Then he turned his attention to everyone else. "This judgment will be a contest of might. But it will be based on the opinion of the people. Two mobs shall clash. Who's side are you on? Who will you follow to battle? Who do you want to lead you?"
"I said something to the conclave of Vitality core refiners when I asked them to follow me to battle. That has always been my tenet and why I was appointed the child of the plane."
He raised his clenched fist and said, "I am unstoppable. Follow me, and I'll give you victory. Stand against me and I'll see you broken before me. As long as you are on my side, only victory will do. If you want victory, then you will follow me."
His voice was accompanied by his raging intent. Everyone could feel and taste his anger. It is a tangible and purposeful thing since it is directed at those who will be his enemies. They can feel his longing to break his enemies and all who will stand against him.
They can feel that the child of the plane is ready to do battle and he is asking them where their allegiance lay. There is going to be a battle. That much is sure. But whose side will they be on? All of them began muttering and their allegiance began to sway in Soverick's favor.
Lady Amari didn't like the situation one bit. Things have not been going her way at all. First Soverick forced her to come forward. She already planned for someone else to spearhead the accusation but the person was scared stiff by the pressure of his divine sense. Plus he was looking directly at her. The cat was already out of the bag.
Then Soverick forced her to complain about what he did wrong like she is a child complaining to their parents about an injustice done to her on the playground. He has effectively ridiculed her in front of the entire plane. Then he went on to drive the final nail into the coffin of humiliation.
He didn't say he did or didn't do something wrong. He said, 'I have done something you don't like.' Her moral high ground took a hit with that sentence. Then he went on to say 'Might make right' and that he likes it. He made it look as if she doesn't like him so she gathered a group of thugs to beat him up.
Soverick didn't try to talk them down or talk them out of the fight. He eagerly asked for it. It all concluded in the fact that they will fight now. But it makes her no different from him. She wants to get her way with power just like he believes he can do anything as long as he is strong enough. The battle will determine who is right or wrong but Soverick has also managed to change it to victory or defeat.
They are here to judge him but it is not a matter of right or wrong anymore. It is now a matter of victory or defeat. Which do they want? Do they want to follow the child of the plane with a record of success and a history of outlandish feats or will they follow a lady that is previously unknown? I think you should take a look at
Most importantly, do they want to fight the child of the plane only to be defeated? Battle sage monkeys like battles but they like victory in battle more. They prefer to follow a leader than van grant them victory. So which one of the two of them can grant them victory in battle?
Soverick has changed the tune of the story into a simple battle with victory and defeat as the stakes. It is debatable if the calamity of the child of the plane is right or wrong. But Soverick didn't debate. He didn't even bother to defend himself or argue his way out of it. Instead, he pointed out the one that is undisputable about him. He is strong and capable, and he has never experienced defeat. She has to stop the swaying of public opinion or she will have no support in the upcoming battle.
So she yelled, "This battle is of great significance. It will determine if what the child of the plane did is right or wrong. He is supposed to be our guardian and protector. Can we in good conscience allow his transgressions to go unpunished?"
They stopped muttering to listen to her. The arena became silent because of it. She can talk now without raising her voice but she did the opposite. She wants to be heard more than anything.
She raised her voice even higher. "Think of all the people that died that day. Think of the loss of fathers and mothers, of sisters and brothers. They died because they wanted to see their child of the plane. Their offense was because they adored him. They traveled great distances to see him. For many of them, it was a pilgrimage. It may be normal for villains to behave that way but it is not right for the child of the plane to behave that way. He killed thousands of innocents that day."
She left out the part where she instigated people to go and trouble the child of the plane. She left out the assassins that were to attempt to kill him if Soverick accepts the people's challenge to fight. She left out the part where she spread false information about how to take his title. These people don't need to know all of that. All they need to know is that there were some innocent people there that day and those innocents died an unjust death.
She pleaded with them with a weak strained voice, "Fight for justice! Fight for justice! Fight for justice!"
She said it three times with tears in her eyes. It is a pitiful image so they pitied her. They also pitied her cause.