In the heavy, oppressive atmosphere of the subterranean Dwarf hall, the old patriarch of the Dwarf Race finished speaking and immediately waved a large, knobby hand.
Two fully armed Dwarf Guards carried Sodden’s massive Shield in silence to the center of the hall. With a loud CLANG, they stood it upright in front of him.
Raine saw that the Shield was still perfectly intact. On its thick metallic surface, the emblem of lightning and a stone shield—the symbol of the Solid Stone Clan—gleamed brilliantly in the firelight.
Next, a Dwarf acting as a master of ceremonies stepped forward holding a velvet cushion. Resting atop it were a chisel and a Warhammer. The head of the Warhammer was completely covered in ancient Dwarf Runes, exuding an aura of absolute majesty.
The old patriarch stepped down from the dais and took up the chisel and Warhammer himself. He walked over to Sodden’s Shield and pressed the sharp tip of the chisel against the upper right corner of the emblem. In Dwarf tradition, this corner symbolized the future, hope, and Power. More importantly, it represented the wielder’s honor and ultimate belonging.
This sight caused Raine and the thousands of Dwarfs in the hall to hold their breath in unison. To Raine, the hall had become no different from an execution ground.
"With this chisel as witness!" The old patriarch’s aged voice boomed like thunder as he hoisted the Warhammer, the very symbol of the Clan’s will, high into the air. "From this day forth, your honor is shattered!"
CLANG!
An ear-piercing screech of tearing metal exploded across the dead silence of the Dwarf hall. A piece of metal bearing the chipped corner of the emblem flew off upon impact. It bounced across the floor with a CLINK CLANK, finally rolling to a stop at Sodden’s feet.
At the exact moment the sound rang out, Raine clearly saw Sodden’s body tremble violently. The Dwarf Warrior was evidently forcing down his inner agony in an attempt to remain composed, but the slight quivering of his broad shoulders laid his emotions bare. The sound was less like metal being struck and more like his very soul being brutally hammered through.
"Sodden, hang in there!" Raine roared, sprinting along the back of the dense crowd as he desperately tried to find a path to his friend. However, his shouts merely drew a few sidelong glances from the surrounding Dwarfs. Sodden remained completely deaf to his voice.
In the center of the hall, the old patriarch did not pause for even a second. He turned to the deathly pale Sodden, his gaze scorching him like Flames from a forge.
"Sodden!" he bellowed, his tone finally laced with an uncontrollable mix of disappointment and fury. "Look me in the eyes! Look at the Clan that birthed you, raised you, and bestowed your honor upon you!"
Sodden raised his head almost mechanically. In those eyes he had revered for his entire life, he no longer saw pride, but rather a profound, absolute finality born of utter disappointment.
The old patriarch raised the hammer once more. "From this day forth, your bloodline is severed!"
CLANG!
Another corner of the emblem shattered.
"From this day forth, your bond with the ancestors is broken!"
CLANG!
The third strike was the heaviest of them all. The force of the chisel sent spiderweb-like cracks spreading across the entire emblem. The Clan emblem that had once symbolized all a Dwarf’s glory now looked like an ugly scar, deeply carved into Sodden’s soul.
After the three strikes, the old patriarch tossed aside the chisel and Warhammer. The cold clatter of metal tools striking the stone floor served as the final death knell for Sodden’s fate. The old patriarch turned his back, refusing to spare Sodden another glance. He summoned every ounce of his strength and bellowed the final verdict: "May the earth no longer bear your footsteps! May the hearth’s fire no longer warm your body! You are no longer a member of the Solid Stone Clan! Banishment!"
"Banishment!"
The thousands of Dwarfs throughout the hall let out a deep, unified roar. The sound was so heavy and forceful that the torches on the walls flickered wildly. To Raine’s ears, the roar contained more than just anger; it was a cold severance, a collective abandonment of a single individual.
The two Dwarf Guards stepped forward expressionlessly. They began to roughly strip away every component and clasp bearing the Clan emblem from Sodden’s Chain Armor Shirt. Then, they hauled him up by his arms, one on each side. He didn’t resist—he didn’t have the strength to. Like a stone statue whose soul had been drained away, he was half-dragged, half-carried out of the hall, passing through the very Clan gates he had once sworn on his life to protect.
The moment he crossed the threshold of the massive portico, Sodden cast one final glance back. All he saw were countless pairs of cold eyes and the heavy Clan doors slowly shutting in his face.
He was thrown to the ground, followed closely by his Shield Axe and the fragments of his shattered emblem. In the freezing portico, he silently bent down and picked up the first piece of the emblem that had fallen. He clutched it so tightly in his hand that its sharp edges sliced into his palm. Blood dripped onto the ground, yet he remained entirely oblivious to the pain.
Sodden Stoneheart, once a glorious Dwarf Warrior, was now an exile without a home. There would no longer be a seat saved for him in the warm Clan hall. No one would share a drink with him at celebratory banquets, and no comrade-in-arms would ever again entrust their defenseless back to his Shield. No one would ever care about his life or death, his sorrow, or whether he was even still breathing.
He had lost the very meaning of his existence. An ultimate coldness crept up from the soles of his feet to his heart, freezing him all the way to the depths of his soul. He stood there like a rock forgotten by time itself. The sight of his desolate back was suffocatingly lonely.
Perhaps, being completely frozen just like this was his ultimate destiny.