Friday, November 9, 2018

"Finish The Story" Collaboration - This story is based on a prompt from Nidheesh Samant.




This story for the "Finish The Story" Collaboration is based on a prompt from Nidheesh Samant (https://thedarknetizen.wordpress.com/). 

Prompt: “The Emperor had summoned his Knights..and they had answered his summons. They knew that it was a matter of great importance. They waited patiently as their Emperor began to address them.”

Messengers had been sent out, riding hard. All across the land the Knights received their Emperor’s summons. To call them all in, this had to be a matter of extreme importance. The last Knight had arrived in the dark hours of the previous night. They were now seated around the round table, a table designed specifically for them, as it showed allegiance to their Emperor, while giving each of them equal status.

The Emperor was announced, and they all stood in respect. The room was beyond quiet. He looked out over his Knights, then took his seat. He began to speak.

“This is a very blessed day for us all. I want to thank each of you for responding to my summons. As you all know, our land has known peace for over a decade – in large part to your efforts. Not only are you great fighters, but you are great thinkers and strategists. You keep the needs of the people in mind at all times.”

“I brought you together to celebrate a new treaty, one with our neighbors to the north. Some of you have been with me on peace missions to them. You have given me input that has enabled me to make the decisions that will make this, our final border, safe for all. I thank you for this.”

“Each of you has a document in front of you. Over the next few days I will meet with each of you individually, to discuss what is in your document. You will all have expanded rights, and will be taking on added responsibilities. You will also be receiving a greater percentage of compensation.”

“Each of our borders has different needs. You may be called to a border that is distant from you, if the need arises. At this time our borders are peaceful, in large part due to you and your men. I thank you for your service.”

“I look forward to speaking with each of you privately. There are some minor issues to iron out, but I feel that we have a strong ethic in this land of ours, and that we can maintain our stability and our honor.”

Goblets of wine appeared at the elbow of the Emperor and every Knight. They were filled with fine wine. Each Knight raised his glass to the Emperor, who raised his glass to each of his Knights.


All borders were peaceful for many years to come, and the land prospered. What was never voiced, but had a seat at the table, was that several of the Knights had been restless before they were summoned by the Emperor. He talked to each Knight, restated his expectations, and they all reaffirmed their allegiance. Mutual respect goes a long way to preventing war.     

The "Finish The Story" collaboration was organized by Tanmay Jain (Tanmay_Jain@Bookinton).

© November 2018 Bonnie Cehovet
Reproduction prohibited without written permission from the author.
  

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