The overcast skies had parted since the magistrates entered. When the large doors at the back of the hall opened again, Riven watched as the room full of villagers was split by a blinding shard of daylight. She walked across the hall"s threshold and the movement pushed aside the still air in the hall like the release of a held breath.The doors closed behind her. Two warrior priests marched her through the large aisle that divided the throng. The council hall was once again cast in the murky gloom from curled windows set high in the ceiling and the cylindrical lanterns that hung from the sculpted roof. She watched Shava Konte swallow thickly as she pa.s.sed.
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She knew what they saw. A woman, her white hair matted with straw from a rough sleep in stone cell. A stranger. An enemy. A daughter of Noxus.
Fatigue clung to Riven"s bones like the farmer"s mud that still stained her clothes. Her soul felt stiff and misshapen, but when Riven"s gaze found the old man on the stool, she stood a little straighter.
She took in the three judges seated on the dais before her. The stern one in the middle motioned for Riven to be seated, rather than shackled standing.
Riven refused the wooden chair shaped by magic. She recognized the bailiff as the lead rider that came to old couple"s field. His thin lips stretched in the same arrogant smile.
"Suit yourself, it"ll just be harder for you."
The bailiff sat on the chair himself with an air of satisfaction. The center judge gave the bailiff a look of admonishment and then spoke to Riven.
"I know you are not of this land. The dialect here is tricky. I will speak the common tongue so that we may better understand each other."
Like most Noxians, Riven had learned enough of Ionia"s common tongue to command and order, but like the land itself, the accent of each village had a unique personality flavored by its people. She nodded at the judge and waited.
"What is your name?"
"Riven," Riven said. Her voice was hoa.r.s.e, catching in her throat with a croak.
"Bring her water."
The bailiff stood and took up a skin of water, shoving it at her. Riven looked at the skin, but did not take it.
"It is only water, child," the judge seated beside the center judge said, leaning forward over the table. "What, do you fear we would poison you?"
Riven shook her head, refusing the offer. She cleared her throat, determined to speak without any more a.s.sistance. The bailiff pursed his lips and took a deep swig, water dribbled from the corner of his mouth. He flashed his teeth in a triumphant sneer meant for her.
"You have been brought before this council," the judge interrupted, drawing Riven"s attention back to the three robed figures and the crowd gathered within the hall. "Because we wish to know what you have to say."
"Am I not being sentenced?"
The judge swallowed her surprise.
"I am unclear about how justice is carried out where you come from, but here we believe justice is first served by understanding and enlightenment." The judge spoke to Riven as if she was a young child. "We believe you have knowledge of an event that is most important to this community. If that knowledge reveals a crime, then you could be sentenced and punished accordingly."
Riven looked from the judge to Asa, then back. Justice in Noxus was often decided in combat. If one was lucky, it was decided swiftly and with the sharpened end of the weapon. Riven eyed the judge warily. "What do you want to know?"
The judge leaned back. "Where are you from, Riven?"
"I have no homeland."