26 The Trial

Taking a deep breath, I allow Obrecht to pull me to a carpeted seat opposite the Batrani and everyone else. I take my place beside him, imitating his sitting position. Having someone I know beside me, puts me at ease, in spite of still feeling worried every now and then.

"Then, we'll start the trial", Halvalt opens. "As my son is involved, I will be refraining from openly joining this trial. Aside from questions directed at me, or questions that deem my intervention, I will not partake." He looks to his fellow members, and most nod at him in consent. "Then, I would like Brother Sagitta to lead this trial's query."

The man named Sagitta nods at Halvalt, his posture rigid and unsmiling. He glances at a woman, to which that woman starts to explain everything to those who didn't know about me, enough to quell the curious glimpses at me by redirecting it to her.

"That person's name is Kaivalya", Obrecht announces to me. He tells me the name of each and every member of the Batrani from left to right, telling a bit of their personality and why the trial was done so. When Obrecht said that it was their tradition not to keep major secrets and findings from every Lumean, I didn't realize that it was this serious. Almost all matters were laid bare in the face of each person here. No wonder everyone seemed to be so close with everybody, and that the trust they had resembled that of one big family.

And I am an intruder in that family.

"Can you tell us your name", Sagitta asks.

"His name is Videre. He's fifteen five days ago, but I think he's sixteen now, since he's wearing his mask already", Obrecht answers for me.

"Can you take your mask off", a woman Obrecht called Rohati questions.

I shake my head vigorously, as if frightened by the idea of it, to which instead, I am terrified.

My only friend in this trial takes a peek at me before saying, "I'm afraid he can't, Tita Rohati." Rohati looks to Obrecht for an explanation. "He's a half Wraith so according their tradition, he can't remove his mask once he comes of age, unless he gets married."

Scattered whispers asking what a Wraith was, circled around the amphitheater. Questions of whether I was a person from the surface was buzzing all around from the audience behind my interrogators.

"I see", Rohati nods in understanding, making people quiet down as their attention focused once more on her. "Then, Obrecht, can you say for sure that he won't be lying given that his face is covered?"

I tense up, but Obrecht squeezes my hand. I relax bit by bit.

"You can have him drink one of those candor potions, but to be honest, I think it's unnecessary. He's quite the open book", Obrecht tells Rohati with a grin. "You don't need to see his face to know what he's thinking. Just a glance at his stance and everything you want to know is already apparent. Give it a bit of time and few interactions, then you'd realize he's quite clueless about a lot of things, especially those related to Inferis and us, Lumeans."

I…I'm what?

Feeling slightly offended, I glance at him and pinch his wrist. This action didn't escape the observance of everyone around and a few snicker, much to my embarrassment. Obrecht pays it no mind though. Rohati also breaks into a smile and nods. A few others start to ease up and the tension in the air disperses somewhat.

Did a small pinch at Obrecht do that?

"Transparent, that he is", Kivn quips. "I can almost see the question marks over his head." He laughs. "I for one trust what I see." He continued to imply, and I can hardly keep up with the conversation. I don't know how many times I subconsciously looked to Obrecht for an explanation.

"Then, can you tell us more with how you got here, and what's your origin? If you're not from here, then you must be one of the surface dwellers." Sagitta tries to put the trial back on track.

A sort of new buzzing breaks out from the audience as they start to murmur with each other about the new-found information. Obrecht opens his mouth to retell my story but the so-called Ruzha snorts. Taking a peek at him, Obrecht suddenly whispers to me in a rare moment of seriousness, but fails to keep it low enough for the others not to hear. It was easy to amplify voices in an amphitheater if one wasn't careful.

"It seems that Tito Ruzha is dissatisfied with me. Why don't you answer this one, Videre?"

Me?

Ruzha squints his eyes at us. I survey the thirteen members of the Batrani, not daring to look further at the other Lumeans.

"…I…..I'm…" I look to Obrecht. He simply gives a nod of encouragement. "I'm… what they call a hybrid on the surface." I wait for their contempt but I hear nothing. Instead, I look up to see curious eyes at me. I breathe a bit easier as a weight in my heart lightens to some degree.

"My father was a Wraith, while my mother was a Satori. We used to live in a small house deep in the forest with my sister but…" Taking a deep breath and exhaling it, I continue. "I'm not sure if you're all aware but the Lycan-kind take the Satori-kind as their enemies. My family was hunted down when they found out that my mother, one of the Satori's known elders, was living outside of their Floating City. I can't really prove the validity of my story—I'm… I'm the only one that's left." I look down, my hand lifts up to play with the necklace tied around the mask's broken horn.

I didn't want to garner their pity so raise my voice slightly. I tell them of the mountain near my home, and how the Wraiths helped me to escape. I narrate my experience with the cave below a cliff, the chasm of water, the blue runes, and me waking up to the pool on Obrecht's cave. I even tell them of how I had tried to escape through the pool, only to have met a dead end.

Silence shrouds over as they contemplate the story I just told. Amos whispers something to Halvalt and a few other members of the Batrani converse quietly with each other as well. Kali, Ruzha, Sagitta and Kaivalya contemplates on their own, while Kivn just acts as if he was sleepy; his hands on his chin, head nodding. A lady with glasses, whom Obrecht introduced as Nehal, was as expressionless and moving as she was since the beginning of the trial; like the whole thing didn't concern her as she was just a mere observer.

Obrecht takes this chance to lean next to me and whisper much lower than before, "You should talk more. Your voice is so soft that it tickles my ear. I love it."

"…" We don't meet for five days, and you're more perplexing than before!

"I want to visit this cave", Mortimer announces.

Obrecht's grin sours and I hide the urge to laugh, despite myself. In the back of my mind, I marvel at my coping abilities.

Reluctantly, Obrecht agrees to bring them there on the premise that he gets to keep it. They set a date to when they'd go about it, while agreeing on the living arrangements for me.

"For safe measure, we'll be assigning someone to guide you while you stay here in Lumea", Amisha with her long silky black hair, conveys to me.

Oh, so I'm on probation.

"I can do that", Obrecht interjects. "I've already decided to be responsible for him, Tita Amisha."

"Alright, then you can't have him out of your sight", Amisha instructs as if talking to a child instead of a young adult. She looks like someone who likes to pamper others.

"Is that fine?" Kivn lazily yawns. "Ruzha, any objections?"

Ruzha looks away, maintaining his silence.

"Then I guess we're good." Kivn stretches his arms upwards.

"Halvalt, Odeti, we'll be troubling you", Amisha glances at both of them one at a time.

Halvalt nods.

Odeti walks over to her husband as the people start to disperse at the notion that the trial had finished. I was left trying to comprehend how everything was already over, as Obrecht grabs my hand and pulls me over to where his father and mother were talking with a few close friends.

"You don't have to worry about it, Amisha. I'm just expanding the family tree." Odeti smiles ambiguously.

Amisha widens her eyes and then giggles.

"My, you work fast."

"Of course. If you don't harvest the good crops early, the birds will prey on them."

"But are you sure it's a good crop?"

"One shouldn't belittle an ama's intuition." She raises an eyebrow at Amisha.

"Then, I'll keep a few ores and crystals aside for the weapons they'll be using for their engagement battle." Amisha promises light-heartedly. "I'll be sure to give you a good discount for a good quality."

"I'd appreciate that, Amisha." Odeti's eyes twinkle at the word "discount".

"What are you talking about?" Looking lost at the conversation, Halvalt tries to ask his wife for clarification.

I turn to Obrecht for one too, but he just shrugs at me.

Odeti disregards Halvalt's ignorance and Amisha's curiosity. She goes over to us and slings her arms over me and Obrecht, one on each arm.

"Come on, my lovable children, we're going home."

As I am pulled away with her, I flush at how naturally she had come to call me her child. I smile to myself as I listen to Obrecht bicker with his mother about his maturity, lingering on the feeling of skinship that had evaded me for so long. Becoming close with other people again, felt nice.

Home, was it?