Asher the Insane

53 - The House of Lords Part 01

A week has passed since the East Pike Mountain incident; it being the disappearance of it; vanishing from its location.

We have a few people here who claim to be eyewitnesses, and we also have a few others supposedly associated with this event.

Since this is a matter which has a magnitude of importance, these people will give their testimonies before a court of lords with the king himself in attendance who, at the end of the court proceedings, will give out a judgment and call on what is to be the next step.

I, Elis Duncan, a simple gentleman of the Kingdom of Deira, am one of the few chosen scribes to document the proceedings of the court.

Firstly, after all the exactly one-hundred-and-nifty-four lords who were attending the court had arrived and been seated in their respective seats in the Palace of Eastprimer in the capital of Deira, Lunnen, on the twenty-fifth of the first month of sumner, directly at noon, one-hundred-and-thirty-five commissioners and fifty-nine judges, with the king's approval, the Lord Speaker, Baron Kai Hayes of the House of Rees, addressed and officially opened the assembly.

Lord Speaker Kai Hayes invited Earl Regan Milan of Redeshire to speak.

Standing up and giving a deep bow to the Lords around him and thanking Lord Speaker Hayes, he expanded upon the lord's explanation and added to it.

"Dear Lords of the House," he began, "As we stand here today, we must discuss a very serious matter, a very strange matter indeed. Nothing in the history of our glorious country so baffling has ever befallen us. As you all well may know, not quite a full seven days ago the mountain, easternmost of our country, The Pike, as some may call it, has fully disappeared without a trace of what had exactly occurred. There is some speculation of what has happened but most of it has to remain like that, speculation. The transpiration of its reality is unbeknown to almost all. Today we believe we have first-hand witnesses of the event. You all have already been informed of these supposed witnesses."

At that moment, Duke Lochlan Read of Ariesher raised up his hand.

Earl Milan acknowledged him and Duke Read stood up and thanked Earl Milan and asked, "How can we be sure that these testimonies are to be truthful?"

There was a short second of murmurs of agreement from some of the other Lords, and Earl Milan invited Archbishop Declan Grant to answer.

Archbishop Grant stood up and thanked the Earl and gave an answer.

"One of the witnesses is called Zedro Diringer, the head priest of the church of Alexandra in Aloshir, the most eastern city of Deira, for those who don't know. He had sworn under holy text that everything he and the other witnesses will say will be nothing but the truth."

The Earl added, "In addition, one of them is Mine Glory, for those who do not know he is a retired, and very decorated, General of the military wing of the kingdom, and to add even more to all that, all the witnesses have also signed formal documents to tell the truth and have sworn under oath."

After a small pause and formal whispers between the Lord Speaker and the King, the court proceeded.

The Lord Speaker stood and called upon the first witness.

"The court would like to call the first witness, Priest Zedro Diringer, to the stand."

From a connected room right next to the courts, guards produced Zedro Diringer and escorted him to the stand, to give his testimony of the events.

He bowed first and then waited for the court to address him.

"Your name is Zedro Diringer, is that correct?" The Lord Speaker asked, and then a few questions were brought up by the Lord Speaker.

"Yes, that is correct," Mister Diringer answered.

"You're the head priest of the church of Alexandra in Aloshir. Is that correct?" The Speaker asked his first question.

"Yes, that is correct," Diringer confirmed once more.

"For how long have you been?" The Lord Speaker asked his second.

"At this very moment, I have been for twelve years, since the death of my father."

"And will you kindly disclose how you are related to the disappearance of the East Pike Mountain, Priest Diringer?" The Lord Speaker asked thirdly.

Then Mister Diringer then started to recount the events from his perspective.