Tilly suddenly found himself at the center of attention for the entire arena. He felt shabby in his patchy leathers and primitive axes, not to mention the grimy state of his body. He took a moment to be glad they couldn’t smell him… well he assumed they couldn't.

None of this, however, seemed to bother the assembly. The whole crowd leaned in excitedly while he slowly moved toward the enchantment. The collective weight of their attention made his movements feel awkward and self-conscious and as he neared the circle one of the perimeter guards came forward with a dagger. It was enchanted and glowed the same color as the arcane writing that formed the perimeter of the circle.

“Hand please,” She asked in a bored voice.

Tilly put on his “nothing surprises me anymore” Senior Firefighter face and mirrored the impassivity of the guard trying to appear much more unaffected than he was. He stretched out his hand, which shook only slightly, and the guard took it and pricked the center of his palm with the dagger, which surprisingly didn't hurt. A single drop of blood welled up and she flicked the dagger tip with the drop of blood towards the enchantment, which flashed in response to the introduction of his blood.

“You may now enter,” She continued formally with a bow before stepping back to her place on the wall.

Tilly stepped in, trying not to hesitate as the unknown magic enveloped him. The golden light touched him but didn't feel like anything, and Tilly himself felt no different having stepped fully into the circle. He did see a status effect appear next to his health and mana at the top left of his vision.

Truth Bound

Tilly pulled up his notification log to see if it gave him any more information.

You have been affected by the enchantment Domain of Truth. You are now Truth Bound. For the duration of time, you are within the enchanted area you may not speak anything you know to be false and will be predisposed to share what you feel to be the most true response to any posed question.

“Jonathan Tillman, both the prosecution and defense have the right to ask you three questions before you are released from the domain, then we will hear closing statements and vote. Are you ready?”

Tilly swallowed down the lump in his throat. Dive into a fire, no problem. Maneuver through the dangerous political currents without drowning…

“I feel absolutely unprepared for this, but I guess I don't have a choice.” The answer gushed from his mouth without thought and was met by smiles and small laughs all through the crowd.

Even the judge allowed himself a smirk, “Well this institution is only interested in the truth, something that hopefully needs very little help in being shaped or understood. Prosecution, you may ask your first question.” He said with a wave of his hand.

The Satyr in the prosecutor's box nodded sharply and reviewed some notes he had written down on the silvery glowing page before speaking in a slow deliberate tone as if talking to a toddler,

“Mr. Tillman, in your time with the accused, have you seen any behavior or heard anything that showed less than full commitment to the empire and its people?” He asked, eyes intensively focused on Tilly’s guileless, thoughtful expression.

Before Tilly had time to even think of how to answer the question, his mouth was opening, “It is my understanding that the lapin people are citizens of the empire… And everything I have seen from them speaks of a people just trying to survive threats both domestic and from abroad.” His words had a clipped almost robotic cadence to them, and Tilly was surprised by the formal way that his thoughts emerged. Not that it was anything he didn't believe, it was just spoken clearly without any forethought.

At his words, the prosecutor's face screwed up into a sneer and he furiously started writing on his glowing sheet again. The judge turned towards Shuji and Hiro, “Defense, what is your counter?”

This time Hiro stood up, with that same unhurried coolness that had marked his presence during the whole affair he said, “Jonathan Tillman, what was your impression of our village when you first arrived just a few days ago?”

Tilly's mind noted the sharp interest provoked in several senators of the non-gold parties and he guessed that it had something to do with Hiro establishing him as completely new to the lapins and probably the empire as a whole. His mouth on the other hand didn't care one lick about his observations and simply rattled off his uncolored opinion.

“Well, I arrived near death from my encounter with the Corruption in the mountains. I was hoping you guys would be able to provide some protection or an answer to the problem that was clearly consuming the surrounding wilds. But what I found when I recovered was a people who had almost lost hope. It looked to me like you were barely hanging on, this impression was further confirmed when you sent me back out into the forest to deal with the problem instead of doing it yourself.” He winced internally at the slight bitterness that had entered his tone as he finished describing his impressions. He had understood Hiro’s obligations to his people, but he couldn't help but think that they had on some level mishandled the growing threat early on. There was no way they should have ended up being dependent on him to save them.

The silvery page in front of the prosecution lit up and the prosecutor nodded to something he found there before looking up with a smirk. Hiro, however, just took his response in stride and nodded before sitting down.

“The prosecution's next question-” The judge said, gesturing to the prosecutor.

“The prosecution finds it interesting that you were sent off alone to face something that was clearly far beyond your ability to handle. Their race has something of a reputation amongst this governing body to be... unreliable. In that vein, have you seen or heard your lapin companions pursue any goals that run counter to the empire’s wellbeing in their pursuit of ‘survival’ as you put it?”

At this Tilly tried to control his mouth before it opened, desperately trying to take inventory of all that he had witnessed. But it was hopeless, his response seemed to completely skip his front brain, filtered through some deeper place, and then immediately made available to the assembly.

“I don't know what the 'empire’s well-being' means. From what I have seen it seems like you are currently losing a war. If these guys were given an important mission by the emperor, and you are calling them back on trumped-up charges, isn't that counter to the empire's wellbeing? In fact, the only treason I've heard about is by some guy named Marcellus.”

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Grumbling started to build in the crowd as Tilly recited his answer. From his tone, you might have thought he was talking about tomorrow’s weather. Yet as his words sank in, the whole stadium erupted in shouting.

“Order! Order!” The Judge shouted from his seat, his voice barely drowning out the crowd.

Tilly’s eyes locked on the same elderly satyr in rich gold-fringed robes sitting in front of the gold group of senators. His face had shifted from impassive to an achingly cold fury in a matter of moments, his eyes becoming beacons of icy hate.

“ORDER!” The judge's voice broke out once again, this time succeeding in damping the fervor of the crowd.

“I will have the guards remove any non-senate personnel that cannot control themselves immediately!” At that, the whole crowd quieted, even the senators stopped talking, and as if by some unsaid agreement, they all zeroed back in on Tilly, who couldn’t keep the grimace off his face. What kind of shit had he just stepped into?

“I would remind this assembly, that what the witness speaks is only what he believes to be true, and is not grounds for any accusation without corroborating evidence.” The judge spoke harshly.

'Justice truly is blind.' Tilly snarked internally.

“Defense, you have the witness for your counter question.” The judge spat with a sharp gesture at the defense's cordon, all attempts at appearing unbiased having been forgotten. Today was not going how he expected.

Tilly turned to see Shuji covering up a smile with a cough, “Ughm… Yes, the defense wishes to ask the witness if he knows of any lapin plot to undermine or rebel against the empire. This will be our final question. No matter how he replies, the defense will rest until concluding statements.”

Once again, a response disgorged itself from his gut, almost as if he was more of a spectator to this whole exchange than an active participant. As he began speaking he noted with some dark humor that the prosecution was furiously writing on his enchanted sheet and it was flashing back in manic response.

“The Lapins are planning for the possibility of this empire’s collapse. I do not believe they want to bring it about. Although if they did, I don't think they would have to try very hard. Everything I have seen today tells me that this empire is in its final days.”

Those words launched the crowd back into an uproar. The senators either started shouting and yelling at him, or turning to each other and discussing things furiously. The judge was shouting something to the guards, but his voice was caught up in a cacophony of the mob.

“Bastions! I pronounce this a closed session!” He tried again, shouting even louder, his voice barely audible over the din. But those same sharply dressed, scarred soldiers from the bottom of the stairs appeared all around the stadium and started moving through the stands, herding all the crowd above the senators out of the public entrances. Some fought and continued to yell, others seemed to take it in stride. A third and disturbingly large portion of the crowd seemed to think the whole thing was some sort of game, hooting and howling with the mob, trying to dodge the advance of the guard while waving drinks animatedly.

The guards did their jobs admirably despite the wildness of the upper audience and soon the whole upper stadium was clear.

“This assembly will conclude its proceeding in order or it will suspend any pending bills and motions until proper decorum can be achieved on the floor. This was always going to be the result when you include a human in your schemes. Now we will finish this trial and vote. The defense has rested. Prosecution… What is your final question?”

The coiffed satyr was thrown off by the sudden uproar, and his magical paper was no longer flashing any responses at him. He stood there for a moment looking lost.

“Prosecution! Do you have a question or do you rest?” The judge demanded.

“Uh… Ahem, yes. The prosecution wishes to point out that this witness is unaware of our true state of affairs and the might of our empire…” He replied shrilly.

“This is your last chance, do you have a question or not?” The judge snapped, leaning forward in his chair, disdain written all over his face.

“Yes! The prosecution wishes to ask the witness… Uh…. Ah! On what ignorant grounds could he possibly pronounce judgment over our state of affairs? He said himself that he had only just arrived on the plane a few days ago. Clearly, his ignorance is his undoing. ” He concluded in shallow triumph, his forehead shining with a layer of sweat, and his skin turning sallow.

In all of this, Tilly felt like currents he could not understand were shifting all around him. The feeling was as exhausting as it was frustrating. He had almost died yesterday and here he was, being shifted like a pawn on the board by self-centered idiots who couldn't see the writing on the wall. But if they wanted the truth, then for better or worse, he was going to give it to them.

“The streets are choked with homeless and hopeless refugees, too hungry and weak to keep running from an army you apparently can't stop in the field. Those with the ability to do so, are packing up and fleeing to who knows where. Oh, and the fact that your upper class seems to have become completely divorced from reality. It was more important to them to show up to this trial for entertainment than it was to lead the people they have a responsibility to protect. By the way, where is the Emperor? You are in crisis and I don't see any leadership. I can only see a fast-approaching end and no obvious way to stop it.

I may not know much, but it's pretty obvious that any of you not preparing for the empire's fall are delusional. Clearly, some of you know what is happening and are playing the situation to your advantage. I wonder where the 'Elder Marcellus' disappears to on his little outings beyond the wall?” Tilly finished, gasping for breath at the end of his tirade.

The senators and the judge sat stunned in silence, with the exception of the elder, hawklike senator at the front of the gold-fringed group. His face remained remarkably impassive, but his eyes burned with an extraordinary fury. For most of the senators, it was a thoughtful heavy silence, for the gold-fringed group it was the quiet of impending vengeance. As for the judge, his silence was rooted in a deep weariness that suddenly showed itself in the roadmap of lines creasing every part of his elderly distinguished face.

Despite that, he was the first to answer, “Human, do not look at us in our darkest hour and think you know us. Once this place stood proudly for the rule of law, the truth of justice, and equal representation. Yes, we had an emperor, but ours was a republic, something much rarer than you yet realize in this world of monsters and legends. Do not be so quick to foretell our doom, for with us dies one of the last republics of Nephesh.” He said solemnly, his words taking on an eerie weight of wisdom won through centuries of struggle and pain.

Then he closed his eyes for a long moment, and when he opened them, the impassive mask was back, the will to fulfill his duty as guardian of this storied institution hardened his resolve and his voice once again rang out.

“Thus the questioning has been concluded, may we hear the truth and judge rightly by it!” He pronounced, his voice firmed by the millennia of tradition that preceded it.

“Human you may leave the Domain. Prosecution, defense, this assembly will hear your closing statements.”

Tilly looked around in confusion, once again failing to embody any of the formality that surrounded him in the current circumstance. He awkwardly stepped back out of the circle and turned to take his place behind the cordoned-off section of the defense. On his way, he saw the coiffed satyr frantically writing on his pad with no response, and he caught a sad smile from Shuji before he schooled his expression back to one of professional interest.

Hiro stood as he passed by and addressed the assembly, “The defense stands ready…” At a wave from the judge, he continued,

“You are correct, this human knows none of the histories of this empire or its greatness. But in some ways, it is that very knowledge that has made many of us blind to the possibility of its end. Make no mistake, this empire is in grave peril, and this body has far more important issues to deliberate than a false claim of a misuse of funds. A significant portion of this body will vote me guilty simply because of my race… and to them, I do not waste my breath on words. But to the rest of you… You know me, you know my people. We simply wish to survive what is coming, and we will not do so if this empire falls. We can not fall. We will not fall. That is all that matters.” Then he sat back down, his manner just as cool and reserved as when they had begun, in fact through all of these proceedings the only member of the trial who had not seemed to be surprised by the proceedings was Hiro Matsumoto.

“The defense has been heard. Prosecution you will conclude your argument, or I will close and put this matter to a vote.”

The satyr who had started the preceding with such vehemence seemed deflated, his magical communication thrown to the side. He looked up with a hard bitter smile, something that spoke of a desire for mutual destruction.

“The prosecution stands ready…” He said, staring intensely at the judge, who again motioned for him to continue.

“This has always been an empire that holds the rule of law and the inherent rights of its citizens above all else. No one here denies the pressures we face along our borders. It is precisely because of these pressures that I stand before you at all, fighting for justice. By their own admission, these mongrels would have failed and squandered all that we had entrusted to them, if not for the miraculous intervention of a human. This is gross negligence of the highest order. On top of that, the prosecution knows it was unable to fully bring to light the history of malfeasance and quiet rebellion that this race has perpetrated throughout its history. They have undermined our greatness for generations and it is they and others like them that have made us what we are today, a people on the brink. Do not give in to their petty mewlings, remember your pride, and our great destiny. If we beat back this weakness here in this courtroom, we will beat it back on our borders, just as we always have and always will.”

By the end of his monologue, his voice was once again ringing out with the passion of blind belief. This was a creature so committed to his ideals that he could not help but see every fact through the lens of his fervently held bias. The judge stood from his seat with a nod and for the first time turned and addressed the assembled senate.

“The Cura has heard trial and will now put it to a vote. Ayes for guilty, Nays for not guilty. Noble senators, cast your vote.”