NOVEL WEB Chapter 300: You Stand Accused
The boat glided across the shimmering waterways of Patino, the capital city nestled at the heart of the archipelago.
They'd arrived on the ship and were switched to boats to navigate through the city to their destination.
The boat moved through the waterways flowing like veins through the city, weaving under arching bridges and beside layered buildings.
Music and conversation drifted from nearby canals, mixing with the scent of salted air and grilled fishes from market stalls.
Children waved as the boat passed, while older folk murmured to each other, trying to puzzle out who the outsiders onboard the boat were.
Ren stood at the prow of the boat, his eyes sweeping over the city with an unreadable expression.
Behind him, Lilith sat quietly, hood drawn, her pale hands folded in her lap. Her gaze didn't rise to meet the grandeur of the city. It remained fixed on her lap, haunted.
Thorn leaned on the side railing, watching the passing market barges and floating homes with a growing frown, his eyes scanning rooftops and alleyways out of habit.
Zuzu sat between them all, quiet but alert, her eyes wide as she took in the city she hadn't seen since she was a kid. She'd been born on Seta, but her parents had taken her and her brother to Patoni for a few rites when she was younger.
Tidecaller soldiers flanked the group on all sides. Clad in armor with blue-green sashes, they didn't speak unless absolutely necessary. And their silence was somehow louder than any threat.
"Nice city." Thorn muttered, glancing around. "Shame we might die in it."
"We won't." Ren said calmly.
Thorn raised a brow. "Confident?"
"Prepared."
Zuzu looked up. "That building there... the big one with the tower? That's the Tidecaller Hall. That's where the elders meet."
Ren gave a single nod. "It matches the stories I've heard."
He'd been here before. In the game. After the Deep destroyed it. It was beautiful. Maybe he was weird for thinking this, but it was more beautiful than it is now.
The boat curved beneath a bridge and approached a large dock. Waiting on the platform were more guards and a priest, who bowed shallowly before ushering them forward.
"The Tidecaller Hall recognizes your arrival." The priest said. "You are guests, pending trial."
They were led inside. The interior was grand, its walls carved from stone and reinforced with coral veins that glowed with a soft blue light.
Fountains of fresh seawater spilled from sculpted mouths, pooling into streams that curved through the halls.
Overhead, murals carved in relief depicted ancient battles between sea creatures and Tidecallers, frozen in time above their heads.
They were led to a large room, where they were served a light meal. Steamed seaweed rice, sliced fruit, and grilled sea bass.
The servants didn't speak. They merely watched.
They ate in silence. Lilith barely touched her food, picking at it with disinterest.
After a few hours, they were led out for their trial.
Tam, who had accompanied them until now, was stopped at the entry of the trial chamber.
"Only the judged may enter." The priest explained.
He glanced at Zuzu, worry filling his face. "Don't let anybody twist your words. You speak the truth."
She gave him a small smile, more fragile than she wanted. "I won't."
Ren, Zuzu, Thorn, and Lilith were led into the great meeting hall.
The ceiling soared overhead like the inside of a conch shell, spiraling upward and glowing from within.
Music of running water echoed faintly from channels that circled the room. The elders sat in crescent formation above a raised platform, their robes flowing like waterfalls of silk.
Each had circlets made of coral bone on their brow indicating rank and lineage. The High Elder stood at the center.
She was tall, older than anyone present, but her posture was straight and her gaze sharp. Her voice rang out like a bell as she spoke.
"We are gathered to judge the matter of the child Zuzu, daughter of Ram, a Tidecaller, and the outsiders who accompanied her into the Deep."
She turned her eyes to Zuzu.
"The first charge reads as follows. Zuzu, an unblooded and untested child, violated Tidecaller law by venturing into the Deep alongside foreign warriors."
"That she engaged in battle without sanction, and acted outside the rites of adulthood. She may step forward to present her defense."
Zuzu stepped forward.
"High Elder, esteemed council." She began. Her voice shook slightly, but she firmed it.
"The law says a Tidecaller must face war before being named an adult. But it doesn't say we are forbidden from adventure. It doesn't say we can't act when danger threatens the Mare Dulce."
The room was silent. Then murmurs. Some of the elders shifted. One, a man with a narrow face and long eyebrows, leaned forward.
"You interpret that absence of restriction as permission?"
"I interpret it as trust." Zuzu replied. "Trust that a child of the sea knows when the waves demand action. The Deep was waking. I felt it. I saw it. And I chose to do something."
Another elder scoffed. "You were a child playing at heroism. And now you stand here, claiming justification in hindsight."
"No." Zuzu said, louder now. Her fists trembled. "I'm standing here because I fought and lived. Because others died. Because we did what no one else could do."
More murmurs. One of the older elders nodded slowly, though he didn't speak.
A younger member of the council cleared her throat. "You knew this journey could cost you your life. That you could be exiled. Yet you went?"
"Yes." Zuzu said. "Because it was the right thing to do."
The High Elder raised a hand.
"That is enough. You have made your case. You and your companions will wait outside."
Ren placed a hand on Zuzu's shoulder as they turned to leave. Thorn gave a stiff nod to the elders. Lilith walked without looking at any of them.
Once the doors closed, the chamber filled with quiet debate.
"She is a child." One elder said. "This is absurd."
"She fought a war, Shai. She flouted the rules."
"The rites exist for a reason." Elder Rokka spoke, voice rumbling. "If we make exceptions, we unravel the weave."
"But she didn't break the rite. She fulfilled it." Shai rebutted. "Just unconventionally."
"She left without permission. She left with outsiders. That alone is enough."
"She returned. Triumphant. Her name is written into the sea."
Elder Korrin leaned forward. "Which is exactly why she must not be given special status. This was not her war to fight. This was not her role to play."
A younger elder frowned. "And what would you have had her do? Wait in ignorance while the sea swallowed us?"
"I would have had her follow the law," Korrin snapped.
Another voice interjected. "If we punish her for doing what we could not, then what message do we send to the next generation? That obedience matters more than protecting the sea?"
The room grew louder as more voices joined in.
The High Elder remained silent until the voices died down. Then she said, "We will reconvene shortly, elders. Then, we will give our verdict."