She'd asked him to accept the invitation, to reclaim their clan's place not for the Council's sake but for the sake of the elves who'd had nothing to do with ancient betrayals.
For the desert settlements he'd defended. For the possibility of building something better than the cycle of revenge that had consumed his father.
So here he sat, on a throne representing his clan, surrounded by clan leaders who might fear him, might respect him, or might want him dead if they thought they could manage it safely.
Not all of them had been involved in the betrayal, he knew that intellectually.
Kal'tun's, Korreth's—they'd genuinely maintained good bonds with Ser'gu, had been horrified by the betrayal, and had argued against stripping the Sol'vur name from records.
But institutions remembered, even if individuals changed. The Council as a whole bore responsibility for what had been done, and Jorghan wasn't naive enough to think acceptance here meant forgiveness.
