When My Writing Troubles Me - Creating Injustice in a Fantasy World
I was troubled by writing Part 3: Chapter 50 of _A Castrovel Adventure_ and was strongly tempted to edit it or leave it out altogether. Yet I chose not to, since what I find troubling is not the way I wrote it, but the subject matter narrated within. I decided to let it stand on its own relative merits, because what is troubling is the portrait it paints of Lashunta society. I have expected criticism to come back on this chapter, that I should have portrayed something differently or had my characters behave more appropriately. On a personal level, I would take such criticism as a good sign. If what I’ve written troubles people as much (or more) as it does me, that speaks well of their moral compass. So I’d like to lay out what I find troublesome in this chapter, why my characters do what they do, and why it needs to be addressed from a reader’s viewpoint.
Even though this chapter is about dealing with the aftermath of rape, I never use that word, because the word doesn’t exist within the Lashunta language. Unlike our world, rape is not part of their culture. Within the Lashunta Damaya Matriarchy, although it is physically possible, and nearly any Lashunta, on having it properly explained, would agree it is a horrible, heinous thing, male social subservience is so pervasive that the risk hasn’t needed to be socially recognized. Therefore, the crime has not been defined.
Kaure, however, was subjected to this savagery because, although she is female, she is Korasha (~Korashe~, in the Lashunta’s gender-inflected language) and not Damaya. In a previous article, I’ve discussed that the Lashunta Matriarchy is heavily identified with the Damaya clade/sub-species, which results in female Korasha cross-clade members, even females, being disentitled, a slight that has followed Kaure for most of her adult life. It is a condition that Lady Vaeol wishes to rectify, which is why she encourages her maidenmate to confront her abusers. This will come up again, and ultimately formulates the question of how the tightly sexually claded Lashunta of Pathfinder1E evolve to become the self-determining Damaya and Korasha clades of Starfinder.
A question that many readers may ask is that, once Kaure denounces and reports her attackers, why are they not arrested? In answer, they could have been (all the way back in Part 1 we established that the Lashunta of Son have a prison, mainly used as a drunk tank and to restrain disturbers of the peace), but the circumstances did not demand it. The three accused Korasha’s boss (a Damaya) shows up to speak on their behalf, who is of high enough social rank that her concerns merit deference. Instead, they are placed under a loose parole pending trial.
Yet within this web of conflicting details, I believe I’ve buried the lead on the most profound difference of all between our society and the Lashunta’s, and also the greatest potential for inustice. That is the ~Kezhara~: the curse of banishment Kaure places on her three attackers with a single public utterance. Although I’ve passingly mentioned this cultural and legal practice before, this is its first time in action. In effect, as soon as Kaure spoke, an immediate personal protection order descended upon her person, the three accused are forbidden from her home or presence, and the case at once goes to the Hall of Matrons to deem whether the men’s actions are reprehensible enough to extend to the city at large, thus making them outcast. On reflection, this is a pretty powerful individual right to exercise. It’s also exclusively female, and to be wielded solely against males. None of the men in Lady Vaeol’s flag-house could similarly denounce a female with such immediate effect - and if they brought an accusation before the Matrons that got overturned, they could likely expect afterward to be banished in retaliation.
I believe it’s important to recognize the inherent injustice in this social system, even when it is used for good. Vaeol, our narrator, does not question it, as do none of her housemates. In fact, they encourage Kaure, viewing it as seizing her rightful entitlement to address a grievous wrong (and I believe we can all sympathize with Kaure in her motivation). Even Oshis, the lone male house-member present in this scene, supports her deed (insider information = which he sees as an acceptable alternative to a more visceral and violent solution). The only question outstanding is whether Kaure will have her entitlement as a female upheld, or as a Korasha denied.
If these characters' actions and decisions seem naive, and if this society’s system seems loose, chaotic, and full of holes lending itself to abuse, I agree. Part of my characters’ naive approach is a holdover from Pathfinder1E portraying Lashunta, as a society at large, as Neutral Good. Effectively, I’ve enshrined Altruism as a prime social value, which also means that Lashunta have hardship imagining others acting in a manner not for the greater good, such as leaving town scott-free before trial (although Failure To Appear In Court is a real thing in their world as well.). Also, while Kaure may have wielded the ban-curse to address a heinous crime, nothing really can stop it from being misused to banish an innocent man. We will see this come up again.
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