Echelon Trials

**The Echelon Trials** was a period of civil unrest, political disputes, and open treason trials in 1623 A.F which would contribute to the factors leading up to the War of Summers' Solstice.

## Background

In 1605 A.F, following the Windchime Event, the province of Augustaminca was divided appropriately in a way so that the six major lines of the House of Britannicus could properly govern each territory efficiently. The province was divided into six sectors, each with its own line to watch over them, yet with the singular royal family holding absolute power of all. The lines in power were as follows: the Numerians, the Olybrians, the Servians, the Justinians, the Caracallas, and the Claudians.

The Olybrians were granted the territories at the heart of the province; the Numerians were given the north; the Olybrians the east; the Servians the southeast; the Caracallas the northeast; the Justinians the south; and the Claudians the west.

In the Olybrian village of Hecto, civil unrest was becoming a rapid problem. In 1628 A.F, a case involving the murder of a young peasant girl by one of the minor nobles of the area made the land erupt into disarray. The murderer, Helian Wardisc, was sentenced to court which he never arrived to. Instead, after paying out the area's guard, he was left to roam free once more. The masses, angered by this, were quick to attempt to exact their own form of justice. The guard, having been paid to protect the nobleman, crushed the small-scale rebellion. This bloodbath would be known as the Hecto Hill Massacre.

### Olybrian's Intervention

Once word of the mishandled trial had reached the ears of the master of the centre territory, Rufus Olybrian, the lord immediately called upon his men to council him. After careful consideration given to all sides, it was decided that a corrupt guard was not one which could properly serve. With guidance from the Servian lord, Maxil, Olybrian took the guard of Mundo, a village far south to Hecto, and surrounded it. Calling upon the Captain of the Hecto Guard, Territoras Juniper, Olybrian found himself in the right to hold a trial on the entirety of the authority of the guard, as well as all of the men beneath its banner. At first, Juniper refused; then, convinced that there was no way that he could be found guilty, agreed.

## The Trials

### The First Treason Trial

Gathering all of the men of the guard of Hecto to the centre of the town Forum, Olybrian proclaimed himself as official overseer of the trial. Making the small council of men he had brought from his palace in Jellion his jury (including Maxil Servian), Rufus began the trial on May 13th and had it last over the course of three days. With the public around them to watch, the lord was faced with the immense pressure of an angered mob which was only controlled by the fight and tact of the Mundo-native guard. On the third day, Olybrian was forced to both accuse and punish Juniper and his men by word of treason against the province and the D'lanastions. They were sentenced to death by stoning.

### The Second Treason Trial

Another trial followed the first when the murderer, Helian Wardisc, made his presence known once more in the city after a period of extended seclusion and hiding. Mistaking the day for when Olybrian would depart with that of another noble which was passing through, Wardisc emerged from his villa and into the public eye once more, leaving him open and vulnerable. Taken into custody by the Mundo guard, Wardisc was placed before Olybrian and his council/jury once again, where they tried him on both public and personal bias. After a two-day trial, Wardisc was found guilty of murder and rape. He was sentenced to death by hanging.

## Aftermath

Following the death of Juniper and his guard, half of the Mundo guard and half of the Jellion guard were taken and displaced into Hecto in order to keep an eye on the public. This would later lead to a cultural integration between the two, making the centre of the province a diverse place in custom and appearances.