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Diplomacy at its Finest

Yethzer swung around to the east when he saw the mountain ahead of him. He didn't want to confront the angels, not yet at least. The flat rooves of the city spread before him, though occasionally a sloped roof interrupted the line. Different coloured lanterns glowed on many of them, indicating taverns and inns. Closer to the mountain palace was a small collection of red lanterns, which indicated the demon embassy. He circled above it for a while, deciding where to land. Not where the messengers landed, this was too important for that. Not at the barracks, the message was more important than rest. Finally he came to rest on the roof of the main building, one usually reserved for high diplomats and royalty. A demon landed on the roof in front of him.

"You may be a royal guard but..." She began, but trailed off at the disdainful look Yethzer gave her.

"This is too important for protocal, I may have the key."

"The key?" She seemed awed by the prospect, "You mean...?"

"Yes, I have seen an atrocity the humans cannot ignore."

"What?"

"What is your rank?" Yethzer snarled, "Are you anywhere near worthy to here of this first?"

She cringed backwards, wings half folded, hands up, eyes down trying to be as submissive as possible. Yethzer snorted as he looked her over, white skin with few tattoos patches of fur at her wrists and along the limbs of her bat-like wings. Her horns were small, with the points filed back and she wore a long, very human looking skirt. She was pitiful, corrupted by the weak humans with whom she lived. She made no attempt to escape his gaze, merely continued cowering until he could stand to look at her no longer. They were a proud warrior race, yet in a place like this a demon could become little better then a human.

"The skirt, hardly practical for flight." He said simply.

"I walk most places." She said softly.

"Then why wear clothing at all, the weather here is warm."

She cringed back even more, "Humans do not react well to it."

Yethzer thought to berate her further, but she was too pitiful, it would be like beating a child. He shook his head and stepped off the edge of the roof. He spiralled down to the courtyard below with his wings only half extended and landed on a first floor railing with a soft thud. The white demon landed in front of him again.

"This is still the right way?" Yethzer said.

"Well yes, but she is in a meeting."

"She has always made time for the important things."

"You know her?"

"Vortani and I trained together when we were young."

The demon drew back again, her expression once more showing her awe. Yethzer sighed, he needed to find this ones backbone.

"What is your name? What weapon? and What magic?" He asked quickly.

She smiled slightly, "I am Mayaqa, I carry a crossbow and am adept in moving things and beings with my magic."

Yethzer smiled, this city hadn't destroyed her totally it seemed, he could see more of the demon she had been, "Are you good with the crossbow?"

"I could hit an angels third eye at the palace wall from this roof."

"We are rather close to the palace."

"But only just within the limits of crossbow range."

"Ah, we may need that ability."

Yethzer opened the door, and motioned her to leave. She didn't instead stepping inside ahead of him and taking a position to the right of the door. Inside Vortani sat with two humans. She was a tall demon, but finer boned, and more supple then Yethzer. Like his her wings were feathered, but her skin and feathers were lavender and her eyes almost red. She had only a few tattoos, which had a soft blue glow to them. She locked eyes with him and simply nodded.

"I am afraid pressing business calls." She said to the men, "I must ask you to leave, you too Mayaqa."

Yethzer watched Mayaqa follow the humans out, "An interesting demon you have there."

"I hope you weren't too hard on her, she is a good demon, just a little mislead."

"Yes, I noticed, she really that good with the crossbow?"

"She is."

"The skirt?"

"She fell in love," Vortani paused and looked at Yethzer, "Not like that, with one of the mercenary demons, he told her we had to earn their trust by being like them. To gain their aid."

"Well she won't need to bother with that after I tell you about this." Yethzer continued to tell her of the group who took down his troop.

When he had finished Vortani sat back a strand of her rich purple hair caught between her teeth. She took out a notepad and began to write something down. Soon she was grinning wildly.

"He can't ignore this, you are right." She said, almost breathless, "Not unless the angels can somehow pull out some conclusive proof."

She frowned suddenly and began taking notes again, this time muttering under her breath. Yethzer smiled and left the room, knowing she was too busy to even notice he'd left. Mayaqa was waiting for him outside.

"Ah good I thought it might be nice to walk to the barracks. Could you lead the way, I usually fly." Yethzer said, but in truth his reason was in fact the dull ache which had settled into his wings.

"Shouldn't you perhaps stop by the infirmary you are starting to bleed through those bandages." she said, pointing to the hastily applied bandage on his arms, "And your legs are bleeding too and your left wing seems slightly limp."

Yethzer flexed his wing and winced, he hadn't even noticed that pain, "Ok little tyrant, take me to the infirmary."

Mayaqa smiled, "This door right here."

Yethzer stepped into the room and carefully sat down on the stool. A human came out from the back room and quickly looked him over. His eyes lingered for a few moments on Yethzer's tattoos, then he sighed.

"I guess I'll be getting the demon doctor." He said, then turned away.

"What is a human doing here?" He asked Mayaqa.

"Vortani accepted an offer from the humans, they wanted some of their best doctors to learn how to treat demons. She accepted it as a sign of good faith."

"Then I will see if he is worth anything." Yethzer said as the human came back out, followed by a tiny demon, "You, demon, watch him closely."

The demon nodded, he was only small by demon standards, being about the same size as the human. The human came forward, his surprise quickly replaced by a professional air.

"I can see the arm and the legs, anything else I should attend to?"

"My left wing is limp and hurts to move."

"Then we will look at that first."

"Good choice apprentice, a demon's wing can mean the difference between life and death. Never leave it till last unless the other wounds are mortal." The small demon said.

The human took a hold of his wing gently. Lifting it he began to run his hands through the feathers, feeling for any breaks. He reached back and grabbed a pair of clippers off the table.

"A few of these feathers are bent badly, they'll have to be clipped." But he didn't bring the clippers any closer.

Yethzer untensed his muscles, trying to relax, "Do it then."

Mayaqa gently took hold of the base of his wing, causing him to wince. He wondered if she was strong enough should he flinch, and he could tell the human was thinking the same thing.

"Human, what is your name?" It seemed an odd question to ask at this time, even to Yethzer himself.

"I am Rowan mighty warrior." The human said.

"And I am Yethzer."

"Hold as still as possible Yethzer."

Yethzer nodded and clenched his fists. Rowan reached into his wing, taking almost too long to find the feather. Yethzer snarled and his wing jerked dramatically, but Rowan had already pulled the clippers clear of the wing. Three more times Rowan pulled the feathers before he put the clippers down. He took out a white cloth and gently dabbed at the feathers.

"I don't know why you flinched so much, none of them are bleeding."

"It still is not a pleasent experience." Yethzer said.

"Now you said it was a little limp too, no broken bones so I think you may have strained some muscles."

Rowan moved his wing around slowly. Yethzer winced and snarled softly. Rowan smiled and began to apply some cream to the base of his wing.

"Now we just need to bandage up those cuts and you can go sleep." Rowan said.

He did so then went into the back room leaving Yethzer to talk to the smaller demon doctor. At first Yethzer just stood an stretched, the cream was already starting to soothe his wings.

"I'm surprised, he did a better job of my wings then I expected." Yethzer said, "Though all he really did differently than he would with a human was the feathers."

"He apparently owns a bird, so he clips its feathers sometimes."

"And he assumes our wings are just like bird wings."

"Maybe, they aren't exactly the brightest race." The demon shrugged, "I'll have the healing runes you need ready in the morning."

Yethzer nodded, then let Mayaqa lead him to the barracks. He went to sleep quickly, knowing that the next day would not be an easy one.

Yethzer was scratching a groove into the wood in front of him. He was getting impatient, nothing was happening yet, they had been waiting in this room for almost an hour for the human king. This King seemed so bent on his own importance, did he not realise that to them he was nothing more than a lord with some desirable land. He wasn't even the king of all of the human lands. There was a fanfare, and a man in livery came in.

"All stand for his majesty Delosyn the Wise, leige of humanity, negotiator of demons and angels."

Vortani stood, as did the angel embassador and the various human dignitaries who sat around the large circular table. Yethzer however remained seated, as did a surly looking angel warrior on the opposite side of the table. It was hard to tell if the angel was male or female, what with the almost waist length hair held back in a loose ponytail and the many layers of rich purple and teal clothing. Like many angels this one's clothing was lined with a thick layer of white feathers.

Yethzer snorted, it wouldn't be pretty, this discussion. The angels would not want to let them tell this story. If it were just the two ambassadors here then that would be fine, they would probably argue quite a bit before fighting, but Yethzer knew an angel warrior wouldn't wait to talk, they never waited to talk. Yethzer smiled, he would enjoy beating this angel up.

The king sat down and looked around the table, "We are here today because both the demons and the angels wish to tell me some vitally important news. This news, both claim, will sway our hard fought course of neutrality in their war."

He looked around the table again. He was an older man, long past his body's prime, robed in ceremonial purple robes. His eyes were a sharp blue, and his hair grey. He sighed.

"At this point do both parties accept my absolute neutrality?" He asked.

Vortani and the angel ambassador immediately confirmed this. He smiled and pulled out a large golden coin from his pocket. He showed it to them, one side held the harp of an angel, the other the wing of a demon.

"This coin is known in our kingdom as a war, it is one of our larger valued coins. Because the war is important to us, but like all coins either side could end facing upwards. I will flip this and the result will indicate which of you will speak first." The ambassadors both stood, but he motioned them to sit before they spoke, "However, I will listen to both before I come to any decision."

The ambassadors sat, still grumbling. The king flipped the coin forwards and into the air. It tumbled many times before landing near the middle of the table, where it spun. The whole room seemed to hold its breath as the coin slowed and finally stopped. Yethzer smiled, it was the wing. Vortani stood.

"I am here because this warrior has brought grave news from the front lines on the war against the angels." Vortani began, "He s-

"If he is here then surely he can speak for himself." The king said.

"But his language is rough, surely you would - "

"I can deal with a bit of rough language now and again, all the pretty words get boring after a while."

Vortani sat, and motioned Yethzer to stand. Yethzer stood and smiled, flexing his wings just slightly. The humans flinched slightly at this, all except the king, who simply motioned him to begin.

"Well, early yesterday morning myself and a number of novices defeated an angel patrol far to the south of this city with minimal injuries. After killing their choir flyers, they fled -"

The angel warrior stood up suddenly, "Retreated!"

"Fled." Yethzer said firmly, "Fled from novices."

"You can not believe this story your majesty, to suggest we would flee from novices is unbearable."

The king waved the angel down, "Let him continue his story, then you may argue."

"Their choir had been performing a complex song I have not heard before, I interrupted it before they completed it though. I can guess though what it would have done to my young demons."

The King shook his head, "No guesses, merely the facts please."

"Ok then, we were flying back to demon lands when my troop were caught by a magic trap unlike any I had seen before. I avoided it purely through my reflexes, reflexes which my novices had yet to learn. The trap was made of both demon and angel magic, which I thought impossible to combine. I broke the demon part of it to open it up, but only just when the force who had set the trap arrived. They were both angels, and demons."

A few of the humans gasped. Understanding the gravity of the situation. Surprisingly the angels did not argue this point. Yethzer looked at them, wondering what they were planning. They seemed furious, surely because he was pulling apart all their plans. The king leaned forwards, looking at Yethzer intently.

"And how did you escape their attack, Yethzer of the Royal Gaurd?"

"I see you heard of me."

"Answer the question, it seems you were caught by surprise and hardly ready, how was it that you were the only one to escape?"

"A demon tackled me early in the battle, we locked and fell. As we fell we tested our courage, I won but we were almost to the treetops when his courage failed. I was already exhausted, so the climb to the battle was too tough, before I had got even part way I could see my novices were done for."

"And so you came here to report?"

"Directly, I saw that the humans must know the angels have created songs to control the mind."

"Hmm, yes." The King said softly, "It seems now though the angel warrior is eager to tell his own story."

The indicated warrior surged to hi feet, "I am Siarus of Tirrin and this demon is lying to you all in an effort to discredit our true claim."

"Enough accusations, tell your story."

Siarus scowled, "My patrol retreated from a seasoned troop of Demons early yesterday morning. Heading towards the border we were trapped in a sphere of magic. We were able to free ourselves after we discovered the demon magic within the sphere. However the song to undo the trap was long. As the last note of the song faded we were set upon by a troop of Demons, supported by an angel choir. I was knocked clear of the fight soon after it started and my jaw was dislocated. So I was able to escape when I saw the fight was lost. The Demons have discovered runes which can control the mind."

"Hmm, your story is remarkably similar to the Demons." The king said softly.

Vortani stood, "That is because they have copied it in order to cloud your thoughts, so you will not accept ours as absolute truth."

The Angel ambassador stood. "Nay, it is they who have lied to cloud your thoughts, seeing that we got here already they knew they could produce nothing worse than what they have done to us."

The room degenerated into a shouting match between the two ambassadors. Yethzer got to his feet, fists balled. Siarus also stood gently placing a small harp on the table. The King stood.

"Silence!" He yelled, he turned to Yethzer, "Demon be seated." And then to Siarus, "You angel, take that harp and give it to the guard to lie with the other weapons."

The room slowly settled, all watching the king as he leaned back in the throne. His eyes were closed, and his hands clasped, it was only the small movements of his lips and the furrowing of his brow which hinted that he was deep in thought. Quite suddenly he sat forwards.

"These attacks occurred in the south, silence, it was not a question. Humans too have noticed some unrest in the south, we even sent someone down to check it out. So I wish to propose a joint venture to find out who is to blame." The King frowned, "This however is a delicate situation, especially if one race is to blame. Thus the human I send with you will be vital, the human must return, or else foul play is assumed."

"You speak as if you expect us to agree." Vortani said.

"You will, if you want our aid. I suggest a small party, to go unnoticed, a single member of each race. Should angel or the demon come back without the human, it will be assumed that they killed their companions to hide their guilt."

"What if a demon brings back the human, but has coerced it to testify for them?" Siarus asked with a sneer.

"We have many spells which can test the truth in a human, even if coerced. But if the warriors do their jobs, neither race will have a chance to coerce the human. The human must be protected at all times."

Vortani frowned, "What if both warriors should come back without the human?"

"Then neutrality is conserved, neither side gains our aid." The King smiled, "I think you'll find these are reasonable lengths to go to for our aid. To the innocent we shall not only give land, we shall supply builders and designers to build your forts while you defend them."

The humans at the table were muttering between themselves. Heads were down as every person assessed this offer. The king waited for a few moments.

"Do the ambassadors accept my proposal?"

Vortani stood, "We do, for we have nothing to fear we are the ones who have been wronged."

The angel ambassador also expressed his acceptance and innocence. But Yethzer was no longer concerned with that, he knew that look on Vortani's face. Yethzer already knew it was he who would be sent on this mission.

The king nodded, "The chosen warriors should gather in this room before dawn a week from today."

Without further talk the king stood and left the room, followed by the other humans. Yethzer waited for a short moment to stare down Siarrus before turning and following Vortani out.

Description
Diplomacy at its Finest

Yethzer swung around to the east when he saw the mountain ahead of him. He didn't want to confront the angels, not yet at least. The flat rooves of the city spread before him, though occasionally a sloped roof interrupted the line. Different coloured lanterns glowed on many of them, indicating taverns and inns. Closer to the mountain palace was a small collection of red lanterns, which indicated the demon embassy. He circled above it for a while, deciding where to land. Not where the messengers landed, this was too important for that. Not at the barracks, the message was more important than rest. Finally he came to rest on the roof of the main building, one usually reserved for high diplomats and royalty. A demon landed on the roof in front of him.

"You may be a royal guard but..." She began, but trailed off at the disdainful look Yethzer gave her.

"This is too important for protocal, I may have the key."

"The key?" She seemed awed by the prospect, "You mean...?"

"Yes, I have seen an atrocity the humans cannot ignore."

"What?"

"What is your rank?" Yethzer snarled, "Are you anywhere near worthy to here of this first?"

She cringed backwards, wings half folded, hands up, eyes down trying to be as submissive as possible. Yethzer snorted as he looked her over, white skin with few tattoos patches of fur at her wrists and along the limbs of her bat-like wings. Her horns were small, with the points filed back and she wore a long, very human looking skirt. She was pitiful, corrupted by the weak humans with whom she lived. She made no attempt to escape his gaze, merely continued cowering until he could stand to look at her no longer. They were a proud warrior race, yet in a place like this a demon could become little better then a human.

"The skirt, hardly practical for flight." He said simply.

"I walk most places." She said softly.

"Then why wear clothing at all, the weather here is warm."

She cringed back even more, "Humans do not react well to it."

Yethzer thought to berate her further, but she was too pitiful, it would be like beating a child. He shook his head and stepped off the edge of the roof. He spiralled down to the courtyard below with his wings only half extended and landed on a first floor railing with a soft thud. The white demon landed in front of him again.

"This is still the right way?" Yethzer said.

"Well yes, but she is in a meeting."

"She has always made time for the important things."

"You know her?"

"Vortani and I trained together when we were young."

The demon drew back again, her expression once more showing her awe. Yethzer sighed, he needed to find this ones backbone.

"What is your name? What weapon? and What magic?" He asked quickly.

She smiled slightly, "I am Mayaqa, I carry a crossbow and am adept in moving things and beings with my magic."

Yethzer smiled, this city hadn't destroyed her totally it seemed, he could see more of the demon she had been, "Are you good with the crossbow?"

"I could hit an angels third eye at the palace wall from this roof."

"We are rather close to the palace."

"But only just within the limits of crossbow range."

"Ah, we may need that ability."

Yethzer opened the door, and motioned her to leave. She didn't instead stepping inside ahead of him and taking a position to the right of the door. Inside Vortani sat with two humans. She was a tall demon, but finer boned, and more supple then Yethzer. Like his her wings were feathered, but her skin and feathers were lavender and her eyes almost red. She had only a few tattoos, which had a soft blue glow to them. She locked eyes with him and simply nodded.

"I am afraid pressing business calls." She said to the men, "I must ask you to leave, you too Mayaqa."

Yethzer watched Mayaqa follow the humans out, "An interesting demon you have there."

"I hope you weren't too hard on her, she is a good demon, just a little mislead."

"Yes, I noticed, she really that good with the crossbow?"

"She is."

"The skirt?"

"She fell in love," Vortani paused and looked at Yethzer, "Not like that, with one of the mercenary demons, he told her we had to earn their trust by being like them. To gain their aid."

"Well she won't need to bother with that after I tell you about this." Yethzer continued to tell her of the group who took down his troop.

When he had finished Vortani sat back a strand of her rich purple hair caught between her teeth. She took out a notepad and began to write something down. Soon she was grinning wildly.

"He can't ignore this, you are right." She said, almost breathless, "Not unless the angels can somehow pull out some conclusive proof."

She frowned suddenly and began taking notes again, this time muttering under her breath. Yethzer smiled and left the room, knowing she was too busy to even notice he'd left. Mayaqa was waiting for him outside.

"Ah good I thought it might be nice to walk to the barracks. Could you lead the way, I usually fly." Yethzer said, but in truth his reason was in fact the dull ache which had settled into his wings.

"Shouldn't you perhaps stop by the infirmary you are starting to bleed through those bandages." she said, pointing to the hastily applied bandage on his arms, "And your legs are bleeding too and your left wing seems slightly limp."

Yethzer flexed his wing and winced, he hadn't even noticed that pain, "Ok little tyrant, take me to the infirmary."

Mayaqa smiled, "This door right here."

Yethzer stepped into the room and carefully sat down on the stool. A human came out from the back room and quickly looked him over. His eyes lingered for a few moments on Yethzer's tattoos, then he sighed.

"I guess I'll be getting the demon doctor." He said, then turned away.

"What is a human doing here?" He asked Mayaqa.

"Vortani accepted an offer from the humans, they wanted some of their best doctors to learn how to treat demons. She accepted it as a sign of good faith."

"Then I will see if he is worth anything." Yethzer said as the human came back out, followed by a tiny demon, "You, demon, watch him closely."

The demon nodded, he was only small by demon standards, being about the same size as the human. The human came forward, his surprise quickly replaced by a professional air.

"I can see the arm and the legs, anything else I should attend to?"

"My left wing is limp and hurts to move."

"Then we will look at that first."

"Good choice apprentice, a demon's wing can mean the difference between life and death. Never leave it till last unless the other wounds are mortal." The small demon said.

The human took a hold of his wing gently. Lifting it he began to run his hands through the feathers, feeling for any breaks. He reached back and grabbed a pair of clippers off the table.

"A few of these feathers are bent badly, they'll have to be clipped." But he didn't bring the clippers any closer.

Yethzer untensed his muscles, trying to relax, "Do it then."

Mayaqa gently took hold of the base of his wing, causing him to wince. He wondered if she was strong enough should he flinch, and he could tell the human was thinking the same thing.

"Human, what is your name?" It seemed an odd question to ask at this time, even to Yethzer himself.

"I am Rowan mighty warrior." The human said.

"And I am Yethzer."

"Hold as still as possible Yethzer."

Yethzer nodded and clenched his fists. Rowan reached into his wing, taking almost too long to find the feather. Yethzer snarled and his wing jerked dramatically, but Rowan had already pulled the clippers clear of the wing. Three more times Rowan pulled the feathers before he put the clippers down. He took out a white cloth and gently dabbed at the feathers.

"I don't know why you flinched so much, none of them are bleeding."

"It still is not a pleasent experience." Yethzer said.

"Now you said it was a little limp too, no broken bones so I think you may have strained some muscles."

Rowan moved his wing around slowly. Yethzer winced and snarled softly. Rowan smiled and began to apply some cream to the base of his wing.

"Now we just need to bandage up those cuts and you can go sleep." Rowan said.

He did so then went into the back room leaving Yethzer to talk to the smaller demon doctor. At first Yethzer just stood an stretched, the cream was already starting to soothe his wings.

"I'm surprised, he did a better job of my wings then I expected." Yethzer said, "Though all he really did differently than he would with a human was the feathers."

"He apparently owns a bird, so he clips its feathers sometimes."

"And he assumes our wings are just like bird wings."

"Maybe, they aren't exactly the brightest race." The demon shrugged, "I'll have the healing runes you need ready in the morning."

Yethzer nodded, then let Mayaqa lead him to the barracks. He went to sleep quickly, knowing that the next day would not be an easy one.

Yethzer was scratching a groove into the wood in front of him. He was getting impatient, nothing was happening yet, they had been waiting in this room for almost an hour for the human king. This King seemed so bent on his own importance, did he not realise that to them he was nothing more than a lord with some desirable land. He wasn't even the king of all of the human lands. There was a fanfare, and a man in livery came in.

"All stand for his majesty Delosyn the Wise, leige of humanity, negotiator of demons and angels."

Vortani stood, as did the angel embassador and the various human dignitaries who sat around the large circular table. Yethzer however remained seated, as did a surly looking angel warrior on the opposite side of the table. It was hard to tell if the angel was male or female, what with the almost waist length hair held back in a loose ponytail and the many layers of rich purple and teal clothing. Like many angels this one's clothing was lined with a thick layer of white feathers.

Yethzer snorted, it wouldn't be pretty, this discussion. The angels would not want to let them tell this story. If it were just the two ambassadors here then that would be fine, they would probably argue quite a bit before fighting, but Yethzer knew an angel warrior wouldn't wait to talk, they never waited to talk. Yethzer smiled, he would enjoy beating this angel up.

The king sat down and looked around the table, "We are here today because both the demons and the angels wish to tell me some vitally important news. This news, both claim, will sway our hard fought course of neutrality in their war."

He looked around the table again. He was an older man, long past his body's prime, robed in ceremonial purple robes. His eyes were a sharp blue, and his hair grey. He sighed.

"At this point do both parties accept my absolute neutrality?" He asked.

Vortani and the angel ambassador immediately confirmed this. He smiled and pulled out a large golden coin from his pocket. He showed it to them, one side held the harp of an angel, the other the wing of a demon.

"This coin is known in our kingdom as a war, it is one of our larger valued coins. Because the war is important to us, but like all coins either side could end facing upwards. I will flip this and the result will indicate which of you will speak first." The ambassadors both stood, but he motioned them to sit before they spoke, "However, I will listen to both before I come to any decision."

The ambassadors sat, still grumbling. The king flipped the coin forwards and into the air. It tumbled many times before landing near the middle of the table, where it spun. The whole room seemed to hold its breath as the coin slowed and finally stopped. Yethzer smiled, it was the wing. Vortani stood.

"I am here because this warrior has brought grave news from the front lines on the war against the angels." Vortani began, "He s-

"If he is here then surely he can speak for himself." The king said.

"But his language is rough, surely you would - "

"I can deal with a bit of rough language now and again, all the pretty words get boring after a while."

Vortani sat, and motioned Yethzer to stand. Yethzer stood and smiled, flexing his wings just slightly. The humans flinched slightly at this, all except the king, who simply motioned him to begin.

"Well, early yesterday morning myself and a number of novices defeated an angel patrol far to the south of this city with minimal injuries. After killing their choir flyers, they fled -"

The angel warrior stood up suddenly, "Retreated!"

"Fled." Yethzer said firmly, "Fled from novices."

"You can not believe this story your majesty, to suggest we would flee from novices is unbearable."

The king waved the angel down, "Let him continue his story, then you may argue."

"Their choir had been performing a complex song I have not heard before, I interrupted it before they completed it though. I can guess though what it would have done to my young demons."

The King shook his head, "No guesses, merely the facts please."

"Ok then, we were flying back to demon lands when my troop were caught by a magic trap unlike any I had seen before. I avoided it purely through my reflexes, reflexes which my novices had yet to learn. The trap was made of both demon and angel magic, which I thought impossible to combine. I broke the demon part of it to open it up, but only just when the force who had set the trap arrived. They were both angels, and demons."

A few of the humans gasped. Understanding the gravity of the situation. Surprisingly the angels did not argue this point. Yethzer looked at them, wondering what they were planning. They seemed furious, surely because he was pulling apart all their plans. The king leaned forwards, looking at Yethzer intently.

"And how did you escape their attack, Yethzer of the Royal Gaurd?"

"I see you heard of me."

"Answer the question, it seems you were caught by surprise and hardly ready, how was it that you were the only one to escape?"

"A demon tackled me early in the battle, we locked and fell. As we fell we tested our courage, I won but we were almost to the treetops when his courage failed. I was already exhausted, so the climb to the battle was too tough, before I had got even part way I could see my novices were done for."

"And so you came here to report?"

"Directly, I saw that the humans must know the angels have created songs to control the mind."

"Hmm, yes." The King said softly, "It seems now though the angel warrior is eager to tell his own story."

The indicated warrior surged to hi feet, "I am Siarus of Tirrin and this demon is lying to you all in an effort to discredit our true claim."

"Enough accusations, tell your story."

Siarus scowled, "My patrol retreated from a seasoned troop of Demons early yesterday morning. Heading towards the border we were trapped in a sphere of magic. We were able to free ourselves after we discovered the demon magic within the sphere. However the song to undo the trap was long. As the last note of the song faded we were set upon by a troop of Demons, supported by an angel choir. I was knocked clear of the fight soon after it started and my jaw was dislocated. So I was able to escape when I saw the fight was lost. The Demons have discovered runes which can control the mind."

"Hmm, your story is remarkably similar to the Demons." The king said softly.

Vortani stood, "That is because they have copied it in order to cloud your thoughts, so you will not accept ours as absolute truth."

The Angel ambassador stood. "Nay, it is they who have lied to cloud your thoughts, seeing that we got here already they knew they could produce nothing worse than what they have done to us."

The room degenerated into a shouting match between the two ambassadors. Yethzer got to his feet, fists balled. Siarus also stood gently placing a small harp on the table. The King stood.

"Silence!" He yelled, he turned to Yethzer, "Demon be seated." And then to Siarus, "You angel, take that harp and give it to the guard to lie with the other weapons."

The room slowly settled, all watching the king as he leaned back in the throne. His eyes were closed, and his hands clasped, it was only the small movements of his lips and the furrowing of his brow which hinted that he was deep in thought. Quite suddenly he sat forwards.

"These attacks occurred in the south, silence, it was not a question. Humans too have noticed some unrest in the south, we even sent someone down to check it out. So I wish to propose a joint venture to find out who is to blame." The King frowned, "This however is a delicate situation, especially if one race is to blame. Thus the human I send with you will be vital, the human must return, or else foul play is assumed."

"You speak as if you expect us to agree." Vortani said.

"You will, if you want our aid. I suggest a small party, to go unnoticed, a single member of each race. Should angel or the demon come back without the human, it will be assumed that they killed their companions to hide their guilt."

"What if a demon brings back the human, but has coerced it to testify for them?" Siarus asked with a sneer.

"We have many spells which can test the truth in a human, even if coerced. But if the warriors do their jobs, neither race will have a chance to coerce the human. The human must be protected at all times."

Vortani frowned, "What if both warriors should come back without the human?"

"Then neutrality is conserved, neither side gains our aid." The King smiled, "I think you'll find these are reasonable lengths to go to for our aid. To the innocent we shall not only give land, we shall supply builders and designers to build your forts while you defend them."

The humans at the table were muttering between themselves. Heads were down as every person assessed this offer. The king waited for a few moments.

"Do the ambassadors accept my proposal?"

Vortani stood, "We do, for we have nothing to fear we are the ones who have been wronged."

The angel ambassador also expressed his acceptance and innocence. But Yethzer was no longer concerned with that, he knew that look on Vortani's face. Yethzer already knew it was he who would be sent on this mission.

The king nodded, "The chosen warriors should gather in this room before dawn a week from today."

Without further talk the king stood and left the room, followed by the other humans. Yethzer waited for a short moment to stare down Siarrus before turning and following Vortani out.