Chapter 424 (1/2)

Chapter 422: Through the Djinn’s Eyes

19-24 ht and color bled across the blank white canvas in greens, blues, and purples My surroundings ran like watercolors, coalescing into a stained-glass dioranizable shapes I foundon a soft cushi+on made of a deep navy material In front of ht the whirling grain of whatever alien tree it was crafted from

A couple of dozen sied in tidy rows under an open-air paGoda, carved of soft white stone and tiled with an iridescent cyan h a shallow trough in thearea into two halves

At the edge of the paGoda, the streaer body of water as it tue to look down The spray fro out from the base of the cliffs When I tried to focus on the city, though, theon it

“An illusion,” I whispered The voice that ca down, I realized the skin of ht pink Spellforms covered much of my exposed skin But more than that, I was sht or nine years old in a huood,” so, I realized it was only the djinn remnant His hair was a couple inches shorter, and he’d lost less of it, but he was otherwise the sa on a dais raised four inches or so above the floor, fro

“Please, sit” He gestured to the cushi+on I’d occupied when the trial started Wordlessly, I did as he requested So shi+fted in his posture and expression, but it was difficult to read “You are here today to test your aptitude and knowledge, pupil, so weFirst, explain what you know of the relationshi+p between lanced around, uncertain, before focusing on the djinn “Really? This is the trial?”

The shadow of a frown crossed his face, but it passed in an instant, and he gavesain a full understanding of e and talents so that they may fulfill their potential in their own Lifework”

“I preferred the fighting trials,” I mumbled under my breath Louder, I said, “Mana and aether are sih they have unique defining properties, they constantly press against one another, shaping each other The ht used water and a cup In reality, if mana is like water, then aether would be a waterskin, because they are both changeable with the appropriate force exerted by the opposite, but I don’t think that“No, a more appropriate comparison would describe aether as an arrow andis rudimentary Blunt,” the djinn replied immediately, but there was no disapproval in his flat tone “You view aether as both a tool and hts are muddied by the violence of your past experiences This mechanical explanation of how the twin forces of mana and aether interact is accurate at a surface level, but you do not understand what separates theers drummed across the surface of e of irritation “Can you correct my htly to the side “But you haven’tof its own accord “But you just said—”

“I have voiced observations Truths, not judgements,” the djinn said with an air of scholarly diplomacy “My purpose is to help you direct your efforts in the future Your path is fluid, not deteric currently at your disposal, how can you participate in the progress of our nation?”

I stared at the djinn “Your nation? But…”

So clicked into place The shi+ft in his demeanor, the absence of current context in his questions and responses…this conversation was taking place as if I really were a djinn child living before the genocide of his people He wasn’t really addressingwhat e with real children froo Whatever else this test was, it was also a look directly into the heart of the djinn people before their exterht “Instead of building an encyclopedia, I’d build walls Based on what I’ve seen in the Relictombs, I don’t understand why you didn’t transplant your entire cities into the aetheric realm You could have protected yourselves”

The djinn nodded “Violence, again You—” The djinn faltered, stu a step One hand pressed to the side of his head as he eased himself down onto the dais

I started to stand, but froze Was this a part of the trial? Or had I broken sohts by not playing along? “Are you all right?” I asked after aback into my seat

The beautiful clifftop scenelike wax I had to close o of the sudden shi+ft When I opened theain a few seconds later, I was still seated, but everything else had changed

Rows of dark wooden benches faced a raised podiu’s interior was brightly lit by high, arched s lining the walls to h them, I could see the cliffs in the distance, and, at the top of a thin waterfall, the cyan-roofed paGoda

Birdlike creatures flitted aht and cheer of the surroundings did not extend to the many djinn present

I blinked several tiue impression of unease, or perhaps disappointment, I couldn’t focus on their features Except for the three behind the podiu at the back of the roo djinn cleared their throat, and a spellforlow on their neck When they spoke, their voice wasthe rooht next to me “It is a rare and sad occasion when there is need to convene this council, the Legal Body of Faircity Zhoroa Today, we address the crimes of the defendant: abandonment of his Lifework and the corruption of aether to devise implements of hostility As is tradition, first, ill allow the defendant to explain his actions”

Judges, I realized, recalling h Hall This is a courtroom

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All eyes turned toward me Thrown off by the sudden transition into this new scene, I struggled to for next toser to understand”

“Butto wrap e’s accusations of crimes I hadn’t even existed to commit This trial-within-a-trial was clearly purposeful, however, and ed by some metric I wasn’t aware of “Are these accusations even crimes? What keeps e es nodded under their hoods, and then the central figure spoke again “Is this the defendant’s only response?”

“A life’s work can’t be abandoned, only change its course,” I said, gettingas I tried to fathom the trial’s purpose “And as for my use of aether as an ‘iies The aether itself is eager enough to adopt a destructive for like an edict of Destruction if aether wasn’t intended to be used as such?”

The central judge leaned forward, deepening the shadows under their cowl “Is it not the role of civilization to use those natural elements at our disposal to suppress their destructiveness as well as our own? Fire may burn, and water drown, as is their nature, and yet we call it wrong to harness them for this express purpose, do we not?”

“Maybe not if the person you are burning is an ene the sathe trial “What Imyself” I struck on an idea and decided to run with it “After all, I’ve seen so the Relictombs Grotesque monsters, deadly traps, terrible iuard the djinn’s knowledge Why is it acceptable to guard knowledge but not lives?”

“You answer questions with questions, and in doing so ask that we provide your defense for you,” the judge said “So be it We will deliberate”

Suddenly, the courtroo sensation lasted only a fraction of a second, and when it stopped,behind the podiues “And you?” one asked, as if we’d just been having a conversation “What is your judg aover the podiuo-robed djinn was still there, but a stranger with purple skin and a body covered in jagged spellfor up at us, the fla within his eyes The illusion was so real that it was difficult to re This e on what I was about to say because he’d been dead for a very long time, if he’d ever lived at all

“Law isn’t always justice,” I answered “It seeht And, soree with him”

“For five thousand years, the djinn have constructed a nation built on the peaceful acquisition of knowledge,” the central judge explained “Disease, hunger, violence—these are all sy civilization It is not our advancereatest accomplishment, it is our civility Should we allow outside forces to take that away from us? If er ourselves to the station of our enemies, then we have already lost This is why our laritten as it is, and as today’s presiding judges over the Legal Body, we are responsible both for upholding the law and the good of both our great city and the wider union What then, is your judge his actions justified”

The other two judges nodded, then the light vanished as deep shadows enveloped the courthouse Everyone turned toward the s, craning their necks to see Everyone except the djinn re at his feet Then the sceneuntil I couldn’t see anything at all

When the light returned, ain

I was in a spherical chalass doht fro vines grew up the walls, and little streae of the stairs that broke up concentric rows of a Every seat, it seemed, was filled

Next to me, the djinn remnant had a faraway, unfocused look in his eye as he stared down at two people seated opposite each other fro was carved into the table, but I couldn’t make out the details And I didn’t have the attention to spare on wondering what it was, because theon the far side of that table was like a lightning bolt of shock through my nervous system

Kezess Indrath