CHAPTER II: MISSED ARROWS

Carmine notched another arrow into his longbow. The target loomed ahead of him as he struggled to concentrate. He was usually a skilled archer but today's training had produced an intermittent stream of eights and nines. He pulled the bowstring to his cheek and tried to focus his breathing. One ten, he reasoned. One ten and I'm done for the day. He paused a moment, then fired. The projectile sailed in a smooth arc and embedded itself in the wood of the target, just an inch to the left of the ten point circle. Carmine cursed and cast his bow aside. Absent-mindedly, he glanced over the stone sundial that sat in the centre of the garden. He was low on time. Soon he would have to present himself at the senate. He would have no spare moment to arrange a carriage. He took a deep breath and dissipated into mist. He was using misting; a challenging ability for even the most advanced elemental magic users. The trick involved converting the body molecules into mist, and controlling them as a single group to traverse long distances.

Even more challenging, Carmine was a felve, using the distant ties nature magic to elemental magic to bend the elements to his will. He reappeared in the sky court, the senate house that floated in the sky in an unknown and secret location. He paused to catch his breath. Complicated elemental magic such as this always left him depleted. He watched as the other senators materialised around him. When all were present, they took their seats. Carmine, the current coordinator of the council, spoke first.

"I'm sure we all remember where we left off," he muttered. It wasn't easy to forget the arguments that had flared up over the wolf-slayer. It had even deteriorated to the point where wolf ambassadors were drawing their claws and humans were brandishing various magic items. "I hope we can act civilised today. Humans, we'll hear you first." The foremost human ambassador, a tall, lanky warrior with dark clothes and darker hair, stood up. Carmine vividly remembered him sitting quietly as the argument flared up. It was only when he rose and took his sword from its scabbard that the argument died down. There were rumours that the sword could control anyone it came into contact with. Carmine wasn't sure, but he wasn't about to find out.

"The humans' stand on the wolf-slayer is clear. She is in no way associated with the united human federation. She is not registered on any of our birth records. She is not a citizen of any of our conjoined states or republics. As far as the federation is concerned, the wolf-slayer is not a human." A wolf ambassador stood and yelled out "But what of the treaty?!" The warrior tightened his grip on his obsidian black rapier but otherwise kept his cool. "The treaty is stated between the bone-claw republic and the human federation. No citizens of our nation have even harmed a wolf since the treaty. Take heed not to lump this traitor in with the rest. And take me up on this." He slid the sword out of its scabbard. Upon the chance that I meet this assassin, I will kill her myself."

Discussion whipped around the room in hushed tones. Everyone knew that it was forbidden for a human to kill another human. But what this human was suggesting was that, by being unregistered to the federation, the wolf-slayer could not be seen as a human under the law. It was a risky but clever move. Carmine stood. "If what you say is honest," he began, "then tell us your name, so we may hold you accountable." The lanky soldier slammed his sword back into the scabbard. "My name is Hamish Arc, and I mean every word I say."