The previous day had been quite eventful and the afternoon in the bar quite relaxing. It had enabled the two groups to get to know each other much better, and while both sides were still far from trusting each other, Vuthe had noticed that both were much more relaxed now.
Despite that Vuthe couldn’t quite relax, not really, considering the next item on their agenda and one which probably would shake things up a bit.
The execution of Ralos de Vector of the third noble house of Lufin.
She had never liked executions, much less ones she had to oversee personally, and even less those with such an impact.
While Ralos didn’t mean anything to the people of earth, he was in a way a very important figurehead. At least in the eyes of magic.
Ralos was an outworlder, someone who had travelled here with a mission and a goal, someone who held a considerable amount of political influence and power, and someone who was directly connected to her in her role as the Dragon Queen of Thelvadore.
In other words, his execution would shape the magic of both her and her people, as well as the magic of the surrounding area, and considering the importance of him, it might be much bigger than she would guess. In that sense magic was a fickle thing.
The worst contributor to the entire dilemma was her role as a goddess however. If she would not be a goddess it wouldn’t matter too much how she went about ending his life. But the fact that she did, in fact, have a divine title meant that she had to be extremely careful. Magic in general was fickle, but divinity much more so.
For that reason she was up early, as was her council. Calagrophy would be the executioner, while Vuthe would be the judge. Tizanta would represent the people of Thelvadore, even if they would be present, while Castaphiel would represent the army.
To most it might sound a little over the top, in the end it was just one guy, but it was important, especially if Vuthe wanted to shape the magic in a way that would help her and her charges. She could just kill him, but intent was important to magic and she couldn’t be sure about the consequences of such an action. Maybe there were none, or maybe there would be a subtle ripple. It was hard to tell, even for beings like her who had lived long enough to study most of what magic had to offer.
She had talked about this with her council before they had to rush over to Switzerland, and they had waited for a fitting day, since even the circumstances of the execution had to be taken into account. And while the day they had agreed upon was still just over a week out, the sudden arrival of Scythe and co was a much more important factor.
It may seem surprising, they had never met the man beforehand after all, nor were they involved with him or Satien whatsoever, but the fact that they were intrinsically linked to Vuthe and the rest meant that they were of much more importance.
At least that was the theory. It was kind of hard to prove with clones usually being an impossibility, but neither of them thought that there might be any negative consequences from this.
It would also make a nice debut for Scythe and the rest in front of the people of Thelvadore. While Vuthe had no plans to involve them in any political capacity, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t become involved otherwise in the future, and it was best to introduce them early to prevent any kind of confusion and to get her charges used to the newcomers.
The task of setting up a fitting stage was of course given to Tizanta, her solid illusions and mastery of high level spellwork made it trivially easy for her. And it also added another level of gravity to the whole ordeal, since she also often used her illusions for public displays in Thelvadore.
Vuthe would, for once, appear in her full regalia, not her usually toned down royal dress. She hated appearances like that, it always made her feel uneasy, but it was important and doing this once in a while wasn’t too bad.
The preparations would be done by early afternoon, which was also the time they had set for the execution to take place. Word had of course gotten around the camp, which more and more resembled a village, even if a weird one, with fortified walls beyond Tizanta’s quite impressive spellwork, and Apocalyptica’s runecircle, and anticipation was high.
Most, if not all of her charges had suffered under Satien’s nobles in one way or another, and seeing the execution of their tormentors did wonders to improve people’s mood. At least in this, more barbaric society.
The day went by quietly, although Vuthe had noticed both Tika and Geralt Loltharim doing their best to involve others in dialogue, even if the language barrier was still a problem, and in general trying to get as much info on the people of Thelvadore as they could. She couldn’t fault them for it, she would have done the same, and honestly she had expected it. Not that they had to hide anything in the camp, the only thing that might cause problems later down the line was Apocalyptica, and they had made sure that he was out of the Loltharim siblings' reach.
His runecirlce wasn’t, of course, but nobody was worried about that. He had invented his own runescript that nobody apart from him knew, so they didn’t need to worry about that getting out.
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
Eventually the appointed time drew closer. The camp was in high spirits, well outside of the Council to whom this was more of a necessary evil instead of a joyous occasion. Oh, they were glad to get rid of another noble, but nobody on the council agreed with the pompous setup. Well, nobody but Apocalyptica. But that was to be expected.
Calagrophy had told Vuthe about the Church spy, and that was the only real worry they had, but it wasn’t so bad as to lock him out. That would probably do much worse things for them, so they decided to let him watch too, even if only under the watchful eye of Vixus, who had been tasked to make sure that he didn’t try anything funny.
Finally it was time. Tizanta had set up a whole stage in the middle of the camp, even going so far as to create a small palace by using spatial magic to increase the space in the camp. In general the camp was starting to feel crowded as the people more and more worked their way from tents to fortified housing. It was far from done yet, but it was a start.
Vuthe sat inside her palace on the throne, waiting for the spectacle to begin. Of course, the execution would be held outside, but she had an appearance to keep. The people had started congregating outside in front of the stage, which had a chopping block prepared.
Castaphiel was doing the rounds with his soldiers, making sure everything was in order, while Calagrophy, Tizanta, and Corellanium were inside the palace with Vuthe. Scythe and the rest would not be allowed in the palace until the execution was done to prevent any weird effects from happening. Living magic was hard to control, especially with divinity involved even if only by proxy, so the Council had decided to be sure.
Not that Scythe and the others cared, if anything they were glad if they weren’t involved in any politics. Neither of them was much of a fan and honestly they weren’t really suited for it anyways.
Then, finally, it was time. Tizanta was the first to step outside, holding a small speech to inform the gathered crowd what this was about in detail, while Vuthe and Calagrophy prepared to step outside, Calagrophy first, Vuthe second, followed by Corellanium, who would stand witness to the execution in the role of an observer.
“Nervous?”, Calagrophy asked, despite already knowing the answer. Neither of them was nervous per se, it was more correct to say they were all a little uneasy and maybe a little tired.
Vuthe shook her head elegantly, already fully immersed in her role as Dragon Queen. “No. Honestly, I’ll be glad once this is over. This should be the last time we need to address something like this in such a manner.”
Calagrophy nodded, but didn’t say anything else. A moment later Tizanta invoked her name, which was her queue to step outside, leaving Vuthe alone, Corellanium still busy in a backroom.
A few minutes later it was Vuthe’s turn to step outside.
“...I present to you, Her Majesty Shade Dragon Vuthe de Thal, Dragon Queen of Thelvadore”, came Tizanta’s voice.
Vuthe made her way outside with impeccable footwork and a grace befitting her role. The crowd was ecstatic, cheering her on. Despite this, Vuthe kept her expression neutral, this was not the occasion to smile, despite how joyous it was in the eyes of the people.
Ralos was already on stage, chained to the floor next to the chopping block.
After a moment Vuthe raised her hand in a signal for silence, which she got immediately.
She looked over the crowd, then at Ralos de Vector.
“Ralos de Vector, Son of the third noble house of Lufin. You were brought before me for your numerous heinous crimes against Thelvadore and its people. By your hand many have suffered, by your orders many more were enslaved and killed. You and yours were responsible for the oppression and harm of many beings, human, elves, dwarves, dragons, and many more. Yet you have never expressed so much as guilt or remorse. In your greed for power over others you have gone above and beyond your allies and fellow perpetrators to the point of involving a world which isn’t yours.”
She let the statement hang for a moment, feeling a familiar gravitas settling over everyone present. With that, this execution had become more than a simple execution, it had gained intent and importance for even the residents of earth.
“You have sold your secrets, lied to the unwitting members of the local government, convinced them of a truth that itself is a lie, and even after all that you cursed not your own deeds, but the people you wronged. You have shown time and again that you lack both the will and the understanding to see your shortcomings. Your chance for atonement has passed and you were found wanting.”
A subtle, almost unnoticeable wave of magic accompanied her last statement and with it the surroundings changed. It was a subtle thing, almost imperceptible, but it was there. Darkness started creeping in, and the sounds of the camp and the surrounding nature quieted down.
“Ralos de Vector! By my name, Shade Dragon Vuthe de Thal, rightful Dragon Queen of Thelvadore, I sentence you to death! Your deeds knew no bounds, your soul no morals. Beg the gods for mercy, as you shall know no mercy from me. I hereby declare you subject of Altis!”
Calagrophy roughly kicked him to his knees, before standing next to him. She raised the ceremonial executioner's axe high over her head before chopping off his head with one clean motion.
The moment the blade severed his head magic exploded around them, small and almost imperceivable, yet chaotic and unbound.
The world was reacting, yet Vuthe couldn’t clearly see how. Being able to see mana didn’t mean one could easily discern the effects of magic, especially when it was organic magic. She did see it stretch out further and further until it was beyond sight, obviously affecting not only her and her charges but also the country they resided in.
She did try to shape the magic, at least to an extent, but she wouldn’t know how effective it was until the effects manifested. That was the drawback of organic magic, powerful but uncontrollable.
Once the wave of magic settled down she nodded once and Ralos body caught flames, courtesy of Tizanta.
She overlooked her changes once more before turning around and walking back into the faux palace, followed by Tizanta, Corellanium, then Scythe and her friends, which of course meant that a lot of people saw them.
Not that they had hidden before, but it was the first public appearance in the camp, which would inevitably lead to some questions, but Vuthe rather have those now.
She sighed, happy to be done with this. Now she could concentrate on other, more enjoyable things. That was, if life would leave her alone for five minutes.