail steps forward. Her black braid is bound with gold, and an old scar cuts through one eyebrow as her hand closes around her sword hilt.

The champion’s blade whispers against its sheath. Nine rulers turn toward Ellana, their stalled deliberation suddenly narrowed to the space between her and the first drawn weapon.

Ellana holds her ground beneath the standing stone, hooves still in the mist. The crimson champion’s blade remains half-drawn, but no steel crosses the truce-marked circle.

The threat rolls beneath the banners. Green iron creaks in the wind, and the runes underfoot flare once, recognizing the words as a formal declaration rather than an attack.

The eldest councilor, an elderly woman with a narrow face and silver hair braided beneath blue robes, raises a carved staff, and nine ward-lanterns kindle around the crossroads. Guards lower their spears without advancing as the Council claims the truce and orders both delegations to stand down.

The champion sheathes her sword with visible reluctance. The orc spokesman bows once, and the councilors, older men and women in varied formal robes, turn toward their sealed deliberation, the threatened peace still intact.

Ellana watches the councilors gather beneath the ward-lanterns. Their bodies form a guarded crescent, robes and staffs crossing until faces and gestures vanish behind blue-white radiance.

She catches fragments through the shifting light: two councilors lean toward the crimson champion, while three keep their staffs angled toward the orc delegation. The rest remain unreadable.

The words reach Ellana clearly, but the council’s reasoning does not. Then the eldest councilor’s staff turns, briefly revealing a narrow passage between the ward-lanterns and the standing stone.

Ellana fixes her gaze on the ward-lanterns and studies the silhouettes behind them. By following staff angles, bowed heads, and shifting shoulders, she reconstructs the council’s hidden division.

Four councilors favor recording the orc warning as a lawful appeal. Three press for border levies, while two refuse either course and demand proof before sunset.

The eldest councilor’s staff dips toward the orc delegation, confirming the compromise. The crimson champion’s supporters receive no immediate authority to pursue or challenge them.

Ellana’s hoof shifts on the rune-carved stone, scraping sharply through the silence. Several ward-lanterns turn toward her, and one councilor’s hidden outline stiffens.