The Law of Dovien

Written by: Father Neiran Ua'tur

Year: 1095

A short novel written by a Council Elder in the Church of Dovien discussing the laws of both the Paladinic Order and the Clergy of the church.

It goes over why several laws exist the way they do, and where the laws come from in regards to the outlooks of the Gods of Altheim.

It also goes into how to tell someone is a witch, and what to do in several cases. It does this by going over each specific case briefly and how the Grand Inquisitor handled them.

We will display a few quotes from the novel here.

*"It was when we learned of the exile of both Spel and Rin to Delheim which first brought this idea that taking in the mana from the weave (as it has been called in ancient texts) was seen as sin. This practices were taught by the two fallen gods, and we quickly learned of what dangers such power can present. This is why the magics can not be allowed to thrive in the hearts of men, such as it were, would the world fall to chaos."* - Page 9

*"Should a defendant confirm that they want to move forward with a trial by combat, as stated by common law, the Paladins have adopted this policy into their own laws, seeing that should someone be innocent, that it would be clear that they would be protected by Dovien and Bolt. In this case, it is not uncalled for to halt the trial to give the defendant a chance to prepare for combat."* - Page 11

*"Next we must learn how to properly identify a practitioner of these dangerous arts, which is a process that is learned over a long time. After one is capable of performing the miracles of the All Father, then they should slowly but surely begin to see the webbing of the weave around them while in meditation. It will appear to lay like a layer of mist, covering the ground and creatures around you. In such a time, once able to view it for more than a fleeting moment, take a look at yourself. Members of the church should note that the weave around them is glowing yellow, the sign that our miracles derive from Dovien's light itself." - Page 15*

*"I will not forget the spring of 1061 when our mission came across the isle of Pertent; a small fishing village where people were disappearing. Long story short, we came upon a small boy, no more than 7 or 8. A child cursed by Rin to radiate a magic aura. At night he was plagued by horrid nightmares, of endless tunnels and clawing beasts, he was having visions of Delheim as his soul was slowing being dragged by the dark god. The nights he had these horrid visions matched up to the nights that someone would disappear without a trace in the night. To the Paladins in our mission, what came next was simple. We burn the child and move along. Usually I have no moral quandaries with this, as usually the magical power is asked for by an adult person and used for greed and malice. This was but a boy, with no control. If you have no had to try to convince a Paladin not to kill, I assure you it is not an easy task, and me at the time a young cleric, I was not listened to at all. So I had to wait until the day of the trial. That day I waited patiently until I was allowed to speak, and I said one thing, 'As the suspect has committed no violence, I demand we halt the trial until a Council Member arrives to oversee.'*

*I should say that I could only accomplish this as the child had been charged with Practicing the Magics of Delheim, as even the Inquisitors could not argue that the child had full control and was maliciously using the magics. Had he been fully charged for Violent Use of Delheim Magics, then he would have been at the full mercy of the Paladins, and here is a trade secret: there is no mercy in the Paladins.*

*Needless to say, the Holy Inquisitor and the other Paladins in our mission were furious. They called me a sinner, they told me I was wasting their time, they told me I was protecting a with...to this these claims I'd respond, 'As the suspect has committed no violence, I demand we halt the trial until a Council Member arrives to oversee.' and there was nothing they could do. They could not force me from the stand, as they knew I told no lie, I was following my inner morals, and they were forced to abide. I will say, especially as we continue with my stories from this mission, this defiance to the Paladins made the rest of the trip rather awkward.*

*It took 5 weeks for a Council Member to show up to the small island town, and such we were forced to remain there until the trial could continue. Once the Council Elder finally arrived, the trial continued as planned. My plan had worked though, instead of execution, we were able to come to a different conclusion. The Council Elder used a technique called 'Wave Dissonance' where a person's connection to the weave is completely severed by implanting a device into their body that throws off the waves of their aura. The child was allowed to live, and I could sleep at night."* - Page 21-22