Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 45
45
The silence was deafening. Everyone's gaze kept switching back and forth between Dorin, standing tall, his challenge hanging in the air, and Wardo, blood slowly dripping down his chin.
The Chieftain reached up and wiped the gore away, leaving a bright red smear across his face in the shape of a handprint, stretched long and thin like a shadow at twilight.
He regarded the dripping mass of minced meat clinging to his fingers with an odd sort of grimace. "A snowball, Dorin? Really? What are you, a puppy!?" He flicked his hand and the mess sprayed across the ground in arcs of red. "Unbelievable, the things I have to put up with..."
Dorin did not shout or yell. He stayed calm and waited patiently for Wardo's reply.
"You know, Dorin," he said, casually wiping his hand down his chest, smearing even more red handprints across his necklace. "When I first appointed you to head of the warriors, I was continually surprised by how useful you were. But now... now I'm continually surprised by how unbelievably, ridiculously, preposterously stupid you have become. Every time I think you can't possibly be more naïve, you go and do something like this."
"I can't help but notice you haven't given me an answer yet, Chieftain, and I know why. It's because you're afraid. You were too afraid to face Hezzi, so you sent me to fight him in your stead. But what now? What are you going to do now that I'm the one calling you out? Are you going to resort to such a cheap tactic again? Are you going to soil your non-existent honour a second time just so you can cling onto a necklace you never deserved?"
Dorin expected a childish outburst, a tantrum, a denial of any and all accusations, but what he got instead was a patient (and rather unsettling) little smile.
"Oh, Dorin... You still don't understand what's really going on here, do you? You think everything will go your way simply because you wish it to? That challenge of yours is nothing but empty words."
"No. You have to accept my challenge or step down as Chieftain, that's the law. Feel free to use whatever trick or loophole you can think of. If you've got another puppet in the wings, bring him out now! I'll fight him! Hell, if you've got a dozen waiting in line, that's fine, too! I'll fight all of them! I don't care!"
"Law?" Wardo smirked. "You want to preach to _me_about the law? Where do you think those laws come from, hmm?"
This was not how things were supposed to go. Dorin had planned to either fight Wardo one-on-one, defeat him, claim the Chieftaincy, and put a stop to this madness, or (this was far more likely) for him to surrender immediately and have a surrogate fight in his stead. The plan wasn't to battle an endless stream of puppets and somehow pull off a miraculous victory, but to expose the Chieftain's cowardice, flay it wide open for everyone to see. Winning or losing didn't matter, only that the people saw the truth. Wardo was not a Chieftain - he was a pathetic wretch who constantly hid behind the strength of others. He was supposed to be sweating where he stood, his knees should be shaking, his voice should be cracking, but instead... instead he was wearing that disgusting little smirk, like he knew something Dorin did not.
"I will tell you exactly where our laws come from." Wardo raised his hand and pointed a red, dripping finger towards the statue in the centre of their village, staring down at them all like ants, its five eyes standing out bright red against the steely sky. "Our laws come from the Cora." He slapped his palm against his chest, making the necklace rattle. "Our laws come from the Chieftain! And most of all..." He sweeped his arm across the crowd in an all-encompassing gesture. "Our laws come from the people! That is where they reside, and that is where they get their power! Now tell me, Dorin, with that in mind, do you still think your 'challenge' is more than a bunch of silly words? Do you honestly believe that?"
They stared. Hundreds upon hundreds of them. He could feel their glares crawling over his body like wasps. They wanted to go to war. They wanted to feed the hunger, and he was standing in their way. Even if he did fight Wardo, and even if he did somehow end up becoming Chieftain, would it really matter? What good would a necklace do if a thousand angry Wolves decided to go on the warpath regardless?
By the Cora, could he really have been such a fool?
The blood around his knees and ankles started to boil. He could feel it peeling his skin, burning his flesh. In reality, the snow was probably just making him feel numb and tingly, but even though he was aware of this fact, he couldn't make his heart believe otherwise.
He was going to die today, and he wouldn't be the only one.
Ivio was staring at him just as intently as everyone else, his left ear giving an occasional twitch, but there was no malice in his gaze, no regret, no blame. Only hope.
Denko was leaning on his cane, a thin line of blood running from his knee and hardening against his shin. He didn't say anything, but he did give a slow nod of encouragement.
Aisa. She had raised her head and was looking at Dorin in a way that made him feel an immense responsibility. He was the reason she was kneeling in the snow, hanging on by a thread.
"Please," she whispered. "You have to do it. You have to try. You have to do something, say something! Please, don't let them kill my enka!"
There used to be a time when he believed that killing himself would solve all his problems, but life wasn't so simple anymore. Giving up would mean not only killing himself, but murdering his friends as well. That was something he couldn't allow himself to do anymore, because, as Wardo had said time and time again...
He was different now.
"Everything you've said is true, Wardo," Dorin said. "But, by your own words, you must also admit that the law comes from me, as well. It comes from Ivio and Denko and Aisa, and anyone else in the crowd right now, having second thoughts about why we're gathered here today. So..." Dorin opened and closed his right hand, feeling the tendons in his wrist strain against the wrappings and the sharp piece of metal hidden inside. "What is your answer?"
Still that smile. Still that awful, wicked smirk. "You're right, Dorin. Every Wolf contributes to the law, even you and your diseased friends. Every Wolf is part of the law, from fresh-faced pup to grizzled veteran. Every Wolf must submit to the law, even me. But, there are so many things you've failed to account for, Dorin. So many fun, fun things..."
"No! You've wasted enough time! I challenged you, so you must give me an answer!"
"I 'must' do no such thing! The Chieftain is only required to answer a lawful challenge when issued by a rightful opponent. You, however, are not rightful and your challenge is not lawful!"
"To hell with you! I am the head of the warriors!"
"Ordinarily that would have counted for plenty, but your recent actions have caused me to question your sanity."
"My sanity!? You're questioning _my_sanity!?"
"First you failed to bring the traitors to justice, and now you openly oppose the will of your Chieftain, the will of the Cora, and the will of your people. That is tantamount to treason, Dorin."
"I am not a traitor!"
"You aren't? Well, judging by the things you've said, you certainly seem to have much more in common with Nilia and her ilk than any of us."
"They're not traitors, either! You simply branded them as such because of your stupid, childish temper!"
"Is that any way to speak to your Chieftain? Not only are you incompetent, you are also rude!"
"Just give me an answer, damn you!"
"The head of the warriors may challenge the Chieftain, but perhaps you're not the head anymore. Ever stop to consider that?"
"What?"
"I can strip you of your rank. I would be well within my rights after you've done nothing but fail me again and again."
"That is a total farce and you know it! They know it!" Dorin brandished his sodden hand at the sea of awestruck Wolves all around him. "It would be even worse than what you did to Hezzi! I don't care how badly you or everyone else wants this war to happen! Honour is honour, and you have none! Even these bloodthirsty animals will see that! They will rip that necklace from your neck if you stoop any lower!"
"Will they?" Wardo simply kept on smiling. He wasn't even concerned with the strange looks he was getting. "Even after all this time, you still don't understand. 'Honour is honour, and you have none'? Well, power is power, and you have none! I am Wardo! I am the Chieftain! I have the power to do whatever the hell I want, and these people won't do a bloody thing to stop me because what I want is also what they want! Theirs is the true power I wield! For example..." His yellowish eyes swivelled down and came to a stop on Denko, kneeling in the snow with his cane across his knees. "Maybe I should promote him to be the new head of the warriors?"
A soft wave of whispers travelled throughout the crowd. Denko looked to Dorin with pleading eyes, mouthing the word, 'Sai?'
Wardo cackled as lines of blood and water dribbled down his face and coated his teeth, staining them an awful, reddish brown. "Why not? It would give him every right to challenge my rule. Sure, I'll fight him. What do you say, Denko? You want to stand tall and face me like a real Wolf?"
"Shut up, Wardo!" Dorin shouted. "Now you're being petty as well as cowardly! Denko can't fight with that leg! He can barely stand!"
"Hmm... yes, you're right. That would be rather boring, wouldn't it? No fun at all... Hmm..." He scratched his chin, pretending to think, and Dorin had to use every ounce of willpower at his disposal to not rush forward and end it all. The last resort was... no, it wasn't even worth thinking about. He'd only consider it if all hope was truly exhausted. To go down that last path was to condemn everyone who put their trust in him to death.
Wardo's eyes suddenly brightened, as if he just had the greatest idea of all time. "You know, Dorin, I can't help but notice you seem to be trying to follow in Ander's footsteps. Why not take it one step further?"
Dorin didn't like the sound of that. "What are you talking about?"
"Let's not waste any time with a boring trial. Let's just skip ahead to the verdict, shall we?"
"Trial? Verdict!? Wardo, you can't!"
"My people!" Wardo raised his hands high in the air. "This Wolf stands before us accused of many crimes! Is he guilty or innocent? You decide!"
Dorin couldn't believe this was actually happening. All around him, Wolves were crowding in, eager to hear what their Chieftain had to say, eager to let their voices join the accusations, eager to deliver not just a verdict, not just a judgement, but also a punishment.
"The murder of Lana!" Wardo screamed into the sky, having the time of his life, his face contorted by pure rapture.
Dorin only had a moment to reflect on the absolute absurdity of that accusation before a thousand Wolves thundered back: "GUILTY!!", drowning out everything else with sheer volume.
"I killed her to save you!" Dorin screamed back. He screamed so loud it felt like his throat would rip open. "I bloodied my hands for you, you filthy son of a bitch!"
Wardo kept going, listing crimes he was indeed guilty of, but that hadn't even been considered crimes until this very moment. "The maiming of Danado! The destruction of Mellah and Sorrin's tent!"
"GUILTY!! GUILTY!!" The verdict came back in a double boom of noise, shaking the very ground they stood upon.
Dorin's mind was racing. He tried to think of a way to fight back against this unforeseen strategy, but every path he checked only seemed to lead him into a dead end. How could he turn this around? By saying he suspected Wardo of being the one who had truly killed Hyker? What good would such an accusation do without proof? He'd only make himself look petty and defensive, a desperate Wolf reaching for straws. The same could be said of Hezzi and Danado. If he claimed Wardo had tried to assassinate them without a trial, what good would it do? He didn't have any proof! And even if he did, why would anyone care? This entire war was based on eking out 'justice' against the traitors anyway. And what of his comrades? Ivio and Denko were right here in this circle with him, so even if they did step forward to back him up, Wardo could simply dismiss it as a feeble attempt at worming their way out of trouble. Seffer, Yanek and Vekka were too scared to do anything, and rightfully so. Speaking out against the Chieftain would be the same as slitting their own throats. That only left Thoka, and he had already shown quite clearly where his allegiance lay. No matter how Dorin looked at it, there was simply nothing he could do, no truth he could reveal, if his people were so willing and eager to believe any kind of lie that would let them feed their hunger.
"Incompetence!" Wardo continued, his voice drilling into everyone's ears. "Failure to carry out a sacred mission entrusted to him by his Chieftain!"
"GUILTY!!"
"Wilfully ignoring the law!"
"GUILTY!!"
"Blasphemy!"
"GUILTY!!"
"Blatantly opposing the will of his Chieftain!"
"GUILTY!"
"Dereliction of duty!"
"GUILTY!!"
"Failure to obey orders!"
"GUILTY!!"
"Trying to protect a band of heathens and traitors!"
"GUILTY!!"
"Standing between his people and their destiny!"
"GUILTY!!"
"He is not one of us! He is afflicted with Ander's disease! He is different!"
"GUILTY!! GUILTY!! GUILTY!!" That single word reverberated throughout the village. They stomped their feet and clanged their weapons to the rhythm of their voices, adding a menacing undercurrent to the cacophony like a broken heartbeat, resonating through Dorin's bones as an unstoppable, crushing condemnation.
Aisa, Denko, and even Ivio, they were staring at him, their hope all but completely diminished, pleading with him to somehow get them out of this. They had stuck their necks out for him, and for what? To be cut down by their own people for no gain whatsoever? What was the point?
I'm so sorry...
"GUILTY!! GUILTY!! GUILTY!!" The chant was feeding off itself, getting bigger and louder. It was quickly blasting away all the meagre shreds of doubt Dorin and the others had fought so hard to create. The Wolves staring in at them now were resolute, angry, happy, excited, furious, ecstatic and incensed. It was as if they were going to war already, and the creatures before them were not really fellow Wolves at all, but merely enemies to be destroyed, enemies to be feasted upon, enemies that would finally sate their hunger. The only one not jumping and screaming was -
Shekka?
She stood still amidst the rabble, existing like she always did inside her own personal bubble of empty space, plenty wide enough so no one would accidentally touch the witch of the tribe. Her eyes were white, but not pure; they were the tainted shade of spoiled milk, laced with veins, creeping in from the edges like red tendrils, so much like the snow Dorin was kneeling in, befouled by torrents of old, rotting blood.
A flash of inspiration ripped through Dorin's head like a lightning bolt. All this time, he had tried to think of a way to turn the entire tribe as a whole away from the abyss, but that might have been impossible from the very start. What he should have tried was to turn just one Wolf, one Wolf with influence powerful enough to rival that of the Chieftain's. It was a stupid idea, it was a dangerous idea, it could get him and all his friends killed, but, if they were going to die anyway, then anything was worth a shot.
"GUILTY!! GUILTY!! GUILTY!!"
Dorin took a deep breath and bellowed for all the tribe to hear: "Shekka-Kai! Wardo tried to kill Hezzi! He tried to kill your drisa!"
The chant died from the centre outwards. Some Wolves actually froze mid-stomp, and slowly lowered their feet back down to the ground, their mouths slightly open, clubs and axes hanging loosely at their sides.
A small frown appeared on Shekka's forehead and her bubble of space suddenly tripled in size as Wolves scrambled to get away from her.
"What did you just say?"
"Wardo tried to kill Hezzi!" Dorin said again. He did not know how his words might shape events to come. For all he knew, he was just dragging everyone else down with him, but he had to try. "He ordered Ivio and Hyker to murder Hezzi and Danado while they were still locked in the cage! He tried to have them assassinated! I was there when he gave the order! I heard it all!"
If Wardo was at all upset by this accusation, he was doing an admirable job of not showing it. He put on a patient little smile (How many damnable smiles does that bastard have!?) and shook his head. "Really, Dorin? Resorting to false accusations, are we?"
"It's true!" Ivio piped up, both ears pointed straight in the air. "He ordered me to stick 'em! I was gonna get Dan, and Hyker was gonna get Hezzi! That was the plan!"
Denko banged his cane against the snow. "They're both telling the truth!" he said. "I was stationed in the watchtower. I was supposed to shoot Nilia if she tried to interfere."
"Oh please," Wardo said in the most obnoxious, patronising tone of voice he could muster. "Ivio, you're just following along with a ridiculous story Dorin made up on the spot. And you, Denko, you don't have a leg to stand on. HA!!"
Many Wolves chuckled at that little jape, but not Shekka. Without turning her head, she asked: "Why are there three different Wolves telling me you tried to kill my last son, Wardo?"
"Because they're like cockroaches underfoot, creeping and crawling with their spiky little legs, trying to get away. They'll say anything and do anything just to buy a few more minutes of precious life."
"Are they telling the truth, Wardo!? Did you order them to kill my drisa!?"
"No, of course not! And call me 'Chieftain' or 'Sai' you blind bint! Show a little respect, or we'll hold a trial for you, too!"
"You wouldn't dare! Your precious little war wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for me!"
"This 'little war' is the tool by which you will get your son back! Show some gratitude!"
"He's lying!" Dorin shouted. "He intends to kill Hezzi the first chance he gets! He doesn't want you to find out the truth!"
"You're the one who's lying!"
"Shekka-Kai! Going to war is the same thing as condemning your son to death! I know you miss him, and I know you only want him to come back home, but surely leaving him in peace is better than this? Better than handing him over to that monster masquerading as a Chieftain? I can tell you right now, if Hezzi doesn't die during the battle, he'll end up bleeding to death inside that blasphemous pit! Is that what you want!? Is that what Chieftain Kadai would have wanted!?"
Reading the Witchdoctor's face has always been a difficult (if not impossible) endeavour. She stared in that way that only blind Wolves could, seeing yet not seeing, her gaze fixed on a point somewhere far away that did not truly exist. There was a small frown creasing her brow, and her mouth was slightly open.
Please, Shekka-kai! Dorin prayed. See the truth! Help us! It's the only way for you to save your son!
She kept staring with those blank, sightless eyes, those empty eyes, and Dorin understood how she could have earned the name of 'Empty One' before being struck blind. There was something about her, something missing. It's been missing since the start, and it had nothing to do with her eyes.
She opened her mouth wider, as if to say something, then closed it again. She turned her head slightly, first one way, then the other. She seemed to be wrestling with something, fighting a demon only she could see and feel.
Please, Shekka! This is our last chance! You have to act now!
She opened her mouth again and Dorin's heart gave a huge leap of hope, but then plummeted back into despair when he realised she wasn't going to speak out loud. She was simply muttering something to herself, moving her lips in the same way over and over again.
It wasn't me... It was her_..._
What?
"Enough!" Wardo bellowed. His smile had disappeared. The expression twisting his face now was one of pure anger and hatred, all teeth and snarls. "I have had it with these distractions, Dorin! They're boring! You're boring! This whole damn village is boring! I have waited my entire life for this day and I will not let you or anyone else screw it up! We will march on the mountain, we will_go to war, and we _will achieve our destiny, our birth right, our salvation! But first, if you admire Ander so much, if you want to follow his example so badly, if you want to throw away your life and the lives of everyone who ever trusted you, well... I know the perfect punishment for you, Dorin. You and your friends..." The smile slowly reappeared on Wardo's face, slithering from one end of his maw to the other like a slimy snake, slobber dripping from his fangs like clear drops of venom. "... will be Thrown to the Wolves."
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