Chapter 4: Traveling
In a dimmed - light hall.
Some men could be seen, sitting around a long table and in an arrangement that was indistinguishable to a banquet pattern ; except there were no meals on the tables of the men, aside a bottle and a glass of water. Affording a meal was no problem to them, but they just didn't think it was necessary.
Having just two windows in the big hall, the rays managed to penetrate, hence, creating the dimness. And that was exactly how the men wanted it. They'd always prefer a thin darkness to an overly bright room. But the clock was ticking and the hall wasn't becoming their favourite anymore.
"Do you think he's even going to come?" One out of the six men asked, his eyes dancing around the entrance door where two armed men occupied as securities.
"I do not know. But keeping us waiting for this LONG is totally OUT OF POINT!" Another blustered and thumped the table hard, making some of the bottles shake a little.
He looked really furious.
"You should calm down, Salem" the third person from the other side of the table chipped in.
"Perhaps, we should just wait a little longer and see if he shows up".
Salem had to take in a deep breath and gulp down some of his water. And silence further descended in the hall.
Suddenly, the door went open and all eyes turned towards the entrance to see him finally walking in.
'At last' most of them mumbled in their minds.
Nir - adorned in his favourite color, paused at the entrance and observed the meeting hall - taking in the numbers of men present. He discovered they weren't complete.
Crossing his hands at his back, he began walking into the hall, his gold jewelries shimmering all around him - including the mask covering half of his face.
As he walked, dauntlessness could be written all around him. It puzzled the others that he could intrepidly walk into the midst of people that had been his enemies for years. Well, how could a man who was death, be afraid of death?
Would there ever be a thing #Nir could be afraid of?
He got to the table and not uttering a word, took the only vacant seat left, sitting next to the one they called Athan. A bottle of water and an empty glass was in front of him.
It was still a mystery how one who's face was hidden, could still look so charming in the eyes of others. Mystery....
A minute passed with everywhere being stone quiet until the others realized they were to start talking.
"Welcome, Alpha. And thank you for honoring this invitation" The most senior began.
He was seated at the head of the table and known as Cian.
"Wait a minute" Salem suddenly scoffed.
"Are we just going on like that? Shouldn't there be some sort of apology for keeping us all waiting? We were waiting for close to two hours!"
The other men flinched, never expecting Salem to bring up the topic in front of Nir. Salem had always been the only one unable to hide his hostility towards Nir.
And as he spoke, he stared at Nir who stared back at him without uttering a word. Instead, he leaned back on his seat and stuck his thumb at the tip of his tempting lips.
He said nothing. And that silence ate Salem up.
"I think we should just let that be a bygone, Salem" The oldest chipped in.
"Let's not waste more time and go straight to the point"'
He paused and gave room for some digestion.
"So, Alpha Nir", he continued.
"We wouldn't want to hum and haw over the purpose of this meeting as we are as busy as you are.
"As you definitely must know, we are equally rulers of various communities and we'd like to congratulate you on the success and fast growth of the Obeddon Community. It's something everyone would wish for. But over the years, there have been conflicts and misunderstandings between your community and a lot of ours. And we need it to stop, Alpha. We all want to live as one, just the rest of the communities have all been living under a just rule. And THIS is the purpose of this meeting. We discussed amongst ourselves and thought it wise to offer you the opportunity to become one of us. To rule your community alongside us, where we'd all be related and live together as one. There shall be no more discriminations, no more seperations, no confusion. Just .. unity among us. I really hope you see this in a positive light, Alpha" He concluded and leaned backwards, awaiting Nir's reply.
All eyes were on his masked face, wondering what his thoughts would be. And it took quite some time to hear it out.
"Hm" he sighed as he twirled on his seat.
His mysterious reactions were always leaving people in suspense.
He tapped the table with his fingers.
"By becoming united, you mean..." he paused and touched his lower lip.
"...I'd have to follow your rules and become mere subject to the overall leader?"
That voice...
The question was a little tricky for Cian. But funny enough, the question was the truth.
"S...Something like that, Alpha" he replied.
"In other words, we regard it as a united Leadership".
Nir scoffed, creating more suspense.
And after a minute of silence, he continued.
"That sounds like a good idea, gentlemen. But, I do not think I want to be a part of it. Nir prefers ruling his people by his own rules, and his rules alone. He will never be subject to anyone".
The other men were shocked, especially when he drew back his chair and stood up.
"Since that is the only subject of discussion here, I think I would take my leave".
And with that, he turned around to leave.
But abruptly, he stopped and turned back to see the speechless faces of his hosts. They wondered why he stopped, but got to understand when he took up his bottle of water, opened it and decanted some quantity into the empty glass. He took up the glass afterwards and drank from it - gulping every last drop to the awe of everyone.
Their lips were parted open - especially Cian who never thought he'd really end up drinking the water.
And with Nir's lips stretched in a smirky smile, he muttered:
"And I will never be subject to a leader that would try to poison me".
Pricking their consciences, he began walking away. But when he got close to the door, an unforeseen wind blew all around Salem's chair, quaking him and making him fall roughly on the floor; in such a way, he fractured his arm.
He writhed in pain, while Nir walked out the door without sparing a backward glance at them.