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" ..... Before the Builder , humanity was seen as the weakest race. We were Hunted and pitted in equal measures. We had no Country of our own. no nation or identity, in all other continents it remains so to this day. The builder changed things , He built half the most known city's in the world, and when he braved Enclida for the first time to make our Empire, the other races repaid there favours. With there help , the Devers were pushed to the Continents neck in the fauxstrait and the walls were built to separate us. as of writing this book , it has been more than five hundred years and seldom do they reach us on the first wall. Humanity has since gained its independents from the other races, no longer are we only used for menial labour. On Enclida we formed our own government, system, and culture. Here we protect ourselves and are no longer dependent of any race. Here we learned our own magic not on par with elves yet , our own martial arts, not on par with the tribes yet , we craft weapons and armour, nothing like dwarves yet . but only we, do it all together and only we managed to do it so well. In five hundred years we have become a power on our own , no longer the youngest race to be pitied and protected....."
Exert from the Emperor speech on 500 anniversary of the Empires Founding
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I felt saner the next day. If you countify Sanity. I asked for Law books and was obliged. I zipped through them , reading everything I can cementing everything I was told. I am Mage , I am a minor. And I have rights. Commoners have rights , I just didn't know. did not ask either. why didn't I ask.
I could regret everything I've done. Blame it all on poor education and mope around more cursing my luck. but I just didn't feel like it.
The asshole I killed , It was self defence from my view, a little excessive and he deserved it in my book. but from what I can tell , it doesn't work like that. If I wasn't a mage and I killed a Nobel who was trying to rape me using a weapon , any weapon while I was overpowered, it might be considered manslaughter in the worst case.
A mage was held to higher standard. We had power and so were expected to deescalate situations. Ignorance is not a valid defence , I didn't know, but that wont help me. A mage that was in my situation was expected to nonlethally detain, then report. with truth magic everything was easy to confirm. death is only an option , if you were in immediate danger. which I wasn't. I didn't know that. he towered over me. I was scared , he was a Nobel. but I wasn't in mortal Danger , I was mage , he was not , I think.
I wanted to rebel at that conclusion. logically I understood. but every other part at me was screaming in defiance...
It was far from fair , but again it was an attempt. I was conflicted. the punishment for Rape seemed to light. all Rapist should just die , so what if I killed one. The Law says ten years on the wall ..
From everything im looking at , it was a Second degree murder, not planned , but executed in the heat of the moment. punishment for that is thirty years to life on the wall , reduced by rank whatever that means. I should get a book on the wall.
I have avoided looking back at that day. I didn't want to think about it. I could still see his smug face. how he backed away at the last moment . I didn't want to play the what if game. No .. just move on .
A death sentence for mages is only for first degree Murders ,with no reasonable chance of repentance.
So life on the wall is the most likely outcome .
I have an hour to the trial. I guess should prepare. I went to the bathroom. looking at everything between the hallways. the building seemed more modern to me with every step I took. I had thought I was in the equivalent of Viking age civilisation. but now it seems more in lee with 1600 England. Why didn't I notice.... no even if I did , would I have trusted it ? for all I knew back then I would assume it was made by slaves or something ... I cleaned up. washed my hair ,and combed it for the first time since who knows long.
I looked a lot better , felt better. I had lost a lot of wait in the 20 days ive been gone. I thought I ate enough but who knows. my hair didn't smell anymore. and all the blistered I had accumulated hurt less. I stood by the small window, smelling the fresh air and ignoring the cold. I stopped tightening my gate unconsciously sometime during my stay. everything felt better. no crushing wait hanging over my head .....
so I just breathed until
it was time.
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In a room , opposite side of the Castel sat three Friends, Drinking.
They were not having a good day.
" you find anything with the inspectors "
"Nothing Lura, the chapel is clean. the matron is old. the priest older. but haven't found anything to suggest any abuse. the town Mayor is clean. somewhat nothing too out of line. the town is more active than most and is always teaming with travellers so crime is higher there than most towns. none were hungry or homeless that I could see , and they certainly didn't cut the hands of innocent thieves. repeat offenders only. And no one from the town it self. I left them there , to ask around more .... "
" than where did she get all that from , why was she so ... she is 14 , ray . 14 what in the hell happened , what about her parents ? you find anything there "
" a little . the father was a drunk maybe ten years back , he turned around somewhere since. the priest knew and helped. and the mother didn't want anything to change. they suspect domestic abuse, but not now, not anymore . there keeping an eye out. but nothing so far. "
" and the reason she was in a chapel ?"
" she was not right in the head apparently , they where having hard times , and no one could look after her. After she was placed there, her father woke up , got things together . he is making good money now. donates a silver a week even. that's way above the average. here you can read her history "
" she started speaking at seven ? "
" that's not even the weird part , full sentences right away and then suddenly she swapped to gibberish. she learned to read and write soon after.... She was terrifying as child. gave me shivers just hearing it. you would turn around for a second , and then bam behind you stands a little girl , silently staring at you with dead eyes. otherwise she would just stare at a wall , if you gave her nothing to do ... "
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
He couldn't help but shudder
" what about you find anything in the manor ? you said you would look in too it. "
" The last head maid was shit. The new one has been taking care of everything for a long time. I asked her blank out and she tried giving me the run around. when it didn't take, she assured me you were faithful."
They laughed at that . before Lura sighed .
" The girl was right though . our own staff don't feel safe here, specially in winter. she didn't think I was asking about her , she thought I was worried you did something and was looking for one of the maids. we fucked up .. honestly , and that's putting it lightly "
Her eyes had turned cold.
under her own Roof.
" it took a while but I made it clear what I was looking for. every made new . everyone even the new ones. she usually waited a bit before telling them what to expect ... apparently there was a system. if a Nobel touched you and paid a golden coin you spread your legs and not make trouble. some girls liked it, they wanted the money. some tolerated it. The rest left. it has been a thing for generations , part of being a maid."
In my own house.
"It started with Friday balls is my guess , a maid is maid if you can fuck one why not the other, right ?."
" That's another issue , No more Friday balls , or no more maids at Friday balls we dress them different. make it obvious there paid, and are whores. fuck scandals and etiquette, no more being Coe. you will ask them to make it clear there not maids, and the maids don't do there work. "
Ray gulped and nodded.
Lura sighed and carried on.
" I made it clear, or tried to, that from now on, no girl does anything she dose not want. she nodded me along , and I could tell she was just humouring me. what could I do , I kept hearing the girl voice in my head , what could a maid do to stop it anyway. "
" so im making warning crystals for every maid that wants it. a double tap and the guards will be there. it will take me forever to right a script in every hallway and that many crystals will cost me a fortune , but fuck it , that is all I can do ... under my own fucking house. "
The common women's champions they called her ,a decade later this shit happens in her own house , what a fucking joke. she forget what its like to be powerless. what it was to be a commoner , ignorant with no way to learn.
" so yeah that's what ill do every day for a while. I cant think of anything else ... "
Everyone was silent for a while , just drinking, Lura started smoking again , and no one would call her on it.
Eric who didn't say anything this whole time finally spoke .
" no one teaches chapel girls to say no .."
" what ? "
" the girl, Anna , she said that right ? no one told her she can say no. so that's what we do , we teach everyone they can say no ... it seems common sense to me , why do anything you don't like ? yet she didn't know she had rights but if its this bad here and you are the most Fair of all the nobles I know , what about everywhere else. "
He let there imagination run for a bit ..
" so we teach them to say no. we send an Judgment trainee maybe , make it part of the course to go Visit chapels, we start with the chapels near us as a study. then teach them there rights , important bits of the law. That should help at least. "
Lura nodded.
" If cost is an issue we will pay for it. ill tell Agatha to make a list of questions and maybe u can start here give a lecture to the staff. "
ray interrupted
" taxes will pay for everything, and ill kick it up higher. The minsters and emperor may sponsor the whole thing , or even the temple."
they all knew it wasn't perfect. and there world view cracked a bit. but that's all they could do. it was evening , and none of them felt ready for the trial yet
it was time.
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the Trial was a lot less involved than I thought it would be. it took place in a room with a long table. The three judges on one side. And a man on the head of the table, me on the other.
He was the father. He kept looking at me with a face I could not read...
I killed his son. it hit me all of a sudden. in my mind he was always the rapist , the noble , the asshole. they all meant the same thing to me , Trash.
But he was a son.
NO , I wont doubt myself. he deserved it, I didn't do ....
It doesn't matter , his dead , im alive.
The Trial started with a Guard after He swear the to the truth, and Eric Enforced it with *Truth .
I heard it , and I could not lie, I tried saying the sky was orange in a low voice. I couldn't manage the last part. Eric made sure that we knew only the subjective Truth was told, he explained , none can tell a lie knowingly.
The guard captain explained what happened , how he heard a loud voice , he searched the rooms and where the body was found. How a storage ring was not present and that the room was empty. he described everything. Answered every question and then left, after eric confirmed that no one else had more questions to ask.
I hadn't any witness for my self, The father didn't either so we moved on , to my questioning.
I answered my Name. My age. How long I worked here. and then we got to real Questions.
Where you there the day of the death
yes
Did you use this pebble and magic to kill the Victim known as Luke, ... I didn't know his name. after a thought I answered that I killed a someone who I presume is Luke with a pebble using magic.
Was it premediated ?
NO
Was I engaging in anything illegal during that time ?
To the best of my knowledge , NO .
That ran a couple of questions about each crime I could have committed, spying, poisoning , theft , NO .
I forgot I was hiding my mage status at he time , and I answered no. so truth spells can fail , I learned. if I didn't think It was a lie than it didn't count as a lie.
Did you believe you where in danger of being harmed ?
Yes
Did you Believe you had a reason to fear for your life ?
Yes
Describe what happened to the best of your ability.
I did.
everything. me knocking. waking him up. the fear I felt. me wanting to leave. Him suddenly and silently showing up behind me. his thing poking me, his hands touching me. what he said The pebble leaving my hand and him moving back a little too late.
Even under a truth spell , I had to repeat everything multiple times.
Eric than described everything , Form witness reports. what Luke did the night before , The coin ..
I learned that he was a mage too. Second Rank.
I learned that he maybe thought I took a coin and was somehow willing , . he was still drunk , sleepy.
It was like describing someone else, Not who I saw. to everyone else he was a young boy who just got back from the wall for the first time...
Not the Man who towered over me , dick out hands touching, looking smug ...
The worst thing is that during it all. The father just stared right at me.
By the end of it, I was rung. I doubted everything replaying it in my mind , was it even a minute ? the whole thing was less than a minute. I woke him , up , he poked me , I shot him. so so short.
hindsight is twenty-twenty. and the law judges that way. if it could have been better than it should have been and its my fault that it was not.
How was I to know that I was stronger than him. how was I to know ...
The Law didn't care.
If it was just the law ,it would be fine. ill go to the wall, I don't mind really ...
So Why am I feeling guilty. he was the asshole that poked me with his dick out of nowhere, and im .. Fuck
.... it doesn't matter anymore.
It wasn't even judged as self defence. I wasn't in any definite danger. Luke Beltend ... That was his name , was a second rank mage.
Im a third in The lowest estimate. Rank five if I completed training.
Second degree murder. 30 years on the third wall. I got 30 because of the circumstances , and I have to talk to a priest.
I felt like they thought they went easy on me , the father too. maybe the did. ... Im not sure of anything anymore.
The only sound he maid during the whole day was when he called me a Stupid little girl , and in low voice said stupid boy. He was crying I think. not in tears, nothing showed , just looking at him and I saw that.
He let a long breath out , signed and left.
I killed his son, and he was taking pity on me...
Fuck ....
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