After their decisive victory over Orinovo, Lys-Akkaria's army crosses the border to take back territory that used to be theirs. With the combined forces of a lightweaver and shadowforger, Orinovo doesn't stand a chance.
In spite of their newfound a...
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Ainreth was progressively getting angrier and angrier. It had been a few days over the time limit that people with Orinovan heritage had had to sign that document, and some had refused to, which meant that a few of them had already started to be harassed by guards, investigated for suspicious behavior.
At least it had one good consequence though—the anti-war protesters were as a group closer than ever. Some had left them to protect their families now that Varilik was taking steps like this, which Ainreth couldn't blame them for. But the remaining members had stopped their squabbling at least.
Their main focus currently was protecting the innocent people targeted by this incredibly stupid new decree. They'd been hiding the ones most affected that they could help in their safehouses all over the city, but it was still very much a work in progress. And they didn't have that many resources to feed people for long.
Ainreth wished he could offer his house for this, since it was fairly big and available, but it was too close to the palace, too in plain sight.
The only thing he could think of was bringing a few people with him and making them invisible. But doing that for multiple people for more than a few minutes was risky, to say the least. Ainreth could usually handle two people, but the more he had to cloak, the more likely it was he would lose concentration.
Ainreth sighed, running his finger over a ridge in the surface of the table he was sitting at. The anti-war leaders were discussing what to do next. He'd had no ideas and listening to their equal lack of ideas was even more demoralizing.
He really, really wanted to get drunk. But he resisted because he'd then be completely useless, instead of just mostly. Still, even though he wasn't listening, he sometimes caught bits and pieces.
"Maybe we should just sign it," he heard one of the people they were protecting say, his voice shaky.
Ainreth dragged his eyes over to him, sighing as he then scanned the whole place. Everyone in the large, spacious room was glum, their eyes turned to the floor, usually silent, lost in their thoughts.
It didn't help that they barely had any lights on to avoid being detected. The place had practically no windows, but the wooden boards the walls were made of had gaps in them large enough to show light shining through them. This was after all supposed to be an abandoned storage house. But it just made the whole room so gloomy.
"If we sign it, then what?" another said, a woman with her hair hanging over her eyes. She looked as though she hadn't slept in days. "We'll still be treated as somehow worse than people born in Lys-Akkarian families. For no reason."
"But at least we won't be looked at as criminals by the Court."
A third snorted, shaking her head. "And who is to say that nothing else will be signed to make our lives harder? As long as the Court agrees, there is little that will stop that from happening."
