18 YEARS AGO; YEAR OF THE CULLING
1436 Words
HELENA
"By the power vested me in me as Executioner of the council, I hereby call this gathering to order."
The noise in the room died down almost instantaneously.
She felt someone step firmly across her toes as they hurried to their seat.
But all Helena did was pull her hood more firmly across her head and hope that her position in the midst was the crowd would protect her.
The voice continues, deep and echoing against the vaulted dome celling high above their heads.
The man to whom it belongs stands far below, in the centre of the space.
The Dome of Congregation was a monumental construction whose walls were made of stone and whose capped ceiling was made entirely of the rare Xesperian blue emerald.
A precious, translucent gem the same clouded shade as a stormy sea beneath a midnight sky.
Seats and steps, carved entirely out of slate and granite and worn smooth by years of use, run in concentric circles around the large space to finally descend towards the small, round center space that held the seats of The council.
No one knew who built The Dome of congregation.
But every Xesperian alive remembers it being there since before they were born.
Serving both as judgment room and as where the Council held court to listen to the pleas of their people.
And normally the swirling aliveness of the Xesperian blue above their heads would have comforted Helena.
Maybe because they reminded her of the waves that fueled her essence.
But now, surrounded by the smooth walls, and all the people who would now bear witness to the results of the terrible mistake she had made.
The lies she had foolishly believed and would now pay dearly for...
All she can feel is a crushing sadness that wraps itself around her heart and her lungs and refuses to let go.
The man is moving again.
He is dressed in a long, ash colored cloak that does little to hide the bulk of muscles on his large frame.
As Executioner of the council, he was the most highly ranked member.
He moves with the sure footedness of one used to commanding power and as he speaks, his deep set eyes roam across the crowd, as if searching to bore into their very souls.
Helena sinks further into her seat.
"You all know why we are gathered here today. Since time immemorial, we as a people have lived in peace and harmony. But now we face a threat far worse than anything we have seen since The Great War. A threat that quite unfortunately, appears to be coming from amongst us."
Helena knows she isn’t supposed to be here, vulnerable and in a position where everything she had worked for could be destroyed in one instant.
Sharing the same room with the one behind her sorrow, the one from which she had taken great pain to hide, the one who even now held in their hands the power to take away the ones she loved.
Coming here had been a bad idea but she had to see for herself.
Besides, everyone in Xesperia was supposed to be present; the members of every family, from every division, sitting according to their respective clans.
Present and accounted for.
Every division except one.
Helena can feel her racing with each word that comes from the executioner's mouth .
“In the best interest of all of Xesperia, this threat must be dealt with swiftly, least they destroy us all. And while we do not glory in what is no doubt a most distressing decision, the council, after a long period of careful and painstaking discussions and bearing the power to execute the will of their clans, will now cast their votes”
The silence was a tangible oppressive thing she could taste at the back of her throat.
She forced herself to look down from her seat to the council who sat below in the center around a gleaming obsidian table.
Wearing the sigils of their people and staring quietly are the faces and identities of the most powerful people in Xesperian.
The council was made up of five people, each one a representative of the five clans of Xesperia.
The representative of the clan of Light bearers and distinguished by his pure white shoulder length hair as from the division of Auraes gets up first.
His robe is almost as brilliant as the sun that provided the power for his clan’s essence and when he speaks, Helena can feel the vibrations of his smooth, gravelly voice in her chest.
“The clan of the Light bearers vote to support."
Murmurs break out across the room but she is not surprised.
She holds her breath even as the next member stood up.
Smallish and with the inconspicuousness of the Dreamweavers division, the representative of the Bloods Clan spoke next.
“The clan of Bloods vote to support”
The fear rushes in like a sweeping tide on a full moon and a coldness spread through her limbs with such force she had to bite her teeth to stop from screaming.
It wasn’t just hers though.
This was the fear and emotion of countless others in the room about to lose someone they cared about.
Normally she would have blocked it out but right now she deserved to feel all their pain, it was her fault anyway.
One more vote to support and the only real love she had ever known would be lost to her forever.
As would many others.
Seated in the middle, it was the Executioner's turn to vote.
Even without taking note of the wolf sigil embedded into his cloak, the general air of elegance surrounding the Executioner identified him as a Healer and the representative of the Moonspawn clan.
Helen shut her eyes tightly and looked away as his gentle voice spread across the room.
“The Clan of Bloods vote against."
Later, Helena would look back to this moment and wonder why he of all people voted against. But for now she crosses her fingers and prays to all the gods known and unknown.
The Siren representative’s sultry voice was low and had to be carried by the amplifying spell of a Wielder’s essence. “The Clan of Oceanids vote against”
Hope instantly flared in her chest.
Two for and two against.
The only representative who had not spoken was from the clan of Mages.
No matter what anyone believed, surely they would never...
The man got up slowly and reluctantly.
Adjusting and readjusting his glimmering black robe.
“The clan of Mages..." He clears his throat once, twice.
Looks at the other members of the council, then at he table in front of him. "The clan of Mages vote to support”
The uproar in the room threatened to shake its foundations.
Betrayers!! The clan of Mages had voted against their own.
A loud banging sound silenced the room and the Executioner's voice rang out.
“Having been found guilty of violating the most fundamental laws of Xesperia in the using of their essence and abilities unlawfully and without cause, and inevitably resulting in the death of many Xesperians, the Skinwalkers have proven time and time again to be a division whose essence is too dangerous to be left among us."
With each statement, Helena could feel her heart breaking into a million pieces.
This wasn't fair. It just wasn't.
The deep sorrow etched on her soul is reflected in the faces of the other members of the clan of Mages and every citizen of Xesperia as a whole.
She opens up her mind with her essence and allows their fear and their pain to rush in until it threatens to consume her very being.
But she is one person and their sorrow is too great.
She wanted to scream, to shout at them; those members of the council who even now sat stock still like they had not just made a decision that would tear Xesperia apart and forever alter the course of history.
The Executioner is still speaking. His smooth voice carrying above the din of the noise.
“Therefore as voted on by the majority of the members of the council, The Skinwalkers division and their essence will be completely wiped out from the Clan of mages and from this world."
Helena's world was falling apart around her ears.
They could use whatever words they wanted, but one thing had been decided today.
Every Skinwalker in Xesperia would die and the man she loved…would die with them.
- Writer
