Aetherian(Part 1): A War Begins

Darien

 Darien and Damien were thrown in separate cells in the dungeons beneath Riverford. Since they were suspected of murdering House Ingram's last lord, they were placed in the darkest and deepest cells, with an iron knife at their feet. It was unclear what Damien's situation was, but because of his inhuman strength, Darien was enclosed in six-inch thick walls of glass malakyte, which nothing could break through. His only source of light was a small candle hanging from the ceiling, which was fading with every hour that passed. Darkness was closing in on him, and he found it harder and harder not to pick up the knife and slash his own throat. The Ingrams at least had the grace to feed him, even if it was through a hatch at the bottom of the door to the cell. As Darien sat against the glass walls, he wondered how Edward Ingram could accuse him and his brother of Lord Dedric's murder. He must not have been thinking straight, but it must have been because Lord Edward thought Darien was angry that Prince Vorian was the heir to the Dragon Throne instead of him. After what felt like days in the dungeons of Riverford, Darien couldn't take it anymore. He threw himself against the door to the cell, but it was as strong as the walls, and he bounced right off. When he tried a second time, the door suddenly opened before he could strike it, and he fell into a brightly lit cell block that almost blinded him.

"You're a lucky boy," said the guard. "Your brother managed to strike a deal for you both."

"Damien?" asked Darien, pushing himself to his feet. "What did he do?"

"I think you'll like what you see," the guard answered. He brought Darien to the court in Riverford's keep, and beside his brother.

"You look like hell," Damien teased. He clearly had an easier time keeping his sanity in the dungeons than Darien did.

"What did you do, brother?" Darien asked.

"Demanded a trial," said Damien. "And we're getting one." Lord Ingram sat on a throne in a balcony that overlooked the courtroom, and surrounding the brothers was countless Knights, lord, and ladies of the Swamplands, all awaiting justice for Lord Dedric.

"Bad idea," Darien advised. "Edward isn't thinking clearly. We're the first ones he suspects of killing his father, and he throws immediately throws us in the dungeons? What about this makes you think this is a good idea?"

"Confessing your crimes isn't always a bad plan," said Damien.

"But we committed no crime," Darien reminded.

"Just trust me," Damien pleaded. "I have a plan. It's foolproof." Before Darien could object, Damien turned to Lord Edward and stepped forward, shouting "Lord Ingram!" Edward had a look of rage on his face, but he was listening intently to what Damien had to say.

"Are you ready to begin?" he asked.

"I am," Damien answered.

"You stand accused of the murder of Lord Dedric Ingram," Edward accused. "What say you in your defense?"

"My defense?" said Damien. "My defense. I suppose I have nothing to say in my defense."

"Then..."

"I wish to confess, my lord," Damien said. "I confess to my crimes against not just House Ingram, but Aetherian as a whole."

"What crime, in particular, Trickster?" Edward demanded.

What the hell are you doing, Darien thought.

"Well, I have lots of them," Damien teased. "Too many to count."

"Oh, no," Darien sighed, propping his back against the wall of the court. When he saw Damien wink his way, he rolled his eyes.

"Where to start, where to start?" said Damien. "Boy, do I have a story to tell. My stepmother, the Queen, used to have a habit of making my brother angry beyond reasoning. Believe me, I know how angry he can get. So, Her Grace once chastised Darien for accidentally breaking a vase that belonged to her mother. You would not believe how angry she got. Darien didn't shed a single tear, and the second that she slapped him across the face, he sent her flying into the wall! It should be mentioned that we were both eight years old at the time, but it's still hilarious to me. Alicent got what she deserved, and still deserves."

"Wow," Darien groaned.

"Oh, I came to confess to my crimes," said Damien, correcting himself. "Well, my brother's 'crimes', which he hasn't committed since that incident with the Queen, pale in comparison to mine."

"You jerk," Darien spat. Damien began telling stories about the alleged crimes to the court, which were more like childhood mistakes and rules he broke. It was easy to tell that Lord Edward was becoming irritated enough to interrupt him.

"Lord Damien!" he boomed. "You came before me to confess to the murder of my father."

"I would," said Damien. "If either of us did it, but we are innocent."

"Guards, take them to the deeper cells," Lord Ingram ordered.

"No!" Damien shouted. "We demanded a trial, and we are sons of the King. We will be treated with the justice we deserve! I demand a trial by crucible!" Darien understood his plan, now. It was to instigate a fight between them and the Ingram Knights.

"I agree!" he shouted, standing with his brother. "I can tell there's no other way we will get justice. The gods will decide our fates!"

Suddenly, a familiar girl's voice echoed from the crowd, shouting "It will be a trial by three!" It was Tessa. She stood between the brothers and shouted: "I'll stand with them!" The court attendees began to look to each other, murmuring. Lord Ingram waved to three of his Knights, ordering them to step forward. One of them was enormous, wearing heavy armor, and wielding a big warhammer twice the size of Thunder. Another one wore lighter armor, and had a pair of glass daggers, and the third one was more of a spellcaster, wearing robes and a cowl, armed with a long staff with a crystal of frost malakyte at its tip.

"We have our work cut out for us, don't we?" asked Tessa. As two of the guards handed Darien and Damien Thunder and Lightning, they wondered why Tessa would have fought with them in the first place.

"Why fight for us, Tessa?" Darien asked. "Just wondering."

Tessa answered, "Why not?"