"And why is it that we cannot place any blame on him, Lamina? Are you not aware of the things he did on Machina?"
Lamina took in a shaky breath as she steeled herself for what she was about to do. In truth, Lamina knew that this was the right thing to do. There was no way Lamina could sit back and allow her Lord to be treated badly by the council when she could do something about it! For the past few days, Lamina had been trying to reorganise the Vympirs of Nox and put things in order for when they would welcome their Lord. Even though Lamina had once been the ruler of their world, things had changed now, and that title was no longer hers. And now that Lamina was done putting Nox in order, Lamina had finally come to the council to clear her Lord’s name once and for all. Lamina looked over all the council members seated above her, and then she said.
"We cannot place any blame on Lord Jason because Lord Jason was not in control of his own actions during the Machina Massacre. Lord Jason had been turned into a Changeling by my previous Progenitor, Gillian, and as a result, he had no choice but to follow her every order. You are all aware of what it means for a mortal to be infected with Vympir toxin. So the blame for his actions cannot be placed on his shoulders."
T’arigan hummed before speaking.
"I see, so yer say’n Gillian’s to blame? From what I’ve seen in that trial, Jaosn didn’t seem like the type ter cause so much pointless destruction, so I was real surprised when I heard that he killed so many Machina. I woulda understood if he only killed them soldiers, but he killed so many civilians, it kinda made me wonder what got into him. We all felt that ripple of power from when Gillian woke up, so we can’t say this ain’t a possibility. Lamina’s words prove Jason’s innocence."
The council murmured their approval as they thought about what Lamina had said, and many of them began to lean towards Jason’s innocence again. Rak’hael’s hand tightened into a fist, and she turned to Lamina with a glare before saying.
"So what are you asking us to do right now, Lamina? You want the council to remove his criminal status and reward him for his actions?"
Lamina took in a deep breath and exhaled silently before she finally spoke.
"Yes, I do. And that is not all. On the day of the Machina Massacre, Gillian was killed by Jason Marc and as a result Lord Jason gained her Blood Oath. This confirms Jason Marc as both a Dead Apostle, as well as a new Lord and potential ruler of the Vympir race of Nox. Therefore, I have come here today to put forward my resignation from the Council of Nine and One, and to nominate Jason Marc as the most suitable replacement."
"THAT IS PREPOSTEROUS!"
Slam!
Rak’hael was suddenly on her feet as she shouted in anger and her actions reflected the shock that passed through the entire room! Everyone was looking at Lamina like she had grown a second head and they wondered what in the world had gotten into her! Lamina was usually a very prideful and pompous woman who wouldn’t ever bow to anyone, so the fact that she was willingly giving up her seat like this was something that they never expected! But out of all of them, C’thlyanu was the only person who didn’t seem to be affected by this at all, and he simply hummed curiously as he understood what had happened with Lamina. It was a cruel fate to be the Changeling of a Vympir, and C’thlyanu had lived long enough to know that Lamina did not have a choice here. Jason was her Lord, and Lamina was obligated to do what she believed was in his best interest. C’thlyanu spoke up.
"I see, so by killing Gillian, Jason Marc not only took control of the first seat of the Dead Apostles, but he also took on the title of Progenitor for all of Gillian’s previous Changelings. I understand you feel you cannot bring yourself to sit in a position higher than your Lord, but I implore you to reconsider your resignation. You are an important member of this council, and I believe you still have much to contribute."
C’thlyanu spoke to Lamina in an understanding tone and the rest of the council seemed to finally understand where Lamina was coming from as they looked down at her with some pity. Lamina stared at the ground as her hands tightened into fists and she felt some tears coming to her eyes, but she fought them back and took in a breath before she nodded.
"I will not allow my Lord to be looked down on by anyone, not even this council. Therefore, it is only right that I relinquish my seat to him."
Rak’hael clicked her tongue in annoyance as she glared at Lamina and spoke.
"You can’t be serious about this. Jason Marc is a criminal and a fugitive. He has committed crimes of genocide unlike anything seen since the Period of Lawlessness, and you expect us to simply accept him into the council!? I won’t stand for it!"
Rak’hael turned to C’thlyanu with a scowl and C’thlyanu only considered her for a moment before he turned away while saying.
"Do not allow your personal grievances to affect your logical thinking, Rak’hael."
"!"
Rak’hael’s eyes widened in shock when she heard this from C’thlyanu, and she leaned back like she had just been slapped! But that shock only lasted for a few seconds before it bled away into anger! Rak’hael couldn’t believe that C’thlyanu was trying to bring up her past at a moment like this! Did C’thlyanu think that Rak’hael was only going against Jason because of what his father did to her!? Rak’hael felt her anger growing until it almost consumed her in fury, and she stood from the council seat and declared to the other council members in a loud voice!
"I state here today that this consideration is an insult to not only my position as a council member, but also my people and the battles we fought to bring about this peace! If Jason Marc is given a seat on this council despite his criminal status, then I will remove myself from the Council of Nine and One, and my domain will void the treaty and become independent of it! I will not bring myself to share my authority with a criminal!"
Rak’hael turned away from the council and she walked through a portal and vanished from the room angrily! Once she left, Baron Skarr clicked his tongue in annoyance and spat out his words.
"Entitled brat."
The council room went silent as everyone looked towards C’thlyanu for what to do next, and C’thlyanu let out a small sigh as he considered the situation. C’thlyanu knew that there was a lot of sense in all the arguments that had been put forward here today, but there was no way to make a choice without causing issues with a larger part of the council. Jason couldn’t be punished because the Overlord had been impersonated by someone, and his crimes against the Machina were as a result of being controlled, but at the same time, Jason had committed these crimes and many others, so it would be difficult to simply overlook them without any punishment. C’thlyanu could not allow this situation to affect the peace that the council worked so hard for, so he simply said.
"Due to Rak’hael’s exit, we do not have enough council members in attendance to make any concrete decisions. Therefore, it is my suggestion that we reconvene the council on a later date after Farlow and Hesbeath are finished with their prior commitments. On that day, we will decide on the fate of Jason Marc."