“What?” Fiona said, more of a statement than a question, as if
she'd just woken from a deep sleep.
It was such a great noise that followed her response: a cacophony of
sound as Air whistled, Earth rumbled, Fire crackled and Water rushed.
“Is there more,” Earth ground as the noise dies away, “You
would have this council consider before we retire to reach our
decision?”
“What?” she asked again, still getting her bearings I thought.
“Yes, oh yes. Definitely.” She stopped, took a deep breath,
then looked at Strauss with a very suspicious eye. I don't know what
she could see beneath his all engulfing robe, but something there
kept stealing her attention.
“Well?” Fire demanded as moments began to stretch.
“The Forest cannot ignore the Weave,” Fiona started, her
attention snapping back to the room, “That much we all know. Nor
can things be allowed to continue as they have, recent history has
made that all too clear. The question this council must answer, and
the decision it must make, is not whether to engage with the Weave in
the future, but how.”
