The elves outside the Council Hall had long since erupted into heated discussion. They finally understood: the City Lord firmly believed that Quel'Danil was part of Quel'Thalas, but the King and the Silvermoon Council had abandoned it. There was only one reason-the Lord of Quel'Danil was not particularly inclined to obey the King and the Silvermoon Council.
Among the chattering elves, many villagers from Elf Village had been assigned to help distribute slips of paper and collect ballots. Voting was simple. Each small, square slip was blank except for a number to prevent anyone from cheating by voting more than once. Those who believed this was Quel'Thalas territory were to write "yes"; those who did not were to write "no."
Votes were being collected outside, but neither faction of councilors inside the Council Hall knew about it.
"City Lord, you cannot veto a resolution the council has already passed!" a Noble Faction councilor shouted.
"City Lord, you said Quel'Danil was a free and democratic city, and that the council was its highest authority. Even as City Lord, you cannot arbitrarily change a resolution the council has already passed," a King Faction councilor said with a sneer.
Yu Lin Bloodhawk looked at the King Faction councilor and said disdainfully, "Since you refuse to recognize Quel'Danil as part of Quel'Thalas, you are no longer qualified to serve as councilors here. You have no right to participate in its decisions, and your previous resolution has automatically become invalid.
"Only two kinds of people are qualified to participate in the Quel'Danil Council's decisions: elves who reside permanently in Quel'Danil, and those who love Quel'Thalas and are loyal to it. Which kind are you? You are neither! That means you have no right to participate in council decisions. You do not even have the right