Chapter 465: Choosing Death to Save a Life
"Who else among the dead cries out for justice and revenge?"
Nyrielle’s words once again brought all eyes to Zedya’s crimson figure. Some looked next to the coffins holding the bodies of the Black Wolf Brigade, marked by their red paw prints as though promising violence to anyone who failed to honor their deaths. But while most expected Zedya to move on to the next victims on Nyrielle’s side of the tragedy, she moved instead to a cluster of six giant blocks of ice, each holding the body of a venerable and respected Frost Walker.
"While few at the time knew for certain what had happened to young lord Hauke," Zedya began as she prepared to reveal a truth that few knew for certain even if many had already heard rumors. "Lord Ritchel understood the moment he attacked that his son had been possessed by the ancestral spirits of the horns he carried."
"For a brief moment during the battle, the Mother of Trees had been suppressed, the Willow Witch had retreated, and Young Lorde Hauke stood alone," Zedya explained, painting a clear picture for those in the audience who hadn’t been able to witness the outbreak of hostilities. "Lord Ritchel attempted to seize that moment to imprison his son before the violence could escalate."
"If he had succeeded, the entire tragedy that followed may have been averted," Zedya said with a heavy sigh. "Six men stood beside him and aided in the construction of that prison of ice. Gunter, Hrosskel, Artur, Sturla, Hulda, and Daldis," she said, reciting each name in turn. "These men of honor stood by their lord and took action against one of their own in the hopes of preventing further bloodshed. Their honor at that moment shone as pure and brightly as fresh snow."
Hearing Zedya’s words, Talauia squirmed uncomfortably in her seat. Now that there had been an opportunity for Zedya to interrogate the captive lord, the truth of his intentions was being laid out before everyone. Moreover, in Zedya’s retelling, Ritchel and his honor guard were clearly honorable heroes, which meant that she was doomed to play the role of the villain.
Briefly, for perhaps all of two wingbeats of time, Talauia thought of fleeing the proceedings before the crowd could turn against her. It was only when she received a gentle, reassuring look from Heila that she stilled her trembling wings and forced herself to remain in her seat. She wasn’t alone this time, she reminded herself.
She had friends here, and her strongest friends were the strongest ones present. Nothing would go wrong, nothing could go wrong, she told herself again and again until she almost believed it was true. She believed it, but her hand still gripped the wand at her waist and her multifaceted eyes never stopped tracking the people in the room who might pose a threat to her.
"Lord Ritchel failed to isolate Hauke," Zedya continued, telling the complex story as simply and directly as she could. "And in his failure, he trapped the Mother of Trees in a prison of ice with the most powerful ancestral spirits the Frost Walker Clan has ever seen. Spirits who were hostile to her and the Willow Witch for the ’offense’ of carrying a blade carved from the horn of a traitor to the Frost Walker Clan."