Justice for All
“Though the world’s injustices may fill the vessel of your
heart with rage and hatred, though you may desire
with all your soul to destroy those who have wronged
you, remember that there is a true and greater law
more perfect than any you might ever recite, more beautiful than you might ever hope.”
—The Writ of Maal,
holiest screed of the courts of Maal
The doctrine of the courts rests on four principles,
which are described below.
There will be Justice
Even before Maal’s first declaration, there
were laws against murder and taking
justice into one’s own hands. If all
involved in the tale of Ceruill
and Ophiel had
obeyed those laws,
much suffering
would have been
avoided.
While the
Church of Maal knows
mortal laws are fallible
(though they are mostly lawful neutral,
they do not believe all laws are right simply
because they are laws), they know Maal’s law is
infallible. Maal promised all crimes would receive
justice, so it is therefore a great wrong to commit
another crime to see justice done. For instance, killing someone who has harmed your family because you
believe it is the only way to receive justice is wrong—
Maal has decreed it so, and you only prove you lack faith
in Maal and his promise. “Trust in Maal,” the justiciars
say, “for he is compassionate, and his justice will be done.”
Maal’s Wisdom is Infinite
Gods see further and understand more than even the
wisest mortal can. Maal understands society and the
mortal spirit better than any king or holy leader ever will,
so his laws and decrees are perfect. His Sacred Laws were
lost to the mortal races through ignorance, and failure to
obey them. Most in the courts believe they still haven’t
been found because of outside interference. A few believe
they will be found in sequence, once the mortal races
master them in order.
Thus, the second decree will not
appear until all mortals understand and live by the first,
surviving decree: Vengeance is wrong. Believers argue that
Maal could give mortal races the laws despite the Compact, but refrains, because he doesn’t want them ignored
and lost again. Maal’s faithful debate how many decrees
Maal gave mortals, but most agree on twelve: one for each
of the mythic leaders to whom they were given.
All People have a Right to be Judged
All people accused of a crime have a right to some sort
of trial, and should not simply be executed or punished
according to mere whim, so the courts are opposed to
low justice, in which a noble punishes a peasant however they like. All mortals have the right to some sort
of formal trial before mundane authorities, just as all
people, no matter how evil, despicable or chaotic, have a
right to appear before Maal, and receive final judgment.
Believers therefore abhor any magic that entraps or
destroys the soul, or prevents it from ever going to Maal.
Transforming oneself into a lich qualifies. They refer to
all such magic as “anarchic,” and court officers tirelessly
pursue those who use it.
Those Who Deny the Right to Judgment are Enemies
Be it a king who gives legal protections to nobles, but
allows peasants to suffer the chaotic whims of hetman and
gangs, or a sorcerer who traps souls in a magical well to
power his spells, the courts oppose those who seek to deny
others their right to procedural justice from their own
societies, or from Maal, at the cusp of the afterlife. At the
very least, courts issue edicts and arguments against those
who bar the way to judgment, but in the worst cases, the
courts might take up arms. The courts are not egalitarian,
however, and do not require a kingdom to treat all its subjects equally, or issue virtuous laws. A lawful evil empire
might escape the courts’ opposition, if all its people have
access to some formal justice system.
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