The day felt like a long one. Notices were posted across the town, and word quickly spread about what had happened to Ryance. There was a little bit of an outcry over letting him roam around freely, but most people agreed that he shouldn’t be killed. A few suggested exile, but it was deemed and irresponsible action; at least if Ryance was kept in the city, they could keep an eye on him. Very few people stood up for him, but most of them spoke of Ryance in the past tense, as if he was already dead, and they were ready to mourn his loss. Klarn was torn about this. At least it showed they had appreciated the man he was, but, he wasn’t ready to give up on his friend. By the time evening came, and he went to the jail, Klarn was in pretty low spirits. He sighed as he unlocked the cell door.
“Thank you, Klarn. I know this must be hard on you,” Ryance said as he stepped out of the cell, glad to leave it behind, yet not eager to face the rest of the world. “I’m sure I would have reacted much the same way if our roles had been reversed.” He took a deep breath, unable to keep a slight tremor out of it. “What has the Council decided?”
“They’ve decided to let you stay. I don’t think Lord Larxer is happy though. You know how much he hates you,” said Klarn, sounding very tired.
“I’m very much aware, and I imagine he probably tried his best to get rid of me. It looks like he’ll get Cesorpha after all,” Ryance said, not even trying to keep the bitter note from his voice. “There’s no way I can marry her after Vynera contaminated me. Please tell Cesorpha how sorry I am that it had to end this way. I can face any enemy, but I can’t face breaking her heart,” said Ryance. Again he realized the depth of the mistake he had made by coming back.
“Of course I’ll tell her,” Klarn said, somewhat relieved that Ryance wasn’t under any illusions about his future with Cesorpha. “But I like to think that, even with losing you, she’d have more sense than to have any interest in him,” Klarn added, defending his sister.
“I’m sorry; that was unkind of me.” Ryance shook his head. “I’m not at my best right now; if there’s nothing else, I think I’ll just go home and figure things out.”
“Don’t apologize. You’ve endured something no one should. It’s unfair to expect you to pretend as if nothing happened. Go, rest if you can.”
The two of them parted ways, Ryance returning home, and Klarn going back to visit his sister. This conversation was going to be even harder than the last one, and he didn’t look forward to it. But cowardice was something highly frowned on in Solumina, and Klarn loved his sister enough to tell her himself. He couldn’t trust anyone else to be as considerate to her feelings. He entered her house with their custom knock, waiting a few moments, then stepped inside. From where he stood he could hear the quiet sound of her sobbing on the floor above him. With a sour feeling in the pit of his stomach, he went upstairs and let himself into her room. Cesorpha was sitting at her vanity, crying. Lightly he tapped on her shoulder and she turned towards her brother, her face red and tear-streaked.
“Klarn, is it true about Ryance?” she asked, her voice hoarse. A lot of people had come by, sharing their various opinions on the matter. It only took a few of those before Cesorpha had secluded herself upstairs, ignoring any further knocks at her door. She didn’t want to hear about it any further. But she trusted her brother. The few years between them had never mattered much; they had always been close.
“I’m afraid so. The Council is allowing him to live free, but, he asked me to tell you that things are… over between the two of you. He says he’s sorry about how it had to end,” said Klarn, avoiding eye contact with his sister. He didn’t want to see her pain. His words were short and to the point; no amount of padding could ease her sense of loss, so Klarn felt it was better to be direct. Cesorpha didn’t misunderstand his intentions.
“Poor Ryance; this must be such a burden for him. He’s so proud… He’ll have no peace at all with everyone knowing what he is.” Cesorpha felt bad for feeling pity for him, but, she couldn’t stop it. “You can tell him I understand. It hurts, but I know why he’s doing it. I trust his decision.” Cesorpha was no fighter, but she was brave in her own way. She did understand, but it didn’t take away the emptiness she felt now. All her hopes and dreams for the future had been taken away. Tears welled up again in her eyes, and she spent a long time just crying against her brother’s shoulder. She did this until she was completely exhausted. Klarn helped her into her bed, and tucked her in, like the old days when being the big brother meant a lot more. He returned home, feeling like he had aged years in the past few days.
Days passed, turning into weeks, then months. Vynera made many more monsters; Ryance had been a risky investment, and he was proving a slow one. She knew that Ryance would have made it back to tell the people about her, so she could no longer rely on the element of surprise. Solumina had to send out many skilled warriors and wizards to kill her new batches of creatures. Once again delegations were sent to Ivelcour, this time to assist the poor, defenseless towns of those who hadn’t believed in Vynera. During this time Ryance bore his hunger pains bravely. He spent most of his time hidden away from the people. The only person he willingly saw was Klarn. He couldn’t bear to look at Cesorpha again, and he couldn’t bear to have anyone else look at him.
But everyone reaches a limit at some point. The pain was almost unbearable, and Ryance could feel his body weaken significantly. Still, he bore it with stoic determination until he started to hear voices. Bits and pieces of his past conversations with Vynera would replay in his head. Most commonly he heard her taunt him with, “you must feed on the blood of others to survive.” Eventually, it drove him to madness, the hunger howling inside of him broke loose.
Creeping out at night, he followed his senses that were designed to seek out the living. He caught a young woman walking home late; she was a stranger to him, but it might not have mattered if she was someone he knew. Darting out from the shadows, he pinned her against a wall, one hand covering her mouth. She squirmed and fought, but in his madness, he felt almost nothing. His fangs pierced easily into her throat, diverting the stream of her blood into his mouth instead of through the rest of her body. He had never tasted blood before, and that first taste filled him with a sense of warmth and euphoria that made him eager for more. This, combined with his blood starvation, made him unable to stop himself before she was nothing but a bloodless corpse.
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When he came back to his senses, and fully realized what he had done, Ryance screamed in rage and sorrow; he had always aspired to protect others, and yet he had killed an innocent. The scream alerted a patrol, who quickly mobilized towards the sound. Horrified, they found Ryance walking towards them with the dead woman in his arms, cradled there almost protectively. It didn’t take them long to guess what had happened, but the look on his face would stick with most of them for the rest of their lives; they couldn’t tell if his expression, or the limp body, was the more tragic sight. Ryance didn’t resist as they surrounded him, taking the dead from him with gentle care, and hauled him back to the jail. Once again, Klarn visited him.
“Ryance, what happened?” he asked, his expression blank. He chided himself for asking such a callous question.
“I couldn’t resist it anymore; I lost control. But, there’s no excuse.” Ryance’s face was haggard.
“I don’t know what to tell you. You’ll have a fair trial, but I doubt you will win. Murder has never been taken very well,” said Klarn sadly. Ryance flinched at the word ‘murder’.
“I never would have done such a vile deed when I was truly myself. Maybe I should have been destroyed when I first came here. That way I wouldn’t have done such a terrible thing.” Ryance rubbed his hand down his face, his emotions a mess of guilt and self-loathing. And though it was painful, he had to ask, “Do you blame me, Klarn?”
“It’s not you I blame; this is Vynera’s fault. I understand, but I doubt the court will be as sympathetic. I don’t think they can afford to be.” It wasn’t easy to tell Ryance these things, but he also wasn’t going to lie and pretend that things would turn out. He respected Ryance too much for that, and treating the subject lightly would be like spitting in the face of the friends and family of the young woman Ryance had killed.
“Does…Cesorpha blame me?”
“No! She’s cried every night since it happened, both for you and for that woman. She couldn’t blame you either; she loved you, and that feeling didn’t go away just because it no longer had a place able to receive it.” Klarn looked around anxiously. “I really shouldn’t be here, but I couldn’t just desert you like most people have,” he said. “I’m going to speak at your trial; I don’t care if it damages my reputation or position in the Council. It has to be done, and I will do my part; I don’t think anyone else will try properly.”
“I appreciate it, but don’t stress yourself. Cesorpha will need you, no matter the result. There’s not much that can be done for me, but there’s no reason to leave her even more isolated.”
There was nothing left for Klarn to say that wouldn’t just make the entire conversation more awkward or painful. He simply nodded his head and made his way out of the jail. Ryance was being perfectly reasonable, all things considered, and Klarn almost wished that he had shown more anger. He spoke as someone who had already given up. But, perhaps, that was easier than trying to fight a losing battle. What would it gain either of them? Klarn wished there was an easy answer. For a moment he wished Ryance had fully died on his mission, or had never returned. But if that had been the case, they wouldn’t have known about Vynera’s awakening until it was too late. Ryance had upheld his duty, even in the face of losing his reputation, his sanity, and his life. He was a true knight.
The city was a buzz for the next few days as the date for the trial was set as well as the details hammered out. A segment of the population wanted an immediate execution, largely led by the members of the family of the young woman who had died. Guards were kept busy outside the jail, since most people wanted the trial to progress, if only as a sign of civility more than any desire to keep Ryance alive. Of course, there were also a great number of people who did not seek his head, but almost no one wanted him to be released again. Both Cesorpha and Klarn refused to speak, the former stayed home all the time, but the latter didn’t have that luxury. Klarn was still determined to speak for his friend, even though the outcome looked bleak. To make things worse, Lord Larxer would be speaking against him. While Klarn was a decent speaker, he couldn’t stack up against Larxer, who had made speaking his profession.
“Welcome Council members, jury, and people of Solumina. Today we have a unique case. Ryance, one of our honored knights, was warped by Vynera and returned home to deliver his message as duty dictated. He stayed, by permission of this very Council. Days ago he broke down and killed Gitaya, another citizen of Solumina, to ease his unnatural hunger. Do we kill Ryance to appease justice, or do we find an alternate punishment because of the delicacy of the situation? We are here to decide his fate. I hope you will all make your decisions carefully, and without bias,” said Gesslent. He had been very fond of Ryance, who had always been very dependable, and he was truly sorry about what happened to him. It was the first time he felt sorrow in bringing someone to justice, though he couldn’t regret what had to be done.
At this point Ryance was brought in, heavily guarded with his wrists chained close together. Behind him came Klarn and Larxer, each dressed formally. Ryance was seated in front of the whole court. Larxer stood on one side of him. Klarn stood on the other side. Although many people were angry at Ryance, or at least at the crime he committed, most of the people remained silent. Respect for the Council and the process of law was stronger than the negative sentiments. And if there were any disruptions, it would slow down the case, so both those who were for a guilty sentence, and those who were against, had an interest in keeping things civil. For the time being.
“Lord Larxer will be speaking against Ryance. Klarn will be speaking for him. If there is anything that needs to be corrected or added, do so now,” said Gesslent. Everyone noticed how sad and tired he looked and sounded. Larxer raised his hand to speak. Gesslent motioned at him to speak his piece.
“Before I start, I’d like to make one thing clear. My role in speaking against Ryance has nothing to do with any personal opinion I might have of him. This is a messy job, but it must be done,” said Larxer with a slight bow.
“Liar!” hissed Ryance under his breath. Klarn heard it and glanced sharply at Ryance, concerned at the impression it would give. Larxer heard it and held back a retort, not wishing to make himself look like the liar Ryance proclaimed him to be. No one else heard it. Ryance wouldn’t have cared if they had. He knew Larxer was speaking against him so he could personally get rid of his rival. The tiny outburst went unnoticed by the rest of the room, preoccupied as they were with murmuring over the subject.
“Lord Larxer, you may begin.” The words brought the room back into a hush.