“When our ancestors, the First Ones, came to this land escaping persecution, intolerance, and violence, a handful brought with them the secret of bonding with divine, supernatural beings. Creatures that we call Dragons. It is known that only a rare few are capable of handling such a bonding and even then, only by the good grace and consent of a willing Dragon. Those special people, those gifted and blessed with the ability to form such a union, hold such an awesome power.
“We also know two things about Dragons and Dragon Knights,” Lowil continued, holding up two fingers for emphasis. “One, Dragons are known to be forces for order and righteousness in the world.” As he tapped one of his raised fingers, he scanned the crowd as if daring any to challenge that well-known adage.
“And two, a Dragon will never let their pact-mate abuse their shared power for selfish or immoral reasons.” Lowil’s eyes darted over to Braun for the briefest of moments, not quite lingering long enough to be overtly accusatory, but obvious enough to certainly be an intended slight.
“Because of these two universal truths, our government has recognized that Dragon Knights must exist outside of our society’s normal laws. The Citadel has their own laws, their own system of justice, and their own right to handle those civilians that commit any misdeeds against a Dragon Knight.”
Lowil moved over to stand behind Kre, “That includes our young lad here, who is charged with the murder of a Dragon Knight. Given that charge, we cannot judge him here.”
Braun’s face was a bright red and spittle was gathered at the corners of his mouth. With every word he spat out, little flecks of white showered the air in front of him. “Terry Cootsman was NOT a Dragon Knight! The boy is nothing more than a liar!”
Lowil’s hand was already there to calm Kre down from instant rage the boy felt from Braun’s hateful words. “If Kre is a liar, then his testimony is invalidated and no longer admissible in this court. We have no other evidence to try him with and we cannot pick and choose what we want from his testimony. So what is it to be? Is the boy a liar and he goes free or does his fate lie outside of our jurisdiction?”
The weasel-faced little man furiously opened and shut his mouth several times before he managed to squeak any words out. “What of the other man that Kre admitted to killing?” Surely he is guilty of that crime even if we cannot try him for the murder of some crazy old man that thinks he was a knight!”
“Ah,” Lowil smirked, “You mean the killing of someone that was attempting to assassinate a Dragon Knight? Also very much outside of our jurisdiction.”
“What if Cootsman is proven to be a crazy old man and not a Dragon Knight?” Braun asked in an almost defeated tone. “What then?”
Lowil sighed, “Then Kre returns here and our trial continues.” The townsfolk started yammering again, trying to talk over each other. Some demanded to know if they would have to endure another three days of courtroom torture, some calling that Kre had suffered enough and should be freed based on time-served.
As always seemed to happen, the moment that Art made a move as if to speak, everyone went silent. “What do you mean, ‘Kre returns here’? Where is he to go?”
The teacher placed a gentle hand on Kre’s shoulder and gave his former student a reassuring squeeze. “Why, Kre has to go to the Citadel for judgment. It’s the only place that can verify if Cootsman is Ser Sandiscoot’s alter ego, and if so, where he must be so they may merit out their own breed of justice.”
“You cannot believe that we can trust him to travel there on his own,” Braun snarled. He had lost and he knew it, but he would certainly drag this out as long as could and make it just that much more miserable for all involved. It was only fair, he figured, since they were making a complete mockery of his court. “We’ll have to send to Sandort and have them dispatch Rangers to transfer Kre to the Citadel. In chains.”