Chapter 6 Judgement #3
“Duke Ronan planned to be here but sends his apologies. Something came up that took precedence this morning,” Joc said, his eyes never leaving Venrick’s face as he studied him with calculating intensity.
The Duke was going to judge me personally? The thought exploded in Venrick’s mind. He had expected a Captain, perhaps one of the Commanders or even a Knight, but this gathering of authority seemed unnecessary.
“This is the Squire who survived Marcel Heartfell?” Commander Belfour’s question emerged with a strong dwarfish accent.
General Ashbrook cleared her throat, demanding their attention. “Squire, tell us how is it that you were not killed along with your Paragon? Those who are as skilled and highly trained as Tel Roan do not die an easy death.”
“Did you not receive the letter I sent?” Venrick asked.
Ashbrook frowned.
“I wrote everything down in detail,” he pressed. “It might be easier for you to read it first and then question me.”
“You will explain yourself here or we will judge you a coward now and be done with this.” Her words fell cold as northern ice.
“The letter captures—”
The General’s voice rose over his, “If you don’t explain it now, you’ll no longer be associated with the Vermillion Keep.
You’ll be branded a traitor and exiled from Lamar.
If that’s what you want, continue insisting we read this non-existent letter.
We’ve already heard the account from Tel Roan’s Honor Guard who rushed back to save him, and your absence was the only notable mention of your name.
Explain why you abandoned your Paragon in his hour of need? ”
Venrick’s gaze found Hierro’s dark eyes, seeking something, sympathy, understanding, even the barest acknowledgment of the impossible position he found himself in. But the Archmagus offered nothing but that same calculating stare, cold and deep.
“Tel had led his forces with several Knights to the edge of a firestorm,” Venrick began, the memory unfurling with devastating clarity.
“They were expecting that an important Hyalite would be produced. He went ahead with his Honor Guard to scout for the Nordraven troops. When he located none nearby and realized that the firestorm had produced a Hyalite with no clear challengers, Tel sent his Honor Guard and the troops back. He requested I assist—”
“Tel Roan would not send for a Squire to assist with Hyalite retrieval,” Englestad interrupted.
“Paragons do not trust such important matters to Squires over their Honor Guard,” Limosuel added.
“The Honor Guard did mention Tel’s request to have his weapons wagon brought forth,” Ashbrook conceded.
Venrick drew a breath and continued, “On Tel’s way back with the Hyalite, he was spotted by Marcel and another Vermillion Keep rider. Tel and Ingamar evaded them while the rider from the Keep fought with Marcel.”
The silence that followed gripped at his throat, begging him to break it with a condemning statement, but he held firm, letting them marinate in his truth.
“You’re lying,” Ashbrook accused. “This is why rumors are spreading that the Keep lost two Vermillion Keep riders to Marcel.”
“No, there was another rider there in a Vermillion Keep uniform. They wore the red, the same as Tel Roan’s.
Whoever it was, fought Marcel and White Eye with a high degree of competence.
Tel broke away and met me near the edge of the burn.
We secured the Hyalite. When White Eye emerged, I shot him with Tel’s brismil arrow.
” The memory of the bow’s tension, the whisper of fletching against his cheek, the moment when his life hung suspended between heartbeats, it all rushed back with devastating clarity.
“As if Tel would let you wield his bow,” Joc scoffed, his voice carrying venom.
Captain Limosuel’s long middle finger descended upon a document in his stack with the finality of an executioner’s blade.
“There are no orders from the King or any of the Dukes that issue another dragonrider to go beyond the confines of their current contracts. No rider in all of Lamar was ordered to fly into Tel Roan’s territory, especially none from this Keep. ”
“Your papers don’t reflect what really happened out there,” Venrick said insistently. “Do your papers tell you how the magic Marcel used rendered me unconscious before I could put myself between Marcel and Tel?”
“These papers are verified reports. They are the facts, half-breed,” Ashbrook warned. “Tel was the only dragonrider of Lamar authorized to be there.”
Hierro leaned forward, his presence emerging like an unnatural shadow. “Let’s say there was a third rider,” he offered. “Where are they now? The Honor Guard reported no sightings of another dragonrider.”
“They flew in from the North. The Honor Guard couldn’t have seen them from their position in the forest,” Venrick insisted.
“These rumors of a third dragonrider have been circling for few weeks now and no evidence has come forward,” Ashbrook said.
“That’s what happened,” Venrick said flatly.
“It does beg the question,” Hierro added, his dark eyes widening, “what caused Marcel to go missing in action?”
“Nordraven could be lying to us about having recovered only his dragon,” Balfour entertained.
“Marcel hasn’t reported back?” The question burst from Venrick’s lips before he could contain it.
“We’ve confirmed that they recovered White Eye,” Ashbrook said. “He was wounded in the right shoulder by a brismil arrow. Marcel, however, is still missing if we’re to believe the Nordraven reports.”
“Maybe he finally died,” Balfour said. “We always said Tel Roan was the only one equally matched who could face him.”
“White Eye remains in Skol,” Ashbrook countered sharply. “Why would he still be there if Marcel were dead?”
“Did you see Tel’s death?” Commander Englestad asked.
Venrick’s response emerged as a living memory.
“After I hit Marcel’s dragon with a brismil arrow, he crashed into the clearing.
The third rider attacked, sending a ripple of energy blasting off Marcel’s wards.
The last thing I remember seeing was Tel and Ingamar being overtaken by the blast and falling to the field.
” His voice caught and he cleared his throat.
“I was launched off my feet, struck the side of the wagon and woke up there. Tel was dead and Ingamar was gone.”
“And the Hyalite stolen,” Ashbrook added.
“What kind of power did this third rider use to create a shockwave of energy?” Hierro’s question emerged like a snake, coiling through the chamber with deliberate intent. His dark eyes reflected something deeper than curiosity, lusting for more power.
“I don’t pretend to know the secrets of the gods that pass their powers on through the bonds of dragons and into their riders,” Venrick replied.
“Riders with Paq, the god of air’s power could generate that kind of effect, though Lamar hasn’t had a rider with that gift since long before Tel Roan’s time,” Joc interjected. His smooth voice drew quizzical expressions as they all contemplated this possibility.
“What of the god of the celestial, Anther? His power could generate that kind of explosion,” Venrick offered, breaking the silence.
“Paq, the god of air, yes, his gift is possible among Hyalites near the Flashover, but Anther. He is the god of the stars and has no interest in our small realm.” Hierro chuckled. “He hasn’t sent a Hyalite through the veil in my lifetime, and I’ve seen the last two flashovers.”
“How can you know that? Lamar doesn’t succeed in collecting every Hyalite produced in the Everburning Forest,” Venrick challenged.
“You forget your place, Squire,” Ashbrook snarled. “You are not a Paragon of Lamar. You are not a Knight of the Vermillion Keep. You are not qualified to speak about Hyalites. Tel Roan died on your watch, and you did nothing to save him. You lost his dragon and let Marcel escape with the Hyalite.”
The accusations fell like hammer blows.
“I put everything into working with Tel,” Venrick said, letting his emotions go unchained. “He trusted me, that should speak volumes to my character. I did everything I could to help.”
“You were working for Tel, not with him,” Ashbrook corrected, her voice threatening to end the hearing. “You were his Squire, not his Knight.”
“Venrick has applied to the Paragon Academy here in Astral City, right?” Joc’s question emerged smooth as poisoned honey.
“What does that have to do with this?” Venrick asked, trying to rein in his emotions.
“Joc’s right,” Hierro said, leaning on the table with his elbows, his fingers steepled before him.
“I understand your application was denied for the third time at this location, not including the times you’ve applied and been rejected from the Stormwatch Paragon Academy and the Lamar City Paragon Academy. ”
Venrick nodded, unable to deny the truth.
“If you’ve failed to be accepted after ten years of serving under one of the best Paragons in Lamar’s history, what makes you think you were capable of coming back here and convincing us to let you advance your career with the Vermillion Keep?” Hierro asked.
“I am more suited to the task than most Knights who are under contract with the Keep’s employ today,” Venrick said.
He felt Tel’s presence then, like a phantom warm against his shoulder, years of training and trust formed a shield against their doubt.
“If I were human or full elf, I would’ve been accepted the first time.
Tel knew that I was overlooked, which is why he trusted me to work with him once he trained me. ”
Hierro’s dark eyes narrowed. “If that were true, surely one of the other more accepting academies would’ve recognized your talent. Elves, magi, and dwarves are all granted a fair chance.”
“And what about mixed-bloods, how many are enrolled?” he asked.