Chapter 32: Ch32 Crime & Punishment

Le’Lian seemed to calm down, looking sort of confused. I wanted her around more since her heart is in the right place, but she had to treat Firth respectfully because I trusted him to elevate this place for Feinna.

“So Firth has been recognized by the people originally and by me now. I want to keep you on as a council member because you were trusted before and through no fault of your own, had to leave. Your heart is in the right place but you have to be good with Firth. I need someone crude to deal with the kingdom that is the main reason for his position. Can you do it?” I asked to Le’Lian looking directly into her eyes.

The floor glowed. “After hearing his reasons, yes I can. He can really put it to the kingdom and especially those corpos. Anyone that can do that is good to me. I have severely misjudged him." She looked remorseful with her tail and ears leaning down. She must have realized how she really felt after the truth circle pulled it out.

“Firth and the rest of you are here. Pass it along that she has been found innocent by a truth circle and is a council member again. This should clear up any issues people have with her or the kids. Now we wait for her husband.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. “Any disagreements?” I asked, trying to coax someone into arguing with me. They all shook their heads.

“Guye, Highthorn, Lukias, and Peri, please go get the traitor so that we can be done with this,” I said, picking the group, trying to keep in mind how it would look to others.

“Yes,” they said one after another, leaving the room.

As we waited, everyone made small talk. I was glad to see everyone getting along. Though they all asked me how my day was. I guessed they weren’t sure what they could and couldn’t ask me about. I was pretty open to them.

“Le’Lian please figure out a role for yourself soon on the council,” I said, realizing I hadn’t figured out her title.

“I was the head of the otherkin but Meeri has been doing a great job, so I will find something else. I go by Lian, please, I try to separate myself from my noble heritage. Peri would be the best at helping me.” Lian replied.

“Thank you,” Meeri said with a smile. While Peri just nodded.

“Well, Lian is easier. Since you are a former noble child how would you feel about being my ambassador to them?” I asked her feeling that she would be a good fit for the role.

“I was only a child and I didn't grow up with them. I have a disdain for them and probably wouldn’t be best.”

“That is a great point but could you be nice to the good and neutral ones and rude to the bad ones?”

She pursed her lips together and eyebrows furrowed. “Well they all let it happen but if I don’t have to play nice with the expressly grotesque ones then I think I would be able to calm myself down.”

“That is fine, I don't like them either. I want to use the Le’ in your name to our advantage. While also favoring those who are trying to make a difference. I know it may be a little dramatic but I would love to be there when you meet your birthers.” It was hard not to giggle at the thought of Lian coming back looking high-class and in a better position than her family. Kicking her out was unacceptable.

“I want that also. They will likely have undertones of disgust as they try to curry favor from me.”

“String them along as long as you like but do try to make sure that we still get benefits,” 

“Yes, of course. My children are here, the more I can pry from their hands the better.” She said firmly, giving me the confidence that she would handle the possible position well. We still may need to look for something better.   

I am really excited to see how she turns that anger of hers against those that would stand against my goals. She just better get me some books or at least time to read them. The council really needs to expand so I can get some freedom once the otherkin are taken care of.

Soon after, the other council members came back carrying the gauntly-looking paralyzed traitor on a stretcher. I directed the council to lay him on the ground in the center of the circle. I used a healing spell to repair his wounds and fix his stamina since he wasn’t getting proper food.

He stood up and looked around. “Where am I, Goddess Astrid?” he asked, then grew pale when he saw who else was in the room.

“This is a zone of truth. You will tell us anything we ask. Your wife has been cleared of guilt. Now we will find out your reasons.”

He looked pale and held his stomach, looking queasy.

“Lian, you take this one. I believe you would do the best. I will cut in when needed.”

“What are your name and origin?” She asked him in a deep, angry tone like the growl of a fox. Glaring at him, ears slanted backward.

If looks could kill. Well, non-magical ones.

“I am Dimen from the kingdom. I was exiled for assaulting one of the king’s nasty pet animal cursed.” He panicked and franticly tried to cover his mouth.

Everyone was shocked including me but his wife's mouth was agape. Which I could understand since she was an otherkin herself.

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“How could you say that I am an OTHERKIN?!? OUR CHILDREN ARE OTHERKIN?!?” She yelled loudly in shock and rage. Her fists were clenched at her sides. I decided to let her have at him if she leapt.

“I love you but not your cursed animal parts! I also love the kids the same even if they are monsters! You all can be fixed! There is a procedure to remove them,” he wailed voice not able to keep one steady tone. His eyes were whirling around doing the mental gymnastics his mind was also doing to justify such a horrible position. 

“Wait, that procedure is costly, painful, and doesn’t really do anything because as soon as people find out, people treat you the same. How could you?” She said, her voice starting to tremble as she held back tears. Her face grew grim eyes darting around the room looking for help.

“If I just did as Donna instructed, the corporations would pay for everything and move us, giving us a new identity!” he screamed, voice cracking. Sweat rolled down his face.

Lian started crying, her eyelid fell down and she grabbed her chest. Everyone saw her heartbreak, I almost wanted to cry with her.

“I did it for us. For us! I DID IT FOR US!!” He started shouting uncontrollably.

“Why would you risk us all?!?” Firth shouted face turning red in anger.

He turned to Firth's eyes, going cold and dark. “You all are a bunch of monsters or monster sympathizers. Only true humans can survive,” he boasted like a dictator sentencing others to death without a care in the world. 

“You know that’s not true. More and more otherkin are being born to two human parents every year!” Meeri shouted.

Anger in the air was taking form. I needed to try to calm this down. My anxiety was starting to build. I couldn’t cut loose here.

“YOU TREACHEROUS—” Lukias shouted as he dashed fist pulled back ready to smash into Dimen.

Not that I minded, but this is too far. I pushed my mana out and everyone fell to the ground underneath the pressure. This needs to stop now before I lose myself as well.

“Please calm down, I hereby sentence you to live out the rest of your life in the dungeon in my library.” I withdrew my mana and let everyone up but Dimen.

The councilors got together to consol Lian who was still crying. Removing her ex partner needed to be done. Only Highthorn was keeping an eye on him. As I expected of my law enforcement head. “Firth, I will be back tomorrow. Please start making a list of laws with Highthorn. Everyone else, continue your projects. We need to open up to help the refugees asap. It seems Donna is aiming at us.” I stated. I snapped my finger and used an energy imprisonment spell from “Be A Bonified Bounty Hunter ''. An energy cord wrapped around Dimen and covered him, completely restricting his movement. I opened a doorway to the library and drug him along behind me, bounty hunter style.

I closed the door behind us, taking him straight to the entrance of the dungeon. The imprisonment spell released him when I snapped my fingers.

He pulled himself up. “You understand, don’t you, goddess? They are mutants. They must be saved!” He said, shaking, looking for salvation.

“No. You disgust me. How can more books be written when everyone is miserable? The treatment of people is important for any ruler. Apparently, Donna will need to be taught that. I am done with you.”

He was at a loss for words.

“I know I told them the sentence was for the rest of your life but since you won’t age it will be as long as you stay alive in the dungeon. Whether that be a day or for a millennia is up to you, but you will be in there as a mob till you die. I suggest you stay on the top levels and stay away from me.”

I opened the entrance portal to the dungeon, and he started to be dragged in. He was kicking and screaming as he went in.

“NO I DID NOTHING WRONG, THEY ARE MONSTERS, GODDESS! MONS—”

His pleas fell on deaf ears, I was used to seeing horrendous grotesque people like this be tossed in. Once I had beaten the dungeon I gained control over it, we started using it as a prison for the most dangerous criminals. At first it had scared me but overtime I was worn down from it. There were bookworms that were exiled from here that made better pleas and louder screams. 

During my time as an administrator, I had learned a lot about how to handle people. Though I could really get away with whatever. The bears did most of the enforcement but my fan club did help as well. Since neither the bears nor I left the library my fan club would dole out punishment in the normal dimension. 

It was normally frowned upon but there was an incident of a kingdom trying to destroy books in the library and kept sending people undercover. So after I had set up a truth circle and figured out how bad it was they started targeting me when they came in thinking there was an easy way around the library's protection.

I was pretty sure I was the only one that had a few ways around the protections and I wasn't sharing them so easily. My fan club took great offense to this and a few of the archmages got together with the surrounding kingdoms and marched on the kingdom. They met no resistance from the citizens and just had to clean houses in the noble district.

That was a pretty consistent thing. The nobles and the royals are at the root of the problem. It was so rare that the citizens were the problem and even most of those were just mass panic. It was pretty fun reading tales of the war after the fact. It was one of the first times I had been mentioned in a story as far as I could remember.

It was time for me to rest and think about the day’s events. I headed straight to my room to get some sleep and think about where to go from here. Now I knew for sure Donna was in on it, backed by the corporations. I would need to pay them a visit after I opened up Astraville. Protecting the otherkin is my top priority. Then I can read, right?