Hands tied to poles by iron manacles, stripped of their shirts, Shivam, Arthur, and Josh stood shivering right in the centre of Weavers' Residence. A crowd had gathered around them, and gaped at them with wide eyes, just as Blikrot had hoped they would.
Blikrot couldn't just allow them fast, easy deaths, of course. He had to made a spectacle out of it. To teach a lesson to other people, to ensure no one ever again would dare to cross his path.
Infernos kept a close watch on the crowd, to make sure that no one would suddenly try something funny. They didn't need to, of course: each and every member of Weavers' Residence was terrified beyond their wits. The People's Hope, tied up, chained to poles, about to be executed.
Such a situation would terrify anyone. Shivam didn't blame them. Blikrot strolled lazily around them, the Shadowblade in his right hand: it looked like he himself intended to execute them.
Let it be. All was lost, wasn't it?
Blikrot came gently to the front of Shivam, and spoke with a flourish of the sword. "Today, I present to you all your offenders. Betrayers of our great nation. The one some of you have falsely labelled as 'People's Hope'," Blikrot raised the Shadowblade towards Shivam as he spoke. "And also his companions--a banished, blaspheming kid, and a backstabbing soldier.
Why call this sailor the 'People's Hope'? What good did he promise to you all by toppling my rule? I do not know, and I do not care. Every empire must face such false rebels from time to time, who make people dream false dreams.
I can guess how he must have convinced you all. It must have had something to do with my efforts for freeing you from the menace of dragons. What did he tell you all? That killing dragons would disturb the balance of powers, the coming of seasons, the turning of the world? Well, did it ever occur to you that if we removed all dragons from the face of Heart, the balance of powers would then depend on YOU, not on those monsters?
Anyway, I do not blame you, my subjects. You have just been misled, that is all. My executing these conspiring criminals in front of you all, I intend to put this debate to an end once and for all: dragons must die, and that is for what we must try," Blikrot finished his speech, which prompted the Infernos to shout: "Long live Blikrot! Long live the Empire! Long live King Blikrot!"
As the Infernos silenced themselves, the crowd started muttering. Shivam looked at them, trying to read their faces. He didn't even know any of them. Why had they gathered here? Did they not realize the satisfaction they gave Blikrot by just coming here, and listening to his speech? What kind of people were they, anyway? They labelled a stranger as a hero, a stranger they had never met before this day; and now they just muttered their agreements to Blikrot's speech? Were all the people of Heart crazy? Or maybe he was just imagining things--he couldn't be sure what impact Blikrot's words had had on the people.
And then Shivam's face fell on two familiar faces. Sylvia, the young girl who had befriended them...and Sabrina, her mother.
What had Sabrina told him? "Cruelty is at the centre of all worlds, and only the weak can fight it...those who do not want to fight, must fight it. You might win, Shivam...you must win." Shivam heard her words crystal clear in his ears, as if Sabrina had spoken to him just now.
What were they doing here, Shivam wondered. Then he saw clearly the tear tracks on the cheeks of Sylvia. The eyes of Sabrina were dry, but their haunted vision weighed Shivam's face down. He could no longer look straight, so he looked at the ground instead.
Josh whimpered from beside him, and Shivam looked at him. He saw that Blikrot had grabbed Josh's face in his left hand. "We must begin by executing this blasphemer, who feigns innocence by his immature looks." Blikrot raised the Shadowblade.
"NO!" Sylvia screamed, and detaching her hand from her mother's hold, she ran towards Blikrot. "Please...I know him...he's not a blasphe--blasphe--a liar."
Blikrot turned, eyebrows raised. "Another blasphemer," he said, craziness pouring through each word. He almost swung the sword, but then Sabrina had his attention, running towards him.
"Please...please spare her life...she's only a kid...she's all I have left," Sabrina said, collapsing at Blikrot's feet.
"Foolish woman," Blikrot muttered, sword still raised.
"Please," Sabrina whimpered, kissing Blikrot's feet. "I gave you the be--bbest Miracloth! Please!"
"Ah...alright. Get lost now...maybe you can serve some of my Infernos later." Blikrot gestured towards some Infernos, and they dragged Sabrina back. They didn't touch Sylvia, though. Her fate had been sealed.
And as Shivam watched it all, rage and grief blurring his eyes, he knew what he had to do. He didn't shiver anymore, even though he stood bare-chested, braving the merciless cold winds of Weavers' Residence. As Blikrot was about to swing the sword to slit open Sylvia's throat, Shivam bellowed: "NOBIS QUAE OFFERAMUS, SIMPLICITATE CORDIS..."
"What...?" Blikrot said, surprised, turning towards him. Taking advantage of his distraction, Sylvia ran, and got behind the crowd.
"SI TIBI VIDETUR. DRACO , SURGE," Shivam finished the incantation--the incantation for Raising a Dragon, that had come to him naturally, even though he had never memorized it.
"What?" Blikrot asked, uncertain.
And a huge pentagram of fire etched itself on the ground, its flames rising high. Blikrot discovered that he stood right in the middle of it.