Shadow Sun Consolidation by Willmarth Dave

Author:Willmarth, Dave
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-06-08T00:00:00+00:00

It was a full day and a half later when Phoenix, the five Al’drong warships full of nobles, and their escort arrived at Skapa Far. There had been a few delays in getting the family loaded and on their way.

First, Allistor had gone down to the planet and addressed the population that weren’t part of the family. He informed them of what had happened on Skapa Far, the surrender of the now deposed Al’drong line, that they were all free, and any employment or indenture contracts were voided. Then he gave his standard recruitment speech, offering to let them all take the oath and become citizens. He outlined their options for them, and gave them a day to decide. Then he requested that all the ships’ crews report to the main residence.

There he offered them significant salaries and signing bonuses on top of citizenship if they would swear an additional oath to defend Invictus. All but a few agreed, and were sworn in on the spot. More than enough to crew the ships needed to transport the Al’drong.

L’olwyn had been correct, there were nearly two thousand elves with Al’drong blood on the planet. E’bron reported that there were nearly a hundred more currently off-world on trade missions, along with three ships. He had sent a message recalling them, but was not confident they would return after the announcement of Al’drong’s defeat.

Of the nearly two thousand, all but six agreed to swear the oath of service and relocate to Skapa Far. The six who refused, including E’bron’s youngest brother, were executed in front of the gathered family members, ship’s crews, and household staff. Allistor didn’t make a big spectacle of it. He lined them up, and spoke to each one in turn.

“This is your last chance. Will you swear to serve the people your family has harmed? Refusal to do so means death under the terms agreed upon by your Patriarch.”

As each one refused, he used Unification, the same sword he’d used to kill Loki, to take their head. Allistor had thought after the first death, the others would submit. But each one in line stubbornly refused, their pride preventing them from accepting servitude. Allistor grimly kept his word, taking head after head until it was done. He silently told himself that it was justice, and that the example would cause his potential adversaries to think twice about crossing him.

When they saw that Allistor was serious about removing their masters, most of the household staff and others present chose to swear the oath then and there. Helen administered it, as usual, and they began loading the Al’drongs onto the cargo ships.

Allistor was introduced to an elderly elf named Di’len, who had served as Steward of the family residence, and offered him a tour. The term residence, as it turned out, applied to a massive, sprawling compound with more than a hundred bedrooms, guest suites, servant’s wings, several kitchens, extensive gardens, guard barracks, armory, and dozens of other ancillary buildings. Allistor gamely followed the old elf, who moved at a surprisingly brisk pace.

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