It was three nights later, and the turn out for the meeting included every clan in the Borgus Mountain Range. As Rayz Moonmaid, of the Raven Clan, looked around she saw Clan Chieftains, who in past times having had vowed death to each other were now sitting together, talking, laughing and actually building what seemed to be a comradery. For centuries, the clans had been warring with each other over boundary rights, hunting territory, water rights, stealing of women, and more recently mining territory. And if these were all resolved they would fight over petty squabbles—anything for a hateful fight. But tonight, here they were, sitting together in peace for the first time in history—for the first time since their ancestral fathers and mothers took to the mountains. And they were here because Everette, known as Everette the Unifier, had raised a fury over the merciless slaughter of innocent children.
Rayz knew that if things didn't go right, if just one chieftain reverted to his old ways, this meeting could turn out to be an exploding powder keg. Could Everette, the giant man of the mountains, pull this off? Could he keep the hatred of Hurd burning so fierce that they would stay unified? She damn well wasn't sure, but she was for it if he could do it.
The giant lodge, which Everette had built specifically for this purpose, had filled up quickly. Because many of the wives, husbands, and relatives of the chieftains had come along, which Everette hadn't counted on, all the seats were taken. This forced other chieftains and their families to sit in the aisles or lean against the walls along the back and the sides of the room. There were still more people filing in—those who weren't chieftains nor related to chieftains, but had a desire to watch the proceedings.
Finally, Everette's assistant, Tosk, noting that all the chieftains were present, had to close the doors to keep others from crowding in.
Three years previously, when Everette started his unification process, Rayz had been the first one to sign a treaty with him, joining their two clans. She had become disgusted with the continual fighting and killing between the clans. So, when Everette came to her with his plans, she readily accepted, but with reservations. She doubted he could make it happen, but as it turned out, what she overlooked or underestimated was Hurd's greed. Shortly after she had signed with Everette, Hurd started raiding their crystal transports on the Pike. Hurd damn well denied it when confronted, but everyone knew it was his Secret Police under his orders. And then three nights ago when he became bold enough to actually attack a clan in the mountains killing all the men, and the children too, well, that was like the crystal that broke the mule’s back.
There were three hundred and four clans in the Borgus Mountains, and up until three nights ago Everette had only been able to recruit seventy-six of them. It could be that this greedy blow by Hurd might be his own fatal blow as every clan was now represented—some of the chieftains having had to travel hundreds of miles just to get here.