Post by Kittles on Jul 7, 2011 20:31:52 GMT -5
Posting this here because I can. Not posting the first chapter (which is still on my dA) because it is godawful and boring and in desperate need of a rewrite.
I still kinda like the prologue though.
PROLOGUE
To Admonish The Proud
The courtroom was crisp white and shining. Pillars lined the circular, domed room, each carved with designs depicting the scales of balance, various dragons, and the insignia of the clan of Mythics. The ceiling was lavished with gilded sculpture, sparkling clean and bright; an ivory mimicry of the heavens. Raised stands wound around the walls, all set in a way that they stared down at the lowest point in the room - the center of the court, and of attention, designed with the purpose of intimidating the accused. A small inlet of a hallway lead the way inside the center of the room, its flooring paved with stars. Directly across from this entry, raised along with the stands behind the balustrade, sat an ornate chair reserved for the judge. The back of the chair was a carving of a large balancing scale, each cup held in perfect alignment by two large, clawed hands.
The Main Hall held many courtrooms of this nature, though none as large or ornate as the Balance Hallow. Today the Hallow was filled with hushed voices and interested whispers as the jury and observers slowly took their places in the stands.
The crowd was a sea of oddities; being made entirely of Mythic dragons, however, this was the norm. These dragons, opposed to their elemental cousins who did not possess this skill, preferred the smaller, more versatile humanoid forms which they had the ability to assume. A more compact size allowed for greater ease of movement and civilization in their world.
Hayden Naul, rather unassuming in his chosen appearance - which was entirely human except for his unusual colouration, sat poised at the back of his seat, his perfect posture hardly defining in the cluster of astute dragons. His crystalline blue eyes that shone with a half tone of gold were trained down upon the entryway leading to the center of the hall. Hair which shimmered a bluish silver fell just past his shoulders, framing his face. For the moment, he was not in the uniform that designated him as a member of the Purity Council. He was not in the jury today; he was merely an interested observer, as many of the crowd today were.
"Hayden." A quiet voice soared from his side as a small girl took the seat next to him. Her form was slightly more decorated than his own, with a pair of small, waxy wings erupting from behind her ears and folded to press against her short, tulip red hair. Her passive expression was offset by her fiery red eyes.
"Good afternoon, Merlee." Hayden greeted her without moving his eyes from the entry from which the accused would emerge any moment.
"Not working today?" Merlee began conversationally, sliding to the edge of her seat and crossing her legs.
"No, I got today off to watch the trial." Hayden bit his lip, still not removing his gaze from the circular center below.
Merlee tapped at her chin, looking inquiringly toward her neighbour. "You know, I haven't seen you in the library recently."
"I've been busy." He replied curtly, dropping his voice to a whisper as the entire courtroom began to fall silent. "I don't have much time for my own studies with the Purity Council keeping me occupied."
Merlee frowned, a look of reproach settling on her lips. She fell silent with the rest of the audience as a dragon near the judge's chair stood, claiming their attention.
"All rise, Chief of Justice Judge Ulrich presiding."
The crowd took to their feet as a heavily garnished dragon emerged at the top of the curving staircase leading to the judge's seat. He was a cloud of white and gold; his robes were sheen and colourless with gold trimmings. Even his cotton white tufts of hair seemed to shimmer with a golden aura. The dragon laid a lightly clawed hand on one of the chair's armrests, taking his seat and surveying the observers as they too resumed their perches.
From the end of the entryway a door slam sounded, followed by a frenzied shouting. Hayden's eyes narrowed.
"You don't know what you're doing! You surely can't all be so blind?! There is something unnatural going on, there must be!"
The dragon that emerged from the passage was flanked by two others who were sizably larger. The two accompanying the accused retained some of their draconic features in their preferred humanoid form; their skin was silvery and somewhat scaly, their ears were pointed, and pokerstraight horns peeked out from atop their heads. The dragon between them was completely human featured, save for the miniature draconic wings poking out from his shoulder blades.
Glowing symbols wove their way around the captive's wrists; magical sealants that prevented the wearer from performing any kind of spells. The markings pulsed at rhythmic intervals as they twisted about, maintaining their hold over the dragon.
The two guards dragged the third dragon toward the very center of the courtroom, dropping him onto the small, circular pedestal that was placed there. The rim of the circle glowed a faint gold and a strand of symbols similar to those around the accused dragon's wrists flowed up to meet his feet. They snaked up around his ankles, binding him to the spot where he stood.
The guards retreated back to stand on either side of the entrance as the dragon on the pedestal swung his head around, gazing over the entire looming crowd full of hundreds of faces, his wide, wild eyes full of apprehension.
The same dragon who had announced the arrival of the judge sneered down from his lofty placement. "Fletcher Kent," he addressed the defendant, "you stand accused of wilfully tampering with world fabrics, working against the natural balance of the world, and setting several veins of the verses into a dangerous state of instability." His voice oozed superiority. "How do you plead?"
"Innocent!" Fletcher cried, thrusting himself forward. The magic seals at his feet jerked him to a stop and he stumbled back to his standing position, wringing his hands. "Innocent, sir. You don't understand, please, please just listen to my story!"
"You claim you are innocent of this crime?" The spokesperson snapped, still holding Fletcher in his intense glare. "Your magic has been traced, Mr. Kent. You are stating you had no hand in these acts?"
"No! Well, er, that is to say," he wrung his hands more frantically, "that was my magic, yes, but it was not to set an imbalance!" His eyes widened further, his slitted pupils almost disappearing within his golden irises. "I was trying to offset the damage that you have all been ignoring!" His tone shook with defiance.
Scattered whispers swelled through the courtroom. The spokesperson raised an eyebrow through his glare, evident contempt in his expression. The hushed voices were quelled with a few smart raps from the judge's gavel.
"And just what," the judge's husky voice rattled around the courtroom, "sort of damage have we been allowing, per se?" His expression was unreadable.
Fletcher suddenly seemed fossilized; frozen in place like a shocked statue. Slowly, he looked around through the sea of faces, his frightened eyes eventually settling upon the judge again. He licked his lips, seemingly uncertain of whether he should proceed. After a moment's hesitation, he piped up cautiously. "The energy drainings, Your Honour."
The judge's expression remained impassive as the onlookers erupted again, this time with louder whispers. The spokesperson pivoted about, glaring across the courtroom in an attempt to stop several gossipers. After a few moments the judge's face deepened into a frown and he rapped the gavel down once again. "Order, order everyone. Mr. Kent. We are aware of the energy saps. They are unusual, but they are in tune with the balance of the verses. There were reports made on them as well. Were you, perhaps, not paying attention when all Mythics were instructed not to take any action against occurrences not negatively affecting the balance of the worlds?"
"Your Honour! Can't you see, can't you see that there's something odd about all of this?" Fletcher pressed, trying to keep his hands from shaking.
"I can't say I do." The judge's eyes bore down on him. "I do see something very odd about what you have done, though. You have committed a terrible offense. It is against our very nature. We are meant to hold the verses together, to keep them in tune, in balance. Yet you have acted against this."
"I wanted to catch the one responsible, Your Honour." Fletchers eyes were pleading. "I only altered what I did in an attempt to shepherd the culprit into being captured! Whatever they're doing, it should mean a terrible fate for our worlds! All the energy they're hoarding, they can't possibly keep it contained safely! And perhaps, perhaps sir, this is their very intent! The verses could be torn asunder by such a-"
"Silence!" The spokesperson jerked his hand up in a smooth motion through the air, and the bindings holding Fletcher gave a violent surge, freezing him in place for a moment. "Impudence! Assumptions! You say these energy fluctuations are a threat? You must insinuate that we are missing something here! We, the watchmen of the verses! We who see all, sense all!" The dragon's eyes flickered with rage. "As long as the forces of magic in the world are in balance, there is no danger to anyone! What did they teach you in school, boy?! There's no imbalance, no danger, or perhaps you have sight on a higher plane than we?!"
Fletcher did not miss a beat when the silencing enchantments wore off. "Slaughters! Murders! Did you care to investigate where all this energy is being taken from?" His voice was trembling, though it was uncertain now whether it was from nerves or rage.
"It is not a concern, it does not involve a shift in the verses' balance-"
"The entire Kazeyn fire dragon clan were the most recent victims! Three survivors! And they're only alive because they had not yet come into their magic! This was the most grand scale draining yet! Before that there were smaller saps from various worlds, all conveniently in tune with the harmony of the verses!"
The crowd's whispers rose up again, though the judge did nothing to halt the gossip for several moments. When the gavel's pounding had finally silenced the courtroom, the judge stared straight down upon the accused, his eyes seemingly searching him. "Now, from what I gather, you are justifying your ends with the means of trying to protect the destruction of other creatures."
Fletcher paused, his expression still frightened, carefully going over the judge's summary in his head. "I... I suppose... no! No, no, I was doing this to try and make sure that we aren't making a mistake by ignoring these acts!" He whipped his head furiously. "I know that something is wrong here! Can't you feel that foreboding aura?!"
"What you feel, I am sure, is the result of a guilty conscience." The spokesperson snapped smartly. "We do not involve ourselves in the wars of other worlds, unless they infringe on our duty. Our purpose is to maintain balance, and it has always been this, and it will continue to be this way for aeons to come."
"You keep saying that!" Fletcher barked back. "'Maintain balance', really! Are we truly focusing on the harmony of the verses if we allow them to be ravaged under our noses?!"
"You foolish boy!" The spokesperson clenched his hands into fists, jeering down from the stands. "What you think-"
"What I think doesn't matter, of course!" Fletcher's expression grew livid. "Who am I but a wayward soul?! This is no trial! It was never going to be a trial, and they all know it!" Fletcher swung his arms wildly, gesturing to the observers and jury. "This is nothing but an overdressed banishment ceremony, making a mockery of any who dare call it 'justice'! You'll end me the same way you've done any others who have gone against your broken 'rules'!"
The spokesperson swiped his hand through the air, silencing Fletcher once again. The two dragons glared each other down. In this pause between retorts, there were no frantic whispers scurrying through the crowd. The onlookers were silent after Fletcher's outburst.
The judge's eyes were set downwards upon Fletcher, appraising him for a moment. Finally, he cut through the silence with his sharp words. "Well guards, you heard him." He tore his eyes away from the accused to regard the silvery dragons still standing at the entrance. "Banishment."
The guards took hold of either of Fletcher's arms, and the seals around his ankles faded away. Fletcher glared around the courtroom as he was escorted from their sight. "Our conceit will be the end of us! We Mythic dragons need to look past our pride! Pay attention!" He was silenced as the door leading out was slammed behind him.
Hayden was pensive as the commotion through the courtroom picked up. He was scarcely aware as the court was dismissed, and didn't immediately notice when Merlee addressed him.
"Dead man walking, huh?" The tiny girl leaned forward, frowning when Hayden seemed to not have taken notice. "Hayden?" She nudged his elbow lightly.
"Hm?" Hayden shook his head, glancing over at Merlee. "Sorry, sorry, that was... certainly something, wasn't it?"
"Yes, he did get quite out of line by the end there, didn't he?" Merlee smiled, the expression almost catlike on her face.
"... I suppose he did." Hayden said, staring back down at the empty center. He fell silent again.
Merlee's smile slipped. "Did you know him?"
"No." Hayden said quickly, tearing his eyes from the floor below. "Goodness, the courtroom's nearly empty. We ought to get moving too." Hayden motioned to Merlee as he stood, allowing her to pass ahead of him on the way out.
"So, you have the day off, right? Are you going to head over to the library?" Merlee spoke over her shoulder.
"Perhaps later today, I have several things I need to take care of. Like I said, I don't have much time for personal research." Hayden moved on through the sea of dragons, quickly becoming lost in the crowd.
"Right. Sure... see you." Merlee muttered a futile goodbye before drifting off in the crowd herself.
---
Hayden managed to evade several others seeking his attention for various odd jobs on the way to his destination. The sky overhead was a lurid, dark blue, fading into a deeper violet over the horizon, as it usually was. He placed a hand on the ornate doorway leading inside, gave it a firm push, and strode into the Blackwell District Research and Regulation Facility for Magical Artifacts. The interior was decorated similar to, and yet all too differently from the Balance Hallow. The colours were dark, rich hues, mostly blues and crimsons. Golden stars hung amid the draperies, the flooring was thick carpet. Here and there the clan's insignia shone, or a symbol showing scales stood out. Hayden walked the familiar path leading to a specific room used for research and let himself in.
"Hey, hey, who's there, do you have authority to be - oh, Hayden, it's you." A redmaned head poked out from behind a bookshelf.
Hayden raised an eyebrow at the greeting. "Security problems lately, Marlon?" He inquired, slipping into a seat at a nearby desk.
"Well, not really, it's more that people keep popping in here asking for this and that, and if they don't have the permit, it's not like I can give it to them. Honestly, I need a sign for that door." Marlon crossed the distance between the bookshelf and the desk, taking a seat across from Hayden. "Something up? You look a little out of it."
Hayden shook his head lightly. "I just came from Fletcher's trial." He said with a sigh.
Marlon frowned. "Banishment?"
"As if they'd let anyone get away with what he did." Hayden snorted. "I warned him. I told him not to interfere. I should have insisted more firmly or... or bound him to a boulder, or something more effective."
"Young hotheads like him need to be kept on a leash." Marlon nodded.
"I'm hardly much older than him. Three and a half decades. I wasn't like him at that age." Hayden frowned, letting a pause into their conversation. "Speaking of young hotheads, your sister was at the trial as well."
"Merlee? You don't say." Marlon did not look too surprised at this. "Different kind of hothead. She wants to follow you into the Purity Council. You know, I'm still not sure why you decided to work for them."
"We all work for them one way or another." Hayden said, toying with a pen on the desk absentmindedly. "Working directly for them gives me a little authority, at least."
"Yeah, that's what confused me." Marlon grinned. "I couldn't picture you wanting too much to do with authority."
"Well," Hayden sighed, "if it helps me to keep an eye on the state of the worlds, I'll put up with people badgering me about odd jobs."
"So you think Fletcher had it right, then? Something strange is going on?" Marlon leant onto the desk. "You're not going to go pulling some stunt like that, though, are you?"
"Of course not." Hayden bit his lip. "I'm not so imprudent. There are far better ways to go about monitoring what's going on. Ways that don't involve me throwing my life away on the offchance that I might get lucky on the first attempt."
"Should you even be talking about this?" Marlon suddenly snapped back away from the table and looked around the room cautiously. "Don't they monitor what you say and stuff? The Purity Council?"
"I'm not under watch in our own world." Hayden gave a small smile. "That's only for those who are under suspicion for information leaks, or heresy."
Marlon's rigid posture slumped back into a more comfortable one. "Ah, okay. So what do you think is going on, then?"
Hayden shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. It may be nothing worth our concern, as the Council stresses. Though, it is always good to have a firm grasp of the situation. If energy is being sapped from the verses, it makes sense that it is being stored for something that requires a large amount of magic to accomplish. If the destruction of another world is attempted, it will be good to be on our toes to prevent it, and not merely to glaze over the turbulence created from the act."
"Revolutionary." Marlon laughed. "You really shouldn't put more value into the survival of a single world over the survival of the verses. The Council frowns on that too."
"Indeed." Hayden stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Though, what truly bothers me is that all of the drainings are done in tune with the balance of the verses. It seems unlikely that any other magical beings would be so lucky to continually guess where it is safest to purge energy from. You don't suppose they're being tipped off by someone?"
Marlon shook his head. "That's impossible, the Purity Council would track them in an instant."
"It is still troubling." Hayden pressed.
"Yeah, I guess." Marlon dismissed the line of discussion with a wave of his hand. "So what are you planning to do?"
"I'm just going to keep an eye on things. I don't exactly want to risk doing too much more than that. However, I think I'll set up some contacts in a couple worlds to assist my watch. They can do the scouting and prodding that I myself cannot. It'll take some careful planning, but I can pass it off as something legal."
"Ooh, daring aren't we?" Marlon said, grinning.
"Well, it isn't really against our laws." Hayden insisted. "I'm not doing anything wrong! We do all sorts of things for citizens of other worlds! We keep an eye on the magic flow through all of them, after all."
"Fine, call it what you will." Marlon shook his head, his grin widening. "Just make sure you don't get specifically involved. Don't get attached to any beings or the Council will be on you in a stint. Keep it strictly business. Passports and permits and licenses, that kind of deal."
"Yes, I know." Hayden ran a hand through his hair.
"I've got to know," Marlon scratched at his chin, a curious look settling itself on his features. "Who in all the worlds could you possibly have in mind to enlist as an informant? Who would be willing to do all that business for you?"
Hayden looked suddenly uncomfortable. He spoke his idea uncertainly. "Well, I was thinking, one of the Kazeyn dragons could be tempted..."
Marlon eyed Hayden quizzically for a few moments. His eyes widened as he realized what Hayden implied. "The Kazeyn clan! You're going to get one of the survivors to do all that work?!"
"They'll have a motive..." Hayden said cautiously.
"Oh yes, let's set the hatchlings on a quest." Marlon said, raising an eyebrow. "Will we be betting on how well they'll fair without magic?"
"Well of course I'll have to wait until they come into their magic." Hayden frowned. Neither dragon spoke for a moment. "You know..." Hayden began slowly, "the heir to the clan was one of the survivors."
"Think that's the one you'll con into working for you, then?" Marlon jibed playfully.
"I'm not conning anyone." Hayden argued. "... Technically speaking."
"Alright, if you say so." Marlon shrugged. "Enlighten me with this brilliant scheme of yours." Hayden looked skeptically at him. "No really! Go on, I'm curious." Marlon insisted.
Hayden held back for another brief pause. "Alright. Well, the problem is I can't just go and explain the situation to them."
"The Purity Council might not approve of that kind of thing." Marlon nodded.
"So what I need to do is plant the suggestion of finding out what happened in their minds. Or at least in one of them. Shouldn't be too difficult, considering what happened." Hayden began toying with the pen on the desk once again. "Since I can't go to them, I need them to come to me. I need one of them to put in a passport request, and then I can take it from there. I can help them set up some sort of... paranormal investigation business. I won't be able to be called on anything that way. I won't be doing anything illegal; it'll just be an otherworldly immigration setup, and then I'll just keep an eye on the magical business as expected."
"Clever. How long until you put this into action?" Marlon questioned.
"It might be about a decade." Hayden said hesitantly.
"Quite a long time to wait, don't you think?" Marlon asked.
Hayden bit his lip. "Well, these minor drainings have been going on for several years already. If they disappear, there won't be a need to worry over them. If an imbalance does come as a result of them, the Purity Council will take action."
"So everything works out, is what you're saying." Marlon nodded.
"In theory." Hayden rested his forehead in his palm. "I'll have to be careful not to overstep any boundaries, though."
"Do you have some sort of safety net, in case the Purity Council finds out and doesn't exactly commend what you're doing?" Marlon looked slightly apprehensive. "Curiosity killed the cat, you know."
Hayden was still, his lips furled in thought. Slowly, his expression softened. "Merlee said she was interested in the Purity Council, did she?"
Marlon nodded slowly, unsure of what idea was forming in his friend's mind. "Yes, she was planning on getting into the interworldly regulation division, same as you. Funny, I never really figured she'd be into scouting and illegal activity watch."
"No, that won't do." Hayden stood, talking mostly to himself now. "I need someone in the judicial division who can try and pull a few strings, if need be." Hayden waved a dismissive hand before Marlon could pipe up with a question. "I'll go try and persuade her, have a good afternoon, Marlon." With a sweeping turn, Hayden made his way to the exit.
"Careful, Hayden." Marlon called after him. "Don't get too involved, satisfying your curiosity isn't worth risking your life over!"
"Don't worry about me, I know well that my duties to the Council come first and foremost." Hayden replied coolly.
The door sealed shut with a small 'click' as Hayden retreated from the room, leaving Marlon to resume his work.
I still kinda like the prologue though.
PROLOGUE
To Admonish The Proud
The courtroom was crisp white and shining. Pillars lined the circular, domed room, each carved with designs depicting the scales of balance, various dragons, and the insignia of the clan of Mythics. The ceiling was lavished with gilded sculpture, sparkling clean and bright; an ivory mimicry of the heavens. Raised stands wound around the walls, all set in a way that they stared down at the lowest point in the room - the center of the court, and of attention, designed with the purpose of intimidating the accused. A small inlet of a hallway lead the way inside the center of the room, its flooring paved with stars. Directly across from this entry, raised along with the stands behind the balustrade, sat an ornate chair reserved for the judge. The back of the chair was a carving of a large balancing scale, each cup held in perfect alignment by two large, clawed hands.
The Main Hall held many courtrooms of this nature, though none as large or ornate as the Balance Hallow. Today the Hallow was filled with hushed voices and interested whispers as the jury and observers slowly took their places in the stands.
The crowd was a sea of oddities; being made entirely of Mythic dragons, however, this was the norm. These dragons, opposed to their elemental cousins who did not possess this skill, preferred the smaller, more versatile humanoid forms which they had the ability to assume. A more compact size allowed for greater ease of movement and civilization in their world.
Hayden Naul, rather unassuming in his chosen appearance - which was entirely human except for his unusual colouration, sat poised at the back of his seat, his perfect posture hardly defining in the cluster of astute dragons. His crystalline blue eyes that shone with a half tone of gold were trained down upon the entryway leading to the center of the hall. Hair which shimmered a bluish silver fell just past his shoulders, framing his face. For the moment, he was not in the uniform that designated him as a member of the Purity Council. He was not in the jury today; he was merely an interested observer, as many of the crowd today were.
"Hayden." A quiet voice soared from his side as a small girl took the seat next to him. Her form was slightly more decorated than his own, with a pair of small, waxy wings erupting from behind her ears and folded to press against her short, tulip red hair. Her passive expression was offset by her fiery red eyes.
"Good afternoon, Merlee." Hayden greeted her without moving his eyes from the entry from which the accused would emerge any moment.
"Not working today?" Merlee began conversationally, sliding to the edge of her seat and crossing her legs.
"No, I got today off to watch the trial." Hayden bit his lip, still not removing his gaze from the circular center below.
Merlee tapped at her chin, looking inquiringly toward her neighbour. "You know, I haven't seen you in the library recently."
"I've been busy." He replied curtly, dropping his voice to a whisper as the entire courtroom began to fall silent. "I don't have much time for my own studies with the Purity Council keeping me occupied."
Merlee frowned, a look of reproach settling on her lips. She fell silent with the rest of the audience as a dragon near the judge's chair stood, claiming their attention.
"All rise, Chief of Justice Judge Ulrich presiding."
The crowd took to their feet as a heavily garnished dragon emerged at the top of the curving staircase leading to the judge's seat. He was a cloud of white and gold; his robes were sheen and colourless with gold trimmings. Even his cotton white tufts of hair seemed to shimmer with a golden aura. The dragon laid a lightly clawed hand on one of the chair's armrests, taking his seat and surveying the observers as they too resumed their perches.
From the end of the entryway a door slam sounded, followed by a frenzied shouting. Hayden's eyes narrowed.
"You don't know what you're doing! You surely can't all be so blind?! There is something unnatural going on, there must be!"
The dragon that emerged from the passage was flanked by two others who were sizably larger. The two accompanying the accused retained some of their draconic features in their preferred humanoid form; their skin was silvery and somewhat scaly, their ears were pointed, and pokerstraight horns peeked out from atop their heads. The dragon between them was completely human featured, save for the miniature draconic wings poking out from his shoulder blades.
Glowing symbols wove their way around the captive's wrists; magical sealants that prevented the wearer from performing any kind of spells. The markings pulsed at rhythmic intervals as they twisted about, maintaining their hold over the dragon.
The two guards dragged the third dragon toward the very center of the courtroom, dropping him onto the small, circular pedestal that was placed there. The rim of the circle glowed a faint gold and a strand of symbols similar to those around the accused dragon's wrists flowed up to meet his feet. They snaked up around his ankles, binding him to the spot where he stood.
The guards retreated back to stand on either side of the entrance as the dragon on the pedestal swung his head around, gazing over the entire looming crowd full of hundreds of faces, his wide, wild eyes full of apprehension.
The same dragon who had announced the arrival of the judge sneered down from his lofty placement. "Fletcher Kent," he addressed the defendant, "you stand accused of wilfully tampering with world fabrics, working against the natural balance of the world, and setting several veins of the verses into a dangerous state of instability." His voice oozed superiority. "How do you plead?"
"Innocent!" Fletcher cried, thrusting himself forward. The magic seals at his feet jerked him to a stop and he stumbled back to his standing position, wringing his hands. "Innocent, sir. You don't understand, please, please just listen to my story!"
"You claim you are innocent of this crime?" The spokesperson snapped, still holding Fletcher in his intense glare. "Your magic has been traced, Mr. Kent. You are stating you had no hand in these acts?"
"No! Well, er, that is to say," he wrung his hands more frantically, "that was my magic, yes, but it was not to set an imbalance!" His eyes widened further, his slitted pupils almost disappearing within his golden irises. "I was trying to offset the damage that you have all been ignoring!" His tone shook with defiance.
Scattered whispers swelled through the courtroom. The spokesperson raised an eyebrow through his glare, evident contempt in his expression. The hushed voices were quelled with a few smart raps from the judge's gavel.
"And just what," the judge's husky voice rattled around the courtroom, "sort of damage have we been allowing, per se?" His expression was unreadable.
Fletcher suddenly seemed fossilized; frozen in place like a shocked statue. Slowly, he looked around through the sea of faces, his frightened eyes eventually settling upon the judge again. He licked his lips, seemingly uncertain of whether he should proceed. After a moment's hesitation, he piped up cautiously. "The energy drainings, Your Honour."
The judge's expression remained impassive as the onlookers erupted again, this time with louder whispers. The spokesperson pivoted about, glaring across the courtroom in an attempt to stop several gossipers. After a few moments the judge's face deepened into a frown and he rapped the gavel down once again. "Order, order everyone. Mr. Kent. We are aware of the energy saps. They are unusual, but they are in tune with the balance of the verses. There were reports made on them as well. Were you, perhaps, not paying attention when all Mythics were instructed not to take any action against occurrences not negatively affecting the balance of the worlds?"
"Your Honour! Can't you see, can't you see that there's something odd about all of this?" Fletcher pressed, trying to keep his hands from shaking.
"I can't say I do." The judge's eyes bore down on him. "I do see something very odd about what you have done, though. You have committed a terrible offense. It is against our very nature. We are meant to hold the verses together, to keep them in tune, in balance. Yet you have acted against this."
"I wanted to catch the one responsible, Your Honour." Fletchers eyes were pleading. "I only altered what I did in an attempt to shepherd the culprit into being captured! Whatever they're doing, it should mean a terrible fate for our worlds! All the energy they're hoarding, they can't possibly keep it contained safely! And perhaps, perhaps sir, this is their very intent! The verses could be torn asunder by such a-"
"Silence!" The spokesperson jerked his hand up in a smooth motion through the air, and the bindings holding Fletcher gave a violent surge, freezing him in place for a moment. "Impudence! Assumptions! You say these energy fluctuations are a threat? You must insinuate that we are missing something here! We, the watchmen of the verses! We who see all, sense all!" The dragon's eyes flickered with rage. "As long as the forces of magic in the world are in balance, there is no danger to anyone! What did they teach you in school, boy?! There's no imbalance, no danger, or perhaps you have sight on a higher plane than we?!"
Fletcher did not miss a beat when the silencing enchantments wore off. "Slaughters! Murders! Did you care to investigate where all this energy is being taken from?" His voice was trembling, though it was uncertain now whether it was from nerves or rage.
"It is not a concern, it does not involve a shift in the verses' balance-"
"The entire Kazeyn fire dragon clan were the most recent victims! Three survivors! And they're only alive because they had not yet come into their magic! This was the most grand scale draining yet! Before that there were smaller saps from various worlds, all conveniently in tune with the harmony of the verses!"
The crowd's whispers rose up again, though the judge did nothing to halt the gossip for several moments. When the gavel's pounding had finally silenced the courtroom, the judge stared straight down upon the accused, his eyes seemingly searching him. "Now, from what I gather, you are justifying your ends with the means of trying to protect the destruction of other creatures."
Fletcher paused, his expression still frightened, carefully going over the judge's summary in his head. "I... I suppose... no! No, no, I was doing this to try and make sure that we aren't making a mistake by ignoring these acts!" He whipped his head furiously. "I know that something is wrong here! Can't you feel that foreboding aura?!"
"What you feel, I am sure, is the result of a guilty conscience." The spokesperson snapped smartly. "We do not involve ourselves in the wars of other worlds, unless they infringe on our duty. Our purpose is to maintain balance, and it has always been this, and it will continue to be this way for aeons to come."
"You keep saying that!" Fletcher barked back. "'Maintain balance', really! Are we truly focusing on the harmony of the verses if we allow them to be ravaged under our noses?!"
"You foolish boy!" The spokesperson clenched his hands into fists, jeering down from the stands. "What you think-"
"What I think doesn't matter, of course!" Fletcher's expression grew livid. "Who am I but a wayward soul?! This is no trial! It was never going to be a trial, and they all know it!" Fletcher swung his arms wildly, gesturing to the observers and jury. "This is nothing but an overdressed banishment ceremony, making a mockery of any who dare call it 'justice'! You'll end me the same way you've done any others who have gone against your broken 'rules'!"
The spokesperson swiped his hand through the air, silencing Fletcher once again. The two dragons glared each other down. In this pause between retorts, there were no frantic whispers scurrying through the crowd. The onlookers were silent after Fletcher's outburst.
The judge's eyes were set downwards upon Fletcher, appraising him for a moment. Finally, he cut through the silence with his sharp words. "Well guards, you heard him." He tore his eyes away from the accused to regard the silvery dragons still standing at the entrance. "Banishment."
The guards took hold of either of Fletcher's arms, and the seals around his ankles faded away. Fletcher glared around the courtroom as he was escorted from their sight. "Our conceit will be the end of us! We Mythic dragons need to look past our pride! Pay attention!" He was silenced as the door leading out was slammed behind him.
Hayden was pensive as the commotion through the courtroom picked up. He was scarcely aware as the court was dismissed, and didn't immediately notice when Merlee addressed him.
"Dead man walking, huh?" The tiny girl leaned forward, frowning when Hayden seemed to not have taken notice. "Hayden?" She nudged his elbow lightly.
"Hm?" Hayden shook his head, glancing over at Merlee. "Sorry, sorry, that was... certainly something, wasn't it?"
"Yes, he did get quite out of line by the end there, didn't he?" Merlee smiled, the expression almost catlike on her face.
"... I suppose he did." Hayden said, staring back down at the empty center. He fell silent again.
Merlee's smile slipped. "Did you know him?"
"No." Hayden said quickly, tearing his eyes from the floor below. "Goodness, the courtroom's nearly empty. We ought to get moving too." Hayden motioned to Merlee as he stood, allowing her to pass ahead of him on the way out.
"So, you have the day off, right? Are you going to head over to the library?" Merlee spoke over her shoulder.
"Perhaps later today, I have several things I need to take care of. Like I said, I don't have much time for personal research." Hayden moved on through the sea of dragons, quickly becoming lost in the crowd.
"Right. Sure... see you." Merlee muttered a futile goodbye before drifting off in the crowd herself.
---
Hayden managed to evade several others seeking his attention for various odd jobs on the way to his destination. The sky overhead was a lurid, dark blue, fading into a deeper violet over the horizon, as it usually was. He placed a hand on the ornate doorway leading inside, gave it a firm push, and strode into the Blackwell District Research and Regulation Facility for Magical Artifacts. The interior was decorated similar to, and yet all too differently from the Balance Hallow. The colours were dark, rich hues, mostly blues and crimsons. Golden stars hung amid the draperies, the flooring was thick carpet. Here and there the clan's insignia shone, or a symbol showing scales stood out. Hayden walked the familiar path leading to a specific room used for research and let himself in.
"Hey, hey, who's there, do you have authority to be - oh, Hayden, it's you." A redmaned head poked out from behind a bookshelf.
Hayden raised an eyebrow at the greeting. "Security problems lately, Marlon?" He inquired, slipping into a seat at a nearby desk.
"Well, not really, it's more that people keep popping in here asking for this and that, and if they don't have the permit, it's not like I can give it to them. Honestly, I need a sign for that door." Marlon crossed the distance between the bookshelf and the desk, taking a seat across from Hayden. "Something up? You look a little out of it."
Hayden shook his head lightly. "I just came from Fletcher's trial." He said with a sigh.
Marlon frowned. "Banishment?"
"As if they'd let anyone get away with what he did." Hayden snorted. "I warned him. I told him not to interfere. I should have insisted more firmly or... or bound him to a boulder, or something more effective."
"Young hotheads like him need to be kept on a leash." Marlon nodded.
"I'm hardly much older than him. Three and a half decades. I wasn't like him at that age." Hayden frowned, letting a pause into their conversation. "Speaking of young hotheads, your sister was at the trial as well."
"Merlee? You don't say." Marlon did not look too surprised at this. "Different kind of hothead. She wants to follow you into the Purity Council. You know, I'm still not sure why you decided to work for them."
"We all work for them one way or another." Hayden said, toying with a pen on the desk absentmindedly. "Working directly for them gives me a little authority, at least."
"Yeah, that's what confused me." Marlon grinned. "I couldn't picture you wanting too much to do with authority."
"Well," Hayden sighed, "if it helps me to keep an eye on the state of the worlds, I'll put up with people badgering me about odd jobs."
"So you think Fletcher had it right, then? Something strange is going on?" Marlon leant onto the desk. "You're not going to go pulling some stunt like that, though, are you?"
"Of course not." Hayden bit his lip. "I'm not so imprudent. There are far better ways to go about monitoring what's going on. Ways that don't involve me throwing my life away on the offchance that I might get lucky on the first attempt."
"Should you even be talking about this?" Marlon suddenly snapped back away from the table and looked around the room cautiously. "Don't they monitor what you say and stuff? The Purity Council?"
"I'm not under watch in our own world." Hayden gave a small smile. "That's only for those who are under suspicion for information leaks, or heresy."
Marlon's rigid posture slumped back into a more comfortable one. "Ah, okay. So what do you think is going on, then?"
Hayden shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. It may be nothing worth our concern, as the Council stresses. Though, it is always good to have a firm grasp of the situation. If energy is being sapped from the verses, it makes sense that it is being stored for something that requires a large amount of magic to accomplish. If the destruction of another world is attempted, it will be good to be on our toes to prevent it, and not merely to glaze over the turbulence created from the act."
"Revolutionary." Marlon laughed. "You really shouldn't put more value into the survival of a single world over the survival of the verses. The Council frowns on that too."
"Indeed." Hayden stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Though, what truly bothers me is that all of the drainings are done in tune with the balance of the verses. It seems unlikely that any other magical beings would be so lucky to continually guess where it is safest to purge energy from. You don't suppose they're being tipped off by someone?"
Marlon shook his head. "That's impossible, the Purity Council would track them in an instant."
"It is still troubling." Hayden pressed.
"Yeah, I guess." Marlon dismissed the line of discussion with a wave of his hand. "So what are you planning to do?"
"I'm just going to keep an eye on things. I don't exactly want to risk doing too much more than that. However, I think I'll set up some contacts in a couple worlds to assist my watch. They can do the scouting and prodding that I myself cannot. It'll take some careful planning, but I can pass it off as something legal."
"Ooh, daring aren't we?" Marlon said, grinning.
"Well, it isn't really against our laws." Hayden insisted. "I'm not doing anything wrong! We do all sorts of things for citizens of other worlds! We keep an eye on the magic flow through all of them, after all."
"Fine, call it what you will." Marlon shook his head, his grin widening. "Just make sure you don't get specifically involved. Don't get attached to any beings or the Council will be on you in a stint. Keep it strictly business. Passports and permits and licenses, that kind of deal."
"Yes, I know." Hayden ran a hand through his hair.
"I've got to know," Marlon scratched at his chin, a curious look settling itself on his features. "Who in all the worlds could you possibly have in mind to enlist as an informant? Who would be willing to do all that business for you?"
Hayden looked suddenly uncomfortable. He spoke his idea uncertainly. "Well, I was thinking, one of the Kazeyn dragons could be tempted..."
Marlon eyed Hayden quizzically for a few moments. His eyes widened as he realized what Hayden implied. "The Kazeyn clan! You're going to get one of the survivors to do all that work?!"
"They'll have a motive..." Hayden said cautiously.
"Oh yes, let's set the hatchlings on a quest." Marlon said, raising an eyebrow. "Will we be betting on how well they'll fair without magic?"
"Well of course I'll have to wait until they come into their magic." Hayden frowned. Neither dragon spoke for a moment. "You know..." Hayden began slowly, "the heir to the clan was one of the survivors."
"Think that's the one you'll con into working for you, then?" Marlon jibed playfully.
"I'm not conning anyone." Hayden argued. "... Technically speaking."
"Alright, if you say so." Marlon shrugged. "Enlighten me with this brilliant scheme of yours." Hayden looked skeptically at him. "No really! Go on, I'm curious." Marlon insisted.
Hayden held back for another brief pause. "Alright. Well, the problem is I can't just go and explain the situation to them."
"The Purity Council might not approve of that kind of thing." Marlon nodded.
"So what I need to do is plant the suggestion of finding out what happened in their minds. Or at least in one of them. Shouldn't be too difficult, considering what happened." Hayden began toying with the pen on the desk once again. "Since I can't go to them, I need them to come to me. I need one of them to put in a passport request, and then I can take it from there. I can help them set up some sort of... paranormal investigation business. I won't be able to be called on anything that way. I won't be doing anything illegal; it'll just be an otherworldly immigration setup, and then I'll just keep an eye on the magical business as expected."
"Clever. How long until you put this into action?" Marlon questioned.
"It might be about a decade." Hayden said hesitantly.
"Quite a long time to wait, don't you think?" Marlon asked.
Hayden bit his lip. "Well, these minor drainings have been going on for several years already. If they disappear, there won't be a need to worry over them. If an imbalance does come as a result of them, the Purity Council will take action."
"So everything works out, is what you're saying." Marlon nodded.
"In theory." Hayden rested his forehead in his palm. "I'll have to be careful not to overstep any boundaries, though."
"Do you have some sort of safety net, in case the Purity Council finds out and doesn't exactly commend what you're doing?" Marlon looked slightly apprehensive. "Curiosity killed the cat, you know."
Hayden was still, his lips furled in thought. Slowly, his expression softened. "Merlee said she was interested in the Purity Council, did she?"
Marlon nodded slowly, unsure of what idea was forming in his friend's mind. "Yes, she was planning on getting into the interworldly regulation division, same as you. Funny, I never really figured she'd be into scouting and illegal activity watch."
"No, that won't do." Hayden stood, talking mostly to himself now. "I need someone in the judicial division who can try and pull a few strings, if need be." Hayden waved a dismissive hand before Marlon could pipe up with a question. "I'll go try and persuade her, have a good afternoon, Marlon." With a sweeping turn, Hayden made his way to the exit.
"Careful, Hayden." Marlon called after him. "Don't get too involved, satisfying your curiosity isn't worth risking your life over!"
"Don't worry about me, I know well that my duties to the Council come first and foremost." Hayden replied coolly.
The door sealed shut with a small 'click' as Hayden retreated from the room, leaving Marlon to resume his work.