Path of the Whisper Woman

Despite my eagerness to get answers, I couldn't completely ignore proper procedure. Ambervale had wronged the tribesfolk more than me with her actions and no judgment was official without a Scale. Still, we had decided to keep her trial small. Both so that she couldn't get the chance to properly gloat or cause panic and because pulling everyone from their duties would be a horrible waste of resources and time that she didn't deserve.

It helped, too, that the place Ziek had chased her to had was reminiscent of the Gathering Spot between the round pool and elevated walkway. I wasn't sure if it had been intentional but it was nice being on the other side of such a judgmental space.

I sent a whisper to Ana and she proceeded to spread the word to the few that would witness Ambervale's trial. The traitor kept trying to free herself from Cascade's mouth but she wasn't having any more luck than we had when we were trying to remove the crystals. She also cursed at us, but that wasn't met with anything more than glowers. Everyone here had been affected by the damage she brought to the delta and not a single person was willing to stoop to the level of a traitor.

Juniper's attention was mostly turned inward. Occasionally, Cascade's head would bob and weave like she was about to toss Ambervale in the air to swallow her down but the movement was aborted before she released her jaw. Ambervale might not be a fish but apparently it was difficult for the newly made snake to resist prey in its jaws. Another reminder to be grateful for how careful Anore was with her beak when she snatched me out of the air.

It didn't take long for the rest of the attendees to show up, however. Another storm bird started to circle overhead. Ana and Tribe Master Toniva climbed down the rope ladder. Juniper's mother handled the whole thing without a shred of Juniper's fear, but her eyes were still wide with the shock of flying when she stepped onto the walkway. Untrained tribesfolk weren't normally allowed on the birds, but even Tufani had relented to the idea rather than delay by making Toniva hike out to where we caught Ambervale.

Frankly, we should have all just come together, but the idea of getting Juniper on a storm bird voluntarily was hopeless and no one wanted her half out of her mind when she was trying to communicate with Cascade. So we walked and Ana and the Tribe Master got more time to coordinate all the other activities going on around the delta.

Tribe Master Toniva set the summoning branch down so the shadow stretched out as much as it could and a moment later three whisper women stepped out of the shadow in succession. I expected Ingrasia. Given that I already had an audience with the Beloved and High Priestess she no longer had to lobby on my behalf. It also made sense to have at least one of my mentors in attendance. Ingrasia checked in with Ziek and Ana before perching up on the back part of the walkway to watch over the proceedings.

I wasn't sure what I expected when it came the Scale that would be officiating the trial. My perspective was completely skewed from my own trial. That had two Sect heads and two seconds with a handful of other whisper women to give testimony. But I had also gathered that it included so many because my actions had affected multiple sects. Ambervale's betrayal couldn't be dismissed but, so far, her actions had mainly affected the Swirling Waters tribe and the Beastwatchers working to defend the area.

Any conversation that might have been happening stopped as both the Scales sect head and second-in-command stepped from the shadow. Yolanda and Britta's serious expressions and stiff posture offered no room for chatter. Esie was the only Scale I knew with a penchant for smiles, but she didn't seem to be much of a proper Scale in the first place. Really, she should have been present as well, but I had no desire to see how she might manipulate the situation and it wasn't as if she'd be running the trial. Not with the others here.

It was odd seeing Yolanda only a few feet away rather than as the voice of judgment from on high, but she didn't spare me more than a glance.

The sect head took control of the trial the moment she emerged from the shadow. Her gaze fixated on Ambervale as if she was knot she'd unravel one tug at a time. "We will hear the grievances against you. We will hear your testimony. In the end you will be judged."

Everyone shifted away from her. No one wanted to be caught in Yolanda's implacable gaze. Ana and Ziek joined Ingrasia on the back half of the walkway though it seemed like Ziek struggled for a moment to back away from her target. I doubted she'd consider her task completed until Ambervale had carried out her judgment.

Tribe Master Toniva picked up the summoning branch before joining Juniper and me off to the side. The rest of the tribe members kept their positions around the pool, nets ready, just in case Ambervale had a final trick up her sleeve.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Yolanda commanded the area closest to Ambervale on the walkway while Britta shadowed her. The second's presence would have been easy to overlook, given how well she blended into Yolanda's oppressive focus, but her own gaze scoured the entire area and landed longer than I liked on me. She had stared me down during the Declaration Ceremony as well and I didn't like not knowing what she wanted. It felt different than all the looks I got for my infamy.

"The Beastwatchers have forfeited their right to weigh in on this trial," Yolanda declared. "They judged their time better spent on their own pursuits. The remaining parties include the Swirling Waters tribe and those supporting a Chosen candidate. Britta and I will bring order to this trial and bear witness but we will not make the final judgment."

Yolanda shifted so that her gaze bore down on me. "The Beloved was clear that responsibility lay with the Chosen candidate herself."
Another test. Of course, it wasn't as if I didn't already have to prove myself at every turn. I wasn't even part of the Scales sect. It shouldn't have been my place to make the judgment, but no one would dare go against the Beloved and being a Chosen candidate afforded me privileges I wasn't sure I wanted in the first place.

The Beloved's attention was dangerous and I still wasn't sure what she expected of me during our meeting. Now she forcing a Sapling to judge a traitor. The trial could go no other way. So the test wasn't whether I'd find Ambervale guilty but how I'd punish her—except this wasn't a trial of little consequence.

The goddess didn't tolerate traitors and normally the might of Her displeasure was brought down on those fools with Her own hand or those closest to Her. I was not that. I might have some measure of infamy and some speck of the goddess's attention might have fallen on me from time to time, but I was a Hundred Eyes sapling. I had been the subject of one of these trials. No matter what Esie thought I wasn't guaranteed a spot among the Chosen.

And yet…

I was tired of being afraid. Tired of being pushed around by authority figures. As I realized when I confronted Esie I did not have to cower. I did not have to throttle my desires to become more acceptable to those around me. I had opened up to Prevna and picked Juniper over the delta's defense.

If everyone around me was so insistent on giving me authority then I might as well take it. It didn't have to be a front or a lie. It would be fact. I had seen more than one whisper woman straddle the line between sects. In this instance I could follow their lead.

Every other part of my mission could only be accomplished with a group. Killing all the fish within the delta, marking all the trees, those needed all the force of the tribesfolk and the rest to be handled within any meaningful time frame. Judging Ambervale? That might take the input of the group, but only one person's decision would matter in the end.

I decided to make it a decision I could live with rather than something I thought the Beloved might want.

"I will uphold the trust placed in me and judge after hearing from those present," I said. For a moment I was annoyed at how easily

Yolanda's presence made me speak more formally, especially so soon after my renewed resolution, but then I decided that was better than being flippant when deciding someone's fate.

A flicker of approval flashed over Yolanda's features before she swept her gaze over the small crowd. "Then we shall begin the trial. Who would like to present their grievances first?"

"I would."

Ambervale's voice had a bite to it despite the way it was also strained from her trying not to shiver.

Yolanda didn't even flinch at her unexpected announcement. "Then start. Tell us what you did, why you did them, and what grievances you might have against those arrayed against you."

My eyebrows rose at the last part. That certainly hadn't part of the trial I got and I wasn't sure why the sect head was including it here. Whatever complaints Ambervale had weren't likely to change my mind that she deserved punishment for betraying the goddess and putting us all at risk. Still, if Ambervale laid out all her crimes for us, I wasn't going to complain about that.

She tried to look as dignified and affronted as she could, but those were hard things to achieve sticking out of a giant snake's mouth. Instead, Ambervale looked more like a bit of food Cascade was saving for later.

"I am doing research. Why can't you fools understand that?" Ambervale spoke in a haughty tone that did her no favors. "Necessary research to understand the horde and the Devouring Blue."

A sharp crack cut through the air as Tribe Master Toniva slapped the railing next to her. "You badgered my people for tales you've heard dozens of times and then disparaged us for daring to fight. The information you provided was obvious and thus largely useless. What necessary research do you think you were doing?"

"Research to help us understand! The Devouring Blue will eventually consume us all, so it is best to understand her creatures first so that we might survive the change. I—we—need to know more. The goddess—"

"Will make you suffer a fate worse than whatever the Chosen candidate can devise if you disparage Her again," Yolanda cut in. "Heaping betrayal atop another betrayal does not wipe both actions clean."

Fear and awe crept onto Ambervale's face but it wasn't for the thought of what the goddess might do to her. Rather it was in reverence to her chosen deity. "We are stuck but the fish adapt. They can walk where they should only be able to swim. They eat the shores and grow in number every year. The Devouring Blue does not rest or only defend. She will have what she wants."

"And what's that?" Ingrasia asked.

"Revenge."