Jeza I

14th night of the Month of Ice, 0:30, Walpurgis

She's one of the few Nocturnals working when the dove comes in. The sudden ringing echoing around the office at Night Hall and making her drop her quill on the report she has not yet finished, black ink destroying her efforts as she allows a small shriek to escape her.

The moonfall shift is the least preferred shift in the force—something Jeza can understand perfectly, sleep calling for her with sluggish movements and half-mast eyes—but, whenever Jeza needs to finish a report, she always takes it, the silence and almost no emergencies making the shift perfect for concentration, even as her body calls for a pillow and warm blankets.

She was the only Nocturnal in office, the rest patrolling the city, with the exception of Captain Ulrik—that Jeza suspected had chosen the shift for the same reasons as her—so she stands from her desk and approaches the chabutra, that stood in the middle of the office like a wooden statue, and took the ringing device, putting the hearing segment to her ear while the other went to her mouth.

"Night Hall, what's your emergency?" She drones, a yawn almost interrupting her as she speaks.

"Ah! Yes! A body! In the river…and a nomad! I think?" A voice stammers on the other side the chabutra "They ran away when I approached"

"In what chabutra are you located?" Asks Jeza as she stands up straighter, mind already thinking possibilities of the victim, killer and nomad.

"The one by the Muddy bridge" answers the voice—a witness, reminds Jeza to herself.

"A squad will be dispatched immediately, please, don't leave the premises" says Jeza as she starts to hang up the device, her eyes already trying to get the attention of Captain Ulrik, that had left his office when the chabutra had rung. "Captain, a body by Muddy bridge and a nomad"

"I'll get the squad and Master Merlo, Zasya" orders the Captain "You get your nerval and find the nomad, the gates are closed, so they shouldn't have gone too far"

Jeza nods, mind already thinking of where the nomad could have gone, if they had appeared close to the Muddy bridge then the best route of escape would have been towards the east, following the wide street that stood between Mud district and Hazelon, that this late in the wane should be empty.

As she considers every possible thought going through the nomad's head, she enters the stables behind Night Hall, easily finding her nerval Thasi, a young mare she had acquired after the death of her previous one. Jeza saddles Thasi, the beast neighing loudly, either excited or annoyed, swinging her head and braided mane making the whole process harder than it should be.

Nocturnal nervals were bred to be fast, nothing like the ones used to pull carriages, their bodies lithe and narrow, their colors dark, often blacks or dark purple, made to camouflage in the darkness of the night and capture criminals and nomads. Thasi in particular was brownish, with some wide spots in a darker color that could be either black or the darkest blue, her horn was a glossy black, the texture the same as other nervals, a swirling carving that climbs the horn from base to tip.

After taking too long for Jeza's tastes to saddle her nerval, she finally leaves Night Hall, galloping down the cobbled streets towards the eastern gate, her thin chainmail and Thasi's hooves creating a charming symphony she had heard many times over her career as a nocturnal.

It doesn't take long to find them, they stand directly in front of the closed eastern gate, staring at it like it holds every answer and none at the same time. They're a girl, younger than Jeza herself but older than her little sister Cira. The nomad was dark skinned and dressed in painful colored clothes—Jeza didn't know green could look that bright—with long braided hair. It reminds Jeza of herself a few years back, she had worn that type of braids close to the scalp and in rows but nocturnals didn't wear helmets and getting dragged by the hair was not that strange, so she had cut them, keeping her hair almost non-existent, merely a puffy fuzz of dark blue.

Jeza dismounts as quietly as she's able, walking towards the nomad that still stares a the closed gate. Newly arrived nomads are often scared and confused, some even try to fight the first person they meet, and while Jeza is not often sent to collect them, she knows the process.

Loose posture, calm voice, showing the palm of her hands, small steps and no sudden movements unless you needed to.

The nomad finally notices her,

She looks terrified, eyes wide and the too small pupil, surrounded by a brown ring, moving around an excess of white space inside the eye itself. Nomad's eyes always freaked her out, how could they not? The strange colors seemed to vary in between Nomad's, but the ring surrounding the pupil was always strange and moved too much for Jeza's tastes, a Nomad's stare was shiver-inducing, more so if the stare was locked on you. Even with all the practice Jeza had had with every nomad she had ever interacted with in her life, she still felt some disgust at seeing the girl's eyes.

The nomad gasps and takes a step back, walking backwards and staring directly at Jeza. Not good, a scared Nomad is a running risk, even with the gate closed, the nomad could still run through the streets and either trip and hurt herself or encounter a less approachable citizen of Neth, something that wouldn't be that surprising so close to the Mud district.

Jeza starts making shushing sounds like she would often make for Thasi as she slowly walks towards the nomad. A nomad this new couldn't understand Netherian, at least not until they passed the Trial and completed the Aygoz ritual, so talking was a worthless effort and Jeza wouldn't even try.

As she moves, Jeza starts to move towards the back of her belt, where her lariat was tied—a long thin wire with two small iron balls at each end, often thrown directly at the feet of a running suspect and then used to tie them down—with the intention of capturing the nomad as fast and painlessly as possible.

"Easy" murmurs Jeza more to herself than to the nomad, one hand still facing the nomad to show her peaceful intentions, it's just like calming a wild beast or a jittery nerval. "It's okay"

The nomad's eyes are moving everywhere in the creepiest way possible, she's too scared, if Jeza pulls out her lariat, she's going to run, the next best thing she can do is use her asha and hope her aim is true. Jeza has always been faster with her water than with any weapon at her disposal.

With a well practiced motion, Jeza gathers water behind her back and then whips out her hand, the water launching itself in the shape of a wide ring, swirling in the air and staying in shape thanks to her perfect control, the nomad has no time to react as the water collides against her body and instantly freezes, forming a thick shackle around the nomad's waist and arms.

Jeza sends a short and grateful prayer to Nunet under her breath and finally pulls out her lariat, unwinding it and approaching the nomad calmly, the girl now sitting on the ground in an ungraceful heap, with a deeply confused expression on her face.

"Usually, I'm more caring, I assure you" mentions Jeza, even as the girl cannot understand her. Jeza's voice is back to her usual tone, no need to calm down already apprehended prey.

She ties down the Nomad and unfreezes the improvised capture weapon, letting it pool at her feet, now just normal water. Jeza drags the girl towards Thasi, that stomps one of its hooves in distaste. The Nomad mutters something as she stares at the nerval, eyes wide in what looks like unfiltered wonder. Jeza just sighs and pats Thasi's neck, it's at times like this that she misses her old girl Morala, she was a gentle creature, nothing to do with Thasi, that was still young and rebellious.

The Nomad is put like a sack on the back of Thasi's saddle, on the leather addition to the saddle, created to place captured criminals. A better option that tying the lariat to the saddle and make the criminal walk behind—something that is still done when a criminal is nefarious enough or when more than one criminal is captured by a single nocturnal.

Now she just needs to get to Night Hall, she is sure Captain Ulrik must have already doved everyone in for the Trial and that makes Jeza wonder about the future of this particular nomad. She knows of some council and court members that enjoy taking bets on who will take a new nomad when they arrive, a Trial can be attended by any citizen of Neth, but those that do—with the exception of council and court members—usually do so if they intend to take a nomad in.

The trip is mostly silent, with only the sound of the nerval's gallop over the cobblestoned street. Night Hall is not far and the entrance has filled with both Nocturnals and some council members, clearly waiting for the Nomad to arrive. No court members though, probably all already seated inside. The court is made of noble houses' representatives while the council can be joined by any citizen that presents the proper documents at Night Hall and is accepted by the court, it's mostly made from members from richer families, like Jeza's father, some middle class representatives and even some people from Mud district that had been accepted, not an easy feat.

Darule, her usual shift partner that had ended in city patrol that wane, is one of the Nocturnals waiting at the entrance of the Night Hall, the moment he sees Jeza approach, he whistles loudly to warn the rest and the Nocturnals move away from the open door, allowing Jeza's nerval to move directly into the golden and illuminated main hall. Too much light for most of the present company, it makes her flinch and glare slightly at the overhead chandeliers.

She stops right in front of Captain Ulrik, that looks wary and nervous underneath his normal blankness.

"Zasya" he greets with a nod, voice stern "Glad something went right tonight"

Jeza is almost afraid to ask, but she doesn't need to when the Haruspex himself walks in from another wing of the Night Hall and stands by Captain Ulrik. Clothed in mourning red leather, with his red beaked mask pointed in Jeza's direction. She meets the yellow glass that covers his eyes on the mask, even as her brain warns her of the bad luck of doing so.

"Zasya" says the Haruspex as he stops right besides Captain Ulrik. His voice sounds almost like a whisper and Jeza wonders if he is sick with the Gryme flu that has been hitting the town particularly hard this year.

"Vyshe Ardashir" answers Jeza with a pronounced bow of her head. She lowers herself from Thasi and then picks up the nomad and puts her on the floor. The girl stumbles as she looks everywhere at once, flinching away when people wander too close to her, like she fears them for some reason.

"We have terrible news, Zasya" says Captain Ulrik "I'll put you and Darule on the case, Infans Mikhe Drest has been found dead, Prince Artemy has offered lead the Trial today in place of his father, as he has declared himself indisposed"

Silence takes over the noisy hall, and Jeza looks at the Haruspex. She hates herself for it, but she is somewhat glad Mikhe Drest is dead, the many rumors that surrounded the man created a picture that had always worried her, should they be true, a terrible man had been in a place of power for a long time. Jeza is sure Vyshe Ardashir is incredibly glad of the death of the Infans, she knows little, as she had never attended court sessions, but she knew that both men despised each other.

"We'll deal with that later" says Captain Ulrik whirling around to stare at heavy doors to the court room "Now, let's us deal with the easy part"

And with that, the grand golden doors to the court room opens.