The Ninth Prophecy

Days of rebuilding of the kingdom came. The realm of the straightwalkers was safe for the time being. However, the old threat remained. The Doomed Dome was still standing in its place. Back at Karos, rebuilding of the city was under way, much like of the rest of the kingdom too. Old enmities were being forgotten and fading away. Nevertheless, reconciliation implied justice, and justice implied trials. Trials were held at the king’s court and they were public. The first to stand trial before the king’s court was Wago. The jurors were Axion, Hadera, Damius and Faris, who presided over them. Damius waved his right to lordship over Baan Senicore and chose to stay in Karos and serve as Faris’s right-hand man, with Faris’s consent and blessing. Maedur had returned to Baan Senicore to run the city instead, just as he had been doing before the battle for Karos.

- “Come forward, Wago the carpenter!” Faris invited the man. Wago shyly stepped forward.

- “You have been accused of abusing power and corrupting and trying to control the freedom of mind, serving as a priest of the late king Yon. What say you in your defense?”

- “We only coordinated the worshiping procedures, the worship of The One.”

- “Worship comes from love. Love is a pure emotion. You can’t coordinate love, you can only manipulate it,” Faris snapped back at him.

- “We were just trying to separate the truth from the lies!”

- “And who gave you the gift to do so? The One? Inform us how he did that?” Hadera asked Wago.

- “Well, it was Yon, your brother, he delegated us based on our knowledge of the meaning.”

- “Knowledge of the meaning?” Faris interrupted.

- “Well yes, my king. You see, for example, it is now clear to us interpreters, as it should be to all straightwalkers, that you are the chosen one to fulfill the prophecy. The One has chosen you and there is no doubt in my mind that therefore you will decide wisely in this matter too.”

- “Is that so?” Faris said again.

- “Yes, my king. The truth has prevailed with you. There is no doubt in your rightfulness and wisdom. You have won the war with wisdom and, indisputably, with the consent of The One. That was the unanimous conclusion of the Interpreters.”

- “So, you have delivered your verdict?” Axion asked the man.

- “Well, I wouldn’t call it a verdict. It is merely our contribution in affirming our noble lord Faris’s right to the throne and justness of his cause. We just want to work for the benefit of the realm.”

- “Well, then there is no doubt that you will be satisfied with my verdict.”

- “I trust it will be so!”

Faris first turned towards the other three jurors. They just nodded approvingly.

- “All right. What you have just said has removed all doubt in my mind and in the minds of my fellow jurors about your trustworthiness. Therefore, I sentence you and all members of your...order, to a lifetime of hard labor in the Tunnel of Red Rock and in the city, when it would be needed in cleaning the streets and the sewer. This way, you will be able to contribute to the welfare of the realm most directly. You are to be stripped of all your possessions which are to be given to sons and daughters of the killed soldiers of Karos. Since you agree that my decisions are indisputably just and fair, you should have no problem accepting the verdict as such.”

Wago was shocked. Being dragged away, he just kept on repeating: “No, no, no.”

The next one on trial was Thrax. He walked forward confidently, as if he had won a battle. Faris asked him what he had to say in his defense, being accused of rebelling against the king and of abusing power. Thrax spoke:

- ” I did what I believed was right and what I believed was my duty as a soldier. You can call it whatever you want to call it. That is all I will say.”

After briefly consulting the other jurors, Faris delivered the verdict:

- “You remind me of one friend of mine, Thrax, supreme general of the Karosian army. He paid the highest price for his stubbornness and blind following of the code, the price of life. You, Thrax, have been sentenced to one winter of hard labor in the Tunnel of Red Rock. After you serve your sentence, you will be given the chance to reenlist in the Karosian army as a plain soldier. If you choose to do so, you will be given the chance to progress through ranks just like all other soldiers, by proving yourself on the field and through service.”

Thrax said nothing. He turned around and walked away, followed by two guards. The next one to be trialed was Ral, commander of the Koprites. He was brought in by four guards. Needless to say, he was all in chains. As Faris opened his mouth, the Koprite tried to jump on him. The guards managed to pull him back. The brute creature just screamed and groaned at them. Faris looked at the other jurors and just said: “Just behead the bloody bastard!”

Faris excused himself and walked out on the terrace. He needed a break. He was feeling the weight of expectations and responsibilities on his shoulders and he had a hard time coping with it.

Axion walked out after him: “My king, are you all right?”

- “No, I am not all right. Almost all of my friends and family are dead. I helplessly watched it happen or even contributed to it and now here I am, playing god, creating an illusion of justice in a world filled with injustice and corruption. Who says I am just? How can I claim to be just if even I question my every decision over and over again?”

- “You are just precisely because you ask that question. Questioning one’s self always before questioning the other is the key precondition for becoming a just ruler.”

- “Yes, I am the ruler, but at what price?! The Fraternity, Eldon, Qali, Hiraq, Aegor, Spero, Taal, Darion, Sheda, Ratana, Geren, Yon...and I don’t know how many more. There are so many dead that I am even forgetting some of them.”

- “Preservation of life is never in the focus of warfare. It is merely a tool that drives the sides to fight on and kill each other. Paradoxical, isn’t it? If I am not mistaken, the eighth prophecy says: ‘The king of this time shall stand alone against the might of the new light.’ The accent is on alone. Yet still, you are not alone. You have Hadera, Maedur, Goras, Damius, Sethon, Dokal, me... Just look at Damius. He lost his father and his brother and he serves as your most loyal friend. You have lost a lot, but you have gained a lot too. You have a responsibility to those who are here, as well as to those who gave their lives believing this to be a worthy cause.”

- “Well, if you are trying to ease up the pressure, you are doing a shitty job, you know?!” Both of them laughed.

- “All right. I can live with that, my king. Now, come back inside with me and do what you do best, be a good man. We need you to be that. You know, this is not over. The Doomed Dome still stands. On the other side, our cities practically lay in ruins. We are weak and they are lurking from the darkness. They are going to make their move soon. The rumor has it that they have a leader, a mystical figure who has been in hiding all this time. You have to be ready and up to the challenge when the moment comes.”

- “Well, it is official now. You suck at comforting people!”

The two walked back in and continued judging on the matters of the kingdom. Few could tell that Faris was judging himself.