The Matter of the Yarru v. The Lordship of Khaghā

On the 25th of Quo in 1431 LE, Kuyy Iū Ūni, son of Dhurrun, called the Unyielding, was tried for Treason against the Lordship of Khaghā and executed. Additionally, the Yarru was banished from all lands within 100 miles of Khaghā. It was a watershed moment in Khaghān polity.

Historical Details

Background

The Yarru, formally known as Yarru ki shā Bīmīn thū Kūt Fādā (the Society for the Regulation of Arcane Magic), held an unofficial but potent position in Khaghān society and politics. It had operated with impunity in regulating and disciplining mages and magic use in Rān society for a full millennium. In the beginning, though their methods were harsh, they were necessary, and their formation allowed the curbing of magical practice without ethical restraint. Indeed, their early success paved the way for larger Rān settlements like Khaghā to form.

Over time, however, the Yarru became corrupted. The most powerful mages rose through the ranks and became a sort of shadow government with respect to anything regarding arcane magic use. They ignored the dictates of the Lordship of Khaghā, and the Lordship, afraid of their power, did not assert their authority against the Yarru.

Eventually, some mages began to resist. While the vast majority respected the Yarru's regulations on licensure and training (to do otherwise was to invite capture, summary trial in the Yarru's courts, and execution), they eschewed full membership. At the same time, magical favors by the Yarru became openly available to anyone for a price. While many in Rān society saw the Yarru as a necessary evil, some feared their overreach.

With the selection of Ūni, son of Dhurrun as Kuyy Iū of the Yarru, this state of affairs peaked. He was both a zealot and a power-mad maniac. Under his leadership, mages were disappeared from the streets of Khaghā. Others were hunted, not for breaking laws about the use of magic, but simply because bribes were offered for their deaths or capture. He openly defied the Lordship of Khaghā on several occasions, relying on the social and political position of the Yarru to protect him and the Yarru, itself. His tactics were effective, as the nobility and the magical practitioners of the Rān feared his wrath.

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The Matter of the Yarru v. The Lordship of Khaghā

Forty-third Court Record of the Fifth Year of the Reign of Her Butha Majesty, Thāmmi, Daughter of Shāmra, Scion of Būdī of House Vāmdūn

Date

The twenty-fifth day of the month called Quo, one thousand four hundred thirty-one years after the Fall of Dragons

Location of Trial

Accusations were made and evidence presented in the assembly room of the Council of Families. Defendent's rebuttal, sentencing, and execution of said sentence were conducted in the official Hall of the Jakīsī'l within the Palace of Khaghā.

Summary of Proceedings

On this day, Kuyy Iū Ūni, son of Dhurrun, called the Unyielding, was formally accused of Treason before the Council of Families of Khaghā.

Accusations

It was alleged in a duly convened session of the Council of Families, called by Zirbumma, son of Tāmrak of House Ujiyy, that Kuyy Iū Ūni

• Ordered Kūrūn, son of Zūrn, a Wib Kīrura Fādā, or "Arcane Collector" in vulgar parlance, to apprehend Lakri, daughter of Zirbumma of the House Ujiyy from the sovereign territory of the Calpian Empire for the purpose of returning her to Khaghā to force her marriage to Drūmin, son of Vālnes, grandson of Māgral of House Mārkub.
• Issuance, under his personal seal and with the full authority of his office, one or more commissions to independent mercenary operatives to "neutralize" by any means necessary any practitioner of the arcane traveling toward Khaghā on the trade road through the sovereign realm of Shīddūnti, and to collect any items of arcane nature carried by said practitioners for return to the Yarru.

The accusations were brought in personal testimony by Lakri herself.

The proceedings in the Council of Families were presided over by Her Butha Majesty, Thāmmi, daughter of Shāmra, scion of Būdī of House Vāmdūn. This was due to Zirbumma recusing himself as Presiding Member, as is custom for the Caller of an Assembly, due to an obvious conflict of interest in this case.

Evidence Presented

The following evidence was presented in Assembly to support the testimony proffered by Lakri.

• To support the allegation of attempted kidnapping by Kūrūn, a pair of the magic-canceling manacles used by and restricted to the Wib Kīrura Fādā.
• To support the allegation of commissions ordered to neutralize arcane practioners traveling through Shīddūnti, a formal commission signed and sealed by Ūni, declaring "All practitioners of arcane arts approaching Khaghā without prior sanction shall be halted by any means necessary.... Targets deemed noncompliant or subversive are to be neutralized...with full authority under the Yarru...."

Recess

Following Lakri's testimony and the presentation of evidence to the Council of Families, Jakīsī'l Thāmmi ordered a recess. Declaring this case to exceed the authority of the Council of Families, she ordered that it reconvene in the space of one hour at the Hall of the Jakīsī'l in the Palace, to which Kuyy Iū Ūni should be summoned to answer the charges.

Reconvention and Escalation

Kuyy Iǖ Ūni was summoned to the Hall of the Jakīsī'l, where the Council of Families and the full array of the royal court were reconvened.

Defense and Sentencing and Execution

Before the assembled court and Council of Families, Jakīsī'l Thāmmi enumerated the charges and evidence. She directly questioned Kuyy Iū Ūni, specifically on each charge, she asked if he denied the charges. In both cases, Kuyy Iū Ūni was defiant, unrepentant, and refused to deny the charges against him and the Yarru. As an editorial aside, it is the opinion of this scribe that he believed that the Lordship of Khaghā would go no further than a formal rebuke.

Her Butha Majesty declared both the Yarru and Kuyy Iū Ūni guilty of Treason against the Lordship of Khaghā, for which the usual punishment is summary execution. She instead pronounced banishment from any point within one hundred miles of the walls of Khaghā.

Her Butha Majesty asked Kuyy Iū Ūni if he accepted this sentence, to which he replied that he did not.

Swiftly, and without hesitation, Her Butha Majesty, acting within her sovereign authority, gave the order, and Kuyy Iū Ūni was pierced through the heart by four arrows fired by the Jakīsī'l's men-at-arms. She declared the Tower of the Yarru confiscated.

Further, by sovereign decree, Her Butha Majesty has banned Yarru membership and presence within one hundred miles of the walls of Khaghā. By legal precedent, and consistent with the common law of the Lordship of Khaghā, anyone thus banished for membership in an organization has ten days from the date of the sentence to leave the affected area. If such an individual should choose to remain in the region beyond ten days, they are considered to have renounced their membership in said organization. Henceforth, any Yarru member who enters the area within one hundred miles of the walls of Khaghā on or after the second day of Bists in the year 1431 of the Latter Era shall be committing an Act of Aggression against the Lordship of Khaghā.

May Na record these proceedings in wisdom, and Brūyim preserve the peace thus restored.

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Authoring Date

25 Quo, 1431 LE