Bjorn Haverthall paced outside the throne room in the royal palace of Selevar. The once second in command of the royal guard was flanked by Destin and Hagen, brothers who had only just joined the ranks of the royal guard this past year. It wasn't uncommon for members of the royal guard to serve for life. Even when men grew too old to fight, they could often still fulfill ceremonial duties in the like. However, just like him, they had been dismissed mere hours ago for reasons that Bjorn hoped they would learn of soon.
Each of them had a pair of shackles around their arms, and though any of them could have snapped the metal like paper, they weren't there to bind them. Each of them were dressed in near full armor, only missing their helmets, with swords at their hips. They were being publicly humiliated for reasons that none of them could fathom.
You may enter, said a young knight that Bjorn vaguely recognized. He was barely more than sixteen and here he was ordering Bjorn Haverthall. The Battle Queen had always joked that he was no more than a child to her, but he was still a man entering his forties. Well, Bjorn wasn't so petty that he would resent the boy. He was just doing what he was ordered. If he only knew what was going on.
Bjorn situated himself in front of the great doors with Destin and Hagen to either side of him. These weren't the main doors to the throne room despite their size and intricately carved patterns. They were side doors used to bring in prisoners to stand trial most of the time. Bjorn had always wondered why this small holding area was so magnificent compared to much of the rest of the castle. Now that he was in this position, he felt he understood a little better.
The doors opened of their own accord revealing a massive room filled to the brim with muttering people. He wasn't surprised to find it filled with people. He had more or less figured out what was going on even if he didn't know why. The sound wards on the door had prevented him hearing exactly how many people were here though.
A typical high profile trial would see the throne room filled with nobles from as far as Televar. This however, was something entirely different. The nobles were there, but above them were levitated platforms holding hundreds more. It looked like most of them were simple peasants from within the city, and as he was led through, he could see that even the main entranceway was filled with people. There hadn't been anything of this scale in Bjorn's entire life, and he had seen the trial of Dodek Dadrian.
People from high above on the floating platforms tossed spoiled vegetables at him and the brothers behind him. What in the world could have happened to cause this kind of reaction? Bjorn walked head held high until he was situated directly in front of the throne as was customary. There were only four royal guardsmen flanking the throne, as opposed to the traditional ten, and Bjorn recognized none of them.
He had only been dismissed this morning. How could there already be four new men that he had never seen before? Bjorn had personally met all of the trainees that would one day join their ranks. Something was terribly wrong. And where was the king?
As if in answer to his thoughts, trumpets sounded from in front of him and the doors behind the throne slowly opened. The sound of shouts continued to drown out almost everything else. Where was these people's respect for their king? He could see the fury in their faces. Some of them were even crying openly.
Bjorn turned back towards the throne, a pit forming in his throat as a man stepped through the doors. It was not the king.
The hero's long blond hair lay loose across his shoulders as he sauntered in and sat himself on the throne. His handsome features were twisted into a gruesome smile. "Ladies and gentlemen, please be silent." The uproar in the room disappeared nearly instantly. "We will begin the sentencing immediately."
"Sentencing?" Bjorn found himself crying out loud. "You haven't even told us what we are being charged with. Where is the king and why are you sitting so casually in his seat?"
The civilians behind him and even some of the nobles began screaming at that. He was once again pummeled with debris, one lucky individual even hit him with a rock in the back of the head. Bjorn felt blood running down his neck as the hero looked down on him with that same horrible smile.
"Silence!" The hero projected his voice throughout the room.
The room quieted again and he continued more quietly. "How dare you address me like that. It is thanks to you and your traitorous rats that I am sitting here." His voice was nearly a whisper, but it floated through the enormous room so everyone could hear.
"For the murder of his royal highness, you, like your fellows will die."
"What do you mean murder!" Bjorn screamed. This was too much. "I have dedicated my life to his majesty, you can't just sentence us without a trial! Where is your proof?"
The king couldn't be dead. He had only just taken the throne and Bjorn knew him personally to be a man of incredible strength and humility. He was universally beloved, not just in the city, but throughout the kingdom.
"Take them," the hero said, ignoring Bjorn's questions.
Bjorn heard the shattering of steel behind him as Destin and Hagen ripped their hands free. "I won't allow you to address the captain in such a way," Hagen demanded.
"You have no proof and so you…"
It happened before Bjorn could fully process what had happened. A bolt of lightning crackled through the room striking Hagen in the chest. Bjorn could smell burning flesh as Hagen dropped to the floor, a black hole burned through his torso.
"No!" Destin screamed diving for his brother, before another bolt struck him. He collapsed atop his brother.
There were screams as a few of the more excitable nobles broke ranks and began running out of the room. Civilians above screamed with nowhere to go. The uproar continued, but the hero did not silence them this time. He stood up and walked forward to Bjorn who was shaking in fury.
"What have you done," he growled at the approaching man. "You already have more power than any man could dream of. Why did you do it?"
"I have to correct you there," the hero said with a smirk. "I still do not have as much as I can dream of."
"Where are the rest of my men? Did you kill them like you killed Destin and Hagen?"
The hero laughed in the uproar of the room. "Nothing so clean as that. Though I must say, your friends made for an excellent demonstration. There are going to be many changes around here. It's a shame you won't get to witness them."
The hero shot another lightning bolt casually at Bjorn, and turned away without looking to watch the man fall.
Bjorn caught the lightning with a grunt. It was far stronger than he had imagined and it took all of his strength to contain it. He struggled with it for the fraction of a second it took to send it flying back at the hero.
It struck him in the back causing him to miss a step. It had burned a hole in his overly ornate robes, but the hero turned to him in surprise rather than dropping to the floor. He recovered almost instantly. "There was no record of you being able to use energy magic," he said conversationally over the screams. "What other secrets have you been hiding?"
"It's no secret," Bjorn said. He could feel fury bubbling up wanting to explode. He needed to release it, needed to attack! He held it back though. He knew full well how outmatched he was. "You just didn't look hard enough."
"Oh really," the hero said with a light hearted laugh. "And do you have any other secrets you'd like to show me before we finish?"
"Just one more," Bjorn raged. He wanted so desperately to attack. To take out all of his anger at this man. This monster who had murdered his king, executed his friends, and destroyed his reputation. But he couldn't do any of that himself. He pulled a small lever on the side of one of his rings and squeezed his hand into a fist. The small needle that he had exposed dug into his hand, and he disappeared into thin air.