Every eye was boring into Kaden and he couldn’t help but feel a sweat break out down his back. When all the eyes were on him at the water temple, it was out of curiosity. They were different. These looks were accusatory already. None of them had ever met them and yet they were already treating them like they were so a major threat.
The council composed of the four nation representatives and this one white robed, white-haired man in the middle. Kaden could only assume he was a white mage, representing the capital city itself.
The white-haired man in the middle bowed his head to each of them. “Ambassadors, I ask for an explanation why riders from two different nations broke the Daralty Armistice Treaty.”
Remni cleared her throat and spoke first. “These two riders are new dragon riders who were on their way to the capital to start their pilgrimage. They were following every protocol. They had both their dragons subdued and were coming in by the rail system. While they were on the train ride, an explosion rocked their world and flipped their train. They were openly attacked by a known insurgency group.”
A gasp ran out of the crowd. Kaden’s eyes darted around, looking at all the people whispering to one another. The fair-haired man above was unmoving as a quiet chaos echoed around him. His glare was intense. It bothered Kaden more than anything else.
Laramee then stepped forward, tossing the blood-soaked pin Sayori had given up right into the white-haired man’s lap. He held it up with a deep frown on his face. “House of the Serpent.”
Another gasp, another ripple of whispered commentary.
Taking a deep breath, Laramee nodded to Remni and said, “They assaulted the train, killed a large amount of the wind mages running the train, tried to kill the trainees, and steal their dragons. And that isn’t even the worst part.”
The crowd murmured as he paused for dramatic effect.
“They’ve effectively shut down all trade in and out of the city. We won’t be getting any food or water deliveries for weeks at the earliest. They’re making a direct attack on the sanctity of our alliances. This is a direct act of war.”
The crowd exploded in panicked talk. The white-haired man stood up and demanded silence, but no one respected it. A dark-haired councilman dressed in the red and orange slammed his hand down and a bright flash burned into everyone’s eyes. Kaden’s hands went to them, trying to rub the light away to see what had happened.
He stood up and in a deep echoing voice said, “silence! How dare you all dishonor this court with this behavior!”
Remni was rubbing her eyes aggressively as she said, “Malfor! That was uncalled for!”
“It was what was needed.” He waved a hand at her, dismissing her condemnation. “This is awfully convenient of a tale to cover over the fact that your riders broke the law flying into the white city!”
A long-haired councilman in yellow and green robes merely yawned at them all. The motion pulled all their eyes to him and he looked awkward at the sudden attention.
“Councilman Kartok, have your people been attacked on the rails?”
He raised his eyebrow at him and said, “you were in the same briefing I was. You know they were.”
Kaden saw Laramee crack a quick smile before it faded away. “These riders did the only thing they could think of to get help as quickly as they could. It was closer for them to come to the white city than it was to go back the way they came. There were injured and dying wind mages bleeding out on the ground. Do you think they should have walked their way for help and let our ally’s mages die?”
Kaden watched as several spectators nodded in agreement. This performance was like nothing he ever imagined. He thought everything that happened here was boring and sterile, but they were putting on performances for the crowd more than for each other. It was like they were playing a dance for public opinion.
Malfor squinted at him. “Of course we wouldn’t want that. But the law is the law. We can’t allow them to break it.”
The deep voice of the Lord Commander hushed the whispers that were starting again. “My team intercepted the dragons with no aggression. They were quick to hand themselves over and explain their situation. My team were able to get to the wind mages in time to provide the aid needed. They are there now assisting with the wreckage.”
Waving her hand toward the Lord Commander. “You see, these young riders were only trying to save others. Other mages of nations neither of them even belong to! Even if it meant they may be struck down themselves for doing so, they went for help. If that doesn’t show a willingness for unity of the nations, I don’t know what does! We should want that kind of honor in our riders. We shouldn’t punish them for doing what was right!”
The white-haired man stood up and the ambassadors all looked to the ground with respect. “Enough. I would like to hear from the riders themselves about what transpired.”
He waved to them, and Sayori looked at Kaden. They shared a nod before she turned to them, stepping forward to present herself as the speaker. “I met Kaden at the Earth Junction. We did not know the other was to be riding the train to the capital city, but quickly realized who each other was. We chose at that point to travel together, seeing as we would be making our pilgrimage together later, we might as well get to know one another.”
Looking back at Kaden, she said, “He is a very new rider and not as experienced as a magic user. I felt it was my duty to protect him on our trip considering all the conflicts that have been happening throughout the realms these days.”
Malfor slammed his hand down again and said, “You will correct your rider from slandering my nation, Remni.”
“Correct her about what? Admitting there are conflicts? Everyone knows about your rebel drama in the gladiatorial games, Malfor.”
“Silence! We do not have any issues. This is slander! That was just one isolated event. It has nothing to do with the House of Serpent attacks today.”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
The air ambassador, Kartok, leaned back in his chair. “How do you know she was even referencing your nation? They’ve been having a civil war over there in the earth nation. She could have been talking about that. Why are you so sensitive about the gladiatorial games, Maly?”
Kaden saw Remni’s fist clench, but Malfor spoke up before she could. “I will hear nothing about the games. Not when you’ve been preparing to use illegal technology in the next one.”
Finally, the air ambassador leaned forward in his chair. He looked annoyed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. That is a wild accusation to make, Maly.”
The white-haired man stood up again and said, “Silence. The next council member to interrupt will be kicked out of these proceedings.”
All four of them sheepishly looked down at their feet as if they were children who just got scolded. Kaden was absolutely astonished by their behavior in front of a full crowd of onlookers. They were being as openly disrespectful as Lord Enderton and Lord Loratyk had been. His illusion of politicians being prim and proper was shattered.
Taking a deep breath, Sayori continued. “I had noticed several robed figures that had joined us on the railcar, but were trying to be as inconspicuous as I could for our own safety. I think they knew who were somehow, which does not bode well for our communication lines.”
The white-haired man’s head tilted at that comment.
“Our car was attacked and we crashed. Luckily, the quick thinking on both our parts kept us from taking any major damage. The robed figures immediately went in for the attack. The two of us fought through them, only to find that they were trying to steal our dragons.”
Reaching her hand out, she motioned for Kaden to step up and speak. Swallowing hard, he tried to find his voice. It cracked as he tried to say something. Coughing, he tried again. “We were able to stop the attackers while the battle raged around us. They were able to neutralize the magic of the mages using some type of runed weaponry. Once our dragons were free, we made quick work of them before many of them fled.”
Sayori nodded at him and let him step back before continuing again. “You can ask the mages there about what happened. We were able to investigate those they left behind and discovered the pin you see in front of you. Our only choice was to follow the rail and hope that we could reach someone in time. We worried they would make a second attempt once we left. Had our dragons not been there to help, I am absolutely sure you would be having a meeting about the mass murder of wind mages and not their survival.”
The crowd started whispering again.
Kaden felt a surge of bravery fill him and stepped up again. “There were people bleeding out and dying. Mages that couldn’t use their magic clinging to their lives. We hoped that if we followed the rail directly, that it would show that we were coming from that direction. They knew we were coming by rail already, but the train would have been late. We hoped they would understand our tactic and we wouldn’t be seen as a threat. That’s when the Lord Commander had intercepted us and brought us here.”
The commander nodded behind them to the council, verifying his statement. Kaden hoped it was enough.
There was a silence eating at the room. No one dared to interrupt it. A cough here and there broke the silence, but no one dared to say anything else. The white-haired man looked between Kaden and Sayori, squinting his eyes in thought.
“Runed weapons, can you describe this?” his question chewing at the tension in the room.
Taking a deep breath, Sayori took the lead again. “When stabbed with a knife, we watched a wind mage’s magic explode out of him before falling to the ground almost instantly after the magic left him.”
Kaden took his own deep breath. “They had trapped me under a runed net that stunned my own magic usage. I understand these types of nets are used in the games and are not allowed to be used outside of them.”
He watched as Malfor’s eyes cut toward the air ambassador. He wondered if it had anything to do with the illegal technology he had mentioned earlier.
“The straps used on the dragons were not designed directly for dragons. They were made of cloth and had makeshift runes across them. I don’t believe they were intending on catching our dragons and it was a last-minute change in their plans.”
The white-haired man looked at his colleagues around him, sighed, and said, “I believe their goal was to disrupt the trade route, as Councilman Laramee suggested.”
The whispers exploded around them as the panicked realization hit everyone that they would be out of supplies in the city. The white-haired man put his hands out demanding silence again, but no one would listen.
Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as the Lord Commander pointed at Malfor and shook his head. He must not have wanted a repeated flash across the council room. Stepping up in front of Kaden and Sayori, he nodded to them and motioned for them to go back to their seats.
Kaden looked to Sayori and she shrugged and slunk back, pulling him by his hand with her. He let her drag him away and they both tried to be as small as they could while everything panicked around them. He stood tall in front of the council, and the room slowly came to a hush of quiet as they all waited for him to speak.
“We have had a rise in House of the Serpent attacks lately. This is known. This is the first that has been so direct and aggressive as it was. I highly doubt that they knew that the two riders would be there, so do not fear a leak within our ranks. These two speak truthfully and honorably about what they saw. We have seen similar rune usage, but not on weapons themselves. My men will do everything they can to protect the realms.”
Awkwardly, everyone waited for him to say more.
He nodded to the white-haired man and said, “Councilor Nortu, I believe we have stores for a good while to survive without the rails working.”
Kaden finally knew the name of the white mage councilman. Nortu nodded. “While it is a horrible incident and will take some time to repair, I want everyone here to know we are well stocked with both food and water. We ensure the White City can function for months without direct shipments. It is a safety precaution in case of any weather or other issue. It is hard baked into our foundation that we had hoped we would never need. You all will be fine until the main trade lines are working properly again.”
The collective sigh of relief Kaden heard amused him. It was as if they were all working themselves up into a panic when they knew it wasn’t needed. He didn’t know what it was like living in a place that didn’t provide its own goods, but relied on others in that way.
Malfor sighed after everyone calmed down. “So what are we going to do about the treaty breakers, then?”
“Let them go?” Nortu shrugged.
Remni quickly said, “Seconded.”
Laramee looked confused but quickly said, “Third.”
Kortok shrugged himself and said, “Motion passes with a majority.”
Looking at the seating above them, he noticed the blond man that was staring at him before was gone. His companion was also missing. Who was he and why did he give them such looks of hate?
The white-haired man let out an abrupt laugh, winked at the two of them. “I hereby declare that the unauthorized flight of dragons into the capital city did not break the Daralty Armistice Treaty due to unique, special circumstances.”
Malfor threw his hands up and went to stomp off.
Nortu cut him off and said, “I request a private briefing with the ambassadors and the lord commander this afternoon to discuss the details of this attack.”
All of the council members nodded and agreed before dispersing.
Remni and Laramee quickly turned back around to them and grabbed the two of them by their arms, dragging them away before the crowd could gather. Kaden thought the ambassador was going to pull his arm off as they nearly ran out of the council room ahead of all the curious people.
Just as they were passing into the opening, he saw the blond man walking toward them aggressively, the red head girl following behind. He heard Laramee say, “Oh good! Evonne and Ree—”
A fist connected with Kaden’s jaw and he fell to the ground as the world started spinning. His vision blurred as he tried to gain his focus again. The pain radiated against his jaw and he looked back to Sayori putting herself between them.
“How fucking dare you?” he spat out at Kaden.