“Sirius Smithson.”

“Yes, that is me, Your Honor,” Sirius answered.

“You were the reason for closing one of the oldest faculties of the Bram University. Hundreds of young people from our kingdom have lost their only opportunity for magic training. Ever since I was a child I remember people calling them useless. It is true that our kingdom could find many uses for the money spend for their education, but you have made any previous arguments irrelevant. You have shown that those people are dangerous. Do you realize that even some people with the money to pay for their studies have been denied a license since then?”

“Yes, Your Honor. I’ve heard about it.”

“Don’t you think that you deserve to be punished for what is happening to your fellow Shapers?”

“As I said during the first trial: It has been an accident.”

“I would be more likely to believe that, if only you’d shown some remorse. I would even shorten your sentence if prone to… Well, if you didn’t try to escape. And of course not attack the guards. Some people would say that it was impossible to make your situation worse, but you did, and by A LOT. The sheer ease with which you can escape from a runic cell, has made some people VERY uncomfortable, about people with your abilities.”

“Well, locking up a good locksmith is not…”

“SEVEN PEOPLE are dead because of you! Better be serious about this, or you will be the eighth and last!”

“I’m sorry, Your Honor,” he said sounding more sincere, but the judge was not sure if that was just the threat of execution, or there was actually some remorse in that man.

“Guards, take him away. I need some time to think, and I will call you back in a few minutes.”

“Yes, sir!” The two soldiers answered at once.

Justicius Markus Sen Lorqeth haven’t been so conflicted since he had to sentence his own father to death. Whatever he did, thousands of people in the Lorkan Kingdom could be prosecuted very soon, just because they were born with a little bit more Ether than the others. Could one death satisfy a bit of this growing bloodlust? Could someone use his help to finally answer some questions from that day? Markus didn’t think that knowledge would actually make it easier for the Shapers, but ignorance could cost them everything, if Elena’s suspicions were correct. If only he wasn’t biased he would have chosen already, but the kingdom demanded him to make the best choices. Not the easiest. Not the simplest. And not the most just. Being fair had no value in the perspective of the kingdom in flames.

“Sir!” One of the guards entered the room.

“I didn’t call you, but you can bring him back. I made my mind.”

“The thing is…” The soldier hesitated. “We can’t. Sirius Smithson have stolen at least three gate-rings, and escaped using one of them…”