The Non-Human Society

Chapter One Hundred and Ninety - Vim - Lumen's Decleration

      "All major families have flown their banners! We shall not rest until our home is safe again!" Thraxton's voice carried over the crowd, barely bothered by the storm winds rolling in from the sea.

He was up on the stage in the center of Lumen, surrounded by not just knights in armor but the cloth and silk of clergies and merchants. Behind them, covering the castle wall the community stage sat right in front of was a sea of color. Dozens of large banners, bigger than a grown man, fluttered in the wind behind him. He was likely right. Chances are even the lowest of nobles and merchants had vowed their services to aid Lumen and its people.

Our banner was fluttering near the center, only three away from Thraxton's. Ours would be right next to his, if not for his son's banner and his wife's.

"We vow to you, Lumen shall not just rebuild... but do so stronger! Together!" Thraxton continued his speech, and all of Lumen was enthralled by it. I turned a little, to look over Reatti's head and scan what was likely the entirety of Lumen around us.

The large street, the largest in Lumen, was packed shoulder to shoulder. Women and children were on men's shoulders. People were on the roofs of the buildings nearby, and dozens of heads peered out of windows. There were more people than stone or city, it was an odd sight.

Reatti blinked up at me as I turned back around, to look the other way. We were near the stage, but in the balcony reserved for merchants. It was only on the second floor, and usually it let us sit or stand leisurely... yet right now it was as packed as the rest of the street. I had put Reatti to my right, next to the banister, as to not force her to stand shoulder to shoulder with humans.

"No demon! No Monster! None shall break us! None shall defeat us! We're Lumen! A city without masters!" Thraxton continued his ideologue, and I recognized the transition. He was no longer telling the listeners of what they had done, found out, and planned to do... but was now going to release his proclamation. The proclamation of sovereignty.

Those in power were going to utilize the creature as a scapegoat. They were going to claim it was a malicious entity sent by those who were jealous. Who wanted Lumen for themselves.

Although... deceitful. It was better than the alternative.

I'd rather them blame some foreigners than my own people. Better they thought it some kind of beast controlled by foreign kings or witches.

My eyes wandered to the knights on the stage. Most were far too old to be actual knights. They were the heads of their households. The lords of noble families. I only recognized a few of the faces on the stage, but that wasn't a surprise. Brandy and Gerald handled Lumen's negotiations for me. The only reason I even knew Thraxton was because I had known him from a small boy.

"Declare it! For all to hear! Lumen stands! It stands tall! And stands alone!" Thraxton roared his defiant decree, and the world went deafening as the entire crowd bellowed in agreement.

For a tiny moment, the world heard them all.

Such a thing usually was followed by war... but there was no war to wage. No real enemy.

There were a few nations and city states nearby that would try to retain control over Lumen, but it was doubtful any of them would actually send armies as to occupy it. The massive mountain range that surrounded Lumen, and the inland sea that surrounded the parts that those mountains didn't, made it a difficult place to truly control. There were several paths through the mountain range, but they all lead to other nations. One to Telmik, one to the south and another north. One singular nation wouldn't be able to blockade their trade routes, and as such it was a fruitless endeavor. And Lumen had been built as a solid fortress. It could withstand siege for... well... Likely years, if it needed to. Especially with the port. As far as I was aware only one other nation had a naval military capable of threatening Lumen from the sea, and that nation was currently at war with the south. The nations in today's era couldn't wage war on multiple fronts, they didn't have the technology or the know-how.