NICHOLAI VLADE
"You seem troubled my love," Vladaia said as I came in, and I sat down just staring at the food she had served me for a while not bothering to touch it. "What is wrong my love?" She asked again placing her soft palm on mine, drawing me back to her from wherever my mind had wandered to.
"I'm fine sweetheart, I just feel that Glava is moving against me faster than I had imagined and he now has more than half of the council with him. I feel he will come for my head soon enough and that of my family." I said a bit troubled.
"Now that that you are saying this, then the dream was a warning." She said softly.
"What dream?" I asked a bit more curious.
"A fortnight ago, I dreamt I saw you die in a fight, they had you bond and made you watch as they killed everyone in your family before killing you." As she spoke the fire in my eyes came alive.
"Then we are already behind schedule." I had come to trust my wife's gift. If she has a dream and can remember the dream when she wakes up, then it will definitely come true.
"Send each of the boys to different Peacekeepers and the Forerunners, I have sent words to them already. Should anything happens to me, teach them who they are, their purpose, and their destiny, send Nina our daughter to the west, and we will..." I was still speaking when Damian came in.
"Hello Czàiya, come, hurry, something has happened to Krzysztof." Damian said as he entered the house.
"What happened?" I asked springing up to my feet.
"I just got words that he has been murdered," Damian said softly.
"What!" I was out of the house already, running at full speed to Krzysztof's house. I came to an abrupt stop the moment I entered the house. Krzysztof wasn't just murdered, he was butchered and so was every member of his family. Each had their head separated from it's body and placed on a chair in a semi circle. I inspected his lifeless body and found a piece of clothing in his hand. I removed and raised it up to Damian, does this ring a bell.
Damian collected it and studied it for a while. "This is a piece of clothing from either Róz'a or Viktor, I am not so sure but I vaguely remember them putting on such a color at the meeting. I could be wrong Czàiya Vlade but it's a weighty accusation to make, one that would require a combat to the death in the old ways." Damian said after inspecting the piece of clothing.
I was sad, then disappointed, then angry. "So, he was killed for challenging Glava Klaus." I said softly still squatting beside the body, I became truely angry for the first time in a long time. We buried them and left.
The next day I told Mikolaj not to come the council meeting but to keep an eye on Vladaia my wife. "There's blood in the sky, and it's about to rain." I hd said to him before leaving for the meeting.
I was already seated when all the council members arrived one after the other. Róz'a looked around and saw that neither Damian nor Mikolaj was present when I commenced the meeting of the day. Like Glava Klaus, they had never seen me in a fight, I was always pushing for peace and dialogue and many had thought that to be a weakness.
"I'd like to propose that we finish the matter before the council yesterday as to how to deal with the humans." Dante spoke and nodded to Symon, everyone chorused consent except Glava Klaus and Falko, Falko suddenly sensed that I was not okay but couldn't warn the others.
"Anybody has anything more to say on the subject matter?" I asked in a ice cold voice, and there was silence. "Silence means no, since no one has anything to say, this is my decision. The humans are to be left alone, anyone who attacks the humans will have me to contend with me." I spoke not for once increasing the pitch of my voice.
They all look at me as the usual person who is just trying to talk tough. "Let me tell you Nicholai, you can't tell me what to do and your decision has no bounds on me. I can bloody do anything I want to do and there is absolutely nothing you can do do about it." Róz'a said standing up to dare me, I simply smiled and looked at each of them. Daring them with my countenance to try me, Róz'a failing to elicit the kind of response he had envisaged walked out while the meeting continued.
"Krzysztof was found dead yesterday in his house and so was every member of his family, he was just and upright, I pray he finds rest." I announced after Róz'a had gone out and proceeded to other issues.
**********
LUKAS WAGNER
"There is something off about Nicholai Vlade today, I can't figure it out but the Vlade in that meeting is not the same one we've always known." Falko told the gang at the end of the meeting.
"There he goes again with his voice of reasoning nonsense, this is just a drowning man trying to talk tough and act tough, we've known him for a long time and we've seen every shade of him." Dante said turning to look that Klaus who was undecided, he has always trusted Falko's counsel in the past and Falko had always been right and now that victory was almost his, he didn't want to draw back his hand. He nodded and we dispersed.
Nicholai Vlade was still in the council meeting ground all by himself when reports got to him that everyone in the Rumue village has been massacred. "Do you know who is responsible?" He asked clearly angry.
"Its one of us" Gadina replied,
"who!!!!" he roared in anger pounding the table so hard that it broke in two.
"Róz'a" Gadina the Gemma had told him.
"Fetch him, bring him to the square." he ordered and left.
"The Czàiya has called a meeting of everyone at the village square, it has something to do with the massacre." Karl told Glava Klaus.
Klaus smiled and rubbed his hands together, "interesting times," he said looking at Falko and Viktor, "I think we should go see for ourselves."
At the square, Nicholai Vlade was dressed for battle when we all arrived there. "We have gathered here for a trial of one of our own who have threatened to destroy the peace we've had for a long time with the humans. Bring forth the suspect." The Czàiya said and they brought Karl.
"Karl Stents, you have been charged with the murder of an entire human village, how do you plead?" The Czàiya ask and I was hoping there would be a plea for mercy.
Karl looked at the him for a while and started laughing. "You speak when the Czàiya speaks to you." I said a bit divided between duty as the chief security guard and my loyalty to Glava Klaus. Karl was one of our own and Czàiya Vlade would suspect I was bias if I openly court Klaus or allow myself to be courted.
"I did what none of you are capable of, we are indeed a higher breed yet you'd have us walk with our tails between our legs. Our forebearers conquered this land, even your predecessor Constantine Kane ruled with might and power, we have become a weakling so these humans and other creatures would grow the never to trample on us. I'd do it again if I have the opportunity." He said and spat on the ground.
Czàiya Vlade had a smile on his face. "By the power vested on me by the old law and the new law, and by my authority as the keeper of peace and defender of this realm against powers and principalities, I, Nicholai Vlade find you Karl Stents guilty of mass murder. You are hereby sentenced to death by beheading." He was still speaking when Gadina whispered something to him. "Lukas, see to it that the execution is carried out." He told me and left in a hurry.