ANDREW BLACK

Chapter 21

Andrew Black

Shadow's Watchtower outside the North gates of Wruning at the opposite end of castle Black was Black Headquarters. Andrew took off his mask as he opened the door to the meeting room. He had been called here by General Father Black. The meeting room always seemed like a judgement room to Andrew, Where men sat in high chairs on a high podium looking down at you and you tilted your head up only to catch the slightest glimpse of their faces and the shadows only added to the effect of their dominance. Andrew bowed to them and took a seat in a chair by edge the semi-circle curved table. To his right were empty chairs. In all his years coming here, these 10 chairs had always remained unoccupied. He couldn't tell if it was intentional or not, but it created a certain form of loneliness and made the men in highchairs much bigger than they truly were. They were mere men after all, they died too but while they lived such statements said out would have him gone in a blink and no one would dare to question it.

The men of influence looked down at him, the elders and the men in their alliance. In the chairs were the Andrew black before him- Harrye Symons- directly opposite him, with his greying hair and a few black strands, his dark brown eyes serious and a forehead lined with wrinkles. His shoulders were stiff and straight as a wooden plank. By Harrye sat his own predecessor-Gabriel Branche- he was much older with a completely grey hair and oval face void of facial hair, a rather large nose for his face, with a light pink birthmark that went from the right side of his nose all the way to his right eyebrow. It was sort of heart shaped or could have been a right hook depending on how you looked at it. He was much leaner, and his back caved involuntarily, so he always looked slouching. By him Jude Berry but he went by the name given to him by the public during his years active in the association; Doomfist. The name originating from stories of men killed by a single blow to the head crushing their skull completely and leaving blood and guts as remains.  As a child such stories were fascinating, but also kept you up at night terrified. His time was years of terror and fright, one of the Association's proudest moments, but Andrew did not seem to agree.

"If the ship is sinking, I would leave immediately like I never was," Lord Boone said. Aha yes, the people who fueled such an association and in return the Association kept his rivals silent; literally.

"Do not be hasty Marshall, I am sure Jonathan has a plausible explanation," Andrew's ears piped up like a dog upon hearing his actual name form Commander Alexander Carr. What other backing did the association need than the Lord commander of the King's guard of Wruning? Would explain why the King had never called out association. Then again, the association had effiectively avoided public troubles that was until today. Which is why Andrew sat to answer questions by the inner circle of Elders of the Association. Black association was much larger, but these men seated in the highchairs with nothing but the candles lighting their faces casting shadows of themselves much taller created a unit more powerful than the king. These men ran Wruning and the King remained on top only because they had allowed for it to be so. Lord Boone and Commander Carr of course, the other elders did not bother much about matters outside Black Association.

"Have you become too old Jonathan, that the association crumbles at your feet?" Doomfist asked. Even at 68, Andrew knew it was a fool's errand to challenge him in a fight. His muscles still bulged like in his youth, his hair might have been greyer than ginger and a few wrinkles by his eyes, but his stance remained very much powerful and so did he.

"I have everything under control, currently as we speak, I have a boy in the punishing cell," Andrew replied.

"Why does he still live and is not dead? The crime he committed enough to draw out the king's attention is a grave one," Harrye said.

"He is not dead because we still investigate the matter," Andrew responded.

"So, it is not certain the boy committed the crime, so you are punishing an innocent child?" Harrye asked.