“I am proud to introduce the newest member of the council. Someone whose power far surpasses the other councilors. Whose Ein has yet to show any indication of running out. I welcome Alrick Wilton to the council.”

Hearing his name come from the main stage, Wilt pushed aside the curtain and stepped into the view of the audience. The podium he was on was slightly raised, and he saw hundreds of people standing on the ground below. All of them following his arrival with complete focus. Even Janette’s flashy introduction was unnecessary. The people here knew who he was replacing and wanted to see if he could compare to Pali. Although, he didn’t look at the image. His arm still hurt from when it had broken. Although the healers had done much to fix the injury. He really only noticed it now because of how stressed he was feeling.

He kept his head held high and focused on Stella. She had moved to stand near one of the walls in the back. Nobody was around her, and she looked perfect in the military uniform. The formal wear was not what she preferred, but she had worn it for the occasion. Normally, he would shy away from something like this, but he wanted to maintain a strong image in front of her. His cowardice would not win against his desire to do right by Stella.

He did glance over the crowd, noting where his family stood. He saw a few of the students and teachers he could recognize and wondered what thoughts were going through their heads. He spotted Ashley, standing in one of the corners, and he wondered how she had taken the news. He was essentially usurping the position she wanted and frankly deserved. Although, he bet that she would become a councilor soon enough. Pali’s death had lit a fire under her, and she had been winning many battles for Elpis. Wilt was going to walk a different path from her. He would not become just another councilor, and this was the first step to that.

“Hello, I’m Alrick Wilton, but please just call me Wilt. While I can’t really say I was expecting this promotion, I can say that I will try my best to fill it.”

As he opened his mouth, he looked over the crowd. Gauging their reactions as he spoke from his instincts. He was not going to follow the script. Janette would give him an earful and his mother probably would too. However, that didn’t stop him from speaking as he wanted. He would shape the role for himself, not inherit the one everyone wanted him to.

Most of the people in the audience were chanters, but the public would also receive news relating to what he said. Most of the people in the audience didn’t seem to like the casualness with which he spoke. Many were obviously confused, unsure of how to react to his statements. Still, he continued with his makeshift speech. The words came to him as he spoke. It didn’t matter if he made a mistake, he was only himself.

“I am not here to replace anyone or to be like the other councilors. I can only do what I can. For me, that means protecting this city, my home.”

None of the words seemed to affect the people, and even his promise of protection was received hollowly. He ignored that focusing on Stella. He saw her smile and knew that he had her approval at the very least. It was a struggle to come up with the words to say, and even harder to hide his growing sense of embarrassment. The resolve he had built up to stand before such a crowd was slowly bleeding away. He needed to do something.

“You all are unsure of whether or not I deserve this position, and I am equally unsure. It was something I received because of my Ein and nothing else. I say this not so that you can doubt my validity but to be honest with you all. I am here because of my Ein and nothing else. I have so much Ein that the council felt like I deserved to be here, to stand among them. Consider what that must mean and who exactly will be protecting you and your families. I may not have the experience or knowledge to match any of the other councilors, but I have the Ein to make all of that irrelevant.”

Wilt spoke, finding confidence as he worked through his own thoughts. This speech had become a way to explain what came to his mind. It justified his position to the audience, but he said the words for himself. He needed to accept his appointment. The responsibility was what he chose, and he would not go back on it. Somehow speaking his mind was letting him talk more freely. Confident, despite his words probably challenging the peoples’ expectations. He looked over the crowd, their gazes warping further. Some were confused and others looked angry. However, he focused on the ones filled with respect and understanding. He held his hand over the crowd, speaking his next words as a chant and as a part of the speech.

“I am who I am, nothing more.”

His Ein poured out into the room suffusing the space with it. Everyone in the room would be able to feel the rush of power, but he didn’t stop at just that. Using his Ein without concern for running out, he forced it to become visible as it filled the room like an ocean of aura. His Ein appeared as a silver liquid that died in the air with his power. All around he saw the stunned expressions of the crowd.

Only Stella had seen him do something like this, but the scale was far bigger than what he had managed before. He had been practicing using any words for his chant, or even using his Ein without any chants altogether. It was hard to use Ein like this, but single-minded tasks like this were something he could manage. The effect was better than he expected. The chanters among the audience would have an idea of how much Ein he had used, and the normal people would get a glimpse into what having Ein felt like. The room had gone silent, everyone just looking around dumbfounded with how to react. Wilt felt his own discomfort rising, as he realized how quiet the room had become.

He had maintained a mostly confident façade and didn’t want to ruin it now. He had said what he wanted and expressed what he really felt. The adrenalin that had helped him feel confident was slowly vanishing now that he was done. Rather than waiting for permission or a response of any kind, he turned and left the room. His Ein dissipated as he went behind the curtains. As soon as he was out of sight, he practically sprinted across the back room. Roy and Jesse had noticed him, and he could hear their footsteps chasing behind him. he pushed open the door and dashed into the hallway. The emptiness of the hallway finally broke his adrenalin-fueled confidence.

He stumbled and started falling to the ground. Roy grabbed his arm and held him up easily. Wilt looked at him, only to find him smiling back.

“You did a good job. Honestly didn’t expect you to act so cocky. And that display you put on at the end. The expressions on the councilors were incredible. I don’t think I have ever seen Councilor Janette look so angry.”

Wilt sighed and just slumped toward the ground, letting Roy help him sit down. Once seated, he replied, the events in the room catching up to him. He didn’t know what had come over him, but he had just started speaking and couldn’t stop himself. He had done something he couldn’t imagine and had basically challenged all of the councilors openly. He was officially going crazy, there was no other explanation.

“Do you think I should apologize? I didn’t mean to say so much, it just kind of happened.”

Wilt was surprised to hear how tired he sounded. If felt like he had running for hours. Jesse shook her head.

“I don’t think that will work. Shouldn’t have said all that if you were just going to turn around and apologize. Live with it. Plus, I think Stella liked it.”

Jesse grinned as she replied. Her response had surprised him a little, but he sighed and nodded. Ultimately, he knew that his words were mainly meant for Stella to hear. He had been looking at her for the entire speech, and it sounded like Jesse noticed. To be fair, he wasn’t particularly hiding. She did look like she approved of the speech, and he was glad for that at least. Almost as if he summoned her, he saw Stella rushing down the hall to meet him.

Her smile changed to concern as she saw him sitting on the ground. Her pace picked up and she started speaking before reaching him.

“What happened are you ok?”

Wilt smiled back at her. He spoke a little more cheerily, glad to have her around again.

“Just tired. What did you think of the speech?”

Stella hugged him, whispering into his ear.

“It was the best. You should’ve seen the expression on my aunt.”

She spoke as if to hide the words from the two knights, but they could obviously hear what she said. He sighed a little, accepting that he had taken a side in their dispute. Though, he was confident he chose the right one.

“As fun as it is to annoy your aunt, how about we do literally anything else. I don’t want to sit around and wait for her.”

Stella's smile grew wider at his comment, and she helped him to his feet. She kissed him lightly on the cheek before speaking.

“Let’s go get some food. You look like you could use a meal.”

His attention was entirely placed on her kiss, and he just nodded slowly. Soon they were off, Stella leading him to wherever she wanted. He was glad that she didn’t head back to the lab but knew that it would only last for a short while. She was probably taking a rest out of concern for him, and he accepted it easily. He really did need a break, and nothing would be better than spending some time with Stella.

The four of them rushed out of the building but were startled by the crowd that was building outside of the institute. It looked like everyone had found out what had happened even though only a few minutes had passed. The people stared at them as they left, and he realized that they recognized him. How was that even possible? It took them maybe ten or eleven minutes to get out of the building. Yet, they all were staring at him. Somehow, they knew him. Then Wilt noticed that most of the people were holding sheets of paper.

As the people stared at him, he felt sweat building on the back of his neck. He wasn’t particularly bothered by the crowd. Their gazes were something else altogether. Some of them looked at him like he was a monster, but the really weird looks were the ones filled with reverence. They saw him as some kind of God, and he remembered having the same gaze when he first met Janette. Thinking about that moment, he decided to ask them directly. He didn’t want to mimic the councilors.

“Can I see that?”

He just asked one of the people who was holding a piece of paper. It was a man who looked a little younger than Wilt himself. The man looked positively horrified at being asked a question, and he nodded furiously before holding the paper out to him. Wilt grabbed it.

“Thank you.”

Once he had the paper firmly in his hand, he let Stella push him through the crowd. He scanned the paper with Stella as Jesse and Roy made sure that nobody got to close. It was a picture of him with a short description at the top. The title surprised him, and he felt Stella squeeze his arm reassuringly. It helped as he really didn’t like what he saw.

The Hero Of Elpis, Alrick Wilton