Disclaimer – I do not own BMT world, it belongs to Trudi Canavan
Judgement
Sonea vaguely remembered following the crowd to the Food Hall and swallowing something quickly, but if anyone asked her, she would not be able to describe what had constituted her meal. Like the rest of the Guild, she was eager to get back to the Hearing. She squeezed into a crowded row, careful to keep a low profile. She didn't want Irun or Neeve sitting next to her again. She had been lucky enough to shake them off in the rush for food, and had no intention of attracting their attention again.
There had obviously been some discussions during the break about how to continue, because instead of Akkarin resuming his account, Lord Simean called Regin and asked for his version of events.
Regin described how the group left the Fort and made their way into the town. Once there, the group divided in two and he went off with one of the Warriors.
"Who decided the group should split up?" asked the King.
"It was the High Lord's idea," Regin replied. "There were only a few of us, but he thought we would cover more ground if the group was divided. He was keen to get back to the Fort."
"Did everyone agree with this decision?" Simean asked.
Regin hesitated for a second, "Er, no. Lord Akkarin advised against it."
"Did he say why?" Merin asked.
Again Regin hesitated and Sonea wondered if he were searching for the right words to shift the blame to Akkarin in some way, but in the event, his testimony surprised her.
"Lord Akkarin said we would withstand an Ichani attack better if we were together, but Lord Balkan didn't agree."
"What did you think?" the King asked quickly.
"At the time, I agreed with the High Lord."
"'At the time', does that mean you changed your mind later?" Merin's tone was sharp.
Regin looked directly at the King, "Yes, later I changed my mind, because Lord Akkarin was correct. Lord Absil and I heard some sort of disturbance in one of the streets and went to investigate. There we were attacked by a group of black magicians. There were three of them and we fought hard, but we could not defeat them. Absil was killed and I was alone trying to hold them off."
Regin paused, faint colour staining his cheeks as he admitted his failure to prevent Absil's death or defeat his attackers.
"How did you manage to escape them?" Simean asked quickly.
"Someone came to my aid, but I didn't see who it was, at least, not then."
"Another magician?"
"Yes, whoever he was, he sent strikes against the Ichani and I was able to overcome them."
Regin then spent some time describing the steps he had taken to kill the remaining Ichani on his own. He made it sound easy but Sonea knew it hadn't been; Regin had been close to defeat without her help.
"What happened next?"
"I wanted to find the others but before I could do so, I was attacked by another group of Ichani. I killed one of them but others appeared from the streets. I was fighting as hard as I could but I began to weaken. I thought that I would be killed."
"But you were not killed. What saved you?" The King lent forward, his interest in Regin's tale was obvious.
"I was rescued by another magician. I think it was the same one who had helped me earlier. I don't know who he was, I'd never seen him before, but he was strong. He killed at least one of them, may be more, I don't know. It all happened so fast."
"This magician, he was a Guild magician?"
"I don't know. He wasn't wearing robes and I don't know where he appeared from. One moment he wasn't there, the next he was. He said nothing to me, simply joined in the fight. Without him, I would not be here today."
Sonea smiled inwardly. Her disguise as one of the dwell children she had known as a child had worked. Regin still had no idea it was her. She wondered what he would think if he'd known he had been saved by a dwell he despised.
"What happened next?"
"The other magician vanished as quickly as he had come. I needed to find the others fast, it was obvious I could not cope alone. I had to find the High Lord."
"These attacks? It was these which changed your mind?" Merin asked.
"Yes, Lord Akkarin was right, we should have remained as one group. Absil was dead and I had almost been killed because the two of us alone could not defeat the Ichani. There were so many of them in the town. They just kept appearing."
Sonea glanced at Akkarin, and caught a glimpse of what might have been satisfaction cross his face. Regin was an ideal witness to support Akkarin's actions. Everyone knew he was no friend of the King's Magician and therefore his words carried more weight.
Regin went on to describe meeting up with the others and the decision made to try to form a human barrier to prevent the Ichani from attacking the Fort. Balkan selected the place where they were to make their stand.
"We didn't have long to wait," Regin continued. "The largest group I had seen so far just appeared in front of us. They offered to leave us alone if we let them through, but the High Lord would not agree. There was no option but to fight."
Regin's description of their struggles were harrowing, but everyone in the Hall was listening with rapt breath as he told of the Warrior Lord Jemnon's death.
"That left only four of us, myself, the High Lord, the Administrator and Lord Akkarin. Although Lord Akkarin is strong, I couldn't see how we were going to prevent the Ichani from overwhelming us. Then, out of nowhere, Lady Sonea appeared and began killing the enemy."
As her name was mentioned, there was a sharp intake of breath from those in the Hall and some of the magicians near to where she was sitting turned to stare at her.
"Lady Sonea?" the King said sharply, "She was there, in Corres Town?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, she was there."
"Hmmm, we will consider this later. Please continue with your account, Lord Regin."
There was complete silence in the Hall as Regin continued, detailing the events of the battle and the part played by everyone. Then he came to the part where Balkan and Osen were captured.
"We seemed to be winning the fight. Lord Akkarin and Lady Sonea had killed many and my own tally of dead was growing. Then, the Ichani stopped fighting. For a moment I couldn't understand it. Then I saw." Regin's voice faltered for a moment, then he continued. "Another group of Ichani had circled around the back of us and had captured the High Lord and the Administrator."
For the first time, one of the Heads of Discipline intervened.
"The first time anyone knew of the capture was when the Ichani stopped fighting?" asked the Alchemists' leader.
"Yes."
"Not one of you was guarding the High Lord or looking out for him?" the questioner persisted.
At the implied criticism, Regin drew himself up and stared angrily at the Alchemist, "I don't think you understand. We were fighting for our lives to prevent the Ichani from overwhelming us. I lost count of the number I killed. The others were surrounded by bodies too. There was no time to look around to see what was happening to Lord Balkan or Lord Osen."
The Alchemist seemed taken aback at the vehemence of Regin's words and mumbled something Sonea couldn't quite catch, has he hunched back in his seat, as if to hide.
Regin's story of the final few minutes of the High Lord's life was stark. He wasted no time on elaborate descriptions but simply told the story as a sequence of events. When he came to the actual event, his voice wavered a little as remembered emotion returned.
"The Administrator began to struggle and the High Lord sent Akkarin very loudly. We began to attack, to try to kill those surrounding the captives. They both struggled to free themselves. But it was not enough. They slit the High Lord's throat and the Administrator's. It was so fast, we could not reach them near enough to deflect the knives."
There was a collective groan from the Hall at this. Some magicians were openly weeping. The King and the Heads of Discipline looked sombre.
"You say the High Lord sent to Akkarin?" the King asked.
"Yes, Your Majesty. It was just the word 'Akkarin' but it was obviously a signal for him to do something."
"And that something was to attack those holding Lord Balkan and the Administrator?"
"It could only have been that, Your Majesty. The High Lord could have meant nothing else."
After these exchanges, there was nothing more that Regin could usefully add. He was asked to sit down and Akkarin was recalled.
"Is Lord Regin correct in his assumption that by sending your name, the High Lord was asking you to attack?" the King asked.
"Yes," came the reply. "The High Lord knew that we could not let the Ichani pass, but all the while he was a passive prisoner it was difficult to for the rest of us to know how to proceed. I believe he also sent to Lord Osen too, because he began to try to throw off his captor a few moments before the High Lord sent to me."
Akkarin was asked if he had any more to add to Regin's account, but he shook his head, "No, Lord Regin has given all the information, there is nothing more to add."
After Akkarin had resumed his seat, there was a moment of silence, then Simean looked at the King, "Shall I ask Lady Sonea to speak now?"
Merin gave a gesture of consent but before Simean could put his request into words, Sonea was already moving towards the front of the Hall. She was conscious of a multitude of eyes stabbing into her as she slowly moved forward. She caught elements of mental communication, but she made sure not to listen. She could image what people were sending.
"Perhaps you would explain how you came to be in the right place at the right time, when it had been announced you were remaining at the Guild," Merin's tone was icy. Sonea didn't need any reminders that the King disliked her, he always managed to make that perfectly clear. However she was resolved not to allow her temper to get the better of her.
As she looked up to reply, she caught a glimpse of an anxious-looking Vinara, seated with the other Heads of Discipline, just below the vacant High Lord's chair. She remembered that Vinara had involved herself in Sonea's affairs, not without risk to herself. Whatever story Sonea now gave, she needed to shield Vinara.
Sonea took a deep breath and smiled up at the King, "Yes, Lord Akkarin and I decided to put the story about that I would be staying in Imardin. In reality, I followed the procession, some distance behind, until it reached Corres Fort. I then found a place to stay in the town until I was needed."
There, that sounded plausible, she thought to herself, as long as someone didn't ask for details.
"I can't see why that course of action was necessary," broke in Lord Damert, the Warriors' Leader. "Surely Lady Sonea could have travelled with Lord Akkarin."
"It was not that simple," she replied. "Since returning to the Guild, it became obvious to me that there were many who did not trust either Lord Akkarin or myself. We are black magicians and although both of us have the King's pardon and have been reinstated as Guild magicians, we are still not fully welcomed nor trusted by large sections of the Guild."
As she spoke, Sonea could see several people in the Hall nodding their agreement. She went on, "One of the most difficult relationships Lord Akkarin had was with the High Lord. His role as King's Magician effectively placed him outside of the Guild's control. Not so myself. I am an ordinary Guild magician and subject to the High Lord. We felt that Lord Balkan would not wish to have both black magicians in his party, and would have refused his consent, so we decided that my attendance should be hidden, and if I were not needed during the High Lord's stay at Corres Fort, I would simply return to Imardin."
"You deliberately went against what you knew was the High Lord's wishes?" Damert sounded furious.
"Yes," she responded calmly, "we did because we knew that if the Ichani attacked the Fort in large numbers, I would be needed to help Lord Akkarin."
Damert was not pleased with her answer, "When this Hearing is over, I demand that you be held to account for your actions in defying the High Lord."
"It seems that Lady Sonea did not ask to go and therefore she was not refused," the King said. "In that sense, it is hard to show she was defying the High Lord."
"But, Your Majesty, you heard the girl. She knew the High Lord would have refused her. In my Discipline, that sort of action is outright defiance and is punished accordingly!"
Merin's face settled into mulish lines, "Lord Damert, Lady Sonea is not part of your Discipline and your outburst is inappropriate."
But it seemed that Damert was in no mood to listen to the King, for he continued, "It is not for a magician barely out of novice's clothing to decide what action to take, especially when everybody knows what the High Lord would have done…."
"Lord Damert, this is not the time nor the place for this! Be silent."
The iciness of Merin's tone was cutting and it seemed to bring Damert to his senses because his face paled and he mumbled a quick apology to the King.
The King gestured for Sonea to continue. She described the battle from her perspective and the shock of the deaths. Then describing the aftermath, she gave a completely fictitious account of leaving the others and making her way back to her hiding place in the town to collect her belongings to return to Imardin. There were no other difficult questions, so it was not long before she was back in her seat.
The King summoned the Heads of Discipine and the Acting Administrator to a private meeting to consider the information given to the Hearing. The rest of the magicians remained in their seats, but chatted among themselves. The meeting was brief and it wasn't long before everyone returned.
"From the accounts given by the survivors of the Ichani attack at Corres Fort, it is clear that no blame attaches to any Guild magician for the untimely deaths of the High Lord and the Administrator. Indeed it is through the strenuous efforts of them all, that so many survived the assault. I declare this Hearing closed."
After making his judgement known, the King paused for a moment, as if expecting some sort of dissent from the Hall, but there was only silence. He turned on his heel and disappeared from sight.
Once the King left, people began to stream out of the Hall. Sonea looked for Akkarin and found him talking to Wilden. As she came closer, he noticed her and, after saying a few more words to the Warrior, he came towards her.
"Everything turned out well in the end, despite the deaths," she said softly. "Perhaps we need not have worried so much."
Akkarin smiled, "There's always a need to worry, but you're right, it turned out well, thanks to your friend Regin."
"Regin," she laughed, "he's not exactly my friend, but he did support your actions."
They began to walk from the Hall, and as they reached the great doors, one of the King's Messengers stopped them. He bowed and presented a sealed message to Akkarin.
Akkarin opened the message and scanned the contents. "Tell the King we will be there," he said.
The Messenger bowed again and disappeared into the crowd. Sonea turned to Akkarin, "What's that all about?"
"The King wishes to see us. We are to attend him in his private quarters tonight, ensuring that we are not seen."
Sonea had an unwelcome heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach, none of the King's summons had been pleasurable in her experience. She wondered exactly what the King had in store for them this time.