Peaceful Protest

Amare and many others of the akkedi race had all decided to meet up in the middle of Lacernus Town. There they made sure that none of them held weapons especially after what happened with Syren and Tyra. Amare hoped that he could demonstrate peacefully and show that they were no responsible for Syren's actions.

The knights had surrounded them, but waited for orders. They saw that none of them had weapons, but they were still cautious. They feared how strong these lizard men could be even without their swords. And that fear led to them always assuming that they were ready to fight even when they weren't.

A commander watched near the front just behind his own men awaiting for something to happen. Amare had previously met with him to show that they were all unarmed. If he hadn't, then they probably wouldn't still be standing. But all they did was stand there peacefully. They shouted for change to ears that weren't deaf but just didn't care.

As they continued to stand together in unison with Amare in charge, Bellbraun appeared behind the knights. Him and his Golden Band.

"Hey, commander. Looks like you got some trouble here. Need help?" Bellbraun asked with a friendly smile.

"No. We don't need some mercenaries to help us with our job even if the mayor hired you. You can just sit back and watch. I assure you that you'll get paid. I'll say you did your job admirably. That's all that matters to you, isn't it? The money," the commander said as he continued to watch the protesters. This commander was a little sympathetic to their cause. As long as it was contained and there was no violence, the commander was content. He had even agreed with Amare in private that the protest be held.

"No," Bellbraun replied firmly.

The commander insulted exclaimed, "No? What do you mean 'no'? You have been hired to join with our knights. So, that means you work under me."

"Oh. I do love money. And I plan to do my job thoroughly and swiftly for a quick payment. Your mayor - uh whatever his name was - didn't hire me to just join your ranks for the time being. My band's been hired to deal with a pest problem."

Bellbraun pushed the commander out of the way and moved forward in between both the knights and the akkedis.

The robed figures pushed the knights away and surrounded the akkedis on all sides. They each had their hands on their blades, but didn't unsheathe them just yet.

Bellbraun breathed in an amount of air in his lungs that would fill a whale's. "SILENCE!!!" Bellbraun yelled louder than the entire crowd could scream at once. His hammer smashed the ground destroying the concrete below.

The crowd went silent as they now all faced a colossus bigger than any of them.

Bellbraun smiled with a glint of sadism. "Now, that I've got your attention, I want all of you to disband this rebellion and never try to rebel again."

The golden-robed figures created an opening for all of them to leave through. But none moved from their spots. Not a single akkedi. Some were intimidated. Some had already been beaten so much that they weren't so. Some in between.

Bellbraun frowned as it would take longer to receive the gold he needed, but he was expecting for this to happen and was quite thrilled about it.

He stuck his hammer to the ground and left it there. Even if somebody wanted to take it, they wouldn't have been able to pick it up unless they were half as strong as its wielder.

"I will be taking ten of you to demonstrate a little experiment," Bellbraun said.

Amare waited. He had been assured by the commander himself that nothing would happen during this protest, but when Amare looked back at the commander, he could tell that Bellbraun wasn't a part of the knights' regiments.

The golden-robed figures swiftly came through and dragged ten random akkedis, both male and female in equal manner, in front of Bellbraun. Then, they quickly went back to their original positions.

Bellbraun went over to one. He put his enormous hand on his shoulder.

"Tell me. Would you die for your beliefs?" Bellbraun asked as he stared down the akkedi from above.

The akkedi said with determination, "You can't do this to us. We're just as alive as you."

In that moment, Bellbraun pressed his thumb into his shoulder. He screamed in agony before the brute threw him down to the floor. There was a crack, but the akkedi was still breathing.

Then, he went over to the next one over. A woman. And he asked the same question with his hand on her shoulder.

"Please, don't do anything. I have children," the woman replied with tears coming out of her eyes. She knew that it was dangerous, but she believed in a better world for her children. She risked coming there knowing that it was dangerous, but when Bellbraun stood over her, the aura of death lingered over her as well.

As Bellbraun continued, he didn't maintain his smile. He was getting quite bored.

Bellbraun immediately kneed her in the stomach. Blood coughed out and he pushed her away like she was nothing. She fell down still breathing, but in extreme amounts of pain. She vomited out whatever food she ate that day and more.

And when it came for the third one, Bellbraun asked the same question, but the akkedi was too afraid to say anything. "I...I..."

"Disappointing. In the end, all of you are just as afraid of pain and dying as anybody else. What use is your so-called rebellion if you aren't willing to die for it?" Bellbraun complained. He was about to crush this akkedi's entire shoulder, but was interrupted.

"That's enough!" Amare yelled angrily as he grabbed onto Bellbraun's arm. He looked at the giant with anger in his eyes, but he controlled himself. He knew that he couldn't win a fight against this brute. He had to rely on his words.

Amare asked without showing any fear from the giant, "Do you think it's alright to commit acts of violence if you have conviction? Do you think that every atrocity be deemed right if you're prepared to die for it?"

Bellbraun smiled as he finally saw one lizard that wasn't afraid of him. He let go of the man's shoulder and Amare let go of his arm. Amare continued, "We are not some rebellion. We are just peacefully protesting. We have brought no weapons. We can't threaten you at all."

"Well, we both know that's a lie," Bellbraun replied, "You're whole existence is threatening someone. The town mayor hired me to end your so-called rebellion. You can call it what you'd like, but he hired us to do a job. And I hate not being able to finish them."

The giant lifted up Amare with one hand as if he was paper. At first, Amare was afraid, but he quickly hid his fear. He knew that if he gave in to fear, then Bellbraun would most certainly crush him.

But Bellbraun had other ideas. At this point, he didn't care whether this lizard was brave or not. He just wanted to finish the job and obtain the gold he was promised for Avaritia. He started to hold him with both hands. Amare began to feel pressure in his lungs, but kept his cool composure.

Bellbraun taunted with a wide smile revealing all of his teeth, "If you'd like, then fight back. Fight me. Just take a punch. C'mon. You can do it. Try to resist."

Bellbraun purposefully left Amare's hands free so that he could try to punch back, but Amare knew that this was a taunt. If Amare tried to fight back, then the whole protest would resort to violence. The knights would see it as an act of agression and give them just the excuse they needed. And the other akkedis would fight back and get slaughtered. He kept control over himself, but he could feel it getting really hard to breathe. He could even hear the crack of one of his ribs. The others only watched in fear and shock not knowing what to do. Even the knights were unsure whether they should stop them, but the commander didn't give any orders for it. The mayor himself gave instructions to him to allow Bellbraun to do as he pleased before leaving back to his moderately high castle.

As soon as that crack was heard though, one of the akkedis charged forward. He went straight for the giant, but Bellbraun could see him a mile away. He let go of Amare as he saw another lizard to crush. And so he did. Without even trying, he grabbed onto the lizard's head and crushed it like a munching down on a berry.

Amare fell to the ground on his knees heavily coughing. The other lizards charged at the giant even when they didn't carry any weapons. The golden-robed figures moved back behind the knights to the surprise of both sides as some lizards charged at them. And when they did, they tried to grab onto whatever they could - be it blades or sticks.

Bellbraun smiled and yelled, "They started this fight! They are armed! Time to put down this meager rebellion!"

And with that, chaos ensued as Amare could only watch.

One of the lizards tried to pick up Bellbraun's warhammer, but he couldn't even lift it an inch off the ground. Bellbraun slowly went over to him and lifted the hammer before crushing him to death with it leaving behind only guts, broken bones, and shattered concrete.

As the knights charged in, the akkedis tried to fight back. And if they didn't the knights would kill them. And Amare was on his knees watching the chaos. There was nothing he could do. He began to remember all the other times this had happened. He began to even get used to the idea that this was just normal. His eye began to close. His breath was weak. Everything was spinning. And he fell.

The golden-robed figures unsheathed their golden blades. Some moved swiftly to strike at their enemies. Others walked casually to finish off those who still lived or those brave or stupid enough to fight back. Whenever they get near an akkedi, a swing of that golden blade was enough. Their tribal masks hid all emotion. All they cared about was serving Avaritia and obtaining the gold they were promised. None of them felt remorse or care for the innocents they slaughtered in the process.

Some of the golden-robed figures were an akkedis themselves. When one approached one that was slowly crawling away, the akkedi begged, "Wait. We're brothers. We're on the same side. We're-" A quick swing of a golden blade held by a brother ended his pleas.

Bellbraun smiled in glee as he crushed all that stood in his way with his golden warhammer. Even those who ran from him were in danger. He kept swinging his hammer without any care as to who he hit.

And he wasn't just done with those that showed up to the protest. Him and his Golden Band broke down doors to other homes. They destroyed and killed anybody inside whether they were akkedi or not. Not even the children survived their onslaught.

The commander and some of the knights tried to stop Bellbraun. The commander ordered him to cease, but that didn't stop anything. It only made the giant's blood run faster.

"Halt! You have gone beyond your job. And I don't care if the mayor hired you to do this. You're coming with me or-!"

With a swift thrust of Bellbraun's hammer, the commander was thrown towards an old building. His body turned into a mangled mess and the building collapsed. The other knights were already somewhat afraid of the giant, but as they stood in front of him looking at him in his shadow, they froze.

"You are all a part of their rebellion! You will all get crushed!" Bellbraun yelled. And so the Golden Band also killed other knights. The akkedis and the knights were just as easy compared to the golden-robed figures.

Fires rose. Bodies piled atop of each other. There was only chaos and destruction. All of it due to Bellbraun and his Gold Band.

The town bled from within once more.