Page 89 of The War of Four Winters

"We watched slavery expand under Tarathiel's rule, despite our ancestors' teachings that such practices corrupt both master and bondsman. We witnessed executions called justice and oppression called order."

He gestured toward me, his expression solemn. "The accused stands charged with treason for opposing these practices. With rebellion for seeking peace with the Yeutlands. With conspiracy for building alliances across clan lines rather than enforcing ancient rivalries."

Klaus turned to face my father directly, an unprecedented breach of Assembly protocol that sent a ripple of shock through the chamber. "If these are crimes, then I stand equally guilty. For I, too, have questioned the endless northern campaigns. I too have opposed expansion of slavery. I, too, have sought cooperation rather than conflict."

My father's expression remained carved from ice, but the tension in his shoulders betrayed the fury beneath his controlled exterior.

"Representatives of the Twelve Clans," Klaus continued, turning back to address the Assembly as a whole, "before you vote on the accused's fate, ask yourselves this: Is it treason to seek a different path when the current one leads toward destruction? Is it conspiracy to build bridges where walls have failed? Is it rebellion to question authority when that authority has strayed from our most sacred values?"

He let these questions hang in the air for a moment before concluding. "House Wolfheart has seen enough of our sons sacrificed to outdated ambitions. We have watched enough of our traditions twisted to serve personal power rather than collective prosperity. We stand with Ruith Starfall not because he is perfect, but because he offers what we most desperately need: the courage to imagine a different future."

Klaus returned to his seat amidst profound silence. No one had expected such a direct challenge to Tarathiel's leadership, especially from a house that had, up until that moment, supported the Primarch in that chamber.

"Does any other representative wish to speak?" the Herald asked after a moment, his voice betraying slight uncertainty at this deviation from the expected protocol.

No one rose. Klaus Wolfheart's statement had been powerful precisely because it was unexpected. Others who might have sympathized would wait to see which way the political winds blew before committing themselves.

"The accused may now address the Assembly," the Herald announced, gesturing toward me. "The Assembly will hear final words before rendering judgment."

I stepped forward, chains clinking. Every eye watched me, from the representatives in their ornate seats to the observers crowded in the gallery above.

"Representatives of the Twelve Clans," I began, my voice steady despite the exhaustion and pain. "I stand before you not merely as the accused, but as someone who has walked the bloodied fields of battle under both my father's banner and my own. Someone who has held dying warriors in my arms and promised families I would return their sons safely, knowing those promises might prove empty."

I swept my gaze across the chamber, meeting each representative's eyes in turn. "I have led the summer raids. I have fought in the northern campaigns. I have sent good soldiers to their deaths based on orders I did not fully understand, for victories that felt increasingly hollow. I have watched the light leave a friend's eyes on a battlefield that would be forgotten by the next season. I have carried battle brothers home on their shields while politicians debated which territory to contest next. I have felt the weight of command and the crushing responsibility for lives lost under my watch."

A murmur rippled through the gallery, quickly silenced by the Herald's staff striking stone.

I turned slightly to face my father directly, chains scraping against the stone floor. "The Primarch calls me traitor for daring to question why we continue fighting wars that empty our villages of their young. For believing that our people deserve a king who serves them rather than demands their sacrifice for his own ambitions. For daring to believe in a world where humans serve not as our slaves, but as our allies. As our friends, our neighbors. Am I a traitor for believing in a world built not upon the blood of the fallen, but upon the cooperation of the living?"

My father's expression remained frozen.

"You have heard that I took a human consort," I continued, turning back to address the full Assembly. "This too was portrayed as betrayal. Yet Elindir walked beside me through fire and blood, faced death with courage that would honor any elven warrior, sacrificed everything for a vision of peace rather than endless conflict. His crime was loving across boundaries we created. Mine was believing those boundaries serve no one but those who profit from our division."

I straightened my shoulders, ignoring the pain that shot through my battered body. "I completed the sacred hunt while carrying the weight of these truths. I bear the ritual markings that our ancestors recognized as divine blessing because whatever my faults, my heart serves the people rather than my own ambition."

The silence that followed felt weighted with possibility and danger. In that moment, I sensed a genuine wavering in the Assembly, a collective uncertainty that might yet be turned to hope.

"At Calibarra, warriors who once fought each other now break bread together. Children who once feared the future now dream of possibilities beyond survival. Families find security not in walls and weapons, but in communities built on mutual respect. When they look to their king, they see not a distant figure who demands tribute, but someone who works alongside them, who understands their struggles because he has lived them."

My gaze found Klaus Wolfheart, silently acknowledging his unexpected support. "I ask each representative to vote not as politicians calculating advantage, but as elves who have also known loss. Who have also questioned whether endless bloodshed honors our ancestors or betrays their dream of a people guided by wisdom rather than fear. Who have also wondered if the throne serves the people, or if the people merely serve the throne."

I fell silent, having said all that needed saying. For a heartbeat, the entire chamber seemed suspended in that moment of choice, of possibility.

The Herald cleared his throat, clearly discomfited by the unexpected direction of proceedings. "The Assembly will now vote on the matter before us. Yea signifies guilty, Nay signifies acquittal. Each clan shall cast its vote, beginning with the representatives seated to my right and proceeding around the circle."

The Deepfrost representative rose from his seat. "House Deepfrost votes Yea."

No surprise there. My father’s puppet would always vote with him. The vote proceeded around the circle, each representative rising in turn.

"House Turtlefall votes Yea."

"House Ivygrass votes Yea."

"House Seashore votes Yea."

"House Longclaw votes Yea."

Five votes for my guilt, exactly as expected. I kept my expression neutral, revealing nothing of my thoughts as attention turned to the Stoneriver representative. Lord Talinar stood with dignified calm.

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