Entry 10- Burning Houses and Bruising Faces

             Steadfast as a community was peaceful. They didn’t have a jail nor any form of judicial system. Just the mystics and tradition to guide them through their day to day. Survival of the fittest seemed to rule, but with a hint of compassion. So, when I woke up to the smell of smoke, I wasn’t prepared for what I was about to walk into. As I left my quarters in the back of the healing hut there was a blazing fire near the door. I quickly turned around and opened Racha’s door to her room. She was sound asleep. I shook her awake and threw her a fur lined gown. I looked around the room and realized we’d have to go out to the healing room. Racha quickly got up and dressed. She smelled the fire and a stern look covered her face.

            I shook my head and then grabbed her hand. We walked out of her room back to the front. The fire hungerly consumed the wood floors and walls in front of the exit door. I looked around the room, hoping to find an alternative route. Through a window on that side of the building something brushed past the blinds and shattered on the ground in the middle of the healing hut bursting into flames. The side opposite and then decided to jump through the window. But that side also had something crash through the window and burst into flame. I took a breath and looked at Racha who was watching her healing hut burn. She had tears in her eyes. I grabbed her hand. And closed my eyes. I prayed to the iron pillars to guide us through the flames untouched. My iron ring remained unresponsive and then I began to hear noises outside of the hut. A splash of water came through the door. I took that moment and ran, acting decisively. The roof caved in behind me as I began to run and the water formed a small path that Racha and I used to get out of the building.

            Outside stood Parkik, in linen cloth pajama’s, Ithella, looking bleary eyed and some man knocked out. That healing hut was my life. Racha was crying and Ithella consoling her. I could see the rage in Ithella’s face. Judgement would be harsh but we needed to learn more. I’d have to enact an old law before Ithella decided the man’s fate. Parkik came over to me.

            “A-Are you okay?”

            “Yeah. The first one woke me up, giving me enough time to warn Racha. Whoever did this will pay the price.” I said. Feeling my skin for any burns and finding none.

            “T-That was all the herbs we had.” Racha said into Ithella’s hug.

            Ithella responded, “I know…It’ll be okay. We still have the end of summer and fall to scavenge for new herbs.”

            “I can’t get everything back!” Racha said. She looked down noticing the man for the first time.

            Ithella offered. “Parkik responds fast.”

            Racha did something I wasn’t prepared for. She walked up to the unconscious man and gave him a swift kick into the gut. She then turned around and limped towards her burning hut. She raised her hands and let out a low hum. The fire raised to touch the skies but the clouds gathered faster than normal for the Flooded Lands and then the sky let down a torrential rain. Soaking everyone outside to the bone. Racha looked back and she stood up tall. Her eyes were storm grey and her grey hair looked darker. She looked at the man then to Ithella, “Judge him guilty and sacrifice him to the Iron Pillars.”

            Ithella nodded, “That isn’t too hard.”

            I sighed and said, “There were multiple people. We need to know motive and why they’re doing it. I swore an iron vow to find and fix the troubles of the village. This is an internal trouble and they knew what they were doing. I want to get to the bottom of this before it gets worse. If you execute this man. I won’t have any information to go on. Let me ask him questions.”

            They looked at each other, “You’re too young for this…”

            I sighed and looked at Ithella, “Then I enact the ancient right of an Ironsworn to be able to complete their vow. I take the mantle of Ironsworn over mystic for this action and will use everything in my power to finish this vow, even if it is against the circle mystics wishes.”

            Ithella nodded and stepped forward. “I respect your right to invoke that rule. We will not harm this man until your invesitigation is over but you must be the one to enact the punishment we set up for this transgression and take full responsibility of it, even if he escapes while in custody. If he harms anyone you must be the one responsible for those repercussions.”

            “I accept these concessions and we will begin the interrogation as soon as he wakes up. Go get me a chair and some salt.”

            The heavy rainstorm kept on until the fire was put out at the healers hut. Then Racha stopped it and the supplies were brought to me. I set the guy in the chair and bound his wrists and legs to it. I checked his pockets and found a black-iron sigil. A weirdly intricate talisman with the words, ‘Order of Sina’ etched into the circle around the sigil. I now had a name. The word Sina was from the old world…but I didn’t understand the meaning.

            So I began the warding ritual around him. I grabbed the bag of salt and began to put a circle around him and spoke words to the iron pillars.

            “Great pillars of magic. May your power flow into the salt collected from the sea and flooded lands. May this power create a prison for this man and strengthen the hits against him.”

            My power flowed through me and as I finished the circle the salt glowed blue and light shot up into the sky. The ward was set and I sat outside of the circle. I had saved my staff from the fire so I held it tightly near me as I meditated and waited for this man to wake up. Parkik didn’t leave my side during this time. I heard him shuffling around the ashes of the hut. Avoiding the salt circle.    Ithella and Racha both visited as we waited for the man to come too. Just before dawn, about two hours after the burning. The man woke up. I looked down at him. He looked at me and Parkik.

            “So, you didn’t kill me,” he said. Sadness lacing his voice.

            “Nope.” I said. “What is your name?”

            He shook his head and looked at his shoes. Leather things, soaked in mud. His shoulders slumped and he just sighed. Resigning himself to silence.

Parkik stepped forward and I raised my hand. Hoping that would stop him. Parkik took my lead and I stood up and stretched. I walked around my salt circle watching the man. He kept silent and looking at his shoes. I noticed him tightening and releasing his hands. His legs were moving subtly to test the stability of the chair. I shook my head and prepared myself by taking a calming breath.

“What is your name?” I repeated.

The man stood still and kept looking down. I shook my head and then crossed the salt threshold in front of him. I felt the warding power extend into me and then I hit him. The hit struck hard. I knocked him back in the chair and the boundary of salt near his head glowed angry red. His nose was bleeding as I brought him back into the sitting position. He had tears in his eyes. “So. Let’s try this again sir. What is your name?”

“I am Yuda. I’ve lived in steadfast longer than you’ve been alive boy. And I don’t care what you and your mystics say. You’re ruining the town!”

I rubbed my fist on my hand and looked at Parkik. Who was leaning against a stable post. I went down and tightened the knots keeping his feet tied to the legs of the chair. He struggled trying to get free. But I did it quickly. Then I moved behind him and did the same with his hands. I looked at his arms. I noticed a faint tattoo on his upper arm under the fabric of the shirt. I raised the fabric and he tried to struggle. I saw the same sigil burned onto his flesh.

I clutched my fist and then looked around. Parkik looked at me, waiting for my next question. I asked, “What is the Order of Sina?”

“A group grander than this small settlement and trying to destroy the powers that corrupt this land.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Death and destruction reigns in the Ironlands. All originating from the iron pillars. Our one god must rise and destroy the shackling pillars that corrupt the land and minds around them. Your powers are an abomination to our god and they must be destroyed.”

I raised my hand and the guy flinched. I said, “You’ve destroyed the pillar of heath and leadership in this building. You’ve nearly killed Racha and me. You have nearly stopped the line of mystics which run this village. You are judged as a criminal Yuda and the Iron Pillars will be your death. But as an Ironsworn I must know. How many are there of you?”

He went silent again.

“I will hit you again. This time with my staff. It will hurt more than earlier.”

“I want death. Sina deems me unworthy for the mission any further. I will die for the order but to answer your question. We are many. Our numbers in steadfast are small. Four. But they will grow and the old order will be out. Our generation will destroy the iron pillars.”

            “Who are the four?”

            He shut down completely holding his eyes shut and his mouth shut. I looked at him and raised my staff. I felt the world around me still as I asked calmly, “Who are the four?”

            One more time I asked. Then the blood rushed to my head, my anger peaked and I struck him again with my staff.”

            His head began bleeding and he looked at me with defeat. I asked for the fourth time. “Who are your accomplices?”

            He gave the names of the three other people. Then I had parkik take those names to Racha and Ithella. Leaving me alone with this man.

            “What do you know about the Iron Pillars?”

            “They are cages for humanity. Oppressing the people. The one god will free everyone from them. Your magic is given by them so as a conduit of the oppressor you oppress all the people of this land by leading them into corruption.”

            I stepped out of the ward. I looked at the guy. “We’ll be back for you at dusk. You’re trapped here in the house that your people burned down. I will be back as we wrangle them up.”

            I walked away. When I caught up with Parkik and the two elder mystics I told them what I learned about the Order of Sina and then they nodded. My work was done. We made a plan. Racha knew of the three other people who were apart of this order. So, with her guidance we were going to capture them all at the dawn village meeting. None of them were the leaders of their families, so we’d have to have an emergency family meeting. The brazier was lit and that was to come. I had a moment to write this down before the meeting.