A few hours later.

Silve Ironforge looked at the collective gathering of dwarves and other races as he stood on center stage while David and Gark stood to the side. Gark, bless the simple lycan, gazed upon Silve with simple understanding. The honest and straightforward nature had really rubbed off onto Silve over the last few months. He hoped his replacement could work with that as well as he had over the last few months.

Then Silve’s thoughts turned to David. Simple, much like Gark, but so complex that a master artificer would have trouble reading all of his plans at once. Which made the human both deadly and reliable at the same time. Hopefully, his replacement does not become too greedy for the power the man cares little for and be content with what he gets. After thinking that Silve could only laugh to himself mentally. A dwarf not being greedy is something he would love to see.

Then Silve’s thoughts turned to his newborn daughter and his wives then to the rest of his clan. As he looked over to them he could see they knew what he was about to do as well as the human did.

As the newly constructed clock tower struck nine, Silve raised the enchanted stone to his mouth.

“ Morning citizens of Unity. With sadness in me heart, I bring ill news of last night's events. At approximately one after midnight, Councilor Gark began Operation Cleanup. A city-wide raid on the newcomers to our fledgling home. This was done using the majority of the guard and Wardens as support. These targets of raids have been confirmed to be criminal masterminds. Specialized in theft, illegal drugs, slavery, extortion, and murder. Several had planned to organize their own criminal undergrounds. The four that were executed yesterday were underlings in fact of some of these masterminds.

As such, the council has ruled them guilty of criminal intent to them all. Some of them are even guilty of terrorism and rebellion. Aiding the second group on the stage.”

Silve gestured to the muted cage of humans obviously protesting, but could not be heard outside their confines as the first group of ‘lesser’ criminals. Silve already knows these people will be executed, but not publicly. They are just being shown who and what they are to the people. He then gestured to the line of dwarves in hangman nooses.

“ During Operation Cleanup, a secret strike team of nearly two hundred set out to attack the homes of the Warden Knights. Of the two hundred set out, over a hundred and fifty failed to find their targets, were discovered and aborted their attempts, or were killed or captured. Of the forty seven remainings, a total of thirty-two homes were attacked by teams of six to eight dwarves. In total nineteen wardens and nearly a hundred civilian family members have been accounted slain by their hands.”

There were some gasps at this and David drew Stargazer and shot it straight up in the air. Silve nods toward David as he holsters his weapon.

“ This, I am afraid, was a power grab from a few dwarven nobles. As such it has been decided as the councilor who was responsible for overseeing the council the dwarven nobles sat on, that the families of those responsible for the attacks be exiled back into the system reshuffle. In addition, EVERY councilor will be executed for either being part of the rebellion or knowing about it and doing nothing.”

Silve then turned to the lines of gallows with over two hundred hangman nooses on just as many dwarves, save for one on the end beside a lever. Naturally, these were just as muted as all other prisoner restraints. As he came to the end with the empty noose he took a deep breath.

He could not help but feel how easy everything was before all the crap that went down. Sure the meetings were boring, paperwork was a nightmare, and making sure the crews were not lazing around and drinking was annoying, but he was enjoying himself. It gave him purpose, even if he only half understood what he was supposed to do.

With his final moment of hesitation passing, Silve stood on the block and put the noose over his head, and pulled his beard from under it. Allowing it to do its job nice and proper. His hand goes to the lever that will release all of those there to the final embrace. With a quick jerk of his arm, his whole body drops as he heard a collective gasp from the watchers. As he fell he realized he was smiling. Then his and the other dwarves' necks snapped.

-----

He did not know when he woke up, he did not know how the mug of ale in his hand arrived there, and he did not know where his clothing was. All he could think was that was the most beautiful dwarf he had ever seen.

“ Silve Ironforge, son of Guld Ironforge. You stand before The Blind One, the goddess of the Knight Order of the Free Wardens. Normally, one of your own gods would tend to you, but...”

The dwarf in front of Silve merely shrugs.

“ Well, it is what it is.”

Silve laughs at that and takes an instinctual drink of his ale.

“ Aye, it is. I should have known when everything got fucked up I would not be meeting me, ancestors.”

She nods to that and that is when he noticed her eyes were covered with the same interface as the Warden Operating System crystals.

“ If I was a different deity, I would have different methods, but I am a judge first and foremost. Your life was not perfect Silve Ironforge, but you made the most of it.”

Suddenly screens started appearing around her. Starting with dozens, then thousands, to uncountable numbers. Each holds a scene or memory of Silve’s life. One, in particular, catches his eye. An event the night before he died.

“ Ah, it is not only your sins and virtues I judge, but what your actions wrought. Your daughter Coldborn Coldforge, will be told stories of you. Greatly embellished by your wives. You will become an example she tries to live up to. In the thousands of years to pass, you will be regarded equal to David Warright, the First Dreadnaught, and Gark the Unmatched Lycan King. You will be known as the Emperor of Iron, The one with such integrity, others can only match but never best...”

As Silve listened to the goddess tears started running down his beard. Not because of what she said, but because he realized his dead wife is the one who handed him his ale. Who had been standing beside him this entire time.