Only two women attended the ceremony in the chamber of justice but only one could be recognized. The accused, Sirena Hall, dangled from a branch in a wyre wood cage. Her feet hovered a hand's breadth above the roots while all the dukes of Stanton sat comfortably.
Commander Syln addressed the Cordon of Peers. "If you think she looks like an innocent girl, you are mistaken. She is a heinous thing, a depraved thing, a monstrous thing. It is your duty to extinguish her flame, or she will walk among you. This butcher will dine with your wives, seduce your brothers. If you ignore your conscience today, the blood of your kin will cry out for justice on some cruel tomorrow." Commander Syln lowered his horned helmet and closed his eyes, face utterly serene, arms out. No one in the chamber dared to breathe because they didn't want to be the first to shatter the silence.
The Old Lord, high on his dais, touched a display screen and a synthetic voice filled the chamber. "Call To Defense." The sound excited the giant arachnids posted on either side of the accused; their electronic control modules unable to restrain the vestigial twitching.
Captain Korivian, the Lord of Defense, in his black robe and helmet of spikes, stood up from in front of the cage with the female inside, trussed up in the scarlet uniform, long braided hair down to her waist.
Captain Korivian, looked to the Cordon of Peers, at the Old Lord, at the floor. He made a start at speaking but faltered. He closed his eyes and both his fists. "I am not a learned man. I am not a scholar. I stand before you because I know the charges laid against the accused are false. Despite what you have heard Sirena did not murder her parents. The fact is her parents died long ago, their ship broke apart entering the atmosphere of Mere. For six years this poor creature has suffered as a ward of the nation, forced to bear the hardest labors, the cruelest overseers, the meanest food and shelter. In this state she was adopted and promptly abused by her so-called guardians."
The chamber erupted, shouts of: Untruth! Vile Lies! Slander! The gentry stomped their hostile feet and their ubiquitous canes. The outrage was almost universal. Only a keen observer analyzing the visual record would be able to see that one of the dukes did not show any reaction at all. This was understandable because this lordling was not really a member of the property class. In fact, this peer was Tora Vale, the mother of the accused. This revelation might confuse the gentleman standing next to her because Tora Vale didn't seem herself. In fact, she looked just like Murtan Puck, a northern landholder that rarely came to the capital.
Commander Syln paced the circle of sacred truth while a six legged beast ambled out of a shaft in the floor. The long antennae stood upright receiving the signals from the skull of the decapitated queen mounted above the chamber. "This drone was in the home of the victims, trimming and fertilizing the interior walls. I now direct it to show us the footage of the transgression."
The insect brought in its legs and settled its carapace onto the uneven stone. The beast shut its six eyes. The chamber dimmed. A small beam of light flickered from above the insect's mandibles. The beam projected images onto the wall in sepia tones. A man and a woman hunkered over a long table eating gruel from wooden bowls. A young woman with black hair down over her face stood behind the matron, with a hatchet. The unsuspecting victim brought the spoon to her mouth as the blade struck her skull. The matron reached back and fumbled with the handle of the ax. The patron rushed forward as his partner fell over. A long blade punched into his breast and he staggered back in shock, crumpling like a puppet with a snipped string.
The beam faded and the insect's eyes opened. The lights came back on. The lords of the landed class shouted fervent cries, banging and stomping. No one noticed Murtan Puck bend down and place a finger sized creature onto the stone, a thonador. In the prison camp one of them almost killed her. The other starving prisoners cut off the poisonous heads and ate them raw, but she bred them, trained them, learned their secrets. Now all her hope resided in the creature. When the victim succumbed, no one would be able to ascertain the cause. With his task accomplished Murtan Puck rose out of his seat, blending in with the other men venting righteous indignation. In the tumult the rural lordling slipped out of the main chamber before the conclusion of the ceremony.
