Aldis II
"I do not know that this is right." I told Falk Firebeard when he came to give me my orders.
"Nor do I." His shoulders slumped. The weight of this was heavy on him.
"This won't be our finest hour. Roggvir is a good man. He is honorable. I don't know that I think he knowingly helped Ulfric get away. He had been letting the visiting Jarls flee the city all day." I tried to defend a man that I had trained.
"Aye. I told Elisif all of these things. I have seen the reports from other Jarls. Ulfric boasts that the man is a Talos worshipper and that he helped Ulfric get out of the castle before he fled the city."
"What Nord doesn't worship Talos, even in secret?" I gave him a cruel look. He knew exactly what I meant.
"I understand what you are saying, but what I am telling you is this: Ulfric is acting like any who really believe in Talos should support his rebellion. Honestly, Aldis, if he would have asked in any other way Torygg would be rebelling with Ulfric as grand marshal of Skyrim's armies."
"Damn, the Empire would crumple." I looked out at the men sparring below us. The balcony we stood on allowed for privacy.
"It is already Aldis. High Rock is fighting within itself as well. Cyrodiil is still weak form the War. The other provinces are either independent or under Thalmor control."
"Are there anymore riots?" I looked to the steward. "It is hard to send my men to beat back their families…"
"The people want justice for Torygg's death." Falk looked saddened by the statement.
"Then let them riot in Windhelm." I returned.
"Aye, from our reports they are rioting there as well. Ulfric seems to be shit for a Jarl. Solitude's citizens want someone they can blame now. A scapegoat. They will blame Ulfric, their desire for vengeance will send many to the Legion's doorstep and recruitment will rise. However, they will keep taking to the streets until something is done about Roggvir."
"Couldn't we exile the man?" I thought this was a good alternative.
"No, he isn't a noble. He can't go to another's court. He would be sent to the woods to die. It is better he dies this way. His family can see that he gets a proper funeral." Falk lowered his head.
It's easy to kill people. You just have to do what is needing to be done. It is just easy when you can hate the person you are killing. It helps a lot."
"Well do you think he was right?"
"No, I think he is honorable and a good man. That doesn't make him right, it would be a wonderful world if it did. This is necessary and if he willingly helped Ulfric kill our Jarl then it is justified.
The priest of the Eight Divines was brought to the cell where Roggvir was being held. He was blessed in every way the priest could verbally bless him. When all rights were finished he handed a small amulet to the Nord, an amulet of Talos.
Then we marched him out through the city. It was a sad day for him that our execution area was on the opposite end of the city as the cells. Normally I thought it to be a good thing. The criminals were paraded through the streets, humiliated. Today, I was not sure how I felt. I had trained this man. I had watched him grow into a guard of Solitude. I knew his family member's names. I knew what the man did on his off time.
I did not know how to feel about this execution. If Roggvir was the man I knew it should have been a sad day for the city, but when we stood there on that stage all we heard was the cheers of the crowd. They called for his death. Only his family was sad for him.
"Roggvir, You helped Ulfric Stormcloak escape the city after he murdered the High King. By opening the gates of the city you betrayed the city of Solitude and her people."
More shouts from the crowd. They called him traitor.
"It was no murder! Ulfric challenged Torygg. He beat the High King in fair combat." Roggvir cried out. His eyes were panicky. He did not want to die. You can't always get what you want.
"Such is our way! Such as the ancient custom of Skyrim, of all Nords!"
More boos from the crowd.
"Guards, prepare the prisoner." I motioned for the men at either side.
"I don't need your help." Roggvir shook off the hands of the men he called friends. He was doing them a service. The blood would pass from their hands to mine. It was a slight mercy for the men who served with Roggvir.
"Very well. Roggvir, bow your head."
"On this day, I go to Sovngarde."
The executioner's axe swung and his head rolled. Blood poured out of the gaping hole where his neck formerly was. The front row of people were splattered in blood.
The executioner wiped his blade off with a cloth he carried with him, and the priests walked onto the stage to prepare his bodies for Arkay's care. I saw the priest from the cell slip the amulet off Roggvir's neck and take it to his sister out in the crowd. Roggvir would have to attend Temple a lot if the priest knew his family by sight. He was a good man.
One thing I knew about this war before it really got going was that it would tear our families and cities apart. Not just the bloody fighting that was to come, but things like today. A good man was killed to sate a bloodthirsty crowd. He went to the temple of the Divines, he cared for his family, and he believed he was only doing his job. His job got him killed.
Divines help us all if doing our job in this bloody civil war gets more innocent people killed.