Trials
Chapter Sixteen: The Verdict Is In
Loki only half-listened to Sorkvir make his final statement, tuning in just enough to keep track of whether he said anything new or different. He didn't. He was direct, and brief, and then, again, it was Loki's turn.
He didn't have notecards. There hadn't been time. But he didn't need them. Complicated arguments and attempts at twisting the other party's words weren't welcomed here. Clear, succinct arguments were. His were going to be about as clear and succinct as possible. Assuming Finnulfur allowed it. New information was not meant to be presented in final statements.
He stepped forward into the recognition box, ran a hand nervously over the thick black leather vest he'd donned, atop which he wore a long black surcoat. He thought it made him look a little older. It definitely made him look a little broader in the chest. "Lord Magistrate, I know it's not the way things are usually done, but my brother and I were up all night searching for additional evidence in the libraries, and we found something that I need to present."
Finnulfur frowned, and Loki thought his face reflected that look he hated so much, that look adults got when it was clear they were merely humoring you and your less-than-stellar ideas. "You're correct. That's not at all the way things are done." He paused, gaze resting heavily on Loki, before turning to Sorkvir. "Your thoughts, Sorkvir? Tyr?"
"Lord Magistrate," Sorkvir said, "I personally reviewed the libraries' holdings related to the Trials before this petition process got underway. I found nothing relevant. This strikes me as an odd form of delaying tactic."
"It's relevant, Sorkvir. You only looked at what was in retrieval, didn't you?"
"Loki, wait until you are recognized," Finnulfur admonished, looking annoyed for perhaps the first time throughout the trial.
"I apologize," Loki said immediately, realizing only after he'd spoken how rude he'd sounded. He didn't actually feel all that contrite, though – he hadn't slept all night and he'd had a miserable last four or five days. He turned to see Sorkvir and Tyr quietly consulting.
"As my fellow warrior Tyr points out," Sorkvir said, "we have nothing to fear from knowledge. Despite the irregularity, we do not oppose Loki in presenting what he found."
"Well-put, both of you. I am in agreement, and pleased that no debate is needed, though for everyone's future awareness, you are expected to make your preparations, including library research if needed, before proceedings begin. You are young, Loki, and none of you are law specialists, and in my view and thus the view of Asgard, getting to truth and justice is more important than mindlessly following structure. Go ahead, Loki."
Loki nodded to accept the mild censure, then breathed a quick sigh of relief and stepped forward again. He'd found a simple cloth pouch the scroll would easily fit in, and a way to attach that to his vest, just beneath the surcoat. He withdrew it now. "My brother and I found many ancient books and other documents related to the Trials in the Library of War, which have never been placed in retrieval. If you want to know what's in these books, or even that they exist, you have to actually go to the stacks and search. So we did. And we found this," he said.
He started to unfurl the scroll, but quickly realized that given its size it wasn't going to be possible for one person to do it, not without a table to spread it on and heavy objects to hold it in place. There were too many creases and now curls, too. "I, ah…" Loki began, fumbling with the scroll. "Can Thor assist?"
"With opening the document, yes," Finnulfur said.
Thor hurried forward from his same spot at the back of the chamber, and helped Loki wrangle the scroll open all the way, stepping back as the ends drew further apart.
Loki glanced upward; the ceiling was full of sensors that would automatically create a record of the full contents of the scroll. Then he looked to Finnulfur, full of confidence, knowing that those same sensors would automatically create a record of his next words, too. "Lord Magistrate, this scroll contains a list of rules for the Trials."
For a long moment, no one said anything, and no one moved.
"I don't…that's not possible," Sorkvir said.
"Sorkvir, you, too, wait until you are recognized. Continue, Loki."
"The title is simply Trials. And the first line says, 'The following are the proscriptions and admonitions of the Trials of Young Aesir.' It's a list of rules, my lord. Thirty-eight of them to be precise." He took a breath. A list of rules was among the things he'd hoped he might find. Of course, he'd imagined an extensive list of rules that didn't forbid magic. But just as Thor said, this should still work. "The third one says that young Aesir may not use magic in their Trials."
Finnulfur's eyebrows went up; Loki glanced at Sorkvir and thought he looked relieved. He didn't think that would last.
"On the back is a date," Loki said; Thor hadn't known about this, he'd only found it when he was getting ready up in his chambers. "The date is just eight years after the very first Trials. That tells me that even though we couldn't find the complete records of all of the Trials, way back then someone realized that a clear list of rules was needed. And the fact that they included magic, at number three no less, tells me that they thought it likely that someone would want to use magic at his Trials, and maybe someone even already had. And these are not…strange rules that no reasonable person would ever think were necessary. The first one says the youth shouldn't be drunk during the Trials. What is more Aesir than celebrating some grand event with a few tankards of mead? It was written down because it probably happened. Rules and laws are formulated and recorded because someone did something…that someone else decided they shouldn't. And you need a way to officially address it. To punish it, or to prevent it from happening in the first place by making clear it's not allowed. But in the end, the main point is that Sorkvir has always maintained, and even said here after giving his oath, that there are no written rules. I don't mean to impugn his honor," he added hastily, seeing Sorkvir's chest expand with breath before probably interrupting. "I'm not saying he ever intended to deceive anyone. I'm simply saying he was wrong."
More silence followed. Sorkvir, Loki thought, looked more shocked than angry, and Finnulfur and Tyr, as usual, betrayed little reaction, though he thought Tyr looked more thoughtful than usual.
"Well," Finnulfur said nearly a minute later. "Neither do I say this to question your honor, Loki, but for the sake of thoroughness, I need to take a look at that document myself, and permit Sorkvir and Tyr to do so as well. Given the date Loki mentioned, the lettering must be High Revival. Are you able to read it, or would you like to request a transliteration or voice rendering?"
"I can read it, Lord Magistrate," Sorkvir said in a subdued voice.
"It's gibberish to me," Tyr put in. "I'd like a transliteration. But it's not necessary right now. If you're all in agreement on the wording, that's good enough for me."
The other three men approached, Finnulfur descending the three stairs from the magistrate's chair, and after a few minutes of silent reading, Finnulfur read the scroll aloud.
"I'm prepared to certify that this is exactly what Loki has said it is. Any objections? You are within your rights, for example, to request a meeting with the library keepers, and a certification of authenticity from a panel of document examiners."
Loki's heart sank. How long will that take? he wondered.
Thankfully, though, Sorkvir was shaking his head. "It looks genuine enough to me, and if Loki and Thor" – he gave a nod Thor's way – "say they found this in the Library of War, then I believe them."
"Very well. I do so certify. Thor, Loki, I'll need to take this as evidence."
Thor nodded and started rolling up his end, but Loki grimaced. "We promised Vituri we'd return it to him today."
"Vituri from the War Library? I know him well. I'll personally ensure that it's returned to him before nightfall."
"All right," Loki agreed reluctantly. When it was all rolled up again, he carefully put it in its little makeshift container and handed it over.
"Everyone return to your positions, please," Finnulfur announced, returning to his chair at the front of the gathering before directing his attention to Loki again. "Would you like to continue?"
"Yes, Lord Magistrate. I have just one more thing to add. And I have a few simple questions for my brother in order to do so." Loki glanced back at Thor in time to see him freeze halfway between standing and sitting. Thor didn't know about this, either.
"Loki, this is also not normal for final statements. Sorkvir, Tyr?"
The two conferred for no more than a couple of seconds. "We don't oppose it," Sorkvir said.
"In this case, I lean toward opposing it," Finnulfur said. "But you've certainly shown the value of what you have brought us this morning, Loki, so I'm willing to further relax the rules. Go ahead."
"Thank you, Lord Magistrate. Should he…"
"He can join you, but the recognition box remains yours alone."
Thor came forward, shooting looks at Loki, clearly trying to figure out what this was about.
"Thor, you have been my brother all my life, yes?"
"Yes. All of mine, too. Except the first ten months of it because…well, because you weren't born yet."
Loki smiled. "You beat me to my next question. We're ten months apart in age, yes?"
"Yes," Thor said, confused look returning.
"And we've been training together ever since we were both ten, and even for a little while before I turned ten, right?"
"Right. We've always done almost everything together."
"So you know very well what I'm good at and what I'm not, right?"
"I suppose so," Thor said with a shrug. "Yes."
"Am I as good with the staff as you are?"
Thor laughed, then fell silent as his eyes went wide. He cast a quick glance to Finnulfur, then turned back to Loki with a bit of guilt in his eyes. "No. It's your weakest weapon."
"What about swords?"
"You're much better with a sword."
"Am I as good as you?"
"Well, you…ah…"
"It's all right. I already know the answer, and I'm sure Sorkvir and Tyr do, too."
Thor glanced their way next, delaying the answer a few more seconds. "I'm a little better with the sword than you are."
"Can I lift as much weight as you can?"
Thor glanced to Finnulfur this time, and Loki knew him well enough to know exactly what he was thinking, that it would be a really good time for Finnulfur to decide that Loki shouldn't be allowed to ask any more questions during his final statement. But Finnulfur was watching and listening in silence. "No. But I'm older. I've always been older than you, so I've always been stronger than you."
"You're twenty now and I'm two days away. Things are evening out in that regard. But you're still stronger, aren't you."
"Yes," Thor said with a look of annoyance. The two of them knew these things, between each other; they didn't go announcing them in front of others. But in these circumstances, Thor had no choice but to answer, and to answer honestly.
"And if I challenged you right here, right now, to a hand-to-hand battle under the standard rules, just you and me, could I best you?"
"Loki…"
"Could I?"
"You can challenge me right after and find out."
"Thor, could I defeat you?"
"No," Thor ground out, eyes fixed solely on Loki's now.
"Why not?" Loki asked, repeating the question a moment later when Thor didn't answer.
"Because I'm better at it than you are." He swallowed and looked away.
Loki waited a second for the unexpected stab of pain to pass. He'd known that answer, too, of course, but somehow it still hurt. He still had a point to make, though. "Can you do this, Thor?"
Thor gave a huff; he was still staring holes in the floor.
"Can you?"
Thor finally looked up, and saw a small, pulsing ball of light resting in Loki's palm. Loki wore a small smile. Thor matched it. "No. Not if my life depended on it."
"Thank you," Loki said, waving his hand, the light quickly disintegrating without his concentrated effort. "Lord Magistrate," he said, turning back around to face Finnulfur, "my brother and I looked through so many books about so many Trials overnight. The best ones were when the person did something unique, something special. When he showcased something of himself that made him stand out from everyone else. As for me, what could I do with a sword that Thor hadn't already done, just ten months earlier, and better than I would be able to? I wanted to do something special, too. Something that made me stand out from everyone else. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Thor wanted it, too, when he used two swords. Magic is what I can do that Thor can't, that few others can, especially at my age. But if I had known there was a rule against it, of course I wouldn't have used magic. I would have thought of something else." He paused to take a deliberate look at Sorkvir. "I have always maintained that I can't be expected to know rules that I'm not told. And I think I'm right."
Behind him, Loki saw out of the corner of his eye, Thor was nodding.
"This concludes my final statement. Thank you, Lord Magistrate, for hearing me before Asgard."
"Very well. You may step back, Loki. Thor, you should step out of the participants' spaces." He paused for a moment, looking down at the low desk before him where the bundled scroll now rested. "Let us plan to meet here again at 2:00. At that point, I will give you my decision. Are all parties agreed?"
"Agreed," Loki, Sorkvir, and Tyr each said in rough unison.
/
/
Loki stood with Thor at the back of the chamber. Sorkvir and Tyr were conferring in hushed voices, glancing toward Loki every now and then. "You don't have to be a genius to know what they're talking about."
"What else would they be talking about anyway? I'm waiting on something from you."
"What?"
"You already forgot? A challenge!"
"Thor…I wasn't serious about that."
"I was. You choose the weapon, the place…I need to do something. Don't you? This waiting is going to drive me to madness. And we've been stuck sitting around doing nothing for days."
"We haven't been doing nothing. Well, all right, you've been doing nothing, when you had to just sit here all this time."
"I don't mean nothing, really. I mean…I mean I need to go outside and do something. Oh, but you should go check in with Mother or Father or even both. You never went home last night. They'll be worried."
Loki's eyebrows went up. He hadn't thought of that at all. He had stayed out all night a few times, but it was true that on those occasions his parents had known where he was going. "Maybe I'll just send a message. I just…I don't want to talk about this anymore right now. I know! Let's go for a ride!"
Thor thought about it and started to nod. He'd still prefer the more direct physicality of a good sparring match, Loki knew, but he'd take this, too. "I'll pick up some food from the kitchens, you order the horses and send your message. Tell them I'm with you. I don't usually head off without telling them where I'm going, either," he said with a shrug that Loki thought looked embarrassed. This was the first he was hearing that Thor still told their parents his plans.
"All right, sounds good to me," Loki agreed without further comment.
"And Loki?"
"Yes?"
"Don't ever do anything like that again, all right? Pulling me up, asking me questions like that. At least not without telling me about it first."
"I'm sorry. I didn't have time to tell you about it. And I wanted your honest reactions."
Thor narrowed his eyes. "I wouldn't have lied."
"I know you wouldn't have lied, that's not what I meant, I just…it doesn't matter. I'm sorry. I won't do it again."
"Then stop wasting time and go take care of that message," Thor said with a light punch to Loki's shoulder. "Do you want anything in particular from the kitchens?"
Loki relaxed and smiled. Sometimes he envied Thor for how quickly he got over his annoyance at something. It was also true that it was a rather helpful trait when Loki was doing the annoying. "I don't care. Just be sure to get us something to drink, too. Something sweet."
Thor broke into a grin. "Something sweet. Done."
Loki recognized that grin. "Not mead, you idiot!"
Thor laughed and headed to the kitchens.
/
/
Loki closed his eyes and let the wind toss his hair about, hands loose on Lifhilda's reins. He'd been riding this particular mare almost exclusively for several years now, and felt as comfortable with her as she seemed to with him. The sun's warmth on the back of his neck, along with the fresh air sweet with the fragrance of nearby pines, invigorated him.
He was going to win. He knew it.
/
/
"This case, I must confess, has a complexity I did not expect in the beginning. I do not refer to Loki's parentage and title, but to the question behind the petition itself. But speaking of parentage and title, I wish to commend you, Loki, for successfully avoiding making that an issue, when I know that they are an important part of who you are and it's not necessarily easy to separate yourself from them."
"Thank you, Lord Magistrate," Loki said, face studiously solemn.
"Many issues were raised which, while quite interesting, in the end are not directly relevant to the petition. Whether or not magic should be used in battle for example, even whether or not magic should be used in the battle trial, those are the concerns of philosophers, warriors, and kings, but not magistrates. The question before me is, were Loki Odinson's rights as an Asgardian citizen violated when Sorkvir and Tyr declared him to have failed, specifically because he used magic, given that he was not previously informed that he could not use magic. An important related side-issue raised in the course of this trial was whether magic is a weapon. If magic is a weapon, then Loki should have asked permission to use it, just as he asked permission to use throwing axes, and the fact that he wasn't specifically told not to use magic is irrelevant."
Loki inhaled and stopped breathing. He'd forgotten entirely about that. He'd been so convinced of the impact of the scroll that he hadn't thought about any of the other issues that had been raised, except his own motivation for using magic. He should have mentioned it in his final statement. He should have-
"I did a little research of my own during the break. We do have laws regulating the use of magic in certain circumstances, but I could find no law that classified magic in general as a weapon. I identified several lists of weapons, from varied sources, and none of them included magic. I believe also that if you asked the average Asgardian to start naming weapons, few if any would mention magic. Therefore, while magic, like many things including a table fork, the length of rope mentioned here, even ideas, in a sense, can clearly be used as a weapon, I see no reason to expect based on either law or common experience that Loki should have considered it as such and therefore asked permission on that basis."
Loki's breath came out in stutters followed by a ragged inhale that caused Sorkvir's head to turn his way. He concentrated on controlling his breathing after that.
"That leaves us with the main question. Were Loki's rights violated? Based on the new evidence Loki presented, I have concluded that they were."
Loki's grin split his face before he remembered himself and the poise he was supposed to be showing. Still he allowed himself a quick swivel to look back at Thor who was also grinning widely, hand raised shoulder-height in a fist. Their eyes met and Loki's grin came back unbidden.
"That is of course not the end of the matter. Having found that Loki's rights were violated, the next question is what to do about it. Sorkvir, Tyr, step into the recognition box. I'm confident I already know the answer, but I must ask it officially, for the record. "Did either of you know that the list of rules Loki presented, or any recorded list of rules regarding the Trials, existed?"
"No, Lord Magistrate," Tyr said first.
"Not of that type, Lord Magistrate," Sorkvir said. "None addressing the youth's actions."
"Then I cannot fault either of you for being unaware of this particular document, especially as it seems no one was aware of it before Loki and Thor found it, and I cannot fault either of for not conveying its contents to Loki. Neither can I say that you singled Loki out for any reason, deliberately leaving him in ignorance of rules which you conveyed to other youth. Therefore, I assign no punishment or penalty to either of you for this particular violation. You are henceforth released from any official need for recompense in this matter. You may step back."
The sober expression came more easily now. Loki hadn't wanted Sorkvir and Tyr to be punished really, not in the physical sense of flogging or imprisonment or anything along those lines; a citizens' rights petition process didn't even lead to such results, not directly, anyway. But Finnulfur could have at least officially reprimanded them, or made them apologize, something along those lines.
"We come next to Loki's Trials. Loki cannot bear blame for violating rules he was not aware of. Among the procedural rules of the Trials, though, those that are recorded and well known to all involved in them, those that I believe Sorkvir was alluding to earlier, is a rule that requires the battle trial to last for sixty minutes. Loki's lasted very nearly, but not quite sixty minutes. Fifty-nine minutes and twenty-six seconds, according to the official record. There is no provision in these rules for a defeat. Perhaps there should be, but that is not the question before us today. The rules simply specify that the battle must last for a full sixty minutes. If a segment of the Trials is not completed, for example, if the youth becomes ill, or despite all measures to protect him, he is seriously injured, then he must retake that segment as soon as he is able."
Loki swallowed hard, frown deepening. Why is he talking about all that? What difference does it make?
"The pronouncement during the battle trial was that Loki failed. As settlement for this petition, I conclude that legally, Loki did not fail."
A sigh of relief had Loki relaxing again. And then quickly smiling. I didn't fail! I passed! He wanted to shout it out loud, but he could wait until after he left the trial chamber for that.
"Drawing on the closest comparable precedents to the events that occurred during Loki's battle trial, then, I conclude that instead, Loki's battle trial must be judged as incomplete. Sorkvir, you will ensure that all official records of Loki's original Trials reflect this, and you will reschedule the battle trial at the earliest opportunity, in line with Loki's wishes. Tyr, you will make yourself available for it at the agreed-upon day and time. Loki…I wish you every success in the completion of your Trials, and your entry into the ranks of Asgard's warriors. If there are any questions, step forward."
No one stepped forward. Loki hadn't processed anything past incomplete. That didn't make sense. He had passed. Finnulfur had just said that he hadn't failed. He didn't start throwing up in the middle of the battle trial, or get badly cut with a sword. It wasn't incomplete. He hadn't walked away or been carried away.
"In that case, this trial is complete. I commend all three of you for your honorable conduct throughout. Should you require access to the official records of this trial, you may review them through a request to my office, but please note that given Loki's status, they will be sealed records, not placed in retrieval or otherwise made publicly available."
Finnulfur ended with some standard closing language then walked away, and Loki's eyes followed after him, lips parting with the thought that he did indeed have questions. He started to follow, but stopped short when Sorkvir stepped into his path.
"Loki. I'm sorry we had to go through this…but I suppose it's worked out well for everyone in the end. We've each gained something from the experience."
"How is that?" Loki asked, clenching his jaw tightly at the end.
"Your failure has been erased, and we now have a list of rules for the Trials that we never knew existed. We'll have to review them and decide what to do about them before the next Trials." Sorkvir waited, but Loki said nothing so he continued. "When do you want to redo your battle trial?"
"When do I… But I didn't fail."
Sorkvir's face soured. "You didn't pass, either. You still need to retake it. Tell me when, and I'll arrange everything."
"But-"
"Loki, I'd like to speak with you. Alone."
Loki looked up at Tyr, who'd come up alongside Sorkvir.
Tyr turned and pointed to one of the many conferring rooms lining the sides of the chamber, then strode off in that direction.
Loki heard steps approaching behind him; he knew they were Thor's. He couldn't bear to see Thor right now. He couldn't bear to look at Sorkvir. Tyr was no better, but Loki was used to obeying his trainers' instructions, especially from Tyr, who with one angry look could motivate you to give more when you thought you'd given everything. He took a deep breath and followed Tyr, ignoring both Sorkvir and Thor.
/
Two chapters to go! Hopefully they'll be up fairly quickly. Kind of ironically funny that the last chapter I posted I wrote about working on the old wonky laptop...which I'm back on now after the new laptop died and I don't have my desktop back yet from my move.
In Chapter 17, Loki really is still in the process of growing up...and Tyr might just be able to help him out with that a bit.