Stay locked up, imprisoned, and have your freedom taken. These are the fears that many people dread deep within themselves.
The fear of having their freedom and free will taken away. Things that many take for granted and intimate. Until they aren't yours anymore.
For the people of Erivia, this fear had turned into a harsh reality and an intense terror.
From the women serving dinner to the children settling around the table or the soldiers on guard, all could hear that deep, intense voice echoing directly in their minds.
"Bring me Yves Leatrix and Raphaël Cortez."
These words had barely the time to awaken a feeling of surprise in them that their body began to move without even knowing why.
Moments later, surprise turned to terror before they all stepped out one by one into the street before heading to the castle in the center of town.
"What's going on ?!"
"A demon !"
"I am possessed!"
"Help me! Please, someone! Help"
The cries and voices of all the inhabitants began to echo throughout the city. Although their bodies didn't seem to be totally in their control, they still had the ability to talk and look around without really being able to choose where they were going.
All they knew was that their bodies seemed to respond to the command they had just received.
If it wasn't for the fact that they couldn't control their bodies, the streets would probably be a lot less calm than they are now.
They were all in line and in sync, advancing at the same speed in the same direction in a cold stillness under the cries and frightened stares of the peasants.
Rita, Kiril, Rebecca, Artiel, and Iracuz couldn't believe their eyes.
"He just gave an order to an entire town ?!" Rita thought as she felt her body shiver with fear. "What kind of monster have we unleashed on this world?" she said to herself, looking at Isaac.
They were all just as surprised as they were outraged. It was like in ancient legends and stories. Something miraculous, frightening, even divine.
Isaac for his part was concentrated on the castle and in particular the two figures who seemed to come out accompanied by a dozen soldiers encircling them.
Around, the peasants seemed to join the escort one by one as the governor and the cavalry captain marched in the center with an expression of fear bordering on madness.
How was one person capable of such a thing? Set aside that he's an Archmage. Even a Grand Archmage would probably not be able to do that. Control a city with words? It was unthinkable.
"What did I do ?! I should have released them immediately" thought Yves on the verge of tears.
What was going to become of him? Was he going to be turned into sheep before being killed and cooked to be served to the Archmage?
In all his years of service as Baron, Merchant, and Governor, even his political opponents seemed small compared to Isaac.
When money wasn't enough to make someone kneel, came the threat. Assassination and kidnapping were common in political warfare. But what to do when even that was of no use.
How could he assassinate someone who can control a city with words? Magic was something mysterious and powerful.
However, it was the first time the Governor had realized that magic could be terrifying as well.
- "Highness! What are we gonna do?" Raphael suddenly asked next to him.
His voice was shaky and hesitant. He was in the same condition as everyone else around. Afraid and anxious about what was going to happen to him.
- "There is no more room for negotiations now" replied Yves.
Raphael swallowed hard. Never could he have imagined that what he had faced in the plains was so terrifying. His brother's gaze suddenly returned to his mind.
A look of fear and mistrust. He had let him know long ago that the Archmage was not someone they could come up against.
But he didn't listen and today he regretted it bitterly.
Far higher in the sky, Isaac quietly watched the procession move towards what appeared to be a central plaza to him. Without further ado, he decided to move.
- "We are going to go down," Isaac said suddenly, breaking the silence which had fallen on the group.
Immediately, Iracuz came out of his trance and turned to the elf.
- "Excellency! Have pity on them" he pleaded.
He was scared. Afraid of Isaac, afraid of his power but more so, he was afraid for his brother.
When they were children, they had always been together and even after being kicked out of the royal academy when his parents had given up hope of him, his brother had helped him up.
His espionage work would probably have killed him if his brother hadn't been there to support him emotionally in his life. After every mission in the shadows, seeing the dark side of his hometown was a sight few could have endured.
To learn the horror of the atrocities committed by those you trusted the most was unbearable.
Although his brother was not necessarily the most enlightened of men, he owed his life to him and he loved him very much.
This emotion, this feeling of extreme loyalty was transmitted to his face which showed a serious, determined, and strong gaze. Isaac noticed it quickly.
Loyalty strong enough to want to put his life on the line just to save a loved one. He had felt it once, this emotion and although his loved one was now in another world, he still felt this strange sensation deep in his consciousness.
Like a little voice whispering behind his ear.
Seeing Iracuz's gaze, Isaac turned downward. It was a look that left little room for discussion. Isaac admired the young man's boldness. That he could raise his voice against him, someone who had just bent over five thousand people, that deserved respect.
He then turned to the ground and led the small group down, quickly approaching the central plaza.
Under them, the square was crowded with people. Everyone gathered here had their gaze pointed upwards, watching a white light descend rapidly.
A few seconds later, Isaac landed delicately on the ground not far from Yves and Raphaël just as the spell freed the inhabitants.
They had brought Yves and Raphaël to Isaac, so the magic controlling them disappeared. Yet no one seemed to dare to move or do anything. Dead silence reigned over the square and throughout the city as hundreds of eyes watched Isaac.
For his part, Isaac felt extremely embarrassed by the attention cast upon him. He was not used to it.
So he tried to get away from it and concentrated on Yves and Raphael, motionless in the middle of the square, unable to make the slightest movement.
Despite his fear and anguish, it was Yves who broke the silence.
- "It's an honor to meet you" he stammered with difficulty.
Isaac took a deep breath, organizing his words and quickly thinking about what to say.
He had thought about it for a long time. What should he say? What to order? He could theoretically order the entire city if he wanted to, but that would create more problems than anything else.
So he decided to take another approach.
- "Are you the Governor?"
Yves swallowed lightly when he heard Isaac's words. He felt his throat tighten and sweat beading down his cheeks.
- "Yes, I am" he stammered in response.
- "That will make things easier in this case. I will be very straightforward with you. The only thing holding me back from burning you and this town to ashes is that the locals did not do anything that displeased me," Isaac announced before giving a pause. "But, I cannot ignore the affair of my apprentices or your threats against me," he said before looking at Raphael.
Both interviewees swallowed lightly, sweat could be seen running down their foreheads and cheeks. They were more than stressed.
- "So I will leave the choice to the inhabitants," said Isaac before inhaling.
- "Sorry ?" replied the governor.
Without waiting, Isaac looked up at the peasants gathered all around them in silence. Seeing the Archmage's gaze meet theirs, the inhabitants immediately lowered their eyes in fear and tried to make themselves as invisible as possible.
After everything that had happened, the two normal reactions to adopt in this situation should be panic or terror. Here, terror had made the population immobile.
Although this was not his initial goal, the motionlessness created by terror was fine for him since it avoided a panic or any unnecessary bloodshed. As he had said, he didn't want to kill innocent people.
Isaac wasn't a murderer. He had never killed anyone and with his modern education, killing is still something inconceivable for him. At least for the moment.
However, that did not prevent him from thinking about it. But there was something else. When he said that the locals were holding him from destroying the city, it was technically true but not completely. To be more precise, he was considering the lives at stake, and more importantly, he was holding himself for them.
After all, there was a big difference between coldbloodedly killing someone face to face and killing several thousand people with the push of a button.
He felt like he was the head of a state in his old world in front of a nuclear button. Ready to send a retaliatory nuclear strike. Despite the anger, the consequences of this action weighed heavily on his mind. This was what had kept him from launching a strike on the city.
But that hadn't stopped him from seeking revenge, either. He had been able to suppress his anger, but his tolerance had a certain limit.
If his apprentices were killed, he was unsure whether or not he could have kept his composture. He would have probably just wiped the entire city without even thinking.
Just as he had done with Artiel when the latter stood in front of him asking him to serve him, something inside him forced him to think about the consequences that would follow his actions.
Isaac remained thoughtful and still for a long moment, gradually building up the tension in the place until his spellbook suddenly opened before emitting a faint bluish light.
Isaac came over to place his hand down before extending his aura drastically, covering the people gathered around before beginning to inscribe white lines on the ground, forming a rapidly growing rune.
After several tens of seconds, the lines filled the entire square and began to expand on their own little by little.
After several minutes of silence during which everyone was both amazed and frightened by all the strange inscriptions that had formed, unable to make the slightest movement, an immense and complex rune filled a large part of the city before sinking into the ground.
Then, suddenly, a blue dot began to appear on the wrists of everyone present except Isaac, Rita, Kiril, Rebecca, Artiel.
Everyone was surprised when they saw the faint blue light given off by the small blue dot drawn before a blue rectangular appeared.
Across the city, a window appeared in front of each of the people with a blue dot on their wrists. Very quickly, shock gave way to surprise when a young woman suddenly exclaimed.
- "I can read !"
- "Me too !"
- "I can read that too!"
- "It's a miracle"
During the short time that passed, the eyes of surprise and shock of the population changed to those of admiration and respect towards Isaac who stood still and silent.
In front of them stood a text that everyone seemed to be able to understand without really knowing why. After all, the vast majority, if not all of the lower classes and peasants, had never learned to read or write.
Why learn it? They didn't need it in their everyday life. Most of the intellectual work was done by merchants and government officials. The peasants didn't need to learn what they did not need, although this often resulted in the merchants taking advantage of their lack of knowledge to steal them.
[System] Installation completed successfully.
[System] Local name: Erivia
[System] Allegiance: KILGUANE
[System] Administrator: ISAAC
[System] Moderator: [Show 5612 entities]
[System] Moderation by: Qualified majority vote (75%)
[System] You have been added to the registry
[System] Welcome, dear Resident.
Each person in the registry can submit one vote request per week using the [Control Panel]. The votes are submitted to the public ballot by an Administrator, the representative of your city, or by [Petition].
Each vote receiving a 75% or greater approval rate will be accepted and implemented by the rune of logic or the representatives of your city.
At present, YVES LEATRIX is defined as a hierarchical representative of ERIVIA as GOVERNOR.
[Ballot] A request from ISAAC
"I wish to punish Yves Leatrix for the faults he committed against me. He and his acolytes. But for the moment, he is the governor of this city. If I have to seek punishment for him, Erivia and its inhabitants will also pay the price. So, I ask you clearly: Do you want to remove Yves Leatrix from your city?"
Y : ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 0%
N : ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 0%
Among the people, there were many who did not hold the governor in their hearts. Many had lost family members in the city's many political battles.
Although the city had become more prosperous economically, this had not made the governor more humble in his vanity. Increase in taxes, acquisition of property for the construction of commerce. Many residents had been thrown out of their homes so that the city could sell the plots to merchants.
Y: ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 12%
N: █░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 1%
- "Y-you don't have the right to do that!" exclaimed Yves suddenly, looking at the window in front of him. "I have been appointed by the Viscount, you have no right to remove me from this rank!" he said before turning to the assembly.
After several tens of seconds of silence, the votes were updated.
Y: ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 35%
N: █░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 2%
- "Stop right now! It's an order from your governor!" yelled Yves, casting an inquisitive look around him.
All around, people displayed a surprised then shocked look before turning to Isaac. Most of them didn't know what to do.
Should they listen to the governor or the Archmage? The answer was hard to come by, but right now in the situation they found themselves in, the Archmage was in a stronger position.
The votes, therefore, continued to be added.
Y: ██████████████░░░░░░░ 62%
N: █░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 2.5%
They had a chance to bring justice to their deceased family. Those the nobles called "Collateral damage". The forgotten people. Hope was visible in the eyes of all.
Y: █████████████████░░░░ 75%
N: █░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 5%
[System] Confirmed 75% qualified majority
[System] Motion carried
[System] Removing 'Yves Leatrix' from the registry…
The window in front of Yves suddenly disappeared before the blue dot on his wrist disintegrated without leaving any trace.
In his eyes, there was only despair, fear, anguish, and panic.
"No !" he squealed.