The justice system in Elderen does not involve courts and law officers like those in Petvia and the Numian coast, or the archaic 'eye for an eye' retributive sentences found across Imperial lands, or even the uniform exilements of their northern Bec neighbours. Instead, judicial punishment in Elderen revolves around the keyn, the 'crime-price'.
The Keyn
A keyn is a contract drawn up by the local lord or appointed official (reeve, bailiff, castellan, steward, etc) that issues a fine that must be paid by the criminal, the amount being dependent on what crimes were committed. The keyn is then given to the offended party of the crime and entitles them to the fine that is to be paid, as well as permitting them to use force against the criminal to collect the fine if they do not willingly pay, though maiming and killing are still forbidden. If the criminal does not willingly pay the fine and the offended party can not or does not want to collect it themselves, they can sell the keyn to someone else.
If the fine is not paid by the deadline stated in the keyn, the criminal is declared an outlaw - they lose all protections given to them by their lord and anyone can kill them without punishment. Whoever holds the keyn then has the right to any and all of their possessions, property, and wealth.
The Fuldayn
In the case of murder, a special form of keyn exists. This is called the fuldayn, the 'blood-price'.
The first difference of the fuldayn is that the murderer is immediately declared an outlaw. The second is that there is no fine to be paid, with the fuldayn giving the right to any and all of their possessions, property, and wealth straight away. The third is that once the local lord decides a price that the dead party's life is worth, they themselves pay this to the next of kin of the dead party. The lord will then send men after the murderer to kill them and take all of their assets, or they will sell the fuldayn to someone else. This way the family of the dead party always gets the full 'blood-price' paid to them, and the local lord fulfils their obligation to protect their people.
The Huntsmen
While it is not unknown for the offended party of a crime to go after the criminal themselves, or for random citizens to buy a keyn in hopes of a quick payday, the majority of keyna are bought and completed by professionals. These professionals are called 'huntsmen' and travel across the country buying and completing keyna for profit. Most are independent but there are a few huntsmen guilds that run out of the major cities of Elderen, buying up the most of the keyna in that area and distributing them out to their members. Many of these guilds don't even need to search for keyna to buy due to enough people coming directly to them to sell.
Most keyna end without violence and with the criminal paying the fine before the deadline. This is the desired outcome for all involved and is what most huntsmen try to achieve, as it lowers the risk to themselves and reduces the chance of accidentally killing or maiming the criminal. However, it returns a smaller profit compared those brought in by either keyna that have passed the deadline or by fuldayna. Only the bravest or most foolish huntsmen take on these jobs, as it is well known that someone who is declared outlaw has nothing left to lose and is a very dangerous target. These huntsmen are commonly given the knickname of 'bloodhounds'.
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