Justice Is Unnecessarily Broody Today

[Shax]

Volken drew himself up when the man announced his name. He didn't know what nobility meant to Lord Sandor, but from the way the man spoke and carried himself, it was similar to his own ideas. Volken nodded as the man spoke, for he didn't know what the Lord Icelle's customary greeting was. He spoke clearly, and plainly, as if one was speaking to an equal, "I am Volken of House Sandanar, first of my name, Lord of Lonely Light and Paladin of Mortis." Volken let his eyes fall away from the man, he knew what it was like to be the survivor of something, but not the last survivor. He regained his posture and spoke in a more professional tone "Yes nobility carries weight, our Empress, whom you have met, rules this world. I can only imagine the definition is similar to yours."

Volken stood silently for a few moments, unsure of what he wanted to say. He looked back towards the man and said "You sword, I presume that is Hoarfrost? Who crafted it? It's not something one could simply purchase, and it did more damage to my armour than I thought it would considering where and how it struck me." Subconsciously Volken held his hand to his side. He was getting off topic, but the sword was interesting and dangerous all the same, and if Volken could replicate the way it was created, that would be a significant boon to the Paladins.

 

[Sscorpiun]

"Paladin?" Sandor inquired, "I've heard mention of that term around here multiple times... People seem to respect them, revere them. Some even fear them from what I've heard. You're one of them then?" Sandor wasn't scared. The ones who feared the Paladins were mostly smugglers he'd conversed with, so he wasn't surprised.
He then responded to Volken's questions about his sword.
"Yes, Hoarfrost is my family's sword. It was forged a thousand years ago by the founders of my house. They were force users, and decided to cast as much power as they could into the metal the blade was formed out of. The material was supposedly found on my homeworld. Unfortunately I know neither the material nor the method of creation. Since I never knew the official name of my planet, I'd have a hard time finding it for you..." Sandor sighed. "Maybe it's a good thing my sword can't be replicated. Only a force wielder can swing it easily and really connect with it. If something like that falls into the hands of a powerful Sith or Jedi..." he trailed off. He decided to ask his own question. "Lady Helin, she's the leader of the Paladins as well as this planet's ruler, I gather? She's one hell of a woman," he chuckled, "and she certainly caught me off guard with her power." He grinned to himself.

 

[Shax]

Strange that the man hadn't done his research on Adumar, though that wasn't entirely unlikely now that Volken thought about it. The Paladins had been relatively secular during their stay on Adumar, and the world itself wasn't exactly well known. Volken didn't know how much to tell the man, so he simply gave him the quick public details on the order "Yes, Paladin. We serve the Church of Mortis and the Maker of All." Interrogation was never his strongest skill, so he figured he would leave many of the details to those who knew better. It was unfortunate that Lord Icelle didn't know how to replicate his sword, but not unexpected, such master-craft work was becoming a quickly fleeting art.

Volken tensed slightly at the mention of Lady Helin's name, he was still reeling from the fight she had broken up, and he wasn't exactly happy with her right now. None of this he could voice of course, especially not in front of a prisoner. His wounded pride could wait until later. Volken simply gave a nod of acknowledgement to the man, and spoke a little hastily "Yes... she caught me off guard as well." Volken once again was silent for a moment, before changing subjects "Who trained you? Its not often people come close to besting me in a straight up duel." And that was true, granted many of his opponents were simple infantry men, people who wouldn't have received much extensive training. Yet even those who were trained were often beaten or felled by Volken, unless of course they cheated by using the force, or having an ally.

 

[Sscorpiun]

Sandor raised an eyebrow. "So it's a group tied to religion?" He only believed in things he could see or feel, including the force, because he could feel the connection. Sandor noted Volken's subtle discomfort when he mentioned Helin's intervention of the duel. He decided to be more respectful to the man he had tried to disable not hours before; after all, he was an indisputably skilled fighter, and a man of true morals. "I was trained by my father. He was the greatest fighter on my planet..." Sandor felt a twang of pain in his chest at the thought of his father but continued, "he'd wholeheartedly congratulate you on your skill, and for cutting me down to size," Sandor now grinned at Volken, "Might even challenge you to a duel himself... if he were still alive" he remarked sombrely.

 

[Shax]

Volken would never admit it out-loud, but Sandor had made out better than him during the duel. If one looked at it objectively, and based on damage done to each duellist, Volken lost. He smiled genuinely however, he regarded the man as an equal in terms of martial skill, and still held to the idea that in a straight up fight, he would win. Volken let his voice soften slightly, figuring the two men were past the initial hostilities "Your father sounds like an impressive man, I'm sure it would have been an honour to meet him."

Volken's spoke again in an inquisitive, almost worried tone "Look, I don't know what went down before I arrived at that square, but holding that information back isn't going to help you." He paced around the hall in front of Sandor's cell, before leaning back against the wall adjacent to the swordsman. "At this point you aren't in a particularly good position with the law, but cooperation will help tremendously." He wore a slightly worried expression, going along with his tone of voice. Volken didn't really know what he wanted out of the Lord Icelle, but he didn't want a man of his skill trapped behind bars. He had a feeling that this one on one conversation was going to abruptly come to a close, so he figured he would try and help the man as much as he could.

 

[Sscorpiun]

Sandor was pleased to hear Volken show respect to his father; it meant a lot to him. He was beginning to dislike his captor less and less. Sandor decided there was no reason to hold back the information concerning the arrest any longer.
"In all honesty, I was only in Cartann to find an engineer for my ship. She'd taken some damage in an asteroid belt. I was on the surface overseeing the repairs, and witnessed an elderly man being robbed. The mugger confronted me and said he wanted my ship, so I put him on the ground," Sandor smiled, slightly embarrassed, "I may have gotten slightly carried away after that..." he chuckled. It was Icelle tradition to punish thieves in that way, but that tradition was a thousand years old, and probably not as fair as the respective justice here. "It's the tradition of my House to remove three fingers from thieves, to discourage habitual crime. I understand that may seem a bit violent, however. As for the money, you'll find the pouch with all my other possessions."

 

[Oncaro]

A few moments after Sandor finished speaking, the door to the dungeons opened, and the sounds of two people moving into the area could be heard.

"... Tellin' you, you shoulda seen her, she had huge--"

"Shut up. You've been on about that barmaid since yesterday, an' if I hear another word about her I'm gonna hit you in the fookin' face."

The two moved into the view of the two, showing them to be two guardsmen of the palace; one lanky, another somewhat heavyset. They both gave respectful nods to Volken.

"Apologies milord. We're takin' this sack 'a poodoo up to see the Empress," the lanky one said as the other moved to unlock Sandor's cell. "Not really a trial, I think, but prolly close enough. She wants you there too, for a proper testimony milord."

"Aye, milord," the heavy one agreed as he moved Sandor out of his cell and slapped another pair of binders onto the man's wrists. "Let's go, you."

"Pretty one, aren't ya?" the heavy guard asked sarcastically as the two grabbed his arms and led him away.

"Prettier'n my girl. I bet ya paid all your money to make your hair so curly," the lanky one snarked to Sandor, but they both went quiet before leading Sandor up a staircase and through several hallways before leading him into a large room wherein Helin of the House Tyris sat upon a throne raised on a dais, dressed very much like an empress and looking impassive as her throne was flanked by several courtiers. One of them seemed to be holding Hoarfrost.

"The prisoner as requested, Your Grace," said the heavyset guard, and he and his companion moved away from Sandor, bowing their heads to her in deference. Helin gave them both a nod and looked Sandor in the eyes.

"State your name, prisoner," the Empress said, looking to the foreign noble with a frown on her face.

@Dawnrider @Sscorpiun

 

[Sscorpiun]

Sandor rolled his eyes at the guards' comments on his hair as they fixed binders on his wrists. They were very unoriginal. "You know, if I'd spent all my money on my hair, it'd be made out of kyber." He chuckled at the thought as he was led upstairs and down some long hallways, and finally into a throne room, with Helin sitting atop a raised throne. Her regal looking attire certainly caught the attention of the Icelle; it suited the woman perfectly in his opinion. Sandor did wince slightly to see his sword in the hands of another person, but he resisted the urge to repeat his last trick. Enough people knew about him as it was.

The guards left him alone in the centre of the large hall; quite a daunting position to be in. All eyes were on the Empress as she spoke, then they unanimously fixated themselves on Sandor. He responded clearly, and projected his voice so all could hear: "My name is Sandor Icelle, my lady, though nine out of ten people that know me call me by my common nickname, The Winter. It's not an alias I assigned myself. I acquired it through my work."
He cursed himself inwardly for not using a more formal and suitable address than 'my lady'; he was too used to the customs of his own House. He also cursed himself for speaking so much. He had to remember he was a prisoner, not a King or a Lord here, but frankly he was nervous.

 

[Shax]

Volken followed closely behind the guards as they escorted Sandor out of his cell. He didn't like how the guards spoke, but he couldn't do anything about that. Not everyone was him after all. The throne room was relatively empty, though there were several of Helin's personal guard, and even more assorted nobility just milling about, only now just turning to see what the commotion was. All eyes were on Sandor when Volken reached his position, he stood to the left of the Empress, though he was several feet away from the Throne.

Sandor spoke well, if this was a standard court, where nobility had no say. But this wasn't a standard court, it wasn't even a court at all, this is the Empress making a judgement on someone. Volken spoke up, carefully matching the Empresses volume "Is that your full name? Include any titles you might hold." He kept his voice neutral, so as not to betray any of his thoughts. Though he did hope his words would prompt the man to act more formally towards the lawful Empress of Adumar.

 

[Sscorpiun]

Sandor nodded discreetly to Volken as a sign of gratitude for prompting him. Perhaps Volken didn't wish to see Sandor in chains after all, he thought. "I apologise... your Grace," Sandor spoke more formally with a tip from the speech of the guards, "I am Lord Sandor of House Icelle, First of my name, Heir to the Former Throne of Whitekeep, Wielder of Hoarfrost-" he cut himself short at that point, but then looked to Lord Volken, and decided to continue. "-lone survivor of my house, my bloodline, and my people." There was no point in withholding information, not now, not here, no matter how painful it was to speak.

 

[Oncaro]

Helin's expression did not change as Sandor spoke, but her brow furrowed as he mentioned his titles in more detail. Her gaze moved from him, then to his blade being held by one of her courtiers, then back to him.

She leaned forward a bit in her seat, eying him closely.

"I see. From one noble to another, I would like to apologize for any mistreatment given to you," she said. "Though this does not make you absolved of an assault upon another nobleman and several of my guards. Why in the name of the Father did you resist a lawful arrest, Lord Sandor of House Icelle? What good could you have possibly thought would come of it?"

@Dawnrider @Sscorpiun

 

[Sscorpiun]

Sandor looked Helin in the eyes as he responded: "I was treated as well as could have been expected, your Grace. As for your men, I apologise for any harm I have caused them. As I've traveled the galaxy, I've lost all trust in everyone. I thought you might just kill me, and I couldn't risk my family ending that way. Perhaps if I could change what I did, I would. Perhaps not." He took a slow but steady step towards the throne, "All that matters now, your Grace, is what you sentence me."
Sandor had a spark of defiance in his stance and expression. Not in an aggressive or violent way, but more of a show of individuality and fortitude.

@Dawnrider @Oncaro

 

[Oncaro]

Helin continued watching the younger noble closely, frowning thoughtfully, and she looked to one of her courtiers. Gesturing, she simply said: "Sword."

Hoarfrost was brought to her dutifully, and she had it gently set in her hands, looking to it almost admiringly.

"This is a finely-crafted blade, Lord Icelle," she said. "Though not all can sense it, it exudes the power of the Holy Force..."

Her eyes flicked back to him, even as her face still faced downward. Strands of her red hair fell over her face at this, giving her a simultaneously alluring and intimidating look.

"As do you, as you demonstrated earlier. I'd like to question you more about this, but to be frank, first we need to get the events of earlier today out of the way. What, exactly, happened before Lord Sandanar fought with you? I would like to hear from both of you, starting with you first, Lord Icelle."

@Dawnrider @Sscorpiun