Cykrus walked into some kind of auditorium, many people had already taken their seats at the outer edges.
His head was held high, and he walked with confidence, he even dug out one of his best suits, a mix of dark green and black with a white shirt poking out from underneath.
Cykrus' eyes wandered over the crowd, they too were dressed for the occasion, and though he recognised some, most were unfamiliar faces.
They appeared to be no more than aristocrats, the majority not even a rank one mage, those that met Cykrus' eyes swiftly looked away.
Cykrus frowned, how could he not?
These cowards held sway over the upcoming decision that could save, or doom Aventia... the high court of Astafor, a bunch of greedy folks that wag their tail for whichever party offered them the greatest benefits, one of the many faults under the rule of the current king.
Even appearing to this hearing was wasted effort on his part, but just in case, if that small glimmer of hope turned out to be something he could grasp... Cykrus hated gambling, but now he was left with no other choice.
He walked up to and took a seat at the centre of the hall, at one of the three tables that had been prepared for today.
To his right was another that looked exactly the same, only that there was a man already seated, looking over and smiling at Cykrus, "Not even a 'Hello'? How cold of you." the man's smile was cynical.
"I don't remember us ever being close enough for such friendly acts, Baron Ironhoof." Cykrus looked straight ahead at the third table, which was much wider, and somewhat elevated.
From the looks of it, three seats were prepared for whoever was going to lead this ruling today.
"Oh, come on. Just Simon is fine, we have known each other for a long time, there is no need to be so standoffish." Simon offered, but no matter how much he waited, Cykrus did not answer.
He grumbled, but decided to change the topic, "Anyways, where is your better half? I didn't think it was possible for you to ever go anywhere without her... but it might actually be better that you left that loud-mouth back, since she could end up making things worse for you if she decided to chime in. Hah, she still has her anger issues I am assuming?"
Cykrus finally broke and glared at the man, "Baron Ironhoof, are you insulting my subordinate?" he tried to speak as calmly as he could, but his blood was boiling beneath his skin.
"I wouldn't dare! I was just voicing my concern for that lovely lady... but 'subordinate', eh? How cold of you. To be honest, I always thought there was more between the two of you-" Simon noticed that the nobles around them had stood up, this was the sign that the most important people had just arrived.
Cykrus and Simon also rose from their seats, then turned to see the two approaching men and one woman... both of them ignored the men, but the rank three aura they felt from the woman drew in their attention.
Cykrus' frown eased as he locked eyes with the woman, she nodded at him, then walked past his table and took her seat in the middle of the three seats atop the elevated table.
After that everyone else in the hall took their seat.
"I greet you, members of the court, Baron Ironhoof, Lord Aventia. I, Duchess Debora Vivienne am honoured with being in charge of today's proceedings." her voice echoed through the wide auditorium.
The men to her left and to her right were noting down things with feathers and ink, likely the words she, and everyone present today spoke.
"Baron Ironhoof. You have made your discontent with the Lord of Aventia known, your letters have arrived, and your claims were investigated. I ask that you recount that, which caused today's gathering." she gestured at Simon using her hand.
"Your honour." he nodded at her, then turned around to face the rest of the court's members, "Not too long ago one of my family's generals was assaulted by earthen magic, unfortunately, he did not survive, the power of the attack he was met with was too great for a regular rank one mage to survive, luckily one of his subordinates that had observed the cruel murder managed to retrieve his wounded body and relayed back to us what had transpired!" Simon's voice slowly became louder, like he was making a speech to rouse morale, his finger was now pointed at Cykrus.
"Lord Cykrus Aventia! He who murdered an honourable man belonging to my family gave neither apology nor reason for this misuse of power, even though he knew that my general was no threat to him, as he is of rank two, there was no need to take his life!"
The court was filled with murmurs, people exchanging opinions and glances.
"My advisors wanted for me to declare war on the spot! However! Seeing as his body was very much intact, and his life appeared to have ended quickly and peacefully, I am inclined to accept a more lenient outcome, if Lord Aventia is willing to repent for his actions."
"Order in the court!" Vivienne's voice drowned out all others, silencing everyone else, "Thank you Baron Ironhoof. The court has heard your claims. We will now hear from Lord Aventia." she gestured at Cykrus while Simon returned to his seat.
Cykrus frowned for but a moment, showing that he was willing to 'repent' was like admitting his guilt, and throwing himself to the wolves.
"Thank you, your honour." he lightly bowed to her, then also turned around to face the remainder of the court, "This general Baron Ironhoof is referring to, Hodwan, it was indeed I who killed him." his words reignited the murmurs, "But! Baron Ironhoof conveniently left out the circumstances under which I was forced to act. Allow me but a bit of your time and attention, and you will see which party is in the right..."
"The general that Baron Ironhoof claims to be honourable was found terrorising the lands under my rule, disguised as a bandit, his actions were befitting of that title: not only did he, and a bunch of others he assembled, raid my towns; they pillaged food, burned the houses to the ground, and slaughtered indiscriminately, the men, the women, the old, the young, the healthy and the sick!"
"Among them was the village my student, Frey, lived in. His parents, friends, and everyone he knew were taken from him! Then that monster of a general took him prisoner, and abused him, time and time again, until my forces managed to catch them. The group of bandits was mostly wiped out, except for one person, the perpetrator... Hodwan."
"My soldiers spent a long time finding the coward that had gone into hiding, and when we finally found him, he had taken my apprentice prisoner again, at this point in time the general appeared deranged, and out of his mind. For the good of not just Aventia, but all of His Majesty's lands, I decided it was in our best interest to lay this man to eternal rest."
"High court, I ask you this: would you stand by idly when your own land and family were actively threatened by a madman?" Cykrus then turned around again, lightly bowed to Vivienne, then took his seat.
"Thank you, Lord Aventia. The court has heard your defence and will now weigh this matter to allow us to reach an amicable conclusion for both families."
Cykrus closed his eyes, he was sitting still, allowing the incoherent murmurs from all around him to come and go.
He had thrown the dice, done what he could, the rest was up to his luck...
His ears were buzzing lightly, the noise around him was getting drowned out, which made Simon's words seem louder and clearer, "So you intend to fight until the end? Commendable, but foolish. Luckily for us though... that is exactly what wanted to hear from you."
Cykrus' eyes shot open, he turned to his right... Simon wasn't someone he needed to fear, be it his strength or his cunning... but he also knew that Simon wasn't the ringleader he had been contending against for the last few years.
His heart involuntarily sped up as the members of the court continued debating.
After what felt like an eternity, the loud ambience simmered down, Vivienne rose from her seat, "Before we truly begin with this case, I must consult you, high court... do raise your hand if you are in favour of holding an open ballot for today." she continued, and nearly everyone raised their hand.
"Thank you. Raise your hand if you oppose the decision to hold an open ballot." she continued, the many hands were lowered, only a few remained.
"Thank you. Raise your hand if you choose to abstain from voting either of the two." the men next to her scribbled even quicker than before.
"The majority is in favour of an open ballot, we will continue as such." she noted loudly, then flipped through some pages that were lying in front of her.
Vivienne cleared her voice, then spoke while skimming over a piece of paper, "The royal family intends to not involve itself in this matter, unless of course, a war between the two families is considered unavoidable."
"As you just heard, high court, His Royal Majesty has not proposed a solution, as such I shall take this opportunity to offer one myself: rank one mages may be important to some families, but certainly not to one as big as Baron Ironhoof's, thus I propose for Aventia to pay renumerations, as well as materials required to nurture a new rank one mage in the general's stead."
"I ask the high court to vote on this proposition."
"Raise your hand if you concur, that Aventia should pay for their Lord's actions by aiding the Ironhoof family in nurturing a new rank one mage." Vivienne directed the court, but even fewer raised their hands, than those who opposed the open ballot.
Cykrus wasn't perturbed, he would have been confused if this situation could be resolved that easily.
"Raise your hand if you oppose this proposition." Vivienne continued, and Cykrus' heart chilled, it was normal for the court to show their opposition to a vote by raising their hands en masse, but for nearly every single person to actively participate... something was terribly off!
Even Vivienne was shocked for a moment, but continued as normal, "Thank you. Now raise your hand to abstain." but no one raised their hand.
Vivienne cleared her throat, "My proposition has been declined by the majority... I now ask you, high court, what solution do you offer?" her words caused another debate to break out among those present, all but one, who stood up and raised their hand to garner the surrounding aristocrats' attention.
"Your honour, if I may." a man spoke; Cykrus didn't recognise him, he couldn't guess whether this man had any connections to the Ironhoof family, but that made him all the more anxious.
Vivienne nodded at him, then he followed up, "There is obviously bad blood between both of these families, and neither of them is willing to back down on this matter... that is why I humbly propose for them to decide which side is in the wrong in a way that befits the world of mages, and honours a long, long, tradition our ancestors followed throughout history... I am talking about a battle, where the winner gets to decide what happens to the loser."
The words he spoke should have been nonsensical, something entirely unheard of... telling two rank two mages to go at it, right into their faces... but that uproar never came, the court was silent, like they had already been expecting this claim... and Simon's face was one big smile.
Vivienne was left speechless, the members of the court looked to her expectantly, waiting for her to begin the vote...
"But of course, we should leave the specifics of the fight to the families themselves." the man added.
Vivienne absentmindedly looked at the man for several seconds, then tilted her head to see Cykrus in the corner of her sight, "This... high court... raise your hand if you agree-"
At this moment Cykrus finally realised, it wasn't just a few who the Ironhoofs managed to bribe, and not just the majority, but close to ninety-nine percent of the attending nobles.
He stared at the edges of the auditorium, a room filled with raised hands, for the first time in years, a strange feeling of dread overcame him.
Vivienne then asked them to raise their hands to see if anyone was against the vote, or abstained, but that was already a meaningless act, only for formality.
Simon rose from his seat after she was done, he pointed his finger at Cykrus and loudly proclaimed, "Very well! I agree to hold a duel! Whichever family loses shall be at the mercy of the winner! I Baron Simon Ironhoof, representing the entirety of the Ironhoof family, solemnly swear to uphold our end of this, whether we win or lose!"
"May the high court be our witness to this!"
Cykrus remained seated, he was glaring at Simon whose acting was horrible.
Luckily for him, his performance made no difference, this outcome was set in stone.
Fighting the court's decision was an act even more insane than any battle against a mage, because without proper justification, he would only get on the royal family's bad side.
Cykrus slowly stood up, his face showed no emotion, "I will decide where this fight takes place."
Simon shrugged his shoulders, "Fine by me. However, this duel will take place today in a month. If you delay it even by just a day, then we will see this as a declaration of war..."
"Thank you, high court... this matter has been concluded." Vivienne spoke, her voice somewhat raspy.
The nobles began to disperse, flooding out of the room, Cykrus was still a rank two mage, and before he was dead none of them wanted to risk offending him any more than they already had.
"How much did you pay them?" Cykrus frowned at Simon.
"I am not sure what you are talking about. I had no sway in the court's decision." he acted all defensive and oblivious.
"Anyways, it's been a fun couple of years, see you in a month. Ta Ta." Simon bid him farewell and walked off.
Cykrus was seething underneath his calm demeanour, but he could only watch the baron leave.
An all-out war between Aventia and the Ironhoofs wouldn't go well for him...
"Excuse me, Lord Aventia." Vivienne's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, "Could I have a moment of your time?"
"Of course. Of course. In private I assume?" Cykrus asked, to which she nodded.
He followed her out of the auditorium and into a secluded chamber, lit by a candelabra.
"I am so sorry Cykrus, there was nothing I could do to sway the court."
Cykrus frowned after hearing her say that, "There is no need for you to apologise. None of this is your fault... the Ironhoofs have had it out for my land for a very long time, probably even longer than I can remember. Such a day was bound to come, sooner or later."
"What are you going to do now? This vote was far from just, which means that the fight will also be anything but honest and straight-forward."
"I have one month to find the most advantageous battlefield for me... but considering that Simon didn't oppose it, they are confident that the location won't make a difference." Cykrus knitted his eyebrows.
Vivienne reached out slowly and carefully grabbed his hand, she looked him in the eyes, "You don't have to fight yourself... I know people... I could get someone to help you."
Cykrus returned her gaze, he could see a glint in her eyes that he had never seen before.
"Aventia is my land, my home. I don't intend to leave defending it to anyone else. If I lose and things go the way the Ironhoofs want, then I want it to be my failure, not someone I depended on." he answered.
Vivienne gripped his hand harder, "Cykrus think this over... I understand that you don't want to lose the land all your ancestors passed down to you, but your life is so much more important than it!"
Cykrus sighed, "Vivienne... I know why you are trying so hard to change my mind, and I am sorry, but I can't reciprocate those feelings you have for me..."
Vivienne smiled helplessly, "I know... I knew since our previous run in with each other at the start of His Highness' competition. Agnes was her name, right? I should have told you long ago..."
"Back then I was still immature, it wouldn't have ended well... I guess I am not all that mature now either... Vivienne... I know I have no right to ask this of you, feel free to decline... but should something happen to me during the upcoming fight could you-"
Vivienne interrupted him, "Of course. I will take her in and protect her in your stead. I owe you that much."
"You don't owe me anything, it is I who is in your debt." Cykrus wouldn't have it.
"No. That time I spent with you, all the places and fights you brought me along to see, they are some of the most precious memories I have. So don't act like we are strangers. Rely on me, at least a little bit. Even if you won't accept someone else fighting in your stead, there is no way I will allow you to show up to that fight empty-handed!"
Cykrus closed his eyes, "Thank you. Vivienne."