PRELUDE:
As you (Sakura) enter the courtroom, it is hard not to notice that your hands are securely bound with rough and thick iron shackles. You are pretty confident that you could not break them and the chafing and slight bruises being formed are sign that you won’t be able to wriggle free.
You take your place in a small box with a podium that sits facing a raised seat with a larger podium. In that raised seat is the honorable Judge Vincent Avan, Senior Judge of Lictor Mary Cul Tricuspis and the appointed judge for this trial. He is weathered but not old, with a non-aggressive yet stern looking face and demeanor.
You look around the room and notice the jury, all 12 of them, sitting off to the side of the judge. You pick out representatives, two each, of the clans and colonies assembled. You are hoping that the mixture of ulven and colonist jury members gives you a fair verdict in the trial. The main person that sticks out to you, clad in armor and a wolf fur despite the heat, is Khulgar Graytide. The Warleader of Clan Grimward is in attendance, surely to report how the trial goes back to his Clanleader. The significance of this is not lost on you.
You take one last look behind you to see a courtroom packed completely full of onlookers. People came out to witness the trial and seem to hail from all corners of Mardrun. There are almost two hundred people backed into the courtroom pews or standing in the aisles. Almost a dozen fully armored Lions of Arnath stand resolute and vigilant, keeping security during the trial.
The judge’s voice grabs your attention as you face forward again.
“Sakura Sakai, you are being charged with the attempted murder of Vazra of the Spire,” reads the judge from a scroll.
“The maximum punishment for a crime such as this includes physical punishment, moderate imprisonment, or indentured servitude. Do you intend to confess or state your defense? You may plead guilty to this charge, or you may state not guilty and provide your defense. This is also when you may provide evidence and proof for the court to consider. You may speak, but do not ramble on for too long.”
SAKURA:
Your grasp of the common language of Mardrun stands as a barrier between you and your testimony. Instead, you offer up a copy of the letter you made public in recent weeks, following the Order’s investigation in Serai. One of the Lions nearby takes the letter from you, and at Judge Avan’s direction, reads passages which you have noted.
“One of the very first people I met in Mardrun was a man named Vazra… To me, Vazra was an incomprehensible man whose behavior seemed at turns bizarre and menacing. However, he seemed willing to treat me well, and so I spent time with him, after a fashion.”
“I followed [a group of people from Mardrun] to a village wherein I found a group of mercenaries living… Through gestures and broken phrases, I discovered that these men were refugees of a sort, men cast out from their homes, working as mercenaries because they had nowhere else to turn.”
“Their leader was a man named Spinach, which was an odd sort of name for a man, but which has forever stuck out in my mind. Spinach… I thought to help him by giving him the token Vazra had given me – a sign of friendship. Vazra’s response was to throw a deathbolt at him.”
“In the battle that followed, the mercenaries were brutally maimed, beaten, and slaughtered. Vazra himself hunted down Spinach and mortally wounded him. Not contenting himself with that, he then slit Spinach’s throat while he lay helpless on the ground. He showed in this not an ounce of remorse.”
“After [the New Aldorian Campaign], I returned to find that a large group was going north to Al Haddad’s city of Serai to investigate something related to the undead.”
“When I arrived at the mustering point, I found Vazra and the Archons along with something called the Order… They spoke of not killing the people of Serai… Vazra would agree with them out loud, but in my hearing, and to his followers, he would discuss in lurid detail his intentions to destroy Serai and to kill Al Haddad.”
“The Order held back, not wanting to partake of Al Haddad’s hospitality, and Vazra did too… In spite of the Order’s strict orders against killing the citizens of Serai, and Al Haddad in particular, I noticed that as we approached the people of Serai, our negotiations not yet complete, Vazra was holding a deathbolt behind his back.”
“As it happened, Al Haddad was harboring undead in his city… They seemed fierce and hideous – wholly unnatural. And yet, they were also quite tame… In spite of my fear, the undead seemed quite harmless.”
“Even so, the Order decided that the undead had to be destroyed. Al Haddad decided he had to fight to protect them. It is not my purpose here to adjudicate that battle.”
“As the Order advanced to clash with the citizens of Serai and their undead, we were attacked from behind by the Mordok. I thought, in that moment, that we would band together… Instead, Vazra and other Archons cried out to the Order to let the Mordok through their lines to attack the people of Serai!”
“Before [the Mordok] could arrive, Vazra cornered his old friend Al Haddad and struck him with a deathbolt, mortally wounding him.”
“We fought against the Mordok, keeping them away from the children, but I worried for Al Haddad, so when a lull came in the fighting, I rushed back…That was when I saw Vazra scream at his mortally wounded friend, and then he did something particularly despicable – he looted his friend’s helpless body.”
“I was shocked when [Vazra] attacked not the Mordok, nor even the undead, but rather began stabbing the citizens of Serai in their backs while they fought the Mordok to protect their children. At that moment, I could stand no more.”
“He ran like a coward, and I gave chase, striking him so many times I couldn’t quite work out how he was still standing. But in the end, I succumbed to yet another of his deathbolts.”
“Vazra came by to gloat – and to loot my body too. As I lay bleeding to death, he coldly and callously searched every inch of my body.”
“I stayed with [the Order] throughout their fighting retreat, standing shoulder to shoulder with their warriors as we battled desperately to keep the citizens of Serai safe. Vazra was conspicuously absent.”
“Upon fighting our way clear of the Mordok, I voluntarily agreed to undergo a trial by the Order for whatever crimes I may have committed against them.
Sincerely,
Sakura Sakai”
JUDGE:
“Sakura Sakai, your defense has been noted to the court.
To clarify and summarize your charge:
Attempted Murder, by seeking to end the life of Vazra during the Order’s investigation into the settlement of Serai.
Moving on to the testimonies, you may listen to them and then state a final defense at the end, which then the jury will decide your punishment,” states the Judge.
TESTIMONIES SUPPLIED TO THE TRIAL:
Brother Ventaris, Order of Arnath’s Light, attending in person
Sakura tagged along with the investigation. She did not “help” despite being able to comprehend our words and feigning ignorance. She did attack Vazra against orders but she also helped protect the innocent and fought the mordok. She would not stand with us again Bos Mezar.
Anariel of the Phoenix, attending in person
“I can’t understand what she is saying; I keep telling her this and she doesn’t change how she talks. I think she wants to eat Reggie! Who would ever want to hurt him!? And if she hurt my friend Vazra then she is not a good person.”
Brother Oliver, Order of Arnath’s Light, attending in person
Sakura began attacking Vazra and was chasing him about. Later I found her mortally wounded and was going to let her die but spared her life as Aifrick of the Archons was pleading for her life. After this Sakura aided in our retreat.
Vazra of the Archons, attending in person
“This woman joined the investigation at Serai under the guise of an ally. When fighting broke out, she turned on us without warning and attempted to murder me. Fortunately the Order and myself were already suspicious of her treachery and her attempts to interfere with the investigation and to kill me failed. There were numerous witnesses to this event including members of the Order and Oberon. She’s a murderer and a jerk.
These are the testimonies spoken to the court by witnesses or those willing to speak out in regards to your charges during the trial. You will be given one final chance to defend yourself and your actions against the charges and the testimonies levied against you. Be specific but be brief; this case will be taken to a jury and your punishment and fate decided.
The Lion who read your letter looks back to you, as you mark the final two paragraphs of the same letter for him to read back as your final statement.
“In Nara Pentare society, we do not believe in judging a person by their words, but rather by their actions. Judge Al Haddad by his actions – a man who kept undead, yes, but who was so unflinchingly honest that he admitted as much to an Inquisition, knowing they might kill him for it…[W]hatever we think of Al Haddad’s methods, his motives were pure. He sought to protect his people with every means at his disposal…Compare that with Vazra, a man who murders those who cross him – and those who never did…A man who speaks out of both sides of his mouth, trumpeting peace, and holding deathbolts behind his back. He is a man far too eager to kill, far too eager to destroy, far too convinced of his own invincibility.
I hope that Mardrun and the Order will also judge me by my actions, because they have not, up till now, been capable of judging me by my words.”
JUDGE:
Your final statement is given and the judge and jury listen intently.
“The court will take a recess to give the jury time to decide your sentencing. The court is now in recess.” he says plainly as he bangs his gavel on the wooden pedestal.
The jury is out for several hours and the waiting is excruciating. Then suddenly the court herald announces that the judge has returned and then the court is back in session. The jury members return from the back room and hand a piece of paper to the judge. He takes a moment to read it, his face displaying no emotion… no hint of how your fate will be decided.
“Sakura Sakai, you have had charges placed against you, a full investigation into your actions and your character, a chance to state your defense and a to hear out the testimonies of your peers and other free peoples of Mardrun.”
On the charge of attempted murder, the court finds you guilty.
There is a moment of silence as the gravity of the charge and decision made hits you like a hammer. The judge scribbles down some notes on a piece of parchment, reviews the paper that was handed to him by the jury, and says nothing else for a time; the void of silence seeming to last for an eternity, framed by the hushed murmurs of the audience in the court room. The Judge speaks, finally breaking the silence.
“Sakura Sakai, the court has heard your words and understands that in certain moments it can be hard to know what is the right course of action. It has been noted that you have struck out against Vazra in an attempt to save others, but in doing so you have stepped outside of the law. Had this been justifiable during the military campaign being commanded by the Order of Arnath’s Light, this action could be overlooked. However, the testimonies prove that this was an action of your own accord. As punishment for your actions, the jury has sentenced you to a period of indentured servitude to the colony of Newhope and Clan Nightriver for a period of no less than one year. You will not be held in prison, but you will have your retainers disbanded and your material wealth confiscated. Your retainers will be put to work in the colony of Newhope in separate districts for the duration of your punishment.”
“Your trial is concluded.” ends the Judge as his gavel strikes down on the plate; the noise echoing through the courtroom.