Syllis sat with her arms crossed, beside Aura. She did not speak, wishing to leave the job of breaking the awkward atmosphere to anyone else. She only shot Clyde a sort of disturbed look, scrutinizing him underneath her gaze.

Lucky for them, no one needed to break the silence. Several loud knocks rang out against a door and incomprehensible murmurs were spoken beyond it.

Apparently whoever was speaking assumed that the residents of this building were elmannise. So, the words were unintelligible. Korman did not have the time to activate his hearing mutation.

“Not me,” Syllis said. She raised her arms in the air as though surrendering. “On account of me not being able to walk.”

“Fair enough,” Aura said.

“I’ll get it,” Clyde finally said.

It was only natural. He had fallen into the role of the de facto leader of their group. It made the most sense for him to get the door. Besides, Syllis and Aura were badly injured and Korman did not particularly shine socially.

Clyde opened the door, revealing an elmannise man with long brown hair. There was a large axe secured to his back. This was their signature weapon, most soldiers used them.

“How can I help you?” Clyde asked diplomatically.

“I am looking for an…” the elmannise soldier had trouble pronouncing the name, “Aura?”

The soldier watched Clyde’s confused expression. “Small stature, black hair, green eyes… Uh, does anyone like that live here?” His gaze wandered the room, eventually stopping.

“Yeah, we do,” Clyde said. “Aura, come over here please.” He gestured for her to join the both of them.

Aura stood up, her right arm limp at her side. Her hair was disheveled and did not carry the normal pin-straight quality.

“Is there a problem?” Aura asked, irritatedly. She did not want to be sought out. She wanted to recover in peace.

“Yes,” the elmannise soldier replied. “You are being detained for the murder of Hlorndt, member of the elmannise. Please come with me.”

“What!?” Clyde asked worriedly from the side.

Korman similarly shouted, saying that they were lies. “Aura would never harm an innocent.”

These were lies of course. But the elmannise soldier did not need to know. None of them knew exactly how serious the legal system of the elmannise was. They could not take any chances.

“Take me away, officer,” Aura said, her tone laced with mockery. What else could she do in this scenario?

Syllis remained silent. ‘If we fled, the chasm would take us. If we fought, we would be struck down.’ She thought before letting out a sigh.

Anathemic bonds shook the world in ways far beyond anyone's comprehension, but Syllis and her companions had a measly single anathema each—at least that was her belief. This single anathema would not be enough to take down an entire civilization. Even if their bonds were especially potent.

“We will escort you.”

“Korman,” Syllis said, “would you help me, please?”

Four elmannise guards surrounded Aura as they made their way to their destination. Syllis, Korman and Clyde each followed behind, another guard guided them. Without the use of her legs, Syllis needed to rely on Korman. He held her legs and she held onto his shoulders.

They asked occasional questions only to be refused answers. This furthered their assumption that this case would be a quick one. Guilty, this was what Syllis assumed the verdict would be. At which point, they would have to flee into the sky chasm and face the wrath of the four suns. Syllis did not particularly want to be torched alive, so instead, she spent the journey thinking of a way to get Aura out of her murder charges.

Several thoughts crossed her mind. ‘Threatening could work… We already saved more of your people than killed. We could end up with a much greater amount of casualties if you threaten Aura at all…’ Syllis rehearsed internally.

The secare nymph hoped it would not come to this though. If it did, they would lose their unassuming place within the wall. Rumors would likely begin to spread about them and that would eventually force them out. Jyrid had once told Syllis about something similar which had caused him to move his tavern.

“We are here,” the first elmannise guard said.

To Syllis, they had merely arrived in front of a huge void. It was only after their glow-tree lanterns illuminated the massive, willed building that she saw it.

“Please,” an elmannise man with black hair said, “come on in.”

This man showed the guards along with Syllis and her companions inside. The inner area was littered with trophies that could only be seen with the lanterns. Skulls and skins of titan taran. There were apparently no glow-tree sheets in the entire building which had been dubbed—the decision-making parlor. Syllis did not consider it to be the best name ever. But then again, the elmannise were practicality over all else.

Glow-tree sheets suddenly lit the area up like a sky of bright stars as they opened the door to the ‘punishment room.’ This room had been specially set up for the trial. Syllis and her companions saved the wall. They deserved this slight courtesy.

‘I’m tired of these lights…’ Syllis rolled her eyes. She almost wished to be thrown into the dark again. She thought back to their week of traveling with Ehtis as their guide. ‘Never mind!’

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

At the front of the room were three elmannise. The first was easy to recognize. It was Vernim, chief of the wall. There were two others to his left and right. One was an intelligent-looking man and the other a strong woman. She did not wear sleeves which showed off her defined arms, even under the purple-blue light which was difficult to see shadows under.

“Please, follow me.”

Aura was led to a stand in the center of the room. Beside her was a familiar face, it was one of the men in Hfroht’s team. He did not look comfortable, in fact, he was squirming slightly. He fiddled with his knuckles.

Syllis, Korman and Clyde were set aside into a separate area. Across from them was Hfroht and his other team members. They were crying, mourning the loss of their companion.

“Attention!” Vernim commanded the gazes of everyone. “Today, we will determine if Aura truly murdered deceased soldier Hlorndt.

“For Aura and her companions who are unfamiliar with our system… If we find you to be guilty of the crime or intentionally lying about the dispute at hand then you will be sent to the wrath of the four suns.”

“Got it,” Aura said.

“You will not speak unless spoken to,” Vernim said. “Your time will come to tell your side of the story. To my right is fellow decider Htornor and to my left, Fornia Hphuin.

“Now, to begin, speak accuser.”

The elmannise man looked around briefly, showing off the tears in his eyes. “Hlorndt was a kind-hearted woman. A member of this murderer's own group was about to be attacked by a taran. I apologize for being unable to recall its class.”

“Would you say that your memory was greatly affected by this event?” Htornor asked the elmannise man.

“No—not at all. In fact, it is not a problem with my memory. I am unable to distinguish regular taran from amplified. It is a flaw with me!” Hkolmon quickly clarified.

“Hmph,” Htornor scrutinized the man, “continue.”

“Hlorndt was protecting the blue haired woman over there,” Hkolmon gestured towards Syllis. She awkwardly waved.

“Then, I turned away for a moment to deal with a couple taran of my own. A loud scream erupted and I turned, seeing Hlorndt lit aflame. As though she had been taken over by the four suns, her skin charred and her clothing turned to ash! The flames were the same color as this witch's flying demon’s!”

“Alright,” Fornia Hphuin said. “Let’s hear from the woman now.”

‘This is where the bad things start…’ Syllis almost could not bear to look. Aura was unsociable in the best-case scenario.

“I, uh…” Aura cleared her throat. “I detected my companion, Syllis was about to be killed by a taran and intervened. My ‘flying companion’ eagerly went to save her. In the process of destroying the amplified taran, Hlorndt was indirectly killed by accident as a result of standing too close to the flames.”

‘Huh? That wasn’t bad!’ Syllis cheered inwardly. There was no hope of quiet discussion in the room. Everyone but the four of them were elmannise with incredible hearing. Even the quietest quips would be overheard.

“Why did you not restrain the ‘flying companion?’”

“I do not have absolute control over it. The companion is very intelligent and acts partly of its own accord. The elmannise woman must have either have stepped into the flames as they began to descend on the taran or the taran was declared too great of a risk to be left alive.”

‘Smart…’ Syllis thought. ‘Blaming it on the dragon instead of her own faults!’

“A mere amplified taran? That was a threat to the woman who had thrown the killing blow at a nearly undamaged titan?” Vernim asked.

Syllis raised her hand into the air. She was not sure if she would be permitted the opportunity to speak, but she wanted to try.

“Speak,” Vernim said, pointing to the nymph.

“The blow that I landed on the titan took a considerable amount of my abilities leaving me unable to adequately defend myself,” Syllis spoke concisely. “If you’re looking for further proof… I’m sure your doctor that looked over my wounds could assure you?”

Vernim turned back towards Aura. “Why did you bring this ‘flying companion’ to the battlefield?”

The sides of Aura’s mouth twitched. “It is an immense tool. It likely cleaved the lives of around eighty taran and twenty to thirty amplified taran on its own.”

“That is a considerable amount!” Fornia Hphuin said. She spoke in an almost sarcastic tone. The number was unbelievable!

“Hkolmon,” Htornor said, “can you attest to the ability of this ‘companion’ of hers?”

Hkolmon grew frustrated. He turned to his group—including Hfroht. Not wanting to be fed to the four suns, he decided to tell the truth. “I am unaware of the exact numbers but yes. The flying monster is very adept.

All three deciders fell into silence as they leaned towards each other and whispered. With the enhanced hearing of the elmannise, they also knew just how quiet they had to speak to remain unheard by their fellow people. Syllis and the others likely would not be able to hear such quiet words even if they whispered into their own ears.

“We will return!” Vernim announced as he and the other two deciders stepped through a large doorway behind them.

Aura stood still for a moment, not wanting to move when she was not supposed to. This was a sensitive situation. It was only once she saw Hkolmon move to his group that she felt comfortable.

Syllis patted her on her left shoulder as she sat down. “That was good, Aura.” She could not offer the most decisive praise as Hkolmon’s group was listening in.

Korman and Clyde agreed. The four of them conversed about random topics for a while until the three deciders returned from the large doorway.

They wore serious expressions on their faces. This suited their expensive robes. Each of them sat down in their respective seats and called forward both Aura and Hkolman.

“We believe we have enough information to come to a compromise,” Vernim said. “It is the decision of two of the three deciders that Aura’s flying companion shall be executed under the suns’ flame.”

‘Huh?’ Syllis thought internally. She nearly burst into laughter. This had turned out bounds and leagues better than she anticipated.

“W-what!” Hkolmon called out before stumbling backwards. He had spoken before considering.

“You will speak once spoken to,” Vernim said, “Hkolmon! This decision is final. There will be a festival to celebrate the execution in a week. Aura, if you are caught attempting to let the companion escape beforehand, there will be major repercussions. You will inherit the execution, understand?”

“Got it,” Aura said, tersely through gritted teeth. She had to look the part. Internally, she would be jumping for joy.

Even Syllis knew that Aura’s ephemeral creatures could not die. They were merely returned to whatever hell they had crawled out of in the first place. Then, they could be summoned again after recovering again.

‘The flame of the four suns though… I wonder how long it will take her to be able to summon that dragon again?’ Syllis shook her head. ‘Whatever, she can’t summon that thing again while we’re here anyways…’

“Dismissed!” Vernim said before leaving out of the large doorway again.

Aura reunited with her companions again and they headed back to their ‘home.’ Each of them let out sighs of relief once they had again sat around the table. Then, they laughed and cheered.

“It feels kind of grim to be cheering over the execution of my dragon…” Aura said, dejectedly.

“Relax,” Syllis said, stifling laughter. “It’s only for a little while. Much better than being executed yourself, right?”

“Right.”