"Oh, that is wonderful!" the inevitable almost shouts, bopping up into the air before coming back down to eye level.
"And I have wonderful news as well! I conveyed the story you brought with you about the demiplane to Hao Jin's tribunal, and they have agreed to reopen her case! They have set her date for tomorrow and it would be a great honor to invite you, her advocates after all, to attend. Judging by my superior's remarks, there will be some very influential judges present. Would you possibly be able to attend?"
Eleven-Sun-Truth nods!
You pass through several Travel Portals until you reach the outskirts of the Empty Court. Unlike last time, one of the Axial Monitors is stationed directly next to the teleportation gate, while the other guards the entrance to Aroden's former domain.
The same tent you saw set up on the stage of the amphitheater has been set up next to the Teleportation portal, and after ducking inside you find Hao Jin going through a chest of clothes, trying to decide between several outfits.
She drops her belongings as you enter and looks toward you expectantly.
"Did you find them? The engrams? What I wouldn't give to be whole again after so many years."
Hao Jin beams when Drake gives her a positive message.
She takes the memory engrams from the group and you feel a sudden shift in awareness ... as if reality is warping and coming together again.
Glimpses of Hao Jin's life push into your consciousness but also the feelings of the maker, 322 and the devil you defeated!
"The feelings of those that touched the engrams are truly a great insight, and one which I could not have foreseen. I also thank you for bringing back forgotten memories ... the weaver ... I found the technical skill with which he created cloth was not only the inspiration for how I bound together the demiplane, but also that his meticulous detail and care conveyed the importance of taking my time and abiding by the multiverse’s laws as I understood them."
Here she turns to look at sky.
"I understand that what I did to the souls of the deceased was wrong, but at the time I felt I had no other choice. I see now that I should have studied what effects and repercussions my actions would have on the plane and the multiverse as a whole, but you are right. I was full of hubris. But what can one expect from a being only a few centuries old! And with respect to the tribunal that will judge me ... why and how do you wish to participate?"
|
"Using souls and denying them their final resting place is a terrible sin. However, I don't believe that your knowledge should end here. You should be trying to better the multiverse in an attempt to atone. I believe you are ready to atone. Am I wrong? If I am not, I will speak on your behalf at the tribunal."
|
Lissa pauses, thinking deeply about the images that have been flowing around the group for this mission. "I'm not very good at convincing people of things. However, the way I see it, You were trying to save knowledge, yes? It's not often that the ends can justify the means, but I think that this may be one of them. I'll try to help, but there's only so much I can do.'
|
Shamak nods after Drake's speech.
"I agree with you. With the engrams, we saw what you went through and your experiences became almost our own."
The hulking half-orc pauses, deep in his own thoughts.
"I... joined you as you learnt the weaving techniques. It was... beautiful."
He shakes his head and coughs loudly to regain his composure.
"Well... I wish for you to plead guilty. Guilty with a will to atone for what you've done. And I'll plead for you if you do so."
"Using souls and denying them their final resting place is a terrible sin. However, I don't believe that your knowledge should end here. You should be trying to better the multiverse in an attempt to atone. I believe you are ready to atone. Am I wrong? If I am not, I will speak on your behalf at the tribunal."
Hao Jin's eyes suddenly start glowing and it is clear that Drake's words and his question are creating emotional stress that weaken her control and it almost seems as if raw magical power is radiating from her.
"I am ready to atone!" she says with a crackling voice.
Lissa pauses, thinking deeply about the images that have been flowing around the group for this mission. "I'm not very good at convincing people of things. However, the way I see it, You were trying to save knowledge, yes? It's not often that the ends can justify the means, but I think that this may be one of them. I'll try to help, but there's only so much I can do.'
Hao Jin reacts with a nod and waves of fire that warms the surroundings starts to permeate from her body.
Shamak nods after Drake's speech.
"I agree with you. With the engrams, we saw what you went through and your experiences became almost our own."The hulking half-orc pauses, deep in his own thoughts.
"I... joined you as you learnt the weaving techniques. It was... beautiful."He shakes his head and coughs loudly to regain his composure.
"Well... I wish for you to plead guilty. Guilty with a will to atone for what you've done. And I'll plead for you if you do so."
Suddenly, Hao Jin breathes in and all of the magical energies are sucked back into her being.
She steps back.
"Thank you for being my advocates at the tribunal. I need to go ... I need to think." and with a small wave of her hand she vanishes.
**** The Tribunal ****
Eleven-Sun-Truth seems to be concerned about Hao Jin's disappearance.
"Hao Jin stays behind I assume. Well, she will not be needed until a bit later in the day. She promised me to begin reattuning herself to her memory engrams and begin the transcription of the "Ark Ritual" that you will take back with you."
Eleven-Sun-Truth leads you all to the tribunal.
On the way through several Travel Portals, he explains that although the Ruby Phoenix was a relative unknown when she arrived centuries ago, she has become the center of quite a bit of attention since then.
Her reputation ensures that as word of her trial has spread through several districts, there’s already an immense yet orderly crowd of curious inevitables, glimmering axiomites, petitioners, and off-world visitors gathered around the sprawling courthouse today.
*
As you step through the final portal, you can see that the inevitable has not lied, and there is indeed a huge crowd waiting to enter the scene of today's tribunal.
Eleven-Sun-Truth escorts the you through the crowd, which parts smoothly and politely to make way. Once you are inside, the inevitable lets you know that you are free to explore the courthouse’s expansive, three-story entry hall where a host of barristers, bureaucrats, scribes, and more are discussing a combination of legal theory and the upcoming trials for the day.
Eleven-Sun-Truth requests that you remain in the general area while it checks in with its superiors, mentioning that the trial’s set to begin in about 2 hours.
He also suggests that you ask around and inform yourself of today's proceedings and of who the judges in the tribunals might be, as even he has not been told about their identity.
Drake talks to some of the people who are hanging about the courthouse today and learns an apkallu named Tchekua will most likely be a judge today, as he was part of Hao Jin’s first tribunal.
Tchekua was fairly sympathetic to Hao Jin centuries ago and might still be. There’s also word that one of the judges is arriving from another plane for this event, which is rare.
He further learns that Tchekua is an enthusiast of mortal history, having studied and catalogued the lengthy timelines of thousands of worlds. He is an avid archivist who understands the merits of preserving and understanding the past.
Finally, a particularly talkative mercane lets Drake know that Tchekua has a slight bias toward those who speak in ornate ways, and he’s readily wooed by those who demonstrate sincere passion.
* *
The prevailing rumor of the off-world judge is that they’re a representative of the Boneyard, based on the group of psychopomps seen alighting and entering through the courthouse’s back entrance. If it’s true, the psychopomps would be especially interested in anything Hao Jin did that influenced the River of Souls (the means by which the dead reach Pharasma for their final judgment).
Drake also learns that the secretive psychopomp is a yamaraj named Zahal who specifically requested a position on the tribunal upon learning of it.
Apkallus are extraordinarily powerful outsiders who resemble anthropomorphic birds and are patrons of mortal civilization. Yamarajes are dragon-like beings considered the most powerful of the psychopomps.
Chrone uses their encyclopedic knowledge of the outer planes and the powers who live there to interpret some of what they hear around her and translate some of the names of places and people that are mentioned.
An axiomite mentions that Hao Jin’s demiplane offended many of her people who are concerned with the stability of the cosmos, but apparently it perturbed even Otolmens, a primal inevitable demigod of Axis concerned with machinery, mathematics, and physics. She believes she saw the Tenth-by-Third, the herald of Otolmens, enter the courthouse, and it seems likely the herald will serve as one of the judges.
Tenth-by-Third is dogmatic even by the standard of inevitables. The scent of chaos offends the herald, whereas interacting with lawful-aligned beings sets the herald at ease. The herald Tenth-by-Third respects logical arguments and those backed by quantitative data, whereas they interpret impassioned arguments as muddied by emotional interference.
Some bystanders believe that the yamaraj Zahal may be serving as one of the other judges. A yamaraj is an extremely powerful dragon-like psychopomp that operates one of the Boneyard’s courts to determine souls’ fates.
Any psychopomp judge would take offense at any interference in the River of Souls, so such a topic should be handled carefully if it’s brought up. Few understand her, considering her a wild card. In the Boneyard, she’s as often chided for her leniency—even for crimes that others would consider unforgivable—as respected for her grim verdicts, though such decisions almost always come down to the context of the deeds.
With Shamak along for the conversations, you are able to discern a few more things about the upcoming Tribunal.
It operates as more of a hearing in which the judges listen to any statements from the subject and those who can speak to the subject’s character, deeds, and motivations. The judges control the proceedings’ tempo, often conversing among themselves before calling on the subject or witnesses to provide additional information.
It’s also customary for the tribunal’s subject to have legal representation, both to assist her and any witnesses, but nobody knows who is serving as Hao Jin’s counsel (if anyone). Her case might suffer if she chooses to represent herself.
HAO JIN RETURNS
As the tribunal begins you suddenly see Hao Jin appearing next to Lissa.
She hands over scrolls and documents to Lissa and it seems as if she is under great physical and emotional stress.
“Here is everything you need! Save the tapestry!!“