"Order! Order!" the Chancellor roared whilst his hand repeatedly banged the gavel against block which seemed to stop growing whispers in the crowd "If I may be allowed to speak your majesty Negusa Nagast and your grace the Chancellor?" I inquired whilst raising my chained right hand slowly and carefully. "Since everyone seems to be bringing their own opinions and evidence I'm intrigued to what you'll show us today prince Alhaari." affirmed with amused tone, and if not for his Golden mask one would assume the was a grin behind that mask of his "On the eve of the 12th month of the year 40 of the Holy Era, I and my men marched to the gates of the house of Ghaddār to demand answers for letters I received between a member of house Ghaddār whom I assumed to be Kenazmach Negat Kelile Ghaddār and a high ranking member of the Lawless City of the western isles the letters discussed with great intimacy and detail how they would 'remove' political rivals the letters that were received were one of many of a series that I've been receiving and Ialso have reasons to believe that other members of the Majlis[1]are involved in this treachery." I announced keeping my voice neutral and my eyes forward whilst i raised my hand for the doorman to open the door, and before the doorman could open the doors they flung open revealing a tall man with dark yellowish skin viridian green eyes which were made more vibrant by his dusty blonde hair and dark brown bushy eyebrows were a contrast to his dusty blonde hair and accompanying him was another man with honey blonde hair and mesmerizing blue eyes umber brown skin.
"Ras-autocrat Karim Ausar ka-Neith objects your majesty" said the man with the green eyes and dusty blonde hair. "Impudence how dare you burst into this seating and disrupt the trial!" screeched lord Cairo, "Lord Cairo have you forgotten who you are talking to do you think the house of ka-Neith is below or has the etiquette of house Cairo fallen to such a low that you do not know who I am." announced Karim in a cold and icy voice that almost seemed like he'd kill him durning each word uttered his gaze slightly shifted to lord Cairo until he was looking straight at him and I felt his Pran Bindu expand and suddenly I felt a pressure on top of my shoulders, legs and arms and looked straight Karim's eyes that radiated a deep viridian green glow, "This is a place of Trials and reason I will have order!" announced his majesty as another weight seemed to add on top of my shoulders and this weight felt more calmer ,dense and deadly like the eyes of a predator were watching and as I turned with little strength in I saw it his majesty sitting nonchalantly his gaze seemingly elsewhere but here.
I can feel neither Ṣa'da[2] or Arcana[3] from him is it perhaps if these blasted chains or is it something else and his gaze is unsettling as always despite losing the eyes he can still see through everything. "Apologies your majesty" Karim said whilst glancing at my disheveled appear and slight small smirk appeared on his face before disappearing as quickly as it'd had appeared, his enjoying this too much for someone who came to save me "For which part Karim Ausar ka-Neith is it the part of realesing your prana and bloodlust in my presence or for interrupting this trial? Which one is your apology directed at child?" the Negusa Nagast said plainly "For inciting violence in your presence I do solemnly apologize your majesty..
" he begin whilst staring at his majesty with the certainty that made the whole Səra'eta freeze "and as for the commotion I'm afraid I can not issue an apology when I was not the one at fault your majesty" he continued whilst looking at Lord Cairo.
"Your excellency the Ras-Autocrat of Tanit do you know what you declaring in front of so many witnesses?" the Chancellor asked his tone taking that of a supposed father scolding an unruly child "Chancellor I shall take your sentiment under the most generous advisement, but I must insist of my inocence had lord Cairo not blocked my path and insulted me therefore insulting the high house[4]of ka-Neith which by law my presence or any member of my house is needed before the commencement of any formalities and under the The Scorched Earth Act it entails that should formalities begin without my presence or that my path is being barred by a third party then by force I can force my way in." he said in a calm measured tone looking at the Chancellor's bewildered face.
Was it perhaps the shock of his opinion being dismissed or the revelation of such a law's existence either way this is quite the spectacle "Prince Karim Ausar ka-Neith the Ras-Autocrat of Tanit it seems you've grown into a capable young man... You may take a seat and present your evidence. " his majesty spoke keeping a very singular tone.
"Yes your majesty" he said in unison with the man besides him as they moved towards the closest seats. "Zenebe Tsegaye Makda second son of the house of Makda greets his majesty and the members noble seating." the man with the blonde hair and blue eyes and an umber brown skin begin his presentation whilst many in what appeared to be military attire handed folders of documentsto members of this seatings, "On the eve of the 12th month of the year 40 of the Holy Era according to the celestial calendar, Supreme Commander Alhaari Sefu Khalid del-Boaz - al-Marid led a raid against the house Ghaddār which had announced itself to evil and housed in its walls criminals with the intention of treason furthermore among these individuals the were members of the criminal organization The Fifth Eye[5] the house of Ghaddār also collided with high ranking members of the Lawless City and we also have reasons to believe the house Ghaddār was not acting alone and in fact has allies in this seating" as the man finished speaking I watched from my spot as the room simingly shifted as masks of concern begin plastering on many of the members faces "How can we ensure what you saying is true and this doesn't absolve his highest of the crime of executing a noble without permission from the crown." a man with a notably huge stomach and orange brown skin and I watched as wave of confusion dawn on ser Zenebe's face "If I may enquire my lord what is this talk of Kenazmach Ghaddār's death about?" he enquired and I saw the fat faced noble's face twist between rage and annoyance "Why does the former lieutenant supreme commander of the military know less than us in this matter are you not his highness' aide currently or is it that you are feigning ignorance?" the noble who I've yet to learn his name enquired, "He must think that we are fools." another thinner one but still chubby responded "Kenazmach Ghaddār lives." Zenebe responded bluntly and with a look of confusion that had just seemingly grasped the situation I was in "Madness we know his highness prince Alhaari killed the head of house Ghaddār in cold blood when raiding his home unlawfully at that!" Kenazmach Cairo screeched whilst raising his arms frantically and pointing in my direction "Kenazmach Cairo where did you all hear of this information as far as I am aware this operation was kept secret no one not even the Chancellor was aware so how did you come to receive this information lord Cairo?" Zenebe asked in that voice of his when he knew something was afoot.
"Why should we?" that same fat faced noble asked as though he was stating the obvious "Yes why should we?" another noble asked and the room seemed to be agreeing in unison except for some learned men and women. Idiots do they really not know why or are they just feigning ignorance "Enough! My god you bicker like children." his majesty declared and ushering the room into silence "Zenebe Tsegaye Makda is what you speak truth and don't you dare try to deceive me boy." he said his eyes radiating warm gold hues "Yes your majesty the members of house Ghaddār and the Kenazmach live the was no execution made except for those belonging to the Fifth Eye, those who resisted arrest were incapacitated or crippled." Zenebe responded how he usually gave me reports.
"Where is Kenazmach Ghaddār now?" the Chancellor who had been standing there near his majesty throughout this whole ordeal asked "He is outside your grace" Zenebe responded "Bring him in for all to see." his majesty affirmed and the guards moved.
Shortly after two guards with unremarkable uniforms of red and black with shotel swords around their waists shortly after the two men's entrance two other men entered the one in front had auburn colored hair, copper brown skin and saffron orange eyes. Behind him was a very dirty man, thin as though he'd been starved with his body having bruises and his clothes torn indicating he'd had some sort of struggle, he walked slowly with his right leg limping. Shock and fear dawned on most of the nobles in attendance especially and I recognized most of them like Kenazmach Cairo and Gerazmach Imran who not long ago were at each other's necks but now shared the same look of horror as though their great plan had imploded on their faces. The man with auburn hair dragged the limping lord Ghaddar towards the centre right next to where i was standing the man witb auburn hair positioned himself infront of Lord Ghaddār which earned him a few snickers from the nobles, "Ayele Tesfaye greets his majesty the Negusa Nagast." the man with auburn hair announced whilst slightly bending his knee and touching his chest "Rise soldier and bring forth to the centre the man behind you" Ayele who positioned himself in front of Kenazmach Ghaddār in the stand now understood what those snickers were for and quickly and efficiently dragged and pushed the man to the stand.
"I'd you would allow me to interrogate him your majesty" I heard myself enquiring "Why would a criminal be allowed to interrogate anyone." Gerazmach Imran shouted and seemingly not realizing the weight if his words till he was finished and only then did he hear what he'd just said "Gerazmach Imran it seems your tongue is too loose how dare you insult a member of the Imperial house, do you not value your life or that of your family even if his highness is on trial how dare a mere vassal!" Zenebe shouted and with every word that was uttered I could practically taste the puddle of sweat on his face "Calm yourself Zenebe I feel that this interrogation will yield good results." I said looking at the distraught nobles along Gerazmach Imran and turned my face towards the Negusa Nagast awaiting his answer "What can you do that I am incapable of doing boy? Everything you learnt and know is because of me." he announced his gaze looking down at me with curiosity or contempt I couldn't tell. "Though your majesty's power is magnificent it has limits you can only see the true nature of things my lord you have no control over what people say or do." I answered keeping my voice neutral and steady.
His majesty seemed to ponder my words for a minute before responding "Proceed" was all he said. "Ayele undo the illusion magic you placed him under" I said looking at the guards who motioned towards me as they got closer and we were facing each other one of them extended his hands reaching for the chains and I felt a very faint but familiar warmth different from the cold of the metalic chains and before I knew it I saw small blue thick blue mist like energy wrapping itself around the chains and the mist formed a circle with strange symbols in a foreign language this was followed by a beatiful show of stars that encircled the chains giving them a sort of warmth to their base which made a clicking sound before the chains fell off. The moment the chains fell off I felt the air in my lungs revitalizing my body with familiar energy as it moved through all the channels in my body as the energy begin to move into my body I outstretched my hand instictively and whispered "Fire" and tge same thick ,murky mist formed around my hand with a platoon of colors this was followed by a circle around that seemed to form as a result of the mist and with a few seconds a medium sized flame formed around my hand as a result.
"Bring him here" I saw Ayele fidle with the magic circle he'd cast for releasing illusionary magic. I raised my concentrating on the familiar feeling of power and I breathed slowly before the same mist like energy appeared on my hand except mine wasn't blue but a multitude of colors "Release" was all I said before Negat Ghaddār's seemingly dazed eyes shot awake and his chest seemed to move up and down as though he'd just watched his life flash before his eyes "Where am I! Who are you!" he asked franticly whilst looking around, realization and fear slowly daunting on his face "Be quiet" I ordered raising my hand towards his direction and my hand which still hand that murky mist around it seemed to respond as his mouth didn't utter a single word after that order.
I walked towards Kenazmach Ghaddār making every little step count as to remember me when his burning in hell and when I got infront of him who was still frantically trying to find his voice i raised my hands toward his face as difderent colored threads began coming out if his head and i watched as they danced around the room and I felt my eyes radiate before similar threads sprung out from my chest touching the threads connecting to his and i felt it fear, happiness, sorrow, anger and nothing and as i opened my eyes I saw his body violently shaking his irides widening and narrowing at the same time and his body seemingly shaking to no stop, stopes it's convulsion and the multi colored threads seemed to have dissappeared leaving Lord Ghaddār on the floor with less energy and a determination of a true moron as this man tried to run little to a few seconds after my ability stopped his convulsion "Be still" the order echoed putting him in a frozen statue like stance as he was attempting to make a run from the main door he had come.
Absolute obedience the power of the high house of al-Marid which demands absolute loyalty and obedience to all is a very convenient power in my situation. "Lord Ghaddār where are you going crawl here like a dog" I ordered and waited a few second before he started crawling to my direction like a dog and the best part was his own shock at his own inability to refuse "What did you do to me" shock, anger and fear filled his voice "Isn't it fascinating? Control over one's body is the one thing we can somewhat dictate yet even that is mine to take from you and today I'm gonna kill you along with your accomplices" I said watching him with a calm and steady emotionless expression slightly turning my eyes towards his majesty's direction after that last line "We shall now begin the trial of Negat Kelile Ghaddār and his accomplishes" I said walking over near the prime minister who was standing near his majesty "But your highness the prince who are these accomplices you speak of?" a noble from the Royalist Faction asked clearly curious and amused "It is the criminals among us and Kenazmach Ghaddār will tell us their names of course" I said failing to hide the glee in my voice and a face of shock dawned Kenazmach Ghaddār after I said that.
"First question what was your plan and association with the Fifth Eye terrorist organization?" I asked him keeping my voice neutral and I felt it a slight resistance in the connection which was met with his screams feeling the room "Resisting only brings you more mental pain lord Ghaddār it is unwise to resist." I said keeping my voice monotone. "Your highness how is this different from torture." Gerazmach Imran shouted at the top of his lungs making sure his voice was not swallowed up by his friend's screams "Watch lord Imran" I said plainly as the screams begin to subside and that same empty look he had when entering the Səra'eta returned "We planned to eliminate the current young heirs from his highness to lord Karim so that we'd place the younger brother of her highness Princess Beredo as a puppet since none of us had legitimacy." he said with no resistance his eyes still taking on that dead look with nor even an inch of emotions.
"Wh-wh-what just happened your highness?" I heard Lord Imran stagger through his words "What you just witness is the one of the powers of house al-Marid which commands total obedience and submission him struggling was just a clerical error it didn't matter because whether he liked it or not he was gonna submit to my power." I replied to his question still looking at the motionless lord Ghaddār
"How can we trust anything he says, he marched into another house's territory without his majesty's permission how can we be sure of the validity of his power." I heard as lord Cairo screeched for all to hear. "I will vouch of his power." a very flat but appealing voice echoed as a noble woman with brown eyes and a tanned orange-brown skin color came into view dressed In a blue and gold high waisted fitted gown with bustle layers which was accompanied by lace-trimmed veil head covering that did little to hide her face but was successful in somewhat hiding slightly greying hairs. "Lady Ayral was a good friend of mine who dedicated her life to this empire if the is any truth to what young lord of Ayral and his highness have said I am willing to be a test subject for justice to prevail. So I the Weizero Dejazmach-Aleqa Yasmin Soraya Amani vouch for Prince Alhaari"
She said in a softer and more gentler voice as she begin standing holding a parasol with trembling hands.
Her hands were shaking either from fear that she is a part of the plot or she was furious of her friend's death either way it I never good for one to be steered by emotion "The is no need for that young lady I am already here. I will bear the whole truth as I've always for my eyes though old can still discern truth from lie." I heard his majesty speak not in that tone he uses to dismiss everyone and everything as insignificant but hid voice was more gentle like that of an older brother soothing his little sister.
"On to the second question, who armed you with these weapons you has in the underground warehouse? " I asked calmly, motioning Karim to bring the curved, single edged blade with a circular guard and a long grip.
"It was men who wanted to trade they said they were from beyond the eastern waterfalls[6]they brought us weapons." he responded in a quickly without wasting any breath "How did they pass the waterfalls?" I asked without waiting for him to catch his breath.
"I don't know it was the members of the Fifth Eyes that frequently met with them ." he responded "Who are your accomplices both within this seating and outside, can you name them?" I asked
"Lord Imran, lord Cairo, lord Hassan and lord Eskander were the members of the high seating that were involved, Eskander, the red house of the nameless city was also involved as they wantedus to push decriminalizing the purchase of prostitution." he begin repeatedly reciting their names in between his sentence as though they were incantations of a spell. As soon as lord Ghaddār begin reciting their names I saw in the seating three men moving frantically between the crowded spaces one of the men who wore a very hideous blue frock coat and red fez which was seemingly struggling to make a way for himself to cross, the second one seemed to be covering his face trying to make a very swift get away hoping no one sees him, the third lord Imran seemed to be the most obvious and dimwited of the three as he ran towards the front door which was wide open I think he thought he'd have a chance to escape due to the chaos
"Guards zeize them, capture the traitors." my order came out more cheery than expecte. The guards apprehended the three traitors and lord Cairo who had not moved a muscle from his sit whilst his friends ran like fools was it out of understanding the inevitable situation they are in or was he trying to gunner sympathy with the other members or perhaps he was finally aware of the situation he is now. "What will you do with us?" Lord Cairo enquired his voice had lost its loud bravado replaced by the hushed whisper of a mouse begging for mercy. "Just like the same as any others who tried for treason." I said not breaking eye contact with the man.
"Now my final question to lord Ghaddār who was the-" The words seemed to catch in my throat, which had surprisingly gone dry as dust.
The hall seemed to tilt, the faces of the members of the seating blurring into a smear of color. A high-pitched ringing swelled in my ears, drowning out my own voice. I felt the strength begin to leave my legs, and the stone floor rushed up to meet my pristine face and my vision going blurry and finally my vision which had been a blurry mess of colors turned dark.
[1] parliament
[2] Component produced after forming an Ṣa‘da Heart and producing Ṣa‘da Chains which produce Ṣa‘da
[3] Component produced after forming Arcanum and producing Rune&Ge'ez Circle which leads to the formation of Arcana that is used to create the phenomenon magic
[4] A noble clan considered to be closer to Deities due to a contract they made with a Deity.
[5] A third rate terrorist organization that worships the evil archon Ga'edras as the messiah that will bring forth prosperity to the lands they are banned even in the Lawless City
[6] a magical wall that separates the west, the east and the central worlds