I looked at the prince, utterly confused. How was I supposed to defend a thief? It would not only hurt my honor but I was given no info on anything that occurred.
The older thief smiled wryly. “I apologize,” he began. “Information regarding his betrayal of the kingdom remains confidential as sensitive information could hurt multiple groups here. You can step back if you wish, nobody would think any less of you.”
His words cut into the heart of the matter. I was given nothing to work off of because the kid’s death was already decided. Most likely politics decided this and not any law. “I must ask, is there any evidence for or against him that can be brought up.”
“None.” He looked at me confidently.
“Can I ask for him to testify?”
“No, as he might cause lasting damage somehow like the traitor he is.”
“Is this to be his trial then?”
“Correct. After this is execution.” His smug face made me want to spite him somehow, but I had nothing. No evidence, no testimony, and nobody spoke out against the change in ceremony. I was surprised that they didn’t submit a request to change their candidate as they needed to send word of who was arriving months in advance. After his death, all evidence of whatever laws were broken would surely be erased. And then I started smiling.
“I agree to his execution, provided you prove you aren’t destroying evidence demanded by royalty.” I gave the brightest, noblest smile I could at my statement. I couldn’t tell if his smile vanishing was because what I insinuated was true or because I overstepped boundaries. A few of the surrounding groups glared at me for speaking out of place, yet I simply spoke as his defendant.
The thief looked down at me hard, likely imagining me withdrawing before such an accusation. “I hope you take back what you said, it is a rather serious accusation.”
I stepped forward, past a multitude of people in higher social brackets, approaching the tied boy. “Whenever this meeting occurs, every group sends a representative to this place. We look at everyone’s 3 possible paths, which shows what kind of lives they led. Somebody who committed such a devastating act of treason would undoubtedly have that change at least one of their three paths. So we look at his possible paths, write them down for future generations to debate over, and execute him knowing you were right.”
The older thief opened his mouth to speak when the elder prince spoke up. “Wonderful transition. We representatives must head over to the shrine room to look into the futures of our promising youths. The church has been kind enough to allow access to a mirror to ensure everyone else can read the names of their paths, it doesn’t give more insight into them like the monocle of truths unfortunately, but we can debate what choices would be best for the future. Please go through the room the priests are in front of and lay a hand on the relics of the past. It is rare, but you may get a path based on an innate gift related to it.”
I was interested in if they meant the best for the country’s future, the team’s future, or our future. Nevertheless, I was more interested in seeing the results of other people’s lives up to this point.
We could only pick a first path at 20 years of age, with everything we did being relevant to it. It was a very personal choice. Because of how much everyone did in their daily lives, we couldn’t be perfectly certain of any requirements behind how paths were determined. They just were. One guy could swing a sword 9,999 times and get the same class offered as if he swung it a final time or a change could be based on another number. Most of those swings may not have been helping him because he had bad form, which might or might not matter. He might have gotten a better path if he practiced running as well. Swinging around an ax as well for an hour might give you a more generalized path than just swords. People gave up studying it centuries ago, now only philosophers discuss it.
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I walked into the large room. It was nothing but smooth gray walls with a few podiums brought in for today. It was likely meant for meetings, and I brushed against most of the things I was told to touch. I was interested in the stories behind some of the items. They included some very strange things: an offshoot of a sacred flame, the heart of a corrupted earth elemental, an old sword that was forged in the blood of monsters. Honestly, I might have been asking about any of the maybe thirty objects they brought any other day. Now I could only wait to get a path. I knew they only brought these things out on the off chance somebody reacted to something and could give the heroes a better chance of winning. Still, I wasn’t choosing a path based on them.
I waited as I saw people doing their last preparation for getting a path. In particular, the singer was casting a small light spell and concentrating on it. The higher ups all went into the shrine room first. They brought the thief boy and the saintess as well, which probably meant they were going to check if he needed to die.
A few conversations were happening around me, but none of them included me. I didn’t need anyone to teach me about how this worked and didn’t care to debate the finer points with others. There were only three paths that were shown to a person. The ambitious path was whichever one that the divines considered hardest to get and you usually barely completed the requirements to get. You likely gained strength, but it wasn’t guaranteed to help you most of the time. The humble path, the path that you met the qualifications for the most times over. Usually, people who choose this path would perfect the basic actions in their lives. It was a lot better than it sounded. The final path was the curious path. It was a path based on things you have touched upon, but not done much with. The singer might get a sword or magic based curious path, while mine might be horseback riding.
The younger prince came up to me. On his face it was obvious he looked down on everyone. When he opened his mouth, he spoke with a confidence only royalty can bring. “I am glad to know you will be protecting me, baron. I would rather not have somebody between me and the Great Evil that would quickly die from being stabbed.”
At that statement, I turned to look at him. “How do you know who is part of the team?”
“Simple, you overstepped your boundaries greatly. There was never meant to be a trial here, and my brother wasn’t likely to put much weight in that man’s words. You spoke out against one of our guests in front of us. The simplest solution would be to make you a part of the hero’s team. Either you live as an icon with good standing, or you die. Either way, the problem gets solved. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure at least somebody remembers your family’s name if you die. Oh, and when we decide who is going to be the leader, you better pick me.”
At that, his name was called to enter the shrine room. A minute after that it was my turn.