Unrest had spread throughout the city like wildfire, and many soldiers were already planning to desert their posts or tear down the ’Phordite mansion door in search of answers. Protesting against their chaos were Adith’s holy chains, reinforcing the mansion doors. The windows and the galleries, however, weren’t as fortunate. As rocks and anything the rabble could throw were being hurled in their direction.
Shattered windows, defaced galleries, and corridors were the response from the crowd to not being afforded any answers to their questions. However, with Raven still gone, there was nothing much that the party could say to sway them. Erika, and of course, even Helga had tried to calm them, but their words only brought them a few hours before the chaos ensued again.
"Just let go out and beat so sense into these idiots!" Standing sentry by the vestibule, Aria had gotten tired of listening to them banging on the main door. Balling up her fist with her dragonic gauntlets equipped, she slamd a fist against her palm and turned her gaze to Adith. "Open the door, let handle this!"
"Ah-ahn, not happening, hot head," speaking up from behind her, Maria drew her attention. Waving her index at the barbarian, the mistress stared at Aria with a narrowed gaze. "There are servants in this mansion, not to ntion, if you let those guys in, we’re gonna need to repair a lot of things–mostly because you can’t control your powers or yourself."
"Uhmm," before Aria could even get angry, Tan moved between the two. His hand stretched at them both, he nervously whispered. "L-lets just wait for Master Raven. He has been gone for a while and must be returning soon!"
The very next instance, a flash of blue light brought so comfort to the room. Turning to look at it, they found Raven standing alone as the light dispersed. Holding a razor-sharp piece of string in his hand, he kept staring at the ground for a mont before pocketing it and lifting his head up.
Instantly, he knew that was wrong, and the chains on the mansion’s door conveyed all that he needed to know. For a mont, his attention shifted to Helga and the rest of the crowd, not involving his imdiate party. Everyone seed a little tense–so due to the crowd outside and the others because of the overarching situation itself.
"Open the damn door, I will talk," without looking at anyone else or saying anything else, Raven conjured his general’s coat and walked in front of the main door. Taking a deep breath, he stood firmly in the middle with his hands folded in the back and his chest puffed up, and his eyes holding the sa fury as he does in the middle of wars.
Although a bit reluctant about the whole ordeal, Adith let go of the chain, and in a flash, the doors swung open. The people at the front of the protests fell forward, and the rest poured right in behind him. However, the mont their gaze t the general, their bodies froze, and the constant chantings ca to an end.
"What? You have sothing to say to , then say it!" The hero scread, his anger and frustration at his own soldiers laid completely bare. Shooting a fist forward, he gritted his teeth and slamd a foot forward. "I fought for this kingdom again and again, and for you and your children, and yet the mont a witch spews poison, you’re ready to devour it with such ease!"
Squeezing his fingers, he cracked them, and they echoed amidst the silence. Pulling his hand back, Raven lifted the side of his shirt to show the soldier a childhood burn. Branded on him by the nuns who once served Aphrodite, a punishnt for his playfulness when the nuns wanted ease in their service.
"See that? That’s the brand I got from being raised in this kingdom’s orphanage!" Letting go of his shirt, he reached into his waist pouch and took out a map of Athenia. Waving it in the faces of the soldiers, he scread. "Every inch of this place! I know it like the back of my hand; everyone knew my na before I beca a chosen or even an adventurer, for that matter! And still you doubt my conviction for our cause?"
Wearing a grimace born of sheer disgust, Raven fought the urge to spit at the weakness of the people’s camaraderie and their will.
"What’s next? When a horror shows you a nightmare about your ally’s betrayal, will you take it as the truth and stab them right then and there?" As his voice echoed more and more, the soldiers slowly and shafully began retreating from within the mansion hall. "ANSWER ! WHO HERE HASN’T SEEN WHAT KIND OF TRICKS THE HORRORS CO UP WITH? HUH? SO WHY WOULD THAT WICKED WITCH WHO HAS BIRTHED THEM ALL–WHY WOULD HER MANIPULATION BE ANY DIFFERENT!"
Taking a few steps forward, the hero nearly chased the soldiers out entirely. However, stopping just by the door, he glanced around at everyone, his gaze as piercing as his words were currently.
"And even if there’s so morsel of truth to that woman’s words," slamming a fist against his chest, he declared. "I will stab my own heart before accepting her deal or her as my mother. The only family I have is here, maybe not through blood, but it’s much stronger than the corruption that courses through her blood or mine!"
The crowd had fallen silent a while ago, and with the hero’s demand for answers–answers about why they would trust a wicked goddess instead of soone who’d been with them for years–none of them had anything to say. Realizing that not a single one of them would speak up, Raven heaved a sigh and waved dismissively.
"If you want to quit being a soldier, then go ahead, nobody will stop you." Turning around, he began walking back towards his group. "But when they ask where you were when we needed a soldier or a handful to save the world as we know it today, then you’d better answer, and you’d better be truthful."
And with that, the riots ca to an end. The soldiers had a lot to think about, and so did Raven and his companions. Right now, however, the won who’d lost their children required more of their attention–alas, they were as vulnerable as their children would have been, and there was no one who could comfort them as well as the father, albeit under Brenna’s guidance.
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