The trial lasted a week.
There was much evidence against Daud, ranging from falsely accusing Karam of treason to all the war crimes Daud had done during the war.
All of it pointed to Daud deserving a just death.
Although the judges of the High Court were in agreement that Daud should die, none wanted to give the death sentence outright. After all, who could kill the son of a former king? Furthermore, the said son was older than everyone in the courtroom, yet seemed to be a teenager.
Did he count as a colt or a stallion?
How should he die?
Should they really kill him?
At the end of the week, the head of the High Court stood up and gave the sentence:
“Daud The Rock, Leader of The Southern Armies, Former Heir to the Throne of Saddle-Arabia, Son of Khayri The Wise, we of the High Court have found you guilty of the following:
treason against Karam The Strong Wind, King of Saddle-Arabia, Younger Son of Khayri the Wise;
war crimes perpetrated against both soldiers and civilians;
spreading propaganda against your brother, the king.
For these crimes we deem you worthy of the death penalty, but we dare not lay a forefoot against the son of King Khayri. We are beings who live mortal lives whereas you Alicorns live far longer than any of us here ever shall; to kill you would be to kill a god, almost. We dare not kill you, but we cannot ignore your crimes.
Hence, we decree two things against you:
First, half of your magic shall be taken from you and given to your brother, showing that he is the true king, and also repaying him for all you have done.
After that, you shall be banished into the desert sands with no food and water.
Whatever happens to you… let the gods decide what is best.”
There were murmurings all around the courtroom as the creatures in the balconies and in the ring around the court whispered to each other. Some were relieved, and others were shocked.
Nobeast dared to speak too loudly, however.
In the center of the courtroom, on the round stage, Daud stood there stoicly. His long, pale grey horn was capped with a magic nullifier, and his grey gradient wings were tied around his middle with a belt. He was fully healed from his wounds thanks to magic, and in his stubborn, unmovable way he stood tall and proud, refusing to look any less strong and dignified than he felt he should be.
“...What have you to say?” The leader of the High Court asked as he adjusted his spectacles with his Horse magic.
“...I accept what the court deems,” Daud replied in a stone-cold voice, his eyes refusing to focus anywhere except straight ahead.
From where he was in the audience, Karam watched with an equally stone-cold face, but his heart ached for his brother.
No.
He had no time for feelings. Feelings were useless things that only caused trouble and stopped him from doing his duty.
Duty.
Feh, he hated that word. To him, "Duty" was a four-letter word that he wished to never hear, yet was cursed to hear every day.
Duty.
If it was a living creature, he'd stab the word and scatter its body between the four winds of the desert.
He had no time to be dramatic though. Dramatic feelings had to be ignored today.
In a few minutes, some Unicorn Horses were called up to the stage, and Karam followed. The two Unicorns put their long horns together, creating a glow between them. While the Unicorns charged their magic, Karam stood across from Daud, studying his brother’s features. Daud glared back at him, refusing to say a word.
Although he remained stoic, Karam felt a storm of emotions rise up in his heart, and he tied them up and put them away quickly; He had no time for such feelings.
All they did was hurt.
The two Unicorns fully charged their magic, and then closed their eyes and lowered their heads and ears, taking a step apart. As the Unicorns focused, the magic grew and formed a line between Daud’s horn and Karam’s horn. For the next few minutes, Karam felt as if he was electrified; all his muscles stiffened and his eyes began glowing white with magic. Through those minutes, the Unicorns acted as conduits for the transfer, pulling at Daud’s magic and giving it to Karam.Once it was over, Karam blinked, feeling woosy all over and finding his vision blurry. He was in a haze for the next half hour as he was led out of the courtroom and back to the palace while Daud was escorted back to prison.
The next “morning”, Daud was robed in a plain brown robe, and given just enough water to last a few hours.
At this time, the sun sat in the sky, but in a strange position caddy-corner from the moon. On this day of banishment, Daud would have a half-dark sky cooling the vast sands for his endless journey of exilement.
In his black and silver, regal tack, Karam studied his brother’s features one last time. Daud was weakened after losing half of his magic, but he still was as proud and stone-cold as ever. The black markings on his legs matched Karam’s own, and his black mane and tail matched Karam’s, but he was a very different creature indeed. There was no brotherly love in the grey appaloosa’s eyes or face for the dun-colored king standing in front of him.
For a time, the two stared at each other while the crowd of soldiers and citizens nearby watched in silence.
“Brother… I never wanted this,” Karam murmured at length as his eyebrows furrowed in grief, “I never wanted this. Please… I beg you: forgive me.”
“Forgive you?” Daud whispered as he narrowed his blue eyes at his brother, “Why should I?”
“...Because I… we’re still brothers,” Karam pleaded, finding it hard to talk as he felt a lump in his throat, “Please, don’t go out into the desert with rage in your heart, Brother. I beg you: Please… let’s at least be reconciled before… before you leave.”
For a while, Daud glared at Karam. The wind pulled on the robes around Daud’s head and neck, blowing them towards the crowd behind him, showing a bit more of his face to his brother.
Quietly, Karam watched his brother’s face, though it was hard to see with the wind blowing around, pushing Karam’s forelock into his blue eyes constantly. He fought against the wind's pull, though, forcing his eyes open so he'd see his brother's features one final time.
No, Karam was not going to miss this. He was going to see, hear, smell, and feel every bit of it.
Silently Daud stared back at him, and though Karam searched all over the grey colt's face, Karam could not see one sentimental shred of feeling anywhere at all.
Eventually, Daud spat, “No. We are not brothers, and I will never forgive you.”
There: the final proof that The Rock was his name.
With that, Daud proudly turned and began walking into the vast desert sands.
The crowd slowly trickled away back into the capitol city of Rikhab, but Karam stayed and kept his eyes on his brother as Daud slowly vanished into the distance.
Though Karam knew he should turn and leave, following the others, every fiber of his heart shouted, "No! We are staying and seeing this, and remembering it, forever and a day."
Remember....
As Daud left, Karam recalled a vague memory from a century ago:
“Well, you do not have to fear that...I will always be your older brother, and as such I shall protect you from danger. I will be your rock!”
“And I will support you when you take the throne, and I’ll… uhm… I’ll be the wind that… that… that supports you and blows away all your enemies! You shall see! I will be there for you just like you will be there for me, and I will help you as much as I can! I will! I promise! I will be an honorable younger brother! I will, I will I will!”
Recalling the broken promise, Karam felt a tear fall down his golden yellow face. Closing his eyes tightly, Karam used his magic to stir the breeze to cool Daud and give him what little comfort Karam could.
Not all promises could be kept….
Oh… how Karam wished they could, though.
Karam never asked for this.
Sadly, Karam had no choice.
As Khayri had noted all those decades ago, Karam was not fated for a peaceful destiny…
well… perhaps now there would be peace, but at what cost?