A Test of Law
#21 of The wolf and the rose
Alrighty, finally back into the swing of things. I do apologize once more for taking so long with these, but C'est la vie. Anyway, the next chapter of the Wolf and the Rose story series is finally ready for submission. I hope you enjoy it.
As always, comments are appreciated and requested.
continued from 'At the Slayerhold's Heart'
The long corridor of white stone was brightly lit, wide enough for four men to walk abreast without so much as touching the walls, and yet, it felt almost claustrophobic to me, like the walls would suddenly close in around me at any moment. The wolf in my heart was on high alert, and every step seemed almost to rouse it closer to its familiar battle-fury. The six members of the Argent Guard that had come to the Hall of Hunters walked behind me in two ordered columns, seeming to be acting more like an honor guard than an escort but I had to constantly suppress the urge to turn and fight them, likewise the captain would strode on ahead of me. But even if I was to give into that instinct, what could I do then? I was in the heart of a fortress, surrounded by hundreds of Slayers, every single one of them trained to fight creatures like me, and worse, every single one armed with silver, the most deadly tool in fighting werewolves. As powerful as the wolf spirit had made me, there was no way I could possibly defeat all of them. So, though the wolf spirit within me urged me to act, to fight or to break free and run, all I could do was walk in the same measured pace, onwards towards whatever doom awaited me before the ruling council.
Every moment of that silent journey, broken only when we passed a few other Slayers and servants here and there, all standing aside before my escort, darker and darker thoughts swirled around my head. What could this possibly be about? Even the Hunters were not often called before the council. And what was this about a trial, for that matter? True, I had disobeyed the mandate of the council when I had gone into Hell to rescue my mate, but such defiance didn't warrant a trial, but rather, simply a punishment. But perhaps it was something far worse than that. What if my very existence were to be placed before the council? And if they decided that I deserved death, what then? What would happen to Julianna when they had carried out the sentence? That thought, more than anything, made me feel as though I should make a move and escape; every time such a thought came to me, I almost took flight, almost ran back to the hall of granite and my waiting mate. And every time my thoughts returned to that point, I forced myself to continue, forced myself to keep putting one foot in front of the other, stepping in time with the Guards as they led me to the very heart of the Keep.
The number of Guardsmen standing watch was growing with every corridor junction we passed, which meant we were getting close to the Council Chamber and I felt my heart start to beat even faster, my blood pounding through my body, urging me to do more than just walk. My fingers kept twitching, my hands drifting now and then to the places on my uniform where my weapons usually rested, as if longing to take a blade in hand. But I had laid them all aside, thinking myself safe here. As the carvings around the doors began to grow more and more ornate, I began to judge the distance between me and the captain, my eyes drawn to the hilt of the fighting dagger tucked into his belt at the small of his back, readying myself to steal it at a moment's notice. I could already see what I would do. I would take the dagger and kill the captain in one motion, then turn to the guards. They would already be going for their weapons, so I would have a few moments to disable the first two before the rest could take action. And then...What? What would I do? Die fighting an endless force of Slayers? What point would that serve?
And then, with a suddenness that almost made me trip over the officer, the Captain stopped in place, the corridor having at last dead-ended before a set of ornate double doors. The doorway was flanked by a trio of Guardsmen on either side, all armed with silver bladed halberds that glowed with many enchantments. Such weapons, wielded by the trained hands of the Argent Guard, would be deadly in such a tight space. There would be no room to maneuver around them, no way to avoid any of their blows. Strangely, the new guards made no sign that they had noticed that I was a werewolf, watching me without expression, their faces as impassive as the stone walls against which they stood. The Captain motioned for me to stay put, then strode through the double doors. Just as the door closed, the six Guards who had followed me suddenly turned on their heel with perfect precision and marched off back down the corridor, leaving me in the company of the door wardens.
Thankfully, the guards didn't seem inclined towards talking, standing silent and nearly still, something I counted as a blessing. I doubted very much I could have spoken at all just now, my throat seeming almost as dry as the air in the realm of the demons. Having no other choice, I stood tall, trying not to look as terrified as I felt, allowing my twilight grey cloak to hide my twitching hands. After a few minutes of standing in silence, the door opened once again and the Captain waved for me to come forward. Swallowing nervously as the man stood aside, holding the door open, I took a moment to square my shoulders, then walked through the doorway, staring straight ahead. If my doom awaited me here, then this is how I would face it, with my head held high.
The Council Chamber of the Slayers of Auré was built within a vault, shaped almost like a dome, a single oculus in the ceiling providing a circle of light in the exact center of the chamber, giving the illusion that the chamber was open to the outside. But the oculus did not in fact open to the sky, but rather to a long shaft cutting up through the ridge, with cunningly placed mirrors at its top. The mirrors were so perfectly shaped and so perfectly positioned that they reflected the light of the sun down into the chamber during the day and the pale moonlight in the evening with perfect clarity, so that if one were to stare up the shaft, all they would see would be open sky. Of course, this is not to say that the rest of the room was dark. This room had been made of the purest white marble, not a single stain or imperfection to be seen, and more, braziers crackled against the walls, giving the room an almost cheery look.
The far wall of the room from where I stood was lined with a crescent shaped table, raised several feet above the floor so that it would serve both as a Council table and as a judicator's bench. But aside from a few benches scattered against the side of the chamber where guests or scribes might sit, there were no other chairs, and only one other table, one small enough that only a single person could stand behind it. As with the council table, this smaller table was raised, though only on a single step, so that one would still have to look up at the council members.
The council itself was made up of thirteen Slayers, the oldest and most experienced of the Master Hunters, the eldest of all, called the Elder Slayer, sitting at the center of the crescent table. Each council member wore the white cloak of a Master Hunter, but with a silver sun cross embroidered upon the front facings and back. As I walked slowly towards the center of the chamber, I realized that I didn't recognize a single member of the council, though that was hardly surprising. What was surprising, was that one of the thirteen chairs, the third one on the right of the Elder, was empty, something that I could not imagine the significance of at first. Glancing around quickly, I noticed two dozen more members of the Argent Guard standing evenly spaced around the room, somehow managing to also flank both the main entrance, through which I had just walked, and the only other door, perhaps leading to antechamber of some sort. When I was half way to the center of the room, the murmur of the council dropped off and the Elder Slayer looked me up and down. Finally, he nodded once, as if in confirmation and waved me, not to the center of the ring of light as I had expected, but rather to the single table, the expression on his face unreadable, even to my wolf half.
I hesitated for a moment before taking my place behind the table, wondering what that presaged. Did it mean that perhaps I was not the one on trial? That possibility had not even occurred to me, though, now that I thought about it, the Guard Captain hadn't actually said that I was. Walking with slow, measured steps, I mounted the single step to stand behind the witness table, for such was clearly the purpose of the small table, and the Elder nodded in confirmation. Finally, he spoke, his old voice surprisingly forceful.
"Bring in the accused." He said and the smaller door was opened, and a line of men clad in Slayer white walked in, a single Argent Guard in front and behind. For the briefest instant, I didn't understand what I was seeing, then, with the suddenness of a flash of lightning, I recognized the men, my heart sinking into my feet as I realized what it meant. In the lead, his hair as white as the cloak he wore, was Anton Galnikin, my father, bearing the same silver sun cross on his cloak that the other council members wore. And behind him walked Aldric, Soldan and Torian, my surviving brothers, every one clad in the white of a Master Hunter, and all devoid of weapons. And yet, even as horror rose in my heart, realizing that my entire family was on trial, I also felt a strange moment of pride. My kin were, to a man, walking with their heads held high, pride in every step, even as I had entered, as if the Argent Guardsmen leading and following them were simply an escort that they deigned to allow, rather than guards leading prisoners to trail. My father's gaze was fixed upon the Elder Slayer's face, giving no heed to the other council members, and my brothers followed suit, only Aldric glancing briefly in my direction. When the procession of my kinsmen stopped within the circle of light from the oculus, standing in the same pose, feet spaced a shoulder width apart, heads held high, hands folded at the small of the back, the Elder Slayer at last spoke once again.
"This trial will now come to order." He said, looking around at the other councilmen. To my surprise, I noticed that almost half of the men seated around the table were scowling at the Elder, something that gave me a brief flash of hope. "We are here to decide the fate of these Master Hunters, who have committed grave acts of defiance the like of which have not been seen in the history of our order."
As he said this, everything suddenly clicked into place. My kin were the only other Slayers to have survived the battle, twenty years ago, when I had broken free from the demon's control, and thus, they were the only ones who had known, until recently anyway, that I had not perished there. And that had to have been why I was standing as a witness, rather than a member of the accused. But even as the Elder Slayer began to go on, I felt a sudden feeling in my heart, a feeling I did not recognize at first, for it came from my wolf spirit. It was respect, and more than that, gratitude, towards my family, and anger. Anger that the Council would dare to put them on trial for what they had done. And as the Elder went on, I found my human side rise in agreement, a sudden instinct taking hold within me.
"Not only have these men purposely deceived this council, but they have openly defied its laws on several..." The Elder Slayer trailed off suddenly, and a murmur of surprise ran around the crescent table. Even as he was speaking, I stepped down from the witness table, walking in defiance of the incredulous gaze of the Elder and many of the councilmen to take my place at the end of the line of my family, standing side by side with Torian, the next youngest of my father's sons, assuming the same pose my family presented, though I stood head and shoulders taller than all of them in my transformed form. Many of the council members muttered and shook their heads angrily, but I saw three of them nod with approval, one even hiding a smile behind his hand. Though my kinsmen did not look in my direction, I caught the beginnings of a smirk on the face of my father, and Aldric's as well. After a moment, the Elder Slayer regained his composure and looked at me with his jaw set in indignation.
"Hunter Galen, no accusations have been leveled at you in this matter." He said, his tone clearly indicating that I was being foolish. "At this time, you are here as a witness, not a prisoner."
"Elder," I began, meeting his gaze evenly, "If my blood stands on trial, then so too do I." The councilman who had been hiding his smile chuckled at this and removed his hand, smiling openly and interrupting the Elder before he could admonish me.
"Defiant indeed." He said, sounding genuinely amused as he leaned forward and I took a moment to examine him. He must have hailed from somewhere in the north, for though his hair, gathered into a long ponytail, was white and his visage wrinkled with age, his eyes were piercing blue, and his skin was pale. "I can see why the Galnikin family is so feared by our foes. They show no fear, not even now."
"So be it." the Elder Slayer said, glaring at the man who had interrupted him. It seemed that he had been attempting to make this a formal affair, but the other councilman's attitude had apparently ruined that. "If my fellow council members will allow it, I will be brief. Decades ago, you, Galen, began this matter by going alone to fight the vampire lord Redamarc." At this, the Elder's stern gaze turned to the grinning councilman, who had seemed about to interrupt once more. "Indeed, a valiant act, but one that was the height of folly. However, you have paid a heavy price for your mistake already, which is precisely the point of this trial. Councilman Anton has explained the true course of the events that followed, including the decision that was made not to inform the council of your curse, considering that you would have been killed when you transformed."
"Elder, with respect," Another council member broke in, this one having a long grey beard that had been finely combed and braided, making him look more like a sage than a Slayer. "That omission should not be among the charges. Any one of us would have made the same choice if it had been our son."
"That has already been taken into account," The Elder stated curtly, nodding to the man who had spoken. "The first instance of defiance to which I refer came after the battle at the Temple in the village from which this family hails. Despite the fact that Hunter Galen was freed from the demon's control, he was still a werewolf, and therefore, still a threat to the order and should not have been allowed to wander freely, even as a Hunter. These men who stand before us kept that information from the council and the rest of the order, allowing us to believe that Galen had perished in the battle. And recently, you, Master Hunter Aldric, by your own admission, defied our laws twice more, by failing to close the demonic portal immediately and by allowing Hunter Galen to enter the demon realm, an action that was expressly forbidden by this council."
"In fact, the entire Galnikin family has shown nothing less than an open contempt for our rulings for decades." The scarred council member seated at the Elder Slayer's right hand interjected, though that proclamation elicited a lot of muttering from the others. "And that is nothing compared to the crime that Hunter Galen committed by biting the princess Julianna, an act for which he should be tried immediately." I felt myself bristle at that statement, but before I could speak in my own defense, the bearded councilman spoke up once more.
"How can that be considered a crime?!" He demanded, pounding his fist onto the tabletop. "Julianna was dying, and more, she asked him to do it." He seemed about to continue when the man he had contradicted shouted him down, and I immediately got the impression that they were continuing an argument that had already been going on for some time. Puzzled, I took a moment to glance in my father's direction while the Elder Slayer tried to re-establish order, the entire council seeming to be swiftly devolving into two bickering sides. Upon seeing the bickering begin, my father closed his eyes and shook his head wearily and I suppressed the frown that threatened to break out on my lips. After about a minute of shouting, the Elder Slayer finally managed to make himself heard, glaring both sides into silence.
"It is clear that we cannot conduct this trial in the usual manner." He stated, seeming more than a little irritated at the prospect. "In truth, I doubt we have ever faced a situation with more unusual circumstances. Therefore, the accused will wait in the antechamber while we deliberate on how to proceed." With that, he waved and I turned on my heel, following the nearest guard as he led the way out of the single door through which my kin had entered. Even as we were filing out, the council members had already begun the heated argument once more. When the guard who had led my father into the council chamber had closed the door behind us, cutting off the shouting of the council, my kin finally relaxed, Aldric letting out a heavy sigh. The two Guardsmen stayed by the door, but my brothers walked to the far side of the room, taking seats on benches there, leaving just my father and I at the entrance.
"I can see why weapons are not allowed in the council chambers..." I stated, looking at my father in amazement, a grin coming to his face as I said it. "Is it always like that?"
"No, not often." He replied, looking me up and down appraisingly before explaining. "All of this just came at very difficult time. The heart of the matter, my son, is that your very existence calls into question some deeply rooted assumptions about the nature of our enemies, and your kind in general. And more, all that you have done recently has put the council into unfamiliar territory. The council was already divided on the order's next course of action before you returned. All of the issues you have brought with you out of the wild were the last straw. What's more, since I accepted a seat on the council, I have not been the most... amicable councilman, and the more traditional members have seen this as the perfect opportunity to put me in my place, as it were." My father paused for a moment and then his smile got even broader. "It is good to see you so well, Galen."
"And you, father." I replied, returning his smile and allowing him to pull me into his embrace. "It's been too long." Pulling back from the hug, my father guided me towards the other side of the room, where my brothers were sitting. As we found seats, I finally asked the question that had been lurking in the back of my mind since I had arrived in the Slayerhold. "Father, why did the council call for members of the other orders, or the Hunters for that matter?"
"Ah, now that is a good question." He replied, his face losing its humor. Seeing this, my brothers perked up, leaning in to listen as he spoke. "About the time you were crossing into Gulnia from the wilderness, we started to receive messages from our outlying posts. The demons had disappeared, sometimes right in the middle of a battle. Such things have happened before of course, so we thought nothing of it. That is, until the messages began to come in from all over. And that has never happened, so, we began to worry. And then, a few weeks ago, the seers in the temple began to have...problematic... visions."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Soldan asked, toying with the fraying hem of his white cloak.
"Well..." My father started to say, but he didn't get a chance to finish explaining, the door to the council chamber opening once more before he could say another word. Grinning ruefully at us, my father led the way back into the chamber, each of his sons mirroring his proud stance as he walked back in. There were no words being shouted back and forth now, though, as I passed through the door, I noticed that the scarred councilman to the Elder's right was glaring at us, obviously fuming, though whether that was a good sign or not wasn't clear.
"It has been decided," The Elder began, when we were once again standing in line before him, "That despite the objections of some of our members," At this, he cast a disapproving glance at both the scarred councilman and the one with the ponytail, "That the trial will continue as normal, and with the proper proceedings." At this, the bearded Master Hunter grumbled indistinctly, but he said nothing, holding his tongue. "That being said, it has also been decided that it is ridiculous to try the entire Galnikin family at the same time. Therefore, each of the accused will be addressed singularly. Although custom dictates that your ranks and honors are suspended for the duration of the trial, you are still expected to behave with the dignity of your stations. I will not have this grave matter insulted by foolish pride. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Elder." We replied, speaking almost with one voice.
"Very well. Anton Galnikin, you will be the first to be addressed." He said and my father nodded gravely, standing with his hands behind his back while the rest of us were herded back into the antechamber by the Argent Guard. As I once again passed through the smaller door and into the chamber beyond, I felt the wolf spirit in my mind bristle with indignation. As my brothers filed in after me, I understood exactly what it was annoyed about. 'Why did we have to keep walking back and forth into and out of this little room?', it seemed to ask. And I had to agree. Although this was normal procedure for a trial, this was bordering on the ridiculous. As the door once again shut behind us, my brothers and I resumed our places on the benches, our long absence keeping us silent in each other's company. After about a minute of silence, Torian cleared his throat and tossed his cloak wide, leaning back against the wall with his hands behind his head, as if totally unworried.
"So little brother," He began, looking at me with a teasing smile on his face almost hidden beneath his long mustache. "Aldric tells us that you have been romancing a Gulnian princess." To my great annoyance, I felt myself blush, looking away from my brother. "I must say, I admire your audacity."
"That isn't quite what I call it." I replied, and Torian shared a teasing grin with Soldan. Of all my kin, these two were the closest in age, less than a year separating them, and they had always been somewhat closer than the rest of us.
"Oh?" He asked, his eyebrows raising, "What would you call it then? Wooing? Courting? Trysting?"
His grin only got wider when I glared at him and I felt the wolf that shared my soul curl up in its corner of my mind once more, giving off a feeling that I would almost have called dismissive, though it seemed more annoyed than that, as if it wasn't going to dignify the discussion with even the most casual of notice. As we sat, I explained how Julianna and I had met, and how our relationship had developed, though I avoided mention of just how tightly intertwined our lives had become. Still, from their knowing glances, I could tell that they had guessed what I was leaving out. Just when I was finishing the story, the door to the Council Chamber opened once more and Aldric was called in, leaving me at the mercy of the two teasers.
"Clever of you, asking Julianna's father to set her free from her responsibilities." Soldan commented, grinning broadly, "You must have known how she would react to that."
"That isn't why I did it." I protested, blushing once more. "I just wanted her to be happy."
"Oh relax Galen." He replied, gently slugging my shoulder. "I am just poking fun. Really, I am happy that you found someone willing to look past your...situation."
"Yeah, though I have to agree with the council," Torian said, suddenly all business, his usual joking demeanor gone. "It is a very serious thing to have bitten her."
"Well, what would you have done?" I questioned, feeling suddenly defensive, my hackles starting to raise. "She would have died otherwise; been worse than dead actually. I couldn't let that happen."
"True, but still..." He replied, glancing towards the door. "I hope you can explain everything that went into your decision. The council is not known for being very understanding of what it considers random rule breaking."
"Says the voice of experience." Soldan remarked dryly and I regarded the two of them curiously. "Councilman Danos does have a point. Our family is sort of known to act on our own initiative more than most. Torian here has been called before the council twice already, though on nothing quite as serious as this."
"I thought trials before the whole council were rare." I stated, looking at my brothers in surprise and Torian shrugged, absently stroking his mustache.
"They used to be." He replied, staring up at the ceiling contemplatively. "But in the last decade the council has decided that the Order has been running a little too wild of late, especially we Master Hunters, and they have decided to take a more active role in instilling discipline. The first time they called me in was just before I gained Master Hunter rank, because I had led my detachment on a detour from our established mission to hunt down a dark cult."
"And the second?" I prompted when he didn't continue.
"The second was because he went off alone from our outpost in Solaria to investigate the royal family, against the direct objections of the council." Soldan explained and Torian blushed, looking down at his hands. "He was convinced that one of them had been turned."
I winced at the explanation and Torian grinned good-naturedly. Solaria, as the name implied, was a devout nation devoted almost utterly to the worship of Auré, and, as a result, was one of our closest allies. It was also the nation that supplied most of the jade to the priesthood, and by extension, to the demon hunters.
"It was an honest mistake." Torian said, shrugging, "One of the princes had been acting strangely lately and I didn't want to take chances with something so important. Turns out, he had simply been, shall we say, improper, with one of the serving girls, and they had ended up begetting a child, which he was trying to hide. Embarrassing? Yes. But certainly not the result of demonic interference. The council did end up letting me off the hook both times."
"Well, this seems a might more serious, brother." Soldan said, getting to his feet as the door opened once more.
Torian was called soon after, the charges against Soldan seeming to have been few and I was left alone with my thoughts. It might just have been my imagination, but I felt as if it took hours for the door to open once again. The antechamber was bare and airless, so much worse than the corridors and chambers of the Gulnian capitol had been and it took all of my self control not to fidget nervously. Normally, though I hated feeling confined like this, I could stand being in such places for a while. But this time, I couldn't help it. It felt as if the walls were closing in on me, the wolf spirit pacing back and forth constantly in my mind, urging me to move, to find a way out. It certainly didn't help that I had no idea what the council was going to decide to charge me with.
On the one hand, they had not originally called me as a prisoner, but that was little comfort. It was a likely that, since custom held that one prisoner could not be reliably asked to bear witness against another, that once the issue with the rest of my family had been resolved, I would have been next anyway. And, judging from the attitudes of most of the councilmen, my defiance before the trial could get going had short cut that process, ensuring that my kin would not bear witness against me. But regardless of what they charged me with, I was the only one who could speak in my defense, so, instead of planning a way to get out, which was the direction in which my wolf spirit was trying to push me, I tried to think of all the things that they might ask me, and how I would answer the charges.
But even that exercise wasn't very helpful, since, especially in the months since I had met Julianna, I didn't even understand why I had done half of the things my wolf half had told me to do, only knowing somehow that they were right. Instead, I found myself wondering how my kin had faired before the council. My father had been a member of the council before all this; what if they had stripped him of his post, or worse, what if he had been cast from the Order altogether? And if that had been the case, all of my brothers would have shared in that fate. Which would have meant that our family, which had been members of the Order for uncounted generations, would not be allowed to ever be a part of it again, whether or not we felt called to the life or not. That prospect made my human half feel cold all over, but the wolf seemed to shrug off that thought altogether. And, while I could not imagine a worse fate for people like us, I found the wolf's attitude somehow comforting.
What did we care, truly, if the Order wanted us or not? We would go on hunting with or without their permission. But of course, there was the other side of that issue. No matter the fate of my family, my human kin, all Master Hunters of high reputation, would have been judged differently than I would be. What fate could possibly await me, a werewolf? At the worst, I would be ordered to be put to death. And then, my musings were suddenly shattered by the door swinging open, the Guard Captain looking at me expectantly.
In those moments, I was so nervous, I couldn't remember getting to my feet, or walking to the door. To my memory, it seemed almost as if I had gone from sitting on the stone bench to stepping into the council chamber once more, all in a single foot step. I managed to take a deep breath as my feet carried me through the doorway, the two guards following me into the room, my eyes closed for a moment, steeling myself for what was coming. Finally, as the door to the antechamber closed behind me, I opened my eyes, taking a moment to sweep the room with my gaze. The first detail I noticed, something that made my heart leap with joy, was that all three of my brothers sat on a bench against the wall, smiling, still wearing their cloaks and their ranks, a good sign. Even better, the council was once again complete, my father occupying the empty chair on the right hand side of the council crescent once more, much to the displeasure of councilman Danos, judging from the deeper scowl that decorated his scarred face.
But somehow, the presence of the entire council made the chamber seem far smaller than it had been, the stone walls seeming to have shifted ever closer to the circle of light formed by the oculus. The thing that most set my nerves on edge was that, aside from my father and the council member with the pony tail, only 'Braidbeard', as my wolf half had named the bearded councilman, had a look on his face that was remotely pleasant. The rest looked so dour, my hackles stood to attention once more and I drew myself to my full height once more, my heart pounding out a rapid beat in my chest. Squaring up my shoulders, I strode down before the council once more and took up a position in the exact center of the chamber, looking up at the Elder Slayer. The Elder sat for a moment, almost as if considering me, then he leaned forward, clearing his throat before speaking.
"Galen, son of Anton," He began, his eyes gazing searchingly at my face. "You stand before us as a representation of an unique issue. There has been much debate over what charges need to be leveled against you." He paused a moment and I felt my instincts warm to the coming challenge, just as they did before battle. The fact that he said 'what charges,' not 'whether charges', meant that I was still on trial, but for what? Everything in my heart urged him to get on with it. His slow manner of approaching the issue was like torture. "So, we have devised a unique solution. You will answer each possible charge separately, and your explanations will decide whether you will be charged for the event." I nodded my assent to the idea, readying explanations for everything from why I had gone after Redamarc all those years ago, to why I had stepped down to stand beside my brothers, an act that I had to admit was one of pride and very little else.
"Elder Slayer," my father said, and the council leader looked in his direction inquiringly, "May I suggest we begin with the explanation of why Galen went alone to fight Redamarc, which resulted in his being cursed, since that would seem to be where the unusual circumstances began?"
"Yes, a good suggestion." The Elder said, nodding for me to begin. Swallowing against my dry throat, I took a steadying breath before replying.
"In the final test of Slayer training," I began, my mind summoning the memories of that battle not far from here where I had killed my first vampire. "I was faced with demon after demon, ending with both a werewolf and a vampire. I barely managed to defeat the last two, and I nearly died in the fight. Afterward, when the guards of my home village were besieged and we came to their aid, I was confronted with even more enemies, including numerous werewolves and vampires, one of whom was Redamarc. But, in that fight, it was as different as night and day. It seemed so easy. I fought my way through the ranks of demons and slew not only the werewolves, but two of the vampires in quick succession. I could not even touch Redamarc though, and I think that got to me somehow. I knew that if I had just been a little quicker, or a little stronger willed, I could beat him, or at least, that is what I thought. That night, when he came to me in a vision, challenging me, I thought it was fate. I thought I could beat anything he threw at me, so I went, alone. And I learned my lesson the hard way."
"Indeed, I would say you have." The Elder commented, nodding, and the bearded councilman raised a hand off the desk before speaking.
"I do not believe the fault is with Galen on that point." He said, tweaking the end of one of his braids, a motion that looked habitual. "I have noticed more and more of our young officers possessing the same sense of, for lack of a better word, invincibility, in their first campaigns. I think that is merely the fault of youth, exacerbated by our testing methods."
"I would have to agree." The Elder said, looking around the council chamber. "All in favor of dismissing this as a charge?" Most the council said 'aye' at this, and the Elder went on.
For the next hour, I was asked about almost a dozen points in my long wanderings, all of which were eventually dismissed, some by the margin of a single vote. As the long trial went on, I began to get a feel of each councilman's mood by the tone of their questions, and how they voted. It became clear very early on that there were two camps among the councilmen. Three or four of the councilmen, and the pony-tailed northerner in particular, seemed firmly supportive of my family in general, and, judging from the their immediate and consistent votes of 'aye', me as well. About the same number of others, led, it seemed, by Danos, were either against me on principle, or disliked my father, and voted either 'nay' or only very reluctantly 'aye'. The rest of the council, including the Elder Slayer, seemed to be entirely neutral, considering each point fairly, though it seemed to me that the bearded councilman, who, if I had to guess, was the head of the training cadre, was leaning more towards my father's camp than Danos'. By the time we were coming to recent events, I was feeling cautiously optimistic that I might get off without being charged at all. And then, my optimism was brought to a crashing halt when we came to the point where I had killed Knight Captain Isander.
"As you are aware, Galen, it is a grave matter for a Slayer of any rank to kill an unarmed individual, regardless of the situation." The Elder said and I noticed Danos perk up at those words, a smile that seemed almost cruel coming onto his face. "What is more, by your own admission, you were tempted by your curse to follow the orders of the Demon Lord Redamarc only moments before this, so even greater questions have to be asked about your reasons."
"Elder," I began, one hand absently brushing the medallion hanging around my neck. "Knight Captain Isander had been bitten by Redamarc during the Rite of Blood. As you are aware, not even jade can stop the transformation that follows. At the time, Princess Julianna and I were in the heart of a dark fortress, and I judged that we could not chance having a vampire come into being even for a moment in that place. So, when Isander asked me to kill him, sparing him the fate of conversion into one of those abominations, I did so."
"Quite right." The bearded Slayer said, preempting the Elder once more, although the old man who led the council was already nodding in agreement. I was surprised; I had thought for sure that was going to be a charge against me.
"Yes, all in favor of dismissal?" He asked and to my surprise, the entire council said 'Aye', the first unanimous vote, though I felt my heart sink at the look on Danos' face. He recognized that we had at last come to the hard part of the trial, and he was obviously looking forward to what was coming next. "Finally, we come to the most grave of matters, and the events that have most divided this council." Taking a moment to glance down at the roll of parchment on which had been recorded the events that they intended to ask me about, he spoke once more. "Your relationship with the Princess Julianna of Gulnia, while not expressly forbidden by our laws, lies at the heart of these events, so we would hear your explanation of how it came to pass that the two of you were...involved."
"The council obviously has already heard the account of the events that led to our present relationship." I stated, and at last I felt uncertain, looking down at the stones at my feet. When I spoke again, I had to work to keep my voice steady, odd emotions rising to the surface in my heart. I felt indignant that I was being called on to not only defend our relationship, but to justify my feelings for her, and yet I also felt a brief flash of fear beneath that. And that only made me more unsettled, because, to be honest, I couldn't for the life of me explain how things had ended up going down that path. "And you therefore know how our relationship progressed, but...I cannot say why it happened. All I can say for certain, is that Julianna is...special. Out of everyone I have met in the score of years since this all began, she alone did not seem to care that I was gifted with this." I said, gesturing at my wolfish body and I heard a murmur pass through the council at my calling this a gift, not a curse, but I pressed on, meeting every councilman's eyes in turn, even my father's. "It was like she couldn't see it, or didn't notice it. As time went on and we journeyed so closely together, I couldn't help it, I just...fell for her, as she fell for me."
"Aye, and then you forced this on her..." Danos snarled, the scarred man seeming to have been waiting for the opportunity to present itself to say it. But before I could answer the outburst, he shrank back into his chair, almost wilting as the Elder turned to glare at him, putting up his hands in surrender before his obvious anger, realizing he had overstepped his bounds.
"Need I remind you, Danos," The Elder said, a hard edge in his voice. "That this issue remains a question, not a charge. I know you feel strongly on this matter, but if you cannot control yourself, I will have to ask you to excuse yourself from these proceedings until you can."
"Apologies, Elder," the councilman muttered, his face going bright red.
"Very well." The Elder said, returning his gaze to me. "We now come to the heart of the matter. During the battle for Gulnia's castle, Princess Julianna was captured, and taken into the dark realm by Redamarc. And you, Hunter Galen, went after her. Now, knowing full well that the council has long forbidden any Slayer from entering the demon realms under his or her own free will, regardless of the reason behind such an act, do you deny this event?" I suddenly found myself unable to answer, the stark question having caught me off guard. I had expected to be asked to explain myself, not accused so plainly. But truthfully, there was no question here. That had been a serious breach of the council's rulings, and worse, looking back, I had felt no hesitation in disobeying the mandate. There had been no question in my mind that it was the right thing to do, law or no law. When I still did not answer, the Elder spoke again. "Answer the question, Galen."
"No Elder, I do not deny it." I finally replied. But strangely, even as the words left my lips, I felt none of the shame or embarrassment I had expected to feel.
"Very well. In that case, there can be no vote on this matter." He said and I closed my eyes for a moment, finally realizing why there had not been a question of whether I was on trial or not. "However, the council will allow you to answer the charge of disobedience before moving on, if you so desire." At this I opened my eyes, nodding.
"I do." I stated and the Elder nodded for me to continue. Taking a deep breath, I gathered my thoughts, preparing to offer the explanation I had worked out in my head. "Elder, the ruling of the council on this matter was based upon the facts that any human," I put extra emphasis on that word, because it was the primary basis of Aldric letting me go into the Demon Realm in the first place, "Who enters the Demon Realm, will be immediately corrupted, body and soul, and will fall under the sway of the Demon Lords. I chose to enter the realm for several reasons, chief among them, I am not a human. Werewolves, free or held in bondage, possess a remarkable natural resistance to demonic power, which means that I, as a werewolf, could enter their realm without immediate corruption. Secondly, I had given Julianna my ward, which the demons cannot remove, and which would have protected her for some time from their power, even in their realm where their power is strongest. This, coupled with my experience in fighting the demons for so many years, allowed me to judge that there was a chance I could bring her back, not only alive, but uncorrupted. A chance I deemed worth taking, even if it cost me my life."
"That may be," Danos said, leaning across the table with a dangerous glint in his eye. "But that still does not answer the charge. You have only presented your actions, not why you committed them. Why did you disobey the council's mandate so readily?" Thankfully, I managed to restrain myself from wincing at his question, but only just. There was only one answer to that question, an answer that could hardly be enough to save me from punishment.
"I love her." I said and Danos snorted, but before he could speak, I forged on with my answer, the words spilling from me only half formed. "I cannot explain any more clearly than that. For a human, love is an emotion that can drive you to behave irrationally sometimes, but a human Slayer could still hold himself back from doing what I did. Not only in this case, but in others as well." As I spoke, I felt my hands clenching at my sides, the sharp claws on my fingers digging into my palms, but I welcomed that bite of pain, the pinpricks driving me to continue, "But to a werewolf, love is very different. It is...all encompassing. It is something deeper than a human can comprehend. When the woman I loved vanished into the Hells, and I realized that there was chance, however remote, that I could save her, I had to go. Nothing else mattered, not the ruling of the council, not the odds that I would fail, not even what failure would mean. I can offer no other explanation, no other reason. I loved her, so I would go after her."
"That is your reason?" Danos mocked, laughter in his voice, "That is the reason you defied the council? Love?"
"And what other reason would he need, pray tell?" The bearded councilman suddenly replied, glaring at Danos. "If there was ever a reason to so blatantly disobey us, than that, surely, is it." The man's gaze shifted to the pony-tailed councilman as he continued. "Rossen, you have studied lycans at length. What do you have to say on this matter?"
"Lycans are..." The man began, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, "Unusual. Granted, I have never encountered one free from the influence of the demons, but of those I have studied, one thing I can say with fair certainty, is that they seem to feel emotions entirely differently from us. It is possible that what Galen says is the truth. But it is fact, not speculation, that they are indeed resistant to demonic magic. We have seen it often enough in battles, when a lycan is in the way of a vampire's spell, it will not affect them as it affects humans, or even other demons."
"What is more, not only was doing what Galen did an act of tremendous valor, but also one of incredible result." Another councilman interjected, one who had been silent except for his votes until then. "It is clear that he acted with the blessing of Auré himself, else he would not have been able to slay the Demon Lord. And if it was by the will of Auré, how can you question his actions?"
"Enough." The Elder called, waving a hand through the air. "We are not here to debate questions of theology. A charge has been made, and Galen has answered it. However, I believe that he may have answered more than this charge. Son of Anton, is there another answer that you would offer for the other breaches of our mandate that occurred soon after, that of your direct interference into the affairs of the Gulnian Royal family, and your decision to bite Princess Julianna, thus transforming her into a werewolf?"
"No, Elder." I replied, setting my jaw hard. Nothing else I had done recently had even come close to being defiance of the council, and though I had avoided being charged with anything else, those three events were more than enough to incur a severe punishment. But there was no point in trying to deceive myself, I had done them all for the same reason. My mate was the most important thing in the world to me, and I would do anything, give anything, for her. And, even as I stood there, I felt a very odd feeling come into my mind, a strange sense of acceptance, accompanying a certain warmth, stemming from the wolf that dwelled within me. If they wanted to punish me for my love, then so be it. I did not regret the actions that had led me before the council, and I would make the same choices again in a heartbeat. After a moment's silence, the Elder Slayer looked to either side, scanning the faces of the councilmen. Then, finally, he rose from his seat and looked down at me.
"So noted." he said. "Councilmen, I call for a vote."
As the statement echoed in the stone chamber, I suddenly felt an emotion I had not felt in quite some time, an emotion that chilled me to the bone. Fear. True fear. Despite all my pride, despite all the confidence I felt in the rightness of my actions, now that it came down to it, I was terrified, terrified of the judgment that was about to fall upon me, terrified at how helpless I was before them. Clenching my fists tightly to stop myself from shivering, I looked to the end of the right hand arc of the crescent, where the vote would begin. The councilman there was one of those I considered neutral, and he was silent for a long few moments, his right hand stroking his chin. Every silent second, every moment while my doom waited to fall, seemed to tighten a band around my chest. Even as the man spoke, voting to absolve me of any wrong doing, it was getting hard to breathe. As the others on the right side of the council cast their votes, I dug my claws harder into my palms, piercing deeply enough to draw blood, the tension in my body making every beat of my heart painful.
My father, the pony-tailed councilman and one other cast the same vote as the first. Danos and the remaining councilman on that side voted against me. Then it was to the left. This time, four councilmen voted against me, and two, including the bearded one, voted for me. Six for, six against, and only the Elder was left to vote. Throughout this whole trial, he had been the hardest to read, and now, my fate was balanced, teetering on the brink, awaiting only his vote. For a long minute, he stood silent, staring down at me, his eyes inscrutable. Then at last, he leaned forward, and when he spoke, his voice was quiet, almost contemplative, everyone in the room seeming to be hanging on his every syllable.
"I believe..." he began, the fingers of his right hand tapping the table top. "That Galen has willfully, and knowingly, defied both the word and the will of the council," My heart leapt into my throat at this, almost choking me. He was going to find me guilty. This was it. And, judging from the look on the face of Danos and his fellows, there was only going to be one punishment awaiting me after the verdict. Then, the Elder continued, his tapping fingers landing flat on the table top with an audible thump that made me jump. As he spoke, I felt my eyes going suddenly wide at his words. "However, there is no precedence either for these events, or for Galen's unique circumstances. Although defiance of this council's mandates cannot be allowed without a breakdown of the discipline that is essential for our Order's survival, we also cannot blindly follow the dictates of the past without the same result. Galen's actions, and the circumstances under which they have been necessary, cannot wisely be judged by the standards of the past and, while, by the strictest sense, they constitute a repeated disregard for our rules, I cannot find fault in his intentions. Therefore, it is my judgment that Galen be cleared of any wrong doing."
The Elder was still going on, stating that I was be immediately, and officially, reinstated as a Hunter, and, furthermore, that my name was to be removed from the rolls of the dead, his voice rising in volume as some of the councilmen began to voice protests, but I heard none of it. The echoes of his vote, pronouncing not doom, but freedom, drowned out everything else. For a while I stood there, as still as stone; I couldn't seem to think, couldn't even comprehend what I was feeling. The tension was still there in my chest, no longer painful but still present. In place of pain, I felt only an odd emptiness. The entire world seemed to take on an air of unreality, like I was seeing everything around me only through a window. I was only dimly aware of my brothers leading me from the keep, already celebrating, vowing to toast our victory in the Hall of Hunters, for our entire family had been cleared of all wrong doing. I hardly even noticed that the stars had come out while we had been cloistered with the council.
Likewise, I only barely perceived the main room of the Hall of Hunters, which now held not only the grey clad Hunters, but almost a dozen Master Hunters clad in white, friends of my family, who had gathered to hear the news. When my brothers kicked off the festivities with a toast, I didn't join in. Instead, as everyone was cheering and toasting, I found myself drifting away, slipping into the edge of the crowd and down the side corridor leading to the living quarters. Following my mate's scent into the rooms we had been given, I shut the door behind me, cutting off the sounds of celebration. The chambers were dark, lit only dimly by coals in the fireplaces, but that detail made no impression upon me. If anything, the darkness seemed to make the tension wind tighter within me, until I felt as if it would tear me apart if it got any tighter. More by feel than anything else, I made my way to the bed chamber, discarding my grey cloak on the table on the way past.
The bedroom was almost pitch black and silent, but when I stepped inside, my feet just sort of stopped moving, leaving me standing as still as a statue and at last, I drew in a long, shaky breath, my eyes closing. Finally, something broke through the shell of unreality that covered the world, something warm and delightfully soft. Opening my eyes, I found Julianna standing before me, her hand softly stroking my cheek and I felt the tension start to shift at her touch, loosening ever so slightly. And then, with a suddenness that left me breathless, the tension snapped like a taut cord, and a sudden tempest of raw emotion came crashing down upon me. Without understanding why, I suddenly found tears welling up in my eyes, and I felt myself begin to tremble. Without a word, Julianna embraced me, sliding her warm hands beneath my tunic, tucking her head against my throat. For a long minute, we held each other in silence, then, slowly, we parted and Julianna slipped my tunic off of my body, followed quickly by my white breaches.
Pulling me gently by the arm, my mate tugged me down onto the bed, tucking herself tight against me and I clung to her, barely managing to keep my silence as I cried. For an uncounted span of time, we lay together, the white furred werewolf I loved gently nuzzling my neck, her claws trailing lazily through the fur of my chest, somehow understanding the turmoil that raged in my heart. Then, gradually, the raging storm in my heart calmed, my tears drying, though I continued to tremble. And then, as Julianna rose up to give me a light kiss, gazing lovingly into my eyes, I finally understood the reason for my tears.
Ever since that day, so long ago, when I had become a werewolf, I had been living as a secret, kept by my family from the rest of the Order. All that time I had lived with the unspoken knowledge that my time was borrowed, that the rank I wore was only an illusion, earned perhaps, but not given. And now, that terrible knowledge was silenced, the weight I had born in my heart finally lifted. I was free now, truly free. Free to be with my mate, free to live without the constant, silent fear of my own brotherhood. I should have been ecstatic, should have felt like celebrating, drinking and laughing with my family until we collapsed into exhausted sleep. Instead, all I felt was this strange feeling of relief, a wonderful floating feeling, like I might take flight at any moment, slip the bonds of the earth altogether.
Lying in that soft bed, in the dark room of a Hall where I finally, truly, belonged, I sighed, closing my eyes and tucked Julianna's nude form against me, our fur mingling pleasantly. And finally, with my mate in my arms, and my emotions wholly spent, I allowed myself to slip away, falling freely at last into peaceful slumber...