Enchantyon, Enter The Arcane: The Jörd In The Ice

Chapter Seven: The Decree

"How could you have been so careless?" A woman asked, Bandle. "To enter one of the forbidden Dark Places was criminal enough. But to bring an unknown relic out from a place like that and to just waltz into your village with it? How careless could you be?"

Days had passed since the day of the Broker's attack, and Bandle now found himself in a large hall filled with nobility in a city further north of Froljorow.

"If you ask me there was nothing careless about it." Came another woman's voice. "Sounds to me like he purposely caused that attack. Who would accidentally bring a Friend of Darkness into their home? We should have him checked for any hexes or curses that he might have picked up while in those caves."

"We already did." This was from a man now. "Do you think we would have brought him before his Excellency if we were not sure that he might have been carrying something dangerous like a curse? If he did do all of this of his own accord, then it was simply that: of his own accord."

"Well, something must be done about this." Said the first woman. "The word has already spread, and it has been spreading from the moment they emerged from those caves thanks to the magical alarms placed upon the entrance of that Dark Place. We've been getting letters from magical institutions and heads of states from all across Tesardess about this and the demon that attacked Froljörow...they're all calling this the First Awakening...as if there are more to come."

"Alright, that's enough outta you lot. I'm ready to say my piece." This was the last voice to speak, and the last that Bandle wanted to hear.

Those final words came from the man who would be presiding judgment over Bandle's trial. He wore a finely designed robe with ornate markings in the form of golden runes. There was a ring on each finger designed with the image of a skull; one for each rebel war chief he had killed with his bare hands in the time since ascending his throne after his father's passing. And on his head lay a golden reef. He was Emperor Tjorbach the Third: First among Jörds, and Emperor of the Jördlands. Bandle found himself wringing his hands, his brow sweating profusely as he knelt under the burning gaze of the emperor's fierce, green eyes.

"Well, Bandle of Froljörow," said the Emperor. "By all counts, it seems to me like you just simply have a habit of getting yourself—and by proxy your family and village—into all sorts of hell. You're a troublemaker, through and through. Which makes your sentencing in this matter all too easy, I'm afraid. Do you have anything you'd like to say for yourself before I pronounce judgment upon you?"

Tears started streaming down Bandle's face. "I...I was only trying to help...I knew if I didn't try to get the supplies from the Dark Place or at least bring back something to prove that the goblins took what we had and went into those caves, then we'd be blamed for stealing it all. What else was I supposed to do? I couldn't come back empty-handed."

"So instead you thought it would be better to bring a dark artifact from there of all places into your home? I'm sorry, son, but that doesn't make much sense to me. For the damage that you have continually caused to your community, for bringing a forbidden artifact into your home that nearly destroyed your fellow jords, and for the unforgivable crime of entering one of the forbidden Dark Places, I hereby sentence you to death."

"No. You may not kill him."

Everyone gasped and looked around to see who would dare challenge the Emperor's decree. They didn't have to look long; from up above the floor of the courtroom, floated down a trio of beings who had appeared out of thin air. They were all three of them glowing and clothed in fine, ornate attire, and the blazing light of their metal halos illuminated the entire courtroom as if it were midday. One of them, Bandle recognized instantly as Lady Annadawnis, the Principality Muse who came to his aid at the village. However, the others were new to him. She was carrying in her hands a large ornate vase.