Call of the Abyss [Book 2 Complete]

"Thus, it is my own opinion that baiting an attack while we're still strong is the best option for victory. Though slim, it remains possible," Julia concluded, her tone intentionally firm to hide her nervousness.

She was once again in the Assembly Hall, but this time she stood alone at the central speaking platform, far from Seyatha's quiet booth above. Seyatha had managed to secure a spot during one of the Assembly's gatherings to present Julia's plan, asking Julia herself to present it.

The request had shocked her. She wasn't Jadhariin, nor was she tied to any of the Roots. Why would they listen to an outsider—especially when the fate of their people was at stake?

When asked about the wisdom of such a decision, Seyatha's reply was somewhat cryptic.

"Sometimes unfavorable plans must be presented in unfavorable ways. That is life—circumstances are seldom going to be perfect. We must all dance to the rhythm around us, even when it clashes with the song in our hearts.

"You have a solid plan built on sound logic and careful observation. Be confident, Julia. You have already faced my people—you have the backing of the Zal'Nadir. You presented this plan to hardened warriors who would die before they let further harm come to their homes. How much worse could a few politicians be?

They may look intimidating, but remember this: a politician's weapon—his only weapon—is his words. He can only harm you as much as you let him. Be true to yourself, be confident in the plan you have created, and they will see its merits."

Julia resisted the urge to swallow. Seyatha's words had comforted her before the gathering—but now, standing beneath the Assembly's gaze, that lack of weapons felt cold comfort indeed.

Julia's only solace was that the chamber was bereft of observers. With the Nashiin informant still unidentified, Seyatha had convinced the Assembly to convene behind closed doors—with only the Roots present. Not even their bodyguards, the Shields, were permitted to observe.

A silence stretched for what seemed years to Julia, who stood at the center of it. She tried to remain still and project confidence—except she wasn't exactly sure what confidence looked like when standing still. Should she puff her chest out? Maybe she should have her feet farther apart…Well, she knew she should resist any urges to fidget, at least.

"As much as it pains me to say it, the girl's plan has merit," said an older man off to Julia's right. "We are losing, as Miss Julia so bluntly stated. Even the plan's merits aside, continuing down the path we currently walk surely leads to our doom."

"You speak of our doom while suggesting we support a plan that would see us rushing to it," said a woman somewhere behind Julia. She resisted the urge to spin around, deciding that spinning to look at every single person that spoke would ruin whatever confident facade she had managed to create.

"The plan he is supporting would give us a chance to claim victory. Maintaining the status quo dooms us with certainty. That is the difference, and it is a significant one," a woman in front of Julia said calmly with crossed arms.

"Fellow Roots, let us not descend into heated discussion until we have full knowledge of the situation," Avelrûn said, standing up, making a placative gesture to the room, and fixing an aggressively neutral gaze on Julia. She saw a few rolled eyes in her periphery but remained focused, knowing she was about to be questioned.

"It seems to me that, whether or not this plan is feasible, everything hinges on the Nashiin leadership taking the bait, yes?" he asked.

"That is correct. Though, that said, the situation doesn't deteriorate further if they don't. It will simply be more of the same," Julia said, keeping her voice steady.

"More of the same, plus hundreds of thousands of extra civilians squeezed into the walls of Veshari, not plying their crafts and trades at their homes, you mean," he said acerbically.

"Tell me, do you know for a fact that the Nashiin will take the bait?" he questioned with gravitas, as though he knew this was the tipping point.

"I do not. I only suspect based on a few factors," Julia answered unwaveringly.

"And what are these factors?" Avelrûn asked.

"The core of my suspicions comes from what a Barrowlord said to me when I was attempting to breach their blockade into the marsh many weeks ago. They had been trying to capture me for a while at that point, so he seemed more…vocal than I would expect.

"He said their leader dislikes the marsh and the swamp around it, and he'd underestimated me as a result of disinterest. The Barrowlord said this to indicate that I had evaded them for so long due only to their leader's complacency, but I would get no such treatment from him. He died, of course, but I remember the words clearly.

"If we withdraw fully into Veshari, fortify our position, and strike with precision, I believe they'll see it as desperation. And given the Wight's disdain for the territory, I think he'll want to end the siege quickly—perhaps too quickly," she concluded confidently.

"I see…so, the merit of this plan hinges not just on a teenager's hunch, but also on the words of our enemy. This does not seem a solid foundation on which to bet our people's entire future," Avelrûn said, shaking his head in what seemed disappointment, as though he regretted the Assembly had to be called here to listen to the prattling of a child.

"It's a better chance than what we're doing now, which is succumbing to the siege, exactly as the Nashiin want. These are the absolute basics of siege warfare that even I, a teenager, know," Julia growled, a little heat entering her voice.

Avelrûn narrowed his eyes and made to retort, but Julia, looking out to all the Roots assembled and lingering on their faces one-by-one, spoke before he could.

"Stay the course, and we die. Take a bold—but calculated—risk, and we might live. I know which one I'd choose," she said, making a fist that she held in front of her chest.

"We, you say—we have a chance. It is we, the Jadhariin, that are at risk, and it is we who will decide our future—not you. Not an outsider," Avelrûn scathed, a sharp heat in his voice.

Before anyone could respond, all eyes shifted up toward Seyatha's booth. She stood there, arms crossed, her neutral face carved from stone. Julia had no idea how everyone had seen her stand at the exact same time, but it drew all attention in the room.

"Nal'murathiin," she said, her voice almost painfully neutral, as though remarking on the weather.

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A stunned silence pervaded the chamber, and Julia noticed Avelrûn's eyes had widened slightly before he sat back down.

Ithshar stood up beside Seyatha—the only other two permitted into this assembly. She was there to represent the Zal'Nadir, who had given their approval for Julia's plan. Seyatha was there to represent—well, herself.

"Julia has fought for the marsh. She has bled for us. She has cried for us. She has slain five Barrowlords, rescued our own from certain death, and she has provided valuable information that only she could obtain.

"If belonging to the Jadhariin must be earned, as you claim, then tell me—who here has done more to earn it than she?" Ithshar asked with crossed arms.

After a moment to let her words settle, both Ithshar and Seyatha sat down. Only the deafening silence marked their brief intervention.

The silence lingered for an uncomfortable amount of time before the woman who had spoken first stood.

"Might I suggest we adjourn for the afternoon? Let us each consider the proposal and reconvene on the morrow for a vote. Let us also remember to hold the topic of this discussion in absolute confidence, even from our very Shields, per the Seyatha's request."

Nods were exchanged all around, and the Assembly was adjourned. Julia waited outside for Seyatha and Ithshar, and they boarded their barge to make for Tirn'Aleya.

"You did very well, Julia," Seyatha said once they were underway, Ithshar at the front using the long pole to steer.

"Avelrûn is…hmm, rather 'traditional,' you might say. He intends to protect Tûrathiin in his own way, but traditionalists are often the most obstructionist. Times change, and people must change with them, else be left behind. However, do not think there is no place for tradition. Both have their values."

"Is that why he's so hostile toward me? His 'traditionalist' mentality is less inclined toward outsiders?" Julia asked.

"Possibly. I imagine it has more to do with what you represent in his mind—the very thing he fights the most: change.

"Yes, the Nashiin brought the change, but they are a faceless, destructive force. It is difficult to direct anger at a force you have never seen. You, however, are not faceless; your proposal to shift tactics was simply the scapegoat he did not know he was looking for," Seyatha explained.

"I was particularly fond of bleeding him with the very knife he attempted to stab you with," Ithshar chuckled from the front.

She must be referencing the slight against Julia's age. Shifting the issue from "a teenager with a rash plan" to "a teenager with siege knowledge that a Root of the Assembly lacked" effectively turned Avelrûn's slight against him.

"This is something you must learn, Julia. Think about how the gathering went, what words you said well, what words you could have said better, and what words you failed to say at all. This will not be the last time in your life that you must force others to face a reality they run from, and the better you get at it, the easier it will be—for everyone involved," Seyatha concluded.

Julia nodded and sat cross-legged on the barge. She knew deep down that she needed to improve her social acumen—not everyone was going to be as warm and welcoming as Seyatha or the Thornalûn. The problem was, she didn't really know how to improve.

She could examine what she might have been able to say better, but how did she know if one thing would've worked while another wouldn't?…Actually, it sounded much like examining past battles. You could estimate what moves would've been most effective, but the only real way to know would be to put them to the test.

"Ithshar tells me you got a good beating the other day," Seyatha said with a smile, thumping down on the floor next to Julia. She shifted to sit cross-legged, mirroring Julia's posture.

"...I probably wouldn't have said it that way, but it's not inaccurate," Julia replied with chagrin.

"Yes, well—if you are hoping to get one over on Ithshar, you likely have centuries of hardship ahead," Seyatha said with a chuckle.

"This flying technique—you have only briefly mentioned it to me—it is what you used before getting walloped on the head, yes?" she asked.

"Yeah, well—the one involving gravity. I didn't try Air Magic or anything," Julia said contemplatively. However, she couldn't think of a way that using the Air Magic flight method would've improved her chances.

"Yes, the Air Magic technique—tell me how you navigated while using it," Seyatha said, her tone curious.

Julia explained her test flight through the marsh, going into more detail. She had briefly mentioned it to Seyatha in passing, but they hadn't discussed much of it.

When she finished, Seyatha nodded with her eyes closed.

"Can you replicate that? Not the flying, but close your eyes and feel what you felt while you were flying. The wind is still present, so it should not be too difficult to place yourself in the same head space," she said.

Julia closed her eyes and tried to remember what she'd felt while flying. She recalled the wind rushing past her, the scents it carried, and hearing things much clearer than when she was on the ground. She began to take notice of the scent coming off the water below the barge: a woody and earthy scent, with undertones of muck and decay from the bed of the marsh.

She heard the gentle wind as it passed her by, but she also noticed Seyatha begin to clap. It was not applause, and it was rather gentle clapping, so Julia kept her eyes closed. Seyatha's clap seemed to have a rhythm—Julia could tell when the next clap was coming without thinking about it, for some reason.

"You hear the rhythm in my clapping, yes? This is overt, it is obvious. However, rhythm exists all around us.

"When you flew, you began to listen for the first time. You could hear the leaves as they swayed, smell the moisture in the air, and you could experience it all quickly enough to react to it.

"However, it was not a conscious reaction, correct? It was as though your body moved without requiring your conscious input," she explained as her clapping continued.

"The Song exists all around us, at all times. It is only a question of whether we are listening, Julia.

"You have heard its melody before; thus, it will be easier to hear again by conscious choice. However, your aim should be to always hear it. Just as you are always aware of the position of your limbs or the smell in the air, you must always hear the rhythm of the Song.

"I told you when you first arrived that learning the Song would benefit you in more ways than one. There is rhythm in all things: sailing, crafting, and even battle.

"Your opponents will fight with their own rhythm, and should you be able to distinguish it and learn it, you will never know defeat. Perhaps even Ithshar will have a hard time combating you," she concluded grandly.

That was all well and good, but she was still trying to just hear it on command. There was still quite a bit of work to do. The musings of the Song and battle had stirred a question that had been building in her mind for weeks, though.

"Why hasn't the Mother intervened thus far? Intervened in the conflict with the Nashiin, I mean.

"She's obviously not 'just a tree.' She's the entire marsh, and all things in it move to Her rhythm. Why hasn't She used that power to aid Her people?" Julia asked.

This was something she had subconsciously been wondering since she discovered the full, immense scope of the Mother's influence.

Seyatha opened her eyes and looked wistfully into the distance.

"Would that things were so simple…" she said cryptically.

Julia waited, knowing answers would come when they would—if they came at all.

"First, you must understand that the Jadhariin are not Her people," Seyatha finally said, after what must have been minutes of silence.

"We respect Her, and Her influence, but we are no more Her people than any creature in the marsh—no more Her people than one could be a thunderstorm's. She is a force of nature whom we revere, but She did not ask us to revere Her, live near Her, or even to accept Her Class.

"Indeed, She isn't involved in us having her Class beyond being present. One need not be a Jadhariin to acquire Her Class. One simply needs to have an affinity with the marsh by the time they are offered their first Class, and it will appear.

"The Nashiin have not done great damage to the marsh. They have done extreme harm to the Jadhariin, but we elves are a small part of the marsh's whole. I suspect the Mother will not act for less than an existential threat to the entirety of the marsh," Seyatha concluded with a distant expression.

Julia had a sudden flash of that image from the dimensional mirror—her own face, with a callous, cold look of self-righteous authority, willing to knock any obstacle down. Was that what it meant to be a spirit? Was that in her future no matter how much she reviled it?