Star People

Chapter 67

Trials Part 2

Dec 15^th, 15 AE…

The newly rebuilt capital of the Naran Kingdom…

Prime Minister Haykin aka Number One of the Dreanat, had a deeply satisfied expression on his face. Why wouldn’t he? He was about to judge the greatest show trial in Naran’s history, as well as ascend to the throne. Once Naran was completely under his control, the Dreanat would have full access of all the lost technology of the First Ones the Kingdom had collected and would be able to resurrect the Empire of Euracon.

Once the former rulers of Sath were tried and convicted as Shenshirine’s ‘murderers,’ then it wouldn’t take much for the Naran citizens to accept Haykin as Shenshirine’s successor. After all, Shenshirine was already dead and could not contest Haykin’s ascension to the throne. The sudden demise of the former ruler of Naran had been unexpected, but it still did not alter his overall plans. Certainly, the sudden appearance of the Planet Ravagers and the destruction of the capital had been unexpected, but he still managed to make the plan to take over the country work.

The show trial was being set up in the main courtyard in one day’s time and would have total magic-wave televising. Much like Free Land’s holo-viewers, Naran had the magictech to transmit and receive images and sound over vast distances, and anyone with a magic-wave viewer could tune in. The picture quality wasn’t as high-definition as the holo-viewers, but it was equivalent the cathode-ray television sets of the late 1970s. The sound was basically hi-fi stereo due to each receiver containing twin wind stones as speakers.

All around the reconstructed capital, flyers, banners and posters were pinned on the walls and any other signboards, announcing that the ones who were responsible for Shenshirine’s death and the destruction of the old capital were going to be tried that day, and then publicly executed. Afterwards, the coronation of Haykin the First would take place. It was all going to plan.

Who would have guessed how the day would turn out?

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The night before the trial…

“Must it be done in this manner?” Shenshirine asked as he spoke to the Council of Prime Directors.

“Well, we certainly can’t have you be there, since there’s a chance for Haykin or the Dreanat might have you assassinated.” Nerto pointed out.

“Hmmm… good point… but…”

“Do not worry.” Nasaak assured. “We’ll still be able to stop your former Prime Minister from taking over your kingdom.”

“Are you certain that you’ll be able to override the magic-wave transmission?”

“Oh, it’s not an issue.” Benjamin stated. “Frequencies are easy enough to determine, either by science or sorcery. Besides, thanks to the Binary Rune System, our computers can understand magic now.”

“They can?” The elderly elf asked in surprise.

“Yes, we’ve had quite a few advancements in magic-based technology.” Anida stated. “And we’ve inspired quite a few nations to improve on their technologies as well.”

“I see… then once this matter is settled, Naran should hasten in its bid for Star Alliance Membership.”

“As stated before, we will concern ourselves with that other matter, once this takeover has been halted.” Viska stated as she made a holographic image of the reconstructed palace and surrounding area appear. “According to those nobles we’ve secretly contacted who are still loyal to you, we’ve been able to insert several groups of our operatives into some key areas.”

“That should be fine. I wouldn’t doubt that Haykin had some Dreanat operatives among the essential infrastructure buildings, government, and military.”

“Yes, over the last few days, we’ve found quite an infestation.” Sierg commented. “Of course, we should be able to neutralize all his forces in the capital. Once we expose him, he’s sure to fall back on a coup d’etat by force.”

“What I don’t understand is why Garres Lorcra and his son Vexor are playing along with Haykin’s schemes. They’ll be executed after the trial.” Shenshirine pointed out. “I always knew them to be prideful, pig-headed and sometimes downright stupid, but even a complete idiot wouldn’t agree to such a thing.”

“We’re pretty certain that they’re not doing it willingly.” The Catian Prime Director stated. “Some of our operatives took some bio-scans of them and found them to be under the influence of some kind of hypnotic drugs and mind-alteration spells. And we’re not talking about one or two drugs or spells. We’re talking about an extremely intense cocktail of drugs and spells; at least a dozen of each! They had some sort of concealment spell to try and cover it all up, but it didn’t fool the scanners.”

“The fact that the Dreanat resorted to using a large number of drugs and spells, over a long period of time, fits in with what Empress Lexina told me about her family bloodline.” Nerto said.

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Flashback, five days ago…

“Excuse me, Empress, but what did you just say?” Nerto asked as he was having tea with the ruler of the Empire of Sath.

“The founder of our Empire, was a great hero from a world called Earth, some 200 years ago.” Vexor’s sister stated as she took a sip from her teacup. They were both admiring the view from the courtyard balcony, sitting at a very lavish table.

“Really? That’s quite fascinating.” The Velor Prime Director remarked. “The Terrans, also came from a planet they called Earth.”

“So our founder came from the same world as the Terrans?”

“Well, they used to call themselves Earthlings, but that title was dropped after their world was destroyed by the Cryterians. At that point, they had already surpassed the physical and mental abilities of humans. They felt that since they no longer had a home world, they didn’t need to be attached to it. Furthermore, Earthlings were further divided into sub-groups, due to their differing skin colorations, what landmasses they were born from, which religion they practiced, cultural and societal differences, wealth, power and so forth. There were a great many wars fought against each other in their long history.”

“I can understand that.” Lexina remarked as she remembered the bloody history of the Empire of Sath and its expansionist conquests over the neighboring territories for wealth, power, religion, etc. It was only a couple of years, that its viewpoints were changed after its defeat to Free Land.

“The Earthlings only became truly united when their world was obliterated. Of all sudden, all that hatred over territory, religious views, wealth, etc, became meaningless when their planet was gone. They learned to let go of their animosity towards each other and realized that they were all children of the Earth, and they were now… orphans. Another word for Earth is Terra, so they decided to call themselves Terrans.”

“Fascinating. And you say that the Terrans were already far superior to humans? In that case, would that mean that our founder, given his extraordinary abilities, was a Terran?”

“What do you mean?”

“My lineage dates all the way back to our founder, the Great Hero Seth. He was summoned to our world two centuries ago and fought against the Demon Lord Sarach. He was a terrible and powerful being, who could produce clouds of poison that could cover a country. He could also cast spells of instant death and annihilate whole villages. However, those abilities could not affect Seth. No poison could kill him, and the instant death spells were virtually useless against him. Even spells of mind control could not stop him. After a long journey of many trials and battles, he finally defeated Sarach and made his kingdom as the foundation for the Empire of Sath.”

“The Empire of Sath, not the Empire of Seth?”

“In our language, in the old days, the word seth was not very flattering. It’s basically the name one would give to an annoying insect that you just can’t get rid of, no matter how many times you poison it or crush it underfoot.”

“Like a cockroach, I suppose?”

“Cockroach?”

“It’s an insect from Earth that the inhabitants claimed that they could never get rid of, no matter how many times they stomped, poisoned, or destroyed them. They would always come back. I suppose it is ironic that your hero Seth exhibited that kind of resilience. No offense of course.”

“None taken. And yes, Calling the Empire after a cockroach would have been quite embarrassing. So, we took the name of sath, which means in our language means ‘the savior.’ And that name stuck.”

“I can see that. In any case, no, I don’t think Seth was a Terran. Terrans did not exhibit their evolved abilities until the start of the 22^nd Century of their calendar. That was nearly a hundred years ago. If your Seth was summoned two hundred years ago, then he would have been the same as the humans on Earth. Most likely he gained his powers when he came to Istaria, due to the higher psion fields. So, are you saying that you inherited those abilities?”

“Indeed. My family bloodline has inherited those abilities. They’re not quite as strong as Seth’s over the course of several generations, but at present, we are resistant to extremely high amounts of poisons, drugs, and death spells. I could drink a barrel of black sea serpent venom and only feel a slight tingle. You could use a dark magic arrow on me, and it will not pierce my skin. The same thing goes for my father and brother. As a result, the Royal Family is practically impervious to all assassination attempts by poison or death magic, unless it happens to be on a very ludicrous scale.”

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End of flashback…

“I’ve often heard rumors of the Sath Royal Bloodlines’ abilities, but to hear that the founder actually came from your world, it’s quite astonishing I’ll admit.” Shenshirine remarked as he addressed Benjamin.

“Yes, we were quite surprised to learn of that history when Director Nerto came back from his trip.” The Terran Director said. “In any case, we know that it took the Dreanat, a massive amount of time, effort, drugs and spells to get Garres and Vexor to their wills.”

“Do we really have to save those idiots?” Nasaak asked with a displeased tone and a slight growl. “After all, they were the ones who started that war with us in the first place!”

“As much as she vehemently dislikes her father and brother, even Empress Lexina admitted that she wouldn’t want her only family to have such a tragic and humiliating end.” Nerto pointed out. “Even though they have been permanently exiled from the Empire, their trial and execution would tarnish the Royal Family’s bloodline. Not to mention that Haykin’s ascension to the throne would be made even more valid by executing Shenshirine’s murderers.”

“I’m not dead yet!” The ancient elf said in a huff.

“Indeed, but they can still paint this picture as attempted murder and destroying Naran’s Royal Capital.” Anida commented. “So not only do we have to save the former rulers of the Sath, but we also need to provide evidence that Haykin had planned a hostile takeover and prove that the Dreanat were behind it all.”

“That’s not a problem. Our operatives have been steadily gathering documentary, visual, audio and material evidence against Haykin and his cohorts. We even found several hidden caches of weapons, treasures and virtually mountains of magic stones and artifacts. And what was most disturbing was the sudden increase in production of Magic-Mechs.” Nerto pointed out.

“What is so surprising about it?” Shenshirine asked. “I do recall giving the order to increase our Magic-Mech divisions.”

“What is being manufactured officially for the military and what is being done unofficially, is the concern.”

“Unofficially?”

“Our operatives located several hidden Magic-Mech factories in the Vortaga Mountain Range. And the models being developed there are more advanced than your standard versions. They’ve been in operation for several weeks. As we said before, if Haykin and the Dreanat fail in their bid to take over your kingdom by subterfuge, then they’ll do it by force. And they’ll have sufficient firepower to take over the entire continent of Vados. And it’s not a very pleasant thought if they manage to overrun the Zedan settlement and take possession of their nuclear power plant.”

“The resurrection of the Empire of Euracon will no longer be a far-off dream, but a very possible reality.” Viska stated.

“I can understand your concerns.” The former Naran ruler admitted. “So, what is to be done about these matters?”

“We’ve already been sending in covert sabotage teams to wreck those secret factories and to raid those hidden caches. They’ll be virtually useless to Haykin and the Dreanat by tomorrow during the show trial.”

“It seems you have already everything well in hand.” The ancient elf king remarked. “It seems to me that you are in a position take over my country as well.”

“We’re not going to do that.” Ben said.

“Oh? And why not? You most certainly have the power to do so, quite easily in fact.”

“The Star Alliance is not a group of conquerors.” Sierg pointed out as he took a small swig of Velor Brandy from a flask. “The Dwarf Nations realized early on that Free Land could have just taken our Gate Magic technology, Neo-Psion reactors and Dwarf Runes, and not even give us any chance to apply for membership. However, they instead helped us develop the technology to eventually become the Teleportation Portal System. And that in turn, became a relationship of mutual benefit between the Star Alliance and the Dwarf Nations.”

“So, you’re saying that if they had gone the conquest route, the TPS might not have been developed?”

“Indeed. Remember that our Dwarf Runes remain a secret and we would have never let a conqueror nation make use of them or reveal that secret to them. A nation of expansionist and conquest has the detrimental effect of exploiting the vassals and leaving them bereft of resources and a lack of growth. That in turn, begins a vicious cycle of continual military expansion and exploitation. Eventually, they will come to a point in which there won’t be enough resources to sustain their military-first policies. The Empire of Sath was on this road toward self-destruction. After Free Land put them in their place, they have transitioned towards trade and mutual benefit. This allowed them to focus on improving their own technology. In fact, I believe they are on the verge of finalizing their own application towards Star Alliance membership.”

“What? But their technology and magic are below the average! How can they have anything to offer?”

The Kyteeri Prime Director responded. “They had decided to follow the example of the Dwarf Nations and began looking back on their resources and history. They have been making some advancements in terms of alchemy and may have come up with something that might interest us. Another country, Gillenside, stated that they have made a big breakthrough in terms of agricultural development.”

“I see. So that means once I get my kingdom back, I’d better…”

“As we said, we’ll look into that magic pouch of yours at another time.” She then turned to the rest of her colleagues. “As for the upcoming show trial tomorrow at noon, are we all agreed?” She raised up her hand.

The other five Directors raised their hands as well, making the decision unanimous.

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The day of show trial, noon…

Crowds of people lined up the streets as a procession of carriages slowly made their way towards the castle. In the center of the procession, was a large, open topped carriage where both Vexor and Garres Lorcra stood in chains. They had blank expressions on their faces and seemed to not to care or even notice the angry shouts and insults that were being thrown at them. If it weren’t for the protective barrier that surrounded their carriage, they would have gravely injured or even died from the constant barrage of rocks, sticks and whatever else the hordes of angry people threw at them. The people had fully bought in Haykins propaganda and saw the former rulers of Sath as the guilty party.

As they stood with their bodies unable to do anything, both Garres and his son fumed with rage in their minds.

They can’t do this to us! We had nothing to do with Shenshirine’s death or the destruction of their capital!

Damn it all! We are of the Royal Bloodline of Sath! We are the descendants of the Hero Seth! It can’t end this way!

Damn you, Haykin! I swear that I’m going to haunt you for all eternity!

Empress Lexina’s remaining family could only watch helplessly as they approached the courtyard where their trial… and execution would take place…

To be continued…

Author’s Notes

I am terribly sorry about the long absence, but I was struck down by a bad case of the flu, plus my allergies and asthma kicking up. I hope to have part 3 of this arc finished in a couple of weeks. I thank all my readers for being patient.