Turnabout For a New World

## Story

### 18 Years Ago

The Emperor of Japan, Hart Vortex, was visiting Kurain in a relations exchange mission. Seeing that the country was small, and that Japan could possibly gain from a relation with a country that has their queen be a Spirit Medium, he decided to try and make allies out of them. Queen Garan and Emperor Vortex spoke for an extended amount of time, and eventually agreed upon the partnership. During this time, Vortex met with Genson and Jinja Shigataar Kurain, age 7, the two fraternal twins of Queen Garan. He learned that they were prodigy spirit mediums and their distaste for their mother. He offered to make a deal with them, where he would adopt them, but fake their death. They both agreed to this, and Vortex began planning. Eventually, he caused an explosion, with assistance of Japanese foreigners, within the palace that ended up killing Garan's husband (and other unimportant people in the palace), as well as "killing" her children. Due to the chaos and commotion, Vortex was able to escape Kurain with Garan's children. No culprit was found, nor were any leads found. Vortex offered his services to assist Kurain in their time of need.

-Lang's first true name, Genson, comes from the Japanese word for Extant. This alludes to him being alive.

-Shih-nah's first true name, Jinja, comes from the Japanese word for Shrine. This is similar to Garan's naming scheme, where her name comes from Temple.

-Before leaving, Genson and Jinja made sure to take one of the forbidden Magatama from Kurain, the Magatama of Obedience. This particular Magatama forces the spirit channeled by the medium to submit to the summoner's will. With this, everything about the spirit remains the same in a regular spirit channeling, except, the summoner is the one speaking. The Magatama of Obedience is only given to members of the Royal Family.

### 10 Years Ago

At the time, Garan Shigataar Kurain was queen of Kurain, holding complete and utter power over the country. However, due to her corruption, the citizens of Kurain revolted against Garan, preferring her sister, Amara Shigataar Kurain, to be queen over the country. The person that lead this revolt was former Minister of Justice Tahrust Inmee. Having found this out, Garan sought to exterminate him to end the revolt against her. However, despite all her actions she was sentenced to court where she was found Guilty of her crimes. Instead of being sentenced to immediate execution, Garan was imprisoned within the prison found within Mt. Poniponi into a solitary cell. Before being sentenced to prison, however, Garan has caused permanent damage to the court system.

In Japan, Lang and Shih-na enacted their own plan that would end up killing Vortex so they could use his spirit to rule over the country of Japan. At this time, they were the heads of the Council. Eventually, using their spirit channeling powers to make the murder easier, they were able to kill off Hart Vortex and assume the title of Emperor and Empress. The fact that Vortex was murdered never surfaced, and everyone thought Vortex has been alive for all these years.

### 7 Years Ago

As per the request of Emperor Vortex (who was basically Lang), Florent L'Belle, a former member of the Japanese Council, was asked to leave Japan and gain the position of Chief Warden within the prison of Kurain atop Mt. Poniponi. The means at which he would gain this title are of no importance, and Japan would assist him if he needed to reach the point of murder. The true goal of all of this was to gain access to Garan's solitary cell, which is a cell located at the very top of the prison by its lonesome, and ultimately kill her. With her dead, Lang and Shih-na would be able to channel Garan during the fall of Kurain. However, this last portion of the plan was not known to Florent.

### 5 Years to Present

Florent disposes of the Chief Warden by murdering him, moving him to a place that would not be found. He also made sure to leave no trace of his death, thus leaving no trial. It became "public knowledge" that the Chief Warden retired and moved to a distant area in Kurain. Florent assumed the title of Chief Warden and finalized his plan, where he would end up taking Garan's life. He succeeded in taking her life, and after that, put the corpse of the Chief Warden in Garan's cell, where both bodies would never be found normally.

-All the events from Death of a Turnabout are canon for this case.

-The methods in which Florent killed the Chief Warden and Garan were by the usage of knives. The Chief Warden was pierced through the heart in the back, killing him instantly, whereas Garan was killed due to blood loss, where she was stabbed in her torso.

### 2 Months Ago

Leifa Padma Kurain was made Queen of Kurain after the trial of Ryuunosuke Naruhodou, Kazuma Asougi and the Defense Team. However, due to only being a child and having little comprehension of what it was to be a queen, she did not fair well. Especially during this time, there was a war happening between Kurain and Japan. "Vortex" made a deal with Leifa to end the war: Submit the Founder's Orb to Japan, and Kurain would be spared any further travesty. Leifa did this, but in doing so, gravely angered the people of Kurain, causing people to begin revolting against their current queen. Due to this, people asked for their former queen, Garan, to take the mantle once more, despite her history of murder, believing she would lead Kurain right once more. This became true, but Leifa disappeared as a result. People believed that she disappeared in shame.

### During the Murder

To eliminate the final obstacle for complete rule over Kurain, Lang and Shih-na needed to get rid of Leifa Padma Kurain, to ensure that they were the only Spirit Mediums left within Kurain, as well as no one else being capable of threatening the position from them. They sent a letter to Leifa, knowing where she was located, stating that they were Druk and they wanted to meet her outside of Garan's cell. Leifa makes her way to the prison atop the Inner Sanctrum, reaching the prison and telling Florent why she was there. The prison is sectioned off into four different floors, were the final floor hosts solitary cells. She traveled up the prison, and reached the floor where Garan's cell was. However, upon arrival, she notices what she thought was Druk Samadhi, where he turns from facing Garan's cell, and then turns to her, taking out a knife. Fearing for her life, she makes an attempt to go down to a lower level of the prison. She is stabbed once in the back, directly towards the heart, and then tumbles down the stairs, leading to her death. Paht Roll and Florent notice this, and then head towards Leifa, but "Druk" comes down the stairs, knife in hand, stabbing Paht Roll in the stomach, incapacitating him. Shocked, Florent did nothing, while "Druk" escaped to a lower level, and eventually out of the prison, not to be seen by anyone.

The Druk Leifa sees is not the actual Druk, but his deceased twin brother, Krut Sadmadhi. He is being channeled by Lang to commit the murder and kill Leifa. The note sent to Leifa asked for her to appear 30 minutes before her murder, whereas Druk's note asked for him to appear 10 minutes after her murder.

**2:00PM**

* Following the note's instructions, Leifa made her way to the prison atop the Inner Sanctums' mountain via the North Inner Sanctum, as it is the only one that leads to it, using its right staircase. This staircase takes 15 minutes to reach the summit, if you continue going about through normal means, AKA, not stopping.

**2:15PM**

* Leifa reaches the prison, informing Florent, the Chief Warden, of what she is doing there. He informs her that Druk is waiting for her near Garan's cell on the fourth floor.

At the time that Leifa ran into Datz, who was leaving the prison. His reason for being there was because he was working with Ryuunosuke and Druk, since they feel like something is off about Garan. He makes preparations to parachute down.

**2:20PM**

* Leifa makes it to the fourth floor, and notices a figure in front of Garan's cell. Since, at the time, the back was turned to her, she initially believed that it was Druk. However, this was not the case when they turned around. They had a pendant around their neck that is only given to members of the Garan Royal Guard. Knowing this, Leifa attempts to escape down the stairs to a lower level, screaming for help.

Datz finishes preparations and parachutes down to the North Inner Sanctum.

**2:25PM**

* By the time Leifa attempts to leave the 4th floor, she is stabbed at the back of her skull, killing her instantly. Her body tumbles down a flight of stairs. At this time, Florent and Paht have made it to the third floor, and see Leifa falling down the stairs. "Krut" (who is channeled by Lang), runs down the stairs and stabs Paht with a knife in his abdomen, thus immobilizing him. Florent is too stunned by this act (but in truth, he was told to not bother with the murder). Using this time, "Krut" brings the body out towards the edge of the prison, making sure it's above the North Inner Sanctum, and drops it from the cliff.

During his parachuting, Datz notices something fall from the prison, but couldn't make out what it was, so he returns to his parachuting. Due to his distance, he cannot accurately state that it is, but he presumes that it was just a rock that fell from the top. Which, will later be "true". The truth of the matter is, Leifa was the one he saw falling.

**2:35PM**

* Druk arrives at the scene, due to the note that he had when he was summoned there. At this point, Leifa finally makes it into the water down below and fills the pool with her blood. Druk, shocked, initially doesn't do anything, but then attempts to bring her body out of the water and remove the knife.

At this time, Pees has arrived at the scene, and so has Shih-na "with Lang". They both witness Druk trying to remove the knife from Leifa's skull and apprehend him, awaiting for the police to come and arrest him.

**2:45PM**

* The police have come to arrest Druk and begin their investigation into the crime.

## Testimonies

### **Garan Shigataar Kurain**

~ Queen Testimony, Garan Shigataar Kurain ~

-- Séance of Leifa Padma Kurain --

1. The Séance dictates that Her Uselessness was on her way to the location of her murder, the Northern Inner Sanctum.
2. She finds a man clad in the defendant’s clothing, indicating that our suspicions were true.
3. Surprisingly, she is able to figure out that the defendant harbors ill will towards her and wishes for her immediate departure from this world.
4. Druk Sadmadhi takes out a knife and chases after the fleeing girl.
5. Her Uselessness finally receives the fatal blow and perishes before her assailant.

**If asked**

* **Who called the police?** According to Shih-na, Lang left and went to call the police.
	+ **What time were they called?** 2:37PM.
* **What is the motive?** Garan will state that Kurain began to hate Leifa due to her reign, and the actions she did. Druk possibly harbored the same feelings and wished for her to disappear completely.
	+ **What actions?** After a certain trial 2 months ago (referencing Death of a Turnabout), Leifa was made Queen of Kurain. However, it was in war at this time against Japan. Leifa gave the Founder's Orb away to Japan to end the war. This severely angered the people of Kurain, and wished for her to be replaced. However, the only living person that could take the throne was Garan, who was imprisoned. Leifa was dethroned and then went to live in solitude in shame.

**Contradictions**

* This testimony has no known contradictions.

### Shih-na & Pees

~ Witness Testimonies, Shih-na & Pees'lubn Andistan'dhin ~

-- Plain Tunes --

1. I am the Head Monk of Tehm’pul Temple, but I am also responsible for the Realm of Departing. (Pees)
2. I was making a visit there to make sure the sanctum was in good shape, as it was planned to be used on that day. (Pees)
3. To my surprise, I stumbled upon a murder, and see? (Pees)
4. Queen Leifa and Druk Sadmadhi at the scene of the crime. He had just finished stabbing her. (Shih-na)
5. I alerted Lang, who was with me at the time, and told him to get the police while I subdue Druk. (Shih-na)
6. He eventually saw me, and then removed the dagger from her skull. (Pees)
7. Oddly enough, he didn’t try to run, only tried to explain himself. But I wasn’t going to let him do any of that. (Pees)
8. The police eventually arrived, questioned us, and then arrested the defendant. (Shih-na)

**If asked**

* **What is the Realm of Departing?** Pees will say that it's the North Inner Sanctum. Each sanctum has a different position. The North Inner Sanctum is for those that are planning on suicide. If they go through the Departing Ritual, their spirit has a higher chance in living in peace.
* **/To Pees\ Did you see Lang?** Pees will say that he did not see Lang. Shih-na will interrupt and say that Lang was behind her at the time, so he didn't see anything about the scene until he returned.
* **/To Shih-na\ Why did you go there?** Her and Lang were going to go to the prison.

**Contradictions**

* There is one major contradiction with this testimony. It does not line up with the Seance. As Leifa would've had to have been dragged from the stairs to the pool, and then taken out by Druk, for him to ultimately remove the dagger. This will prompt Datz, from the audience, to appear and try to clear things up.

### Shih-na, Pees & Datz

~ Witness Testimony, Datz Are’bal ~

-- Soarin’, Flyin’ --

1. Hearing what’s been happening in this trial reminded me of something: I’m a witness!
2. I went to the prison that day to go and visit a prisoner. I was doing something for Garan, since I’m a member of her Royal Guard, I have special permission for some things.
3. I’d prove it to you, but… I kind of lost my pendant.
4. When I was leaving the prison, I saw Queen Leifa entering it.
5. After she went in, I made my preparations to parachute down. When I finished, I parachuted.
6. While I was enjoying my parachuting, I looked back at the prison, to see if I could catch Queen Leifa leaving, but all I saw was a bunch of rubble falling from the top of the mountain to the North Inner Sanctum.
7. Since stuff like that is normal, I went back to focusing on my parachuting.
8. After a while, I look down at the North Inner Sanctum, since that was my destination, and then I noticed Druk.
9. I couldn’t tell too much from my distance, but I think I saw water splashing, and then the next moment, there was something in Druk’s hand.
10. I really don’t want to believe it, but did he really kill her?
11. Pees’lubn and Shih-na came eventually, and I then I landed somewhere else. I didn’t think it was a murder, so I didn’t come to anyone until now.

**If asked**

* **What pendant?** Datz will explain that all members of the Garan Royal Guard have a green pendant, as it is required by her. However, he is missing his. He claims he probably dropped it somewhere.

**Contradictions**

* The biggest contradiction in this testimony is that the "rubble" Datz saw was not all rubble. The biggest part of it was Leifa falling from the cliff. Meaning, that the crime didn't happen in the North Inner Sanctum, but in fact, it happened within the prison. This would end up with Garan calling the Chief Warden and Paht Roll.

### Florent & Paht

~ Witness Testimonies, Florent L’Belle & Paht Roll ~

-- Prison Murder --

1. As Chief Warden, it is my responsibility to make sure that the prison is as spotless and safe for the prisoners as possible. (Florent)
2. You are correct in presuming that Queen Leifa visited us and met her untimely death there. (Florent)
3. She had prior arrangements to meet with Mr. Sadmadhi in front of Queen Garan’s cell. (Florent)
4. The prison is divided into four different floors. The first floor is the entrance, while the fourth floor is for solitary cells. Queen Garan’s cell is there. (Paht)
5. I was patrolling the third floor at the time, but then I was alerted by a scream coming from the fourth floor. (Paht)
6. Immediately after, I see a body falling down from the top of the stairs. It belonged to Queen Leifa. She had a dagger coming out of her head. (Paht)
7. Alerted by the sound, I rushed to the fourth floor, and I found the defendant stabbing my subordinate in the abdomen. (Florent)
8. He took out the knife from the Queen’s skull and then stabbed me. After that, he took it out from my abdomen and then fled. (Paht)
9. I was too shocked in the beginning, but then I gave chase. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find him. It’s as though he disappeared. (Florent)

**If asked**

**Contradictions**

* The contradiction for this testimony is a very small unnoticeable one, but it has huge consequences for the prosecution's case. It's in the first statement, where he keeps the prison as clean as possible. As indicated by the Seance, there is a smell in the first floor slides, and it keeps changing depending on the distance. When Leifa dies, she doesn't smell it. Meaning, the smell didn't come from "Druk". This would mean that the smell INSTEAD came from the cell of Garan. The defense could then present their evidence relating to Garan's death. This would prompt the defense accusing Florent of killing Garan, and probably the former Chief Warden.

-- False Prison --

1. You DARE you accuse me of murder? I have kept my prison in a perfect state since I became Chief Warden.
2. Especially since she’s standing right there! How could I have killed someone that is living?
3. Why would I kill Queen Garan anyways? She was a prisoner in my prison. I have no reason to kill her.
4. How could I do any of this without being found out? I have guards in that prison. They would’ve seen me do it.
5. You would I be able to do anything like murder? Your Magistry, end this trial and enact the DC Act on these fools.

**If asked**

**Contradictions**

* This is the point when the defense must figure out most of the case regarding Garan's death. Garan and the Chief Warden were killed by L'Belle. Their corpses are in Garan's cell, the origins of the smell. How he could do this without being found out, is that only people with permission from him could go to the fourth floor. All L'Belle had to do was say no to anyone wanting to go to the fourth floor. As for Garan still living, the Defense would have to state that there is someone channeling Garan. She will interrupt and say that there is no other living spirit medium from Kurain. The Defense must object and present the Palace Bombing incident, stating that Garan had children. They could still be alive and channeling her. However, Garan will interrupt and state that if they were alive, where would they be? They've looked all over Kurain, and her children have not been found. They must pinpoint Lang and Shih-na to be her living children. However, this will be considered speculation. They must force the Magatama of Departure onto her, revealing one of her children. After that, before Florent is arrested, he will state that he won't be going down alone. He saw someone there that day: The Emperor of Japan, Hart Vortex. This will lead to him being called to the stand and testify.

### Hart Vortex

~ Emperor Testimony, Hart Vortex ~

-- Inaccurate Location --

1. Am I a suspect now? Pity, I thought that Kurain and Japan’s relations have been mended from the damage.
2. It would seem that you are thinking incorrectly, however. I was not within the prison, as much as you would like to believe. In fact, during the crime, I was heading back from the prison.
3. Even if the body came tumbling down from the top of the mountain to the North Inner Sanctum, it doesn’t change anything.
4. Mr. Sadmadhi could’ve easily stabbed the unconscious Queen Kurain with the dagger.
5. This means that the murder did not happen within the prison, but at the North Inner Sanctum, placing your client in hot water once more.
6. Now that all the errors exist no more, let us hear that verdict, shall we?

**If asked**

**Contradiction(s)**

* The Seance is a very obvious contradiction to this testimony. However, that would still not place Vortex within the crime scene. The Defense must assert that a Spirit Medium channeled Krut Sadmadhi. This will prompt Vortex's final testimony.

## Seance

1. The reason it's so dark is because the crime scene is at the prison, and not the one believed by the court. The smell is due to the rotting corpses of the former Chief Warden and Garan. She is tired because of all the stairs having to be climbed to get to the prison.
2. This figure isn't Druk, but rather Krut being channeled by Garan.
3. She becomes frightened here because she knows it's not Druk. This person has the green pendant from Garan's guard.
4. Going down to a lower level. Not the stairs from the crime scene.
5. She gets stabbed in the back, and then tumbles down the stairs.

**Contradiction(s)**

* The darkness is a direct contradiction with the Autopsy Report. Since the time is 2:35PM, it shouldn't have been dark. Garan will interrupt and lie, stating that the Seance always shows darkness, no matter where the victim is.
* A possible contradiction could be that Druk didn't have a green pendant on him, and that one was not found at the crime scene.
* Another contradiction is that Leifa died on stairs, but this isn't true as far as the defense knows. Rather, she died in the pool at the Inner Sanctum.
* If they were to question the Man's Voice located within two of the slides, Garan will refine the vision, to lead to an "Unknown Man's Voice" appearing. This shall allow the Defense team to continue their trial.

## Garan's Divination Seance Interpretation

O Holy Mother of Kurain,

A Divination Seance shall be performed for these unworthy attorneys!

Give me the strength to guide them towards their end!

Let the Dance of Devotion give the victim one final attempt at being useful!

Show your unworthy soul to this courtroom, O Fallen Child!

Your departure from this world shall be engraved within the Pool of Souls!

### Original

O Holy Mother!

We hold this Divination Seance in your name!

Let the eyes of everyone here be clear, and our ears be unstopped!

O Dance of Devotion!

Guide the victim's soul to me!

So that we may receive their final memories in the Pool of Souls!

## Notes

* Use a gemstone to be able to figure out Krut was summoned. Gemstones were used in the Royal Guard during Garan's first reign. (might re-think this)