Aetherian(Part 1): A War Begins

Darien

Darien hated the idea of being dishonest with his father, but someone's already tried to take his own life, and he wouldn't let the same thing happen to King Robar. When the tournament ended, King Robar was on his way back to the Ivory Tower with the Dragon Guard, and Darien went with them. His father seemed pleased that he's calmed down a bit, but Darien was far from calm. As well as keeping an eye on his father, Darien also felt as if he was protecting him as well as himself by constantly looking over his shoulder. After the attempt on his life, he always had his armor on, and always kept Thunder with him everywhere he went. Darien managed to convince Ser Lloyd that the King might be in danger and trusted him with reporting what his father was doing when he wasn't with him. When they returned to the Ivory Tower, and King Robar was surrounded by the Dragon Guard, Darien met with his brother, who must have been sent there by Warwick since he arrived hours before.

"Have you heard from Trevor?" Damien asked.

"Not a word," answered Darien. "I can only imagine how big the catacombs under this city are. It'll be a while before we hear anything from him. Maybe a whole day. What about you? Anything on Alicent?"

"She's just been in her chambers since this morning," answered Damien. "Roderick and Arry are always watching her, but I doubt they'll spy on her for us."

"Well, Arry's her niece and Roderick's her son," Darien reminded. "We can't expect them to betray their family."

"Says the one spying on our father."

"Warwick and Vestarr said that he might be in danger, and I think they might be right."

"Do you trust them?" asked Damien.

"Well, there's no reason to think he's not in danger," answered Darien. "After all, Alicent already tried to kill me."

"Her trial is in an hour," said Damien.

"Oh, the Queen is getting a fair trial? I'm amazed her brother hasn't done anything to stop that."

"You know father puts justice before emotions," reminded Damien. "That's why he's recused himself from the trial."

"Who's testifying?" asked Darien.

"Lord Ingram has requested Ser Lloyd, Lord Karlon, Lady Belle, and you and me."

"Me?" said Darien. "I thought I would be biased."

"What makes you think that?"

"Because I'm the one she sent the cutthroat after."

"I guess Lord Ingram needs all the details he can get."

"Makes sense."

"We should get to the throne room." The Ivory Tower was tipped with a large, silver dome that touched the clouds. It was called the Ivory Tower because its what made up a dragon's horns, but the tower itself wasn't made of ivory. It was made of marble. On the back wall of the great dome was a massive throne made from the bones and scales of the Dragon of the Abyss, Kidar. The scales made up the seat of the Dragon Throne, where Aetherian's Kings have sat for ten thousand years, and the back and supports of the throne were made up from an amalgamation of Kidar's bones. Since King Robar had recused himself from Alicent's trial, the head of the King's Council, Lord Dedric Ingram, would sit on the Dragon Throne to judge the Queen. Wooden risers were built against the walls of the throne room, and between them, in front of the Dragon Throne, was Queen Alicent standing with her hands cuffed. On the risers were the lords and ladies from houses in the Kinglands, and the ones that attended the tournament, including Karlon and his sisters.

"Karlon," Darien called to them, as they both walked up to where they sat.

"Darien," said Karlon. "What's going on? Why do my sisters and I have to testify?"

"I think it's because we have Guardian blood and are capable of telling whether a person is being dishonest or not," Melody blurted.

"You know, even if we get an honest testimony from anyone, she'll still find a way to work around getting punished for her actions," stated Darien. "There's no way to win."

"I wish Trevor was here," said Belle. "If Alicent managed to lie her way out of this, Trevor wouldn't let her get away with it."

"I don't know about that," Karlon corrected. "No one's seen Lord Ingram at all today."

Suddenly, the King stood in front of the Dragon Throne and shouted "There will, unfortunately, be no trial today! Lord Dedric Ingram has died." A gasp filled the throne room, but not from Darien and Damien. They weren't at all surprised at the timing, especially when they both saw Queen Alicent turn her head around, grinning at them.

"I'll try to ignore the timing of this," said Damien.

"There will be no trial for Queen Alicent," the King announced.

"What?" Darien whispered.

"Something's wrong," said Karlon.

"I was a fool to accuse my own wife of attempting to murder my son," King Robar admitted. "I hereby lift all accusations against her. Clear the throne room." Darien and his brother both had their eyes widened with shock. They had expected their father to do justice, like a King should, but he completely dismissed the case all because he loved Alicent.

"What the hell is he thinking?" Darien snapped. "She's accused of a crime. She should still be put on trial."

"It's not his fault," said Karlon. "The Queen did something."

"Right before he started talking, I felt something," added Melody. "Some kind of magic. I don't know exactly what it was." King Robar loved Alicent, but he would never have dismissed a trial against her if she was accused of a crime. Lord Ingram's death and the magic that she used could only mean one thing.

"She manipulated him," said Darien.

"How could you know that?" asked Damien.

"What else could it be? You know father has always tried to dispense justice, and he would never do this. I don't know how else to explain it. Warwick and Commander Vestarr were right."