17-year-old Avera Ibori is a girl who has always longed for a life of adventure, but when her father mysteriously vanishes, she gets more of it than she can stand. Thrown into a hidden world of magic, intrigue, corruption, and kings, Avera must choo...
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She waited by the gates of High Palace, watching the faces as they entered there. The guards wandered about, patrolling the masses as they flooded into the castle.
The King had sent out an invitation over the airways: there would be a public trial of Eliezer Webber, the former Ambassador of the Kingsmen and a nefarious enemy of the state. High Palace would be opened at noon and accessible to all. It was a rare opportunity. High Palace had not been made open to the public in years, and King Zephyr himself was a recluse to his people, having not made any sort of public appearance in over a decade.
The streets of the city were nearly empty outside of the Palace District, and many businesses had shut down for the remainder of the trial. The trial was also to be broadcast live and a recording made available on the KLP for those unable to attend, though she wondered how accurately the events were being recorded.
'If they are broadcasting it live, they wouldn't be able to edit it, would they? But then, what is it they're planning? They must have some way to avoid disaster with this. Of course, they might plan to change it later. Zephyr could issue a decree, and everyone would have their memories altered. No one would remember a thing that happened. How frustrating!' She was becoming increasingly annoyed just thinking about it. She felt her stomach turn. 'The KLP: they called it the perfect marriage of magic and technology... but it isn't. All it is is mind control.' She sighed. 'Mind control... what a sickening thought.'
Perhaps she had been pulled too deep into thought, because she hadn't noticed the guardsman as he approached her.
"You alright, lass?" he asked her, and she found his voice was strangely familiar.
Avera jumped as a jolt of anxiety rushed through her, spurring an inglorious return to reality. She looked up at the man and smiled nervously. "Oh, yes, sir," she muttered.
He grinned with amusement, "You don't recognize me, do you?"
"I, uh..." she said, looking the man over.
He was lean and muscular. He wore a helmet with a dark visor which covered his eyes and a tight orange beard which wrapped around his pale face. His uniform was that of an officer's with a high ranking insignia, one which Avera well recognized. It was the symbol of an eagle with outstretched wings and a rolled map in its talons, the emblem of the High Colonels.
The High Colonels were an elite team of military intelligence officers entrusted with the state's most sensitive secrets and high security missions. The group consisted of ten officers, each retaining a sponsoring member of the High Court. If a recommendation was made by one of the Court officers, the prospective appointee would then be interviewed by King Zephyr himself, and the nomination would be either approved or rejected based on his evaluation of the candidate. Once approved, a member of the High Colonels would report solely to his sponsoring Court officer, Captain Zahaynei, and King Zephyr, unless under the King's alternative direction.
