After a great night's rest, Mina woke Sora up and they went for breakfast.
They talked about how awesome it felt to use their new skills and how the army suffered minimal casualties. Rumors quickly spread of the twins and their greatness.
People came by and thanked them, which was a great feeling for both.
Stefania entered the dining hall. She spotted Sora and Mina. Sora got up, pulled out the chair for Stefania and pushed it in for the Princess, who was blushing.
"Can I get you anything to eat, Princess?" Sora asked with a kind smile.
"No, thank you though. Also, you don't have to call me Princess. I'm actually here to invite you to the council meeting today. We would like to get you two up to speed on what's happened over the last 40 years."
"That sounds great! It would be an honor to join your council meeting," Mina said with a smile.
"There are a few rules. First, address my parents as King and Queen. Second, if you'd like to speak, raise your hand and wait to see if you're selected. Third, do not talk out of turn. Fourth, things sometimes get intense, but my Mother and Father interject. If they do, do not interrupt them."
"That's quite a lot. Will we be invited to join the council at some point?" Mina couldn't help but ask.
"My brother and I are putting it to a vote at today's meeting, so be punctual, dress nicely, and speak slowly and clearly. Some of the council members are over 150 years old."
"Thank you Stefania, we cannot thank you enough for the warmth and hospitality your family shows us," Sora said as he stood up.
"Where are you off to now, I haven't even told you the meeting time?"
"I figured my sister and I could go train before the meeting. What time and where do we meet?"
"Fourth floor, 5 PM. Take the left hallway to the third door on the right. Guards are stationed outside," Stefania said, as she noticed Sora had pulled out her chair and offered his hand.
She took his hand, thanked him, gave him a kiss on the cheek and took her leave.
Mina waited for Stefania to leave before she burst out in laughter.
"What? Am I that dorky looking here?"
"Sort of, but no, in all honesty, it's nice to see you lighten up and actually have eyes for a woman."
The two went to train and noticed they were able to control magic much more easily.
<><><><>
It was nearly 4 PM, so the twins headed back to their room. When they entered, they noticed two sets of clothing laid out for them.
"Council attire. Please wear and look nice. Signed, Xavier."
They were tunics, white in color, with gold embroidery and a symbol the twins did not recognize. They reached to the knees, with a green rope attached around the waist.
"You know Xavier acts so noble and true, but I get the feeling he has a fun side. You should try to get him to show it sis."
"Just because you're in love with the Princess doesn't mean I want to be romantic with Xavier."
"I'm not asking you to be romantic, at least flirt a little. It wouldn't kill ya!"
They both put on their attire, Mina put on some light make up and Sora made sure his hair was tied up perfectly. He asked his sister for help with his hair. Mina couldn't stop laughing, but did admit he looked good and told him he gained a significant amount of muscle mass through leveling up.
At 4:40 PM, they found the room, and outside, two guards stood forward, looking determined and proud.
"Hello, we are here for the meeting." Mina said politely.
"Yes, please take a seat in chairs we've provided for you on the opposite side of the hall. We will inform you when it's time for you to enter," one of the guards said.
"Ok, thanks!"
Meanwhile, in the council room, the meeting started at 4 PM and the debate was ongoing on whether or not to let the twins join the council.
A few of the older elders, such as Richmond, Davis, and Illiana did not approve.
"Who cares if they've shown the amulet. That doesn't mean we welcome reincarnated humans with open arms!" Richmond yelled.
"Please calm down Richmond, we understand your concern. However, you were not at the battle yesterday. They did not hesitate to kill hundreds, if not thousands of humans," Xavier countered.
"I agree with Xavier. Let them join. We can always remove them later anyway," a younger elder elf, Aidan said.
Fed up with the arguments, King Luther raised his hand for them to be silent.
"Richmond, Davis and Illiana, I understand your concern. However, we need them up to speed on all elven matters and I believe a vote should suffice. All opposed, please raise your hands!"
Four hands raised. Richmond, Davis, Illiana and a younger female elf, Rya.
"All in favor, please raise your hands."
8 hands raised. Xavier, Stefania, Aidan, a middle aged elf in his thirties, the commander Eric, Jax, a younger elf in his twenties, Eva, a younger elf in her twenties, Fiona, an older elf, in her fifties and finally Raina, a middle aged elf in her thirties.
"It is settled. There will now be 14 members of the Elder Elven Council, not including myself and my wife," Luther said, with a stern tone and polite smile.
Despite grumblings from Richmond, Davis and Illiana, who were all well over 150 years old, everyone was happy to welcome anyone who could help at this point.
"Father, I will inform them and bring them in. Xavier, please grab two of the new council chairs we have in storage and bring them in for me," Stefania said with a large smile.
"It would be my pleasure," Xavier said, also sharing his sister's large smile.
This was a big day for all Elves. Adding members to the council did not happen often.
The council formed as two of the last three Kingdoms fell to humanity.
Prince Aidan of Evergreen, Princess Rya of Shirebrook, Prince Jax of SilverCrest and Princess Fiona of Fox Valley all joined the council when they brought as many survivors as they could to Sanctuary.
<><><><>
"I wonder what's taking them so long… It's after five. Aren't elves big on punctuality?" Sora asked Mina, as he nervously tapped his foot.
"Be calm brother, a lot happened in the last few days."
Stefania walked out of the council room, quickly shutting the door behind her. She had her hands behind her back and looked very happy.
The twins quickly stood up and greeted her, giving a polite curtsy and bow.
"Mina and Sora, the council voted, and although the vote was not unanimous, welcome to the council of Elders!" Stefania exclaimed while revealing two Golden patches, with the words, "Elven Elder," on them.
They were about the size of a playing card, green with gold lettering. With a dash of magic, Stefania put the patches on each of their tunics, on the left side, where the heart would be.
"Woah, that was cool and these are gorgeous. How come they don't have your family crest, though?" Mina asked.
"Because the council consists of members of all 6 original Elven Kingdoms: Evergreen, SilverCrest, Shirebrook, Fox Valley, MeadowSong and Sanctuary. Before the humans took them over, each race had six thriving kingdoms," Stefania explained.
"What changed?" Sora asked.
"After the honorable King William passed away due to illness, his son, James, became the second King and it wasn't until the 10th generation of William's bloodline, when Princess Rina became greedy and married an over-zealous man, Hanzo Yen. With the hammer of justice, he made quick work of our exterior kingdoms, and the refugees fell back to Evergreen, ShireBrook and Sanctuary," Stefania explained.
"What's so special about this hammer, anyway?" Sora asked.
"The power of the hammer is unknown to Elves, aside from a few details noted by survivors. The hammer is said to expand to unimaginable sizes, with the wielder able to hold and swing it with ease. It also retracts in size. It's unbreakable, can produce magic and can break through any object or terrain."
"I wonder why the god of Wrath felt the need to give it to humans. We need to get our hands on the hammer. With that, we can turn the tide of the war greatly," Sora said confidently.
The door to the council room finally opened and Xavier invited the twins in, accompanied by his sister.
"Hello everyone, I am Mina Hart and this is my identical twin brother Sora Hart, we are honored to receive this invitation and to meet all of you," Mina said with a curtsy as Sora bowed.
"Welcome, please take your assigned seats," Queen Ella instructed, motioning to the two empty chairs, directly across from the King and Queen.
The two took their seats, wondering what was next.