Looking Forward
T
he nine elders of the Willowood tribe. They used to look so scary to Meira; even her own grandfather had always had a frightening aura about him. One of absolute power that commanded respect. They were all C-grades, and Meira remembered thinking their power and position were utterly unattainable for someone like her.
But now, sitting across a table from these nine, Meira felt no fear or apprehension. She no longer saw nine unapproachable existences. Instead, she saw nine aging men and women trying to suppress their fear of the A-grade administrator and S-grade dragonkin. This was mixed with a good deal of confusion from the two standing behind Meira, who was the only one of them sitting at the table. Their meeting occurred inside the clan’s “main house,” where only the
