Lady's Grace, cutters!

 

“Since the dabus are the direct servants of the Lady of Pain, attacking a dabus is the same as attacking the Lady of Pain Herself.

Unless Her Serenity Herself banishes the offender to the mazes or casts Her shadow over them, attacking a dabus carries the death penalty.”

Point 2 of "The Five Major Violations in Sigil", as enacted - 496 HR

 

 

First Lower Day of Retributus, 126 HR

As her service had not yet begun, Amariel was not wearing armor, but was instead dressed in a simple white tunic and pants made of soft brown suede. She wore unadorned but intricately crafted silver jewelry and her long blonde hair fell loosely, only held back by a braided leather headband. She knew that her elven heritage stood out more than usual in this garb and sometimes she enjoyed paying more attention to this side of herself. In her service to the Harmonium - and more recently to her factol personally - she always felt that her human side predominated. That was fine, but it led her to seek a certain balance in her free time, turning more to her elven father's heritage in terms of appearance, as well as culinary, musical and literary tastes. Amariel's room was - as those of all Harmonium officers - rather simply furnished. A bed, a wardrobe, a large chest, a washstand and a table with four chairs, simply built but of solid wood, made up the furniture. It looked very similar to that in the quarters of the common soldiers; there were no particular differences between them and the officers in this respect. However, Amariel's room was slightly larger and she occupied it alone. In addition to her armor, shield and sword, she had also taken a few other personal items with her from Melodia: a painting of the Arcadian meadows, showing a hilly, green landscape of remarkable beauty; a few caskets for jewelry and smaller valuables; a mirror with a wooden frame carved in the shape of climbing ivy and a vase containing fresh flowers at the moment. On a small side table next to the wardrobe stood several vials of various liquids, small linen bags, sealed jars, a crystal and a small set of silver instruments: Amariel's alchemical equipment, which she used to make the oils and anointments that she regularly used as an Anointed Knight. She was in the middle of sorting those very ingredients when there was a knock at her door. When she opened it, Kiyoshi was standing opposite her.

"Lady's Grace," she greeted him kindly. "You've been busy, I hear. Have you come because you have questions or did you just want to drop by? But you really don't have to tell me that here on the doorstep. Please come in."

"Konninchi'wa, honorable Amariel-sensei," he greeted her with a bow. "I thank you for your hospitality." Then he entered and looked around the room. He nodded, but did not allow himself to make any other remarks. In his hands he held an object wrapped in thick paper. He handed it to Amariel with another bow and the words: "For your efforts to enlighten me, I made this little something for you. I hope you like it."

Surprised and delighted, Amariel unwrapped Kiyoshi's gift and now held a very well-made dagger with a platinum-embellished handle in her hands. She looked at the beautiful weapon in amazement and then smiled. "Thank you very much, Kiyoshi. Of course, it wouldn't have been necessary to give me a gift, as I was only doing my duty. Nevertheless, I am very happy and thank you very much. I had no idea you were such a talented blacksmith, I am very impressed."

"Thank you for your kind words, honorable decuria Amariel-sensei," he replied. "It fills my heart with joy that this unworthy gift from my clumsy hands has turned out to your satisfaction. Also, with your permission, honorable decuria Amariel-sensei, I have further questions."

Amariel carefully placed the dagger on the table and then turned back to the young soldier. "With pleasure. Please take a seat and ask your questions. I hope I can help you."

Kiyoshi sat down and seemed to compose himself for a moment before continuing: "Honorable decuria Amariel-sensei. Forgive my ignorance and I hope I'm not offending you, but I've noticed that in this city, few people pay attention to their faces or the faces of others. I don't understand that."

Amariel took a seat opposite him and looked at him, somewhat confused. Sometimes she didn't understand exactly what the young man was saying, even though they were both speaking Common. "Their ... face?" She frowned. "I'm sorry, Kiyoshi, but I don't understand what exactly you mean by that. Can you explain your question in a little more detail?"

The soldier looked at her and seemed somehow uncomfortable having to explain. "As you surely know," he then explained, "some values are particularly highly regarded in Kamigawa. These include modesty, discipline, politeness, loyalty, obedience and much more - as well as saving your face. As you are undoubtedly aware, shameful deeds cause you to lose your face, as does defiling someone else's face or similar things. Likewise, the one who accomplishes great deeds receives a great face. Forgive my ignorance, but I do not know a word in your language to express this, honorable decuria Amariel-sensei."

The half-elf nodded understandingly. "Now it is a little clearer to me what you mean. What you describe is perhaps best called honor or prestige in Common, probably a combination of both. If you notice that not everyone in Sigil values their honor or that of others, then you are certainly right. There are some inhabitants who place more value on money or power than on honor. And they commit acts that cannot exactly be described as honorable in order to achieve this. Whether it is a crude thug who ambushes others in a dark alley and robs them or a tax official who falsifies the books to enrich himself or a Golden Lord who often does not even commit crimes himself, but has them committed for him in order to secure and expand his position of power in Sigil. You would certainly call all this dishonorable, and so would I and our entire faction. But don’t such things exist in your world too? People who lose their honor because they are greedy, weak or malicious? Isn't that a curse that affects all mortals?" She noticed that Kiyoshi's gaze had taken on a thoughtful expression, so she paused briefly to give him some time to think. She fetched a carafe of water and two glasses and placed them on the table. When she took her seat again and Kiyoshi made no move to say anything back, she continued. "And then there are also cultural misunderstandings, I suppose. Something that seems dishonorable or offensive to you may be quite normal in Sigil. Things that are highly valued in your world may play a rather subordinate role here in the Cage. In this case, someone may be acting dishonorably in your eyes, but not at all in their own perception and that of their culture. Does that go in the direction of what you wanted to know?" She pointed questioningly at the carafe of water and the glass she had placed in front of him.

Kiyoshi nodded and poured some water into both glasses. It seemed to her that he was used to being in a kind of servant's role. Then he replied. "I understand and thank you for those enlightening words, honorable decuria Amariel-sensei. However, there is something else that particularly interests me. If someone were to speak ill of you to a factol in your presence, would that be dishonorable behavior here in Sigil as well? Wouldn't that besmirch your face?"

Amariel had been about to reach for the carafe when Kiyoshi poured the water. She nodded her thanks to him. "Well, that depends a bit on who would say that and to which factol," she explained. "If someone were to speak ill of me in the presence of my own factol, I would of course be angry. The same is true for factions that the Harmonium has a good or neutral relationship with, for example the factols Mallin or Hashkar, or even Lady Erin. Of course, if someone said to Pentar, the factol of the Doomguard, that I was a stubborn, militant fanatic of order or something like that, I would probably take it more as a compliment. Because we're on very bad terms with the Doomguard and we have completely opposing philosophies. So it would depend on the individual incident."

"I understand," Kiyoshi replied seriously. "Well, in that case, I guess I'll have to consider it an attack. Thank you very much for your enlightening words. I have one other question, honorable decuria Amariel-sensei, if I may."

The conspicuous lack of emotion shown in the first sentence was obvious, and Amariel wondered somewhat worried what might have happened. But Kiyoshi didn't raise his voice or scowl. He simply continued to speak as if he was making an insignificant remark about the weather. After those words, he took exactly one sip of water from the glass, put it back down and said: "Domo arigato for the water, honorable decuria Amariel-sensei." Then he looked at her again with attentive eyes. One could almost say he was staring at her.

"You are welcome," Amariel replied, but couldn't suppress a slight frown at Kiyoshi's intense gaze. She decided to leave it at that for now and not ask him what his comment about an attack on his honor was all about. He obviously didn't want to talk about it any further. "What other question do you have?"

"Is it possible that the nekomusume in Sigil are not all malevolent?"

"The ..." Amariel raised her brows, somewhat perplexed. "Um, the what, please?"

"Honorable decuria Amariel-sensei, the nekomusume are cat spirits that often take the form of beautiful young women."

Amariel nodded gently. Now she had an idea what the young soldier was referring to, as Factol Sarin had informed her about who Kiyoshi was currently on a covert mission with. "I must admit that I've never heard of nekomusume," she replied amiably. "And I don't think I've met any either. But perhaps you mean were creatures, dear Kiyoshi. These are humanoids that can change their form into that of a certain animal. They usually transform into predators such as wolves, lions, tigers, cats or bears, but more rarely also into animals that are not predators. We call this lycanthropy. Strictly speaking, however, this is only the term for the transformation into a wolf. The transformation into an animal in general is actually called therianthropy. But the word lycanthropy is often used synonymously with it. However, not all were-beings are evil. There are quite a few of them living in Sigil and their alignments are very different. However, a distinction must be made between the natural born therianthropes and the inflicted ones. The first are born with the curse – some rather call it gift - because they inherit it from their parents. They can consciously control it and possess the same consciousness and intelligence in their animal form as they do as humanoids. The natural born ones are very fond of traveling in their hybrid form, as they feel equally close to the animal and the humanoid. The inflicted ones have been infected with the so-called were-disease - or were-curse - by the bite of a therianthrope. They cannot control it, transform randomly - often during the full moon, but not only then - and become wild beasts. It is not uncommon for them to kill their friends or families in this state. After the re-transformation, they can no longer remember anything and many do not even know about their curse. Sometimes, an inflicted one manages to control the curse and learns to live with it. But these are exceptions. Uncontrolled inflicted are, of course, creatures that our faction must track down and arrest so that they cannot become a danger to anyone. Natural born ones, however, enjoy the same rights as all other inhabitants of Sigil. And if you ever encounter a talking animal in the streets, think nothing of it: it may be a therianthrope in their animal form." She smiled. "To name just one of the possibilities."

Kiyoshi listened carefully to what she said, seemed to take the words to heart, thought for a while and then replied: "I see. So the person I know may not be a nekomusume at all, but one of those therianthropes. You have helped me a lot, honorable decuria Amariel-sensei."

"That's quite possible," Amariel confirmed without directly mentioning what she knew about Lereia, since Kiyoshi hadn't mentioned her name. "If you think she won't take offense, you could just ask her about it. Can I help you in any other way?"

Kiyoshi thought again and hesitated a bit before answering. "Honorable decuria Amariel-sensei, is it presumptuous of me to ask how long you've been part of the Harmonium?"

The sudden change of subject surprised her a little, but she nodded. "But of course you may ask." She did the math for a moment. "It's been a little over ten years now. I'm originally from Arcadia and joined the Harmonium there, and my father and brother are also members. But I've only been here in Sigil for just about three years, albeit intermittently. Why do you want to know that?"

"Well, honorable decuria Amariel-sensei, I would be interested to know how the Harmonium has changed during that time and whether you witnessed the time before the venerable factol Sarin-gensui took office."

She paused, a moment's thought, a tiny hesitation. If she talked about it, she would have to tell Kiyoshi some things that were anything but pleasant. But the factol had given her a hint the day before that the young man might come to her with such a question and that it was okay to put him in the picture accordingly. So she nodded. "Yes, indeed, Sarin is the fourth factol I have witnessed since I joined the Harmonium. Before him, it was the honorable Lady Juliana Spesinfracta, who is now archbishop of the Archonites. Before her it was Factol Ulan Delazar of Ortho, now head of the Octade, and before that the blessed Lady Arella Silvergaze - may the heavenly powers guard her well. What exactly ... do you want to hear about?"

Kiyoshi was obviously thinking. He drank a small, apparently very precisely calculated sip of water and then put the glass back down in front of him. "To be honest, I'm not completely sure yet, honorable decuria Amariel-sensei. I think first I’d like to learn something about the honorable Harmonium's recent past. Perhaps some questions will arise from your story, although I'm sure you'll give all the important facts."

Amariel had to smile a little. Kiyoshi's way of eliminating even the hint of the impression that she might forget or overlook something was in equal shares overly polite and involuntarily charming. However, she made an effort not to let these feelings show. "I understand," she replied matter-of-factly instead. "Then I'll give you an overview of my time in the Harmonium. As I said, I joined a little over ten years ago. Back then, Lady Arella Silvergaze was factol - though not for long anymore. She had held the office for thirty-two years at that time. She was an aasimar, a descendant of those beings you call kami, I think. We call them celestials. Arella's grandfather was a planetar in the service of the goddess Siamorphe, who has her realm on Arcadia. She bore a lot of that celestial heritage, both externally and internally. You could clearly perceive it in her hair, complexion and eyes, but there was also something sublime about her whole being. She was a very capable warrior and leader, but she also radiated kindness. She was just, brave and selfless, she embodied the best aspects of the Harmonium and was very popular. When I had been a member of our faction for less than a year, she fell in battle against the tanar'ri when the demons raided the Arcadian gate town of Fortitude." Amariel noticed how her heart grew heavy once more at this tale. She had not known Arella personally, but her tragic death had made a deep impression on her at the time and still saddened her. But she made an effort to continue quickly. "Then something rather ... unusual happened. When a factol dies or steps down, one of the two legates - the Legate of Sigil or the Legate of Arcadia - usually succeeds them. As a rule, a factol will decide which legate is to succeed to the office. This legate must then be confirmed by the majority of all prefects - which is usually the case. However, the legate chosen by Lady Arella was also killed in the attack on Fortitude. In this rare case, the Homeworld of Ortho, or more precisely the Octade that rules it, has the right to appoint the new factol. And the Octade sent Ulan Delazar to Sigil. This was a far-reaching and ..." She hesitated, but then continued. " ... a far-reaching and controversial decision." She took a sip of water and leaned back in her chair, remembering with a sigh the difficult years that had followed Arella's death. "You see, Factol Delazar was from Ortho. Not that I'm saying anything against that, Sarin is also from the Homeworld. But by the time Sarin became factol, he had already been in Sigil for over fifteen years. His wife is a planar, all his children were born here. Ulan Delazar had never spent more than a few days in the Cage before taking office, and only two or three times. He ... didn't know Sigil, he didn't know the planes. He wanted everything here to work like it does on Ortho. But Ortho is a world that is completely and without exception under the influence of the Harmonium. There we can do as we please - not here. This soon led to problems, with Factol Delazar, but also with his staff, which he had brought with him from Ortho. The way ..." She searched briefly for the appropriate words. "The way his officers acted in Sigil, what they did and, above all, how they did it ... that led to problems, to many clashes with the population, much more than in Lady Arella's time. And also to conflicts with the other factions. Factol Delazar got into trouble pretty much everywhere and began to isolate the Harmonium politically. In a city like Sigil, this can easily break your neck. But worse still, there were also disagreements within our own faction. Delazar polarized us ... caused kind of a schism into a planar and a prime wing. On one side were the planar members, or those who - like Sarin - had long been living in the planes. On the other side was the factol and a relatively large number of officers and soldiers he had brought with him fresh from Ortho." Amariel sighed. "The Harmonium was not very harmonious at that time." She poured herself another glass of water before continuing. "Within four years, these tensions grew considerably. I was still in Melodia, our headquarters on Arcadia, at the time, so I didn't experience it as closely as the faction members here in Sigil. But of course I was in the Cage from time to time and only a deluded person could have failed to notice that the mood in our faction ... wasn't the best." She made an effort to choose her next words carefully. She began, but paused once more before continuing. If Kiyoshi was an attentive listener, he might notice that she was now leaving something out of her story. "In the end, Factol Delazar resigned and returned to Ortho. He became head of the Octade. His staff and most of the soldiers from the Homeworld accompanied him. Lady Juliana Spesinfracta, then Legate of Arcadia, became factol. She proved to be an excellent choice for the office. She led our faction with a stern hand, as did her predecessor, but she always showed a great sense of justice, reason and also the kindness that the Upper Planes teach us to practice. She quickly became very popular, but after less than two years she resigned from office. She had already joined the religious community of the Archonites during her time as legate. You should know that as a celestial mystic, she had always been a servant of the Hebdomad. She said her destiny lay there and was incompatible with the office of factol. She went to the gate town of Excelsior, where she became first bishop and then archbishop of the Archonites, and appointed her legate in Sigil, Sarin, as her successor. That was shortly before I came to Sigil myself. Sarin has held the office of factol ever since." She supposed she couldn't quite suppress a gleam of admiration in her eyes. "This was a most welcome decision, as Sarin was already very popular in the faction back then. Within a short time, his popularity increased enormously, and not just within our faction. He also met with approval outside the Harmonium and is quite popular in Sigil - and if I may be honest, this is something that doesn’t apply to all of our factols. He has the ability to lead the faction with a firm hand while still treating his subordinates with kindness and respect. To many of us he became ... hm, you could perhaps call it a kind of father figure: strict, but fair; resolute, but not unapproachable." She smiled and cleared her throat as she realized that perhaps she should be a little more matter-of-fact again. "Well, now I've told you a few things and you thought that you might be able to formulate your questions more concretely. Do you have any questions?"

After a long pause, during which he had gazed into the distance, Kiyoshi took a deep breath and then replied: "Honorable decuria Amariel-sensei. You have told me much about the past of the venerable faction of the Harmonium and I am grateful for your enlightening words. I must confess, however, that I find it difficult to comprehend the reasons for something as unheard of as the schism of the Harmonium. I fear I have not understood what you have told about the tenure of the venerable Factol Delazar Ulan-daigensui, nor the differing views of the two wings." He took another, apparently precisely calculated, small sip of water, the third in the meantime, and then looked at Amariel with his usual, hard-to-interpret expression, which sometimes gave the impression that the young man's face had been carved from stone rather than living flesh. Only the eyes gave any indication at that moment that a living being with a soul was actually sitting in the chair opposite her and not an emotionless, brilliantly crafted golem.

Amariel eyed Kiyoshi thoughtfully for a while. His now even more conspicuous restraint and lack of emotion seemed to have increased with the explosive nature of the topic of conversation. Perhaps an indication that the topic was definitely bothering him, but that he didn't want to show it openly. The half-elf smiled a little in compensation. "I don't know the exact reasons, Kiyoshi," she said, "but you're obviously important to the factol. Thus you are also important to the Harmonium. Sarin has instructed me to tell you about the things we generally keep to our faction. So I'm going to tell you something that isn't completely unknown, if anyone does a little research - but not every cutter in Sigil necessarily knows about it - and we want to keep it that way." She leaned back, let her gaze wander around the room and sighed softly before continuing. "The term schism sounds a little dramatic, although I admit I've used it myself. You see, it's been about 580 years since the Harmonium was founded on Ortho, almost 500 years since the Harmonium has been active on the planes and exactly 300 years since it became a faction of Sigil. That is almost five centuries in which a part of the Harmonium has been active far away from the Homeworld. Of course, many planars became members and after only a few decades the planars outnumbered the primes in this part of the Harmonium. In the meantime, the planar members outnumber the prime ones overall, while Ortho, of course, is predominantly prime. You may have already noticed that there are some differences between planars and primes, especially concerning their knowledge of the structure and nature of the multiverse, but also in their attitude and approach to religions, philosophies and so on. The Outer Planes are wired very differently than the Material Plane, and this is particularly true of Sigil. When Delazar was factol, he had little knowledge of Sigil and the planes, as I said. On the quiet, he was called clueless by the planar members - and not so quietly by the other factions. The bad thing is ..." She took a deep breath. "... they were right. Factol Delazar wanted everything in Sigil to go the way the Harmonium says it should. Well, we all want that, but we know where our limits are, be it by the laws of Sigil, but also by the very nature of the city. And within the faction, there was a noticeable gap between the planars as well as prime members who have lived here for a long time and those freshly arrived from Ortho. For example, on Ortho there are certain religions that are universally accepted, including the churches of Cuthbert, Torm, Bahamut, Iomedae, Helm, Hextor, Bane and Heironeous. In the Planar Harmonium, the range is much wider, as the planes are nowhere near as conformist as Ortho. So our priests and paladins also worship a variety of other gods. This had never been a problem, but Factol Delazar saw it as one. There were efforts to exclude certain religions from the Harmonium, which of course the followers of these churches did not want to accept. Another example: Under Delazar, people in Sigil were arrested more and more often for simply having different views. Admittedly, this does happen from time to time. Sometimes, people are placed under arrest who have not yet broken the law because they are suspected of planning to do so. And the Guvners don't always see the situation in exactly the same way as we do. It happens, and every now and then there are complaints from the other factions. But it went on like this for 300 years and, on the whole, everything stayed within reason. Under Factol Delazar, however, it increased to such an extent that the other factions protested loudly and not all members within the Harmonium agreed with this approach. You can probably guess who those members were ..."

Kiyoshi listened to everything and then replied with a slight nod of his head: "I suspect nothing of the sort. Your story is so captivating that I follow it without any mental divagation."

Despite the grave subject, Amariel had to smile briefly at these words. "I am honored that you see such a good storyteller in me." Then she became more serious again. "There were, as I said, many members of the Planar Harmonium who soon had certain differences with Factol Delazar. Many ordinary soldiers, but also the officers, especially the higher-ranking ones. One of these officers was Sarin. When Delazar took office as factol, he was still a tribune. But he was soon promoted to prefect of the first rank - at a time when the problems with Factol Delazar were not yet so grave. But he was not the only one. Other officers were not on good terms with Delazar either, including Tonat Shar, the current Legate of Sigil, and my brother Killeen Caine, the current Legate of Arcadia. Both of them were also prefects at the time. Sarin and his two current deputies share a long history in the Harmonium, having often patrolled Sigil together as simple triarii. The three were not the only ones who were increasingly opposed to Factol Delazar, there were several more, but they were among the highest ranking. With the exception of Lady Juliana Spesinfracta, of course. She was prefect of the second rank when Delazar took office, as well as the superior of Sarin, Tonat Shar and Killeen. She became Legate of Arcadia around two years later. Some claimed that Delazar kicked her up the ladder because he wanted her out of the way in Sigil. So Lady Juliana, Sarin, Tonat Shar, Killeen and others did not agree with Factol Delazar's actions. At first, it was only a slight tension, which quickly grew into a fundamental disagreement."

Kiyoshi seemed to be listening very attentively to her story. "Honorable decuria Amariel-sensei," he then said. "Could you please explain the nature of this dispute in more detail? Despite your excellent explanations, I have not yet been able to clearly visualize the extent and quality of these differences. Perhaps you could give me an example?"

She nodded and thought for a moment before answering: "Well, it actually started very early on, among other things with the officers that Delazar brought with him from Ortho. I told you that Factol Arella had fallen in a battle for the gate town of Fortitude. One of her legates, several high-ranking officers and many soldiers were also killed. When the Octade appointed Delazar as factol, he decided not to fill the vacant positions in the Planar Harmonium by promoting planar members, but instead brought his own people from Ortho: several prefects and tribunes, nearly twenty decurions, several dozen triarii and four battalions of common soldiers, with one battalion consisting of five hundred soldiers. The new officers were strongly influenced by the Homeworld and extremely committed to enforcing the political line of Factol Delazar in Sigil. The prefects Valiant and Tomis played a prominent role in this. These two in particular held views that were met with opposition, even outrage. For example, that half-elves, being descendants from the often chaotic elves, were unsuitable to serve in the Harmonium. As a half-elf, Killeen was naturally particularly upset about this. Since he ..." She hesitated briefly and grinned a little. "Since he is quite impulsive and temperamental, it was also easy to provoke him, which especially Lord Valiant did on purpose. From what I witnessed myself, as well as what I was told, I got the impression that officers like Valiant and Tomis sought out and encouraged these confrontations. Whether this was merely with Delazar's silent consent or even on his orders, I can't say. That was the beginning, but soon there were other problems, such as profound differences of opinion about our approach to ensuring peace and order in Sigil. I know that Sarin refused an order from a superior quite early on because he was sure it would lead to a pointless and worrying confrontation. It was some occurrence at the Grand Bazaar, I think. There were similar incidents with Killeen. The discussions between Sarin, Tonat Shar and Killeen on the one side and Valiant, Tomis and some of the other prefects on the other became more and more forceful, even angry. Eventually - this was not long before Delazar's resignation - something happened between Sarin and the factol that deepened all the cracks that ran through our faction to the point where the Planar Harmonium threatened to shatter. I'm afraid I can't give you any details here, your rank is not yet high enough to know all of it. However, something had happened. Something where Sarin openly and directly defied his factol. I remember the days that followed: Delazar was furious, the air in the Barracks was thick with rage ..." Kiyoshi's posture now changed subtly. His facial expression remained unaffected, but the way his head shifted forward a few millimeters showed Amariel that this topic seemed to interest him greatly. Sighing, she continued. "I probably don't need to mention that Sarin's actions had consequences for him. You never defy your factol and go unpunished ..." As she recalled how Delazar had disciplined Sarin back then, a shudder still ran through her. She would not go into the terrible details in front of the young soldier. It was enough to tell him the outcome of the matter, she decided. Nevertheless, she had to clear her throat and take a sip of water before she continued. "Before this matter, Sarin had been a prefect of the first rank - afterwards, he was a decurion again. Delazar also placed him under the direct command of Lord Valiant. You might guess how hard that was for him. As if it wasn't enough, there was another scandal shortly afterwards. Killeen is not exactly known for his containment. He must have attacked the factol directly in a subsequent conversation - verbally, of course. It's clear that this didn't go down well ..." She briefly recalled that incident too and realized how it still made her cheeks flush with anger. She had to take several deep breaths before she could continue. "That was the climax of the whole drama. And then it was Lady Juliana who took action. An act that no one in the Harmonium had dared - or thought necessary - for over 150 years: she brought about Delazar's dismissal. All first and second rank prefects and the legates in our faction have the right to convene a meeting to discuss the removal of the incumbent factol if they deem it necessary. That might happen if they feel that the factol no longer leads the faction in a way that is in the spirit of the Harmonium, if they consider him incompetent or even corrupt. Each prefect may speak at this meeting and openly express their opinion. At the end, a vote is taken and if the majority of prefects votes in favor of removal, the factol must resign. The prefects then elect a new factol from among the legates at the same meeting. Lady Juliana had hesitated for a while, always hoping that Delazar would change his ways. But after he had been in office for four years and tensions were rising daily, she took heart and made the move: she convened the meeting of the prefects, which was attended by Tonat Shar, Killeen, Lord Valiant and Prefect Tomis, among others. I think it hurt Sarin quite a bit at the time that he - now only a decurion - wasn't allowed to partake. It must have been a heated discussion, according to ... all accounts. In the end, the majority of the prefects voted for Delazar's removal and Lady Juliana was appointed the new factol." She leaned forward a little now. "What I'm telling you here was not common knowledge at first. The public was told that Delazar had returned to Ortho to take his place as head of the Octade. That wasn't a lie, because he actually did. But we left out the story of the deposition because Lady Juliana did not want reports of such deep disagreements in our faction to weaken the Harmonium's reputation to the outside. At some point, of course, the matter gradually became known, but by then the furor had died down already."

Kiyoshi nodded and seemed to think for a while before he had another question. "Honorable decuria Amariel-sensei, might it happen that a factol who has been deposed like this can once again take the office of factol?"

Amariel looked at him, somewhat horrified. "Well ... I've never thought of that possibility, to be honest. Theoretically yes, I suppose. At least I'm not aware of any regulations that specifically forbid it. If something were to happen to Sarin, for example, and he hadn't appointed either Killeen or Tonat Shar as his successor, Ortho could probably reappoint Delazar. May the Lady protect us from this eventuality! We all hope that our factol will remain with us for a long time to come."

The young soldier seemed to be preoccupied with the matter, as he had another question. "Forgive my ignorance, honorable decuria Amariel-sensei, but wouldn't that be impossible because the venerable Delazar Ulan-daigensui has already been declared unfit for the office of factol once by the Assembly of Prefects?"

Thoughtfully, the half-elf swayed her head. "As I said, I am not aware of any law that specifically prohibits this. In case of doubt, the Octade on Ortho could probably claim to have the highest authority in the Harmonium. However, as far as I know, the Octade is only authorized to appoint a factol if the incumbent dies without appointing a successor. But I would consider it extremely unlikely that Delazar would be appointed again in such a case. And I don't think he would want to take over this office once more. After all, he is now Octarius Elatus, he can't rise any higher. However ... Well, now you've confused me, I have to admit. I'm not that familiar with the intricacies of Homeworld legislation. Like most members of the Planar Harmonium, I don't have that much to do with Ortho. You might have to ask the factol himself." She hoped to herself, however, that the young soldier wouldn't. Sarin didn't like talking about Ortho and would certainly be unhappy about such topics.

Kiyoshi nodded. He stood up - the glass of water in front of him still almost full, as he had only taken three very small sips - and struck his right fist on his breastplate, right over his heart. "I thank you for your time and your enlightening words, honorable decuria Amariel-sensei. You have helped me a great deal. I will ask the venerable factol about this matter when he speaks with my lord and prince, the venerable daimyo Ittosai Musashi-tenno."

Then he bowed and left her chamber. Amariel remained seated for a while, gazing after him thoughtfully as she finished her water. Why had Kiyoshi suddenly shown such a keen interest in the Harmonium's recent past? And Sarin seemed to have expected the young man to bring up the subject with her. She hoped to herself that this didn't mean the past would catch up with them all again ...

 

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 from the forum RP with Kiyoshi's player