“Thank you for the meeting, Luna Aria,” Elder Elara said as she stood up, bowed and clasped her hands together, “I would like to continue this meeting, but I have an urgent matter I need to attend to.”

Those words set off a storm as every elder suddenly had somewhere else that urgently needed their attention.

Their dignity had been flayed and none of them – not even the ones that considered themselves allies – wanted to be in the vicinity of Aria at that moment.

They had ...