The Drownings

The Drownings were a form of criminal punishment used in the city of Letheras as well as a public spectacle. The basic idea was that an accused criminal was weighed down with their fine in coins, attached to a rope (for the later retrieval of the coins), and forced to swim the Quillas Canal. The amount of weight attached to the criminal was proportional to the crime, although additional weight could be added if a prisoner looked especially capable. Should that criminal emerge from the other side of the canal intact, they were free to go, though usually they drowned.Midnight Tides, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.149/150 Crowds watched and wagered on the spectacle from the Low Walk along the canal and the tiers above.Midnight Tides Chapter 2, US SFBC p.75Midnight Tides Chapter 4, US SFBC p.127
The canal was about one hundred paces wide. Those who failed to survive had their corpse dumped back into the river, which led to the saying "Guilty as sludge".Midnight Tides, Chapter 4, US SFBC p.126
Given the relative rarity of a successful crossing, the Drownings also became the subject of many wagers by the residents of the city.Midnight Tides, Chapter 4, US SFBC p.127
During the holiday of Errant's Festival, Special Drownings were held involving the most notorious criminals, and wagering was frenzied.Midnight Tides, Chapter 6, US SFBC p.197
The occasional animal was sentenced to the Drownings, such as the feral cat found guilty of "raping a flightless ornamental duck" on the Rinnesict Estate.Reaper's Gale, Chapter 1, US HC p.50
== FinesMidnight Tides, Chapter 4, US SFBC p.125-126 ==
Crime 	Fine for men	Fine for women
Theft 	500 docks 	250 docks
Kidnapping 	500 docks 	250 docks
Failure to repay a debt 	500 docks 	250 docks
Damage to property 	500 docks 	250 docks
Murder 	500 docks 	250 docks
Embezzlement 	300 docks 	150 docks
Assault without cause 	300 docks 	150 docks
Cursing in public upon the names of the Empty Throne, the king or the queen	300 docks 	150 docks
Loitering 	100 docks 	50 docks
Voiding in public 	100 docks 	50 docks
Disrespect 	100 docks 	50 docks
== Wagers ==
Wagers were taken for not only actual Drownings, but also Strokes, Risings, Flailings, Flounderings, and Vanishings.
==In Midnight Tides==
Two notable exceptions were Ublala Pung (4300 docks in fines) and Shurq Elalle (200 docks in fines). Because of his Tarthenal heritage (having four lungs) Ublala was simply able to walk across on the bottom of the canal dragging his weights due to his sheer size and strength.Midnight Tides, Chaoter 4, US SFBC p.126-128 Shurq did drown, but a curse prevented her from actually dying, so she emerged undead.Midnight Tides, Chapter 4, US SFBC p.137-138
==In Reaper's Gale==
The Patriotists made use of the Drownings to execute as many as a hundred of the most egregious traitors every week. Unlike the traditional punishment, the secret police made sure to burden their victims with crushing weights so that none survived. When the bookmakers had complained, several of their own were sent into the canal to keep the others quiet.Reaper's Gale, Chapter 1, US HC p.33
==In Assail==
Crimson Guard commander, K'azz D'Avore, endured a similar ordeal at the hands of the Letherii. The Guard's storm-ravaged ship made landfall on the Letherii-controlled Isle of Pillars to make repairs and find provisions. They were confronted by Luthal Canar, who charged them with trespassing and demanded their ship in recompense. K'azz offered instead to undergo the Letherii custom of 'payment by trial' to erase their debt. Luthal agreed, and K'azz was weighted with stones and dropped into the lagoon. The Letherii was enraged when K'azz survived the usually fatal test by walking underwater to shore. The Crimson Guard commander offered to forgo the usual reward of one hundred Peaks.Assail (novel), Chapter 4, US HC p.126-135
==Notes and references==
Category:Events