Alricic POV
The city of Alexandria had always prided itself on order.
The streets were clean.
The banners immaculate.
The laws absolute.
For generations, people had believed the Empire stood because it was unshakable.
Now...
For the first time in decades...
Cracks had begun to appear.
Not in the walls.
In its people.
Captain Aldric Rowan sat quietly inside a narrow stone cell.
His armor was gone.
His sword had been taken.
Only the plain gray tunic issued to prisoners remained.
Across from him, another officer paced endlessly.
"They've made a mistake."
Aldric looked up.
"I hope so."
"They have to have."
The officer laughed nervously.
"They'll sort this out."
Aldric wanted to believe him.
He truly did.
Instead...
He leaned his head against the cold stone wall and closed his eyes.
Outside...
He could hear the city.
Life continued.
Vendors shouted.
Children laughed.
Church bells rang.
Alexandria carried on as though nothing had happened.
Across the city...
Something had happened.
Every tavern carried the same conversation.
"...Traitors."
The word seemed to hang in the air like smoke.
A burly blacksmith slammed his mug onto the table.
"Ten thousand soldiers don't disappear unless somebody sold them out."
Across from him, an older veteran slowly folded his newspaper.
"Or perhaps they simply lost."
The blacksmith snorted.
"Not our army."
The old veteran met his eyes.
"You've never seen a battlefield."
Silence settled over the table.
Finally, another patron quietly spoke.
"My nephew marched with Captain Rowan."
The room turned toward him.
"He wrote home every month."
"He couldn't lie to save his life."
The man looked down into his drink.
"...He isn't a traitor."
No one answered.
In the eastern marketplace...
A woman stood outside a military office clutching a folded letter.
Her husband had survived Crescent Moon Canyon.
She knew that much.
She had hugged him herself.
Watched the guards place him in chains.
Now...
No one would tell her where he had been taken.
"Please..."
She looked toward the clerk behind the window.
"I only want to know if he's alive."
The clerk never looked up.
"Next."
She remained standing.
"...Please."
"Next."
A guard stepped forward.
She quietly walked away.
At the Imperial Academy...
Young recruits argued long after lessons had ended.
"They surrendered."
"They should have died."
One cadet shook his head.
"My brother served under Captain Rowan."
"So?"
"He'd never abandon his men."
Another recruit folded his arms.
"Maybe that's the problem."
"What?"
"He chose his men..."
"...over victory."
The room split almost evenly.
No one changed anyone's mind.
Inside a noble estate overlooking the capital...
Wine flowed freely.
One aristocrat laughed while reading the morning paper.
"The King is cleaning house."
Another lowered his glass.
"What if they're innocent?"
The first noble smiled.
"Then they'll still make an excellent example."
The table grew quiet.
One elderly noble finally spoke.
"I've lived through three reigns."
He slowly set down his fork.
"I've learned something."
Everyone looked toward him.
"When governments become more afraid of survivors than enemies..."
"...something has gone terribly wrong."
No one challenged him.
They simply stopped talking.
The palace itself remained as magnificent as ever.
Marble halls.
Golden chandeliers.
Towering banners.
Servants moved with practiced precision.
Inside the royal audience chamber...
The King stood before an enormous mirror.
He practiced tomorrow's speech.
Again.
And again.
"No Empire has ever fallen from strength!"
He raised one hand dramatically.
"It falls from weakness!"
He nodded to himself.
Satisfied.
The Queen watched from a nearby window.
Silent.
One of the remaining Imperial Generals stepped beside her.
"Do you believe they'll accept it?"
She continued watching the city below.
"Some will."
"And the others?"
"They'll learn."
The General frowned.
"You don't sound concerned."
Only then did she turn.
Her smile was almost gentle.
"Truth has never been required to rule an empire."
The General hesitated.
"Then why execute so many?"
She looked toward the distant execution square already under construction.
"Because uncertainty spreads."
A pause.
"Fear spreads faster."
The General lowered his eyes.
He understood.
By evening...
Rumors had become convictions.
Some believed the returning soldiers had accepted gifts from beastkin.
Others insisted the Kingdom had corrupted them with forbidden magic.
Many simply repeated whatever they had heard last.
Not because they believed it...
Because repeating it felt safer than questioning it.
Still...
Not everyone remained silent.
Candles appeared outside military prisons.
Flowers rested beside the gates.
Small handwritten notes hung from the iron fences.
Welcome Home.
We're waiting.
Stay strong.
Guards quietly removed them each morning.
By evening...
New ones appeared.
Inside his cell...
Captain Aldric finally heard footsteps.
Heavy.
Measured.
The iron door opened.
An Imperial magistrate entered carrying a scroll sealed with crimson wax.
Two guards followed.
Neither spoke.
The magistrate broke the seal.
"Captain Aldric Rowan."
Aldric stood.
The charges seemed endless.
Neglect of Duty.
Failure to protect Imperial assets.
Acceptance of enemy assistance.
Conduct unbecoming an Imperial Officer.
Conspiracy with hostile forces.
Treason against the Crown.
Each accusation struck harder than the last.
When the reading finally ended...
Aldric simply stared.
"There has to be some mistake."
The magistrate's expression never changed.
"There is no mistake."
Aldric swallowed.
"I've served the Empire for nineteen years."
"I know."
"I buried friends."
"I know."
"I watched good men die."
"I know."
"I brought home every soldier I could."
For the first time...
The magistrate looked him in the eyes.
"I know."
Aldric searched his face desperately.
"Then why?"
The older man was silent for a long moment.
When he finally answered...
His voice had become almost too quiet to hear.
"...Because someone must answer for ten thousand dead."
He rolled the scroll closed.
"The sentence is death."
Aldric's shoulders slowly lowered.
Not in surrender.
In disbelief.
The magistrate turned to leave.
Just before the door closed...
He stopped.
Without turning around, he spoke one final sentence.
"Your execution..."
A pause.
"...is scheduled for three days from now."
The iron door slammed shut.
Outside...
The bells of Alexandria rang peacefully into the evening.
Inside...
Captain Aldric Rowan sat alone in the silence.
For the first time since Crescent Moon Canyon...
He realized...
He would never see his family again.