You've Already Decided!?

Marigold and I spent the hours after breakfast discussing the hearing. Was there a foolproof way to prove we were a neutral party in the conflict between Ariel and the others? Was that even true? I told Marigold of my guilt over giving up Alithet, and she assuaged my worries somewhat, pointing out that we knew nothing of Ariel's intentions or past actions, and therefore going against his will was not necessarily a bad thing. Still, if he was our creator... betraying him was akin to patricide. Even if we escaped the wrath of Estille and our spiteful captor, what punishment would we then incur from our heavenly father?

Perhaps we had not truly betrayed him, though. Handing him over was only a temporary measure to save ourselves. If we could reach Alithet again, then maybe... but what was I thinking? Such a mission was too daunting. To reconvene with Ariel we would need a power that could contend with that of the gods themselves. With Alithet, we had that power, but without prior knowledge of its workings I had been weak, and I gave up.

Around what felt like midday, there was a bang outside the cell, and after a few seconds the door opened and we were met with the sight of the five-eyed man who had become our keeper.

"The time has come," he said. The stern look on his face shook me, and I glanced around anxiously before clearing my throat to speak.

"...The hearing?" I said.

The man glared down at me, chin held high in a show of superiority. He didn't answer. He restrained us once more and led us out of the cell. Marigold was again allowed to bring her staff along, which seemed to confirm my hypothesis that these beings were largely unconcerned with the possibility of an attack from weaklings like us. Of course, Marigold's staff wasn't much of a threat; magic as I knew it had little offensive capability, but Estille had seen that it was not entirely useless in combat, at least.

We were taken through a series of gargantuan halls, eventually reaching a grand double door whose ornate design made the rest of the prison look even more bland in comparison. The strange man stopped, staring reverently at the emblem that decorated the door, which showed three golden swords surrounding a black circle.

"Beyond here lies your fate," he said. "It has already been decided. All that remains is to uncover it."

Marigold suddenly looked up from the floor, whipping around to face the man. "You've already decided!?" she said. "How is that—"

"You misunderstand me," the man hissed. "We do not yet know the outcome, yet there is only one possibility."

"You speak of predestination?" I said. This was interesting—was the future set, yet still hidden from even the gods?

The man glanced down at me with a growled "hmm," then turned his gaze back to the door. It slowly began to open with a deep, reverberating creak, and I watched with unblinking eyes as the room on the other side was revealed. In the center was a small platform. It was surrounded on the left and right by rows upon rows of stepped amphitheater seating like one might see in a performance hall. The seats were mostly vacant, but there were a few figures sitting in a row on the right. The far side of the room was filled by a raised area featuring a central lectern, and to its sides stood two motionless giants—Divine Instruments, presumably—each holding one end of a massive chain. In simple terms, it was a courtroom, but the scale of it was so awesome and imposing that it was difficult to think of it as such, and although my life was ostensibly at stake I felt glad and slightly vindicated to have witnessed such an awe-inspiring construction.

I did think it convenient that the courtroom was attached directly to the prison, although something about that struck me as a bad thing, somehow. I didn't have time to think on it more, though, for we were swiftly shoved along into the center area of the room.

There was a murmur from the right, and I looked over at the ones who sat there. At first, they seemed similar to our captor. They were all human-like and very tall, but really they were all quite different from one another. Their skin tones varied, with some even having what seemed like a thin layer of fur, and some had horns or long pointed ears or other unusual features. They were in form like the silhouettes I had seen in the other cells of the prison, and I questioned whether it was really possible that these creatures were gods as I had thought. If they were, then there were certainly a lot of them.

The five-eyed man walked off to join the others in their seats, and another man approached us and bound our cuffs to a pair of stakes that rose from the floor. He left us, and I looked over at Marigold, who was trying to appear calm but was visibly shaking. I set my eyes on the judge's lectern and took a deep breath.

"We'll get through it, Marigold," I said quietly.

From behind the lectern, the judge appeared. He had a bald head and a solemn look about him. He lowered his gaze and whispered something inaudible, and the two Divine Instruments to his sides whirred to life and pulled their giant chain tight, making a deep, metallic sound almost like the bells of a clocktower. In response, those seated off to the side rose.

"Holy brethren!" the judge called out. "At this time we are congregated for the hearing of the two integrants that stand before you, who were captured by Estille after a brief engagement in the world of the traitor Ariel, in which the red-haired one was found piloting the Divine Instrument Alithet and the one with the pointed hat was noted to have assisted him with some sort of defensive ability. Our aim is to determine their allegiance and thenceforth decide what is to be done with them. Accounts of their actions and the relevant context will be provided by a series of witnesses, the integrants included. Comments and queries will be permitted at the end of each account." He spoke clearly and with the slightly bored tone of someone who had done this many times before. "If there are no objections, we will now begin the hearing with introductions of the subjects." He paused. No one spoke up, and he continued, gesturing at Marigold and me. "Integrants, state your names."

I waited a moment, but Marigold said nothing, so I spoke. "Godwin Bergman."

The judge looked puzzled. "Godwin Bergman? You have two names? Which is it?"

The question didn't catch me off guard much, as I was already well aware that this world had many differences to my own, and so I quickly explained: "Godwin. Bergman is my family name; I inherited it from my father."

"Your... father?" said the judge. A muffled commotion rose from the audience. "Your father is not Ariel, then?"

"No," I replied. I thought perhaps he was my father in a certain sense, but I didn't elaborate. Marigold and I had agreed ahead of time not to say anything unnecessary. I felt it'd be difficult not to ask any questions, curious as I was, but I just had to tell myself that I'd have more chances for answers once I was free.

The judge held up his hand, and the murmurs fell silent. "And you?" he said, gesturing to Marigold. She introduced herself as simply "Marigold" to avoid further confusion. Even I didn't know her last name—it was very like her to keep those sorts of things to herself.

"...and you as well would not call Ariel your father?" the judge asked.

Marigold replied "no," and the judge nodded his head slightly.

"Then," he said, "we will begin the testimonies." He called Estille forward, and I looked over at the seated figures to try to guess which one was Estille. I expected to see someone with two sets of arms to match those of their Divine Instrument, but the one who stood up had no more than one set, and I was greatly intrigued as to how someone with only two arms could control four at once with such skill. Estille was tall like the others but comparatively thin, and the shape of their body and face made it difficult to discern their gender, although I didn't discount the possibility that they had none, or that that whole concept was just different here. Their hair—or whatever it was—was like starlight, and there was a certain elegance and precision in the way they moved.

As Estille stepped down into the area between us and the judge, their eyes met mine, and I thought I saw them smirk slightly.

"My holy brethren..." they began, "Let's make this quick."