A Shattered Confession:Part Five

     "Yes. That axe belongs to me.” Sylvana’s words sounded forced out of her.

     More whispers broke out in the crowds, with some snickers of contempt mixed in.

     “How is she able to wield such a monstrosity?”

     One of the knights, the shadow gelert from earlier, stepped towards the judge, one hand placed against the shattered axe blade. “We believe that there is magic imbued in this weapon. Seeing these runes, Kass must have been imbuing his armies with magical weapons.” He turned towards Sylvana, disgust in his golden eyes. “Perhaps the accused was a test subject if it were a twisted experiment?”

     Rage burned in Sylvana’s chest as she took a threatening step towards the knight, sending an irritated snarl as a warning to never bring that possibility up again.

     The judge nodded. Sylvana had no idea if the kougra was even listening or paying attention, as the whole time the knight explained the runes, she had her eyes on the shattered axe. But Sylvana saw her eyes widen slightly, and she knew what the judge was going to say next.

     “You say that this is your weapon, but a piece is missing.”

     A large piece was indeed missing from the axe, cutting off one of the many runic symbols carved across the edge. But Sylvana said nothing in response. At the same time, a loud creaking sound echoed throughout the courtroom as the large double doors opened, revealing a single figure.

     The crowd had their eyes in the center of the room as another knight, a silver shoyru, entered the room. He came to a stop before the judge only to dip his head politely.

     “Sir Alexander, this is the weapon that Gawain brought to you. Correct?” The kougra asked.

     “Yes,” the shoyru answered.

     “And you alerted us of this axe, correct?”

     “Yes,” the shoyru repeated.

     The kougra turned her gaze back to the shattered axe. “Why did you come to us with this report? What do you see in this axe that worries you so?”

     The shoyru gulped, something Sylvana noticed as he stepped closer to the axe. A golden cape tailed behind him, concealing a pair of silvery wings.

     “I am a student under Sir Aldrid, magistrates. Or rather, was.” His eyes dropped sadly for a second before he glanced back up. “Not only am I familiar with his teachings of the blade, he also taught me much about crafting weapons as well.”

     “We are already familiar with Sir Aldrid’s ways, Sir Alexander," the kougra answered quite briskly. "Now, what it is about this axe that is so concerning?”

     Sir Alexander glanced at the weapon laid in front of him, his eyes staring at the jagged edge in particular.

     “This edge...matches the gashes found at Sir Aldrid’s training grounds.”

     The courtroom fell quiet in a shared confusion. The kougra judge, the bruce and zafara magistrates, the entire crowd, and finally, Elijah and Arya were silent, trying to make an attempt at trying to understand what Sir Alexander had just said. But unlike the confused crowd, Sylvana knew what he was saying, all while she felt ice knife down her back.

     “When I discovered where Sir Aldrid was slain, it wasn’t just him that had been torn apart - the area where he usually held his training sessions was decimated. It almost looked like a frenzied attack, like a pack of werelupes had torn through. But upon further inspection, I saw that whoever left the attack left distinct markings in the wood and stone walls. The gashes I found were deep and left uneven damage. Looking at this axe and thinking back to the gashes...this blade could have very easily left such damage.”

     While the judge nodded, Sir Alexander hadn’t finished just yet, as he reached for a pouch attached to his leather belt, before pulling out a shard of metal to show to the court. “This piece was found at Sir Aldrid’s training grounds. It was...next to Sir Aldrid himself.”

     The zafara magistrate leaned forward, only to be stopped by the kougra judge, who stared at Sir Alexander with a glare. “Why did not come forth with this information sooner?”

     “I did.” Sir Alexander shook his head. “But my fellow knights thought nothing of it.”

     The judge looked between the shard in Sir Alexander’s hand and then to the broken axe, only to nod. “Very well. Then place that piece with the axe at once.”

     “No!” Sylvana’s panicked voice rang throughout the courtroom, and she quickly found all eyes on her.

     The judge only stared at her, retaining the sharp glare she had given Sir Alexander. “You have no say in this matter. Be quiet.”

     “N-No!” Sylvana panted as she felt the panic slowly start to rise. “You don’t understand what will happen if you put that piece with the axe! You’ll destroy the courtroom and everyone in here!”

     Despite her desperate pleas, the judge appeared unmoved. She turned back to the shoryu. “Ignore the defendant. Now, place it in.”

     Sir Alexander nodded before stepping forward, hesitantly placing the chipped shard within the empty spot within the axe. The second the shard was placed with the axe, Sylvana felt her heart drop to her stomach. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Elijah and Arya stare at her with worried faces.

     The courtroom was silent. But gradually, a hum started to fill the silent air, along with the confused chatter of the crowd.

     “Oh no…” Sylvana’s voice was a whisper amidst the mingling noises. “Oh Fyora, no…” Her panic grew faster as the hum grew louder, only to escalate into a now-audible vibration. In that moment, Sylvana knew she had to stop the vibrations. She had to break her axe, even if it meant risking her life. From her cuffs, her wrists twisted and squirmed, and her wings rattled among the binding chains, in a feeble attempt to escape.

     The vibrations grew even louder, to where panic grew among the crowd. Some had already tried to make a break for the back doors, others fell to their knees and cowered from the oncoming magic the axe was about to release. The table that held the axe started to be surrounded by a glowing purple aura, all while the carved runes of the axe illuminated the entire room with its power. Sylvana knew just by looking at her weapon and its shattered remains, it would not be able to contain it’s magic.

     “LOOK OUT!!”

     Then all at once, the magic exploded from the blade, drowning out Sylvana’s screams amidst the dark energy, splintered wooden shards, and chunks of stone. The bailiff, Sir Alexander, and numerous innocent court goers that tried to escape were knocked off their feet and sent flying back, landing hard on the stone floor. When the energy faded away, all eyes were on Sylvana, who’s entire body was hunched and her eyes were shadowed by her hair.

     In her chest, she felt her panic and desperation practically eat her alive. Though she had barely managed to avoid gettings swept off her feet, the axe had attacked her in another way, a way that truly ripped her apart. Memories flashed in her head, the memory of the fight she claimed to not know anything about.

     She lied. Sylvana knew everything about that fateful battle. She was after all, the sole survivor of that battle.

     Amidst the fallen bailiff, Sir Alexander, and court goers, Sylvana saw what was unseen - the manifestations of her repressed memories. Flashes of both Meridellian knights and Darigan soldiers alike manifested in front of her. No, they weren’t just soldiers or knights, they were sons, daughters, lost children of forever torn families. Families that refused to bow to Kass’ iron grip and former friends and comrades that paid the ultimate price for Sylvana’s mistakes. Looks of contempt and disdain pierced right through Sylvana, who gripped the sides of her head in growing fear and horror. They loathed her, despised her. More than that, they haunted her, and they would haunt her for the rest of her life.

     They were ghosts, but they manifested themselves among the living courtroom, who slowly rose to their feet. They were slowly but surely recovering from the outburst of Sylvana’s axe, but Sylvana herself had no such luxury. While the judge, magistrates, and Elijah and Arya stared at the darigan kyrii, Sylvana saw others among them. Among the judge, she saw her former commander from the fateful battle years ago, past the magistrates, she saw mangled shadows of knights and sentinels alike, and in front of Elijah and Arya, Sylvana saw the warped faces of a couple, their deathly, unforgiving eyes locked onto her relentlessly.

     No matter how many times Sylvana told herself that what she was seeing wasn’t real, the ghosts did anything but stop their torment.

     “Sylvana…” Arya whispered, holding onto her husband’s arm tightly.

     Finally, Sylvana could take no more. The guilt, the constant emotional turmoil she couldn’t keep it locked away any longer. If she did, she dared going insane from her bottled up feelings, feelings she long wanted to forget.

     “It was me,” she finally spoke, her breathing shaky as she fell to her knees in shame. “Sir Aldrid and everyone else...they’re gone. It was all me.”

To be continued…