Raven Tide
19: The Hall of Judgement (Chyani)

“Raven Tide, Blooded brother of Jahaa,” an eight-foot-tall blue and orange striped yautja female dressed in black armor and a long flowing black cape stood at the front of the spacious black hall. She held a long black combistick in her clawed hand and wore a thirsty-looking black blade holstered on her hip. “You stand before your Supreme Elder and your clan in dishonor.”

I wasn’t the one on trial but her cold words sliced through me all the same like sheet metal.

Raven Tide stood before the Elder, Oru, with his head held high. He wore only a gray loincloth. Even his gauntlet and the gold and red ringlets in his long quills had been confiscated.

Oru listed out his crimes, the first and most egregious being coming to the surface of Phirsa 3 and rescuing me.

Raven Tide spoke in earnest, adopting the same formal intonation of the other yautja, but he made no apologies, only asserting that his actions were guided by his devotion to his clan, Jahaa.

I noticed tiny long grooves carved into the floor spoking out around Raven Tide’s bare feet. Each little channel sloped away and off into discreet little drains hidden at the edges of the grand hall.

More than anything I wanted Raven Tide to move away from that ominous spot.

A large red male yautja, the same height as Oru, stepped up wordlessly and presented Gar’mol’s skull. Then the Elder’s subordinate returned to his station next to another, far more menacing-looking all-black male yautja. He was pierced in silver jewelry and standing off in the corner.

I hope he’s not the one in charge of dishing out punishment.

The Elder held the skull up and let Raven Tide tell the tale but everyone was silent when he reached the conclusion.

And here I thought the exam this morning was the worst part of my day.

Did he know? Of course, he did...

Fuck.

Panic expanded in my chest. I was the smallest person in the crowded hall but it felt like my heartbeat dwarfed everyone around me.

My thoughts flashed to when Raven Tide hugged me and I, like an insolent moron, told him he was young and would have plenty of time for improvement.

All of a sudden, the part I was dreading arrived.

Oru cast down her judgment.

“It is the decree of Jahaa that, Raven Tide, is to be stripped of all armaments excluding his gauntlet and, he will be demoted of all ranks and merits, excluding his trophies and titles earned since the time of his Blooding, as his deeds can never be erased.”

Oru clanged her combistick once on the black marble floor.

“And, since he is so eager to prove himself on the battlefield against the Graven. He will be inducted, post haste, into the Nexus military where he will serve no less than three tours on the front lines.”

“With honor, my Elder,” Raven Tide stood at attention.

“Now kneel, Raven Tide, and complete your atonement.” Oru clanged her staff twice more. “May your path be pure from this day forth.”

Two white-clad Enforcers approached.

They grabbed his arms and held him taut as Raven Tide submitted with his head down and dropped to his knees.

A third yautja stepped forward, like the others he was masked in white but his body armor was black.

He raised a wide red glowing sword and then stood behind Raven Tide.

The blade went limp and slithered apart into a nasty crackling red whip.

He struck Raven Tide, splattering green blood across the floor. Then he hit him again and again.

My stomach wrenched at the sight of Raven Tide’s blood draining off into those horrible little grooves.

I closed my eyes when the tears sprang loose.

“Do not dishonor my son’s sacrifice,” a woman’s voice fluttered beside me on my right.

I opened my eyes and looked up.

The woman next to me was six-foot-tall and sounded like the flaps of butterflies’ wings made sentient. She had no mandibles and stared forward with pale pupilless eyes. Her small chest was bare and nippleless, and unlike the other yautja she had pure opaque white scales. Her armor was a combination of red and black and there were little metal beads and ringlets knotted into her pale prismatic hair. But her ears! They were long and pointed like Raven Tide’s.

Could this be...?

“He knew the consequences of his actions and believed your life to be a worthy exchange,” the slender but muscular woman flicked her ears at me. “Do you disagree?”

I bit my lip.

All of this for me... that sweet beautiful idiot.

“He didn’t... he wanted to help...” I knew there wasn’t any point in explaining.

“Irrelevant,” the pale woman with the giant rabbit ears continued looking forward, jutting her chin for me to do the same. “The chain of command must hold, to preserve his honor as well as Jahaa’s.”

“Do you see that mark on his forehead?” A low familiar voice chittered on my left.

Holy Shit! He looked exactly like Raven Tide but his markings and armor were different.

"Ssssss!” A white xenomorph the size of an ocelot hissed at me from the pale yautja’s shoulder.

Raven Tide’s twin brother, Crazy Wolf, stroked the Abura’s head as the serpent coiled its long boney tail around his torso.

He and the razkur woman wore identical scars on their forehead.

“He is an adult and a full member of Jahaa,” Crazy Wolf spoke softly but kept his gaze on his brother. “This is the only way to restore his path.”

“Your demonstration today at the institute is the only reason he was not executed,” Raven Tide’s mother spoke to me but her ears and eyes never strayed off her son.

My intestines twisted tighter with each dreadful whip crack.

For Raven Tide’s sake, if not my own, I couldn’t fail in helping his people combat the Graven.

The long ears of Crazy Wolf and Raven Tide’s mother twinged each time the sizzling whip made contact with Raven Tide’s flesh

From the dark circles underneath their eyes, it was obvious they hadn’t slept well in over a week.

Of course, they weren’t impervious to what was happening. They’re his family.

My thoughts drifted to Hecte.

He was likely grieving me but he had his fiance. He would be ok.

At the very least, from here I could do my part and help avenge the victims of Phirsa 3, the members of Clan Aespa slaughtered by Gar’mol and his crew, and everyone else the Graven had terrorized.

The laws governing Raven Tide’s people may have been harsh but they weren’t senseless. Even in disciplining Raven Tide’s wrongdoings, their leader punished him by ordering him to defend his people.

Finally, the gruesome whipping stopped and the Enforcers tightened their grip on Raven Tide’s arms. His ears were flaccid and lifeless as they dragged his limp body away, leaving a long trail of green blood.

I wanted to follow but I knew that wasn’t allowed.

“He will live,” Raven Tide’s mother touched my shoulder. “Yautja heal quickly from far more devastating injuries. The scars will be faint but he will always remember.”

A tear broke loose but I managed to nod at her.

“I will take you to him after he wakes,” his mother guided me toward the main entrance. “Then you and I will do our best to respect his efforts. Like you, I’m curious to know why these grubs made us different and what exactly we’re supposed to do with that sigil.”

Then she hummed and walked me outside into the sunlight.

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THE END

for now...

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Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed the ride.

Raven Tide’s and Chyani’s stories are not complete, these characters will be appearing in other books and I have good things in store for each of them. However, happy endings must be earned.

I will be continuing Chyani’s story in Labyrinth: Chyani’s Conquest (coming soon!)

I also have Crazy Wolf’s solo story drafted and will begin soon.

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Chronological Omnibus: The Hunter’s Song Books

1. The Hunter Song (Completed)

2. The Hunter’s Song II: Lost Blood (Completed)

3. Raven Tide - Companion Book (Completed)

4. Crazy Wolf - Companion Book (Coming Soon)

5. Labyrinth: Chyani’s Conquest (Coming Soon)

Thank you for reading.

~A. E. Shelly (a.k.a. Oloo)

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