Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king

Chapter 356: Wake before the voting

Chapter 356: Wake before the voting

The day of the vote dawned with a brisk wind rolling off the sea, carrying the tang of salt . On the Call, the amphitheater carved into the rock was alive with activity. Its semicircular tiers, capable of holding every lord and captain on the island, were quickly filling as men took their seats.Seats that were usually occupied sparingly by lords, were now all filled as the captains now bore the right to vote. 

The air was thick with the hum of conversation, the scrape of boots on stone, and the occasional bark of laughter. This was no royal court; the Call had no gilded chairs or flowing banners, just hard stone and the raw power of the men who sat upon it.

The four contenders for the title of High Captain stood apart,looking at each other with blank stares.

Blake Elio, the youngest of them, carried himself with a confident ease, his dark hair combed back, his sharp features set in a calm, almost calculating expression. He wore no finery, just the simple leather and steel of a man who'd earned the rise of his house from the bottom of the sea . 

Harrick Stormcaller stood with a quiet weight, his thick arms crossed over his chest. His graying hair and beard gave him the air of a seasoned warrior, and his clothes—sturdy wool and faded leather—spoke of practicality over pride, the only reason for which he did not bring his armor was because no steel was allowed, of any type. Harrick's face was weathered by decades at sea, his expression unreadable as he watched the proceedings with a steady, unyielding gaze. 

Saltbeard, on the other hand, stood out like a storm cloud among the others. His beard, thick and blak, spilled down to his chest, and his frame was massive, the kind that filled doorways and made others step aside. As a matter of fact the reason for which he was called Salt Beard was because his island owned mines of salt.