The Cycles of Revelation Series
Artifact of the Dawn: Tribunal (A Queer Sci-Fi Adventure)
Episode 12: After returning to Jevan’s home village of Yanen, Jevan and Ardyn are brought before a tribunal to determine their fates.
Jevan paced, furious over their current predicament, while Ardyn sat cross-legged on the bed, watching him. He had never felt so outraged in all his life. Out of frustration, Jevan shouted. “Why?!”
“Why what?” Ardyn asked.
“Why are they doing this? Why are they keeping these secrets? What’s so damned special about those structures we found that warrant convening a tribunal?” Jevan asked, flailing his hands in exasperation. “I just don’t understand.”
Ardyn’s ears lowered. “Are tribunals that serious?”
“Yeah, they are,” Jevan replied, grabbing a chair, facing it away from Ardyn, and then straddling it, so he could lean his arms across the back. “We reserve tribunals for the worst offenses. I only witnessed one when I was a kid.”
“What was the offense?”
“A young unbonded man named Valen traveled from Yanen to a village along the coast. He’d gotten drunk and forced himself on a pair-bonded woman, causing her to die,” Jevan explained.
Ardyn looked at him in shock. “Why would he kill her?”
“He didn’t want to kill her, not intentionally,” Jevan explained. “Once Medellans pair-bond, having sex with someone other than your bondmate risks serious illness or death. Valen knew that, but he insisted he never believed in the old fairytales. It horrified him that the woman died, but even if she hadn’t, what he’d done was inexcusable.”
“So, what happened to him?”
“They brought Valen back to Yanen to face the judgment of a tribunal. Mathias had recently become our new ard. He presided over the tribunal, along with the ard from the village where the assault happened,” Jevan said. “The ards gave him three punishments to pay for his crimes. First was a public flogging for the crime of having sex with someone in a pair-bond. Second was castration, for the crime of rape. Third was a life sentence working deep in the mines for causing the death of another. He will never see the light of day again.”
“Why didn’t they just sentence him to die?” Ardyn asked, confused.
“Medellan law doesn’t allow death as a punishment for any crime,” Jevan explained. “But there’s nothing we’ve done that should even warrant a public tribunal. There must be more that Mathias and your elders aren’t telling us. Some secret they are desperate to keep hidden.”
“You’re right,” Ardyn agreed. “It makes me wonder what else we could have discovered if we’d spent more time in the Aria’una. I regret not exploring that tower further, but I wish you could have come with me.”
A knock came at the door. When Jevan opened it, one of Mathias’ sons stood there with a tray of food. Taking it gratefully, he tried to speak to the young man, who fled as soon as Jevan gripped the tray. Bringing it inside and setting it onto the small table he had by the window, he didn’t realize how hungry he was until he looked at the bowls of thick stew.
“Come on, we might as well eat,” Jevan said, grabbing the chair he’d been sitting on and moving it back to the table. “We should keep our strength up.”
Ardyn joined him at the table, and they ate together in silence. Outside, the sun was setting, so after he’d finished his stew, he lit a fire in the hearth, along with a couple of candles. Trying to keep their mind off what fate awaited them, they sat together on the bench before the fire.
While Jevan knew Mathias wouldn’t sentence them to death, he still worried that they might wind up in the mines, and that was as good as a death sentence. While those who willingly worked in the mines could take time off and enjoy the outdoors, those sentenced to work there could never see the light of day again. It was a fate worse than death.
They’d both grown quiet, staring into the dying embers in the hearth. Ardyn was nervously fiddling with the end of his braid, lost in thought. Watching for a time, Jevan looked at Ardyn’s pale, slender fingers, as they twisted and untwisted his hair. Not even thinking, he reached out and grabbed the elf’s hand.
Flinching, Ardyn looked up at him suddenly. Jevan was about to blurt out an apology when Ardyn squeezed his hand and gave him a shy smile. “Your hand is very warm,” Ardyn remarked, making Jevan relax. They sat there for a while; their hands intertwined. Jevan had to fight the urge to pull Ardyn into an embrace. After everything they had been through together, it made Jevan feel closer to Ardyn than he’d felt to anyone besides his family.
Their long run through the forest earlier that day finally caught up with him, and Jevan felt his eyes grow heavy. Ardyn must have noticed, as he squeezed Jevan’s hand and let go, getting up to stretch.
“I wish I had thought to grab a bedroll in my haste to rescue you,” Ardyn groused, looking around the small space.
Jevan stood and walked over to the bed and gave Ardyn a mischievous smile. “Come, join me in the bed. It’s large enough.”
When the elf hesitated, Jevan folded down the covers. “I’m far too tired to do anything more than sleep, so don’t worry, you’re safe.”
Giving him a wary look, Ardyn finally agreed. “Okay, thank you. I appreciate that.”
They prepared for bed and then slipped under the covers. Jevan turned so his back faced Ardyn. He felt Ardyn slowly settle in next to him. When he peeked over his shoulder, Ardyn also had his back turned toward him and was breathing softly, already asleep.
The next morning, a loud knocking awakened them. When Jevan answered the door, they handed him a small plate with bread and water. “Prepare yourselves. The tribunal begins shortly.”
They ate quickly and dressed, trying to make themselves as presentable as possible before several men from the village arrived. Willam, one of the local farmers, scowled at them. “Put your hands behind your backs,” he said as two of the others approached them with ropes.
“Is this really necessary?” Jevan asked, complying with the demand, while their hands were bound behind them.
“Ard’s orders,” was all Willam said, before the three men marched them toward the village square. There was a raised dais where musicians would play during festivals. Ard Mathias stood upon the dais, flanked by two elder members of the community.
The entire village had gathered to bear witness to the tribunal. Jevan spotted his mother and sister in the crowd near the dais and regretted not going to speak with them first when he had returned. Now they would have to hear the accusations against him without being able to explain.
The men brought them before the dais and the crowd closed around them. Looking up at Ard Mathias, the man had an angry scowl upon his face when he looked down at them. It gave Jevan a sinking feeling that this would not go any better than it had for them in Maala’naa.
Stepping forward, Mathias began listing the charges. “Jevan of Yanen, you are charged with trespassing into an area within the elven territory that is forbidden to all, known to them as the Aria’una. You also aided in the theft of an object found within the Aria’una and you escaped the judgment the elves pronounced upon you. How do you plead?”
Looking at Mathias defiantly, Jevan responded. “Not guilty because those charges are absurd. That area should not be forbidden, just because there are — ”
“Silence!” Mathias interrupted before Jevan could tell the entire village what they’d found. There was a collective gasp from those in attendance, and Mathias waited for silence before continuing.
“Ardyn of Maala’naa,” Mathias addressed the elf. “You are charged with the same crimes. How do you plead?”
Jevan looked over at the elf, and Ardyn gave him a small smile before speaking. “The guilt should fall entirely on my shoulders, Ard Mathias. I was the one who found the object you speak of. If Jevan hadn’t come along to save my life, the object would have remained in the Aria’una, along with my festering remains. I also freed Jevan in Maala’naa and helped him escape the judgment of the Elder Triumvirate. Please, don’t punish him for my crimes.”
Ardyn’s plea touched Jevan deeply. He was about to argue when Ardyn looked at him and shook his head. He turned back to Mathias when the Ard spoke again.
“Since you so brashly admit your guilt,” the Ard said. “I will now pronounce your sentence. Within a fortnight, we expect the Elder Triumvirate to arrive from Maala’naa to come and bear witness as we carry out your sentence in accordance with our treaty. You are both to be publicly flogged. One hundred lashes. Each.”
The villagers cried out at the pronouncement of such a harsh sentence for the crimes of trespassing and theft. Usually only those who committed rape or murder received that many lashes. Mathias let the people shout their disapproval for a moment before raising his hands to quiet them.
“The lashings will be administered over a period of five days, twenty lashes per day,” Mathias continued, and the crowd’s protest reduced to a murmur. “After your flogging, we will take you to the mines, where you will live out the rest of your lives performing hard labor.”
Jevan tried to remain stoic, despite the rage roiling inside of him. He looked down at Ardyn, who had tried to sacrifice himself for him. Ardyn was tough and would survive the lashings, especially spaced out as Mathias had proclaimed, but Jevan worried how long Ardyn would survive deep in the mines.
As several men led them away, Jevan gave his mother and sister a brave smile, keeping a brave face despite their horrified expressions. They were being held back from rushing to his side, crying out his name and pleading with Mathias for mercy. On the way back to his home, Jevan’s mind raced. They had some time before the Triumvirate would arrive in Yanen. An idea struck him, and he soon had the beginnings of a plan.
They untied them after they were back inside Jevan’s home. Two men were to guard the front door, while another would watch the perimeter. They would bring them food and fresh water three times each day, and a tub of water for bathing every other day. Otherwise, they were to be left alone until the Triumvirate had arrived to bear witness to their punishment.
Once the guards left and the door closed, Jevan pulled Ardyn away from the door. “I have a plan, but I need you to be in complete agreement,” Jevan said quietly.
Ardyn nodded.
“We will escape. Not right away, because it would be too easy to track us if we ran now, and they are too watchful so soon after the tribunal,” Jevan explained. “You know that storm we encountered the other day meant we’re about to enter the rainy season. I expect another heavy rainstorm soon. We’ll make our escape then, so the rain can obscure our tracks.”
“If the rain doesn’t come?” Ardyn asked.
“If the rain doesn’t come, we’ll still attempt to run,” Jevan said. “They can’t do much worse to us than we’ve already been sentenced to. We just need to wait until their guard is down.”
“Okay,” Ardyn agreed. “Then what will we do? Where can we go?”
“We cannot seek refuge amongst either of our kind,” Jevan said. “So, how about we go back to the Aria’una? As forbidden as it seems to be, I think they may not follow us there. Also, I would really like to see what exactly they are keeping us from finding.”
“So would I. Alright, let’s bide our time until the next rainstorm, or we leave the night before the Triumvirate arrives, whichever comes first.”
Jevan nodded. “Agreed.”
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