Eryndor stormed through the door of his chambers, as he stopped just in front, his brows furrowing at the sight before him.
Soldiers of the three high houses, Drakovar, Veymont, and Calvasset, had formed a military alliance against eryndor, standing to arrest him.
Drakovar soldiers stood boldly to the left, clad in brown leather and darkened metal armor, their banners flaying in the wind. All drakovar soldiers swords already unsheathed and gripped steadily, and ready to battle.
To the right, Veymont's female sdiers stood in tight formation, their blue jackets tucked neatly into their trousers. Their rifles cocked and aimed at eryndor, their faces stern and ready to fire at command.
Between them, Calvasset's soldiers stood gallantly in their green military uniforms, with their rifles also aimed at eryndor who stood in front of his chambers door.
All around calensport, Thirty thousand unified soldiers had laid seige to Calensport, as they aimed to seize eryndor for the allegations of his crimes to asterra.
Eryndors, loyal nobles had already been arrested as well, among the arrested nobles stood Lord Dalric, Lady Ovelyn, and Sir Joras, all nobles of House Valesse, they knelt as captors before eryndor with cold steel pressed against their throats.
"Let us go!" Sir Joras barked, straining against the drakovar soldiers that held him down.
"This is a farce!" Lady Ovelyn spat, her face twisted with fury. "False accusations! You will all suffer for this treachery!"
Then from the midst of Drakovar soldiers came the heavy sound of boots, Lord Erry O'Kael, the Northern Warlord and leader of house drakovar emerged. His figure stood tall, broad as an ox, his armor bore the scars of war.
He moved with the countenance of a man who commanded fear and terror. As he stepped before the Sovereign's chambers, his cold eyes swept over the scene, glancing first at eryndors arrested nobles, then to Eryndor himself.
Immediately he pulls out a scroll, as he loosened it, revealing the scroll bound in warden-seals. Erry O kaels voice roared, echoing through the sovereign chambers as he spoke.
"Lord Eryndor of House Valesse, and his loyal nobles!. Never in the history of Asterra did we imagine to see this day, the day the Sovereign and his noble house turn upon their own people!"
Eryndor stood in shock and confusion, as his eyes darted through the scene playing before him, glancing from his detained and arrested loyal nobles, and then to Erry O' kael.
"What is all this, Kael? Turned upon my own people? What bloody lies do you speak!"
Kael stood tall with a frown and without flinching.
"Eryndor, you know the law, if a sovereign brings doom to his people, the other nobles will rally against him, as long as they are commanded by the wardens" Kael waved the wardens scroll before eryndor revealing the wardens command to arrest eryndor, as he spoke with authority.
"You are summoned, not by me, not by my house Drakovar, not by any house, but by the Wardens, and by the cries of the people, to answer for your crimes against Asterra."
Kael yelles audibly, as he tosses the scroll to the ground in front of eryndor.
"You will speak no more until the hour of your trial." Kael commanded.
Eryndor stood still and confused for a moment as he tried processing everything, his lips parted but words would not come out.
Then immediately his countenance changed, his eyes bent with rage as he locked his gaze on kael, his fist clenched as if he was about to go berserk.
Kael reading eryndor, immediately drew his blade, as he gripped it with both hands. Eryndors eyes shifted to his nobles, lord dalric, sir joras and lady ovelyn, as they shook their heads in disagreement, signalling to eryndor not to go ahead with his next action.
Then slowly, eryndors rage cooled. The annoyance drained from his face, his shoulders sinking as if a great weight had been dropped from it.
Finally his head bent slowly to the floor, slow, reluctant and bitter.
At Kael's gesture, pointing towards eryndor, Drakovar soldiers advanced towards eryndor, slapping Iron cuffs around his wrists. A dozen more soldiers fell into formation, surrounding him in a tight cordon. As they escorted him away from his chambers, taking his nobles and servants along with him.
By noon, the bells ringing in calesport and other regions of asterra had fallen silent.
Location: Northern watchtower.
Beneath the watch tower sat Master Yeru in a simple room, hunched over a wide oak desk stacked with books, scrolls, and ink pots. His glasses had slipped low on his nose, as his quill scratched in steady and deliberate strokes across an empty parchment, as he wrote letters and stacked them in bulk.
Beside him stood young Ray, his runner, as he held a book for yeru that spread open in his hands, one of his finger pressed against the last passage.
Ray kept the book clutched tightly to his chest.
"Ray, be a kind lad and read the last line for me," Master Yeru says, as his quill continued scratching steadily across the parchment without lifting his eyes.
"Of course, Master Yeru," Ray replied softly. He drew in a breath to start reading, but before a word could leave his lips, a loud horn sounded in the distance. Low, long, and mournful. Its sound travelling across the north.
Yeru did not look up, his quill continuing its steady scratch.
"You hear that, boy?" Yeru said, his voice steady with composure. "That is Calensport's call. The capital summons its people to witness the fall of a king." Ray's puzzled at master yerus mention of a king, then he responds curiously.
"But sir," ray begins to speak cautiously, "by law and standard, we do not have a king as ruler, we have a sovereign"
For a moment there was a still silence, as only the sound of quill scratching on parchment filled the room. Then Yeru paused mid-stroke before speaking.
"And why do you say that, lad?" Yeru asked without turning.
"My father would always correct me whenever I called our leader a king," Ray said. "He would shout that Asterra is no monarchy. That we have a sovereign, chosen by the nobles and the people, not a king born into rule"
Yeru finally set the quill down, as he pulled his glasses from his eyes, revealing the heavy eye bags that sat on his old face.
"Your father was a good man," Yeru said, his tone softened with memory. "He was… respected, a scholar, and a brave soldier who fought for bravely for Asterra"
He placed his glasses back on his face as he leaned back slightly, his voice lower now.
"But your father was mistaken about one thing."
Ray adjusted with curiosity, as he listened to master yeru.
"We do not live under a democratic leadership lad, but in an aristocratic elective monarchy form of leadership. It is a kind of leadership, where only Nobles cast their votes, to elect a sovereign, and the common people have no voice in who rules them."
Yeru set the quill aside as he gazed through the narrow window looking out to the cold hills beyond the northern walls.
"And with this type of govenance," he said bitterly, "it is the common folk who bleed first when nobles have a go at each other"
Ray took a long deep breath, trying to sink everything in, as he lets out a sigh, while looking down at the ground.
"I interprete this kind of leadership as having a king," Yeru said with heaviness in his words: "However, with the little time I had left, I had hoped to see a king become a sovereign in truth, and when i say a sovereign, i mean a ruler of all the people, elected by the people, not just selected by nobles."
His gaze grew distant, clouded with sorrow and tiredness.
Ray stood silent for a while, the book he held still pressed hard against his chest, as he finally speaks out.
"But sir," Ray said with slight hesitation "may I ask something of you?"
"Go on." Yeru urged.
Ray's lips parted, but for a moment no sound came as his eyes rolled around, searching for the right words. And finally he began.
"They say… they say Lord Eryndor is responsible for the attack on asterra, that it was his House's weapon, the Heaven's Blitz that was used, some whisper it was fueled with the forbidden white lumin to amplify the destruction, to send a message to other high nobles and the especially to the Wardens that he is not to be challenged."
He finalized as he swallowed hard, sweat trickling down his temple, as he stood silent for a while.
Yeru's eyes softened, as he did not let ray sit in silence for long.
"Ray," he called out "before Eryndor became Sovereign, Asterra was soaked in its own blood. Drakovar fought veymont year after year. Cities wailed beneath the endless war. Solherene kept half the lands enslaved in debt. The Wardens intervened when they could, but still thousands died."
Yeru leaned forward, resting his hands on the table.
"Eryndor was forged in those times. He clawed his way from lowborn soldier to Sovereign through blood, sweat, and tears. And Under his six-year reign, we have had no wars, none. He kept the nobles, high nobles from tearing each other apart. He even won a people's award for peace, something, no previous leader or warden or noble have ever done"
Yeru's clenched his fists briefly on the desk before he let go, breathing slow and heavy.
"No, lad," he said quietly, "I do not believe the man who bled for Asterra would burn it to ash. But listen to me well, do not speak of matters like this beyond this tower. The world is angry at Eryndor now, and anger hides the truth in plain sight"
Yeru turned, and resumed looking through the window.
"Be smart Ray. Live long enough to see which way the wind blows. Speak your heart, but only where it is safe to do so."
Ray swallowed hard again and nodded, clutching the book closer to his chest, his young face became bright and wiser.
"Enough of my rambling," Yeru said. "Go now. Take the northern trains to Calensport, watch all that unfolds in the capital, and return with information on eryndors trial. I will cook a stew and wait for your report."
"Yes, Master yeru," Ray replied softly, as he closed the book and set it gently on the desk before stepping out into the watch towers yard and then into the north.
Location: Town Olsmere in the west.
Time: noon.
Mira wakes up from her long sleep, as she sits up from her cot gradually, groaning softly at the pain she felt in her upper limb, her left hand was already treated and wrapped in bandages. Her lips felt dry and cracked.
Within her tent, some women lay on smaller cots around her, some motionless, some rising weakly to sip water, others staring blankly into the open space, their faces carved with grief, as mira speaks with a faint voice.
"The last thing I remember," Mira whispered, as women around suddenly turned their heads in surprise watching her speak "I was crawling through the alleys with my child… while the flames devoured our streets."
Her eyes darted from face to face in desperation and in search. "If I made it… then surely my child did too. Right?"
The women within the tents exchanged glances with one another. One by one, they began to leave until only Mrs. Trinket remained.
Mrs. Trinket knelt by Mira's cot, taking her hand with trembling fingers.
"Mira…" Mrs. Trinket's voice felt weighty as she spoke. "All you carried was the body of your child. "Tears brewing in her eyes as she spoke to mira.
"My husband, keith, was the one who found you. He said you were nearly gone yourself, whispering a name… Terrin, I think. We laid your little one to rest, not too far from here, so you wouldn't have to see him like that."
Mira's eyes grows wide at the news she just received, her lips parted as words couldnt escape. Slowly, a single tear slid down her cheek, then another followed, until they began to spill freely.
Mrs. Trinket pulled mira into a tight hug.
Suddenly a horn blared, deep and sonorous all over olsmere. Murmurs began muttering across the tents.
Then Abel's voice rang across olsmere in tandem with the blarring horns.
"Lord Eryndor sits in chains as we speak!" he shouted, his voice filled with joy.
"He was taken into custody by Lord Erry O'Kael, who led a unified calvasset, drakovar and veymont soldiers"
Some Survivors gasped as they began circling abel, trying to hear more from him.
"Arrested?!" someone asked. "Was he fleeing?"
"Did any war break out?" another asked again.
"They say Lord O'Kael laid siege to Calensport with thirty thousand soldiers," Abel said "and that Eryndor was still asleep when the decree of his arrest was read!"
The survivors laughed mockingly, as they began spitting curses on house valesse and eryndor. "
"Calensports horn has sounded and has called for us to attend!" Abel declared. "We need to march to the capital to witness his trial for ourselves. Those who can walk, and those who wish to watch justice fall, come! The western trains must be caught before nightfall!" Abel yelled as members scattered into their respective tents.
Immediately, men and women began to prepare to head to calensport, arranging and carrying the little they had.
Some lifted children onto their backs, others stuffed stale bread into sacks, for the road.
Inside miras tent, Keith, stood, placing a hand on over mrs trinkets shoulder, as he spoke softly and calmly.
"I must go to Calensport," he said. "By law guarding low nobles like myself, I am bound to witness lord eryndors trial."
"Who will protect us if another attack comes?" she asked, her voice shaking with fear.
"Not all will leave," Keith replied gently. "Also, Drakovar, and Calvasset soldiers are already nearby. They'll guard what olsmere as we leave.
Then mrs trinket hugged him for a moment, before releasing him with a soft nod.
"I still cannot believe Lord Eryndor could do such a thing."
"That is why I must witness his trial," Keith said. "If he is guilty, then he must face justice for Oriyn's death."
Keith says as he kissed her forehead once before stepping away.
Mira's sat frozen, at the mention of Oriyn's name. Her gaze locked on keith and trinket, her face lit with surprise at the newly found knowledge about oriyn being trinkets brother. The thought lof oriyn now staired within mira as it drew memories of hin sitting in the streets close to her house, burnt beyound recognition.
Location: Calensport: The tribunal court.
Time: Evening.
Evening settled like a shroud over calensport the capital of asterra. One by one, commoners, merchants, nobles, the affected and unaffected began marching into calensports elegant gates, guarded by Calvasset and drakovar soldiers. In mere moments, calensport swelled with great numbers, as the people of asterra marched steadily unto the tribunal courtyard within calensport, carrying with them anger, and their hunger for answers.
As they approached the tribunal square within calensport, drakovar soldiers stood watch at the courts entrance, while calvasset soldiers herded the crowds into orderly lines, and guiding them properly into the tribunal square.
"Keep moving! Stay in line!" one guard barked, shoving a man back into place.
The noise of soldiers orders and shuffling feet echoed within the court, as people packed neatly, squeezing into like sandwish into the square.
The dais within the tribunal suqare/court held the judges seat that stood tall designed with command in mind, noble special seats where designed neatly around the dais.
The dais' marble steps rose elegantly leading to the daus itself.
Banners of the three high houses sat behind the high seats.
And then a sudden silence fell among the crowd within tribunal square, not by command, but as if the entire square had agreed to silence. Only the wind moved, whispering through the banners.
At the edge of the tribunal court, a bell rang once. Its heavy toll rolled across the square like a final summon, as everyone stood in anticipation waiting for the sovereigns trail to begin.