《A Servant of Justice》 I - Morning in Iratari, the City of Balance The crowd packed in shoulder to shoulder and belly to back. When they breathed, they puffed a collective cloud into the chill morning. Summer might have already begun in the city of Iratari but the air stayed cold in the square the people called The Court; Especially on days when the Monastery of Law held trial. All those who could fit crammed into the square. They awoke early and would start work late this morning because they came to witness the city¡¯s most famous spectacle: a Blood Trial; More accurately, they crammed into The Court this morning to see the judge that would preside over the trial: a monster. The plaintiffs and defendants sat on stools atop a wooden stage constructed ages ago. On the side of the accused was a round-bellied man dressed in a fashion that screamed ¡°New money!¡±. Next to him sat his wife, of matching shape and style, and their son who was a handful of summers away from manhood. The family¡¯s bright colored garb attacked one¡¯s vision and was disrespectful of tradition. Any family of pedigree knew that when you were summoned to The Court, you were attending a funeral. The plaintiffs, an older bald man and a white haired woman wore blacks and grays and were the portrait of refined stoicism. From the road leading into the square, spectators heard an anticipated but unnerving sound as if someone were beating a marching drum made of metal and stone in a haunting rhythm. All chatter hushed as if someone had thrown a heavy blanket onto the crowd. The Adjudicator was approaching. The trial was about to begin. A walking horror clad in armor rounded a final turn and stomped into The Court. The ghastly form had all the trappings of a man: two arms, two legs and a boulder of a head planted between the shoulders but the proportions were grossly exaggerated. The Adjudicator stood nearly the height of two well fed men and his limbs looked stolen from mountain bears. His armor was painted in an equal measure of black and white, the holy colors of the Monastery of Law. The armor¡¯s helm would have comfortably fit an ox and was forged in the shape of an owl¡¯s head, an animal revered by the Monastery but its stare was terrible. The eyes were grotesquely enlarged and seemed bottomless. If men looked long enough, they inevitably swore that the Adjudicator could peer into every crevice of their soul. The Monastery did not officially name their monstrosities but the people of Iratari called this one Empty Eyes. Trailing Empty Eyes was a young clerk of the Monastery cradling a box against his white robes like a newborn child. Flanking on all sides was a group of six Bailiffs lightly clad in black armor and each carrying a polearm twice their height. The notion of an Adjudicator needing an armored escort was a worn out joke among the populace involving mosquitoes guarding a wild beast. Tired or not, everyone knew that the joke was preferable to the truth: Adjudicators, like a wild beast, could be unpredictable and should the unpredictable occur, the Bailiffs were the only ones with a chance to put the animal down. The procession ended at the stage where Empty Eyes climbed without pause, forgoing the stairs. The Baliffs marched behind the platform and stood in a single rank within the ample shadow of Empty Eyes. One of the spearman nodded to the clerk and he ascended the stairs. The young monk opened the box he was carrying, presented it to Empty Eyes and the Adjudicator withdrew the Blade of Law with the slow care of ceremony. The Blade of Law was the Monastery¡¯s most hallowed talisman, a magical vestige from an age when the order tended to an entire library of supernatural tools. Its blade was a shard of obsidian as long as a man¡¯s forearm. The handle was ivory and had been remade countless times but the blade, forged using magic long banished, had been the same since the Monastery¡¯s founding which predated any surviving records. Though the size of a short sword, the blade was little larger than a dagger in Empty Eye¡¯s grip. The Adjudicator held the blade before him and moved to his place behind the defendants. The clerk produced a piece of paper from his robes and spoke. ¡°On this seventeenth day of the fifth moon in year 47 of the Abandoned Throne, the Monastery of Law has sanctioned a Trial of Blood to commence. The Monastery of Law, having been petitioned by the plaintiff Raicher Minniston, a land owning citizen of Iratari, has agreed to investigate charges of theft by taking filed against the defendant, Luxem Brachard. Is the defendant¡¯s family all present and accounted for?¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Yes, my family is here,¡± the colorfully dressed man¡¯s answer scraped out of his dry throat. ¡°Is the plaintiff¡¯s family all present and accounted for?¡± the clerk asked. ¡°Yes, all present,¡± answered the dignified, senior couple. ¡°Do all parties understand and agree to the terms set forth by the Monastery of Law? Do all families agree to accept the honorable Adjudicator¡¯s justice?¡± ¡°We do,¡± both parties overlapped. The questions were merely procedural. As they answered, the clerk presented the warrant from which he read to the gathered crowd so that all could witness the pair of thumb prints marked in dry blood that acted as signatures for both plaintiff and defendant. ¡°Your honor, you may proceed,¡± the clerk spoke to Empty Eyes and moved to the corner of the stage. Some in the crowd held the hand of a loved one, some had to hold their bladder, but all in attendance held their breath. The time for formalities and dull men reading from dull papers had passed. Now was the time for truth and magic and blood. Empty Eyes pushed Mr. Brachard¡¯s head forward, revealing the nape of his neck, and then slid the Blade of Law along the defendant¡¯s skin. The obsidian cut without resistance. With one side of the blade coated in blood, the Adjudicator then cut along the inside of his own arm with the same edge. The giant¡¯s body went rigid and still. The Bailiffs checked their grip on their weapons. Time froze. The respite lasted seconds but the crowd knew in that moment, the Adjudicator was performing his dark works and prowled around in Luxem Brachard¡¯s soul seeking the truth. The Court was still enough to hear the rats relieving themselves in the corners. The clerk¡¯s practiced eye waited until the magic of the blade had run its course. When he perceived the slightest ripple of movement in the Adjudicator¡¯s posture, he thought: ¡°There! The brute has returned!¡± ¡°Has the honorable Adjudicator reached a verdict?¡± bellowed the clerk. ¡°Not guilty,¡± Empty Eyes rumbled. The crowd gasped. Some whispered: ¡°I knew it!¡± or ¡°I can¡¯t believe it!¡± A few grinned or sulked depending on which way and how much they had wagered at their favorite tavern. Mrs. Brachard actually clapped, clacking her assortment of gaudy rings against one another. ¡°You may proceed with sentencing,¡± the clerk instructed. Empty Eyes crossed the stage and stopped behind the plaintiffs. The old couple held hands and trembled but was otherwise as poised as people could be when being flanked by a monster. With the gentle touch of a barber, the giant lifted the chin of the plaintiff and flipped the Blade of Law in his palm to use the unbloodied edge. The Adjudicator pulled the blade hard across the man¡¯s soft throat and then did the same to Mrs. Minniston. The Adjudicator worked so swiftly that by the time he removed his hand from the old woman¡¯s chin, the wound on Mr. Minniston had just started to spill into his shirt collar. The Minnistons, having spent so many quiet evenings together on their fine parlor furniture, sat side by side in The Court and bled into their funeral clothes. The black attire hid the gore well until blood streamed down their legs and pooled onto the stage. Pride held the couple upright longer than their age should have allowed but when Mrs. Minniston¡¯s hand fell limply from her husband¡¯s grasp, the rest of her body followed suit and toppled lifelessly off of her stool. Mr. Minniston accompanied his wife seconds later. Empty Eyes returned the blade to the clerk¡¯s box and led the morbid march back to the Monastery of Law. The crowd, out of equal parts fear of Empty Eyes and reverence for the Minnistons, held their place until the procession filed out of the square. Some approached the stage to pay final respects to the Minnistons, a well liked couple whose form in the face of death was what all nobility in Iratari could hope for. Some approached the stage to sneer once more at the Brachards but eventually, everyone left The Court and started with the day¡¯s business. The two bodies remained and awaited the undertaker¡¯s cart. The aged wood of The Court¡¯s stage drank thirstily from the mess left atop it and added the blood of Mr. and Mrs. Minniston to its planks¡¯ unique hue. II - Afternoon in Iratari Park When Empty Eyes left the Monastery of Law following morning services, the clerks did not interfere. They had grown accustomed to the sight. When it came to Adjudicators, abnormal behavior wasn¡¯t just likely; it was inevitable. Like all magic, using the Blade of Law had consequences. Within the abbey, speaking openly about these consequences was frowned upon and speaking about them directly to an Adjudicator was punished. But when the monks did discuss the damage that resulted from use of the blade, they referred to it as legislative exhaustion. There were no explicit rules against an Adjudicator walking around town but the first time Empty Eyes made a break for the front gates, the clerks yelped and jumped in the way. They stalled the behemoth long enough to confer with each other and agreed that if he were seen mingling among the populace, the abbey¡¯s reputation for impartiality would be damaged. After voicing these concerns to the Head Clerk, the old monk laughed like they were grandchildren squabbling at his feet. ¡°Mingle? Tell me children, when your duties force you to venture outside these walls, do you often see a line of people waiting to befriend our Adjudicators? No? If you¡¯re concerned enough to interrupt my breakfast, just cover him up to hide his friendly demeanor,¡± Head Clerk Georgio Wisen IV ribbed his pupils. If an Adjudicator wanted to go for a walk, you let him go for a walk. Head Clerk Wisen had dealt with countless more inconvenient displays of exhaustion during his long service at the abbey. The monks took the Head Clerk¡¯s suggestion literally and tailored an outfit covering Empty Eyes from head to toe. In the end, the work took five standard sized robes and made the Adjudicator look like an eight foot tall child on Spirits¡¯ Day. Whether or not the costume was a success was arguable but on the streets, nobody dared to approach Empty Eyes as he strolled through the morning market. Who knew what devilry he could perform with or without his dagger? It was a question best left unanswered and so the people of Iratari gave him and his bedsheet a wide berth and looked at their feet as he passed. Empty Eyes gave no indication he noticed and moved with purpose. Every night, Piaire Limonne went to bed and prayed that the beast would forget about his humble bakery and every morning the Adjudicator squeezed through his shop¡¯s door again. When the brute wandered in many weeks ago, Piaire assumed the monster was lost and would promptly stumble back out, before or after killing him. Instead the creature just planted himself in front of a display case and wouldn¡¯t budge. Seconds before Piaire decided to fall to his knees and confess all sins past, present and imagined, the Adjudicator pointed to a shelf. Every day since, the ritual played out the same way: Empty Eyes entered, Piaire handed over a pastry already waiting in a paper bag, Empty Eyes left and the baker swore to himself that if this bizarre routine carried on for just one more day, he¡¯d retire. Empty Eyes walked and patted at himself often to check that the treat was where he left it. After the bakery came the park and the feeling of the warm pastry pressed against his breast spurred his pace. By the time he approached the entrance to Iratari Park, he was almost jogging and failed to notice the figure chasing behind him. The Adjudicator ducked under the arch of the park gates and after waiting a safe interval, his pursuer followed on soft feet. ******** Iratari Park was one of the few places in the world that could hide someone Empty Eyes¡¯ size. Ancient Watchtower trees dominated the park and looked down on every manmade structure in the surrounding city. Some of the trunks of the largest titans required the outstretched arms of twenty men to encircle. The enormous trees made Empty Eyes feel small in a good way and he watched the canopy far above as he stomped along one of the walking trails. In the early days, he would encounter other visitors in the park but that was only a few times and they always ran away. These days the park was his alone. Even the wildlife spread word of the strange beast roaming their communities and wherever Empty Eyes went, the woods were quiet. The Adjudicator spotted the pair of rotten oak stumps that marked the trailhead to his own secret path. Minutes later, he was in an open patch of grass too small to be called a glade but too special to be missed if you went looking for it. In the middle of the clearing was a treasure that Empty Eyes had discovered all those weeks ago: the hollowed out trunk of a massive, dead Watchtower. The great Watchtower had been hewn by lightning, carved by fire and finished by generations of insects. The trunk had a crack large enough for Empty Eyes to enter and an interior that allowed him to sit with his feet sticking out when he stretched. It was the perfect hideout. Isolated, secret and his. He often daydreamed about fashioning a sign that read ¡°Fort Mine¡± and nailing it on the entrance like all the shops in town had. He knew that few things worked better than a sign when you wanted to let people know that a spot was taken. But the sign was just a fun idea. He had no means of acquiring the materials and even if he did, he couldn¡¯t read or write. Empty Eyes squatted within the walls of Fort Mine and withdrew the bakery bag from his robe. He then broke the clerks¡¯ rules and removed his hood. What nobody outside of the Monastery of Law knew was that an Adjudicator unarmored and unhooded could be a more gruesome sight than one in their full panoply. His skin was white and without hair. Tumors propagated his face and made his features bulge and difficult to distinguish. The disfigurement was by design and a premeditated effect of his strict diet of Wheatcream. The thick gruel was developed by the Monastery and dulled the mind to a point where an Adjudicator could withstand the mental trauma of activating the magic within the Blade of Law. In addition to acting as a heavy narcotic, the Wheatcream twisted and stretched the physical body until all human design was abandoned in favor of one virtue: growth. When the topic of an Adjudicator¡¯s appearance arose in a class of junior clerks, Head Clerk Wisen preached: ¡°The Law is the Law. It is not pretty; it is not man¡¯s friend nor is it his enemy. The Law must be a force apart from man and his machinations. My children, next time you wish that our honorable Adjudicators did not turn your stomach to look at, remember this: some men can never be made to respect the law, but all men can fear the law.¡± Empty Eyes cupped the cinnamon twist in both hands, brought it close to his face and inhaled. He hoarded the smell, exhaled and did it again. Some kinds of spells didn¡¯t require an ancient talisman and the magic that linked scent with memory was one. Another deep breath. Cinnamon. Singing. A soft touch. A special day. The Adjudicator first caught the scent of a fresh batch of cinnamon twists while returning from trial many weeks ago. He nearly tripped over his own feet when he smelled them. The next morning, after being bullied into wearing a big, itchy robe, he went hunting for Piarie¡¯s Bakery.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Eating the cinnamon twist was a formality, albeit a tasty formality but before Empty Eyes could, he heard someone or something trampling in the deadfall nearby. He pulled his legs in close and wondered if Fort Mine would hide him. Eating sweets wasn¡¯t a violation but he had been explicitly instructed not to remove his hood or robes for any reason. For an Adjudicator who has broken the rules, there was only one penance: a reduction in Wheatcream. Empty Eyes fumbled with his hood, not yet willing to sacrifice his cinnamon twist for the use of both hands. A branch snapped. He dropped the hood. A footstep. He made ready to run but it was too late; someone was blocking the exit of Fort Mine and they were staring right at him. ******** A girl, no more than eight summers, stood in the crack of Fort Mine and prevented any retreat. She wore a new dress already dirtied without care; her hair was in curls that framed her plump cheeks. When she spotted Empty Eyes, she didn¡¯t scream or run. In fact, she grinned and made Empty Eyes feel exposed as if she had caught him in the bath. The girl wasn¡¯t shocked to find the Adjudicator in the park; that was her plan. She had followed him before but always chickened out at the park gates. That morning she swore on her life that she¡¯d discover what the Adjudicator was up to. She just never expected to find him tucked in a broken old tree like a raccoon with cinnamon on his nose. ¡°You¡¯re not a monster,¡± the girl declared, seeing through yet another trick by grownups. Empty Eyes did not move. ¡°I knew it but everyon¡ªHey! Is that a cinnamon twist? Is that what you do at Piaire¡¯s every morning? My nanny gets strawberry bread from him sometimes,¡± the girl said and Empty Eyes clutched the pastry. Who was this girl? Why was she watching him at the bakery? Was this a test by the clerks? ¡°You¡¯re being very rude just sitting there and staring. Do you talk?¡± The girl pressed. She was unaccustomed to being ignored. Empty Eyes had never been very good at problem solving and life at the abbey was so simple. Do not break the rules. What were the rules? Whatever a clerk tells you to do is a rule. Simple. But he could not remember any rules to help him out of his predicament. He did recall something about talking to the public but that was never explained well and this girl spoke to him as if he was already in trouble. Was he? She did kind of sound like a clerk or at least someone in charge and Empty Eyes couldn¡¯t risk his Wheatcream; his head already hurt so badly at night. ¡°Are you the public?¡± Empty Eyes croaked. ¡°What a silly question. I guess maybe you¡¯re slow or something. That would explain it,¡± the girl said and matched the sluggish pace the Adjudicator used when she next spoke. ¡°I¡¯m Lily. My mom picked it out. Are you the owl or fox?¡± No response. ¡°Your head, your head! Owl head or fox head?¡± Lily raised her arms over and over to make a circle above her own head. She might have pantomimed an owl and fox if she weren¡¯t already starting to feel like a monkey. She reset to reconsider her angle of attack. Empty Eyes was reconsidering retreat. He didn¡¯t come to Fort Mine to feel dumb or confused. Maybe if he immediately confessed whatever infractions he may or may not have committed, the Head Clerk would be merciful. Now the strange girl was making big circles with her fingers around her eyes. Something clicked. ¡°My helmet?¡± Empty Eyes touched his head. ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Owl.¡± ¡°Empty Eyes! We saw you yesterday! Those poor Minnistons. I met them before, you know. Boy, that was scary. I¡¯ve seen Long Tooth too. My Dad took me last winter. Wow, wait until I tell him I met Empty Eyes! I told him you go to the park too but he didn¡¯t believe me. He did his ¡®uh huh¡¯ thing when I told him,¡± Lily accelerated back to her usual speed. ¡°I don¡¯t like that name.¡± ¡°Huh? Why not?¡± ¡°I just don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Oookay. What do you want to be called? What¡¯s your name?¡± The true answer to Lily¡¯s question had been lost long ago and was impossible to retrieve. The citizens of Iratari swore that Adjudicators siphoned the souls of those they tested but the truth wasn¡¯t far off. The Monsters of the Monastery did not collect souls, only memories. Transcribed within the mind of Empty Eyes were the complete lifetimes of every man and woman that he had judged. Lily was asking him to pull a specific drop of water from the bottom of a raging sea. ¡°You don¡¯t have a name,¡± Lily answered for him. He wanted to lie but lacked the requisite creativity. ¡°Well, that¡¯s not going to work for me, Not Empty Eyes. If we¡¯re going to be friends, I have to call you something.¡± Lily sat in the dirt of Fort Mine and ground the problem down until she had a solution that met her standards. ¡°Your name will be Knotty. Hear me out. Two summers ago, I had a bull at Daddy¡¯s ranch called Knotty. He wasn¡¯t the prettiest but boy was he strong! Daddy says he might be the strongest bull he¡¯s ever owned but Knotty let me pet him and feed him and would come running when I called him. Sometimes he¡¯d even let me ride him and it was nicer than any horse. I bet Daddy that I could fall asleep riding him but I never got the chance. Trust me. Knotty is a good name and you have to admit it fits. What do you say?¡± Lily finished her pitch. Empty Eyes said nothing. The girl might as well have been whistling for as much as he could follow. As Lily often did, she took the initiative and the absence of rejection for approval. ¡°Good. I¡¯m glad that¡¯s settled, Knotty. You should be happy, it wasn¡¯t the first name I considered¡­¡± Lily whistled on and Empty Eyes silently repeated the name to himself. Knotty. He had no idea how to judge a name but he could recall how he felt when he learned the name Empty Eyes belonged to him. Sad. Like he should apologize when someone said it. He didn¡¯t feel that way about Knotty. ¡°I like it.¡± He said, interrupting a story about a three legged cat Lily once owned. ¡°Great! That¡¯s great. But you know what they say: every good deed deserves a reward,¡± Lily held out her palm. Empty Eyes stood fast and considered fleeing for a final time. ¡°Knotty. Friends share. That¡¯s a rule.¡± Watching the Adjudicator¡¯s fat fingers split the cinnamon twist made Lily picture a man trying to pluck the wings off a fly. She laughed and took her half. She didn¡¯t even mind that it was a little smashed on one end. ¡°Thank you very much, Knotty.¡± Lily sat back, ate and admired her work. Who else in the world could claim to have named their very own Adjudicator? And as far as she was concerned, the friendship was legally binding; the contract paid in cinnamon and sugar. III - Adventure in the Summer After their snack, Empty Eyes and Lily spent the day exploring Iratari Park with the girl leading a tour of her favorite places. She bragged that she knew the park better than anyone after having spent many days hiding from her nanny. At first, Empty Eyes followed because Lily told him to but in the end, he was just as excited to see the girl¡¯s next hideaway as she was to show him. Late in the afternoon, Empty Eyes worried he had been gone too long and the clerks might soon send someone to look for him. ¡°If you think that last spot was neat, wait until you see this,¡± Lily teased. ¡°I have to go,¡± Empty Eyes replied. ¡°Oh, okay,¡± Lily eyeballed the sky to take the time. ¡°I guess I should go too. Daddy doesn¡¯t like it when I¡¯m late for dinner. See you tomorrow, Knotty!¡± Lily ran down the walking trail with her grass stained dress and messy curls flapping. The idea of playing with Lily more than once never entered the Adjudicator¡¯s mind. During all of his fun, he couldn¡¯t shake the thought that he was breaking the rules in some manner. Should he confess his activities to a clerk? If he just asked, maybe the clerks would understand and grant him permission to keep his new friend. But what if they said no? ¡°See you tomorrow, Knotty!¡± The words looped as he returned home to the Monastery of Law. By the time he pulled open the abbey gates, he had reached a verdict: he would say nothing and risk his Wheatcream ration rather than risk not seeing Lily again. The next morning, Empty Eyes departed Piaire¡¯s bakery with two cinnamon twists. The baker handed over the free pastries and wondered how long until the day came when the monster would demand his entire shop. Lily accepted the cinnamon twist and stuffed it into her mouth while she sat within Fort Mine. She wiped her sticky fingers on a clean dress and stared at the Adjudicator as he sniffed his pastry time and time again without taking a bite. Her giggling bloomed into a rolling laughter as the curious ritual unfolded. ¡°What¡¯s funny?¡± asked the giant holding a baked sweet inches under his nose. ¡°Why do you do that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡± ¡°Nuh huh! That¡¯s not how being friends works, Knotty. Friends trust each other. That¡¯s another rule.¡± Was that true? If he had known secrets were subject to such laws, he would have chosen a different word. He was learning that having a friend required learning an evolving list of rules associated with it. Empty Eyes was grateful that he had an expert in Lily to guide him. ¡°I had one before. I don¡¯t know when but I think my Mom gave it to me,¡± he held the cinnamon twist before him as if channeling the memory. ¡°You think but you don¡¯t know? Wait a minute, you have a mom? I thought those monks cooked you up in a cauldron or pulled you from the ground or something like that,¡± Lily said. The idea of Adjudicators being born to a mother and father was an incredible contradiction to the stories she grew up with. She was loading up a litany of questions and ready to fire when she realized she may have said something wrong. Even with a face like the Adjudicator¡¯s, sad still looked like sad. Lily took a moment to think about what to say; a tactic she rarely employed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to say you came from the ground. It¡¯s just what everybody says so I didn¡¯t make it up to be mean. Knotty, I¡¯m sorry. Really. I¡¯ll tell you a secret, ok? I don¡¯t remember my mom either. She died when I was born. Daddy said she died when she got sick with Wet Lung and I was just too young to remember but it¡¯s not true. My nanny Marjie told me. So see? I don¡¯t remember my mom either so we¡¯re alike, right?¡±Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Lily had given it her best shot. She pulled her knees close and pouted in the silence she caused. An elephant ant paced the perimeter of her shoe before exiting Fort Mine. A breeze blew into their hideout and Lily blew a sigh back at it. Knotty wouldn¡¯t be the first friend her mouth had cost her but he would certainly be the most unique. Maybe palling around with an Adjudicator was too much to hope for anyway. What¡¯s worse, she didn¡¯t even get a chance to boast about it to anybody. ¡°I remember the smell and feeling happy. I remember her singing but I don¡¯t remember words. Just sound. I remember a lot of stuff. Strangers¡¯ stuff. But none of it is mine. This is mine.¡± Empty Eyes said in a voice soft and deep like distant thunder and for once, Lily had nothing to say. The Adjudicator had never spoken more than a few words at a time until then. She placed a hand on the mountain that was Empty Eyes¡¯ knee and gave him her best portrait day smile. ¡°Thank you for sharing your secret, Knotty. I¡¯m happy we¡¯re friends.¡± The moment was special and lingered until Lily popped up and announced: ¡°Okay, Knotty! Time to play!¡± ******** Iratari Park was the pair¡¯s playground for the rest of the week. Empty Eyes quickly realized that Lily was almost entirely without fear. She would jump without pause from toppled logs or boulders whose height exceeded the Adjudicators¡¯. She would dig up the largest bugs she could find and throw them at Empty Eyes just to laugh until she snorted as he batted at his robes. She had a limitless trove of hiding spots and crawlspaces that she¡¯d duck into and explode from as Empty Eyes passed by. And despite the critters launched his way and the scares from Lily popping from unpredictable angles, Empty Eyes was fascinated by the girl and eager to see what she would do next. She was so different from anybody at the Monastery. The monks avoided the Adjudicators until duty required their interaction whereas Lily squealed every morning she visited Fort Mine and found her friend had returned for another day. For the first few days, Lily tried to pry information from Empty Eyes to learn more about her strange friend. She bombarded him with a hail storm of questions but her efforts never paid off. ¡°How does your sword work?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°How long have you been an Adjudicator?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°What do you do when you¡¯re done being an Adjudicator?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± After the one-hundredth ¡°I don¡¯t know¡±, Lily gave up and took over full time duty of all conversation. She accepted the responsibility without complaint. Lily never ran out of topics to discuss. She¡¯d describe her animals that lived on Daddy¡¯s ranch and their quirks. She¡¯d complain about the worthless academia her caretakers forced upon her when they could pin her down long enough to teach her anything. She fussed about all the business keeping her dad too busy to be any fun. She told Empty Eyes a story of her Dad attending and surviving two separate blood trials as a defendant before she were born. ¡°People call him ¡®The Most Honest Man in Iratari¡¯,¡± she bragged not knowing her dad¡¯s moniker was self-applied. One morning, Empty Eyes arrived to the park like usual and found a sign painted with bright red letters hammered into the side of his headquarters. When asked, Lily explained before starting the day¡¯s march: ¡°It says Fort Mine. Like you said you wanted, remember? You can thank me later. I have something really neat to show you today.¡± ******** The couple¡¯s friendship was a celebration of disparity and their adventures in Iratari Park were the highlight of Lily¡¯s summer but every adventure has an end. Empty Eyes waited at Fort Mine with two fresh cinnamon twists cooling rapidly despite his best efforts. When Lily finally arrived, she was late and moving at half speed. She took her treat and mumbled a ¡°Thanks¡± before plopping down. Empty Eyes didn¡¯t need the blade to see that something was bothering her. ¡°I have some bad news, Knotty,¡± she confessed. ¡°My dad is taking me on a business trip to Pocklin tomorrow. He just told me. I asked to stay with Marjie like before but he wouldn¡¯t budge. I¡¯m not even supposed to be here but I ran out to tell you.¡± ¡°Are you coming back?¡± ¡°Of course! Sorry, Knotty. I tried. But hey! We can still play today, right? I¡¯m already in trouble so we might as well have some fun.¡± And they did but the day moved too quickly and before either of them wanted, Lily was waving and promising to ruin her dad¡¯s trip if it dragged on for too long. ¡°See you soon, Knotty!¡± she cried. ¡®Knotty¡¯ thought it didn¡¯t sound nearly as nice as ¡°See you tomorrow!¡± IV - Night at the Monastery of Law Head Clerk Georgio Wisen IV stood outside the Monastery gate and engaged with a gentleman dressed in exotic attire. The man¡¯s hair was dark, oiled and pulled back in the southern fashion and whenever he spoke, he pointed at the old monk as if adding punctuation to his words. ¡°Yes, yes. Everything is on schedule as promised. As for your part?¡± the Head Clerk soothed the foreigner. ¡°After,¡± the southerner pointed. At the same moment, Empty Eyes¡¯ hooded form stepped into sight and plodded towards the abbey. The southerner spotted the giant and braced his nerves to deny the old monk the pleasure of a reaction. Head Clerk Wisen had seen too many men feign bravery in front of his Adjudicators to be fooled. ¡°Here comes one of our honorable Adjudicators now. Mr. Lazzet, let me introduce you,¡± the Head Clerk smiled and waved Empty Eyes over. The Adjudicator dwarfed the southerner and observed the man through the slit in his hood. To Inrich Lazzet¡¯s credit, he met the monster¡¯s pale gaze but abstained from speaking, not trusting his voice. ¡°You may go inside, child,¡± the old monk instructed. When alone again, the Head Clerk turned his attention back to Lazzet. ¡°Your gracious donation will arrive before the trial,¡± Georgio Wisen IV said flatly. Inrich Lazzet grunted his agreement and withdrew from the shadow of the abbey. ******** The Monastery of Law kept two rooms deep beneath the ground to board their Adjudicators. The stone walls and flooring were cold year round. The bedrooms were isolated from the rest of the brotherhood and by order of the clerks, the Adjudicators were not permitted to interact with each other. Empty Eyes did not mind. He found asylum in the quietude especially on nights when his head pained him. The Adjudicator lay on his oversized cot and massaged his eyes to bring his headache some relief. The clerk delivering his nightly Wheatcream was overdue. Before his migraines became never ending, Empty Eyes could lie back at night and practically live in his favorite memory. But with every trial, his headaches swelled and his treasure was pushed further below the surface as he absorbed the mind of another defendant. ¡°How long before I can¡¯t find it again?¡± Empty Eyes often asked but tonight he was occupied with a new question: ¡°When will my friend be back?¡± The bedroom door opened and Head Clerk Wisen surprised Empty Eyes. The old monk struggled with a pail of Wheatcream whose size must have been designed for livestock. ¡°Forgive the tardiness, child,¡± the Head Clerk dropped the bucket just past the threshold. ¡°I asked for the honor of delivering your meal but I underestimated how formidable stairs can be after a day¡¯s work.¡± Empty Eyes retrieved the Wheatcream and placed it on a corner table. The Adjudicator raised the wick in his bedroom lamp to accommodate the Head Clerk¡¯s age. ¡°Thank you, child,¡± the old monk sat on Empty Eyes¡¯ cot and patted the space next to him. ¡°It is a rare treat to visit with you personally and unfortunate that I cannot find the time between my duties more often,¡± the old monk flexed and rubbed his gnarled hands together. ¡°But I did not come just to feed you. I wished that we might talk for a spell.¡± Empty Eyes might have broken a sweat if his room wasn¡¯t so cold. In hindsight, the idea that his mischief in the park would go unnoticed seemed ridiculous. While he had hoped the Head Clerk wouldn¡¯t become involved, Empty Eyes couldn¡¯t help but feel a measure of relief. Living with the guilt felt like he had swallowed a stone. ¡°Tomorrow, you will serve a warrant. I will be in attendance as well. I know that you are not on duty, having just so recently stood in judgment, but performing this service for me will greatly benefit our humble order and in turn, benefit The Law,¡± the Head Clerk explained. Using the Blade of Law without an adequate break was a risk traditionally avoided but Georgio Wisen was willing to gamble if victory meant securing Inrich Lazzet¡¯s patronage. The other Adjudicator, the one the public called Long Tooth, was too far along the stages of exhaustion to be trusted for this case. If Long Tooth was due for retirement, the Head Clerk wasn¡¯t going to let it play out on stage and result in a mistrial. Lazzet had made it clear that he required a verdict if Wisen wanted his ambitions fully funded. ¡°Do you understand, my child?¡± ¡°Yes, father,¡± Empty Eyes said. What he understood was that he dodged trouble for the moment and with Lily vacationing, he might be in the clear permanently. While that was good news, the prospect of trial rekindled another concern. If the spell of the blade drowned his memory of cinnamon and song for good, would he ever know anything about himself again? And if he didn¡¯t remember anything about himself, how could he say with any certainty who he was? What he was? The questions snowballed and were too complex for Empty Eyes to articulate but simple enough to make him feel as if he were staring into a boundless chasm; He knew that once he fell in, the descent would be unending. ¡°I had the kitchen cook you up a little extra tonight,¡± the Head Clerk nodded at Empty Eyes¡¯ pail. ¡°It should help with your sleep. Has your head been hurting you much? No? Good. Let your brothers know if you require anything. I will see you in the morning, child,¡± the old monk stood. ¡°Father?¡± ¡°Yes, child?¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t,--¡± Empty Eyes tripped through the words. ¡°If I can¡¯t remember myself, how will I know who I am?¡± Head Clerk Wisen chuckled to mask his alarm. All Adjudicators manifested similar thoughts in the course of their career but these particular symptoms of exhaustion were premature for Empty Eyes. Wisen made a note to follow up with the clerks but for now, he soothed Empty Eyes with the answer he always started with in the face of existential uncertainty: ¡°You are and you will always be a servant of justice and in this world, there is no greater duty. Do you hear me, child?¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°Yes, father.¡± ¡°Good night, child,¡± the old monk pulled the door shut as he exited. Unlike Mr. Lazzet and others, the Head Clerk was adept at hiding his discomfort around the Adjudicators. He could affix his grandfatherly smile and tamp down his dread for great lengths of time if necessary. Still, he was glad that the giants were kept in the basement. ******** The armor Empty Eyes wore required the coordination of three clerks to equip and left the Adjudicator dripping with perspiration before taking a step outside the Monastery. After marching across town, the Adjudicator was made to wait in the yard of the address on the warrant carried by the Head Clerk. The wind penetrated his armor and felt like hornets against his wet linens. Head Clerk Georgio Wisen IV enjoyed the breeze and felt young again in his dress white vestments as he awaited the arrival of the homeowner. The monk bent to smell the flower beds which bordered the walkway on which they stood and encompassed the whole of the property. ¡°What a wonderful morning,¡± Head Clerk Wisen thought. ¡°And the best part is still around the bend.¡± A single armed bailiff escorted a clerk and Adjudicator when the Monastery of Law served an official warrant; Why Head Clerk Wisen took interest in this particular case was the gossip of the day at the abbey. The strange trio waited before a single story cottage of humble design. The house¡¯s architecture was identical to every home in the community. The design did not need to impress; if you owned a cottage in the oldest neighborhood in Iratari, which was itself the oldest city on the continent, then you undoubtedly owned a collection of houses of grander design wherever you wished. What set this particular house apart from its neighbors was the most opulent flower garden Head Clerk Wisen had ever seen. Blooms fought for breathing room and created a carpet of color and atmosphere. The Head Clerk recognized blossoms that must have been imported only to live out their short glory amongst new friends before withering and being replaced. A pair of gardeners was in the process of performing such a transplant when Wisen approached and the sight of Empty Eyes sent the workers fleeing like rabbits back into the house. ¡°Get off of my property!¡± a man yelled from the front door. He was huffing but slowed when he saw the Adjudicator. The homeowner was short with a trimmed dark beard. His belly extended past his belt buckle but Taumus Lahmer could not be called soft. His round frame was built from dense, unyielding muscle and his strength of mind made him peerless amongst traders. ¡°Are you Mr. Taumus Lahmer born from Thio and Jannit Lahmer of Iratari?¡± the Head Clerk asked. By this time, the monk knew a contingent of gossip mongers would be watching from behind curtained windows. Everyone knew whose house the Monastery was serving. ¡°Don¡¯t waste my time, Wisen. Take your dog and leave.¡± ¡°I apologize. The question is a legal formality,¡± Head Clerk Wisen said. ¡°We¡¯ll get right to it then. Bear with me; I have not done this in quite some time.¡± The Head Clerk produced a rolled parchment from his robe and held it before Mr. Lahmer so that the document¡¯s unmolested seal could be verified. Mr. Lahmer¡¯s face flooded with realization and the Head Clerk drank his fill before cracking the wax seal and reading: ¡°Taumus Lahmer, you are summoned to appear in the Lawful Square of Iratari on the time and date set forth below to defend the honor of your person and your family in a trial sanctioned by the Monastery of Law. The petition set forth by the plaintiff, Mr. Inrich Lazzet, has been-¡° ¡°What nonsense is this?¡± Mr. Lahmer interjected. ¡°That southern thief cannot call me to a Blood Trial!¡± ¡°It is my understanding that the gentleman has purchased the available property just down the street. So Mr. Lazzet is, in fact, a landowning citizen and legally entitled to petition the monastery for trial. You know the house? I believe a couple named Minniston recently lived there,¡± Head Clerk Wisen explained as if teaching a child why they must take their medicine. ¡°You monks would make better grave robbers than judges,¡± Lahmer sneered. ¡°The petition set forth by the plaintiff, Mr. Inrich Lazzet, has been reviewed and approved for a charge of Intentional Murder against Mr. Taumus Lahmer. Acceptance of this legal challenge commits the defendant to appear with all living spouses and children of household age before an assigned Adjudicator who shall collect and examine all relevant evidence and render a true verdict. Should you refuse compliance, the Monastery of Law shall hold you in contempt and all assets and property within city limits owned by Mr. Taumus Lahmer shall be forfeit to the guardianship of the Monastery of Law. Furthermore, the Lahmer family shall be escorted by municipal guard to the city gates and denied all future entry to Iratari, the City of Balance and Cradle of Justice.¡± ¡°Fewer than two weeks to kill the Minnistons, sell their home then receive and approve a petition for a Blood Trial from the new owner. The gears of the law spin swiftly when greased. Am I right, Georgio?¡± ¡°The Law is The Law and the same for every man,¡± the Head Clerk produced a knife no larger than a toothpick. ¡°But I admit: rumors of Taumus Lahmer being a flight risk might have prodded the speed of the gears a bit. I was not greatly worried. We both know running has never been your style. Am I right, Taumus?¡± The sparring of wits went unappreciated by Empty Eyes. An Adjudicator and their accompanying bailiff were included for ceremony but there was nothing for Empty Eyes to do short of sweating into his boots. He took the opportunity to set his own wits to work: how would he protect his mind against the magic or was he doomed to lose the last piece of himself forever? He had been pounding away at the dilemma ever since the Head Clerk visited his room but the issue felt impossible to grasp; Every time he swiped at it, it flew through his fingers and swirled away like a mote of dust. Georgio Wisen IV offered the small blade to Taumus Lahmer. ¡°Exile or honor. What shall it be?¡± ¡°Third time is the charm. Isn¡¯t that the saying, Georgio?¡± Lahmer snatched the ornamental knife, sliced into his thumb and threw the blade into the flowers. The defendant pushed his thumb against the parchment next to the calligraphy of his name. ¡°Good luck to you and your abbey of thieves, Little Georgey Wisen from Raindrain Row. But no matter how many times you try, what¡¯s mine will stay mine.¡± ¡°I do not need luck, Taumus. I have The Law,¡± the Head Clerk smiled and his Adjudicator towered behind him. ¡°You¡¯ll want to recruit all the help you can if you¡¯re trying to topple The Most Honest Man in Iratari,¡± Lahmer shouted for all those watching from safe distances. Lahmer¡¯s boast tugged at Empty Eyes like a whispered name in a sleeping ear. He knew he had heard the phrase before but he didn¡¯t know why it sent a shock through his spine. ¡°Daddy! Are we going?¡± a voice hollered from inside the cottage; A child¡¯s voice. ¡°Stay inside, baby,¡± Lahmer shouted back. The girl ran into view. She had a head full of curls that framed a set of chubby cheeks and her dress was uncharacteristically clean. ¡°Knotty! What are you doing here? Are you coming with us?¡± Lily¡¯s face lit up. ¡°Stay inside!¡± Lahmer shielded his daughter from the monks¡¯ pet monster, ignored her subsequent tantrum and shouted for the child¡¯s nanny. ¡°Now get off my property,¡± he spat when Lily was secured and slammed the door. ¡°Strange child,¡± the Head Clerk chuckled and retrieved his knife along with a fistful of flowers. Empty Eyes¡¯ stomach somersaulted all the way back to the abbey. He spent the rest of the day reconstructing the event in his imagination; Every time hoping to find a crack or loose thread to tug on and cause the scene to unspool and be revealed as the bad dream he wished it to be. By the time Empty Eyes chugged his Wheatcream and laid in bed that evening, he had conceded that the nightmare was indeed real. The next morning, he would be required to judge whether or not to kill his only friend. V - A Beautiful Day in the Woods (The End) The attendance for Taumus Lahmer¡¯s Blood Trial filled The Court and snaked down the street all the way to the Monastery of Law. Those too late to The Court settled for watching the parade of the monks and their monster. Nobody had ever heard of someone surviving three Blood Trials and everybody in the city knew the name Lahmer. The trial was going to be the event of the year. Empty Eyes spent the previous night in his room, agonizing over his moral crisis. The Law was The Law and it only allowed one sentence. If Lily¡¯s father was guilty, he would be expected to cut the throat of his only friend in front of the entire city. He had killed children before. He had killed entire families before but he had never killed a friend. The Adjudicator made no progress and crashed onto his bed stuck on a singular thought: ¡°Father Wisen called me a ¡®Servant of Justice¡¯ but I think only a monster could kill their friend. What am I going to do?¡± ¡°Empty Eyes again!¡± the crowd noted with surprise as the gates of the Monastery opened and spewed forth the armored devil. Empty Eyes¡¯ march to the square felt like being pushed closer and closer to the edge of a cliff. The bailiffs¡¯ spears rattled as the procession moved and reminded him that leaping off the precipice was his only option. The Head Clerk had insisted on seeing the case through and carried the Blade of Law in its ornamental case between Empty Eyes and the detachment of bailiffs. All of Iratari showed up to line the path to The Court and yet the city was quiet enough to hear the wind flapping in shop awnings and whistling through alleyways. Empty Eyes¡¯ head was pounding. The voices within had banded together and were banging on the walls of his skull. His teachings at the abbey were entirely secular and so Empty Eyes knew no god but as he walked into The Court, he prayed to anyone who would listen. ¡°Let him be not guilty. Please. I don¡¯t want to be a monster.¡± No answer came from within or above and so he pushed forward, onto the stage where a little girl and her dad awaited his judgment. ******** Inrich Lazzet wore a tight fitting, black shirt without buttons and sat alone. Lahmer had dressed himself and his daughter in colors more suitable for Summer Festival. The impropriety of fashion meant to declare: this farce will not be my funeral. The Adjudicator ascended the stage and Lily looked at him with tearful eyes threatening to spill over at any moment. Until then, he would have sworn that she was incapable of fear. She had never shown him anything other than unending exuberance. For her part, Lily would have sworn that Empty Eyes was incapable of being the horror she was taught about his kind; But as she watched death approach disguised as her friend from the park, she considered for the first time that maybe she didn¡¯t know everything about the world after all. The bailiffs flanked Empty Eyes and pointed their weapons at the stage. Head Clerk Wisen opened the box, careful not to touch the talisman within, and presented the blade to his Adjudicator who removed it and stood behind Taumus Lahmer. Georgio Wisen IV smiled at Lahmer then faced the crowd and remembered how good an audience felt. ¡°I should do this more often,¡± he promised before reading from the warrant in his hands. ¡°On this twenty-seventh day of the fifth moon in year 47 of the Abandoned Throne, the Monastery of Law has sanctioned a Trial of Blood to commence. The Monastery of Law, having been petitioned by the plaintiff Inrich Lazzet, a land owning citizen of Iratari,¡± the Head Clerk ignored Lahmer when he interrupted with a loud Ha!, ¡°has agreed to investigate charges of Intentional Murder filed against the defendant, Taumus Lahmer. Is the defendant¡¯s family all present and accounted for?¡± ¡°Get on with this sham!¡± Lahmer answered. ¡°Is the plaintiff¡¯s family all present and accounted for?¡± ¡°I am here,¡± Lazzet answered. ¡°Do all parties understand and agree to the terms set forth by the Monastery of Law? Do all families agree to accept the honorable Adjudicator¡¯s justice?¡± ¡°I do,¡± said Lazzet Lahmer was busy whispering to Lily, making promises of fun and sweets to come as soon as he settled this nasty business. The Head Clerk coughed to say ¡°Well?¡± and Lahmer¡¯s temper overpowered his sense. ¡°Yes, I agree!¡± Lahmer bellowed. ¡°I agree to show your crooked order of hypocrites and my fellow citizens once again that try as you might, you will never make a liar out of the Most Honest¡ª¡° Lahmer did not finish. For a foolish moment, the trader forgot about the monster to his rear and tried to approach Head Clerk Wisen during his tirade. The instant the man¡¯s buttocks lifted from his stool, Empty Eyes forced the defendant back onto his seat with quickness shocking for a creature his size. In Lahmer¡¯s world, a great Watchtower tree had come crashing down on his shoulder. He made a noise like a man caught unaware with a gut punch as his collarbone shifted unnaturally. Lily screamed. Head Clerk Wisen watched the glorious moment unfold and basked in his works. ¡°My child, you may proceed,¡± the Head Clerk said with affection. The Adjudicator pulled down on the collar of Lahmer¡¯s shirt, jostling his freshly broken clavicle. Lahmer saw spots. The Adjudicator picked a target below two scars and drew the Blade of Law across the defendant¡¯s flesh. Empty Eyes took a trembling breath and muttered to himself before he sliced into his own arm. The Head Clerk was the only soul in attendance to notice his Adjudicator¡¯s hesitation. If he had known that during that pause, Empty Eyes had begged any available deity one final time for help, the old monk might have averted the disaster that would be talked about in Iratari for years to come. ******** The magic burned through Empty Eyes¡¯ bloodstream until it slammed into his brain. The impact of absorbing an entire lifetime of thoughts and emotions in an instant felt like having your head crushed beneath a rockslide. Any normal person would break immediately; All Adjudicators broke eventually. Empty Eyes held on and endured until the onslaught subsided and the transcription of every memory Taumus Lahmer possessed was complete. Sifting through memories to determine innocence could be a challenging task for Adjudicators. Proving the absence of a crime required casting a wider net to confirm that the infraction never occurred. However, when the defendant was guilty, the task was much simpler. The defendant¡¯s mind would go through such efforts to hide the event in question that the memory shone like a town of lighthouses. Lahmer was no different. His attempts to conceal the truth practically paved a road in his thoughts that led Empty Eyes to the fatal evidence. The magic of the blade allowed Empty Eyes to dive into any moment of Lahmer¡¯s life and observe through his eyes. The scene of the crime in question was a crisp night in the recent spring. Taumus Lahmer sat mounted on his favorite mare and watched the ambush that he orchestrated on Lazzet¡¯s trade caravan. His hired thugs were volatile after a supper of beer. A wagon driver fought back. Men shouted. The driver fell from his seat and lay in the road. Lahmer shouted back. Frustration turned to anger and then panic when a mercenary pushed his knife into the prostrate driver. ¡°You fools! Now we¡¯ll have to kill them all!¡± Lahmer roared before pulling a short sword and charging into the chaos. ¡°Leave no witnesses!¡± Empty Eyes had seen all he needed. Guilty. The moment the magic faded and he declared Lily¡¯s father guilty, he knew what had to happen next. He was out of time and whatever gods existed had not been moved by his pleas. His training had rigidly taught him to ignore the man and study only the crime, but he was out of ideas and unready to sentence his friend to die. The Adjudicator dove deeper into Lahmer¡¯s mind, desperate for a solution. Everywhere Empty Eyes peered, in every corner, nook and wrinkle of Lahmer¡¯s mind, he found Lily. The trader¡¯s daughter shone more brightly than any other subject. Empty Eyes was drawn like moth to the brilliance of the man¡¯s heaviest memories: A difficult birth in a room filled with flowers. Hard truths spoken and promises whispered between old lovers and new parents. Sleepless nights filled with dread. Holding a baby burning and howling with fever. Mornings of laughter watching his toddler outrun her caretakers. Her curls bouncing like her mother¡¯s. Diving in and out of Lahmer¡¯s life like an aimless explorer wasn¡¯t helping with Empty Eyes¡¯ confliction. If anything, each new moment he observed felt like he were trying to smother a blaze with a new bucket of coals. The defendant was irrefutably guilty of murder and yet no thought or decision Lahmer had ever made was black or white; every scene was painted in an infinite palette of gray.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Was this why the clerks taught to ignore the man and find only the crime?¡± Empty Eyes thought. ¡°Was everyone I have judged like this?¡± Every question brought two more and before long, Empty Eyes was drowning in contradictions. What¡¯s worse, he felt the sizzle of the blade¡¯s magic fading and knew what The Law required of him when he came out of the spell¡¯s trance. ¡°Focus!¡± he screamed but he could not. Untangling the moral knots within Lahmer was impossible and Empty Eyes felt that if he continued to linger, he would break; but out of that graphic realization, an idea was born. A flicker of hope. The plan frightened him and felt dubious but what time was left to formulate another? Besides, the citizens of Iratari came to The Court to see magic and blood and whether or not his strategy worked, he would deliver what they desired. ******** Someone spoke but to Empty Eyes, the voice sounded like it was mumbling from the bottom of a deep lake. The speaker shouted the sentence again and the lake drained a little more with each repetition. ¡°Honorable Adjudicator! Have you reached a verdict?¡± Head Clerk Wisen shouted at Empty Eyes; His tone betrayed his anxiety. The magic had never taken this long to reveal the truth. ¡°Adjudicator! How do you find the defendant, Taumus Lahmer? Is this man indeed guilty of murder?¡± he pushed his vocal chords to their limit. The monster¡¯s eyes fluttered open but the look he gave baffled the old monk; Wisen could swear he saw tears. The sound started as a foreboding thrum felt in the chest before heard. Empty Eyes fed the growl like a fire, shoving in all the fear and hate Iratari had gifted him. All of his frustration from searching for an identity only to slowly lose pieces of himself to the blade. All of his indignation for the cruel spin of fate which put him on stage to traumatize the only friend he would ever know. The fire raged and when unleashed, his roar shook the stage. Onlookers held out trembling hands to shield themselves. Those still in control of their bodies clawed through the crowd to flee. The rest were rooted to the cobblestone, stupefied with despair. Head Clerk Georgio Wisen¡¯s ambitions of expansion and idolization blew away like dry leaves. ¡°This cannot be,¡± he thought. Empty Eyes gathered an enormous breath and screamed again. This time, he reached his arms high above his head and shook like an enraged mountain bear. The Blade of Law glinted in his grip and Head Clerk Wisen¡¯s instinct defeated his stupor. ¡°It is exhausted! Save the blade!¡± he commanded the contingent of bailiffs behind the stage. ¡°It is exhausted! Put it down! Save the blade!¡± Spears stabbed at Empty Eyes from all flanks; most of the thrusts slid off of his armor but others found the designed vulnerabilities and punched into the dense flesh beneath. Empty Eyes cried out and thrashed at the bailiffs¡¯ weapons. Their spears cracked and the pieces flew across The Court. During the scuffle, Lily¡¯s father received a rough knock on the head and laid asleep on the stage while Lily tried to shake him back to consciousness. By the time Empty Eyes had broken all of the spears, blood was pooling in his boots and squished between his toes. His armor had never felt heavier and he sagged beneath the weight. ¡°We had a deal, Wisen! You swore to me!¡± Lazzet shouted at the Head Clerk and stamped his feet, adding to the chaos on stage. ¡°Your monster was to kill them!¡± The old monk had no patience for the grown man¡¯s tantrum and ignored Lazzet. The blade, and therefore the future of his order, was still held by his exhausted Adjudicator. Lazzet moved next to the Head Clerk and yelled again, his mouth pressed close to the old monk¡¯s ear. Wisen had had enough. ¡°Quiet, you petulant child! There are more important things at stake.¡± ¡°I paid for a verdict! I paid for Lahmer and his brat to die!¡± Lazzet fumed. ¡°There is no verdict! It is a mistrial! Now get off of my stage!¡± Head Clerk Wisen closed the case. Never had a man chastised the southerner in such a manner. Lazzet had also never conceded a dispute over money. It was bad business but Head Clerk Wisen knew little of business and even less about Inrich Lazzet. The trader elected to teach the old monk a little about both. He seized the Head Clerk by the shoulders and shoved the old man across the stage towards his flailing pet. Empty Eyes whirled around when he felt someone collide with his back, prepared to meet a bailiff delivering the final strike. What he found instead was a frail old man whose face was drained of color. Across Wisen¡¯s sleeve was a cut in the fabric revealing a fresh incision in his bony arm. The Head Clerk and Empty Eyes looked to the Blade of Law in the Adjudicator¡¯s hand, its edge still coated with blood. The old monk felt an excruciating burning sensation traveling up his arm as the magic sped through his body. ¡°M-m-monst¡ª¡° the Head Clerk stuttered just before the spell crashed into his brain. The trauma caused by absorbing an Adjudicator¡¯s mind was catastrophic and total. Wisen¡¯s eyes bulged like ripe lemons as the force of the magic jellied his brain. He fell to the stage like a scarecrow knocked off his stake. Head Clerk Georigo Wisen IV died at the feet of his pet, blood oozing from his ears and adding its own unique hue to the thirsty planks of The Court. The distraction worked better than intended and Lazzet charged Lahmer and his daughter with a broken spearhead in hand. Empty Eyes saw the rush and stepped in front of the Lahmers as a shield. Lazzet¡¯s attack screeched off the Empty Eyes¡¯ armor like nails on glass and his momentum sent him careening towards the edge of the stage. But the southerner regained his footing and whipped around for a second attempt. Lazzet had been born into poverty and clawed his way to become the second largest trader in all of Western Cartia. Whether the foe was a stubborn landowner or a demon spawn excavated from the ground, Inrich Lazzet would not leave without getting what he paid for. He shifted his weight onto the balls of his feet and rushed again. In his condition, Empty Eyes knew that any defense was unlikely to last and he could not simply murder the man trying to hurt Lily. The Law was still The Law. The Adjudicator swatted Lazzet¡¯s strike aside as gently as he could manage but the parry sent the trader tumbling off the stage. Lazzet hit the cobblestone of The Court and the air left his body. He wheezed and clutched at his ribs but the man possessed the tenacity of a starving predator. He spit blood and pushed himself onto his knees. Empty Eyes was out of ideas and running out of time as well. It was obvious that the crazy man would not give up until Lily and her father were dead. The Adjudicator scooped the girl up with both arms, careful not to pinch or scrap her with his armor and darted off the stage. Lily was pale and silent with shock and did not react. Empty Eyes ran out of The Court as smoothly as his size and injuries would allow. Lily was so still during their escape he wondered if she had fallen asleep. The streets of Iratari were eerily bereft of activity. News of the Monastery¡¯s creature running unleashed had already reached every corner of the city and nobody wanted to be the first to peek out their door to check if the problem had been resolved. Empty Eyes huffed and pushed on. His feet felt like anvils and each step left a bright spatter of blood. He had to get his friend to safety and he only knew one place in the world to find it. ******** The bark walls of Fort Mine wrapped around Empty Eyes and Lily and held them tightly. Empty Eyes used his last scrap of strength to squat into the tree trunk without dropping his friend. Once inside, the Adjudicator flung his helmet from the fort and sucked in a deep breath that ended in a fit of wet coughing. ¡°Knotty? Are you ok?¡± Lily¡¯s voice was as weak as morning ice on a puddle. ¡°I¡¯m hurt bad,¡± Knotty confessed. ¡°I mean up here,¡± she pointed to his head. Empty Eyes labored for air. When retiring an Adjudicator on stage, the bailiffs were trained to target the lungs. ¡°I¡¯m ok. I had to pretend. It was the only way,¡± Empty Eyes rasped when able to speak. Lily deliberated for an unusually long time; Most of her decisions were impulsive and supremely confident but this time, she carefully considered the evidence available before delivering her verdict. ¡°I trust you, Knotty.¡± The girl inspected her dress with a frown. Large swaths of what were once a brilliant pink were now soiled with red. She couldn¡¯t help but think ¡°Daddy is going to be furious!¡± ¡°Knotty! My dad! Is he ok?¡± ¡°I think so.¡± ¡°Now what?¡± Empty Eyes did not answer. He did not need to. Lily had spent enough time at her father¡¯s ranch to know death. If you stuck a hog just right, it would bleed. If it bled enough, it would die and Lily had never seen as much blood as what was pouring into the dirt beneath Empty Eyes. She thought that it looked as if the soil was sucking him dry. Soft streams of summer sun poured through the cracks in the canopy of the Watchtower trees and decorated the forest with curtains of light. The breeze outside Fort Mine felt like cool sheets on a soft bed. Even the birds, normally removed a prudent distance, gathered and filled the friends¡¯ secret glade with music. Lily thought it cruel for such a beautiful day to be wasted with such horrible business. She wasn¡¯t going to stand for it. She walked outside Fort Mine and sang to the birds. No words, just sound. The birds flew closer and tweeted back in harmony. ¡°Listen, Knotty! They like it!¡± Lily exclaimed and resumed her tune. ¡°She¡¯s going to be fine,¡± Empty Eyes reassured himself. He could already see signs of the fearless girl that once ambushed a monster in the woods to demand half of his snack. For the first time in days, Empty Eyes didn¡¯t feel yoked with dread of tomorrow. If he were to die as a murderous curiosity in the eyes of Iratari, at least the girl singing outside his hideout would remember him as a friend that tried his best to help. Lily had stopped singing but Empty Eyes did not notice. She was jumping with excitement and pointing but he couldn¡¯t make out the words. His eyelids were so heavy and he was certain he smelled cinnamon. And just then, someone else was singing to him. The lyrics blurred together but the voice was full of love. The song stopped and the woman spoke to him. She cupped his face in her warm hands and called him by name; Not something horrible whispered behind his back but by the name she had given him. His real name. He bit into his cinnamon twist and smiled. In that moment, that moment that belonged only to him, he wasn¡¯t Knotty or the Monster of the Monastery or even an honorable servant of justice; he was his mother¡¯s son and that was enough.