agentlenet | psychic thread

[The gentle brush against the Strangers' minds comes in early evening. It is, as all mental touches are from Fayura, soft and unassuming, much like a polite knock at a door. Once as many minds are connected as she thinks will open the door to her, she speaks.]

I am curious, Strangers, what you would do with the young man who shot and killed Councilwoman Vera.

Many of you come from worlds where there are laws against murder. While we have no such laws here, when a Blood male in a Queen's Territory kills another without cause, she may demand a price from him. Sometimes, that is his own life if he was negligent enough with his temper and sometimes, it's something less.

My trouble is this: if I execute him according to the laws of the Blood, of which he is not one, the Guilds will rouse their people into a furor and attack not only me, but the people of Draega. If I turn him over to the Ebon Council, the Guilds will do much the same, and that will incite the Council to strike back. And if I return him to the Guilds for accolades instead of punishment for taking a life, the Ebon Council will have cause to rip apart the Guilds and anyone in their way to extract from him the price for murdering one of their own.

Were you me, what course would you take? And please try not to shout over each other; this is as many of you as I could reach.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I think a lot of people have already suggested what I would, but I'll support the suggestion of a jury. If your laws don't take into account the other group, then there needs to be some kind of reconciliation of that.

[It seems like kind of a silly way to form a justice system in a world this mixed to Ren, though, so after another few moments of consideration, he goes on. There's a certain airiness to his tone, but in a psychic thread, he can't really disguise that he's thinking about it relatively seriously.]

But I think you also need to be prepared for a way to fairly decide if the jury comes to a stalemate. And I think it might be a good idea to think about the potential for the future. If neither of your legal systems touch each other, then instances like this are always going to be a problem, right? There needs to be something consistent to handle it so people can't make more trouble about how it's being done.

Yes, you're correct. If this disparity isn't addressed, the question will come up again and again. In the past, when there was only these two fighting against each other, when one life was taken from one faction, the other would take a life in turn. Now, with the court standing between them, that balancing act has become far more delicate.

[An impression drifts through the psychic connection: Fayura pinching the bridge of her nose while cradling her head in her other hand.]

This, at least, I will be comfortable forcing them to accept. They'll piss and moan about it, but I doubt either faction will launch a counteroffensive because their people are being held responsible for their bullshit.

Well, with the right kind of diplomacy, it can seem less like forcing it...but you're right, if it's supposed to affect both sides equally, only the ones who really think their side should be above the law would cause much trouble.

[And that tends to be a limited number of people unless someone has been doing work to make the fair seem unfair.

There's something of a feeling of sympathetic amusement coming from Ren's end, as if he can relate to having to herd cats like this.]

Do the Blood and landens have separate laws for all things, or just murder? I'll admit I was surprised to hear that the Blood had no direct law against it, but I come from a world where those laws are widespread, so I suppose that's my own bias talking.

In many ways, we're the same, but the Blood tend to react more strongly to violations of trust. So much of what we are depends on our ability to trust each other—that a Queen, whose word is law, won't force the males in her service to violate their sense of self, dignity or honor. That a Warlord Prince, whose temper is formidable and nearly unstoppable, won't lash out over a minor grievance.

When that trust is violated, it's... It's not a small thing.

[Honestly, that makes a lot more sense to Ren than the system did previously, being someone who values loyalty and trust himself. The feeling that comes alongside it is something like curious realisation.]

I see...that makes a lot more sense than the concept I had of it. Violation of trust is never something I could take lightly myself. I think it'll still take me a little time to work out the details of how you all interact, but I appreciate you framing it that way for me. It's an angle I hadn't considered before.

[And Ren definitely appreciates knowing how these sort of social niceties work. Having been in a fairly high position in his own world, he knows the value of the dance that standing firm vs polite acquiescence to keep the peace can be, and he can't help but feel somewhat wrong-footed stepping into a world where he doesn't know intimately how to execute that balance.]

You're welcome. I know that Terreille is much, much different than the worlds that most of you come from. I only wish the books of our law that once existed still did.

[Sorrow tinges her voice.]

Terreille has forgotten so much. Fifty thousand years of violence and decay... Well. [Now her tone grows dry.] Fixing the mistakes of so long can't be all that hard, can't it?

[That's quite some time, enough that a flicker of surprise touches at the initial response.] That's a weighty task to rest on just a few people. Is that why you reached out for help in the first place...? If so much has been forgotten, then trying to introduce new ideas seems like the logical path for a leader to take.

[Whether those new ideas are from the same world or another one. Fayura seems open to change, but from what he's seen so far, the rest of the city is much more resistant.]

Yes, that's precisely it. Between the loss of so much knowledge and the city's refusal to climb out of the rut it's put itself in, I knew we needed something else. Something more. New ideas, vibrant and different. Ones that are shocking enough to compel action.

But it's a delicate act. If I force them to change too much too quickly, they'll resist me. If I change too little too slowly, nothing will stick and we'll crumble into dust. [Her laugh tumbles between them like dry weeds across a baking hot desert.] Loren is fond of telling me I don't like fixing small problems.

[It certainly sounds like a balancing act. Ren doesn't usually pay much mind to leadership, but the fact that Fayura certainly sounds like she truly does want to do right by the city and the people in it is something he considers worth respecting independently of that.]

Well, it'd be pretty boring just fixing small problems, wouldn't it? The harder ones are usually more worthwhile anyway, and to get there takes fixing at least some of the smaller problems. Still, it's good to know how hard it will be going in. I know that even leading people who want to be led and will do just about anything you say can still be hard in its own ways, so a situation as divisive as this...I can only imagine the complexity of it, really.

[Dryly:] Staggering. The complexity is staggering.

[She sighs heavily.]

My hope is that as people who are neither Blood nor landen, you'll have better luck bridging that distance than I've had. If trust can be fostered in a smaller way... well, perhaps it won't be as far a stretch for people to trust each other in larger ways.

Mmm, that's about what I expected... [Something of an equally dry amusement comes in return to that.]

Hopefully it goes as planned. It's always hard to tell with people...but I'm happy to do a little extra where it's needed to get things moving the right way.

[He came to help, so despite his being lazy, it doesn't really benefit him or her to not work firmly towards that outcome.]

Well! [Her tone turns cheerful.] Perhaps in a few weeks, you'll have that opportunity. Strong arms make strong bellies.

[Her laughter is like an ocean wave in the darkness, soft but powerful, soothing but edged with power.]

If you've no other questions, Ren, I think I should go and allow my Prince to fuss over me.

[That's a familiar sort of feeling, and Ren takes note of it. It's about the feeling he would've expected, based on how Fayura has seemed so far.]

I think I'm out of them for now. Good luck with handling all of this, Lady.

[He's not entirely sure whether the proper address is just that or if he's supposed to use her name too, but since improper name use is rude where he comes from, he's taking the safe route.]

[He has the right of it, and she's pleasantly surprised that he got it right on the first try. A faint touch of thanks brushes against his mind, and then she's gone.]

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