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

The landens and the Blood have their own laws. For some things, they have to. As a result, when a landen kills one of the Blood, they never consider it murder, but they aren't so generous with each other.

[And, of course, getting the two factions to recognize her authority is the continual struggle.]

Everyone is subject to the same laws back home, which makes it much easier to enforce them.

It seems there is no easy or fair solution to this. You could pick the laws of the Blood, since they obviously hold power over the landens. Or, you could choose to follow the laws of whichever group you would rather leverage influence with.

I would prefer not to associate myself with either the Guilds or the Council, for doing that would empower the one to act against the other, and that would result in...

[She makes an unhappy sound.]

Something quite dire. We have passed that point, I think, and so I play a delicate balancing act.

I understand that you are in a precarious position.

In purely my opinion, I believe that murder is wrong and that there ought to be some sort of consequence for the perpetrator.

Just because we don't have a law against murder doesn't mean that wronged party has no recourse. If one of my Princes killed someone for no reason, that someone's family would ask for a price to be paid for the life taken. Sometimes, it's a life for a life. Sometimes, it's service to the wronged family. But our people survived because when Warlord Princes found a threat to their Queens, those Princes eliminated that threat.

The landens have been taken advantage of, but the Blood have been just as cruel to each other.

[And were the young man Blood, it's very likely Fayura would have executed him. But, then, she also would have been able to peer into his mind and learn the truth of the situation.]

Could you possibly meet with leaders from each of the groups and see if you can come to some sort of decision?

[ That might end up being more trouble than it's worth, but Mary's trying to think of a fair solution. No wonder kings just did what they wanted to so many years ago. ]

[Dryly:] Frankly, I might be better served by putting them all in a room together and letting them scream at each other until their voices give out. As long as a neutral, third party is there to keep them from actually tearing out each other's throats, that might end well for me.

[ Mary gives a short laugh. ]

I know. It's likely that no solution would be reached at all. Our parliament back home is the same way, sometimes.

However, if you do not wish to use the absolute rule of a monarch, then it may be your best option to at least try, my Lady.

[Confusion flickers across the mental touch; Fay doesn't understand this concept of "absolute rule" at all.]

There may come a point where I need to put my boot on the necks of the Guilds and the Council, but enough damage has been done through cruelty and an unwillingness to listen to both parties. I won't perpetuate that. There needs to be a better solution, and I will find it.

[ A queen that does not understand absolute rule is very odd to Mary indeed. ]

Discussion, perhaps, may be your best option in order to come up with a compromise.

We shall see. It is no easy thing, but it must be done.

[She sighs heavily. Empty platitudes she tells herself to keep herself going.]

I wish you luck. If myself or any of the other Volunteers may assist in any way, I pray that you will let us know.

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