Chapter 195: Tanaka’s Mediation 1

The morning had arrived. Outside of the royal area, the large assembly grounds were awash with heavily armed Beastfolk. First to arrive were the Tigers. They had brought an array of weapons ranging from spears and swords to battle staves and large shields. They formed up into multiple intimidating formations. Their mages all stood behind the battle line and were already casting spells to reinforce their numbers and call forth elemental magic. Everyone looked ready for combat and at the front of the line stood Lord Tavren Raukhan with an icy look.

Next came the Lions. They did not immediately form up for attack, but were still a large number. Garrath Goldmane led his warriors, accompanied by his high ranking soldiers and fire mages. The lower ranked soldiers also had weapons and heavily armoured. This alone meant a few smaller groups had taken pause to think about their decision, seeing how determined the Tigers had been last night.

The smaller Beastfolk tribes arrived next. The Bears, Boars, Deerfolk and several known clans had sent along their guards. Some were openly carrying weapons and others were hiding their magic. The Foxfolk arrived, with their spirit mages forming up protective barriers. They were obviously tense with the Tigers.

Finally came the Wolf Crown. This time it was not just King Aldren and his royal guards. The nine major wolf clans had arrived, bringing along their clan leaders, warriors and combat mages. From behind them came their representatives from the smaller bloodlines. This changed the mood of the assembly grounds, reminding everyone that the Wolf Crown had more power behind them. Aldren stood at the front. He looked around at the various tribes, noting the weapons and formations. It would not take them long to create a battlefield and he knew that if he messed up then hundreds of lives could be lost. He waited for the remaining group to arrive. They waited.

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After a few minutes the Eldoris group arrived. At the front of the group were Tanaka, Sora, Raishin, Raizen and Nira. Behind them were the other Eldoris representatives. Two guards from the Wolf Crown had escorted Lynessa from the royal prison. She was dressed in the same simple clothing that Tanaka had found her in and her ears were still drooping. She looked around at the armed Beastfolk. Murmurs began. "That’s her?" "That’s the girl who murdered Mereth?" "Why is she here?" Lynessa moved closer to Tanaka. He noticed her shaking slightly and placed a gentle hand on her head. "Just stay with me." She nodded.

Tanaka continued walking until he reached Aldren. He greeted the Wolf King before looking around at the other rulers. Many were already glaring at him. Tavren was amongst the Tigers, his amber eyes were fixed on Lynessa and he looked like he hated her. "Bring her forwards!" Tanaka stopped. "She’s already here." "Hand her over!" Several shouts followed. The Tigers were shouting. Some wanted her executed immediately and others were saying that the Wolf Crown had no right to protect someone who was accused of murdering their ruler’s sister. The shouting quickly rose in volume and Tavren raised a hand. He stepped forwards. "Tanaka Eldoris." Tanaka looked up.

"You have interfered with this long enough. My sister is dead, my trusted aide is dead and people who should have been safe inside the Wolf Crown prison are being murdered. And you still stand by the girl." "You’re still saying she’s responsible?" "She was found next to her body." "It doesn’t prove she killed her." Tavren’s claws twitched. "Let’s take her and find out." Tanaka shook his head. "No." The Tigers growled softly.

Tavren had already heard enough about Tanaka’s power to know it would be risky to confront him. He had felt the weight of his Draconic Aura earlier and seen how Garrath’s authority had not even made him budge. The fact that he could be part of the Demon Lord Class made him think twice about challenging him. However, he had brought his whole territory to Varghelm and he wasn’t going to leave with nothing. He wouldn’t back down.

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Aldren raised his hand. "Everyone listen." The noise began to die down. "We are here because Bravelm is on the verge of breaking the peace agreements that have been set up by our ancestors over the generations. We have suffered deaths, attacks and a lack of trust between us, but we need evidence and fairness. The Tiger Clans have made their stance clear, but we will not hand over someone who is under our protection due to another ruler wanting to start a war." "What would you suggest we do?" A Bearfolk leader asked. Aldren looked towards Tanaka.

Tanaka stepped forwards. "Firstly we need to stop blaming Lynessa for the deaths. She was in prison but they continued to kill. Someone is using her situation to try and get the Beastfolk to start a war. Every time someone else dies more people believe that she needs to be killed. The magical residue has been similar to the Foxfolk methods many times, however experienced investigators have found that some were fake." A Foxfolk elder nodded. "That is true. We have continuously asked to investigate the residue."

Tanaka continued. "So let them. We will set up a joint investigation team with members from the Wolves, Tigers, Lions and Foxfolk. We will share all evidence and will not interfere with the investigation." A minor ruler spoke up. "And what about the prisoner?" "She will remain under the protection of the Wolf Crown until the investigation has been completed." "Rejected." Tanaka looked up at Tavren. "I haven’t even finished." "I have." Tanaka sighed.

"Fine. I will personally guarantee that she won’t escape. Eldoris will send investigators to help the Wolf Crown. Nira will investigate the magical residue with the Foxfolk mages. My people will investigate the merchant contracts and missing ledger. Give us seven days to investigate. If we find nothing then we will return to the council with any evidence we have and discuss what we do next."

"Seven days?" "Yes." "My sister has been dead for days and my people are waiting for justice. Why should we wait seven days?" "Because otherwise there will be war." "Maybe there needs to be." Tanaka looked at him. He had expected some opposition but he hadn’t expected Tavren to be so adamant. He was no longer questioning whether Lynessa was guilty. He just wanted to hand her over because his people wanted him to. Also, if he admitted that there wasn’t enough evidence then he would look weak in front of his warriors.