Of the 1,267 people Aisrin had under his nation, 244 people were dead. This had angered Aisrin. as they were in his care and he knew not how he would fix the distrust he felt may have accumulated.
The little girl was recovering in a room in the keep. The only place Aisrin felt was better than the Mansion. He already had that Mansion set on the demolish list, personally he would oversee its collapse.
He thought the girl would succumb to her trauma, but she refused to give, only choosing instead to persist. He had found out that her father had died defending Silver City, and her mother died in a nobles care.
Aisrin had all the nobles lined up in front of him. On a platform they stood, their hands tied behind their backs and nooses hanging before them.
"I'll ask again. Will you, or will you not, answer my questions and confess all your crimes? If you refuse, you will hang without trial. I have no more fucks to give." Aisrin asked the first 5 of 30 nobles.
"I will not answer to tyrants." One noble bravely stated.
"Okay. If you think that preserves honor or something, I can tell you hell gives no shits." Aisrin replied uncaringly.
"I'll confess!" The wide of the first noble responded pleadingly.
"Off the platform." Aisrin dismissed. Aten grabbed the woman and gently rook her to the side. Another woman took her place. A nasty looking old lady, with caked makeup that looked clowning on her face.
"You think this'll solve any problems? You're just proving you're a coward!" The woman spat.
"I am? Hmm." Aisrin boredly answered.
"I claim my right to challenge my accuser!!" The first man shouted. Silence followed.
"Okay. Untie him. Give him a blade." Aisrin stood up and drew his dagger. A soldier walked up and untied the man and gave him a short sword. The noble smiled and tried to stab the soldier, but he wasn't good enough to face the soldier. The soldier grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the sword, turned his body, pulled the noble close and used his free hand to slam his palm against the nobles face, effectively knocking him the fuck out and disarming him simultaneously.
Aisrin sheathed his dagger and sat back down.
"That's what cowards do." Aisrin pointed out. The old woman looked on in horror. If that's what a lowly soldier could do, what then, could that boy do?
"I'll confess!" The old woman changed her tone real quick.
"Off the stage." Aisrin dismissed her. Many more quickly opted for confessing. Only the five main nobles chose to remain silent.
"You are not setting any noble examples by hiding your crimes. If anything, it makes you twice as guilty. You'd rather die, than admit the atrocious acts of true tyranny to the people you were supposed to govern. That's fine. I know everything I need to know.
Every swindle, kidnapping, murder, bribe, sexual actions performed without consent, embezzlement, robbery, and finally, tax fraud. Never heard the term? Eighty percent of all grain for yourselves, you keep what you need, and sell the rest for profit, right back to the people you took it from.
I have no sympathy for you. I will have you hung by the neck until dead, no matter how long it takes. There will be no changing your mind once that noose has you. Cause I won't understand you as you try to choke your words out, nor will I care. Hang them." Aisrin ordered. Aren put a noose around each nobles neck and then walked away.
"I've never seen this before, what dies hanging mean?" Someone in the crowd asked.
"Ladies and gentleman! These men have committed heinous crimes against you! What I stated easier, is but the tip of... it's just a small portion of what they've done! No longer though! Today, they hang!" Aisrin exclaimed. Aren lifted his hand and dropped it, the soldiers that were holding the boards under them dropped to the ground, giving the appropriate momentum to snap the necks of a couple nobles.
The others struggled around, the fear of being hung now only becoming clear to them.
(Strange how the art of hanging disappeared from executioner methods. Now it's just beheading or death by duel.)
'Regression is a terrifying event.'
As Aisrin stated, even when there was pleading in the eyes of the suffocating men, he showed no remorse nor mercy. He watched them struggle until the life faded from their bulging eyes.
"That was terrible! But, well deserving. What an appropriate execution." The butler from the Mansion, who decided Aisrin was his new master and stood beside him at all times, stated.
"Its an ancient execution. Old as time. I'm surprised no one found records of it yet." Aisrin replied.
"Much has been lost sire. Perhaps you may hold the path back." The butler, whose name was unknown and therefore just called Butler, commented.
"No, Butler. There is no path back. Only forward." Aisrin answered as he stood up and walked over to the Nobles who chose to confess.
"Okay. Now we move on. This is called a Fair Trial. I ask questions, you answer honestly, provide reason to support yourself, then you are judged by the people. So, first, I'll ask you your house name, cause I couldn't care less about your first." Aisrin pointed at the first person and began the questioning.
It went smoothly. The nobles gave up everything. The most heinous was House Lantreth. They were responsible for kidnapping and murdering naive travelers, night strollers, even people straight from their beds. Whole families strung up and tortured in the most inhumane ways.
Their reason? Because they could, and they enjoyed it. It took awhile to get that confession, but get it Aisrin did.
"You won't hang, none of your house will. No, I've something more fitting. The Blood Eagle. Your fitting enough as you hold significant positions. I'll have your special spots ready on the morrow." Aisrin walked away from the man before he straight beat the life out of him.
Of the remaining 25 nobles, 16 were trialed with extreme guilt and sentenced to death. Of those 16, 10 were to be hung. The remaining 6 were Lantreth. A 57 year old man, a 50 year old woman, a 38 year old man, a 34 year old woman, a 36 year old man and a 17 year old girl.
The girl was the worst of them. The things she did to the men she tortured, was too much for words. She enjoyed flaying the skin off a man's genitals, and pulling the testicles out of their bodies, slowly. The men would be awake for the whole think, if they passed out, she'd use sulfur salts, whatever those were,, to wake them back up and then continue.
"I have so many Execution methods I'd rather you go through lass. Have a rat eat through you, have your breasts ripped off and then rats, who knows. But you deserve serious pain." Aisrin told her personally. The girl looked entirely taken aback, as if she thought she were too pretty to be executed.
"But I confessed! Why are you executing us anyway?" She asked.
"Because I can, and I enjoy it." Aisrin replied as he walked away.
"You nine, you're from two different houses. Herts and Gundar? What even are these last names? Humans just get worse with names in the last eon?" Aisrin muttered to himself after saying their names out loud.
"Fuck those names. You no longer have last names. You've been demoted to commoners. All your assets, save for one house for each family, as in a grand total of two houses between the nine of you, will be willingly surrendered to me. For your crimes you will serve two years in the military.
Not the regular military mind you, there will be no merits save for food for you. You'll be serving the actual military personnel. Serving food, washing clothes, and other chores. Now, go away." Aisrin had them untied and he left them. Between the two families, the worst thing they did was bribe soldiers to work over some debtors.
"Now, time to see what the treasury holds." Aisrin stretched.