[Kova's Wishing Well] Crying Wolf [Closed]

[Leviathan]

Day 26th of Spring, AV 511 Kova's Wishing Well / Stone Gardens Midday

"These monsters are not your saviors! They are not divine protectors from the dangers of the world. These men and women, your adored knights, are nothing but liars and deceivers! You do not see through your fears, but you are oppressed! Do none of you see the villainy in their actions? Tell me, any of you citizens here. Do you have the right to speak in their councils? Do you or do you not have a right to pass judgement over this city? Do you have the power to make decisions that are truly in your best interests? No, you only have the power to work and toil your days away, year after year. Many of you have grown so accustomed to this life that you are blind to the truth. Their lies are your truth now. Do you not want a better life for yourself? What about your children? Do you think they wish to be slaved to swords and shields that follow a chain of command that begins not by the goodness of their own intentions, but at the head of these families? Do you wish for your own blood to always suffer as you are suffering? Working until your back aches and your hands are broken? No, I think not. The time has come to demand right for yourself. Who here does not work their hardest to only achieve a silver in pocket and an angry stomach? The knights, that's who. Yes, I'm talking about him and her and this man there!" A hand thrusted out from a large swaying sackcloth robe as he pointed at various on-duty knights, who were mostly minding their own business, yet to this man, this advocate of personal rights, they were devils amongst men. Slavers amongst slaves. They were monsters amongst children. His words were poison, and already there was a small excited number of people circled around him, whispering, considering. They were hardly a riot or parade of rampaging civilians demanding wages, as if the knights themselves controlled the flow of income to each working man and woman. Nevertheless, they were painted as the enemy, and the lesser educated were nibbling on the idea. The robed man stood tall as he balanced professionally on that short stone wall of Kova's well. The man himself seemed fairly unknown, but this was the second time, second day in a row, that he drew in a crowd, he was gathering as many as he could, but his intentions were not yet known. Still, there wasn't much he did to break the law. Perhaps disturbing the peace, maybe, but already it was getting risky to arrest him. If the knights acted with their armor shining and swords drawn, his words would appear more than correct, but threatening. It would only promote his cause. His death would even make him a martyr, which could be devastating to the structure of Syliras itself. "Come, gather around and we can discuss their errors of this city, and as one voice we can take what belongs to us peacefully, and should the Knights ignore our cries of mercy, then we will know the time has come for greater action. Not even the gods can ignore a city of men and women willing to fight for that they deserve."

[Jaelyn Baroth]

Jaelyn had heard rumors of this madness the day before, but the rumors paid no justice to the truth of the matter. She had hoped that the man would not show himself today, that he had simply been some lunatic raving about nonsense, but not only was he back, but people were listening to him! Her jaw clenched tightly in anger as she approached the crowd gathered around the man, her right hand brushing against the hilt of her sword on her hip.

She was not there to fight, it was not her place as a Squire, but the touch of the blade provided a small amount of comfort and calmness to her mind. Trying to emulate her Father she took several slow breaths as she reached the edge of the crowd. Her grayish eyes stared intently at the man, but she didn't say anything yet. Talking was not a crime in Syliras, and she wanted to hear what the common folk gathered around actually thought of this man's ramblings. Surely they could not agree with him.

[Dimitri]

Dimitri was exhausted, bedraggled. He was covered in bruises, dust, and dried blood, all his own. His nose was recently set from being broken, blood stains formed on the white fabric of his shirt. His shirt had tears and rips in it, his chest muscles exposed, large bruises visible. His shield hung loosely on his back, fresh dents and scratches in it. His sheathed sword he held in one hand, resting on his shoulder, mud and more of his own blood on it's flat fat. His other hand he held a single gold miza. He walked through the streets toward Kova's Well.

He paid no mind to the large amounts of people, or the speaker. He was to exhausted to pay attention or care. He was making a beeline toward the well to wish for luck. He bumped into a familiar face and uttered a quick apology. He had almost hit her with his elbow, his forearm covered in long thin bruises and in some cases cuts. His face had two black eyes and people stared at him as if he were crazy. He paid no mind. His body and mind were trudging toward his goal of dropping that coin in the well. His face, unnoticed by him had a thin slash, that was dripping blood. Nothing that wouldn't heal on it's own, but didn't help his appearances. He was a husk of the Dimitri that many knew, and hoped no one attempted to console him. After bumping into the fellow squire, a woman, he looked as if he were to cut through the crowd to the well.

[Leviathan]

A firm hand placed itself on Jaelyn's shoulder as she heard a semi-familiar voice. A Syliran Squire by the name of Robern was staring at this strange man, the self-proclaimed preacher went on and on with his tongue of silver and words of fire directly specifically at the people Jaelyn, Robern, and Dimitri all looked up to. They knew these words to be lies, or at least the believed so. Robern didn't seem too comfortable with the situation, and much like Jaelyn, his hand was on his blade. "Hey Jae..." Robern whispered softly, she could almost feel the intensity in his stares, she could almost feel him considering inconsiderable options, probably violence. Silently the sword was drawn from its resting place and lowered by the man's side. Robern glanced at Jaelyn before adjusting his cloak to conceal the blade as best he could. "Look at this man!" As Dimitri moved through the crowd, which split apart to make room for the brutalized man as if he himself was some savage beast hungry for blood, the man stepped down and placed his hands on Dimitri's shoulders, impeding his progress to the well. "Look at this young man! Beautiful features, but he has been beaten! The knights, they've done this to this man. You can see it in his eyes, the desire for something great, to be someone. But they are breaking you down, destroying who you are." Dimitri found himself gazing into the man's grayish blue colored eyes, and he felt it. He actually felt the truth in the man's words. He felt the thoughts 'What if I'm being used? What if I am being made into something for an unseen cause? Would the knights do this to me?'

[Jaelyn Baroth]

Jaelyn didn't recognize Dimitri at first, as beaten as he was, but when realization came she moved to stop her fellow Squire from going into the crowd. Before she could however a hand firmly grasped her shoulder, and she turned her gray eyes towards whoever it was, hand tightening on her blade for a moment before she saw the familiar face. Giving a tight smile to Robern for a moment, eager to turn and try to stop Dimitri, she paused and her eyes widened slightly as she saw the other Squire draw his blade.

"Robern, it is not our place to interfere in this, especially with violence," she whispered sharply to the other Squire, "As infuriating as the man's words may be, there are Knights present, and if he needs to be arrested they will do it."

Despite how quickly she had spoken to Robern it was not quick enough, and Jaelyn clenched her jaw slightly as she heard the man call out about Dimitri. She wanted to speak out against what the man was saying, but from what she knew of Dimitri he was a fine Squire. He would most likely speak up for himself, and hopefully that would help calm the situation some.

[Jokor]

Jokor just watched with curiosity at the crowd that was forming around a man who was loudly preaching to them, though he couldn't really make out all the words from his distance, his curiosity urging him into action he quickly made his way over to the crowd. Making his way through the crowd not shying away from using his elbows or taking advantage from his short stature to get to the front of the crowd. After some time of pushing and ducking he finally got to the front of the crowd. When the man suddenly pointed towards a bruised and battered man, the crowds conveniently splitting appart to show a bruised and battered man, the man preaching about how the knights where slowly destroying what his ambition and what he was. Scoffing Jokor just poked the man standing next to him getting his attention. “Say you know what this nutjob is talking about?” He said his voice audible by almost everybody who was standing close to him including the preacher. .

[Elmoch]

It seemed like an usual day for Elmoch in Syliras. He was walking not far from the well, dressed in his usual poor manner, when he noticed the turmoil around Kova's wishing well. There was a tall man standing out, and he was preaching something there. Immediately after noticing the crowd a huge childish smile was spread wide on Elmoch's face. Crowds of people were definitely not one of his favorite things, but he could feel from the voicing of the man's words that he was preaching chaos, and it was working! "Well well, this isn't something I get to see everyday," he thought while walking now in the direction of the gathering of people to understand what was going on.

He didn't get close in time to hear much of what the man had already said, but he certainly had noticed how the speech was influential to the surrounding people and also how some of the guards were not very happy about it. "I wonder how long it will take for them to do something about this," he thought while getting into the crowd to better hear the man's words.

[Dimitri]

What if I'm being used? What if I am being made into something for an unseen cause? Would the knights do this to me?

Dimitri looked at the man with downtrodden eyes. Was this abuse he received really from the Knights? Dimitri's heart began to plunge into unknown depths. He'd never questioned the Knights before. He followed blindly, wanting to be the best Knight, to make his father proud, to stop the... To stop the abuse from his mother. Is that the real reason he joined the Order? To stop the years and years of abuse disguised as training his mother, also a Knight, dished out? Was he hiding behind the Order? Dimitri could feel the tears behind his eyes, but he wouldn't dishonor the Order by letting his emotions show. He no longer felt as his own man, but just a pawn the Knights used. Not even a particularly useful pawn.

Then he felt something stir within him. A childlike hope, a hope he carried mildly since that first day his mother "trained" him. The Well. He'd been coming here for years, dropping in a coin, praying, wishing, hoping he could become strong enough to stand on his own and face his monster. He'd never met the spirit he'd heard lived there but every time that Miza hit the water, it felt like his worries washed away. It gave him hope that he would be his own man before too long, that he could be whatever he wanted, and not just what his mother, the Order, or anyone else wanted.

"Pardon me sir." He shrugged off the man's hands, not acknowledging what the man had said to him. He moved passed him and held his Miza out over the well, the tears on the verge. He whispered in a voice so soft, he could barely hear it, let alone anyone else. "Please, help me become a stronger me."

The coin dropped, tumbling end over end, before striking the water. A dull plunk sounded back, and Dimitri smiled. He was Dimitri, the squire. Not a squire named Dimitri.

[Leviathan]

Robern, the young man, squire, and knight-to-be looked at Jaelyn, he almost looked disgusted by her response. Violence? That's all she saw? No, this man, self-proclaimed preacher, he was a slanderer of everyone Robern loved. Robern was known as an orphan, abandoned as a child and adopted by a knight that would never be known for much. Robern loved every knight with a passion, they had, in his eyes, saved him from a life of sorrow and resentment. Jaelyn, telling him that it wasn't his place to interfere was almost like saying he had no right to defend his own family as they were being attacked. In fact, he looked as though she said that exactly. "They are on duty, they are watching for criminals. This man, he hasn't done anything wrong yet, but he's found a loophole. Do you not believe in corruption? This liar, damn him, he is corrupting the minds of the citizens around us! I will not sit here and wait. You can watch as the knights are torn apart but I will not." Hot head and hotter blood, the young man started his slow pushing through the crowd to reach the man causing such a commotion. The people made it difficult to move quickly, giving Jaelyn enough time to, if she felt compelled, try to stop Robern, but she knew now that words wouldn't slow the Squire down. Jokor and Elmoch found themselves being shepherded backwards by a man in Knight's armor, head to toe, yet Jokor felt something odd about this man, as if he didn't quite belong. "Move away, move away. I said get back! Move, move, keep moving..." Jokor and Elmoch, along with perhaps a dozen people were being moved, as if the knight was trying to clear out, not a path, but just an open area, as if setting up something to happen. Of course, this could just be a path attempted to be form to usher the man away and to the tank and one large misunderstanding. Still, something felt off to the thief, unnatural even. Yet, for Dimitri, he did not find the satisfying splash of water as his coin was tossed, rather, it floated in air for several long moments. The preaching man grinned as he placed his hand once again on Dimitri's shoulder, the coin that was tossed hovered over to them, at eye level. "What is it you wish for, if I may ask?" Again Dimitri felt a strange, almost eerie thought in his mind. He knew he wanted to be stronger, but his mind was asking 'what for? For who? Why? Is it right?' Thoughts that led him to again wonder if he was, in fact, a tool for a darker cause he'd never noticed or considered until now.

[Jaelyn Baroth]

Jaelyn clenched her jaw at Robern's response, for it did sting at her, but as much as she would enjoy to silence the man's lies it could not compare to the shame she would feel at knowing what Tyveth would think of her actions, and even worse what her Father would think.

Following in the wake that Robern's passage provided she quickly caught up with her fellow Squire and grabbed for the arm that held his sword hidden under his cloak, "Of course what he speaks are lies Robern, and if you wish to speak up in return I will not stop you," she spoke quickly and firmly as she tried to hold the Squire back, or disarm him of his sword, "But I will not stand aside and allow you to not only dishonor the Knighthood with your actions, but also add fuel to the fire of this man's words."

As she spoke Jaelyn watched Robern for his reaction. If he turned on her she would have to be ready to defend herself, or if he moved to dangerous action against others she would have to be ready to place herself in the way and do her best to defend them, even if it was against this hateful man.