Virion stood before the large brass doors of the senate hall. He raised his hand and knocked three times, the sound ringing through the interior of the hall barely audible from the outside. He lowered his hand as a sense of apprehension crept over him. The last time he had stood before these doors he had passed out and seen a vision. A unique experience which he knew better than to associate with a location such as the front doors of the senate hall. But his instincts made him wary all the same. A voice rang out from behind the brass doors, muffled due to the presence of the large barrier in between it and Virion.
'State your name and your business.'
Virion took a deep breath.
'Virion Salor. Representative of the elves. Here to attend the senate assembly.'
Virion spoke his rehearsed lines. Lines he would recite before these very doors almost daily in hopes that he would break through to the proud perabels of the senate. The perabels insisted on such customs of introduction. It was rather cumbersome and time-consuming to state his name, title, and reason for arrival daily but, as a guest in the perabel land, Virion was obliged to abide by their customs.
'Very well Virion Salor. You may enter.'
The voice from behind the doors gave confirmation as the large brass doors swung inwards revealing the interior of the senate hall.
The interior was large and conformed to the circular shape of the exterior. Floor-to-ceiling glass panes were positioned at regular intervals around the sides of the building. The panes were blurred through and painted over with drawings of several genius perabel scientists over the generations showing off their inventions. Right in front of the entrance was a large platform of polished wood. At the center of this platform was a podium at which the speaker of the senate, elder Albertus stood. He wore a long flowing navy-blue robe that had golden threading around the edges. His long grey hair was tied behind him to prevent it from spreading out haphazardly. He was visibly old with wrinkled skin and a long grey beard extending to the base of his neck. He turned and faced Virion as he entered, standing on the raised platform which contained the Speaker's podium. Beyond this platform curving around with the shape of the building were rows of seats, spaced out uniformly and in multiple ascending rows. Around half of these seats were filled with perabel elders - the regular members of senate.
Virion nodded his head in acknowledgment to elder Albertus as he walked to his right immediately after entering the hall. The hall had fallen silent as the perabel elders in the room politely waited for Virion to take his seat. His footsteps fell on the polished wood and echoed throughout the hall as he walked. The acoustics of the room were carefully designed by perabel engineers to carry every senate member's voice effectively so that everyone could be heard no matter where they sat in the large circular hall. Virion reached his seat near elder Symonticus and sat down, noticing the elder's concerned expression.
'Virion Salor.', a voice boomed through the hall. Virion shifted his gaze to the center of the hall, at elder Albertus. Making use of the brilliantly designed acoustics of the room, he could speak in a normal tone and have his voice amplified to be perfectly audible at even the most distant seat from where he stood.
'Thank you for joining us. The child who had collapsed on the hill was Symonticus' daughter, I take it?'
Elder Symonticus nodded in assent as Albertus looked at him.
'Was she safely returned to the hospital, Virion Salor?'
'Yes, elder Albertus. I left her in the hands of a nurse. She had awoken before I left and there did not seem to be any reason for concern.'
Elder Symonticus heaved a sigh of relief and relaxed back into his chair.
'That is good news. On that note I must thank you, Virion Salor, for your diligence in rescuing the stragglers who may approach the stronghold', Albertus carried on, his voice booming throughout the senate hall and commanding the attention of every single perabel seated within.
'I believe this marks the fourth time you have rescued a perabel from the warlock pursuit. No small feat!'
A round of applause rang throughout the hall as the elders clapped in appreciation. Virion nodded and looked at elder Albertus.
'It is the least I can do for the hospitality I have been shown, elder.'
Albertus smiled softly at him then referred to the agenda placed before him on the podium, the brief smile that had appeared on his face vanishing in an instant.
'Right. Let us carry on from where we had left off before Virion arrived.'
The air shifted as the senate returned to the matters at hand. The perabel elders who had relaxed briefly, taking advantage of the respite offered by Virion's entry, straightened up once more and all the attention in the room fell upon elder Albertus.
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