Iron of the Innocent: The Dark Judge (Vol 1)

Chapter 1: Burn

226 B.E.
Sacren
Caegoroth Kingdom
City of Caesiliden

500 years in the past...

The fire was massive. Its flames licked the air and dark smoke billowed upward into the cold, black sky. The moons had not risen, and the distant stars were blotted out of sight and mind. A huge building, devoured by the raging storm of destruction, uttered sorrowful sounds of the conflagration. Windows shattered, wood cracked, and thousands of books burned in addition to a vast archive of scrolls.

A massive crowd surrounded the huge pyre, and in their hands were other scrolls and books found elsewhere. They flung them with all their strength into the blaze attempting to get them to the flames. Intense heat kept the crowds at bay. They may have not made it to the fire, but the written materials smoked and then burned where they landed.

Men, women, and children, dragged out of their homes from all over the local province of the kingdom, wept. Many had been beaten and bloodied by their attackers. They were put in manacles and chains. The accused numbers were much smaller than those who brought them before the judges, and the judges proclaimed their verdict of guilty. The crowds roared in agreement.

Then they led the condemned away to a large hill overlooking the enormous fire. Forced to kneel facing the library that had been the central repository of knowledge for what they believed, their heads were severed by executioners wielding sharp axes. None of the prisoners were spared, including the women and children.

A man spoke from in front of the library, his voice struggling to be heard over the crowd. "We will never again hear the words of this book!" he cried as he turned and threw the manuscript. His throw was true and the book began to smoke as it flew through the air. The crowd's cheer was deafening.

Turning back to the crowd he continued. "We will wipe them out, and erase their knowledge from the face of the world! Death to the Harbingers!" The crowd echoed his words with raised fists. "Death to the Harbingers!" the man cried again, his eyes reflecting the destruction around him.

He relished the reply from the people. "Death!" they chanted.

"Wherever you find their books or scrolls, you will burn them!" he roared. "What you see here tonight is being carried out across the kingdoms! We will see this through until the end!"

The crowds clapped and cheered in emotionally charged euphoria.

"None will be left alive! No mercy!" he declared loudly.

"No mercy!" the people bellowed in a unified voice.

* * * * *

The attack was sudden, but it was not a surprise. Bethahna Linthel warned the counsel continuously for six months, but they were in a state of denial. They never believed it would have come to this extreme. There had been persecutions before, but there was never an attempt at complete annihilation.

A new king, Gantry Unthollis Caegoroth III, ascended the throne of Caegoroth after his father and older brother were both killed in battle. Yet, he was not what he appeared. He was a man who smiled, comforted, and flattered publically, but he was a ravenous beast inside. While ordering and leading the destruction against the arcane orders, the king charmed the Harbinger Council, keeping them docile and trusting until it was simply too late. Bethahna could feel the evil inside him like a slithering, dark serpent.

Bethahna barely got out of the library alive before it was completely surrounded. She made sure the three most important books were smuggled out safely through the secret underground passages. They would not be secret for much longer, and more than likely had already been compromised by the king's spies. His forces would not relent in their pursuit.