[patchwork]

Answer 64 Crimes in Calledron

Calledron doesn't think of itself as a legalistic society; the military appreciates order and consistency, but never at the expense of actual military objectives or current strategic needs. That said, they make a distinction between Fundamental Law, the ten decrees of the Oppuhan gods which cannot be altered or ameliorated by man, and Imperial Decree, which is subject to alteration or exception by Emperor or Archmage, sometimes without warning or explanation. Some people point out that the old Oppuhan gods are not strongly associated with Calledron anymore and as such regarding their decrees as Fundamental is blind traditionalism; their opponents point out that even arguing that violates the Fourth Fundamental Law, and on a practical note, the gods tend not to be so reasonable in such matters and the very last thing the Empire needs is the active opposition of the Warbringer and the Keeper of Graves.

The Ten Fundamental Laws, in order, are murder, desecration, state financial irregularities, sedition, refusal to fight, improper weights and measurements, exile minimums, access to judges, treason and neutrality. The penalty for murder is supposed to be death; the second law is about the holy places belonging to Gods, in which you will behave exactly as the proprietary God says or suffer death for the primary offender and exile for their immediate family. This law doesn't see a lot of use in modern times, as few gods claim special real estate on Calledron; it is, however, the basis of the Lokou's temple exception, as the Warlord (they didn't call themselves Emperors back then) successfully argued that the Lokou's temples fell under the Second Fundamental law. The third allows for penalties up to death for any inconsistency or gap in the financial records of the state; the army is slightly mad for logs and records, and this one is, if anything, amplified by Imperial decree. Sedition includes questioning the validity of the ten fundamental laws and can include death. Refusal to fight does not merit death but does mean renouncing your claims to citizenship; the committed pacifist is a legal unperson, although in some administrations they are treated reasonably. A sentence of exile (or imprisonment, although imprisonment is seldom used) cannot be commuted before ten years. An Imperial shall have prompt access to a judge at any time and any place, even on campaign - the right to a speedy trial, to present evidence in one's defense and to petition the government for redress of grievances may be the only fundamental rights the Oppuhan gods acknowledge, and violating these right probably means death for the government officials and anyone else that looks relevant. Treason is ironically punished with exile, while sedition may merit death; if you're so determined to improve the state through violence, go make a new province. Finally, citizens may not treat foreigners in a manner that goes directly against the decision of the state; private foreign policy will not be tolerated. It's worth noting that gods are considered legal persons and based on older stories, actively participated in the courts; judges were on their guard when one of the clever three lodges a suit, as their actual scheme probably had nothing to do with the law or stated grievance, but the willingness of the Keeper of Graves to walk into a mortal court made improper murder VERY hard to get away with. However, the Keeper has never (yet) graced a Calledron court with its presence.

Astute observers will note that fundamental law covers neither non-fatal assault nor basically any property crime. Imperial decree makes theft, kidnapping, assault and arson punishable by up to death, but judges have some leeway in these depending on the local archmage. Other crimes include insubordination, tax evasion, false or incomplete records that aren't directly related to state finance (remember, the army loves its logs, records and archives), denying access to a temple or interfering with another's religious duties (that one produces an endless stream of lawsuits for soldiers on campaign), adultery, vandalism against state property, slander, neglect of animals, and local health or building codes. In many places, being out of your province of residence for more than 30 days was illegal; Emperor Julius Martellus particularly dislikes these laws and has pushed hard for citizens having freedom of movement throughout the empire. Many archmages also have local laws regarding the maintenance, care and feeding of their portals, and public entertainments or religious observances. (He isn't thrilled with adultery laws either, but once on the books those are always hard to get rid of).

Civil suits against archmages or other prominent persons, asserting that they have violated their oaths by failing to provide X for the people, are lodged and succeed often enough; the state REALLY dislikes concentration of wealth, and its preferred means for addressing it is a court order to renovate a sewer system, relieve the poor, fund an art program or school, or something similar. A very common charge is nepotism or attempted bribery any time the child of a prominent person achieves something notable, prompting a flurry of public works at private expense.

Question 126 Let's make it official, Name 5: name and briefly describe the five monocosm polities besides Ton regarded as important to the setting.