Untitled; excerpt 2 – The people

Prophesy

The Scholars worked hand in hand with the court of Sages, poring over the tomes of Vagorn and Symmahra for clues or misinterpretations, something that was common, unfortunately, for the people of Elbrock. The language these volumes were written in was not spoken aloud any longer for belief that it was the entities who spoke this language who caused the Great War. The Waetll, or conjurors in common language, were the authors of this massive library. More than two-hundred and fifty years ago, they were silenced and moved away from the commoners for both of their protection.
The Waetll did not maintain their language in writing. The only way it could be learned was to be passed from mother to son or father to daughter as a way of preserving the importance of both sexes. A select few in the court of Sages knew some of the language of the Waetll, but were far from fluent.
The governor of Elbrock, Shaen Atoll, a pompous and arrogant man of eighty, forced the court into Vagorn’s Keep to get answers to the premature change in climate. They attempted to rebut his demands for information as they could not decipher any further without the help of a Waetll, but their pleas may have well been cast into the wind. He demanded that they find the information he wanted and gave strict orders to the Keep’s guard to eliminate any of the Sages who attempted to contact the Waetll.
Governor Atoll was more than concerned about the Temoc. Not that he cared about the celebration or the prophesized bountiful rebound. His true interests lay in his re-election in the spring. If the Temoc did not go as expected, the people of the township would be outraged. He could not afford an additional outcry like the one the week prior when the stores began rationing supplies. He sent forth the Elbrock Guard to squash the uprising quickly, but could not dispatch them too often without the elders stepping in. He needed this re-election to gain positive control of them. Once the elders were removed from their seats, he would be able to govern Elbrock fully. Then there would be no need for leniency. Fear would keep the citizens in line.
…

Questions unanswered

 
Shell grew tired and frustrated. She knew there was something the elders of Lee were not telling the people, and she determined to find out what it was. Several times, she attempted to talk discreetly to the elders as she found them by themselves, but they offered nothing more than fervid glances, or she was brushed off with claims that the weather was only slightly out of the ordinary. She finally decided to confront them where they could not so easily blow her off.
The next township council meeting was in two days. She would address them with her concerns in front of the council and the leaders of Lee’s industrial branches. She just needed to figure out how to get into the meeting. Women did not sit on the council nor had they been allowed to attend the meetings since the conclusion of the Great War.
…
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These excerpts are from a new project novel I am working on. I am using them sparingly in my writers community, Story Dam.
(You can read excerpt 1 here.)
This was submitted to a monthly “long prompt” based on sharing “the people in your world” with the group. The passage or story is to work toward a longer piece of work, rather than short fiction.
Stay tuned for more monthly releases. And definitely visit the Story Dam writing community at https://storydam.com.