Shattered Sanity

Riven felt his mind go blank as the Chief Doctor treated his injuries, and although his physical fatigue gradually faded as he drank one restorative potion after another, his mental exhaustion only seemed to worsen the longer he was left alone with his thoughts.

The swelling around his broken nose slowly subsided while the bruises covering his body became considerably less painful, yet none of the medicine could do anything about the images repeatedly flashing inside his mind.

Mary’s mutilated body.

Cyrus lying dead beside the scorched earth.

Gary barely breathing beneath the rain.

And the enormous gap separating Riven’s last memory of Northwatch from the moment he regained consciousness.

’What the fuck am I supposed to tell them?’

Riven wondered, as the Chief Doctor finished applying a restorative salve across one of the deeper bruises covering his ribs.

He could recount everything that had happened before his blackout perfectly, yet once Gary’s fist had been descending towards his face, his memories simply ended.

After that, there was nothing.

Eventually, the Chief Doctor finished his treatment and allowed Riven to leave, although he instructed him to avoid strenuous physical activity until the following morning and immediately return if the dizziness from his broken nose worsened.

Riven thanked him before stepping out of the Medical Bay, and several minutes later, he found himself standing outside the Principal’s office.

For a moment, his hand remained suspended before the door.

’Just tell them everything you remember.’

Riven thought, as he tried to calm the uncomfortable sensation twisting through his stomach.

’You haven’t done anything wrong.’

He finally knocked.

”Come in.”

Principal Boseman’s voice answered from the other side.

Riven pushed open the door and immediately noticed that Boseman was already seated behind his desk, while Vice Principal Chadwick and Sir Roderick, the Academy’s Chief Weaponsmith, stood several steps behind him.

Riven’s gaze lingered upon Roderick for a moment.

He had expected Chadwick to be present after what happened inside the Medical Bay, although he had absolutely no idea why the Chief Weaponsmith had been invited to hear his testimony.

”Dawnriver.”

Principal Boseman greeted, as he gestured towards the chair positioned directly across from his desk.

”Come in and take a seat.”

”Yes, sir.”

Riven replied, as he closed the door behind himself before walking across the room and settling into the offered chair.

His posture remained straight despite the nervousness spreading through his body, while he raised his gaze and made eye contact with Boseman across the table.

The Principal smiled reassuringly.

”Relax, boy. Everything is all right.”

Boseman said, as he noticed the tension upon Riven’s face.

”You aren’t here to be interrogated like a suspect.

Right now, we’re simply trying to understand the sequence of events as thoroughly as possible, so that whoever committed this heinous crime can swiftly be brought to justice.”

Riven nodded in understanding, as Boseman continued, his expression progressively turning more serious.

”Son, I need you to think carefully before answering our questions. Even something that appears completely insignificant to you could prove important to us..... So be thorough.”

”I understand, sir.”

Riven replied, as he prepared himself to begin.

However, before Boseman could ask his first question, Vice Principal Chadwick stepped forward from behind him while carrying a translucent spherical object between both hands.

Riven immediately glanced towards it.

The sphere appeared almost completely clear, with only a faint shimmer moving somewhere within its center as Chadwick placed it upon the desk directly between Riven and the Principal.

”This is a Truth Orb, Dawnriver.”

Chadwick informed sternly.

”It is capable of detecting even the slightest deceit contained within a statement, which means I strongly advise you against attempting to hide information behind carefully chosen words.”

Riven frowned slightly.

Chadwick placed one hand beside the orb.

”For example, suppose I asked whether you ate eggs for breakfast today.”

He explained, as Riven continued listening.

”Perhaps you ate half an egg, yet when answering me, you said, ’No, I haven’t eaten a full egg today.’

Technically, your statement is correct because you never consumed an entire egg.”

Chadwick’s gaze hardened.

”However, you still ate an egg.”

He tapped one finger against the table beside the sphere.

”The Truth Orb recognizes that distinction. Your statement would therefore be flagged as containing a partial falsehood because, despite the words themselves being technically accurate, you deliberately constructed your answer to conceal the complete truth.”

Riven’s attention returned towards the translucent sphere.

”So while your hand remains above this device, you will speak the truth and nothing except the complete truth.... Or we shall know that you’re a liar.”

Chadwick finished, as his stern gaze remained fixed upon Riven.

’The fuck?’

Riven thought, as his expression turned slightly ugly, however, before the warning could make the situation feel any more accusatory, Boseman raised one hand.

”We’re only doing this to be thorough, Dawnriver.”

The Principal assured, as Riven looked towards him.

”It isn’t because we question your honor.

But the fact remains that lives have been lost inside this Academy, and because of that, we cannot afford to conduct this investigation while leaving even the smallest uncertainty behind.”

Boseman’s expression softened.

”So please pardon our caution just this once.”

Riven remained silent for several seconds before slowly nodding.

”I understand, sir.”

He said, as he extended his arm across the table and placed his hand above the Truth Orb.

A faint light immediately appeared inside the transparent sphere.

Riven swallowed.

Boseman leaned back slightly in his chair before releasing a deep breath.

”Then let’s begin.”

The Principal said, as his expression became serious once again.

”Start recounting your story from the very beginning, Dawnriver. Explain how you reached the Northwatch Grounds and everything that happened afterward sequentially.

Tell us everything from who you saw, who was doing what, and how you eventually saved Gary.”

The Principal instructed, as Riven took in a deep breath before starting his tale.

”The story starts a few days before Black Week.

Myself and my group are what you might call odd balls, sir.

There were many within the academy who had a grudge against us, so we expected trouble once Black Week began, and had started to prepare for it in advance.”

Riven began, as everyone listened to his story carefully, while Chadwick kept glancing towards the orb, to catch even the slightest of lies in his statement.