Lawspeaker Cyln : The Fatespinner

"There she is!" a voice in the crowd stated accusingly as the hulking Ursian appeared at the doorway to the courtroom. Then the cries fell silent. Cyln frowned as she looked around the gathered crowd of twenty something Valdus. Many glared back at her, however most could not hold her gaze and averted their eyes.

One golden haired woman at the rear of the room met Cyln's eyes, without flinching. The Ursian's gaze hesitated on her momentarily before looking away herself.

Although she towered over the Valdus, she felt the heat of their anger being directed against her in the room. She was a seasoned Lawspeaker and knew how to handle an angry crowd, but her nerves were still raw and she saw no immediate way to diffuse the tension. Feeling suddenly vulnerable, Cyln remembered that she had left her quarterstaff leaning against one of the tables. The room had been cleared to make space for throng of Valdus and the weapon was nowhere to be seen.

Seeming to sense her unease, one of the women spat loudly in front of her, earning some approving murmurs from others nearby. Cyln, still apprehensive strode over to the judges' seat. Resting a paw on the seat's back seemed to give some comfort by its familiar touch. Raising her snout towards the group, she bared her fangs.

"This be no place for a crowd," she snarled, glaring around once more. Her command earned uneasy shuffles from those before her. She could sense the will of the crowd draining and a couple of the weaker willed Valdus looked toward the exit.

Seeming to ignore the dampening mood, the woman at the back of the room stepped suddenly forward, while the crowd seemed to part before her. She came to stand at the bar separating the court from the public gallery. There she stood just staring at the Ursian, her azure eyes piercing.

"Go home!" Cyln growled a little unnerved. Her voice dropped with the tension and she squared her shoulders against the perceived threat. The woman did not move and the crowd behind her pressed a little closer.

"Home!" Cyln repeated the command, leaning forward a little. Her gaze never left that of the golden haired woman. She was large for a one of her people, with unusually broad shoulders. Cyln knew that the usually lithe physique of the Valdus belied their true strength, but this woman must be even more forceful. It wasn't her frame which intimidated the Ursian though, it was the cold penetrating eyes which she could no longer quite meet.

"Murderer!" The word came from the crowd quietly, barely above a whisper. Cyln finally looked up from the woman and glared around trying to find the culprit, but now the faces before her were steely. Cyln could feel the eyes of the woman still on her, but could not bring herself to look back.

"Murderer!" The accusation thrust home again, louder this time. It was accompanied by other murmurs of a similar nature from around the room, growing in volume and confidence.

"Murderer!"

"You're wearing his 'at like a trophy," one voice lifted above the others. Cyln knew instinctively who said it, and why.

"What?" she managed, suddenly very self conscious.

"His hat," the woman repeated, enunciating her words better this time. "Then you come back 'ere to gloat. Ancestors take you, you ain't nothing but a cold blooded murderer!"

Cyln reeled as if struck. Of course, her stupidity now dawned on her. She had been to the battlefield and now wore the boy's hat on her head. To her it was a reminder of her guilt, to them though it would appear as something entirely different. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.

"What was his name?" another voice cut in sharply from the entrance to the holding cells.

"What?" The golden haired woman turned suddenly, her focus broken.

"His name. What was his name?" Laurelius said again, striding forward to stand beside Cyln.

"My son was named Tarvald, thirteenth of 'is name."

"Not so," Laurelius replied, raising a hand against the expected outburst.

"Your son, Tarvald, shall now be known as 'the Fatespinner'."

"Fatespinner?" the woman replied, uncertainty making her voice crack.

"Yes," Laurelius nodded as he moved to stand at the bar, putting his hands on the mother's shoulders.

"Although he was one of many to die, it is his death which is the catalyst for the change to come. It is through his sacrifice that you now have some measure of control over your fates."

"How?" was all she could manage to reply.

"You now have a choice." Laurelius said, then looked up suddenly at the crowd "You all do. The gates are gone, you have no more contact with the Concordium. Things are not normal. You cannot expect to just carry on with your lives."

He took a breath as if to steel himself for more. Stepping away from the woman, he hopped up on to the small judges' podium and placed himself in front of Cyln.

"Is it not the dream of every Valdus to rise above normality? Do you not seize on any opportunity to prove yourselves? To make your name?" Once more he paused, letting his words sink in.

"What is your name?" he asked, nodding at the mother.

"Freyrid, seven-"

"No!" Laurelius snapped, glaring down at her and cutting her off.

"You are Freyrid, first of your name, mother of Tarvald the Fatespinner." he said forcefully.

Freyrid just started back up at him, tears welling up in her eyes as it dawned on her that her son had been raised to Evigkaste, the eternal caste. A great honour, even for the dead.

"You are all the first of your name," Laurelius continued, looking now over the whole crowd. He raised his arms to engage them all. "Your ancestors will forever remember your deeds from this day forth. This is a new beginning, a new start."

"What then is 'er name?" enquired a voice from the crowd, gesturing at Cyln.

"I be Lawspeaker Cyln." the Ursian replied tersely.

"No, you are Cyln, first of your name." Freyrid stated, her voice suddenly growing cold, "You have to earn our trust, and your place among us. You have to earn that title."

by Gareth Kay