Chương 40: 39. Mandate

"Everyone here?" Tavian asked, scanning the dirty faces around him. He received nods from his fist leaders. They moved to the gate in the wall and pushed it open. Then they were running back toward the Fortress. The ghouls were focused on storming the temple, and did not even seem to notice Tavian's party as they ran back to safety. The fortress gates slammed behind them, and Tavian's soldiers lined the walls, watching the destruction of the temple.

Once inside the walls, Anella shook herself free from the soldiers who'd restrained her. She was sobbing, gasping for breath, and she ran up the steps of the wall to stare at her burning home. Braun ran after her. Tavian followed them. He was afraid of the consequences of what he'd just done. If Anella rejected Braun now, it could destroy him. From atop the wall, the destruction of the Tiren compound unfolded before them. The temple was completely engulfed in flames, its dome looking like a burning eye.

The fire Tavian had set in the library had taken hold and spread to other buildings. The stained glass window of Ishtoran was melting. Flames billowed from Ishtoran's mouth, and smoke poured from his mouth and eyes, blackening the mural. Ishtoran looked like a demon from the pits of the void. A trickle of priests ran from the destruction.

"Make sure anyone seeking shelter gets in," Tavian said to his men. They turned to relay the orders. A cry of fear from below drew his attention. Alisa came running to Valliroth's side, checking his injuries. The man was stirring now, touching his head where Tavian had struck him.

"Get away from me!" Anella screamed, pushing Braun back. Braun was frantic, desperate to sooth her pain, but she wanted no part of it.

"Tavian!" Valliroth called.

"What have you done to us?" What had he done to them? He'd saved their lives. He'd protected them from their own foolish selves. But it wasn't enough for them, was it? What did Valliroth expect, for Tavian to single handedly defend the temple?

"Everyone off the walls," Tavian said.

"Come with me, now." He started walking, but nobody came with him.

"Braun!" he called.

"Valliroth, Alisa, come on, we have to—" But whether they willfully ignored him or not, nobody acted.

"We have a fortress to defend," Tavian said. He spotted a pair of captains watching the burning, horror on their faces.

"Get your men back to their posts," he said. The nearer looked at him, and then hesitated. He glanced at the man beside him. They both looked to Braun, who was technically in charge of the soldiers. Tavian felt the lack of respect for him like a heap of bricks.

"My lord…" one of them said, gesturing weakly toward the devastation.

"Both of you," Tavian said. They looked at each other.

"Oh, yes, sir," the first said, moving sluggishly off, still watching the burning temple. The other saluted and moved off in the other direction. Erond was right. Authority as a [Ruler] wasn't enough. He'd been undermined too much. He needed to reassert himself. Tavian grabbed Braun by the arm and dragged him away from Anella. The girl reached instinctively for Braun, then pulled her hand away. She turned to look at her burning home, trembling as she gripped the stone battlements.

Then she pulled herself away from the sight and followed.

"You're cruel!" she said to them. Tavian didn't know who she was addressing, but he ignored her.

"You, find Shona," Tavian ordered, pointing out a captain.

"Bring her to the throne room." The man ran off to do his bidding. Braun grunted, trying to twist out of Tavian's grip.

"Quiet," Tavian ordered him.

"You disobeyed my express orders and now we have to do something about that." A weight settled on Braun, and he quit resisting. He allowed Tavian to drag him through the fortress, to the throne room. The throne room had been stripped bare, but Tavian didn't care. It would serve his purpose. A crowd gathered, and Tavian brought Braun up on the dais. The imprints of the missing throne were still visible on the ground. Valliroth stood, his arm protectively around his sister as he watched Tavian carefully.

Alisa lingered nearby. Tavian pushed Braun down to kneel before him. The guards brought Shona into the room, leading her up to Tavian. She knelt beside Braun. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Her [Battlemages] crowded in to one of the stands.

"We are a kingdom at war," Tavian declared, looking out across the people.

"Shona defied a direct order and killed a prisoner." He looked down at the woman. She looked up at him, surprised, a look of fear in her eyes.

"My lord," she began to protest.

"Shona, I'm stripping you of your Battlemage class." He activated his system interface and removed Shona's class. She paled, her straight back bending slightly. She'd only lost a single point of magic, and the ability to cast simple darts, but the class revocation hit her like a blacksmith's hammer. She trembled.

"My lord, that man killed Hoben in cold blood."

"We would have punished him," Tavian said.

"You acted beyond your responsibility." Shona pursed her lips. She knew she'd been wrong to act in passion. Tavian raised his voice so that the crowd could hear him.

"Shona will be flogged." A murmur of discontent arose from the [Battlemages]. Mostly young women, they had come to love Shona in a few short days. Tavian envied the ability to command loyalty like that. Shona grimaced, but did not complain.

"Guards." Tavian gestured, and a man stepped up behind Shona with a switch. She winced as the lash snapped across her back. Again. Again. Again. Even soldiers in the crowd looked away. Shona's blouse ripped, revealing red stripes on her back. A [Battlemage] fainted. Tavian felt each blow in his soul. The crack of the switch echoed in the silent hall. Shona did not cry out. She was a strong woman. Each thwack of the whip stung. Was Tavian taming a renegade? Was he bringing his kingdom together?

Or was he creating a monster?

"That's enough," Tavian said, and the whipping ceased.

"Rise, Shona," Tavian said. She stood. He held out his hand to her. She took it, and he looked her in the eye.

"You made a mistake, and you have paid the price." He wanted to give her her class back. But he was afraid he didn't have the essence to spare. So he left the words hanging, and watched as Shona was escorted out. Tavian turned to Braun. Everyone knew what came next. Tavian watched Anella as he spoke.

"Braun also defied my orders. And, though it hurts me to punish my own brother, I am a fair ruler." Anella scowled at Braun.

"First," Tavian said, "Braun ignored a direct order not to go to Temple, to try to help defend it." Braun wilted slightly.

"This forced me to pursue him with a force of my own, to make sure he didn't throw his life away." A ripple of whispers ran through the crowd.

"Second," Tavian said, "Braun refused direct orders to flee, when it was clear the temple was lost. He insisted that he would remain by Anella's side, wherever she chose to be. I had no other choice but to drag the young Lady Tiren from the temple, to save my brother's life." Anella seemed surprised. Her scowl deepened, directed toward Tavian. Valliroth scoffed. Braun looked up at Tavian, confused and offended.

"That's not what—" But Tavian cut him off.

"That is what happened." Braun looked up at Tavian. His eyes flicked toward Anella. He glanced back at Tavian, grateful as he understood what his brother was doing. Then he lowered his head, ready to receive his punishment.

"Braun, I'm stripping you of your class. And I'm locking you up in the tower." Braun paled as his class was stripped, looking like he might topple over. It was a good thing he was already on his knees. Tavian gestured for the guards, who escorted Braun away from the room. Braun held himself together well. He lifted his chin and walked with confidence, as though he was leading the guards and not being escorted by them. Anella looked torn. She glared daggers at Tavian.

She looked toward Braun as he walked through the doors. She opened her mouth. Then closed it. She looked back at Tavian with pure malice in her gaze, and ran from the throne room, following Braun. Tavian wiped sweat from his brow. He needed what remained of House Tiren. Without the backing of any of Tar Corinath's houses, he stood no chance; if Anella hated him that was acceptable, so long as she could still care for Braun. He turned his gaze to the other living member of House Tiren, his friend Valliroth.

The man approached as the throne room emptied, eyes a raging storm.

"Please, let me change this bandage," Alisa begged him as he climbed the dais. He brushed her aside, climbing all the way to stand level with Tavian. Most of the room had emptied, now. They faced each other in silence. Tavian searched for the words that would make Valliroth understand. They did not come. Valliroth spoke first.

"Tavian," he said.

"I thought you were my friend."

"Please try to understand," Tavian said.

"I couldn't let you throw your life away. The outcome would have been the same, whether you fought and died or whether you came with me."

"This isn't the real you, Tavian," Valliroth said.

"The man I knew wasn't like this. You're under a dark influence."

"I'm not—""You are. I saw the wound. The darkness is spreading." Tavian's side ached, and he knew Valliroth was right. His injury was getting worse again. He needed to see Calli for another treatment.

"It's not affecting me like that," Tavian said.

"And I didn't choose to be stabbed. Calli is helping me cure it."

"And you lied to my sister just now," Valliroth said.

"I saw Braun give the orders to abduct her. You build on a foundation of dishonesty. Where did you learn to lie like that?" As he spoke, Valliroth's words grew sharper.

"Valliroth, Braun risked his life to save your sister. She was behaving like a child back there."

"Tavian," Valliroth said.

"You abandoned my mother to die." Tavian closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Val."

"My place was with her," Valliroth said.

"Defending the temple of Ishtoran."

"They would have killed you too." Tavian had said as much, and repeating the same words over and over didn't seem to convince Valliroth. But he had to say something. He had done the right thing, in trying to save his friend. Alisa renewed her plea, stepping up alongside the scion of house Tiren. The wound in Valliroth's side seemed to have been torn open by his recent activities, and was bleeding through his tunic.

"Valliroth, please, let me tend to this."

"Let me give you your class back," Tavian said.

"There is no ill will between us. We can still—""I accept nothing from you, not while you still walk in the path of darkness," Valliroth said.

"I will not swear fealty nor accept a class from you." Tavian scowled at Valliroth. He hated the feeling of losing a friend.

"You should be thanking me for saving your life. And your sister's life. If I had let you stay in that temple, you would be nothing more than a heap of ashes now. Or worse; you'd rise again to fight for Anarvia." Tavian leaned in, feeling the blood in his veins pounding, his miasmic wound throbbing. His voice grew more intense.

"You want to talk about morality when ghouls are ransacking our city? Without me, nobody stands between Anarvia and his aims. Think about that before you call me a liar again." Valliroth stood like a statue for a long moment. Valliroth did not speak. He simply left Tavian's words hanging in the air, rejecting them with a tip of his head. He turned and extended an arm. She accepted it.

"Thank you, Alisa," he said, pressing a hand to his side.

"I will go with you now." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and they descended the dais together. When he reached the foot of the stand, he turned to face Tavian again.

"I'm not giving up on you, Tavian." Tavian's system interface lit up with a notification. He ignored it, keeping his gaze locked on Valliroth. Tavian stared at the doorway for several seconds after Valliroth disappeared. His system pinged again. He checked his interface and reviewed the notification. ⬣ New Perk: Mandate (passive) ⬣ ⬣ The word of a [Ruler] is law, within his domain. Direct commands to your subjects carry the weight of law. ⬣