Awaken (Hermitcraft Fanfiction)

I. Goodbye, End

TW: maiming, slight violence

Yevir stood in the depression in the middle of the ring before the council. Eleven eyes glared down at them as they held their head high, fully aware of the consequences their actions had brought upon them. They steadily made eye contact with each member despite the white masks that obscured half of their faces, never bending before the scowling gazes in charge of their fate.

The council sat in a semicircle on one end of the elliptical room, the other side lined with chairs containing every Watcher in existence. The seats formed a complete ring around the central divot in the floor, although it was more like a pit. The doorway into the pit opened beneath the audience, giving the council full view of the criminal as they were brought into view. The color palette was endstone yellow, with highlights of purpur and shadows of obsidian. Chorus flowers were sparsely placed to add minuscule variation, often framing bare windows closed with light gray glass.

Each Watcher was clothed in obsidian black, long sleeves and trousers covering nearly every centimeter of skin. Each had a weapon they used to channel magic, ranging from rapiers to broadswords to spears. A white mask covered their eyes, molded perfectly to their faces. It cut off on the bridge of their noses, with two points that followed their jawline down to an invisible line level with the corner of their mouths. There were no holes for eyes, yet the beings could see perfectly well through the one-way material. A purple symbol adorned the center of their foreheads: a rectangle with the upper left and bottom right corners broken off, leaving a single dot disconnected from the rest of the shape in their place.

The council were a group of impressive figures, dressed in uniform with the rest of their subjects. However, each of them radiated power and glory, accentuated by the ebony staffs they held in their hands. Accompanying each member was a spectral-looking animal, each a legendary representative of the twelve animals of the zodiac. The creatures were translucent, yet as tangible as a real animal. Each was two meters tall, never smaller or larger than precisely that.

Finally, Yevir's eyes landed on the empty seat at the end of the row: the seat they had used and ruled from for over a century. Their pegasus whinnied from where it stood between two guards, its blue pelt quivering as it stood its ground against its oppressors. A metal clamp pinned its wings to its sides, and a hard, uncomfortable bridle clamped its snout, leaving it at the mercy of the Watchers.

Yevir was in no better position: their own dark brown wings had been clamped in a similar manner, while their hands were bound with magic binding cuffs, stemming the amount of magic they could access. Only a small amount was permitted to flow into their body, keeping them on their feet, as magic was what kept each and every Watcher alive long past the time their human bodies would have expired. Yevir was over three centuries old, one of the youngest council members. However, their accelerated advancement through the Watcher training allowed them to gain the seat when one of the previous members unexpectedly demised.

"Yevir." Xalyn's voice was colder than the End dimension air that blew through the room as they spoke in Galactic, the only sound a Watcher could hear after their full acceptance into the order. The Head Watcher's power surpassed that of every Watcher in the room. Their pitch black wings matched their head of coal black hair, which had been cut roughly at shoulder length. "I am... disappointed in you." They scowled, purple magic sparking around the edges of their mask and on the tip of their staff, the only sign of their anger.

"We, the council, trusted you as one of our own. You have betrayed that trust. Have you anything to say?" Yevir remained resolutely silent, mouth pressed in a thin line.

"Answer the Head!" Zeroc demanded. Their hair was snow white, cropped short at the ears and slightly longer at the top. Their matching white wings beat the air as they commanded Yevir to speak.