"Child of the legion, state your name and your identity to the council. Let the council decide if a man of your kind should even waste the time of the council."

......

"Introduce yourself as a child of the legion, specifically as an orphan of the legion."

Is what cloak tells me to do at the end of the monologue of the lady. It went on for a while as the lady kept on speaking. Right now in the room only cloak is listening only because he has to translate for me. None of the others have even bothered to act like they are listening to the lady.

"Do they even understand our language?", I ask, distracted by the thoughts I am recording. What can I do, the ladies monologue had me feeling sleepy. Though the instant I speak it I realise I fucked up as the table to the right gives me a look that told me what a million 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. Can't have something I have already left behind to be the cause of my death.

The lady 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 and I would do well to remember that.

"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 whether 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 in 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 be discussing about beheading me with this intensity that I would have talking about my evening tea.

"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 it.", cloak speaks.

"Aren't they a bit too calm if 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 tribe 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 charges placed on you.“ Cloak speaks, almost with a smile. “The first charge on you is related to the charge of your bloodline. Sages are not allowed to enter the true lands.“

Hearing this, it is the spear tribe that begin to speak. There is a desperate kind of anger in his voice. The intensity with which they speak makes me shiver. Thankfully, it is not me dealing with him. Even as the spear tribe speak, the man behind me has begun to speak.

(After almost fifteen minutes)

Well, whatever is happening is more intense than I certainly expected it to be. The folks of the spear tribe have already reached the stage of threatening us more than a couple times.

With the number of times that the spear has been brandished I am surprised that they have not attacked each other already.

I think the reason for that is the man next to me. He has been doing the work of reasoning with the spear tribe, trying to calm them down. It has not been easy going, but the man has been doing it pretty well if I am frank. At least that is the assumption. They could just as equally be discussing about the weather.

The only thing that I can say for certain is that the tattoo tribe is trying to inflame the entire council against me. They certainly seem to have taken this personally. Almost too personally if I have to say so. Almost as if they do not want me to be in the presence of the council for long.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Still, cloak seems to be managing this pretty well. At least the tone and confidence of the man have not changed. The man would be making a killing in a game of poker.

Well, it has finally ended though. As I was recording the man of the spear tribe has finally sat down again. Based on his expressions and that of the lady of the tattoo tribe I can at the very least be sure that this particular charge won't be sticking on me.

As I think this, the lady of the tattoo tribe barks something at me, annoyance clear in her tone.

“With that, the first charge levied against you has been countered.“, speaks the lady. “Next we shall move onto the next charge. The charge of using formation magic in the truelands. A momentously risky and stupid move......“

She keeps on speaking for a while. Cloak doesn't bother to translate what she is speaking. All she is speaking are pretty words, even I can tell that without the translations.

Even before she completed her speaking, the wolf tribe begin to speak.

“The wolf tribe make use of a certain magic pretty similar to formation magic.“, cloak speaks to me. “Due to this they are very sensitive about any discussion related to formations. Right now they are telling the council that there is no restrictions on formation magic this far south of the truelands.“

This reply of the wolf tribe is cut short by the lady of the tattoo tribe.

“the lady is claiming that the southern plains are still the territory of the snow tribe. The laws of the council apply there.“, she speaks.

The reply to this is the man from the wolf tribe gets up as if he was provoked.

“She shouldn't have said that. The wolf tribe already have to travel to the southern plains for the Wolf's dance.“, cloak tells me. “If the council were to decide that you were illegal in using formation magic there, the wolf tribe will be first to face problems due to that in the future. That is why they will make sure that you do not face any charges due to this.“

“Wolf's dance?“, I ask the man.

“Ask some other time. Now is not the time for us to be talking. Already the council notices us.“, he speaks, as the lady from the tattoo tribe suddenly speaks to cut us off.

“Well, I have been told to tell you that I am only your translator. my duty is to just translate what the council needs me to translate.“ The man behind me speaks. “Any more out of turn speaking and the council will force me out of this room.“

After this the council returns back to their debating. All I can tell is that things are becoming heated in a hurry here.

(After almost ten minutes.)

Well, if you want any input from me, the last ten minutes of discussion would have been something that any scholar would have given his right hand to listen in on. That is if they could actually make out anything that they have said.

This is where the main defense of the snow tribe comes to point. just the fact that I am not able to make out even a few words of their saves them from the scholars. Else, the scholars would be trying to get into this place like locusts. From what little I know of the place, it has history.

Cloak is at the moment standing behind me. The man is listening to each word of the conversation with rapt attention and looking at the face of every person here.

Well, at the moment I am completely out of this discussion that might get me killed. It is not like listening to them without translation is useful to me anyways.

The reason for that is the tattoo tribe. I am wondering how exactly they could have found me this quickly and why exactly were they so secretive about it all.

If the treaty was so important why exactly were they trying to parley with me. It is not like they would have had any incentive to be gentle with me. It would have been easier to drag me to the council in chains, rather than with whatever they were attempting with the negotiations.

"Well, don't look so out of the discussion, kid.", the voice behind me whispers to me.

With that I completely lose track of my thoughts. I return my focus to the five sets of people that are deciding my fate.

The only two groups still arguing are the tattoo clan and the wolf clan. Even I who can't make out anything that they are saying can understand that they are fighting quite viciously.

The wolf tribe is quite hostile to the tattoo tribe. With that I think that I am starting to understand what the relations are among the tribes to a degree.

The beast tribe is a neutral force favouring the tattoo tribe. They won't support the tattoo tribe, but they won't attack them as well. The spear tribe is supporting of the tattoo tribe.

The wolf tribe are clearly opposite to the tattoo tribe. The blood tribe is the weirdest of them all. The way that they are behaving it seems like they are trying to fight every person in the council.

As I am studying them, the council finally stops their fighting. Based on the expression of the lady from the tattoo tribe this charge is also something that they have been forced to drop.

"They have decided that your usage of formations in the southern plains is legal, though they are warning that you cannot do such an action here in the truelands." Cloak speaks behind me. "If you are caught using magic here the spear tribe will cut out all of your mana channels and leave you in the middle of a storm. That is the brutalest punishment that the council likes to hand out."

As cloak speaks this, I can feel a burden in my chest disappear. That is another charge at me cleared.

"With that we return to a matter of personal honour. Something that the council will have to consider fairly.", the lady begins again. "We present to you sir Laufen, the mage that was charged with apprehending the man. Laufen, state your charges to the people here."

As the lady speaks, the giant appears in the room. I don't know how he made it into the room without my knowledge nor do I want to. The man looks at me as if he wants to eat me. As he speaks I can feel a chill crawl up in my back.

A few moments later, cloak's voice resounds in my ear translating the words of the man in my ear.

"Great council of the snow, I stand before you today to report the crimes of the legioner.......