The First Elder sat quietly throughout the growing debate, his fingers loosely interlocked and resting atop the black obsidian table, his gaze unchanging and impassive as he allowed the others to exhaust their arguments, for he was not a man who chose to speak early, but rather one who preferred to speak last, at the precise moment when the room was divided and the outcome uncertain, so that his words would carry the most weight.
"Alright, silence in the chamber please, silence in the chamber..." he finally said, rising slowly to his feet with the calm authority of someone who did not need to raise his voice to command it, and at once, the elders fell quiet, the scattered hum of private discussions evaporating as all eyes turned towards the head of the table, waiting with measured anticipation for what he had to say.
