The Ancients A Tale of Survival

Ķeënű Passes Judgment

Mỷrἇ stood as stoically as she could. She refused to flinch as Maŗŗők glared at her. Ƒáeláƞ stood next to her with his arm around her waist. His gaze never left his former friend's face. Maŗŗők's gaze never strayed far from Mỷrἇ, Ƒáeláƞ, or Dárkmëre.

Ķeënű stepped forward. He was the eldest man out of the eight tribes gathered here. He looked at all of the people lined up before him. There were a dozen people in all. Their crimes ranged from murder to robbery. The tribes would decide their punishment, but Ķeënű would have the final say.

"The twelve of you are here because of your crimes. You will be judged. Your punishment will range from exile to death." Keenu turned and addressed the gathering tribes. "I would suggest that those of you who are weak willed rethink the paths that you have chosen. There are several of you that will be here in a few years. Take this opportunity to rethink your lives."

"We will start with the least offensive crime."

Keenu turned and walked to the far left of the line of men and women who were tied to posts. He stopped in front of a young man with cat eyes and triple marks down his face. "Kötǩa, you are here because you tried to harm a child. Your punishment would be more severe, but the Gods let the child survive. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Kötǩa spit in Ķeënű's face. "I have nothing to say to you old man."

Ķeënű wiped spit off of his face. He gazed sadly at the young man. His white hair was the kind that glowed underneath a full moon. Mỷrἇ had never met Ķeënű before, but knew from the stories that Ƒáeláƞ told her that he was a strong and powerful man. In the days before the Fall he would have been called a warlock.

"You will be exiled. No one will offer you shelter. From this day forward you will be branded for what you are, an undesirable."

Ķeënű turned to the gathered tribes. He went through and asked each tribe what they thought of his punishment. Agreement came from all eight tribes. Ķeënű moved onto the next person. He spoke to each prisoner, handed down judgment, and asked each tribe their agreement on the punishment. It took most of the day to get through all twelve prisoners. Their arguments were strong or weak depending on the crime.

Once all of the judgments had been handed down Ķeënű turned and addressed the crowds. "Peith tribe, do you agree with my decisions?"

"Yay," shouted the Peith tribe.

Ķeënű's eyes sought out the Straif tribe. "Straif tribe, do you agree with my decisions?"

"Aye, shouted the Straif tribe.

Ķeënű asked the Ailm, Muin,Nion, Dair, Ceirt, and Ngeadal tribes the same things. All the tribes agreed with Ķeënű. Ķeënű nodded. "Those who are exiled have until sundown to leave. Whipping will commence after that. Those who are set to die will go through the Nğe. If they are still alive by morning their crimes will be forgiven."

"What's the Nğe?"

Ƒáeláƞ glanced sideways at Mỷrἇ. "It's a ceremony that the women participate in. The women have all night to exact their vengeance on the criminal."

"How did this ceremony come about?"

Ƒáeláƞ shrugged as he took Dárkmëre from Mỷrἇ. "Legend has it that it's based on a ceremony that was once done before the Great Disaster."

"Do all of the women participate?"

"They do," Äɱďėƞ said as she joined Mỷrἇ and Ƒáeláƞ. "There are several different ways that you can participate. If you don't want to cause bodily harm, then you can be with the women who keep beat or those who sing."

Mỷrἇ nodded. "I will follow you."

A smile spread across Äɱďėƞ's face. "I will be with the women who are singing and keeping beat. Maŗŗők was once my friend. That is why I'm not going to lay a hand on him."

Mỷrἇ nodded as she looked up at Ƒáeláƞ and slid her hand into his. "That is why I won't participate. He is your friend. My vengeance will be mine once he dies. I have set into motion several spells that will be activated once Maŗŗők dies. Let's just say that he won't find peace once he dies."

Ƒáeláƞ chuckled and brought her hand to his mouth so that he can kiss her knuckles. "I find you the sexiest when you speak about magic."

Mỷrἇ laughed as she leaned in and gave Ƒáeláƞ a passionate kiss. She leaned down and kissed Dárkmëre on the head before she turned and linked arms with Äɱďėƞ. "Let us go and gather with the other women."

Ƒáeláƞ shook his head as he walked his wife and friend walk away. "Come on Dárkmëre. Let us go and gather with the men and children."

Dárkmëre gurgled and sucked on his fist as Ƒáeláƞ headed over to where the men were gathering. The men's job tonight was to watch. They would not interrupt the proceedings. The men would also help provide their voices to the chanting that would be going on.

Jåcóbӱ greeted Ƒáeláƞ as he joined the men. Tonight was going to be a long night. The camp in the morning be quiet.