Rebellion!
an excerpt

Seccy looked at the man closer. Hiran was right. This man looked clean, strong and confident. His hair was long, dark and slightly curled, but in a neat way. His beard was trimmed and tidy, staying close to his cheeks and being trimmed so the edges formed an even and neat line. He had thick brows and a wrinkled forehead that made him looked wizened with beyond the roughly thirty years of age he looked.
He was dressed well. The bulk of his clothing was normal for a commoner, his shirt and pants were earthen coloured, but they were cleaner and looked better made than clothing usually was. He wore boots that were pretty clean as well. Draped around him was a warm looking pale blue cloak, which made him stand out apart from the crowd. It also seemed to match the colour of his eyes, from what Seccy could tell.
The man was pale, a Tarat, by the looks of it. He didn’t have the strange gaze of one of the coven, but his look was hardened in a way Seccy didn’t think he’d seen before. There was just a strange think about the man that made you not want to look away.
‘People!’ the man called to the now silent crowd. Seccy noted that everyone was staring at the man, but his confidence didn’t seem to falter. He looked strong, secure and trustworthy. ‘I am Arytyll.’ He announced. It was a rather common Tarat name. ‘And I have chosen to stand and warn you all of the danger that our homes are going to be facing.’
The man exuded charisma, from his body language, to his tone of voice, to mannerisms. Seccy almost leaned forwards, anxious to know what this terrible danger could possibly be. But I know what it will be. Seccy reminded himself. It will be him exaggerating stories from decades ago to stop some men meeting within our settlement’s walls.
Subconsciously, Seccy took in a deep breath as the man spoke again, as if he didn’t want the speech to be interrupted by the sound of his own breathing.
‘For centuries, the settlement of Haria has stood here. It has stood through the war with the Skarl, the times of change and countless bitter winters. It is a strong settlement, with people raised here who I know will not stand back and tolerate their homes being desecrated, yet this is what is about to happen.
‘The magical guilds, which have throughout history proven themselves to be violent, malicious power-mongers who have enslaved, kidnapped and killed without a moments hesitation for the sake of profits and becoming more powerful than each other.
‘These guilds were the people trained Aval, the one who sought to wipe out the Skarl and enslave all men so they had no free will of their own! The man who helped train Garren, the boy who set Hydrophoids across the land and used to turn people into deformed masses of flesh at a whim!
‘Now they want to build a place where the heads of each guild of murderers can meet up within our homes? We cannot stand for this!’
Arytyll paused as a cheer was raised from amongst the crowd. This roused Seccy to his senses. He broke eye contact with the man. He was very charismatic, his speech was articulate and he didn’t speak it with even so much as a twinge of apprehension.
He could turn out to be a problem.
The crowd proved this by their cheers. It was only a small crowd today, but with a speaker like this there were going to be more. This was the crowd that had heard about the planned construction of the meeting hall after only one day, too.
‘These guilds have taken children from families without letting them regain contact to their bloodlines. They change their initiate’s names, so they can’t be found by those relatives, then train them to be killers for their own rulers malicious intent.
The crowd cheered again. Seccy heard shouts from different people about how their brothers, uncles or children had been sent to the guild and never heard of again. He felt his features wrinkle with perplexity as they told these stories.
People willingly sent their children to the guilds, it was a way for their children to achieve a higher standard of living than people could afford. Families couldn’t always afford to keep children, rather than letting them starve on the streets, they tried to enlist their children to the guilds.
It was true, some people sent away their children and regretted it, but they’d already made the choice. The decision over whether they had the right to re-take their children after a few months had always been argued over.
Arytyll raised his hands and gestured for silence.
‘Also, we’re told that the nobility approve of this! They’re inviting murderers to walk amongst us, whilst they sit in their homes, safe because they have money and the ear of Lord Markus.’
This time, instead of cheers, individuals in the crowd began shouting stories of why they hated the guilds, the nobility, or Lord Markus.
He’s clever. Seccy realized. He’s charismatic, and he knows how to twist people’s jealousy and prejudices towards his own goals.
As the crowd began shouting chants, some old, some being invented on the spot, Seccy looked around. Several other patrols were in eye contact, all standing a distance away from the perimeter of the crowd.
As he continued to look, he realized that members of the crowd had noticed the lingering members of the garrison surrounding them. Most still kept their faces towards Arytyll though, chanting when they were told to with enthusiasm towards a charismatic leader.
He wondered if he should react now. If he went and locked away Arytyll now, he wouldn’t post a problem any longer, but he had a whole crowd who looked like they’d be willing to stand up and defend this budding hero.
Seccy looked around again, he could only see another two patrols, there might be a third about somewhere, but eight against many could be a problem. Of course, if he arrested Arytyll now, it would encourage the crowd to disperse, or risk getting into trouble too.
What should I do…? He thought to himself.