A hush fell over the entire room with the entrance of this unusual party. Aurella and Gideon entered side by side being led by Lord Tillion. Destin and Goddar hung in the background. This courtroom itself was immaculate the pillars around the circular room reached up the spire they were in. The judges and councilmen sat elevated about them four to each side with the king and his queen at the center.
Lord Tillion waved his arms about with the introduction, “King and Queen, Lords and Judges of Stormforth, I bring to you the survivors of Perdition. With them, an Atyri from the island Galemourne.” He stepped to the side while they walked to the center of the room to be presented to the court. Some of the judges stood to get a better look, curious to what the atyri were.
The king sat in silence, his hand scratching his blackened beard. He waited patiently in the moment of silence to gage who these people were in the courts. Destin watched him closely watching his mannerisms. The queen was curious checking the people down below with the subtle chatter of the councilmen. The king held his hand up to quiet the men, who silenced themselves immediately. He then sat more upright in his chair, motioning to Gideon to begin.
Aurella ignored the gestures of the court and instead spoke up, “King Airrick, I am Aurella and stand here today informing you of the new alliance I am to offer in voice of the wishes of the Atyri.” She observed the courtroom and judges as she spoke. “Long ago, this land was shared with humans and Atyri alike, we lived and fought together on multiple occasions while our kinds lived in general harmony.”
She was cut off by one of the judges, “Who gave you voice?” A judge spitefully interjected. “In no way were you motioned to speak, and you will halt your speech until called upon.”
She glared at the judge who called her out, but the king spoke up, “Let her speak. It is you who is out of place.” He motioned for the judge to sit back down before allowing Aurella to continue.
Aurella did a small bow and continued speaking, “When the time came that you needed us most, we vanished, fleeing to the isle of Galemourne to live out our eternal days alone. Shortly after, the rebels were defeated in the fields of Arthemis.” She knelt down on one knee, staring down at the ground, “We vow to return to Alluvion, to repay this debt.”
The Queen spoke up, curiosity in her voice, “I am indeed honored by your visit, and thank you for your journey. I will admit, I am rather curious, who are the Atyri?”
Removing her cloak she stood before the court for them to see her entirety. The bluish gray skin, her pointed ears hidden behind her silvery moon light hair, with the piercing lavender eyes. “We are magical beings gifted with immortality, each given special abilities, strongest in the full moons, weakest in the new.”
The judges spoke amongst themselves a moment, notating in awe and wonder what was being said. The scribe lost track of writing observing this rare phenomenon before him. The judge next to the queen raised his voice, “So why now?”
She hesitated, looking to Gideon, him knowing the questions the answer would bring. He didn’t hesitate, only nodded for her to move forward, “My father had a vision and sense of an awakening to come, of knowledge once lost, now ready to return. It was him who directed me to Perdition to locate that source where I was guided by the Gods to Destin and Gideon.” She pointed to them both.
Goddar was oddly offended that he wasn’t brought up in the story. Destin and Gideon stepped beside her. The king watched closely, deep in thought, only to ask one question, “What knowledge has been lost?”
Again, she was hesitant to give the answer, “Magic.”
Mumbling and quiet laughter filled the room among the judges. The king still sat quiet, in now way did his facial expression change. He only observed how we and his men acted. A judge stood up, “You honestly believe that magic exists? No proof or sources have been given in this court nor outside!”
Another interjected, “On top of that, it doesn’t solve or contribute at all to our war effort. Even if magic did exist, as you claim, in no way does that help us!”
The queen whispered into the king's ear while he nodded in recognition, though never spoke up to give his input to the judges banter. For a number of minutes they all discussed and debated the reality of magic, the majority denying the existence. The two skeptics who didn’t were immediately shut down for the madness of their thoughts.
Gideon motioned to Destin for him to listen, “This is the dangers of the world, and one you must heed. Rather than question the possibility of something great, they shut down and destroy the very thought.” He whispered.
“But why do such a thing?” Destin asked listening to their debate. “I mean we could disprove them right now.”
“In time, we are assessing the situation much like the king here.” Gideon pointed out, “If we were to only show the proof, yes that would end such debate, but this tells us of their character more than proving them wrong ever would.”
“The worry here is we give them some proof with me standing before them, yet they deny the chance of more.” Aurella added shaking her head in disappointment.
The judges spoke their minds freely slowly raising their voices to yelling. “I fail to see the logic in such boisterous claims! If magic truly existed we would see proof around us, seldom if any, but we would see proof.”
Most agreed amongst themselves. Gideon grew tireless of the meaningless debate as he was losing all respect for the judges and councilmen. The King and Queen alone were the only ones who seemed to have redeeming qualities, but with the whispering between one another, that too was difficult to judge.
Stepping forward Gideon bowed his head to focus his abilities. The flames on the walls flickered with a breeze circulating through the chamber. He opened his eyes revealing an emerald glow while an orb of energy grew from the center of his guided hands. “This world,” He said the men startled and in absolute shock, “has forgotten the magic it possesses.”
The guards gripped their spears anticipating what may happen, but were more than petrified that the attack would do little to help. The king and queen stood up, him starting to walk down the stairs to get a better look at the majestic performance in front of him. “By the Gods…” King Airrick was mesmerized his eyes finally opened. “I could never fathom…”
Tillon stood in the corner unphased by the events taking place as if he believed all along. He just carried a smug look on his face with his arms folded. Destin was more than happy to see their faces when they realized they were more than wrong. Magic was real, and it was time for them to know it themselves.
Gideon subsided the magic and returned to normal, “This power and ability was what use to govern and protect Alluvion long ago. High King Revnic possessed it back then to rid all knowledge of it, now the High King in Arthemis and his leadership still possess it. This is the very reason for your struggle to overcome his armies.”
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“Now allow us to discuss with you the next steps we need to take to free the land from this great evil.” Aurella demanded, “Alluvion has been at war near a decade, and it is time to end the bloodshed once and for all.”
The King walked up to Gideon and Aurella extending a hand to properly greet them, “Aurella, Gideon, friends, let us discuss these matters.” He turned back to the court members, “In private, leave us now.” He commanded in a straightforward presence. He looked almost betrayed by the men he trusted most. The offended men, didn’t openly rebel, but stood and stormed out of the room slamming the door behind them. Tillion also was escorted out, uninvited by the king.
The king reached out his hand to receive his wife, “I would like to introduce you to my wife, with whom I am nothing, Kassandra.” She grasped his hand and was guided over to the group. She greeted them properly, and in turn they each did the same. The king continued, “I would rather us speak frankly with one another, to get all this pointlessness aside. What can I do to help?”
Each couldn’t help but be overjoyed by those words, and in every way possible they wished to return the favor. Gideon smiled and responded, “Allow me to tell you a story.” He then went on to tell the same stories he had shared with Destin, explaining the way of the Highborn, and how the High King Revnic turned on the kingdom to take control of the five other kingdoms and turn the people against the Highborn. With his final thoughts, he shared the tragedy of the Battle of Arthemis before his great sleep.
The king sat on the stairs absorbing all of the information like a sponge. He believed all the words Gideon was confessing, while he also asked many of his own questions. The queen too was sure to give her input, listening carefully as well. In the end, the king asked one question, “So what now? With Arthemis still possessing this power, how do we counter it?”
“With Aurella sending word to her father, they should be heading this way here in the month. Still, I will admit with Destin and I here beside you we have a great uphill battle ahead.” Gideon admitted. “Nevertheless, we will overcome. What do you know of High King Viran.”
The King shrugged his shoulders, “Not too much since we have been at war for so long. From our last meeting a few years ago he was younger than me by a number of years, yet appeared wiser.” He thought to himself pausing, “He possesses four other advisers, and has around ten High Generals leading his armies, each hand picked from the six kingdoms after swearing loyalty to the king himself.” He laughed to himself rolling his eyes, “Each over qualified, but I assume that is what you would want in the battlefield.”
Gideon agreed, but did his best to reassure the king, “The High King knows of us, but with us escaping from Perdition our whereabouts are unknown. We have the upper hand for a time.”
He nodded in agreement, sitting in silence reflecting on Orrinshire, “I can’t believe the orcs burned Orrinshire to the ground like that.” His voice trembled with the sentence.
Destin reflected on the images flooding into his memory of Orrinshire in flames, the smoke blotting out the star light in the night sky. The horror and final moments the citizens experienced. Gideon brought Destin back to reality, “Viran knew that with the battle, the witnesses of magic could spread. He did everything in his power to silence them before word could get out.”
“Innocent blood. Always casualties of war. Victims of a cause they are in no way apart of, now gone from the world.” King Airrick said in pain. It was unique to Destin to see such a king who did care for the people. He could tell that each life lost did mean something, and if King Airrick had it in his power to fight without the loss of life, he would do so in an instant. “Do we tell Stormforth and the other kingdoms of you? Of magic?”
“Not just yet, I would like for us to get a grasp on everything first. Learn how this world works as you learn about magic. Then we can strategize on how to combat this properly.” Gideon plainly said.
The king stood up and with his hands out said, “That's a fair assessment. If you forgive me for speaking so boldly this one time, how should I trust you? Would it be so easy for High King Viran to trick me with this?”
“Oye, just do the memory morph share thing! That scared odd things out of me, but it confirmed the truth rather well.” Goddar said for the first time speaking up.
The king gently laughed, with a small crack of a smile, “That won’t be necessary, but I am the one who believes strongly in the power of our word. Gideon, Aurella, if you swear to me in this moment that you are being truthful, then I promise you will be welcomed as my guests and advisers.”
Without hesitation Gideon looked him in the eyes and said, “I swear to you by the Gods themselves, the words we speak are truthful. We in no way are tied to Arthemis or their efforts.”
Aurella said the same words, meaning them wholeheartedly. The king faced the both of them, and resting his hands on their shoulder said, “Your valor and efforts shall not be in vain. I will do my best to be the leader and king needed in Alluvion.”
They all smiled, and the king gave a single clap. “Now, it looks as though we have gone far into the evening. Stories and history seem to have that effect sometime. I do apologize for the long wind of our conversation but you each will be brought to your personal rooms, and I will bring a variety of dinner since you are probably famished.”
King Airrick motioned for the guards to open the main doors while he lead them with his wife through the hallways. “If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask. It appears that you have traveled rather light,” he observed. “In the morning you will be measured and brought new clothes as you request.”
They turned down a hallway being greeted by a number of servants both male and female. The king held his wife’s hand and spoke to everyone, “They will escort you to your rooms. They are quite friendly but if you are more the silent type, then they prefer that.”
Goddar eyed a woman servant and immediately ran to her as she jumped from being startled. “Hello, I’m Goddar and you are?” He flirtatiously remarked allowing her to begin to lead him down the hallway. She answered her name but was overshadowed by his continuous small talk trying to woo her. Destin knew it was a failed effort, but he gave the dwarf credit for trying.
Destin was lead down a maze of hallways until he reached his door. He thanked the servant and entered his room. He let out a quiet sigh from the events of the day, but he couldn’t believe the progress they had made. He was in Stormforth, not only that but the castle of King Airrick, staying as his guests. In a matter of days he had gone from slave to honored guest, and he was more than ecstatic.
Walking around his room he removed his shoes feeling the stone cold floor before resting promptly on the rug. He saw his bed, the frame having exquisite wood workings which reached above the bed draping a cover over. He never saw the point of those besides decorations, but still, he had one now. The fire next to the bed roared fiercely keeping his entire chamber warm in the frigid night. He threw a few more logs to keep it strong, and quickly continued exploring.
A table he somehow had missed when walking in, probably due to spotting the bed and fire so hastily, but he regretted that when he realized the copious amounts of food which waited for him to devour. Eager to dive in with his stomach growling, he paused a second. Considering his food intake was rather low for some time he resisted the urge to gorge and instead ate some fruit until his stomach was satisfied.
A yawn passed through him as he stretched high into the air. He itched the back of his head and walked over towards the bed removing his shirt. He passed by the mirror but stopped for a moment and moved back to check on himself. His stomach, even full, still barely lay flat, his ribs plainly showing. Destin let out a sigh of disappointment, but felt like it would pass in time. He checked his back, the cuts from the orcs whip still scabbing over the numerous scars he already had. A constant reminder to haunt him the remainder of his days. Something to always bring the flashbacks of the horrors of Vertrock.
He shut the memories out. Today was a grandiose day, and it wasn't about to be ruined by another vision of the past. Destin walked over to the bed, leaving the shirt hung over the top of a chair and felt the lush bed. The sheets felt like a cloud, or as much as he could imagine one felt. The pillow sank in with his touch with a softness unlike anything he had felt before. It was everything he had dreamed of ever since he was a child, but no longer was it what he needed.
Without a second thought Destin pulled off the many blankets which layered the bed, finding the thinnest sheet, and grabbing a larger book from the shelf laid them both down by the fire. He positioned everything ever so carefully, then sat to watch the fire die down. There he sat, his thoughts pacing around like tranquil therapy while he collected himself.
When the fire went to embers, and left the room in a mild glow, he found himself turned over on the stone floor comfortable. For so long he had yearned for this luxurious life, but when the occasion came, he realized he had truly changed. Before long, he left the world he knew to travel across conciseness and his dreams, the scars lit with his back to the fire.