In Lutia, adherence to the oath of silence is requisite across various strata of society. Everyone, from academy students to alumni, guild members, templars, and nobles, is bound by the oath. Yet, notably absent from this clandestine pact are the commoners, particularly those inhabiting the lower sectors, who proceed through life ignorant of the truth, naively accepting the “limit” as a natural constraint...
Baroness Alicia Ravenborn.
Human rights activist.
Central Kingdom (Lutia). Year 2167
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"Stop!” Aldric hissed as he grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. “You can’t tell them now.”
“I wasn’t—”
“Tell them when we get back to the village.” Aldric interrupted. “They’ll hold another meeting in a day or two to pick a new council member; you can tell them then.”
“That’s too long; they would have absorbed the cores by then.” Aodhán disagreed.
“A few more impurities will not kill them, trust me.” Aldric insisted, but when he saw that Aodhán wasn’t convinced, he sighed. “You don’t know what you’re doing, Aodhán. Letting this whole thing go is the best thing you can do for yourself. The repercussions of telling this to the council aren't ones you'll like; trust me.”
Aodhán pulled away from Aldric and took a step backward. “I’m not sure I trust you enough to listen to you anymore. After all, you’re under an oath to keep this a secret.”
"You don't understand." Aldric insisted, his expression pained. "I know things you don't, Aodhán. I can't tell you what I know, but I wish I had the opportunity you have now. Telling the council about the limit is a terrible idea."
Aodhán sighed. "People are dying, Aldric. Your father..." He shook his head and continued. "The truth can help them and the next generation. I can't keep it to myself. I'm sorry."
He walked away and moved to sit on one of the benches scattered around the clearing. After a few moments of contemplation, he decided not to tell the council immediately, but he would inform them the moment they got to the village.
The sun had already set when the last group of villagers returned to the clearing, but the mayor insisted they return to the village as the forest was clear and it would only take them a few hours to do so.
They all agreed, and after a few minutes, they began making their way back to the Warren. The trek was short and uneventful.
Aldric stuck to his side like a shadow, but he didn’t try to convince him to change his course of action.
Tyla and the siblings walked on his left, chatting excitedly about everything and anything. They pulled him into the conversation every now and then, and hours later, when they finally stepped out of the forest, Aodhán was thoroughly updated on every juicy rumor circulating around the village.
The Warren shone like a beacon to their senses, and as they neared its entrance, shouts and cheers echoed out as the villagers celebrated their arrival.
Aodhán couldn’t help but smile at the joyous welcome, and when they entered the village, people rushed towards their families and loved ones, hugging and crying as they blessed Raol for their arrival.
The mayor gave a small speech to inform the villagers that they were now free of the horde and that they could sleep without fear. A wave of sorrow passed as he mentioned the death of Councilor Balor, and by the time the speech was over, the celebration was tinged with sorrow as the villagers honored their fallen councilor.
Half an hour later, Aodhán found the perfect opportunity to speak to the mayor, and he immediately rushed towards him. Aldric followed silently behind him, but his presence still grated on Aodhán’s nerves.
When he reached the mayor, though, he had already begun speaking to a group of villagers, so he resolved to wait again. Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait long, as only a few minutes later, the mayor addressed him.
“Aodhán, I must say, I am impressed by your abilities; you really are an asset to the Brystions.”
“Thank you, Sir, but I’ve come to speak to you about a very important matter; I wonder if a council meeting could be scheduled immediately after the celebration.”
The mayor shook his head wearily. “Whatever it is, kid, it can wait till tomorrow; we are tired and we need rest.”
“Unfortunately, it can’t.” Aodhán pressed, and in a grave tone, he added. “It is very important that I speak to the council tonight.”
The mayor sighed and was about to reject him again when Aldric suddenly cleared his throat, and in a much more serious tone, he said, “If I were you, I would schedule that meeting; what he has to say is very important.”
The mayor eyed Aldric for a long moment before he sighed and agreed. “Fine, I’ll call the meeting, but you better make sure that whatever you have to share with us is important, or there will be severe consequences.”
He left a moment later, grumbling under his breath, and Aodhán turned to glare suspiciously at Aldric.
“Why did you help me?”
“You've made up your mind to do this. If you don't speak to them now, you'll speak to them when I'm not around, and I can't let that happen.” Aldric replied with a shrug. “I’m not a villain, you know.”
“Maybe not, but you aren’t exactly a hero either; it’s almost like you don’t care about these people.”
“I care more than you know.” Aodhán hissed in anger. “You’re trying to play hero without weighing the consequences. This is a bad idea!”
“The only consequence I see is that Councilor Balor just died when his death could have been so easily prevented.” Aodhán shot back.
“People don’t always need to hear the truth; contrary to popular belief, it does always set you free; sometimes it can become a prison,” Aldric replied, shaking his head. “This action will have severe consequences.”
“Those consequences cannot be as severe as the limit disease.” Aodhán insisted, and Aldric chuckled, but before he could respond, Unrid arrived beside them and grumbled.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“The mayor has called for a meeting; whatever it is, I hope it’s short because I have a wife and child to get back home to.”
Aodhán and Aldric trailed behind him as he walked towards the mayor’s office. It didn’t take long to arrive this time, but when they got into the meeting room, everyone was seated except Balor, whose seat remained empty.
“Now that we are all present, I would like to know why we have been summoned here.” Minerva immediately asked, impatience and weariness clear in her tone, and the mayor turned to glare at Aodhán and Aldric before speaking.
“I called this emergency meeting because Unrid’s guest informed me that he had something very important to share with us.”
The attention of the entire room fell on him, and Aodhán didn’t miss the look of surprise on Unrid’s face. He stepped out from behind Unrid and moved to stand before the council.
“Councilors, I apologize for this unfortunate timing, but I asked the mayor to call this meeting because I have important news to share; I know how to prevent the limit disease.”
There was a beat of silence that seemed to stretch on for an eternity as his words hung in the air. Then, an instant later, Minerva burst into mocking laughter and asked the mayor. “This is why you called us here? So this child can play clown?”
“The more important question is: when did this council become a circus that can be ordered around by a mere child?” Carvahl sneered.
“I speak the truth, if you’ll only listen." Calithen cut him off with a shake of her head.
“You expect us to believe that a child has suddenly found the prevention to a disease that has eluded the greatest minds of the kingdom for generations?”
“The limit is not a disease; it is just referred to as such. It is not something to be cured or prevented; it is a natural phenomenon.” Carvahl stated loudly.
“It is not,” Aodhán insisted. “Believe me, I have—”
“This is an insult to the dignity of this council and a waste of our valuable time!” Minerva cut him off with a scowl, but the mayor called for silence, and a moment later, he turned to Unrid.
“He is your guest; what do you have to say on the matter?”
Unrid observed him in silence for a long moment, his expression flitting between confusion and doubt.
“I have not known Aodhán for long.” He finally replied. “But in the little time I’ve spent with him, I have had no reason to distrust him, so I suggest that since we are here already, we might as well hear what he has to say.”
The mayor nodded and gestured for Aodhán to speak. With an appreciative nod to Unrid, he began.
“Like councilman Carvahl said, the limit is not a disease; instead, it’s an accumulation of impurities within your core as a result of the absorption of unaligned cores. For instance, as an elemental awakened, absorbing conceptual cores will cause impurities to accumulate in my core, and before long I’ll reach a limit.”
There was a beat of silence as the council pondered his words, but it was broken a minute later by councilor Elora, who hadn’t spoken a word since he came into the room.
“That’s a very good theory, but I doubt you’re the first to come to this assumption.”
“It’s not an assumption, Councilor Elora; I know it for the truth."
“Can you provide proof of your words, or are we to follow you blindly as you stumble around in the dark?” Minerva asked with a tone richly soaked in disdain.
“Surely, the academies must know of the validity of this theory; they do research all the time.” Calithen reasoned, and then, as one, the entire room turned to Aldric, who was standing so still that one could have mistaken him for a statue.
He remained silent for a long time; his lips pressed tightly against each other, as if to prevent any words from clawing their way out.
"Speak, child; tell us what you know.” The mayor commanded, but Aldric shook his head vigorously. “I don’t—I can’t.”
“Aldric, what is wrong with you?” Unrid asked in concern, and Aodhán replied.
“He cannot tell us what he knows because he’s under an oath not to speak of it except to people who are already aware of it.”
There was another long beat of silence as the councilors exchanged glances in confusion. Unrid’s mind spun as he stared at Aldric. The fact that he hadn’t refuted Aodhán’s claims implied that there truly was a way to prevent the limit.
But if Aldric was truly under an oath to keep this secret, then it meant that the kingdom was keeping this information from the public. For what reason? To what end? Without the limit disease, there would be a lot more soldiers and warriors; why would they cripple the advancements of their own people?
It was Elora who finally broke the silence and asked the question they were all thinking.
“They do it for control.” Aldric suddenly replied, and the councilors turned to him. “Without the limit, there would be millions of extremely powerful awakeneds roaming around the kingdom, wrecking havoc and spreading chaos, so we were told that many years ago, the knowledge on how to prevent the limit was wiped from the minds of the masses, leaving their fate to chance.”
“What do you mean by chance?” Carvahl asked quietly.
“It means some people like Aodhán will figure it out, and those who don’t will simply suffer from the limit.”
Minerva gasped. “We’ve been living a lie!”
The council stared in shock as all they’d believed crumbled.
“So, if it can be prevented, can it be cured too?” The mayor asked after a moment, but the hope in his eyes died as Aldric responded. "I don’t know.”
“All hope is not lost yet.” Calithen murmured. “If there’s a prevention, surely there must be a cure.
“We have to inform the awakened villagers as well as anyone who might awaken soon.” Minerva started, but Aldric cut her off with a shout. "No! You cannot do that.”
“We are trying to help the villagers,” Aodhán argued. “Why can’t you see—
“No! You’re trying to kill them, Aodhán.” Aldric shouted. “Do you think we are the first to come to this realization? Do you think you’re the first to figure this out? Where are those who have figured it out? Why do they keep silent? Why have they not spread this information? What has the kingdom done to them?”
"I...I don't know."
"No, you fucking don't, Aodhán, because we're all under oath!" Aldric yelled, obviously frustrated. "I wish you'd just listened to me...
Aodhán realized that he had indeed been naïve in his thinking, and after a beat of silence, he sighed. "I didn't know."
Aodhán shrugged. "It doesn't matter anymore. Now that you all know, you all have to take the oath of silence too."
"What!?" Aodhán exclaimed, but his voice was lost in the exclamations of outrage that echoed out of the council.
"Preposterous!" Minerva exclaimed disdainfully. "How dare you suggest we do something so foolish when we can simply pretend this never happened."
"We cannot do that." Aldric glared at all of them, his gaze intense. "We cannot let this knowledge spread out of this room, and frankly, I do not trust any one of you in this room, especially because I can already sense your selfish and greedy emotions."
Minerva and Carvahl winced, shifting uncomfortably as the gazes of the entire council came to rest on them. The mayor sighed, and straightened his spine, obviously very weary. "The oath is not an easy thing, child."
Aldric didn't respond, although he shot Aodhán a glare that conveyed in no unclear terms that this was his fault. An uncomfortable silence descended on the room, and after a moment, calithen spoke. "How about we simply swear to keep this to ourselves? Taking an oath seems very extreme."
"No." Aldric responded, his tone unusually firm.
"Aldric—" Unrid began, but Aldric cut him off with a shake of his head.
"No one leaves this room until they've taken the oath." His voice was so cold and self assured that it sent a shiver down the spine of everyone present.
Aodhán suppressed a shudder and sputtered. "You can't be serious."
"I am serious." Aldric responded in the same cold tone. “The oath will protect the village; it’ll make sure that this information stays within this room. It’ll make sure that the Warren is protected from whatever fate befell those who learned of this before us and we're lax in handling it."
“Is it not possible that you’re being overly paranoid?” Elora asked.
Aldric turned his gaze to Minerva and smiled thinly. "I believe I am just the appropriate amount of paranoid."
Aodhán turned to the council members, hoping that they would propose a different solution, but a moment later, the mayor asked. “What are the words of the oath?”
Fifteen minutes later, Aodhán found himself repeating the words of the oath along with the rest of the council, grimacing as ethereal chains slowly bound his core.
“I swear on my core to keep the truth about the limit to myself and only speak of it to those who are already aware of it.