The Tribal Council of the night of the fire is a major event of the middle phase of the Northern Crown cycle. It is not a public assembly but a decision table: the three main tribes of the eastern forest (Three Nations of the Forest) met around a single fire to decide whether to receive the group, expel it, or ally with it against the Redcoats of the Flying Dutchman.
| Type | Event |
| Spanish entry | Concilio Tribal — la noche del fuego |
The council
- The tribes’ names are not fixed, because the tribes themselves do not fix them in the presence of strangers.
- The smoke chooses before the word. The incense rises straight when the spirit approves and curves when it denies; the council watches the column more than it hears the speaker, who talks low, without gesturing: a bearer, not a protagonist.
- Salem is listed as an external agent in play.
The scene
Three elders sit in a closed circle around the central fire, in fringed leather with feathers on their foreheads. Behind them stand two wigwams of logs and bark, the left showing the tribe’s seal, the right dark; about half a dozen women and men sit listening, hands crossed on their knees.
From the right a white figure in a coat and gaiters approaches uninvited, visible to all: the group’s envoy, perhaps Patience or a companion. He does not sit without permission, take from the bowl unless offered, or light his own pipe. The decision takes a whole night; the smoke will say.
Open questions
- The council’s decision is not stated.