Chapter 27:  the trial

Thranduil raised his head and nodded to his herald. The elf standing as sentinel at the foot of the dais hit his staff against the floor three times and announced that the trial would now begin.

The King had spent long hours, in fact many days, to prepare himself for this day and still he was facing the upcoming hearing with mixed emotions. Not that he doubted that Thoran had to be punished for the sorrow he had brought to so many families including his own.

Only last night he had again been ripped from his sleep by a crying elfling who suddenly feared the dark and uncomfortable when he could not see at least one family member nearby. Legolas had scrambled into his bed and even then he could barely be brought back to sleep again.

Two days ago he had ordered four guards to accompany Liriel, the head cook’s daughter, to the Havens. She could no longer bear to remain in Middle Earth; her son had been one of the children who had drowned in the barrels. After the death of her husband just one year before, this had been the last straw for her.

Over the past days he had managed to catch up on the details of the events that had occurred during his imprisonment. If Thoran had acted on his beliefs and convictions at the beginning of his rule, over time he had lost his reason more and more. The more ground he had lost, the more incomprehensible his actions had become.

Thranduil could have asked for mercy, taken Thoran into custody and allowed him remain in the capitol under the watchful eye of the Home guard. But he felt that the horrible death of the two young elves caused by the spiders and the deaths of the five elflings made such a course of action impossible for him. Additionally, the attack on his person warranted an explicit punishment anyway.

Yet, how to judge such a crime? It was not elven practice to impose the death penalty in judgment.

The only way for Thranduil to achieve justice would be to ban Thoran from his realm and he was sure the other elven realms would follow his example. This would leave the exiled with a single option, to sail and beg forgiveness before the Belain.

He knew this would be hard but he could no longer accept such a rebellious mind within his Kingdom and he had to make his position clear to all others. Thoran would never see reason and would always try to fuel the underlying conflict that existed between the elves that were native to this forest and the Sindar elves who had immigrated here long ago under the leadership of his father.

The herald cleared his throat, expressing his irritation at the delay. Thranduil rose from his throne and the witnesses followed, rising to their feet as well. With relief he saw Galadhion and Saeron standing to his right and left side, their injuries healed enough to allow them to attend the trial. With a nod he beckoned the impatient elf to continue.

No sooner he had given his permission than the great double doors swung open and Thoran, bound tightly, was led by two guards of the palace watch down the corridor toward the dais containing Thranduil´s throne. Behind him came another group; elves who had been accused of conspiring with Thoran, helping him to overtake the palace and carrying out his orders.

Again Thranduil was taken aback with how few elves had made this possible, yet Thoran had done the one thing at the beginning which had made all of this work.

He had captured as many children as his henchmen could find and he had placed his confidants in strategically important positions. His system was based on deceit, lies, threats and blackmail.

What bothered Thranduil the most were those elves who had been traitors but who would never be discovered. Surely some that had supported Thoran had managed to recede into the background. These elves posed a serious threat.

Removing their leader would only bring back partial stability. The King’s spies would have to do a lot of work and Thranduil was more than uncomfortable with this situation.

Not giving any indication of what thoughts crossed his mind, Thranduil waited with a face devoid of any emotions until Thoran had reached the dais. He watched the face of Thoran intently. While his chin was still defiantly trust upward his eyes darted briefly around and Thanduil was sure that he had briefly glimpsed some kind of fear.

Deliberately delaying the hearing a bit more Thranduil let his gaze wander over the other elves accused of conspiring with Thoran. Most of them he did not know personally, they were followers of Thoran from the south. Two the group he knew well; one was his advisor Luindil, now removed from office, and the other was Thelian, his former herald.

Both had been coerced, Luindil by threatening his fiancé and Thelian by kidnapping his son. But Thranduil was not sure if both had not inwardly sympathized with Thoran from the beginning. He wondered how he could have erred so. He had trusted these two elves. They had laboured with him for many years and thought up various strategies about how to best protect his people. Both elves were of Silvan origin but Thranduil had never imagined this would be a problem.

He would judge these two differently from the main group, but for now he wanted them to remain with the others to show them how seriously he took their deeds. Whereas Thoran’s fellows looked defiant, almost challengingly towards him; the downcast gazes of his two former confidants spoke volumes.

The murmurs grew louder and more impatient. Thranduil ended the game of power display by clearing his throat.

“Thoran, son of Geldarion you are charged with high treason. You attacked and imprisoned your King, acted violently against the folk of Lasgalen and are directly responsible for the deaths of five children. Additionally you are accused of causing the deaths of more then twenty warriors and the deaths of uncounted villagers in the south. How do you plead?”

The question exploded into the sudden silence. Everyone present, witnesses and spectators alike, were holding their breath. Family members of elves who had been abused or killed looked with burning eyes directed at the one elf responsible for their sorrow.

But if anyone had expected Thoran to be intimidated by the charges they were disappointed.  With a mad glimmer in his eyes Thoran looked directly at the King. “Your accusations are ridiculous and untenable. You are the one responsible for all this mess. If you had surrendered your authority and ordered your warriors to accept my command none of this would have happened.”

Thranduil briefly closed his eyes. What had he expected? Thoran had long ago left the path of rationality. This was only a final posturing and a mask of indifference about the ultimate fate that was awaiting him. Thranduil had already closed his conscience to the ranting the tall elf was now saying to the gathered elves in the great hall. However, bewildered, irritated and angry glares were all that Thoran received.

With an inconspicuous wave Thranduil ordered more guards to surround the accused, anticipating that Thoran would attempt an escape. Since entering the hall, the vanquished former ruler had been carefully counting the guards and looked for possible exit routes.

Thranduil was not willing to endure this farce any longer. His people had suffered much over the last weeks and Thoran was minimizing their sacrifices by his disgraceful behaviour.

“Silence!” he called out and the agitated voice of Thoran as well as the indignant remarks of the spectators quietened immediately. Thranduil needed a minute more to get his irritation under control.

“Thoran, I’ve heard nothing so far that can justify any of your actions. You willingly and consciously endangered the lives of the citizens of Lasgalen, you purposefully caused the death of both children and warriors and you threatened the life of the King and his family. You are no longer worthy to live amongst our race. From this day hence you are banned from the realm of Mirkwood. No longer cross the borders of my Kingdom or come into my presence under threat of death. I have spoken!”

As soon as the final word had left his mouth Thoran let out a cry of outrage and sprang forward. While the majority of the elves present were stunned by the harsh penalty dealt by the King, Thoran’s followers cried out in shock. They felt sure that the other elven realms would surely follow the King’s decree.

Thranduil stood immobile while the swords of his sons and the surrounding guards stopped Thoran’s advance, even though the elf was still bound which also minimized his chance to attack effectively.

The guards worked quickly and Thoran and the other prisoners were dragged outside, still loudly protesting the verdict. Thranduil ordered his former confidants to be separated from the group before they were ejected from the hall.

Just before Thoran was dragged through the door he managed to stop the guards around him. With a quick twist he wriggled free and run back into the hall. Saeron leaped from the dais and with lightening speed he wrestled Thoran down while holding a naked blade against his throat.

“Please do me the favour and make one more move,” Saeron whispered in the ear of the elf that had brought his family so much sorrow. Thoran stilled but not without directing a hateful glare at the King.

He called out in a voice dripping hatred. “You will regret this, Thranduil! I curse you. I have many friends and you will never find a minute to relax. One day we will get you!”

Before he had the chance to say more Saeron jerked the exile to his feet and delivered him to the awaiting guards. After the door had closed the silence in the great hall was palpable.

Thranduil held up his hand and the spectators sat down again. He resumed sitting and now directed his gaze toward the two elves standing in the middle of the broad aisle looking down at the floor. When the King cleared his throat they look up reluctantly.

“Luindil, son of Golradir and Thelian, son of Aerandir, you are accused of conspiring with the rebel Thoran. You supported him in gaining access to the palace and you betrayed your pledge to serve your King. How do you plead?”

Both advisors did not hesitate and answered with one voice:  “Guilty, my Lord!”

The King took a deep breath and waited until the murmurs from the audience had died down. He had expected nothing different from the two, yet he was still thinking about how to judge the elves that had supported Thoran both inside and outside of the palace. He knew perfectly well that these two had been coerced into helping the traitor, and this made the whole affair more difficult to judge impartially.

Luindil and Thelian would not be the only ones within his household who helped Thoran; others remained to be discovered. But the sentence dealt out to them this day would apply to all who would be accused of the same crime. Thranduil was inclined to forgive them and forget their insubordination but the fact of their betrayal, whether willingly or forced, weighed heavily on his conscience.

His rule was only made possible by his being able to trust the people governing the Kingdom with him without question. Confidential information had to be handled carefully and therefore he had to depend on his councillors to stand firmly behind him. Trust once betrayed was hard to rebuild.

Also the conflict between Sindar and Silvan elves had to be considered. Thranduil had never made any distinction between the two groups. His councillors and advisors were from both groups, almost equally. Because their origins didn’t matter to him, he never asked about it when hiring elves into his service. Maybe that was a mistake? Maybe he should consider the interests of the native elves with more care?

Realizing that his thoughts were going in circles Thranduil slammed his fist angrily against the armrest of his throne startling the spectators and the accused equally. While the guards around him looked irritated Galadhion gazed at his father with concern. He realized that although his father’s bodily wounds had healed, no one could tell how deep the scars on his soul were.

Knowing that his father would neither allow nor appreciate any public show of comfort Galadhion directed his gaze warningly at his brother who was looking equally concerned. Both brothers took a deep breath and gazed straight ahead again, knowing that their father was experienced enough to gather his wits.

No sooner had Galadhion finalized his thoughts than the King rose and stepped forward. “Luindil, Thelian come forth to receive your sentence!” he said in a tone that, although not overly loud, yet resonated to every corner of the hall. The room had fallen completely silent.

“You are both released from my service and relieved of all authority effective immediately. You are to remain at the capitol under custody until I decide otherwise. Your families are free to leave or remain as they please. No restrictions will be laid upon them. I have spoken!”

This time no murmurs could be heard. The accused lowered their heads accepting their sentence without objections.

Thranduil had already decided not to stretch their custody overly long, yet he had to make an example. He could not allow them to get away with their actions.

At his signal the herald announced that the trial was over and the two advisors were escorted from the room. Slowly the gathered elves dispersed until finally only the King and his sons remained behind. When the door had closed Thranduil let out a breath and sank down onto his cushioned throne. He removed his crown and placed it on a small table positioned next to him.

The brothers remained silent feeling their father’s need to gather his thoughts. After a while however Galadhion shuffled his feet impatiently. Thranduil looked up and actually smiled. “I know, I know, Galadhion, I will be along shortly.”

They had been dismissed. Both brothers rose and left the hall. Another ceremonial duty was already waiting, although it was a much more pleasant one.

To be continued……………….