"Excuse me," Draven said as he shuffled past a woman and her husband. He plopped down into the seat next to them, and Sygvar took the seat adjacent to Draven.

"These seats suck, I can barely see the stage." Draven voiced his displeasure. Their seats were far from the stage and off to the far left. From what Draven could tell, four chairs arranged in a circle sat in the center of the stage.

"I agree, but at least we have seats," Sygvar replied.

Draven looked around the auditorium. The seats left when he and Sygvar arrived were all filled. But more people were still filing into the auditorium. Those just arriving were forced to stand in the back.

Draven's eyes locked on five people approaching the central stage. They all ascended the stage one after the other. The first was a woman with chestnut hair heading to one of the central chairs. Two others, a woman Draven recognized as Pami and a man named Arken, sat in opposite chairs. Pami and Arken were leaders of two major factions in the rebellion. The following two individuals stood behind Pami and Arken. Mydren was behind Pami, and Eron was behind Arken.

"Thank you all for joining us tonight. My name is Gwen, and I will be mediating this debate. Three people were supposed to be here debating, but the third is running a little late." Her voice reached Draven's ears crystal clear. It was like she was right next to him, speaking at an average volume. It was likely magic of some kind. "Arken, you may speak first."

The man to the far left of the stage stood up. He was tall, with broad shoulders. His build was athletic, hinting at years of training. His long black hair was braided into a ponytail, and he had pale white skin.

Draven's eyes drifted to Eron, the android accompanying Arken. The artificial human was of a slim athletic build. His skin was pale, and he had green eyes. His facial features were androgynous. Eron was built with an artificial mind modeled after a human's. The database had him listed as a mystic, a rarity for an android.

Arken cleared his throat, "First, I want to thank all of you for making it here today. Times have been tough since the new regime took office in Urith. But things are about to change. The people have had enough, and it's time to fight back!"

The crowd cheered at the last part. People whistled and stomped their feet. The woman next to Draven scowled and thrusted her fist into the air.

"My faction thinks it's time to respond to the horrors and violence that the mayor and his lackeys have inflicted on us. It's time to show them that we can bite back. We need to drag them out of their highrise condos and their mega mansions and kill them like the dogs they are!" Arken pumped his fist in the air.

"Yeah!" the woman next to Draven screamed with the rest of the crowd.

Draven leaned over to his master's ear, "This madman will get all these people killed. Even if they succeed in rebelling and taking over the city-state, thousands will die."

Sygvar nodded, "It is up to us to see that it doesn't happen. We don't want to bring bloodshed to these people."

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"And how many people will die in your crusade? Thousands? Millions? When will enough blood be spilled to satisfy your anger?" Pami spoke up. Her green eyes borrowed into Arken's eyes. "Not to mention that the government of Urith has access to military-grade weapons."

"Their weapons will be useless in the city with all the buildings and infrastructure they will want to keep from being destroyed," Arken argued back.

"What if they stop caring about preserving the city? What do you do then?" Pami asked.

Arken glared at her. "We continue fighting until we have one. If they destroy the city, it does not remove the rubble that will be left behind. We will still have cover to launch guerilla attacks."

"Alright, I think it's time for Pami to take the stand," Gwen arrived at the podium and ushered Arken to his seat. Draven noticed that the kid next to Arken had disappeared.

"Do we call in the raid now? They're obviously planning on attacking the government," Draven whispered to Sygvar.

Sygvar shook his head, "Not yet. We still have to hear what the other two factions are planning and then the people here after vote on which plan to follow."

Pami approached the podium with a smile, "I am here to suggest a different path to what we want. One with a lot less blood and violence. If we all band together, we can vote Ithra into office as the next mayor of Urith. She is a kind woman on the side of the common people. With her in office, we will benefit from the changes that she makes."

Arken started chuckling in his seat, slapping at his armrest. "You can't be serious? You want to replace one of the elite with another of the elite. Ithra comes from the same place as Nero. They are both children of high society. I bet she only acts like she cares for the common people to win votes."

"I have known Ithra for some time, and from what I've observed, she is different from Nero and the rest of the elite. She can be trusted. She is on our side." Pami said

The crowd whispered among themselves, skeptical of Ithra. Draven Had met Ithra a few times. She was the most likely candidate after Nero to win the upcoming election for the mayor's seat in Urith. She was a good woman, from what Draven could observe from her actions and what he could feel from her through the weave. However, she lacked support from the people in power and only had the common people on her side.

"Even if we all vote for Ithra, the elections are rigged. They will never let Ithra become mayor." Eron said.

Most of the crowd nodded in agreement. Anger on their faces at the injustice of the voting system. Draven knew that the system was slightly corrupted but did not think that the officials of the Urith would have the guts to rig elections.

"That may be true in the past. But with the Al'Manti presence in the city now, they will have a hard time trying to have a false election. We should seize this chance while we have the opportunity." Many people in the crowd started nodding along to what Pami was saying.

Arken clapped, "The same Al'Manti sent here to dismantle our rebellion? They are nothing but lapped dogs of the corrupted. They side with the government when they say they are the people's protectors."

Draven balled his hands into fists as his eyes burned into Arken. The man did not know a thing about the Al'Manti or what he and Master Sygvar were sent here to do. Arken and his little rebel friends were causing chaos in Urith.

"They would have been called here if you and your faction had not staged all those attacks. Blowing up that charity drive for Yullen took things too far." Pami fired back, "This could have all ended peacefully."

"What's done is done." A new man stepped on stage to respond. A woman followed just behind him.

Slowly, a boiling rage welled up within Draven's heart as he slowly recognized the man who slaughtered his hometown. That caused the death of his family and friends. All Draven could think about was murdering Raylen. Draven bolted out of his seat. A heavy hand pushed Draven back down, pinning him back in his chair. Draven turned to Sygvar. "Let me go," Draven growled out.

"Sit and watch," Sygvar commanded while keeping his hand in place.

"I did … we did, "Raylen gestured to himself, Arken, and those around him." What was best for the people. Peaceful protests were getting us nowhere."