Rite of Requital

History

The dhaewar of Cronodor are a warlike race, but every form of combat is heavily codified to keep them from indulging in unnecessary bloodshed. The ritual duel, known as the rite of requital, has developed over many generations of the long-lived subterranean elves. It's a form of lawsuit the dhaewar use to settle matters with their own prowess instead of arguing legal counsel.
It was developed during a time when the dhaewar had taken over custodianship of the dwarven ruins of Cronodor, but before they became a semi-unified confederacy of city-states. The rite of requital remains one of the few ancient traditions still observed by all dhaewar holds.

Execution

To begin, the accusor must consult with a city official known as a shehat: the equivalent to a judge, judicator, or arbitrator. These individuals are trained in both secular and religious codes of the dhaewar and often consulted for non-binding legal opinions of both secular and religious law.
Each shehat will determine on their own terms if the accuser has enough grounds to demand a challenge. The burden of proof lies upon the accuser. If they decide it has validity, they will have a trusted agent (or they themselves) will serve the accused with the official notice of challenge. The notice contains the time and place for the challenge, as well as the terms the accuser has laid down.
The accused can appeal the terms of the challenge if they believe them to be unfair (a wizard challenged to a sword fight with no magic allowed, for example), and the shehat can then adjudicate new terms at their discretion.
At the appointed place and time, the shehat will ask the accused if they plead guilty or innocent to the charges.

• Innocent results in the duel taking place as normal according to the terms.
• Guilty results in a summary judgment and punishment assigned by the overseeing shehat.

Note: some shehat respect a plea of guilt from the accused and give lighter sentences for their responsibility. Some will apply harsher punishments as an accusation of cowardice.
The accuser is also able to appoint a willing champion in their stead if circumstances warrant and upon the shehat's approval. This entitles the accused to also nominate a champion.
Once the match begins the agreed-upon rules are enforced, some examples are:

• Third Blood: opponents fight until one party scores three bleeding wounds on the other and is declared the victor. In some communities, shields take the place, and the first to destroy all three is victorious. In the case of an arcane duel, it becomes the first to score three discharged spells on the other.
• Death: opponents fight until one is slain, the survivor being the victor. Sometimes this results in both dying.
• Melee-only: opponents fight only with melee weapons, and only ones that were brought into the field with them at the start of the duel.
• Brought-only: opponents fight only with the weapons they have brought with them. This has been used sometimes as assistant hiding in the crowd, as they "brought" aid. Some shehat consider this dishonorable, some consider it a cunning interpretation.
• No Magic: anything can be used as long as it doesn't conflict with other terms and is non-magical.

Participants

1. Shehat: Overseeing arbiter, a dhaewar trained in both secular and religious law.
2. Accuser: The wronged party.
3. Accuser's Second: A witness, possible champion, and defender chosen by the accuser.
4. Accused: The party having committed the wrongdoing.
5. Accused's Second: A witness, possible champion, and defender chose by the accused.

Observance

Each dhaewar city usually has an arena, and it's common for the rite of requital to take place on these grounds. This isn't required, however, as it can take place anywhere the accuser and shehat have agreed upon.

Related Ethnicities

• Dhaewar