As impressive as the council looks from the outside, the inside gives me a vibe similar to the head office. men busy managing things, so chock full of bureaucracy that it is a wonder that things get done. It gives me the vibe of a machine so large and massive that you don't know understand nor care how each gear is linked to each other. They still work though.

As i go deeper into the mountain. The tunnels and the rooms grow smaller. At the moment it is already quite a tight fit and cloak has to bend to even fit.

Any more and I will be crawling.i was so lost in thought that I did not notice the massive room I had exited to. The room is so massive that for a moment that I felt as if the entire thing existed in another dimension. I remained gobsmacked at the craftmanship involved in the place. The place is divided into two floors. The bottom floor has a single chair where I will sirt while the above floor is divided into five tables, one for each tribe I have to presume. Everything in the room has been carved from the same material as the mountain. Every chair, every table, every pillar and every brazier (don't ask me how.) has been carved.

These are not simple carvings at that too. Complicated patterns, that I have believe have some kind of a magical significance are inscribed into the entire place. It also has quite the disoriented quality to it, which I believe is the goal. To make the person being interrogated feel as small as he can so that the command of the council is more easily accepted.

This is where I have to focus. I cannot think about the might of the enemy and that I can significantly reduce my lifespan by making the wrong choice in this matter. So I force myself to look at the men that will be judging my fate. Each of the tribes is relatively easy to predict. The tattoo tribe, with artworks on their skin are the easiest to locate. They are sitting in the center table of the five tables.

The beast tribe, wearing cloaks of wolf skin (or ice beasts skin.) is also quite easy to detect as they sit immediately to the right of the tattoo tribe. The others look much more ordinary as I can't tell who is who. Each table has ten people on it and each table will have one vote assigned to it.

The majority decision of the ten people will become the vote of the table. Cloak has two tribes on his side and the tattoo clan have three tribes to their sides as I explained before.

At the moment one of the tattoo clan people speak. I believe there is some kind of a magic involved in the process because I swear for a second that I felt as if cloak who is standing next to me spoke suddenly. He does speak a few seconds later.

"Child of the legion, state your name and your identity. Let the council decide if a man of your kind should even waste the time of the council.", cloak speaks. "Introduce yourself as a child of the council, specifically as an orphan of the legion."

"Do they even understand our language.", I ask. Though the instant I speak it I realise I fucked up as the table to the rightmost location gives me a look that told me what dozen words could not have. A presence so strong that I caught my breath in my throat. They understand my language and they don't need a translator to make their opinions known it seems.

"Well, then I am Antonio sevenstars, captain of the black mountain. I was an orphan of the iron legion. Now I am the disciple of the grand wolf, formation master of the black mountain.", I speak, better to dissociate myself from the iron legion.

A guy from the central table speaks, their language kind of making sense in my ear, but that is just my mind making patterns where I can't find any. To me all of this is just noise.

"The tattoo clan is warning the other clans that nobody leaves the iron legion unless they are dead.", cloak spoke. "And that you are still the blood of the sages. Trickery is supposed to be in your blood."

Almost In reply, the guy that gave me the look speaks. Cloak takes a second to reply.

"The leader of the blood tribe asks the council to get on with it's work and decide wether you are to be killed now or tomorrow. Your origin and whether punishment is necessary for it has already been discussed. He has heard enough about blood without getting to spill any.", cloak speaks.

They continue their back and forth for a few moments, clear that it is some kind of a debate that is ongoing there. This continue for a few minutes, as cloak joins into the discussion once in a while. I am being kept out of the conversation. Now judging from the tone, i have to assume things are going relatively well. For all i know though these people could discuss about beheading me with the same intensity i would have talking about my evening tea.

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"The argument happening now is not related to you. The tattoo tribe and the blood tribe, well any tribe and the blood tribe tend to have pretty bad relations. The tattoo tribe is threatening to attack the blood tribe and the blood tribe is teasing them into actually attempting.", cloak speaks.

"Aren't they a bit too calm for two of their factions going to fight like this.", I ask, clearly confused now.

"Well, every tribe has their round of challenging the blood tribe. Nobody really likes them and nobody will actually attack them. Even they know it.", cloak speaks again. As he speaks the man speaking for the tattoo cptribe turns to me and speaks in a rapid fire pace. The man is clearly in a worse mood than before.

"The tattoo tribe is asking everybody to return to the topic at hand. They have accepted your identity and speak on the charge placed on you. You have fought against soldier shakok of the council, who had challenged you honorably in the process of conquering your fortress. You have used an unfair means of magic, namely formation magic.", cloak spoke translating on pace quite languid from the other man's speed of speaking.

"How would you refute that, child of sages.", cloaks speaks, finally putting the spotlight on me.

Now how i speak will be the indicator of my life and death. The thing is that there is little that can be used in my defense. I could claim not to know that formation magic was illegal in these lands, but that certainly won't act in my favour. If anything this defense would get me killed. Instead we have picked something that might work in our favour.

"My lords, I had no intention of making use of my formation. It was meant to be a defensive formation, meant to intimidate and protect. The only reason that i have used it is that i have felt formation fluctuations occur from the other side. I was sure that the other side was making using of a formation to attack the fort. Thus the fort was At risk of an formation attack. Thus there was precious little that i could do to defend myself.", i speak, speaking exactly as i have practiced. The man even trained me on the exact emotion I was supposed to speak in.

This provokes a change in the council. The guys on the leftmost side speaks. Cloak replies to the question asked but before he can complete the tattoo tribe speaks.

"Under the command of the council, I am not to add any statements of my own and only translate exactly what the council says to you and vice versa. Having done so once the council will give a warning. If i speak for you again the council will replace me with another translator.", cloak speaks. "The spear tribe asks you, that they need more concrete proof of this claim and if it's the truth, the tattoo tribe has to explain to the council why they are researching forbidden arts."

"Well, giving a concrete claim would be impossible. My claim is based on the mana fluctuation I have felt. It is a common formation that is used in armies to share the mana of the soldiers among each other.", i speak.

As i speak, the council becomes quite. Nobody speaks for a few seconds as the spear tribes begins to speak. The tattoo tribe replies though they are getting agitated. I honestly want to know if that is a good thing or I have just signed my own death warrant. Cloak looks as if wants to speak but he remains quite. After a few tense minutes.

"The tattoo tribe claims that you are lying. They have no need of making use of formations. They say it is grave insult to compare one of the core techniques of the tattoo tribes to formations.", cloak speaks. "The spear tribe is asking you if you could demonstrate such a formation if need be."

"I can, though I can't precisely copy theirs. These formations exist with almost every major force. Also, if the tattoo tribe claims this to be their techniques. I would like to point out that one of the core techniques of the iron legion is called as seven star linkage. The effect of this technique is to share mana among a small group of soldiers without the need of a external formation acting as an anchor.", I reply.

As i speak i can feel the tension in the room magnify a thousand fold. I honestly feel that I have somehow insulted every soldier and their mom's in this room. The most terrifying part is that the speaker for the blood tribes, the man stiffened up. It reminds me of the way that my brethren used to get before a fight. this is the posture of a man that is expecting a fight.

The man of the tattoo clan and the spear clan speak almost at the same time, at each other. Pretty soon it devolves into a shouting match as the two groups speak to each other, with tones implying murder. The tension in the room is is getting heavier. finally cloak speaks again.

This time there does not seem to be a reprimand, though the folks of the tattoo clan are clearly agitated. They have murder in their eyes. It looks like I have poked the bear this time. Finally.

"The council has decided that they have heard enough about the attack on you and your usage of formations. Your statements bare no importance to the council as there is no demonstrable proof that the opposing side has used a formation. Normally the punishment of usage of formations is death by beheading. Since the formation used is out of the truelands and there is the matter of it being used against a legal conqueror in an unfair manner the tattoo clan has the right to choose your punishment.", cloak declares to me and the room. As he completes it the tattoo clan speaks which he translates in real time.

"You have directly insulted one of our elite soldiers and have used unfair means against him. Since you have attempted to cheat in a fair fight, the punishment shall be a repetition of the fight in the inked valley where we shall ensure the fairity of the fight, if the council agrees and the alternative punishment already discussed if the council does not agree. It is time to vote. Those that agree to this punishment."

The tattoo tribe and the table to its left raise their hands indicating agreement. At that moment i look to the spear clan. They are the people whose decision shall effect me. I can literally feel the seconds pass as the tribe do not raise their hands. I barely here cloak speak again, as he confirms the failure of the vote.