Though the Sitheri were one clan, one race out of the many that could be found in their corner of the galaxy and even just on Khaosali, the planet they all lived on, they were varied as a people. Some of them had more human appearances and some were more beastly, with horns and spikes and leathery skin. There were various stages of the in between as well, especially since marrying outside of the clan had become popular.
The Council sought to represent all of the Sitheri, so the diverseness of the people was echoed in the members in the room.
Carver looked over all of them and then let out a breath. "As you all know by now, Angen has passed. His spirit has gone on to the stars, and he will be dearly missed. In his last hours, he told us who would be the next to lead the Sitheri, and in his wisdom, he has appointed both my brother and myself as the new leaders."
Silence greeted the pronouncement, and it was easy to see the surprise on the varied faces in front of him. Some of the members looked to Ithril for confirmation, and he just shrugged and nodded.
"Well, then," said Marsh, one of the more beastly looking of the group. "The leader's word is law."
"The leader's word is law," the others murmured, though a few still looked disturbed.
"It is," Ithril agreed. "Shall we be seated?"
From there, it was all fairly routine. The Council members asked for more information about Angen's passing, which Carver and Ithril supplied when they knew the answers. They spoke about the current state of things with the Des'kos, and while Carver seemed in favor of continuing things the way Angen had maintained them, Ithril was much less vocal in support of that.
Carver glanced over at him, but Ithril's face was closed off once again.
"Have there been any new attacks?" Carver wanted to know.
"Not that we can see. The guards will change in an hour, and they will let us know if anything has been seen. For now, it seems quiet."
"For now," Ithril said softly. "If they find out about the change in power here, that might not last for very long."
"What do you mean?" Marsh asked.
"I mean that the perfect time to strike would be when there's a vacuum of power. When there's chaos."
"But there isn't," Carver said firmly. "Angen has passed, but leadership has been assured. There's no chaos, and there's no need for them to know that something has changed yet. If their king wishes to speak with us then he can, but until then, they don't need to know anything."
Ithril pursed his lips together, and Carver resisted the urge to sigh. It was too late in the night, and he had been awake for too long to deal with this. On top of that, he didn't want the Council to see the unrest between them. They needed to show a united front or else things would quickly dissolve into chaos, and that was one thing that they didn't have time for just then.
"If there is nothing else, then I would like to retire for the night," Carver said. "It has been a trying day for all of us, and a long trying day for some of us."
"Of course, Leader," Cain said, nodding. "Shall we reconvene tomorrow?"
"That's acceptable," Carver replied, rubbing at his face. "In the afternoon, perhaps?"
There was a chuckled of appreciative laughter and general agreement, and then the meeting started breaking up. As soon as they were out of the Hall, Carver let out a sigh. The first tendrils of dawn were visible outside, and all he wanted to do was curl up in his bed for a few hours.
"I need to find E'lira," he mumbled to himself.
"I'll speak with her if you want," Ithril said, coming up behind him with a glass in his hand. "You look like you got less sleep than I did last night."
Carver tried to let go of the tension he was feeling towards his younger brother. It was probably just the lack of sleep and the fact that neither of them had properly had time to grieve for their father yet. With time, things would be alright. He rolled his shoulders and nodded at Ithril. "You're probably right. Tell her… tell her that she's not alone."
Ithril nodded. "I will. Here." He held out the glass. "Water and something to help you sleep. I figured you'd need it."
"I probably need something stronger than water," Carver joked, but he took the glass and downed it in one go.
"I thought of that, too, but you need to sleep not get drunk."
Carver opened his mouth to reply, but the room was spinning all of a sudden. He frowned, head suddenly fuzzy. He couldn't hold onto his thoughts, and it was hard to keep his eyes open. "What…" was all he got out before blackness was swamping his vision and he collapsed onto the floor.
When he woke up next, his head was throbbing, and he was confused and disoriented. The last thing he could remember was talking to Ithril and now… now he was lying down on something soft and warm. Maybe he'd made it to bed?