Lithoniel sat on the small stone steps circling around the "Temple", the natural rock arena standing on the plateau highest point. It was where the elves had held their commemorations for hundreds of years: a place of gathering serving as a temple for their sacred rites and as tribunal. Two thousand elves were there, waiting for their turn, the occasion to present their last respects. They said no words to remember the dead, sung no songs to celebrate their lives and shed no tears for the ones they lost. Because for the elves, that was the real purpose of funerals: remember the dead for one last time before forgetting them.

One by one, family and friends descended the stone steps and reached the inner yard where the elders, Naevys and Elwin, awaited. The absence of the Chief Hunter, the Nightstalker, was made even more obvious by the number of stone seats, three in total while just two were occupied.

Every elf carried a small token: a bow's string, a pair of gloves, a necklace, and threw it on the pile of wood at the center of the yard. Everyone participated. Everyone except Lithoniel. She was alone, isolated from all the others elves by the thick wooden bars of her cage. The door wasn't locked and aside from the iron chains on her legs and hands, she wasn't a prisoner. After all, Naevys didn't put her there to imprison her, but to protect her. Lithoniel could see the stares of the people around her, the unconcealed hostility in their eyes.

She understood well enough that it was for her own protection, but even though she knew this was for her own good, it didn't reduce the bitterness she was feeling. Once again she was different, kept apart from the others.

Moreover, there was something that bothered and scared her almost like what it was about to happen: namely that weird itching on the right side of her stomach. It was irregular and discontinuous, but she could still feel it. It was like it wanted to remind her the mark was still there, hidden beneath her shirt. But how could she forget?

She bore the mark of it on her skin; the black ink of a new tattoo, a second branch almost identical to the first one. It was like a nightmare, a foreign object trying to carve out a place in her, slowly but inexorably taking over her body. No, no matter what she did, she couldn't forget.

The only thing she could do was trying not to think about it and focus on something else. And so she did. She looked down, observing the rites.

The procession lasted for hours until most of the afternoon was gone and the sun flickered one last time before disappearing for good. Three elves moved close to the pile, a big fire rising when they threw the torches in their hands. The wood was dry and hollow and old; it didn't catch gradually but flared up. It was like the wood had been dusted with the black powder of the east, the flames sizzling and rising unnaturally high before suddenly dying out, leaving just ashes behind them.

Normally, this would have been the end of it, but this time was different. Some elves started to beat on their drums, the low and oppressive sounds resounding in the arena as one by one two thousand heads turned toward Lithoniel. She swallowed, knowing all too well what that meant. It was her turn. She gave one last look to Kolvar and Rolim as she stood up. The youngest brother's eyes were red and damp, his concern written all over his face. But even Rolim looked worried, though he tried not to show it.

Lithoniel's eyes were locked on her feet as went down the stairs, but she could still feel their gazes on her, hear them whispering, talking about the tribe's pariah, the foundling they should have never accepted among them. That was just the beginning.

All of the sudden someone threw something at her: a small rock, round and no bigger than a marble.

Lithoniel instinctively dodged. Then she lifted her head just in time to see a kid - no older than ten years old - still holding a slingshot as he stared at her. But it was the look in his eyes, the pure hatred within them, which made her pause.

That was a mistake.

Although the rock didn't hit her, it was like a signal for the others. They started yelling, lashing out at her like it was her fault if their loved ones died.

"Half-blood!" "Oathbreaker!" "Bastard!" They said that and much more, and when the insults were not enough to give voice to their hatred, they started throwing things at her.

They were stones mostly, tiny and not enough to seriously injure her since they aimed them at her legs and chest; but someone came prepared and threw dung on her.

Lithoniel wanted to make a run for it, but her legs were still chained, her walking speed extremely limited. All she could do was trying to protect her head with her hands and arms as she tried to bear the pain. She heard someone screaming "Stop!". The voice was familiar, but she couldn't get distracted right now. She had to get down and fast. She lurched like she was drunk, but she couldn't afford to fall. She knew it would be the end if she did.

At some point, maybe because she was close to the bottom of the stairs, the screams abruptly stopped.

Only then Lithoniel dared to look up and found herself staring at Naevys' withered face. The Loremaster hadn't done much to stop the people attacking her. She just stood up and stared at them, but it was enough.

Lithoniel looked up on the stairs and saw Kolvar and Rolim trying to make their way through the crowd. They were trying to reach her. The elder brother opened his mouth, but the noise was too loud. She shook her head and then struggled to smile. She was trying to say she was fine, and they didn't have to worry about her.

She was lying of course.

The stones they had thrown her were too small to do actual damage since none of them hit her head. However she was injured, her clothes torn and her legs and chest filled with small wounds.

Something flickered on Naevys' face when she looked at her - compassion and maybe a bit of pity - but it was just a moment and then it was gone.

Lithoniel didn't blame her. Naevys was the Loremaster. She really couldn't show that she was concerned about her. Especially now.

"On your knees" Naevys ordered when Lithoniel was ten steps away from her.

When she knelt, two people came down the stairs. Lithoniel couldn't help but look up.

Traditionally, the defendant didn't know the defender and accuser until just before the trial. That's why she was more than a little curious about them. When she saw Tinesia smiling smugly at her before bowing to the Loremaster, she wasn't surprised. But her defender was someone she would have never expected.

It was someone Lithoniel hadn't see for a long time; a blonde and pretty lady in her middle forties, a bit overweight but still vigorous. She looked like someone that had been very active in her youth but started to get fat as she got old. Still, there were toned muscles under that fat, countless scars hidden under the long brown robe she was wearing. It wasn't surprising since she was Shylin: one of the best hunters of the last generation as well as Rolim and Kolvar's mother. She was a bit older, and rounder than Lithoniel remembered, but it was her.

Is she my defendant? Lithoniel still couldn't believe it. Maybe Shylin didn't hate her as Tinesia did, but she had never liked her. Lithoniel knew Shylin thought she had a bad influence on her sons.

Why did she accept to be my defender? She wondered. But when she looked at Naevys, Lithoniel understood what must have happened.

Naevys convinced her.

How she did, Lithoniel didn't know, but it didn't matter at the moment. In the elf's society, two things were important for both defender and accuser: skill and reputation. Shylin had them both. Lithoniel had no time to think about how Naevys convinced her. The Conclave was about to start.

"We are gathered here in this day of mourning to judge Lithoniel, daughter of ashes." Tinesia started, addressing the crowd. "You know why you are here. You know what she did."

The chatter grew stronger and stronger as Tinesia's voice rose.

"You all know who she is, from where she comes from. Is there really a need for a trial?"

"Tinesia, this isn't the time for an appeal" Naevys sounded annoyed. "Call your first witness."

"I don't think it's necessary, Loremaster. We all know what blood runs in her veins, the sin of her birth is branded on her skin. We all know she is guilty..."

"Loremaster! For how long do we have to listen to her nonsense? " Shylin asked.

"...enough!" Naevys said. "Call your first witness, Tinesia, or I'll have you removed."

Tinesia didn't even blink. She still had that smirk on her face like everything went as planned.

"...very well. I call Baeris, son of Malgonis."

Unwillingly, Lithoniel looked up, Baeris's golden hair like a magnet for her eyes.

The young elf came down the stairs, a cruel smile on his face as he looked at her.

"Baeris" Tinesia said to him, but she was still looking at Lithoniel. "Can you tell us where Lithoniel was when the Nightstalker was killed?"

"Loremaster." Shylin said. "How is that relevant to the case?"

"This Conclave isn't about the Nightstalker, Tinesia, but to determine if Lithoniel broke the vow or not." Naevys agreed with her.

"I disagree, Loremaster. Everything that happened is a direct consequence of the Nightstalker's death. Besides, knowing how Lithoniel behaved during the battle is a good way to understand her character."

Naevys opened her mouth, likely to object a second time, but stopped as she saw Elwin shaking his head. "The Ancient" looked up where hundreds, maybe thousands of people were talking and shouting at the same time. Obviously, most of the elves wanted to hear more about what happened with the Nighstalker. There was nothing Elwin, and Naevys could do.

This wasn't a simple trial but a Conclave. Naevys and Elwin were just referees, and it was the crowd, the people who had the final say.

"Answer the question, Baeris." Naevys said, sounding resigned.

"She was far from the Zaruk, the furthest away from the Nightstalker."

"And why is that?" Tinesia asked. "Isn't Lithoniel a good hunter?"

"She is." Baeris nodded.

"So why did the Nightstalker put her so far away?"

"Because he didn't trust her. The Nightstalker always said the half-blood can't be trusted. She is the fruit of rape, treacherous like..."

"That's enough!" Naevys was forced to interrupt for a second time. "It's not your place to talk about what Nightstalker may or may not have thought."

"Even if it's true?" Tinesia asked, and many elves laughed. "Sorry, Loremaster" She continued, seeing how Naevys was glaring at her. "Baeris, can you tell us about the circumstances leading to Liara's escape?"

"We were resting in a cave in the foothills of the Great Chasm when it happened. There was a lot of chaos at the time. Kolvar and Garluin were fighting and..."

"They were fighting?" Tinesia asked, interrupting him, the shock on her face so well-emulated it looked real. "Why?"

"Because of Lithoniel. Lately Lithoniel, and Garluin were getting closer and Kolvar didn't like it."

Getting closer? Lithoniel bit her lips. What game are they playing now?

"It wasn't true of course. Garluin has better taste than that. It was Lithoniel that whore that was trying to seduce him..."

"Loremaster! The witness is deliberately insulting the defendant!"

"I concur. I'm warning you, Baeris. Watch your tongue or the next person under trial will be you."

"A-Apologies, Loremaster" Baeris bowed, intimidated.

Naevys scoffed, glaring at him for a second or two before looking at Tinesia.

"Continue"

Lithoniel was too shocked to think clearly. Seduce him? Really?

"Did Kolvar start the fight because he was jealous?"

Baeris nodded.

"And where was Lithoniel when this happened?"

"Deeper inside the cave." He shrugged. "I don't know where exactly."

"But she was in command at the time, wasn't she?"

"Yes, she was."

"And when did she come back?"

"Some minutes later. Probably when they heard the screams."

"They?"

"Rolim was with her."

"And what were they doing together? Exploring the cave?"

Baeris hesitated, looking at Lithoniel for a second or two before shaking his head.

"I can't say."

Apparently, Naevys' threat worked quite well since he was much more careful, his answers short and vague. A pity that Tinesia was a lot smarter than she looked and made use of his behavior.

"Baeris, you don't have to worry." Tinesia said, her voice soft and low like she was trying to reassure him. "Lithoniel is not your leader, not anymore. She can't do anything to you."

"I think her and Rolim were trying to find someplace private to...you know..."He trailed off, but the meaning was clear.

"I understand. But are you sure Lithoniel wasn't there when the fight started?"

"Yes."

Tinesia turned to look at the crowd above them.

"Lithoniel was in charge but went with a man instead of..."

"These are just speculations, Loremaster!"

"Tinesia..." Naevys hissed.

"Apologies, Loremaster." Tinesia said and bowed, but she didn't seem sorry. At all.

"So, what happened after that?" She asked Boeris.

"Rolim and Lithoniel managed to stop the fight and separate them, but..."

"But?"

"But by then, Liara was already gone."

"So, Liara disappeared while Kolvar and Garluin were fighting?"

"I think so."

"But how is it possible? There wasn't a look-out? Didn't Lithoniel assign a guard or two to watch the entrance?"

Baeris shook his head. "She didn't."

Lithoniel grimaced. She knew she had made a mistake.

"You were close to the Hollows, one of the most dangerous places of the Embersea, but there were no guards." She scoffed. "Interesting"

"Where is the question?" Shylin asked.

"Tinesia" Naevys said, her voice low and her tone snatchy. "This court is not your stage. This is the last time I warn you."

"I am sorry, Loremaster."

"Do you have any other question?"

"No, Loremaster."

"Defender, do you want to cross-examine the witness?"

"I do." Shyln answered before turning to stare at Baeris.

"Baeris, can you tell us about your relationship with Lithoniel?"

Baeris looked surprised. "Relationship?"

"Are you friends? Enemies?"

"Neither. Before the hunt, we barely knew each other."

"Really? Then, what about your brother?"

Tinesia looked startled like she didn't predict Shylin would ask that question.

"That's irrelevant, Loremaster." She said. "What does Boeris' brother have to do with this?"

"Loremaster, I'm trying to prove the witness is biased against the defendant, in which case his testimony would be unreliable."

Naevys nodded. "Baeris, answer the question."

"As far as I remember, my brother knew Lithoniel. But that's it." He answered, but he looked uncomfortable, head down and avoiding eye contact.

"So, they are just acquaintances? Is that what are you saying?"

Baeris hesitated for a second or two before nodding. "Yes"

Shylin smiled like the cat that ate the canary. "Loremaster, I have here some signed statements that could shed some light about the relationship between Naeran, Baeris' brother and Lithoniel. One of them says that insults and abuse of every kind, sometimes even physical, were commonplace when Naeran and Lithoniel met. Another person says that he heard Naeran define Lithoniel as: A half-blood whore, a stain for the elven race and..."

"Loremaster! What's the point?" Tinesia asked, but she was agitated, her face red and her voice high pitched. "This is just what Naeran thought, what does it have to do with Baeris?"

"For the ancestors, Tinesia. They are brothers." Shylin exploded. "Do you really..."

"Naeran is one of the first people who disappeared! He is a victim! Do you really want to tarnish his memory?"

"A victim?" Shylin snorted. "More like a thug, from what I hear."

"Is this your new tactic, Shylin? Slandering someone who can't defend himself?"

They kept bickering until Naevys was forced to put a stop to it.

"Enough!" She hissed. "I won't allow you to turn this Conclave into a brawl! Control yourself. Both of you."

When the Loremaster scolded them, Naevys and Shylin looked ashamed, or at least they acted as they were. The Conclave had just started but things were already heating up.