The Circle of Ash

To those unfamiliar, this system of retribution sounds like it involves fire, but its name comes from the importance and proximity of ash trees to its proceedings.
Followers of The Old Ways have practiced a separate form of legal justice long before Rashō was born and brought The Edicts of Munsa to Iyallow. In contrast to The Edicts, court held in the Circle of Ash focuses on making the guilty party directly compensate the aggrieved and allows victims to personally act out revenge.

Common Characteristics

Each local druid circle has its own variation of the Circle of Ash, at times with different names given the local flora, but a few characteristics are common across all of them.
1. Each one has three separate parties that form the circle: The Accused, The Aggrieved, and The Aægleáwu (those wise in what is right and fair, typically druid elders)
2. There are three outcomes for any circle: 'Harmony' (all parties agree), 'Harm' (two parties agree), and 'Havoc' (no parties agree)
3. Anything but 'Harmony' is considered a broken circle and steps must be taken to mend the circle

Outcomes

"Harmony" - All parties agree on the facts (generally The Accused will admit guilt, but occasionally The Aggrieved will drop their accusation) and all parties also agree on any punishments.
"Harm" - One party dissents, but the other two are in agreement. This 'broken' result requires a punishment (monetary, corporal, banishment, execution, etc) decided and agreed on by the majority parties.
"Havoc" - No parties agree. This is considered very bad luck for the community and often results in extra legal violence. Generally this will happen when the Aægleáwu disagree with one of the other parties on what the punishment should be for a Harm result and they can't come to a compromise. A community suffering many 'Havoc' results may want to consider new leadership.

Significance of Ash/Flora

As previously mentioned, this traditional legal system uses Ash trees or other local fauna in its proceedings. Typically, there is a spot selected surrounded by such trees for the actual trial. Votes are cast with branches or pieces of the plants and flogging, if prescribed, is done with branches or other parts of the plant (some circles in desert terrain even use cacti - ouch).

Type

Court System

Elven History of Havoc
When the various Elven peoples were making their decision to leave the paradise of the First World, so many circles resulted in a 'Havoc' result that it was easy to see the civil war and bloodshed that would come before the exoduses. A common expression survives to this day that a town is "leaving paradise" when many cases result in irreparable circles and distrust of the druidic leadership is obvious.