psychic thread

[agentlenpc]

[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.

Comments

[agentlenpc]

Fear drives many a tongue to still and the hatred between landen and Blood spans millennia in Terrielle.

Why explain yourself to a Queen that you think cares not for what you say? [ The tone Verim takes is one of contemplation.] Would your words be turned against you? Your friends? Could you expect that a Queen who is Blood would be sympathetic to a landen? Or, did he intend to kill Lady Vera and now hopes his silence and the clout of the Guilds might save him? Or at least make him a martyr. I've seen that as well.

If he were Blood, Fayura would ask that he let her into his mind to read his intentions and know the truth of his actions though it might destroy him. Unfortunately, those with a Jewel cannot touch the mind of landen without killing them.

[yesterweek]

[ Don't mind Calvin as he slides in here. ]

Would there be any chance that his sentence could be lessened even a little if he was cooperative in explaining his actions?

I mean, he killed someone, so he's obviously not going to be let loose... Still, if a death sentence is hanging over his head maybe he'd be willing to spill a little more information with the promise of that being taken off the table?

[agentlenpc]

[ Verim never minds. Unless ... no best not go there.]

Yes. [ Verim says without hesitation.] The possibility exists. The most predominant issue is what will Lady Vera's family and the Ebon Council - [ saying the latter name comes with a bit of anger.] - will accept in lieu of his life and if the Guilds are willing to abide by that price.

You and others have made the interesting suggestion of a ... jury. I do not hold out hope that a panel of Blood and landen could reach a mutually acceptable solution - [ and then wryly] - but I never expected to find a Queen I wanted to serve either.

[yesterweek]

Jurors have to go through a selection process first. Most of the time people really close to the case, or with some sort of knowledge base that could potentially color their views on a case before hearing the evidence are eliminated from the final set.

I mean, it sounds like it'd be hard to get a fully unbiased jury in this case, but you could still look for people who are as neutral as possible on this issue?

[agentlenpc]

It's not impossible to find such people. [ Verim muses. ] Difficult, but not impossible. Besides, the Council and Guilds will undoubtedly make a fuss no matter what.

[yesterweek]

Probably. I mean, all things considered with what happened I don't think anyone is going to be fully happy here... a woman died.

[agentlenpc]

Believe me, [ Verim's tone turned grim. ] of the ones that could cause the most trouble, few of them care that Lady Vera is dead but they care very much about how they can use her murder to their advantage.

[yesterweek]

Wow... they sound like cool people...

[ Heavy sarcasm at that. What disgusting people. ]

[agentlenpc]

They're delusional. [ Verim doesn't bother to hide his disgust.] But, if this panel some of you have suggested works, it will put those same people on notice.

[yesterweek]

[ Delusional is certainly another word for them. ]

I hope it does... I mean, someone else might come up with something better, but it doesn't sound like there's a lot of other great alternatives right now.

[agentlenpc]

Perhaps no great alternatives, but at least there are some. But for now, I must go.

[thestewards]

For his sense of fairness, Calvin earns +1 Reputation with Verim.

[unwieldy]

[ Hey now, Verim, don't start putting ideas in Haein's head. ]

Fine, then. Say he explains his side of things. Why does it matter what his motives were? It doesn't change the fact that he killed the councilwoman in cold blood. Based on the facts, he actively made the decision to murder her. To premeditate a killing like that, to actually go through with it, that's not something any angry person can do.

[ Haein would know, maybe. He's made of about 99% anger and he's never murdered anyone. Sure, he'll suggest it, but don't expect him to get his own hands dirty. ]

You can assess intent as much as you want, the outcome will still remain the same.

[agentlenpc]

[ As he speaks, Verim's tone remains easy and thoughtful.] We have no law against murder for largely two reasons: the anger of Warlord Princes - though it is not so simple as an emotion that runs hot and then burns itself out quickly - and that the Warlord Princes in a Queen's service may need to kill on her behalf. However, a reason just as important is the understanding that sometimes the killing is justified.

Even when it is premeditated.

Did he believe Vera to be a true threat against the landens or himself? Was there justifiable cause for that belief? Had she already harmed him or his family in ways we simply do not yet know? You are correct that the outcome will not change nor do I believe his motives will shine him in a good light in the end, but the effort should be made to find them.

[unwieldy]

[ Haein has a hard time wrapping his head around this idea. Retaliation has always been his tried-and-true method. He's never found a need to delve any further beyond that, and the only justifications he's ever sought out were his own. ]

It's a waste of time.

[ Stubborn, always so stubborn. ]

I don't understand it. Maybe you and the others have convinced yourselves that finding a motive will make it easier to deal with the burden or guilt when the final verdict comes for his life, maybe not. But all it does is delay the inevitable.

[agentlenpc]

Burden and guilt? [ One can almost hear the razor sharp smile in Verim's thoughts. ] That isn't my concern. He and cohorts assaulted Lady Vera and killed her. They used muters to strip her of her power and that of any other Blood nearby that might have helped her. What he did is inexcusable and deserving of justice. I carry no burden or guilt should his actions be without good reason, I've no issue with his execution.

[ Or carrying it out himself. ]

However, until we know the scope, determining the severity is impossible. If Vera had harmed him, his family, or threatened to harm him, then I cannot blame him for taking out that threat, only the cowardly manner in which he did it.

[unwieldy]

[ Okay, maybe there's some sense in that. The first part of Verim's statement also helps quell a bit of the defiance he'd felt earlier, though he still finds most of this process time consuming.

If he's already feeling this restless about the fate of a murderer he cares little about, he can't imagine how the other factions are faring. A valuable pawn like that... They could make a hundred more just like him, especially with this acting as a catalyst. ]

Fine. [ There's a weariness that comes through from his end of the connection, a dismissive force. ] But he'll garner support as long as he's alive. The sooner he's dealt with, the better.

[agentlenpc]

I don't disagree on either count.

[ A pause and then: ]

You seem very troubled by this.

[unwieldy]

[ Hm. Well, that's not entirely untrue. ]

Shouldn't I be? Things have been deteriorating at an alarming rate ever since we got here. We're supposed to be helping, but nothing's getting better, only worse.

[agentlenpc]

Lady Fayura bringing all of you was a profound disruption in the normal course of things. The backlash to that was inevitable, but it is changing.

[ Verim pauses, his voice heavy when he speaks again. ]

And that will be a problem as well. For things to continue to get better, some of those in power will have to relinquish some of it, and very few people who attain power want to let it go. For others, these changes are welcomed and also terrifying. Between the deterioration of the land, the brigades roaming beyond the walls, and the animosity between landen and Blood, change, in the experience of Draega, comes with a high body count.

[ Then, wryly:] Seeing the good in anything is difficult when most of what you've seen is bad. But now there are landens who speak highly of the Strangers they met and Blood that are relieved and grateful for your help. It seems like a small thing, but it is not. Those little bits of trust and good will are worth more and are more rare than gold marks.

[unwieldy]

[ What an uplifting message. Too bad Haein's having a hard time pulling himself out of doom and gloom. ]

People are finicky by nature. One mistake and they'll turn on us in an instant, so I'm not exactly hopeful that the trust and good will are going to last.

[ A long sigh. He's going to sound like a broken record at some point. ]

... Whatever. I just wanted to say my piece. I got way more invested in this than I thought I would.

[agentlenpc]

It's always good to temper hope against experience. Still, there are those in Draega who dream of something better and many of them are the voiceless.

[ Ah, but now he runs the risk of talking too much and he does hate that. ]

No matter what happens, the Lady is grateful to hear from all of you.

[unwieldy]

[ Cool to know that his shitty ideas are still heard??

Not that he thinks they're shitty. ]

Right... [ The doubt is still strong. ] I guess we'll just have to wait and see how things go down.

[agentlenpc]

For his ill advised stubbornness, Haien gains +1 Reputation with Verim.