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Tear
Tear: A Primer on Government.
In the times after the Fall, the world fell to anarchy. These times bring out
the true sides of people. Some bend to help others, even to their own detriment.
Others, opportunists, take what is not theirs, and use the travail of others to
their own good. The Servants of the Dark, the closest to the Dark One, were
given certain power over other men. Nine of the most powerful of these were
taken to Tear. Here they were installed as governors over the land. Called
simply, The Nine, these men and women rule with an iron fist. Their plans are
their own, and they act as they will.
They have decimated the city, destroying it, and sending its populous into
fearful retreat. In some semblance of governance, every day for two hours, any
citizen of Tear may approach the Stone and beg entrance. He or she may then go
to the throne room and throw themselves upon the floor and beg the mercy of the
court. They can request amnesty from a crime, absolution from a sentence,
request a judgement over a dispute, or any number of other things. Many of these
people never return, and if they do, they are changed. Some believe they come
back as spies and servants. Others believe they have a far darker end.
It is well known that The Nine regularly employ spies and send them to the city.
For this reason, the citizens of Tear are wary of strangers, and even of those
whom they have known for years. Any crime is punishable by one thing: death. the
bodies are mutilated and hung outside The Stone, or in any number of public
places, subtle reminders to behave, or not to get caught. The spies are either
very direct, "Who are you, what do you do, why are you buying this?"
or they are very subtle, and suddenly you just... disappear.
Tarians live a fearful life, with death literally behind every door. The Nine
need abide by no laws, they are the laws, and anyone who says otherwise is dead.
Rumours of a resistance movement are quickly squashed by the shock troops of The
Nine, simply the Guard. The Guard are the arm and fist of the law. One someone
needs to be arrested, or beaten, or kidnapped, or murdered; it's the Guard that
does it. They march with heavy armour, and patrol the streets, killing if
necessary, are often if it is not. |
