Chapter 2: Trial

“Fae?”

The soft voice and the feeling of a hand that softly pressed on her shoulder made the young girl stir in her bed. She blinked with her eyes, receiving the images of a purple colored Dragon Elf that stood over her with a small smile on her face. Yet while a smile adorned her face, her eyes had a more concerning look, predicting the arrival of something that was not going to be pleasant.

“It’s time for council …” Krista said, taking a deep breath.

“Council?” Fae halfly whispered, trying to chase away the sleep from her eyes. That night she got a rest that she hadn’t received in ages. Her mind had been calm, her dreams soft and now that she was waking up, she noticed that her muscles were no longer fighting against her. They were still tired, but the pain had faded to the background. 

Her eyes shifted when a figure behind Krista was moving. Coming into view, came the black Half Dragon and his sight alone was enough to drive away any leftover sleep..
Salthan grinned with a strange sparkle in his eyes.

Council, right. She could faintly remember that Krista had mentioned that the day before. A trial, to see if you were worthy enough to join this place, whatever it was. That black dragon had yelled about that Fae hadn’t passed council yet and was not even supposed to be where she was now, being too close to their Queen. A chuckle filled her mind. Like she would have been fast or strong enough to attack their Queen in the condition she had been …

“It’s time to chain you up.” Salthan said, a grin raising on his lips, showing his sharp teeth. From behind his back, he grabbed a pair of chains and let them jingle a bit. For the show, obviously …

“Wait, chained!!??” Fae suddenly shot up from her bed, her concerned eyes landing on Krista.

“I can walk by myself! I’m not gonna run, I swear!!”

Krista sighed, lowering her eyes a second before looking at Fae again, letting her clawed hand rest upon her shoulder.

“It’s just .. protocol, dear. It’s not to harm you.”

Fae’s eyes shot back to the black Half dragon, giving him an untrusting glare.

“You think?” Fae spat out with a tone of sarcasm, eyeing Salthan again.
Yet the giant creature narrowed his eyes and a low rumble left his throat. It looked like he was not gonna be so patient this day as the day before. 

“Look here, child.” He started, his voice louder than before.

“You can either go the way I give you now or do it the old fashion way. And that would be knocking you half unconscious and dragging you through the hallway with a heavier headache than you ever had before!” 

His voice rumbled through the room, making Fae flinch for a second. 

“It’s oké. I’ll make sure he doesn’t harm you. And if he does …'' Krista glared to her side for a second, only to see Salthan chuff and puff up his chest, but he soon averted his eyes, knowing he had no choice in obeying his Queen’s words. 

Reluctantly, Fae nodded before she moved out of the bed. Yet before she wanted to step to Salthan, undergoing her fate, Krista held her back.

“Wait, you need to change your clothes.” 

When fae looked aside, she saw that the woman had left a black outfit on the bed. Just a shirt and pants. The fabric was light and very plain. Fae quickly changed out of her current clothing for the dark outfit.
Krista braided Fae’s long white hair as well, to keep it from dangling around. She gave the young girl a quick nod when she was done and Fae turned her attention again to the black Half Dragon who already had the chains raised. A soft sigh left her lips when she stepped wordward, her hands raised.

In silence and barely looking at her, Salthan attached the chains around her thin wrists. He gave it a small tug to see if they were secure before looking at Fae again. Compared to him, she was thin and frail and yet, she had that spark inside of her that made him curious what was beneath that dark skin.

“I’ll see you in the courtroom.” Krista said with a faint smile. A smile that showed that she wasn’t happy with how everything was going, but it was necessary. She had already broken to many of her own rules for this and if she would ignore some more, it would only turn into a disadvantage for the young girl.

Fae gave a small nod but before she could say anything, Krista had disappeared in a blink of an eye. Fae looked surprised at the sudden disappearance, but in one way, she was hardly shocked.

“Let’s go …” Salthan said before turning around, walking to the door. When they left the room, the two guards that apparently had stood guard at the door locked ranks behind them. Fae glanced from the corner of her eye to them, but the two guards were looking straight before them, the sound of their armor filling the hall, just as the sound of the rambling chains.

The group walked through the hallway in silence and when Fae started to look around, she noticed that the halls were carved out of stone. The walls were decorated with fireholders, shaped into statues of small dragons. The details into the small artworks would amaze you and if you looked closer, you could see that gemstone eyes shimmer in the light, almost like the statue was actually looking at you. 

When passing another huge door, it looked like they came into the more public area of this place. Soon more people started to show up. Dragonborns, humans and elves. Here and there you even saw a Dwarf and a Halfling passing through the halls. Yet none of them were actually surprised by seeing a large half-Dragon walking with what looked to them a prisoner behind him, guarded by two soldiers. Yet when Salthan passed by, those that were in his path quickly moved aside, bowing their heads when he passed before continuing with what they were doing. 

The group crossed a large hall, walking in the direction of two gigantic doors, made of heavy wood and decorated and armored with metal. Onto the doors, two giant dragons were carved inside the wood, flying in the sky with below them, the images of two giant wolves. Similar to the ones that Fae had seen before. It looked like the wolves were howling towards the dragons in the sky. Yet even when carrying such decoration, you could see that this door was made to seal something away. Even a giant would have trouble with breaking these doors apart. And yet, when they approached, the door opened on their own, like they weighed nothing. When she passed through them, Fae could swear she saw sparks of magic inside the wood, probably spells that made the door open and close on their own. 

The hall inside was even more impressive. The room was separated into three parts.
In the lowest section, large dragon statues were decorating the sides of the wall and even large tapestries were hung up, each showing an image of either dragons, wolves or other majestic looking creatures. In the middle of the room there was an ellipse-shaped table,  almost like the pupil of a dragoneye. Six large dark colored chairs were standing at the table, three on each side, each decorated with a certain color. Behind the table there was a large platinum chair, standing on a small platform so that it would overlook the table.

The second part was on the first level, connected by two large stairs, each on a side. There was another large wooden table and it looked like it was filled with plates of food, going from meat, to fruits and even desserts. A large carpet decorated the ground. At the side there were some cabinets holding several scrolls and papers. 

On the second level seemed to be something that looked like a small salon. At the side, there was a small desk, some bookshelves against the walls and in the middle, at the back wall, there was a large crackling fire burning in a fireplace. 

When Fae looked up to the ceiling, which seemed to be at least 80 feet high, the ceiling was also decorated with images of dragons. She could swear she even saw them shimmer against the dancing shadows of the fire.

Salthan guided Fae towards a giant heavy looking ring that was anchored in the ground. Giving her a quick nod, he silently told her to kneel down so that he could attach the chains on the ring. He quickly checked if they were secure before raising and stood up, standing guard beside Fae.

“Enter the Dragon Council!” A voice suddenly bellowed. The large doors opened again with a loud creaking sound and soon after six individuals entered the room. Fae could make out that most of them seemed to be human of different ages, while she also recognized some elven blood. Each of them carried a necklace collar with a large colored stone in the middle.
Fae looked a bit surprised when she recognized the last person who had entered, which was Krista, now wearing a beautiful purple/violet shaded dress. Just like the rest, she wore a giant necklace collar with a violet stone in the middle and what looked like a platinum tiara in her hair.

Each of the entered people walked up to the ellipse shaped table, standing behind a chair, waiting for Krista to walk up to her elevated throne and take her seat. Like giving an unheard signal, the rest of them took their seats as well and then turned their heads towards Salthan and Fae. It was the first time Fae had seen them looking at her, but she could not read anything from their faces, who were looking with a stoic expression towards the pair.

“Master Salthan, the accused.” A voice suddenly rose, coming from an older human male who had an indigo stone in his collar, seated at Krista’s right hand.

“Female elf, estimated age, 20 years.”

A nod from Krista followed and Salthan left Fae’s side and walked up to the only empty chair left, taking up a collar, just like the other and draped it around his shoulders. His had a red colored stone in the middle.

“Child, what is your name?” The male that sat right of Krista said, looking straight at her. His voice sounded so serious and with a certain authority that Fae slightly gulped. She felt like a child that got a remiss from an elder. Her eyes shot over the remaining members at the table.

At the right side of the older male human sat another human male. He looked skinny, bald and his black rimmed eyes had fallen deep into his skull. His skin looked like it had attached himself to his bones, almost looking like parchment and greyish in color, yet he didn’t come off as old. 

He held his long bonny finger towards each other, his dark eyes staring straight at Fae. When her eyes crossed his, a deep shiver ran over her back, like she had been touched by something cold. Quickly she let her eyes drift towards another person.

On the right side of this dark eyed man sat Salthan, who looked at her with the already common serious expression. 

At the other side, on Krista’s left hand sat an older looking human female. Fae had heard stories about humans growing old quickly, getting all rimply and crooked, but this lady had a certain grace over her. Her white hair was braided around her head and even while her skin was old, she looked well cared for and elegant in her own way. Her bright blue eyes looked at Fae, while she pressed her thin lips together. Her collar had an orange stone.

Next to the woman was a man that Fae recognized as a Half-elf. His ears were pointy, but much smaller than those of a full blooded elf. He had long straight white hair, long white eyebrows and a long silky beard with a mustache that was as long as his beard in the same white shade. It gave him an imperial look, but it also betrayed his age and heritage. This Half-elf was several hundred years old. Before him laid the thickest book Fae had ever seen. Several papers were peeking from between the pages, like extra pages that were added. His collar had a Yellow stone.

At least, next to the half-Elf, there was a very young looking human. Fae would say he was almost her age. Round glasses adorned his youthful looking face and he looked at her with a small smile on his face. He almost looked like a young student or something similar. She saw him looking at her, his eyes going quickly over Fae before he wrote something down on a piece of paper.

“Fae.” Fae softly said, almost forgetting that a question had been asked. She shifted on her knees, feeling the weight of the chains around her wrist.

“Full name, please.” The man asked.. 

Fae swallowed again, getting that feeling of being reprimanded again. Her mind was racing, telling her to break free. Being in the presence of others had not really brought her anything good in the past two years and a discomforting feeling was taking over.  

“Fae’kalyn Lae’ethdhar.”

The young student looking human wrote everything down.

“What species are you?” Again a question coming from Krista's right hand.
“I’m a Night Elf.”

A soft chuckle rose from the table, coming from the white haired Half-elf.

“You are fairly dark skinned for a Night Elf, don’t you think?”

Fae shot her eyes towards the elder Half-elf, narrowing them down. A small flare of anger rose in her chest. She wanted to stand up, but the tight bound chains kept her to the ground, rattling when she tried to move.

“What do you imply with that?” Fae spat back, letting that fire enter her voice. Being focussed on the Half-elf, she did not notice the sleek smile growing on the dark eyed human male. His fingers moved slightly over each other. 

“That you look more like a Drow than a Night Elf. I advise you not to lie.”

Fae growled softly, letting a small hiss leave her mouth. Again she tried to stand up with the chain remembering her in a rattling sound that she had to stay down.

“I am not!” She barked back, feeling that anger she had felt in the past two year creeping up in her chest. It was just the same as before. Prejudice, not wanting to look further then what the first look gave you. Fae found herself foolish to think that this place would be different. Yet at that moment, Krista raised her hand and shot a glare towards the white haired Half-elf.

“Lord Drannor, You have sworn neutrality. If the girl said she is a Night Elf, she is. If she lies, the truth will reveal itself.”

Lord Drannor grumbled a bit, but rested his case, letting his old hands rest on the heavy book before him. The rest of the council brought their attention back towards the girl.

“Lord Ferramir, please continue.” Krista said, giving a small nod towards the man on her right. He nodded back in a silent reply before placing his focus on Fae again.

“Do you know where you are?” Lord Ferramir asked in the same serious tone.

“Nowhere …” Fae replied, partly surprised by her own words. It was like the answer had laid dormant. She remembered when she had asked Krista that same question, about where she was, that she got that reply. And in a reflex, she had answered with the answer she had received. When Fae looked towards the council, she saw a few surprised faces. Except Saltha, who had a small grin on his face. 

“What is your purpose here?” Lord Ferramir asked.

“I …” Fae started, feeling the chain cut in her wrist again. She really had to stop moving …

“Kirsta offered me to learn how to fight, so that I can find the ones that are responsible for the murder on my Tribe.”

A few heads turned towards Krista, who only replied with a sleek smile, while others started to whisper a few words to each other.

“Your Tribe?” The only other lady of the council asked. 

Fae suddenly felt a heavy weight landing in her chest. She knew she had to tell everything, but she didn’t want to relive it. She took a deep breath, trying to collect herself, but she had the feeling like a hand was grasping her heart, strangling her. 

The fire she had shown a few minutes before had vanished and the look of a desperate child appeared with a burden too heavy to carry.

“My Tribe was murdered by Drow … the children, the elders, my parents, my brother, … slaughtered like cattle. None were spared …”

More whispered rose from the table, this time a bit louder. While she wasn’t really trying to listen, she could hear some words like ‘wretched being’ and ‘demons’ rising before Krista gave a click with her tongue, refocusing everyone. 

“Are you certain it was Drow?” This time it was the youngest member of the council that spoke up, rearranging his glasses on his nose while he stared at her.

Fae looked up, disbelieve in her eyes. Were they doubting her again?

“Yes, I am! Fae replied with a strong voice.
“I saw their weapons. I know the stories of the Dark Elves from the Underdark just as much as any person does!”

“And you are out to find and bring the murderer to justice?” Lord Drannor asked.

Fae gave him another glare, like she wanted to make clear that she was not making empty promises.

“Every single one of them …” She said between her teeth, mixed with a hiss. “I will not rest before I take down the ones responsible.”

Lord Salthan chuckled, folding his arm over his chest.

“I like her. Going to kill all the Drow by herself. I like that spirit.”

Some of the members gave a soft laugh, their eyes crossing each other. Fae had no clue why they found it all so funny. How many Drow could there be? They lived underground, certainly there couldn’t be too many. Little did she know how wrong she was in that mindset. 

Suddenly someone stood up from the table. It had been the skinny looking human, who hadn’t said a single word during this trial so far. When he walked away from the table into Fae's direction, she could see how thin he actually was. Her mother had often said that she had been as thin as a leaf, but this male looked even thinner. His long bony fingers sport dark long nails. His eyes were deep black, not a single sign of white or light reflecting into it. And that thin smile on his lips made Fae shiver. Someone else would probably describe him as a dark wizard

“Yes, daughter of a chief and his priestess. Eldest child, having a younger brother.”
Fae could feel a cold sting in her mind, like icy fingers were caressing her brain. She softly moaned in discomfort when the feeling hit her. 

“Religious, peaceful, a small Tribe. Ah there it is….” The man softly hissed between his teeth, almost too silent to be heard. Fae groaned again, taking a gasp.
“Stop …” She whispered, feeling how those icy fingers were digging deeper in her mind.
“Blood, murder, brother and father killed. Mother died in her arms, unable to reveal … a secret. SO much bloodshed, so much pain, so much anger, ....”

“Enough!” A voice said and the man looked half over his shoulder, seeing the stern face of Krista looking at him. Fae took a deep breath, almost gasping for air while the man gave his Queen a sleek smile.
“As you please, my Queen.” He said to return his attention back to the young girl.

“What is your weapon of choice?” He asked while making a circle around her, taking in every inch of her body and frame. When he came closer, Fae noticed the chilly aura around his body, like cold air was following him. Fae shivered, hearing several alarm bells going off in her head. They warned her for danger, but she was not able to run, yet alone move. She looked at him from the corner of her eyes, almost afraid to look straight at him.

“Daggers, bow and arrow …” She said, almost half a whisper. She could hear the man hum, his dark eyes going over her frail body.

“I sense magic in you. Can you cast spells?”

Fae took a deep breath, trying to calm her swirling mind. Nerves were creeping up, she had goosebumps on her skin. That cold aura made her nervous.

“I … I have no control over it.”

The man suddenly stopped before her, and bowed forward, picking  up her chin with his thin fingers. At first, Fae wanted to pull away, but it was like she couldn’t, being held in place by an invisible force. So the only thing she did was let out a small hiss between her teeth. 

The man did nothing, except opening his lips to form a smile that gave Fae even more shivers. 

“Can I keep her?” He said with his sleek, poisonous sounding voice. 

“According to the law, the creature put for trial can not be claimed until the trial is finished!”

Lord Drannor said with his nose in the air, like he was reciting the most important rule of all. 

The skinny man rolled with his black eyes before giving a huff. He straightened himself again, giving Fae another sleek smile, whispering a soft ‘Too bad …’ from under his lips before he turned around, going back to his chair with his hands on his back.

“I like her spirit.” His voice whispered through the room when he took his seat.

“If the child has spoken the truth …” Lord Ferramir started.
“She is in need of help  and requires the justice our clan provides.”
His eyes went over the entire council, stopping at each person, giving them a small nod.

“We are here to give that justice. Krista offered her training, so that she can complete her goal. And we will stand at her side when she does.”

The sudden sound of a book being slammed shut filled the room, making a few council members jump in their chairs, while others gave a deep sigh. Everyone focussed on Lord Drannor.

“Accoooooording to the laaaaaaw … “
Fae saw some people roll their eyes already.
“She first needs to pass the trial of Sacred Truth. Only then can she claim the help we can provide.”

Krista huffed.

“Fine then …” She said before stepping from her chair. With a movement of her hand, a golden orb, looking like there was smoke swirling inside, came out of the table that floated towards her, only to hover a few inches from her. When she walked over to Fae, the orb followed in her wake. When she stood before her, she kneeled down and Krista let the orb hover between them at chest height.

“The trial of Sacred Truth will show us if you have lied or not. By taking this trial, you take the risk of being exposed. If you did not lie you will not be harmed. If you did … Well, let’s not think about that, shall we.”

Krista gave Fae a small smile.

“If you are ready, place your hand on the orb.”

A little bit hesitant, Fae lifted up her hand, the heavy chain still dangling to it. When her hand touched the orb, the smoke inside suddenly turned grey and started to swirl more around, like someone had blown into it.

“Was everything you said the truth and no lie fell from your lips?” Krista asked.

Fae looked up at Krista, giving her a small nod. Fear could be read from her eyes. She knew she had not lied and still, she was nervous. What if? 

“I spoke the truth.”

And when she said those words, the smoke inside the orb turned white making the orb glow brightly. 

“This child has passed the trial and will be welcomed in our Garde”
Krista said when she stood up from the ground, looking at Fae with a sparkle in her eyes like she found a treasure. 

“According to the law …” The Half-Elf started, making Krista sigh before she turned around to hear what was bothering the old crook again.

“She is not old enough to be on her own and needs a guardian to watch over her.”

“Then I will.”

A sudden silence went through the room when everyone turned their heads towards Krista, who stood there with a giant smile on her face.

“I will become her guardian and adopt her in my household. I shall raise her and vouch for her until the day she reaches adulthood.”

Fae saw lord Drannor grudge his teeth, before giving a short nod. Just like the rest, he hadn’t expected that answer.

“Fine then …” he said with a short huff. 

“Then there is only the matter left of who will become her mentor. If we want her to succeed in her quest, she will need proper training.” lord Ferramir said when he stood up from his chair, looking around the table.

“I will!”  Two voices said simultaneously. Both Lord Salthan and the creepy looking man had raised their hands. Their eyes crossed for a second, both giving a smile, a spark in their eyes like there had been a silent challenge going on between the two. 

Krista chuckled, seeing how the two had a silent battle. Yet she didn’t seem to be surprised at all. 

“I can teach her how to fight, how to use her weapons well and to defend.” Lord Salthan said to his plea, standing up from his chair.

“I can teach her how to use her magic, how to play and trick the mind. She is gonna need that if she wants to survive in the Underdark.” The creepy man said with a grin on his face.

Krista gave a small nod with her head, before a sleek smile grew, her eyes turning toward the old Half-Elf.

“Lord Drannor, is there any rule that says that a student can not have two mentors?”

The old man was taken a bit by surprise, his head wobbling a bit when he was thinking. Thinking that took way too long for the council and all started to stare at him in anticipation, until he finally opened his mouth.

“I guess … not …” He said, with a bit of sadness in his voice because he could not say ‘no’ against that decision.

“Perfect.” Krista said, clapping her hands.
“Then both Lord Salthan and Master seer will be written down as her mentors.”

Fae had all watched this in silence, letting the conversation unfold before her eyes. Yet when both the Half dragon and that creepy guy were picked at her mentors, she couldn’t withhold a small swallow. Of Course it had to be the brute and walking skeleton … just perfect.

Lord Salthan stood up from his chair and walked over the Fae. She could however only give him a glare, still remembering how he had treated her when she had been in sickbed. 

With a grin on his face, he took out a key from his pocket and unlocked the chains around Fae’s hands. A heavy weight dropped on the ground, but also from her hands and she took a deep breath when she could move her arms and hands freely again. 

“You will start training in a week. I expect you to have healed up by then.” He smirked before turning around. The doors that lead to this room were opened again with a loud noise and also the other members of the council stood up from their chair, giving their respect to Krista before leaving and even giving Fae a small nod. 

When she wanted to look at the creepy guy, thinking he would give her some instruction as well, she noticed he was already gone from the room. Strange, as she had not seen him leave with the rest. 

“Rest, heal your mind … you will need it.” A voice rang through Fae’s mind, the same voice of the seer. Fae gasped by the sudden mind message, looking at Krista when she turned around, who looked at Fae with the biggest smile ever, before speaking:

“Welcome to Haivengarde!”