We set a stage in the castle courtyard. People crowded the rest of the courtyard, the walls, the square outside the castle. After my suggestion, Marlowe set a flat illusion floating above the castle portcullis, showing in real-time what was going on at the stage. A lavish throne from my collection was placed on a dais occupying center stage. Mirina sat regally upon it, wearing a Crown I crafted and enchanted for her. It enhanced her Charisma, Willpower, Social proficiencies, and granted damage reduction.
Behind her, Vanagon, Alfondric, Julia, the High Priest of Galbarar, and Wisteria stood solemnly, wearing formal clothing. I was invisible, standing on a platform of Force magic above the stage. Ready and alert for any surprise events.
The sides were occupied by wealthy merchants, foreign ambassadors that arrived after news of Mirina's coronation spread, [Prince] Euric, and some nobles from Lonid that still tried to cajole Mirina and win some favor.
"People of Windemere. Today we convey to pass judgment upon a villain, a scorpion in our midst that for decades plotted the ruin of our fair nation! You know him, you've heard of him, you might have even met and talked to him. He attempted to rip the Tabard to shreds and led an army to our doorstep. But all of his machinations were foiled.
"This time, it was the [Matriarch] that helped us covertly but are we little children, cubs to be coddled and protected by our mother?"
"NO!" The crowd shouted.
Mirina waved a hand to demand silence. "Before Galbrar, before the [Matriarch], and before the eyes of the people, I now declare open the trial of Lord Torgo. Bring the prisoner!"
A group of Kazuyran's trusted men decked in black like ninjas came from behind the stage dragging a man in noble clothing and a burlap sack on his head. They forced him on his knees before the [Queen]. The sack came off and the man started to ramble.
"You bitch of a [Queen]! Usurper! I am the one from the bloodline of [King] Locksley! I am the rightful heir to Windemere! How dare you take what's mine!" He spat and roared.
"Silence! Your claims are false. Father Gaspar, please officiate the start of the trial."
The High Priest of Galbarar moved between the [Queen] and defendant. "By Galbarar's grace, let no falsehoods be spoken on this stage. May the Sun shun the liar, the conniver, the betrayer."
I moved my platform up, away from the expanding bubble of Divine magic. It carried a dry, pleasant smell like a garden baking in the Summer sun.
"Torgo, you are accused of several crimes. You attempted to destroy the Tabard. You hired Adventurers to harass and murder Windemere citizens. You lied about being a descendant of [King] Robin Locksley. You conspired with Elder Blackbrew and Tiberius McCalister III to have the great [Thane] Alfondric Ashshield murdered and his soul imprisoned. You hired lamia mercenaries to pose as our honorable Knights of Nagini. You murdered the dwarves led by Malgrit Blackbrew and stole the shipment of forged items. You conspired with the Town Lords and convinced some of them to betray Windemere. You led an invading army from Sadian to our doorstep.
"On those accusations, how do you plead?"
"I plea Fuck You, you conniving wench!" He shouted back. The black-clad [Assassins] cuffed him.
"Are you Locksley's descendant?" Mirina insisted.
"Ye--Argh!" The magic was too strong and zapped the liar. "Of course not! Locksley was a bitch married to another bitch, how can two whores conceive together!"
Horror and disgust spread on the people's faces. Some threw vegetables at the man. They started to clamor for death. One does not slander the founders in Windemere and lives to tell the tale. A few recognized that he spoke the truth. Some mentioned the changes in the statue by the main square.
"Did you hire mages to destroy the Tabard?"
"Fuck that piece of cloth! The Right to Rule should derive from Strenght, not some stupid rag's decision! Yes! The Tabard is a plague upon Windemere!"
"Did you hire foreign Adventurers to kill Windemere's citizens?"
"No!"
"Why then did you hire them?"
"Ugh…"
"I hired them to harass and disturb Windemere's dungeon profit. They killed on their own!"
Mirina leaned forward and spoke menacingly, "Did you know they were murdering our people?"
"Yes, of course! Who cares if a few mutts die? They are born in a litter-- Argh!" He couldn't lie.
Stones hit the man. The crowd was furious. There are two Kingdoms where the Kin thrive. And we Kin is very sensitive about our animal heritage. Calling us mutts is the same as calling an African-American (or any Earth person) a gorilla or a monkey. Do they share a common ancestor? Yes in both cases. Is it demeaning? Damn yes.
"Bring the first group of witnesses," Mirina commanded.
A few Adventurers, resurrected and previously talked to, climbed the stage. They were on a chain gang, their manacles bound to each other.
"Were you hired by this man?" She asked.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" They replied.
"Did he hint or suggest you commit murder during your stay in Windemere?"
One of them took a half-step forward and lowered his head, not daring to meet Mirina's gaze, "Your Majesty, I remember his words. Lord Torgo said, 'I don't care if some mutts die. Do as you please.'"
"Did you murder Windemere's citizens?"
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
He nodded, "I killed some local Adventurers in the Dungeon's bowels, Your Majesty!" Then he fell on his knees, dragging the others with him. "Please have mercy!"
"Take them away. Your fate will be decided by the people."
These men died to the summoned Kythaurpódi in the Ethereal. I talked to them after I revived them and they knew they were slated to die but they would be revived again to live new lives. Emphasis on new lives. I didn't intend to let any of them live with their old memories or Status. They were getting a full rebirth treatment.
Mirina questioned him about the Lamias, the theft of the armaments. She brought the lamias I revived on one side, got their testimony, and granted them amnesty. They incriminated the dragons. Before letting them go, Mirina brought Malgrit Blackbrew to the stage and got him to identify the lamias.
Torgo's trial reached its apex and Mirina talked in hushed tones with the High Priest and the Saintess to deliver a divine-certified sentence.
"Lord Torgo, you are found guilty of all crimes you were charged with. By the Matriarch's will, you are sentenced to death."
Still invisible, I shifted into my moon-bound were-jaguar form. I set sixty-four of Kazuyran's new recruits as a party. Torgo screamed and I dropped down on him. With a mighty roar amplified by my Abilities, I slashed his head off. Each of the sixty-five people in the party gained 5% of Torgo's Exp.
After the trial, the same thing repeated for every single stooge we used on the trial. Repeatedly until they were back to level zero.
That's when I had an epiphany.
I could save a few enemies to revive and kill later, like little bags of Exp. If I chose those with high levels and relatively small HP pools, they could jump-start my new lives. I could guarantee to blaze past the first rank-up with this method. Especially when I had a ton of Base Energy detached from level. Seventy-two from {Head Start}, sixty-something from my tails, seventy-four from [Mental Mastery], ninety from [Spellcaster], and some odds and bits from some Perks here and there.
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It is hard to not be desensitized to death when you can snap your fingers and bring them back. It is also hard to look at the act of killing outside of an economical perspective when there are concrete gains from doing the deed. When a bunch of prisoners can become a training tool for your soldiers and translate into national strength.
The slippery slope is when you rely on that as an asset and not a sporadic windfall. Kazuyran used a good system to curb abuse because all assassinations in Windemere need to be confirmed and shared between three agents, and the trio, randomly chosen, cannot repeat. The separate reports from the agents contained the reason for killing, so it was hard to convince the other agents to collaborate with an unjust killing. It happened in isolated situations but it was very hard to become commonplace unless the whole organization was corrupted. When it happened, the perpetrators quickly became the next target.
To me, the sobering moment was when I murdered Mirina. The reasons were petty and proved unjustified. My paranoia won. Not anymore. I didn't need to be so paranoid anymore. Maybe one day I could bury the [Death Princess] and give up murder entirely. One could dream.
As I farmed the Exp from Torgo and prepared his soul for rebirth, I pondered about these issues and talked about them with Mirina and Marlowe. Finally, the agitator reached level zero and there was nothing else to gain from his soul except knowledge.
I wanted to try my new branch of magic. There was no spellbook on fate magic so I would need to improvise and that meant I couldn't use {Wizardry}. I didn't need speed so it became a {Spell-song}.
The first question. Which species should I reincarnate him as? Some species were better than others. Rainbow Lamias had easy access to all elemental affinities. Star elves were stronger than the Fulgen high elves. No. Scratch that. The first question was moot. His next life wasn't a punishment. He died thirty times for Windemere's sake, that was enough. Furthermore, punishment required acknowledgment of the reason behind it. That's why the legal system back in the US didn't punish mentally disabled people. Since I already wiped Torgo's memories, his next life should be free of any "original sin" except what my original Fate magic would burden them with. With that in mind, the species didn't matter. I wouldn't choose a "bad" species based on this bias.
I prepared a list with twenty species.
1. Rainbow Lamia
2. Star Elf
3. Wolf-kin
4. Cat-kin
5. Rabbit-kin
6. Bear-kin
7. Silk-folk
8. Dwarf
9. Fox-kin
10. Lycan
11. Werewolf
12. Badger-kin
13. Squirrel-kin
14. Racoon-kin
15. Rat-kin
16. Boar-kin
17. Elk-kin
18. Werecat
19. Werebear
20. Kitsune
I rolled a d20. Rabbit-kin won [1].
Now it was "go time".
In the warded basement of a house in Rosebush, I prepared everything. A hired milkmaid waited in the living room but she wouldn't hear me. Sitting before a stone slab, I pulled Divinity from Pandora and activated her {Aspect of Incarnation}. Flesh grew and grew. A moment later, an embryo was visible on the stone. It grew and developed, months of gestation in mere minutes. The long ears grew fur and the skin thickened and gained a healthy color. Once finished, I had the body of a cute rabbit-kin girl in front of me. I took the purified soul that days before walked on Yznarian as Torgo and bound both of them.
As the body came to life, I summoned an acoustic guitar and started to play.
> "I've wept for those who suffer long
>
> But how I weep for those who've gone
>
> Into rooms of grief and questioned wrong
>
> But keep on killing [...]"
>
>
>
> "There is a train that's heading straight
>
> To heaven's gate, to heaven's gate [...] [2]"
Let it be your purpose in your new life to right the wrongs you've made in the previous one. Where you stole, you shall give. Where you set apart, you shall reunite. Where you caused suffering, you shall soothe. Where you've killed, you shall heal.
The baby drew its first breath, a loudmouth. I wrapped her in a mantle of silk and cotton. The spell finished, I felt a huge drain in my Energy pool. Ten, twenty, thirty million points went into empowering my wish for this girl. But Fate magic was fickle and demanding. To change, to divert Fate, one needed a sacrifice. I couldn't burden this innocent life with my wishes without giving something in exchange.
But I was in love with this girl. Blessing her was no hardship.
> Fairy Godmother
>
> You granted the child the perks,
>
> * Fairy Goddaughter (very rare). You have a protector fairy. You gained +2 Dexterity, +2 Endurance, +2 Mind, +5 Luck. Other fairies will recognize you have this perk.
> * Healing Magic Affinity (very rare): You have an affinity for healing magic.
> * Soothsayer (very rare): Your words bring peace and calm to others. Improve reactions by two steps to people you speak to if they are in distress.
I climbed the stairs with the hungry girl in my arms.
"Here she is. Dorothy, would you please feed this child?" I asked the milkmaid.
"My lady! What a blessing!' Dorothy cooed as she took the child from me. She offered her breast and the child latched for dear life. "A strong girl. Ouch!"
I tittered, a bit embarrassed. "Rabbit-kin's teeth start to grow very soon. Sorry." I healed her.
"No worries, my lady. It's still better than a baby werewolf's fangs. What's her name?"
I froze. Damn, I didn't think of that. "Her mother died in childbirth on the road," I lied. "I saved the child but didn't ask for a name. Would you do the honors, Dorothy?"
"What about Keira?"
I giggled and ran my hand over the baby's rabbit ears. "Keira it is. She'll have a beautiful life, mark my words, Dorothy."
Dorothy and other lactating women from Rosebush helped me with a rather large batch of babies. Little Keira was just the first of a literal litter but the only one I used Fate magic on. After I finished with all the prisoners I promised a new life, we took the babies (all girls, all of them Kin) to Wisteria's orphanage. The clerics of Zacheia gladly accepted the children and a heavy bag of gold. Anonymously given. I knew Wisteria would ask too many questions.
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[1] Yes, a real RPG die was used.
[2] Redemption Day by Johnny Cash. Official Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU4W8944o_k