[DL-K] Phoenix Flying I

NRPG: We last left our misguided lovers in a moment of epiphany and
rebirth, rediscovering each other by the frost-covered remnants of
Al'dairan's funeral pyre.  I wrote "From the Ashes" over a year ago, and
M'tan and Aleta have never left my heart.  But, unfortunately, I've never
been able to let them tell their story because my waning Weavers time was
consumed by what I *had* to write, not what I *wanted* to write.  Now that
I have some freedom from responsibility, I can give you the story that
should have been told a long time ago. 

Now you won't have to refer to them in vague generalities or ask for my
permission whenever you want to interact with them :).

My intention is to send out segments of their life in separate backposts,
just so it's clear what they've been DOING all this time.  I do this
better than one huge post full of episodes, which is what I'd planned to
do originally.  Hopefully it won't disrupt stuff being written in the
present too much.

Now, without furthar ado...

RPG:
[Warren Court, the day after Lori's sentencing and escape.]

	After the frustrating search for the escaped convict Lori,
Keldarra was in none too good a mood to see one of its darlings put to
trial the next day.  M'tan had been a smiling face and a respected
military leader for many years, and the Warrenfolk met his accused crimes
with a mixture of betrayal and disbelief.  Romantic scandal they heard
every day, but not murder.  Not M'tan.

	Speculation was at its high point as the Great Hall was filling
for a trial that promised to be more heartrending to the peaceful
Warrenfolk than the last.  Some claimed M'tan had gone bad when his mate
kicked him out of their apartment.  Others insisted it had been when that
wilder Almiron had forced his way into M'tan's life.  Still others were
sure that it was all a mistake, and he would prove his innocence as soon
as he was given a chance.

	A few minutes before the trial was to begin, Aylin appeared,
dragging a disgusted-looking D'neor with her.  She wore the face of a
mother determined to stand by her son through the darkest times... and
force everyone around her to do the same.  She sat down in the front of
the hall in the most visible place she could find.

	The time came for the trial, and M'tan did not appear.  The crowd
murmurred uncertainly.  He wouldn't have disappeared without a trial,
would he?  Perhaps that assassin came back to finish what she started!

	M'ressan massaged Christalla's shoulders.  "Zareth's still in the
Warren," he said soothingly.  "And he seems happier than he has been in a
long time.  Don't worry.  He'll be here."

	A moment later, the doors to the Great Hall opened again, and a
gasp rippled through the Warrenfolk.  M'tan stepped through the doors, but
he was not alone.  To his right he held his adopted daughter Benna's hand.
To his left he held Aleta's!

	M'ressan tensed and started to stand, but this time it was
Christalla's hand on his shoulder, holding him back.  "She's a grown
woman, dear," his mate said softly.  "Your opinions of her decisions are
not a part of this trial."  He looked wildly back at her, then nodded and
sank rigidly back into his seat.  He fixed his fierce gaze on his sister
and held it there, unwavering.

	Christalla stood up and walked to the head of the Hall.  In a
strong, clear voice, she said, "Now that the accused is present, this
trial is called to order."  She paused to wait for the mumurring to die
down.  "M'tan, Wingsecond of Alpha Wing, you are charged with the
premeditated attempt of murder.  The intended victims were Lori, former
mate of Michel, Wingsecond of Gamma Wing, and her Dragon Wyndelie.  The
court has noted that the attempt was against Lori alone, but the accused
is known to be well aware that the life of a Dragon is linked to her
rider, so the attempt against Wyndelie is considered implicit in the
attempt against Lori and stands as a full count of attempted murder.  The
court has also noted that Lori was known by the accused to be pregnant.
The court will weigh that fact with the attempt against Lori, but it has
been decided not to include the unborn child as a third count of attempted
murder.

	"Knowing that the charges against you are grievous and bannishment
is being considered, do you have any statement to make before the court?"

	The three of them never broke rank, though Benna moved
protectively closer to M'tan.  It was as if they were all standing on
trial.  "It all happened exactly as you described," M'tan said. "I have
nothing else to say."

	Christalla's calm composure missed a beat.  "You're not going to
say anything in your defense?"

	M'tan shook his head.  "I admit my guilt.  I'll accept whatever
judgement the court decides on."

	"In that case," Christalla said slowly, as if giving him a chance
to change his mind, "if no one else chooses to speak for the accussd, the
court will decide the sentence.  The WarrenLord, the Alpha Wingleader, and
the Gamma Wingleader have exempted themselves due to personal association
with the accused, and the Beta Wingleader has also declared his
objectivity to be in question.  The decision is then expanded to the
Wingseconds, but the Gamma Wingsecond is also exempted due to personal
association with the victim.  In light of the difficulty finding objective
council in this matter, I am asking the Warrenlord and all Wingleaders and
Wingseconds to sit in on the deliberation, but Keldarra must understand
that all but R'mar are there in an advising capacity only."

	"Wait."

	Christalla looked over the audience in surprise.  "Who speaks?"

	The silver-haired foreigner Elswyth stood up resolutely.  "You
said others could speak for him before he was sentenced.  If he won't
speak for himself, I'll speak for him."

	Christalla waved her hand.  "The floor is yours."

	Elswyth fixed the DragonLady with  piercing green eyes.  "What
wrong has this man done," she demanded in her accented DragonLander,
"other than to succumb to the madness of grief and the desire to settle a
blood-debt?  It was not the man you knew who wanted to kill Lori,
regardless of her dragon and child, it was his thwarted desire for
justice, his knowledge that the Warren would do little enough against her,
Joined as she is and pregnant.  Lori was guilty of the crime and the worst
she could expect was banishment, when anyone without a Dragon would have
been right to fear the gallows -- or the headsman."

	Her disagreement with Warren policy, along with her bewildered
acceptance of its tenets shone clear in her eyes.  This was not lost on
Christalla, who flushed defensively under that unyeilding gaze.

	"This man is not a killer," Elswyth continued, "to take the lives
of the innocent without qualm.  Think you -- any of you -- that he could
have been driven to this by aught short of madness?"  Elswyth shook her
head.

	"I known killers;  I have seen madness and the need for revenge; 
I have experienced the slaughter of the innocent and the execution of the
guilty.  M'tan is only human, under unbearable pressure and unable to live
up to inhuman ideals.  Lori owed him her life.  His distress rendered him
unable to process the innocence of her dragon or her unborn child." 

	"To blame M'tan unduly for his clouded thoughts is to deny your
own culpability.  Would he have even tried this if he had had reasonable
hope of redress?  I think not." 

	"It is curious that you believe only good people are chosen.  You
have been spoiled if you think only non-riders capable of violence, and
fools for not recognizing the dangers an evil one imposes.  Were execution
an acceptable sentence, M'tan would not have had reason to go after her
himself." 

	There was deathly silence in the Great Hall when she had finished.
Christalla's face was red, and the expression she turned on Elswyth was
not kind.  But it was M'ressan who stood up to answer the foreigner's
challenge.  "You still have a lot to learn about the Warren way," he said,
neither unkindly nor condescendingly.  "We don't believe that Dragons only
choose good people.  We don't even belive that all Dragons are good by
nature.  But you must know by your bond to Aedra that the Dragons are a
different people with a different culture.  The Bond is a gift.  We have
no right to judge them, and we certainly cannot justify killing them by
our own hands in the name of 'justice.'"

	Elswyth met M'ressan's gaze without hesitation.  "Aedra knows the
risks she takes to be with me, and she accepts them.  How can any other
Dragon do less?  Having no right to judge them doesn't demand that we
protect Dragon lives above our own."

	The Hall began to stir in agitation.  Christalla raised her hand
sharply.  "If there is no one else who wishes to speak for M'tan, the
court will decide sentence," she said.  "Everyone else is dismissed until
punishment is ready to be handed out."

	The Warrenfolk stood up and began making their way to the exit. 
As Elswyth was turning to leave, she felt a hand rest gently on her
shoulder.  She turned to see M'ressan's compassionate eyes looking down on
her.  "You still have a lot to learn about us," he said, "but I think we
also need people like you to help us look at ourselves."

	He smiled.  "Just don't consider Christalla a hypocrite.  She may
be set in her ways, but she believes strongly in what she is doing.  You
were here when M'tan assaulted Lori, but you weren't here when Al'dairan
died.  It was Christalla Lori was trying to kill, and she very nearly took
both the DragonLady and our unborn child.  Christalla handed down Lori's
sentence yesterday knowing that.  Al'dairan was her courier, and she loved
him.  She's not asking more of M'tan than she asks of herself.  At least
keep that in mind before you judge her."

	Then he heard the call for the DragonLady's council, and he turned
and hurried toward the head of the Great Hall.

	The deliberations took a large part of the day.  It was almost
dusk when the call went out that the sentence was ready.  Everyone had
been speculating on what would happen to M'tan, and many people had been
pondering what Elswyth and M'ressan had said.  It didn't take more than a
few minutes for the Great Hall to fill with expectant faces.

	D'neor, the Wingleaders, and the Wingseconds sat in the first row. 
Aleta sat near the aisle with Benna.  M'tan stood up, alone this time
before Christalla, to face the sentence. 

	Christalla's face was unreadable.  She looked down at M'tan as the
face of justice, not as a woman.  "It's been difficult to come to a
conclusion on this crime and this man," she said, "but we have finally
decided on a sentence.

	"The reasons behind the crime has been taken into account.  M'tan,
formerly Wingsecond of Alpha Wing, will not be banished."

	M'tan's breath caught audibly.  He didn't waver, but the people
closest to him could see that his eyes were shining. 

	"However, the attempt to kill a Dragon can't go unnoticed.  He is
removed from Alpha Wing and forbidden to enter combat flight for a minimum
of two years.  During that time, he will be on a period of probation,
monitored by Alpha Wingleader Aleta, to verify that the violence will not
resurface.

	"After two years, provided he has shown no signs of threatening
behavior, he may be released from probation and apply for reinstatement in
a Wing.  That is all."

	The Hall errupted in sound.  M'tan pulled Aleta to her feet and
engulfed her in a desperate hug.  But Aleta looked up over his shoulder,
caught Elswyth's eye, and smiled.

Respectfully Submitted,

Susan Rati
Creator, DragonLands
with pieces written by Jill Flansburg

  Susan Rati (echo@indy.net) http://www.indy.net/~echo | And this only
   Creator, DragonLands ** http://www.indy.net/~dlands | covers the
   George, InConJunction ** http://www.indy.net/~incon | stuff I can
 MIB #0110 (Secret Rep SJGames) http://www.sjgames.com | print here ;]