War for the Sundered Crown (The Sundered Crown Saga Book 2) by Olney Matthew

Author:Olney, Matthew [Olney, Matthew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Firebound Books
Published: 2015-11-19T18:30:00+00:00

* * *

Davik walked down the long brightly lit corridor leading to the King’s Hall. He nodded in greeting to the legionaries standing to attention. As ceremonial guards, their armour was polished so that reflected the light cast by the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Davik stopped outside the large double doors that led into the hall proper and sighed. Facing the barons was the last thing he wanted to do. He nodded to the smartly dressed steward who was waiting patiently to open the doors.

With a loud creak the doors opened.

Silence greeted him as he strode into the hall. He held his head high and thrust out his chest. He may not be a skilled politician, but he was a warrior. As was custom, he took his seat on the plain-looking throne located in the centre in the hall. Arrayed in a semicircle in front of the throne were the barons in high-backed chairs of their own. To the side sat the clerks and stewards who would transcribe all that would transpire in the coming meeting. Davik caught the gaze of the realm’s most powerful men. The only seat that was empty was the one reserved for the barony of Retbit. The young Baron of Balnor smiled, but the rest masked their intentions. Sat in the centre chair was Ricard, a slight smirk on his handsome face.

The door to the hall opened again and the barons stood as Archbishop Trentian shuffled inside. The old man was in his eighties and was the leading religious leader in the kingdom. With no gods to speak of, the peoples of Delfinnia worshipped Niveren, the hero who had delivered the world from evil and led mankind to glory. Trentian was the head of the Niveren cult and was tasked with overseeing the Privy and Grand councils. The old bishop took his place at a lectern, which was carried into the room by two servants.

“I, Trentian, archbishop and loyal servant of Niveren and the realm hereby announce this meeting as begun.”

Immediately, Ricard rose from his seat. He smiled cruelly at Davik.

“Lords of the realm, I summoned this Grand Council,” he announced. The barons grumbled at the revelation. The Baron of Balnor stood.

“Lord Ricard, what gives you the right to summon such a council?” the thirteen year old boy baron snapped, his high-pitched voice a stark comparison to those of the other lords. “By law, only the king – or in this case the regent – can do so.”

Davik leant back in his seat and touched his fingertips together.

You have overreached yourself Ricard, he thought as the other barons nodded in agreement with Balnor’s words.

To his credit, Ricard covered his annoyance at the young baron well. He kept a thin smile on his lips.

“Forgive me, my lords, archbishop. That is indeed correct, but I felt as though such a gathering was necessary.”

Ricard moved from his chair to stand in the centre of the hall. “This past month has seen the situation across the kingdom deteriorate to such an extent that I know some of you believe we need new leadership.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.