Spring Break
Chapter 9
By Rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

The people begin to fill the Grand Hall. Everyone is walking up the aisles to get to their seats. All kingdoms are present. Everybody looks around to see who has come. However, some are saddened to see that the First Ones from Maranelle Islands are not present. The First Ones who are present take note of the absence, but shake their heads knowing why they’re not there. There are fairies flying around to each of the First Ones whispering into their ears. They nod their heads in understanding to what is being said. They keep a straight face as they look around the room.

Then the crowd hears the trumpets sounding their loud call. Everyone gets quiet for the moment.

Then the Grand King begins to walk up the center floor aisle to center stage. He turns around and faces the crowd. He smiles as he raises his hand and looks around.

“Welcome, Twainor to the Grand Ceremony for the Outside Helpers.”

The crowd begins to clap and cheer to the announcement. King Dryden raises his hand again to quiet the crowd after a few moments.

“Today is the day Twainor gets to be counted among the other worlds in the Local Group. There are about a dozen worlds in the group who have agreed to help out each other when trouble comes.”

Some cheers erupt again. King Dryden raises his hand again. “We remember the day that the emissaries came to our world. Their main star ship stayed near our Twin Moons. They sent a small scout ship to our surface. A lot of discoveries happened that day.” There is some laughter heard, but it is not loud.

“First the emissaries had a rough landing onto our world’s surface. We came to their aid to see if they were injured. They were not hurt, but they were disappointed about their craft not working again. They put the best face forward and accepted our hospitality. As they lived among us for the next few days they discovered the magic of our world.”

Some cheers erupted again. King Dryden raises his hand again.

“Yes, they became very happy when they found a way to get back to their star ship. They even saw us use our crystal spheres to communicate with our friends on Twainor. They asked if they can take some of these crystals so that they can study them. They became confident that this would be the best way to contact us when they come back again. We gave our permission to do so.”

Some more people clap and quieted down.

“With our wizards we were able transport them back to the star ship. We were able to bring their scout ship back to the star ship but that took about five or six wizards to accomplish. The next day we received a message from them on our contact crystals. This confirmed that they found a way to contact us. They would contact us for our decision if we wanted to join them two years from this day.”

“We argued for many moons over the matter. There were some kingdoms that rejected the idea all together. But most remember the times of our first war. We realized we cannot be alone if a power comes and decides to destroy our world before we had a chance to defend ourselves.”

Again more people clap their hands as well.

“In time we agreed to be part of the Local Group. It would be two years before we heard from them again. When they did contact us, we received word that the other worlds agreed that we can join their Local Group and be counted among the Maker’s Creation.”

Then the people cheered some more. King Dryden raises his hand to quiet the crowd.

“Then we asked the emissaries how are we to contact our Outside Helpers.”

“They told us to have faith where the Maker sends it from your contact crystals but it must be done all at the same time.”

“We thought about it for several days. The reason why we hesitated is that we never sent a message beyond our world. But we knew we must try. So we decided to arrange a specific day and time. So the time was set for when our Twin Moons are in the sky together and in a straight line to Twainor. I am glad to say that the Maker rewarded our efforts for our combined faith. ”

The crowd to begin to cheer and clap loudly, the King Dryden makes the announcement above the noise.

“I present to you, the Outside Helpers of Twainor!”

Everyone cheers, claps, neighs. Fairies are flying around in joy. Dragons roar into the air. Centaurs stomp their front feet while they clap and cheer.

The door to the left opens up and out walk the Outside Helpers with their escorts by their sides. They walk in a row up to the stage. They turn and face the crowd. They bow to the crowd and smiling and waving to everyone. The crescendo of applause reverberates throughout the Grand Hall.

After awhile King Dryden raises his hand to quiet the assembly.

“Thank you for that grand welcome Twainor. Honored guests and escorts please take your seats here on the stage.”

The twelve bow their heads and raise them up as did King Dryden did. The escorts lead them to two rows of chairs. The Outside Helpers sit on the front row while their corresponding escort sits behind them. The chairs are spaced out so that the escorts can come forward between the chairs if they need to.

“Today we honor our Outside Helpers as honorary members of Twainor and their respected kingdoms.”

Clapping of hands is heard throughout the Grand Hall.

“As each Outside Helper comes up with their escort; they will give their name and where they are from. Then they will give a brief summary of their abilities and what their world is like. I would like to remind them there is a time limit to each one. We don’t need to hear every detail like we have heard the past few days. We have someone who will give me a signal when your time slot is done if you go over.” He smiles and laughs.

The rest of Twainor laughs as well.

“Good. When each one is done, then their respective King or Queen comes up and puts the medallion around their necks. Let’s begin with Correlle Kingdom and go right down the line. Outside Helper from Correlle Kingdom, please come forward.”

Tek stands up and his escort walks by his side. He bows his head to King Dryden and turns to face the audience.

“My name is Tek. My age is thirty years according to your counting. I am from the star system Quetzal, fourth planet Takron. My escort's name is Sir Dareh. My specialty is in bio tech environmental systems. This is a study of taking care of the land and keeps it from getting polluted. My world is covered in thick clouds ninety percent of the time. Rarely do we see a clear sky and the stars at night. But we have built devices that allow us to view the heavens with ease. There is no magic on our world like yours. We have built star ships that allow us to explore our system only. We have just started to venture past our system. I am honored to be your Outside Helper for Correlle of Twainor. Thank you.” Tek bows to the audience and rises up and smiles. Everybody claps their hands. Of course the section for Correlle Kingdom stands while they clap and cheer louder. King Keltan and his Queen come forward, arm in arm and walk up to the stage.

A page comes up with a medallion resting on a velvet pillow. The medallion has two crystal spheres. The spheres are clear like glass. Circling around the two spheres is filigree metal art work with the color scheme for Correlle Kingdom of blue, yellow and red. There are twelve small crystals set in the filigree evenly spaced out around the perimeter.

King Keltan picks up the medallion and Tek steps forward and bows his head. King Keltan then places the medallion around his neck. He raises his head back up and smiles at King Keltan and his Queen. Everyone present in the Grand Hall claps with Correlle Kingdom clapping and cheering loudly like before.

King Dryden motions his hand for Tek to sit back down. Tek walks back to his with escort sitting behind him. Then King Keltan and his Queen walk back to their seats in their section.

Grand King Dryden then introduces the next Outside Helper. "Outside Helper from Angathorn Kingdom, please come forward."

A man stands up with his escort and walks to the front part of the stage. "My name is Brentann. I am from the star system Aurigae, third planet Capella 3. My escort's name is Sir Eamon. My specialty is mining and geology. My world is very mountainous with many valleys. Our narrow and deep rift valleys are filled for our oceans and fish life. Our higher valleys have wild animals accustomed to all elevation levels. Our world is primarily an avian world and no magic is found. We used our largest birds for transport for a thousand years until we learned how to create our own machines a few hundred years ago. Our avian birds can talk to us with great understanding and intelligence like your dragons here. I am honored to meet them."

All of the dragons in the Grand Hall stand erect with pride and smile at each other when they hear those last statements.

"Some of our cities are underground and on the surface. We have explored our star system and we are just beginning to explore outside the system right now. I am honored to be your Outside Helper for Angathorn of Twainor. Thank you." Brentann bows he head and rises up. Queen Lorinor comes and stands by her king. She is escorted by a knight in her group.

A page comes up with a medallion resting on a velvet pillow. Just like the previous one, but has its own color scheme for Angathorn Kingdom of gold, yellow and orange. Queen Lorinor comes forward and is escorted by their Legion Commander and stands next to King Dryden.

King Dryden picks up the medallion and Brentann steps forward and bows his head. King Dryden places the medallion around his neck, and then Brentann rises up with smiles. Everyone begins to cheer, with Angathorn being the loudest.

Brentann walks back to his seat with his escort behind him. "Outside Helper from Svedean Kingdom please come forward." Queen Lorinor is escorted back and returns to her seat.

This time a lady stands and walks forward with her escort following her. She stands next to King Dryden. "My name is Iulia. I'm from the star system Pegasii Beta, fourth planet Marchab 4. There is no magic on my world like it is here. My escort is Sir Calder. My specialty is language. My world has the ability the pick up any language by hearing it and then speaking it immediately with understanding. Many worlds in our area recruit us to be their translators. Our world has several cities floating in the air among the clouds. Our planet surface is slowly recovering from the damage we did from our wars a thousand years ago. Hopefully we will be able to go back to the surface in another two hundred years. We have explored our system and beyond. I am honored to be your Outside Helper for Svedean Kingdom. Thank you." Iulia bows her head and raises it up with a beautiful smile.

King Deverell and Queen Ellena come forward for the presentation. A page comes forward with a medallion similar to the others with its own color scheme for Svedean Kingdom of blue, silver and green. The King and Queen pick up the medallion with their right hands. Iulia bows her head, and then the King and Queen place the medallion around her neck. She raises her head with a beautiful smile again. Everyone cheers like before with Svedean Kingdom being the loudest.

Sir Calder escorts her back to her among the rest of the Outside Helpers. King Dryden looks out in the audience. "That finishes the first region. Will the Outside Helper from Evenshard Kingdom please come forward?" King Deverell and Queen Ellena return to their seats.

Another lady stands up with her escort and they both walk forward to stand next to King Dryden. She speaks to the twelve kingdoms. "My name is Kanyaa. I'm from the Beta Cygnii system. My home world is Albireo Three. When we use our special abilities, we get accused by other star systems of being strange or someone who dabbles in the black arts, but that is our type of magic. Your horses were very surprised that someone can finally speak to them and have a decent conversation." Kanyaa giggles... then some others in the Grand Hall laugh as well.

Kanyaa continues speaking, "Sir Lochlin is my escort. My specialty is in animal care, that includes domesticated and wild types. My world is a plant kingdom with mountains, plains and swamps for oceans. We have many kinds of animals both big and small. Most of my people have the ability to communicate with the animals and other people through our minds and take care of their needs if they get hurt or injured. We are an empathic world. This allows us to know what is happening on our world if something is wrong or right. We have explored our system well. We have discovered two other worlds in our system that has animal and plant life that is unique to each one. I am honored to be your Outside Helper for Evenshard Kingdom. Thank you."

King Beltrane and Queen Darissa come forward. The page comes forward with a medallion of a similar design. The medallion has the color scheme of purple, white and silver. Kanyaa lowers her head to accept the medallion. When she rises her head back up. She smiles to everyone as everyone cheers and claps. Again Evenshard Kingdom is the loudest.

Sir Lochlin escorts her back to the other Outside Helpers. King Dryden makes the next announcement. "Will the Outside Helper from Tryllion Kingdom please come forward?" King Beltrane and Queen Darissa return to their seats.

This time a man comes forward with his escort and stands next to King Dryden. "My name is Hikaru, I'm from the star system Zaniah Alpha, my planet is Morinao 3. We definitely do not have magic on our world. My escort is Sir Chayton. I had a sparring practice with my escort on my first day; he has proven himself to be trained well in his kingdom. My specialty is in hand to hand combat as an art form and for warriors. My world has respect for those who can do the personal battle. When weapons are used from afar, we see them with no respect. Except for Evrat, he has my respect after a one-on-one match we just had recently." Hikaru turns to Evrat, "Thank you for correcting me, Evrat."

Evrat nods his head with a smile, "until next time."

"Indeed, until next time," Hikaru laughs, then the other kingdoms laugh as well. Hikaru turns and faces the audience, "I am honored to be your Outside Helper for Tryllion Kingdom. Thank you."

King Quentin and Queen Brianne come forward arm in arm. The page walks forward with the medallion on the velvet pillow like the others. The medallion has the color scheme of gold, purple and blue. Hikaru lowers his head to receive the medallion around his neck. Once in place, Hikaru stands up and gives a short bow to his King and Queen again. They do they same. All three are smiling. Then the place erupts with cheering and clapping like before, with Tryllion Kingdom being the loudest. Hikaru smiles and bows to the crowd and rises up.

Sir Chayton escorts Hikaru back to his seat. "Will the Outside Helper from Antarte Kingdom please come forward?" King Quentin and Queen Brianne return to their seats.

Then a man stands up and is escorted to the front part of the stage and stands next to King Dryden. "My name is Chls, I'm from the star system Leonisi, my planet is Regulus 4. There is no magic on my world. My world is part of the Local Group here. My escort is Sir Haben. My specialty is plant life and herbs. My world is a plant kingdom similar to Kanyaa's. She didn't say it; we only eat plants, fruits and nuts. We do not eat meat of any kind. But I will say this, your selection of herbs and spices for your meals are excellent. Thank you for tantalizing my taste buds with them and your fruits."

Everyone laughs and claps in the Grand Hall. King Dryden smiles and raises his hand to quiet the people.

"When I checked your assortment of healing herbs, I was impressed with what you found and collected so far. I did point out some other plants on your world to them for other ailments that you might come across some day and how to prepare them. I am honored to be your Outside Helper for Antarte Kingdom. Thank you."

King Nazar and Queen Corissa walks forward and up onto the stage. The page comes forward with the medallion on the velvet pillow. It has the color scheme of dark green, green and light green. Chls lowers his head to receive the medallion. The King and Queen picked up the chain together and placed the medallion around his neck. He raises his head with a smile. Everyone in the Grand Hall cheers and claps, with Antarte Kingdom being the loudest.

Sir Haben escorts Chls back to his seat. King Nazar and Queen Corissa return to their seats.

"Now we go on to the next region. Will the Outside Helper from Laurentil Islands Kingdom please come forward?"

A man stands up with his escort. He walks forward with him walking two steps behind him. He stands next to King Dryden. "My name is Geve; I'm from the star system Eridanni Beta. My world is Sceptrum 2. There is no magic on my world, but some have said our technology is like magic. My escort is Sir Neron. My specialty is power generation. My world is highly mechanized; we use all sorts of sources to power our machines in the water, the land and in the air. When I came here and learned that your Ethereal Space prevents you from having electrical machinery, I was highly disappointed. That was until I met your dwarves and learned how innovative they are in the mountains. They reminded me how my world was a long time ago. Thank you dwarves for the lesson reminder on passive powered machines such as wind mills, water wheels, steam power, etc." Geve laugh. The dwarves laugh as well. Then everybody laughs in the Grand Hall.

King Dryden smiles and raises his hand to quiet the crowd.

"Once I saw that, I provided them additional ideas for other uses. I am honored to be your Outside Helper for the Laurentil Islands Kingdom. Thank you."

King Gregor and Queen Lilianne walk forward arm in arm and step up to the stage. Another page walks forward with the medallion resting on a velvet pillow. Its color scheme is purple, orange and silver. Geve bows his head to receive the medallion. King Gregor picks it up and places it around his neck. He stands and smiles. They smile back as well. Geve turns to the audience and bows as well. Everybody cheers and claps like before, with Laurentil Islands being the loudest.

Sir Neron escorts Geve back to his seat. King Dryden announces the next Outside Helper. "Will the Outside Helper from the Maranelle Islands Kingdoms step forward?" King Gregor and Queen Lilianne return to their seats.

A thin man stands up, his escort stands up and walks behind him to the front part of the stage. He stands next to King Dryden. "My name is Belisar, I'm from the star system Carpricor Gamma, my home world is Deneb 4. We have no magic on my world like it is here. My escort is Sir Peridan. My specialty is in law and making sure everyone has an equal voice in the courts. In the district where I live, I'm the District Prosecutor. When I came here at first and heard you rule with Kings and Queens, I was very skeptical at first. I kept my opinions to myself until I met your people and see how they are treated in their Kingdoms. I'm glad to say your Kings and Queens rule very fairly and for the good of the Kingdom and Twainor."

~~~000~~~

They're weak and afraid. Wait until I rule, then we'll see who is weak. Curse them both. I can't wait to get my hands on that wizard in training I demoted. Apparently that was not enough for him. He still disrespects me.

~~~000~~~

"My world is highly structured around judges and the court system. All disagreements are settled in the courts before they erupt into wars. We've had no wars for a thousand years."

~~~000~~~

Bah.... courts are useless; they take too much time to solve disputes. When I become King of Twainor, judgment will be swift and sure. My word will be law; no one will question me or disrespect me.

~~~000~~~

"I'm honored to be your Outside Helper for the Maranelle Islands Kingdom. Thank you."

King Hilmar and Queen Mirielle stand up and walk forward to the stage. A page walks forward with a medallion resting on a velvet pillow. The color scheme for this medallion is blue, red and orange. Belisar bows his head to receive the medallion. King Hilmar picks up the medallion and places it around his neck. Belisar rises up with a smile and turns toward the twelve kingdoms. Again everyone cheers and claps. However, the kingdom for Maranelle Islands is not very loud because their First Ones are not present in the Grand Hall or in the pavilion outside.

This silence is noted by the other First Ones and they nod their heads to the other First Ones. They don't cheer and clap but stand in silence to be in solidarity with those who refuse to be here in attendance.

Sir Peridan escorts Belisar back to his seat on the back part of the stage. "That was a most interesting round of applause, Twainor. Hopefully we will find out some day why this is so."

Then some rumbling of words is heard throughout the Grand Hall. King Dryden raises his hand to quiet them. "Will the Outside Helper from Nevidre Kingdom please come forward?" King Hilmar and Queen Mirielle return to their seats.

Another lady stands up, her escort stands up and walks behind her. She comes to a stop and stands next to King Dryden. "My name is Alia, I am from the Sagitarii Alpha star system. My home world is Terebellum 3. There is no magic on my world. When we do get visitors from other worlds they have a hard time adjusting to our gravity. My escort is Sir Corcc. My specialty is health, body and mind. The gravity on my world is one-quarter of your gravity. Our water is found underground. When I was brought here, I did not have my gravity assist belt on when we visit other worlds. Fortunately your Master Wizard and Sorceress came up with a solution to keep me standing and walking around. Thank goodness you have magic on your world, or my escort would have to carry me around from place to place. Which on the other hand is not a bad idea, ladies,” She giggles... Some of the other women giggle as well in the audience.

"The reality for me is this, because of our low gravity; we can use and expand our minds to do many things. For me, my mind is greatly tuned to the nuance of the body when it becomes ill; all I have to do is touch your skin to make contact and to diagnose the problem. I can be very formidable in helping to find a cure for an illness if one occurs. Even though your white light that enveloped me to disarm any illness I might have and bring me here safely, it is not needed for me. No illness can enter in my body because of my body self-defenses, but we can be injured if we are not careful like anybody else. Also when I touch somebody, we can talk to each other in our minds."

"I'm honored to be your Outside Helper for the Nevidre Kingdom. Thank you."

King Sherwyn and Queen Aphira stand up and walk forward. When they arrive on the stage, a page is standing there with another medallion on a velvet pillow. This medallion has three colors blue, gold and green for its color scheme. She lowers her head to receive the medallion. Queen Aphira elects to put the medallion on her neck. Alia raises her head up and smiles. Everyone begins to clap and cheer. Everyone Nevidre roared for approval to be the loudest.

Sir Corcc escorts her back to her seat. King Sherwyn and Queen Aphira return to their seats.

"We are now to the last region. Will the Outside Helper from Ringol Kingdom please come forward?"

The last lady stands, her escort stands up walks behind her. She comes to a stop and stands next to King Dryden. "My name is Ariella; I am from the Taurii Beta. My star system is part of the Local Group here. My home world is Maia 3. On my world there is no magic like you have it here. My escort's name is Sir Regis. My specialties are being a surgeon and help heal the body of injuries. I am amazed by the magic here on this world and how you use it to help others. I often wondered why I was brought here for the longest time. I kept my sadness to myself all this time. Your Master Sorceress in Ringol Kingdom saw my distress and tried to help me understand the situation since I have been here."

"We use tools to aide us in our wards. Most of these tools use electrical power. When all of the Outside Helpers were together for the first time this morning in the waiting room; then it dawned on me why I am here. There is nothing to prevent me in aiding and helping your injured. I realize now there could be injuries beyond what magic can do. Richard just provided me some insight on how to use your magic to see inside the body before surgery. With the aid of your sleep darts and sleep spells, I can go inside and repair the damage organs. I can work on any living thing, be it the citizens of Twainor, your First Ones or your wildlife to help heal faster."

"Please forgive me, my king and queen." Ariella bows her head and raises it up. "I am honored to be your Outside Helper for Ringol Kingdom."

King Jeriel and Queen Taima walk forward and step up to the stage. A page has walked up to the stage already with a medallion on a velvet pillow. The color scheme for the medallion is red, light blue and gold.

"You're easily forgiven Ariella. That is all we ask for, to do your best. Your friends helped you to remember how life was before electrical power became common place in your world. If you were here during our First War, you would have saved many lives. Now you can help us with your techniques so that we can take better care of our friends here on Twainor."

"Thank you, my King and Queen." She bows her head to receive the medallion. Once she rises up, she has a wide smile. Queen Taima holds her hands out and Ariella steps forward and hugs her. King Jeriel pats her shoulder as he smiles. The two ladies break apart and smile at each other with some tears in their eyes. Everybody in the Grand Hall erupts in cheers and clapping of hands with Ringol Kingdom being the loudest.

Ariella turns around and faces the audience. She bows her head and raises it up. She turns around and is escorted back to her chair by her escort. King Jeriel and Queen Taima return to their seats.

King Dryden addresses everyone in the Grand Hall. "Will the Outside Helper from Eirecann Kingdom please come forward?"

Then the most unusual proportioned man stands up. His arms are shorter than most people that I have seen. His arms are the same length as his torso. But, what give him his height are his longer legs. His escort stands and walks with him to the front part of the stage. They are both the same height. They are at least foot higher than me.

"My name is Evrat; I'm from the Scorpii Delta star system. My home world is Jabbah Delta. My escort's name is Sir Hegarth. We have no magic on my world either. My specialty is designing and building weapons to be used near at hand and disabling enemy weapons from afar. Because of the wars on my world we soon realized we were killing ourselves from existence. So the nations on my world came together and hammered out a peace pact. I am glad to say that peace has stayed on our world for eight hundred years. We have been approached by other star systems to make weapons for them. We knew what they were going to be used for. So we declined all offers that involve killing people at all. The only weapons we sell are to disable the enemy's weapons and ships from near and afar so that the people still live."

We hear some applause from the audience.

Evrat continues, "When I arrived here yesterday in our pavilion, it was not too long that I received a challenge from another Outside Helper. He challenged me to a one on one match. The winner would be in superior position while the loser is on his backside. We each looked to our Kings for approval. It was agreed as long as no one gets seriously hurt. So we both agreed to the match."

Evrat sees King Dryden make a motion his hands to end the speech, “I wish I can explain the match. But I will say this; Hikaru got more than he bargained for in the match." He smiles widely. "You will just have to watch the recording of it on the crystals. So until next time Hikaru, I await your challenge again." Evrat laughs and so did some others in the Grand Hall. "I am honored to be the Outside Helper for Eirecann Kingdom. Thank you."

King Loran and Queen Rosanna stand up and walk forward. They step up to the stage and stand in between King Dryden and Evrat. A page walks up with a medallion on a velvet pillow like the others. The color scheme for this medallion is yellow, silver, and green. King Loran picks up the chain of the medallion. Evrat bends his torso almost horizontally to receive the medallion. He raises his torso back up, again everyone in the Grand Hall erupts into applause, cheering and clapping with Eirecann Kingdom being the loudest. After a few bows Evrat turns around and is escorted back to his chair among the other Outside Helpers. King Loran and Queen Rosanna return to their seats.

After almost two marks they finally get to me, about time.

“The last Outside Helper will now finally be announced. Will the Outside Helper from Thryson Kingdom, please come forward?”

I stand up and Sir Halgren comes behind me and we walk to center stage next to Grand King Dryden. I bow my head to King Dryden as he does himself and raise my head. I turn to face the crowd and smile.

“My name is Richard Moore; my age is twenty years old. I am from the star system Sol, third planet Earth. My specialty is in computers and security with a good understanding of mathematics and sciences.” I hear some rumbling voices in the audience, but they get quiet when I continue to speak. "We have yet to venture out of our solar system. We have only sent manned space craft to land on our moon and the fourth planet called Mars. We just built our first moon base about three years ago. We also build telescopes that allow us to view the heavens from our surface and near orbit around our planet. We have sent devices into space to go past our planets to explore remotely. We have no magic on my world either, so we make machinery inventions and electrical devices to make our lives easier. I am honored to be your Outside Helper for Thryson Kingdom. Thank you.” I bow my head to the audience and I see and hear a roar of applause from everyone with Thryson Kingdom being the loudest as they stand as well.

King Tierion and Queen Shiranna come up arm and arm up to the stage. A page comes up as well with a medallion resting on a velvet pillow. It is just like the other medallions but it has the color scheme for Thryson Kingdom of red, purple and yellow. King Tierion picks up the medallion. I see a proud and grand smile from the King Tierion and King Dryden and Queen Shiranna. I bow my head and King Tierion places the medallion around my neck. I rise up and smile back as well.

Then everybody begins to cheer and clap like before with Thryson Kingdom being the loudest. King Tierion and Queen Shiranna walk back to their seats. I walk back to my chair with Sir Halgren escorting me.

King Dryden raises his hand to quiet the crowd again. He shouts out loud, “Twainor, I present to you again, the Outside Helpers of Twainor. He steps back to the side of the stage. All twelve of us stand up with our escorts standing behind us. The twelve Outside Helpers all bow forward and rise up. Then we just stand there as everyone stands and erupts to a loud crescendo of cheers, clapping and creating noise in the grand hall. Even the escorts behind us are cheering and clapping as well. We wave to the crowd to acknowledge all.

This went on several moments. Once King Dryden determined it was long enough. He steps to the middle of the stage and raises his hand to calm everyone down. Once it quiets down he begins to speak.

“Thank you, Twainor. You may be seated. That concludes the Ceremonies for the Outside Helpers. We now move into a meeting style. It has been agreed by the twelve kingdoms to have an interim meeting to go over the status and health of Twainor. Then there will be another matter that we will have to discuss that affects all of Twainor.”

I hear some rustling and settling in the chairs as everyone gets re-positioned.

"Normally, we break for a quarter-mark and then we come back and resume. But we have a lot of information to cover this morning. The twelve kingdoms agreed to this format several days ago. There will be an excellent noon repast in the Grand Dining Room; the kitchen staff is working tirelessly to get ready for all."

I hear some more rumbling through the crowds.

~~~000~~~

Oh, don't worry, King Dryden, when the day is done you will feel real energized for the rest of your life. Heh, heh, heh...

~~~000~~~

"We'll go in the same order as we just did with the Ceremonies moments ago. These are just brief summaries so that we have an idea how our world is getting along. You can express some worries if you wish such as problems with the crops, the rains, or the good things that are happening in your kingdom. Correlle Kingdom you're up first."

King Keltan stands up and walks forward and steps up to the stage and turns around.

"Thank you, King Dryden, greetings Twainor. For the most part everything is running smoothly in Correlle Kingdom. The only headache of late is we are getting the usual reports of disputes with the rivers and who has the rights to dock their ships to unload their goods. It looks like we'll have to expand our piers to accommodate the increase in traffic. Thank you."

~~~000~~~

I hear some laughter from the audience. Apparently it is a common problem. They're growing, now they have to improvise.

~~~000~~~

King Keltan walks back to his seat. The people clap their hands.

The next king comes forward and gives his summary, which is King Dryden himself.

"That would be me, Twainor, since I am the Grand King of Twainor. I will speak last so that I can make a proper and informed comment about Angathorn Kingdom and Twainor. Svedean Kingdom, will you please come forward?"

King Deverell walks forward and steps up onto the stage. "Thank Grand King Dryden, greetings Twainor. I am glad to say....."

After all of the Kings and Queens have given their summaries; King Dryden walks back up to the stage from the left. I watch him as he walks up. He gives me a single wink with his left eye and smiles. I give a smile as well while trying to look forward and not turn the head. I sit real still so as not to draw attention.

King Dryden stands in the center of the stage. "That's very good , Twainor. Now I can give the last summary from hearing all that. For Angathorn Kingdom all is well for the most part. Since we are the host Kingdom for all of Twainor; we ask for some courtesy and politeness when you come to our kingdom for the annual contests like the Sea Gala for instance. Now it has been brought to my attention for a suggestion. At one time we had other Kingdoms host these events to bring them honor and some money into their kingdom."

"We also know that not every kingdom can host these events. So here is the suggestion. Since we have four regions, how about having the events on a rotation basis once a year? On the fourth year it is here as usual. In order for the other two kingdoms in the region to receive a share in the income; the shop owners from these two kingdoms can set up their portable shops in the streets near the arenas. The income from the arenas is split three ways evenly among the three kingdoms. The people from the other nine kingdoms will come in and lodge in the inns throughout the region so that they are not left out of the additional income."

Then everyone begins to clap and cheer to the idea.

King Dryden raises his hand to quiet the twelve kingdoms down. "That is the basic outline. We still have some time to discuss this year and other matters that are important. Thank you, Twainor."

Every ones claps again.

"Thank you for those summaries. Apparently some of the kingdoms have some issues that need to be worked out. But, that was the purpose of giving them a chance to speak. If a kingdom needs help, you know where you can go to offer that help. Thank you, Twainor."

"Now we must go on to a very important matter. I think it is time for our Outside Helpers to know what happened two or three generations ago when we had our First War."

~~~000~~~

Then I hear some more rumbling of low voices through the audience. Interesting, most of them just got nervous.

~~~000~~~

"The reason is that this was our very first war ever here on Twainor. It will be good for review so that we won't forget it for a long time. I have asked the two historians in my kingdom to come forward to give the story up to a certain point. Then we will discuss it and ask questions about it afterwards."

~~~000~~~

What is this old man doing? Why should we dredge this up? Sigh, all right let's see where this is going. This better not put me to sleep.

~~~000~~~

The two historians come up. A man and woman walking side by side and walk up to the center stage. King Dryden walks to the stage on the left hand side and sits on his throne.

They begin to sing the song just the way I heard it the other day in Thryson Kingdom. But it was a little different in melody and song, but the words are the same.