Broken Blades Don't Sing (Tales of Ashkar Book One) (29 page)

Gallo turned and nodded to the same guard by the
doors. The guard vanished again, this time reappearing with another
witness. This one wore much different clothes than the first: a
rough leather with simple cloth pants and polished leather shoes.
He looked to be around the same age as the other witness.

"I call upon Niru as my witness", announced
Gallo. The man rushed to take his seat and looked at Gallo
expectantly.

The defender rose from his seat and stood in the
open space just as his opponent had done prior. "Hello, Niru.
Please tell the court your background."

"I come from land far to the east, a continent
that name Onturi," said the man with a thick accent. The common
tongue was not his first language. "There, in northern part, is my
tribe of the Emi."

"Tell us the culture of the Emi, so that the
court may understand your relevancy", ordered the defender.

"In northern land, life simple", began the
witness, "There are no—ehm… kingdoms. No kingdoms.” He made a large
circle in the air with his hands. “No big iron wall. No court of
law. Many tribe live in isolation, but trade with each other
sometime. Five years ago, man named Brom become warlord of another
tribe. He had power of… of…” he stopped for a moment, contemplating
hard on what to say. “How you say mowei?” The witness looked at
Gallo for an answer.

Gallo narrowed his eyes, unsure of what the
witness was asking for. Suddenly, his eyes widened, as if
remembering something important. “Oh, yes. Elementalists.” Gallo
turned to face the jury. “He means elementalists.” He then turned
back to Niru. “Please, continue.”

The witness nodded. “But Brom use to hurt and
kill. Brom took control of many tribes, wanting to ride to south
and conquer all of Onturi."

"I see", said Gallo as he nodded. "And you
attempted to stop this Brom?"

"Yes, me and our strongest warriors battle
Brom", replied the witness.

"What happened?" questioned Gallo.

"He kill everyone but me", said Niru
solemnly.

"Why did he not kill you?" Gallo continued.

"To use me as example", said the witness. "Many
fear for life. I try persuade people that still want to fight. No
more bloodshed."

By now, the court had been so invested in the
witness's story that the only sound came from the two men's voices
back and forth, as well as Gallo's boots striking the hard floor as
he paced.

"Now, what is your relation to these men?" asked
Gallo as he pointed at Raxxil and the others.

The witness looked at both Serraemas and Raxxil
briefly, then turned back to the defender. "They stop Brom. They
save tribe."

"You mean they defended innocents and defeated a
tyrant?" asked Gallo with brows raised, as if this was the first
time he had heard of such a revelation. The crowd seemed to share
the sentiment with incoherent murmurs gliding through the air, but
quickly cleared as Niru opened his mouth to speak again.

"Yes", said the tribal man. He pointed in
Raxxil’s direction. "Mowei. They use ice of Fala and fire of Gbal.
Stop Brom and other bad mowei before he kill more."

Raxxil noticed Fash about to object—

"Mister Buci, you know that mere statements hold
very little weight in this court, no matter how true they may be",
said the judge, knowing what the prosecutor was going to say.

"Of course, your honor", said Gallo as he turned
to the prosecutor, "Since Mister Fash here used an illustration as
evidence, I will have my witness use the same method."

Gallo walked back to the table and gathered a
parchment and pencil, just like Fash had done. He returned to the
witness and handed him the materials, then turned around and
glanced at Fash as if challenging him to say anything.

If there was any protest, Raxxil didn't hear
it.

"Niru, please illustrate for us the weapons and
armor these men wore when they liberated your people from Brom",
ordered Gallo. Everyone waited as the witness scribbled on the
paper. This time, however, the witness finished much more quickly.
He handed the parchment to the judge, and the old man examined it
briefly before holding it up for everyone to see.

While the first witness's illustration was crisp
and detailed, this picture was much simpler and crudely drawn. The
man left out particular details, with the two figures being more
angular than the other depiction had been. The weapons of the drawn
men were completely accurate, which served to verify the man's
statement.

"Do you have any questions for the witness,
Mister Fash?" asked the judge.

The prosecutor shook his head.

"Very well, we will have a brief recess before
resuming the trial in one hour", announced the old man as he
scratched his beard. "We will then reconvene here for the last two
witnesses. You are all dismissed."

The gavel struck wood a third time, officially
pausing the trial. The majority of the spectators left the room
quickly while the stragglers took a bit longer. In a matter of
minutes only Gallo, Serraemas, Raxxil, Erendil, and the guards
remained. Gallo was rummaging through the collection of documents
on the table, while the others sat silently.

"Do you think we are innocent?" asked Serraemas
to the defender.

"It doesn't matter what I think", said Gallo
simply, attention still focused on the papers.

"The evidence was strange", continued Serraemas
in what Raxxil guessed was satisfying curiosity. At least, that's
what it was for him.

Gallo scratched his chin, but didn't look up.
"What do you mean?"

Serraemas eyed the defender. "You both used
words and drawings to—"

"Look, this process may be unfamiliar to you so
let me explain it", interrupted Gallo as he turned to regard the
three of them. "Enept-Ihs was founded a very, very long time ago on
the premise that all men and women live by justice and truth. This
kingdom, and especially this court, is fueled by those values.
During this trial, the truth will be revealed and the judge will be
the one to decree it."

"I'm sure there are lies", said Raxxil, finally
entering the conversation. "It's human nature. And what about the
age discrepancy, huh?"

"Unfortunately, you are not wrong", replied the
defender. He had finished whatever he was doing and relaxed into
his seat. "In the past, there were those that attempted to use
deception for their benefit. However, the truth is always
exposed—and the judge is always there to enact... justice. In your
case, both of the witnesses accurately depicted things that they
had only seen in the past. As soon as you were captured, your
weapons and armor were stripped. Therefore, the statements were
sound and approved of. As for the odd timing of events... well,
anything is possible in this world. Maybe you found the legendary
Sarian Pools of Life since you've apparently been all over
Ashkar."

"So, what about us?" asked Raxxil, veering the
conversation to something more practical. "If it doesn't matter
what you think then how are we getting out?"

"After the intermission, we both have one
witness each", said Gallo. "Whatever John—Mister Fash has up his
sleeve, I have recent and first hand evidence of your good deeds.
Unless he has some extremely credible evidence, then I believe your
sentence will be much less severe."

"So you're saying that there is no way for us to
be acquitted?" asked the fiery elementalist expectantly.

Gallo shrugged. "I don't know, but what I do
know is that I can save you from being executed. A life in bondage
is still a life, isn't that so?"

Raxxil chortled. "I'm inclined to disagree. I'd
rather die than live enslaved."

Again Gallo merely shrugged.

“Have you ever looked upon their faces before
they pass?” asked Serraemas.

Gallo wrinkled his forehead and glanced at
Serraemas. “Pardon?”

“The faces of those executed for their crimes”,
Serraemas explained. “Did you ever watch their faces just before
their souls departed?”

Gallo shook his head.

“Even the ones you have defended?” asked
Serraemas.

The defender did not answer.

“You must think a life incarcerated is a fate
better than death”, continued the staff-wielder.

“And you don’t?” asked Gallo.

Serraemas stopped for a moment. “If you were
there. If you saw the faces of those people about to leave this
world. What do you imagine you would see?”

“Fear”, replied Gallo almost instantly, as if
the answer to the question was as obvious as can be.

“Perhaps”, said Serraemas. “Fear might be
something that you see leading up to that moment when death calls.
But what you wouldn’t see as you turn away is that lingering
moment, the moment where all the muscles loosen, the breathing
stops, and the body does not jerk and flail madly, but lies
perfectly still. In those last moments, that person is finally able
to let go. All the fears of existence washed away as comfort sets
in. The comfort that there is no longer a need to resist, and at
last, the peace settles in.”

Gallo held his gaze in silence even after the
last words left Serraemas’s lips.

Raxxil shifted slightly in his seat, and the
chains that bound him jangled as he did so. This time, however, he
did not move too much so that the guard that stood nearby did not
feel compelled to take off his head. He stared at Gallo, waiting
expectantly to what the defender would respond with.

“You know”, started Gallo after a few moments
had passed, “I’ve defended a lot of people. Some I managed to get a
lesser sentence. Some I even proved innocent, and trust me, they
were. But out of all of them, none have been as steady as you. It’s
like you’re indifferent to what befalls you. Like you’re not even a
prisoner of Enept-Ihs.

“Imagine being imprisoned for the rest of your
life”, continued Serraemas, brushing Gallo’s words aside. “Chained
where not even the sun can find you. The power taken from your
hands, leaving you with nothing. Nothing but time. Time to think,
to obsess. Obsess over all the things you will never have or be
able to do again. Years will go by, but the only difference is the
madness that begins to creep up on you. You can feel it. Feel your
mind rotting. Death becomes the only peace you look forward to. Now
tell me, which one is worse now?”

Gallo took a deep breath and sat back to ponder
the words. “Are we still talking about the same thing?”

Serraemas didn’t answer him.

"What if we are the alleged?" Raxxil said,
changing the subject back to his initial inquiry. "What if we are
men who have murdered countless and committed many crimes? Why
should we deserve a lighter sentence?"

Gallo crossed his arms with a pensive
expression. "Did you save a tribal culture from a barbaric
warlord?"

"Perhaps", replied Raxxil.

"So, you're saying that you could have done both
good and bad things during your lifetime?" asked the defender, a
smug look forming as his lips curled upward.

"I suppose so", Raxxil responded with a
shrug.

"I believe that means you are human", said
Gallo. "Well, two of you are. And my job is to get you what you
deserve, but in my eyes, death does not change anything."

Raxxil chuckled. "I don't think you have any
idea what we are."

Chapter 17

4th Dawn of the 5000th Age of Lion

Pann sat at the highest level of the Courier's
Tower, the structure in Enept-Ihs devoted to the myriad of
messenger birds that flew in-and-out. Subsequently, couriers
organized and delivered messages all across the kingdom. It was a
bright and sunny day, but the climate in the center of Makka was
always temperate aside from the bitter winters. The sun's rays were
refreshing rather than scalding, and puffy, white clouds glided
above them.

The Makkan Bluebeaks carried letters to and fro
from all over Makka, and sometimes even other regions of Ashkar.
Pann liked to spend her leisure time here. The chirping of the
birds was soothing, and the view of the kingdom was gorgeous. The
tower was built in the middle level, but rose high enough where
Pann could see all of Enept-Ihs, and even what lay beyond.

The top level of the tower was a circular, open
space. Couriers bustled about as birds landed and flew off while
Pann leaned on the elevated edge of the tower and gazed beyond the
kingdom's walls at the vast rolling hills.

"Always in your usual spot, my dear", said a
familiar voice from behind. Normally, the words brought warmth to
her heart, but at the moment they stung like daggers. Pann didn't
turn around. Instead, she kept gazing across the expanse of green
past the cold, iron walls. She heard footsteps getting closer, and
the figure behind her waited briefly before gently placing a hand
on her right shoulder.

Pann jerked away from the hand and moved to
another spot.