Ashes of Trust

"Please," he stammered, "I swear, I don't know anything—"

A veteran officer silenced him with a strike to the jaw, sending him sprawling into the dirt. "That's what they all say," the officer sneered. "Until they gut you in your sleep."

The recruit barely had time to scream before a dagger found his throat.

Veylan did nothing.

To his right, a high-ranking tactician was being dragged from his own office, his subordinates yelling over one another, each voice demanding his execution. He struggled, blood trickling from a gash across his temple. "You fools," he spat, "I've served the Order for twenty years—"

They didn't listen.

They beat him bloody before finally putting a blade through his chest. His body was left there, in the middle of the great hall, a warning to anyone else who thought about running.

Everywhere, discipline was unraveling.

And yet, Veylan remained silent. He did not interfere.