He sat in the Gathering Hall casually, surrounded by the others he had come to know and love as companions and comrades, rather than as lackies and cronies like a poor leader would refer to them as. They were his Apostles. Well, technically not his own. They were not called Solstrem's Apostles, after all.

Maverick sat in the chair to the right of the far head of the table. The head spot was normally reserved for his close ally, Myst Wolfeye, however today the elderly Sheikah was confined to his room. The Calatian had not been rude enough to pry into Wolfeye's business, and so he had headed straight downstairs to the breakfast hall that morning, not to mingle with those he held power over with as much as to grab a meal. Maverick was as dependent on vital food intake as any other cloaked man or woman present. His cloak was clean and polished; like all the uniforms surrounding him, they looked as if new. Leafing over the latest issue of Mage Monthly: The ONLY Magazine Offering REAL Magical Technique while playing with the remains of a Cuccoo-egg omelette on his plate, the mage found himself in a daze. He gazed as though hypnotized at some of pictures of the odd spells. Quickly turning the page and regaining his consciousness, he frowned embarrassingly. He was only looking at the articles. Sure he was...

Seeing someone who had been cooped up underground for some time sitting further down the table, Maverick began to feel a pang of sympathy. Tristan was normally in charge of dispatch for on-surface tasks; Maverick would have to be sure that the Goron scheduled the female Apostle for more above-ground time. She had not experienced Hyrule in its true glory yet. The mage, although younger than the ranger down the table, was still one of her main reasons for being in such a dark, depressing place. “Rose,” he spoke aloud, to catch her attention. “Come sit over here.” He gestured with an open palm to Darizan's seat across from his own. The Gerudo would not be along for a few hours for his lunch. A kindly smile fluttered about Maverick's face as he invited the woman from Holodrum to sit with him.

“I'm sorry, Rose. You'll get to go up soon, I promise.” A deep hint of sincerity emanated from his wise voice; Maverick was not one to break a promise of such kind intentions. “You know, I couldn't help but recall our first meeting, how many years ago was it? Ah, well. We were both younger people at the time, weren't we? I remember it as being my first visit to Holodrum after traveling to the many places I had been to while serving for Calatia. It was the first time Holodrum had been chosen for the setting of the annual Grand Summit, coincidentally enough...” His voice trailed off into recollections of bygone days.

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Solstrem Maverick of The Royal Calatian Mage Unit strolled casually into the town square of Tarm City. It was his first days spent in the faraway land of Holodrum, and up until now he had considered the land to be the kingdom itself. “So, it's called Tarm. A lovely name,” he thought aloud as he continued his stride. Maverick was the chosen delegate for the kingdom of Calatia, and how he had managed to be chosen for this position bewildered him. He was no politician; just another lowly soldier, as he considered himself. He wondered what his out-of-unit soldier friends were up to at the moment. Trish was probably on leave at her summer home in the province of Valeron, and 'Blitz'... well, he was probably at some local tavern starting some sort of tussle. And then there was Blank, who was likely stowed away in the cargo space of the ship Maverick had sailed in on. For some reason that Knight always had trouble with simple tasks; he would likely end up stuck between two freight packages, found when the ship docked in Calatia, and put on probation for unruly behavior. A few other names came to mind, but all of his friends were lost from thought as he stared in awe at the castle. It was here he would be attending the largest summit in all the world. Delegates from the lands of Hyrule, Byrna, Incinera, Somaria, Trinia - just to name a few - would all be gathered around some sort of grand podium, and current world issues would be brought to the table for the discussion of peace and continued trade amongst the nations. The scholar beamed at the opportunity to represent Calatia at such an assembly.

Rose was actually finishing up her breakfast when Maverick had called her over. She decided it wouldn't hurt to talk to an old acquaintance, so she gathered her dishes and walked down to the Calatian. Upon hearing that she would be up on the surface in a little while, she smiled. When he asked how long ago their first meeting was, she replied, "Seven years, I do believe." And then she let her own mind wonder back to the Grand Summit....



Rose stood before King Doyle. "Lady Rose, as you know, the Grand Summit is being held here in Tarm City this year."

The general merely nodded her head. "Sir Genil is representing us."

"Not anymore. Apparently, a few buddies of him got him real drunk last night. I need you to attend instead."

"Doyle! Baris is sick! I should be home watching over him now! I can't attend the Summit!"

The king sighed. "I know Rose, and I'm sorry, but there's no one else I can turn to. Please, Rose. I'm asking you as a friend, not as your king. I promise you, I'll send a doctor to Baris."

It was Rose's turn to sigh. "Okay, I'll attend."

"Thank you, Rose. Just head on down to the Ballroom."

A few minutes later, she entered said Ballroom, taking a seat in the back. Please don't let anything happen to Baris, she thought, unaware that someone who would change her life forever would be sitting next to her soon.

The young scholar was almost lost in the grand castle of Tarm as he made his way to the ballroom, where he was told there would already be a large gathering of men and women from far off kingdoms. It was only with the help and escort of one of the country's Knights that he managed to find his way to the chamber on time, as without that man's assistance he would have been left wandering the corridors for hours, and would miss the assembly altogether. Such an embarrassment would weigh heavy on the young mage's heart, and so he was relieved when the Knight pushed open the door and showed him the ballroom.

What he saw was a colossal table, fashioned of sturdy oak and expertly put together as though a hundred carpenters had been working on it only moments ago. And seeing how this grand chamber was the ballroom of the castle - which would normally have been a large open room for just such a festivity - the table was obviously only a temporary addition. Seated around the table were many, many chairs, the backs of which stretched a few feet or so above head height. At the top of these there were detailed rectangular artworks painted on to the chairs, which clearly depicted the sovereign flag of each nation. Maverick's eyes darted busily around for one flag in particular, but it was not his own. Laying eyes on the ornate flag of Hyrule, his eyes shined wildly as he looked over the royal blue background and the golden bird on the foreground. Was it a falcon, a hawk, an eagle? Maverick would have to ask the delegate. Of course, a leaden lump formed in his gut as he saw that the king of Hyrule himself had shown up in that position. He looked a mite sickly, though...

At the end of the round table, he could see a woman sitting quietly, the flag of Tarm painted above her head. To the left of this delegate was the rich green flag of Calatia, an illustrious silver sword painted over it, passing through a decadent steel shield with a fancy C embellishing its face. The familiar flag greeted him, and he almost ran to take his seat. Turning to the woman, who appeared to be a few years his senior, he nodded respectfully. Although, unlike the young teenaged mage, Lady Rose Hillmound did not seem particularly thrilled to be present. “Good day, miss. I'm Solstrem Maverick, of Calatia. You must be the delegate for Holod--” His voice trailed off as he noticed that he was the only person present at the assembly still talking. Dead ahead of Rose, at the table's head, was a podium approximately three chairs wide. A thin, wiry man stood with an eyebrow raised, looking scornfully down at the men and women gathered.

“Ahem! We shall now commence the Grand Summit. It is my pleasure to introduce this year's delegates. You have all traveled a great distance, and it is Tarm's honor to show you the hospitality of Holodrum in this, our first ever hosting of the Grand Summit.” He gave a thick, throat-clearing cough and continued. “Ahem! I shall now introduce you to the delegates of each country!”

“From the musical land of Trinia, please welcome Beldam Maroc!”

“From the fiery kingdom of Incinera, please welcome Seika Infinite!”

“From the great -- “...

This went on for a few minutes, and Maverick was amazed by how many people had been gathered, and at how many kingdoms dotted the vast world. He exchanged winks with the delegate from Kydaria, and stared vaguely at the king of Hyrule, who seemed a little less... regal than he had been described as.

“From the forgotten land of the Dusk War, please welcome the nameless Grand Captain of the Royal Guard of Illisium!”

Illisium! So, it still exists? The soldier gazed to the right of Rose. There sat a woman in silver armor, a blue cape draped behind her as she sat. He observed the odd symbols on her shoulderplates, but lost interest as his eyes wandered to the flag. It was a serene looking thing, and he looked away before he became lost in its mystical prowess. Here I sit, with an actual Illisian sitting only two seats away! The scholar beamed at the opportunity to meet such a person. Amazing!

“From Tarm, the great kingdom in which you all currently sit, please welcome Lady Rose Hillmound!”

“From the sunny vales of Calatia, please welcome Solstrem Maverick!”

The mage smiled proudly as his name was recited, sitting taller and feeling truly enthralled. The man at the podium continued. “Now, the first issue that I must bring up is the one concerning Incinera.” He turned to the delegate of Remix's kingdom. “Incinera, tales from travelers who come to your great kingdom are the figures of dark omens. Please dictate to us the current affairs of war of Incinera, and what your King is planning. It is my understanding that he has been abdicating his throne as of late. Would you care to explain your country's situation to us?”

All eyes were upon the nephew of King Remix. Incinera was an aggressive country, and as the head of the Affairs of War department, this delegate had some explaining to do.

Huh... They call Incinera the aggressive country? Look at them; they could not wait for information on the throne of a weakened kingdom... I will lay waste to them all.

Seika stood, his maroon eyes directed at the podium. He was clearly calm, for not a bead of sweat could be found on his face. "The affairs of Incinera are... ominous, at best. Our king has... left on a journey... but he will return to power soon. As Lord of War Affairs, I have foreseen the possibility of attacks from the surrounding countries in Incinera Major, and have done all I can to prevent such attacks from succeeding. While the king is our primary concern at the moment, many other issues are arising within our country as well. Cults, rebellions, and treason are rampant. They say our king is... unfit to rule. They will be punished." A small tuft of his medium-length, silver hair fell into his left eye. He casually brushed it aside.

"In addition to our king's... absence... his young children are missing. This is of little importance, however. There are still heirs to take the throne..." ... and it will be me. "The final blow to our royal family takes the form of our queen's death. She will be sorely missed." Seika sat back down in his chair, awaiting information on the other countries; it seemed his motives had gone unnoticed.

Why am I even here? These fools will just use the information I gave them against us... Why has the king ordered me here?

Maverick watched the Incineran politician carefully, leaning back against his own chair and raising a curious eyebrow. The man's seemingly silver hair accented the high position he served as for his kingdom. The Calatian had heard tell of the land of Incinera, and that its king was not fit for the throne. These were mostly remarks made by commanding officers of Calatia's military, but he had heard the rumors from the mouths of tourists themselves. And this man, Seika, as Maverick recalled he had been introduced as, was one the King's leading advisors, it seemed.

He listened to Seika talk. Malice filled the attitude of the King's nephew. No other diplomat - as far as Maverick was aware - had caught the senior diplomat's statement of Incinera's heirs. Maverick was no fool! The Incineran seemed the treacherous type, but the scholar could not voice any concerns at the moment. As the war official took his seat, Maverick cast an unfavorable glare in his direction. Of course, Infinite was seated too far away to really notice the facial expressions of the boy without studying them hard.

After a moment or two of rabble and argumentative statements being thrown into the air - all of which went ignored by the podium man - order was was renewed by the hammering of a gavel. Maverick chuckled. He had not expected order to be lost so quickly.

“Mr. Infinite, I do apologize for your land's state of affairs. But I'm afraid if King Remix does not return to his throne, we will consider your nation leaderless and will be forced to annex the kingdom. I advise you to inform his Majesty Remix of this.” The podium man looked disturbed, as though speaking to Seika was a great burden. Not to mention Incinera's great peril. A King, mad with power, and the two royal children lost. It should have been blatantly obvious that Seika, the cousin of the young Hiro and Hiree, would assume succession to the throne. Not to the man at the podium, however. He greatly wished to move on.

Right, er, I... Next order of business! Somaria, we have noticed that your trade surplus of wheat has ------” Maverick slowly began to lose interest in the roundtable summit. He was a delegate, but an inexperienced one at that. He really didn't care about Somaria's exports, Incinera's lack of a King, or even the great Cuccoo escape in Northern Hyrule, which had left hundreds maimed and feather-covered as the angry masses of poultry took the nation by storm. His interests were focused on the delegates themselves. He already knew the Kydarian representative well - the King of the nation himself. People of interest included Seika Infinite, Rose Hillmound and the Grand Captain, whose name he really wanted to find out.

He was awakened from his daydrifting, as the sound of an explosion filled his ears. The summit had been running for nearly two hours now, and night had begun to form its dark vale over the wondrous kingdom of Tarm. The man at the podium jumped clean out of his footwear, and clutched the podium in fright. He looked left and right, scared for his life.

A guard rushed in. “The castle is under attack! Vigilantes, we think!” He slumped against the wall, fatigued after having ran all the way to the ballroom in his armor. The man at the podium yelped and ran for the door on the opposite side of the room, scrambling across the great table as he did so. “Well don't just sit there!” he bellowed thinly at the ambassadors. “Go see what the hell is going on out there!” He reached the other door and was lost from sight. Maverick observed the little scene and now had a new definition for the term 'coward.'

He stood up and smiled at Rose. “This is your country. Shall I assist you in relieving it of its attackers?” A curious grin formed on his lips as he spoke, making it quite obvious that he was ready for combat. He expected others present would join in, as well. No terrorists stood a chance against politicians!