Chương 152: Interlude: Firing the First Volleys

Tribunal forums are usually quick and boring affairs. It's not a trial—those are for criminals, and typically handled by the local administration. Disputes within noble families or the military get handled internally, and any truly substantial dispute between families either gets settled between the Matriarchs or brought before the empress' court. Tribunals like this are for minor civil disputes, often between common folk. Usually, Clan Baanu wouldn't bother. But this is an exception.

Lady Gaa can't let the death of her scion go, but to bring a clanless male to speak before the empress would shame her entire family. She did, in all fairness, attempt to settle the issue with Faarah privately, but her tone was very demanding and Faarah was not receptive. She sighs and shakes her head. If only her title was more than nominal.

"Lady" Faarah Foren has always resented her so-called prize—the opportunity that many rangers, herself included, have fought hoof and horn to obtain. A word—empty and meaningless. She has no land, no people, and no power beyond that which she already earned as grandmistress of the rangers. Her title isn't inheritable, either, so she can't create her own noble house. The truth behind her prize is that she was not given power as a reward for her service, she was given a title to validate the power she already had.

Still, it does come with some rights. The only reason Matriarch Gaa has to treat with her in the first place, rather than unilaterally punishing Draga under her own authority, is because Faarah is technically a noble. Hence, the tribunal. Faarah refuses to fold, and Lady Gaa can't afford the embarrassment of bringing the issue before the empress, which leaves this as their only recourse. It's a rare and historic event, and the first time Faarah's rights as a noble have been so heavily exercised—or challenged.

The forum quickly fills with interested parties seeking to witness the new precedent being set. The arbiter herself won't rush to make a decision, either. She can afford neither to insult the Gaa Matriarch nor set a dangerous precedent that gets attributed to her for years or decades to come. After all, she's a Baanu too, and has the interests of her own family to consider. It was a fight just to ensure that the arbiter wasn't someone with explicit ties to the Gaa family.

What bothers Faarah most about the gathering isn't the legal spectacle or the implicit insult to her status—she cares little for either—but rather the fact that the ostensible subject of the entire tribunal is practically an afterthought. Draga Clanless sits patiently at her side, practically invisible to most of the onlookers. To most of the people here, he's not much more than a prop. Just the foundation upon which the vehicles of their political machinations tread. It's disgusting.

He is, ironically, far more at peace with it than she is. Even at her worst, Faarah has never had to suffer the fate of a clanless male—the lowest of the low. Draga, however, is used to it. He sits in silence, content to let things play out before him and quietly resigned to his fate. He probably won't even get a chance to speak today. Technically, Gaa's claims are against her.

She has final authority over whatever punishment befalls Draga, in theory—though realistically she'll have to comply with whatever decision the arbiter makes.

"Silence from the gallery, please," the arbiter calls from the central podium.

"We will begin in just a moment." Faarah doesn't know her, apart from the fact that she's from one of the smaller Baanu families. Dou, maybe. Faarah makes a note to get the arbiter's name in case she has to formally introduce herself. Keeping up with all the politics is exhausting, but necessary in her position.

"This forum gathers to hear complaints on behalf of the Gaa family of clan Baanu, regarding the conduct of the Stebaari Order of Rangers, under the supervision of Lady Faarah Foren. We will begin by hearing the complaint—Lady Lori Gaa Baanu, you have the floor." The arbiter steps back from her lectern, but remains on the podium. She has the right to interrupt any speaker, as the one in charge of the tribunal, though in practice it's rarely exercised against women of higher status.

Across from her, the young scion of Gaa steps up onto another podium, holding herself with all the poise and grace expected of her clan. Faarah remains seated, though she'll be taking the third and final podium once called upon. In the meantime, Lady Lori begins her practiced speech.

"Friends and fellow citizens, I wish to make something perfectly clear before we go on with these proceedings," she says, speaking at a normal volume as her voice is carried by a combination of the architecture of the forum and her own oratory skills.

"This tribunal is an insult to all that our empire stands for. Lady Faarah Foren, in honor of her exemplary service to our people, was granted the great privilege of becoming a peer of the realm—a noblewoman, with all the rights and responsibilities thereof." This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. She doesn't even spare Faarah a glance as she goes on.

"But she has failed those responsibilities! Not only has she allowed criminals and degenerates into the ranks of her order, but she has allowed them to act unchecked. Under her governance, the Order of Rangers has fallen into disgrace—a shadow of its former glory barely held aloft by the generous contributions of well-meaning members such as Lady Talla or Lady Mira of the Goa and Shaa families respectively.

"This failure has at last culminated into what I can only call an inevitable tragedy, when a ranger team escorted Priestess Kiera Goa Baanu—my older sister—on what should have been a routine expedition to maintain the wards on a distant convergence point near the ringward border. Led by a clanless male and former criminal, they shirked their duty and failed to protect their charges, resulting in the death of my sister and her bodyguards." Farrah narrows her eyes. So that's their game.

By focusing the attention on her instead of Draga, they not only avoid the embarrassment of bringing charges against a clanless male, but they also rely on literal prejudice. Their accusation is that Faarah has failed to properly punish the criminals in her ranks—whether or not Draga is a criminal isn't part of the question, it's just assumed. The worst part is that they're right.

Faarah knows Draga's history—born clanless, joined the military, then left when the war ended to find better uses for his skills during peacetime. A common story—Faarah was a former soldier herself, though she retired long before the war against the ringward colonies.

He's stayed out of trouble since his time in the military, but a boy growing up alone and clanless always has a history, and Faarah has no doubt that Baanu has dug up every last scrap of it to counter any complaints she might have against their characterization.

"We demand that Lady Faarah bring these criminals to justice! We also believe that she should be stripped of her title, and the Order of Rangers reorganized to remove criminal elements and prevent such failures of leadership from ever occurring again." Lady Lori steps back to yield the floor, and the arbiter returns to her own place to respond.

"With respect, cousin, I am not the empress. This tribunal does not have the power to strip Lady Faarah of her titles or rights," she explains calmly.

"The rest remains to be seen. Lady Faarah Foren, you may take the floor to offer a defense." As she rises, Faarah gives Draga a firm pat on the shoulder, exuding more confidence than she actually feels. This is a nightmare, even with Lady Goa's unofficial support. She doesn't have a Baanu's grace as she steps up onto her podium, nor is she dressed as finely. She has no skills to support her voice, guide her words, or endear herself to the audience.

What she does have is nearly two decades of experience dealing with bullshit politics, the tenuous advantage of facts on her side, and a very loud voice.

"Thank you, Lady Arbiter," she says, grateful that using her title is appropriate for the setting.

"Following Lady Lori's example, I'd like to clarify something myself. Sir Draga is one of my best rangers—he is not the highest level, or the most accomplished, nor is he uniquely talented as a fighter. But he is reliable and consistent—which is exactly what you need in a line of work as dangerous as ours.

"Rangers have our own internal hierarchy, regardless of status. Your birthrights won't save you from an anomalous monster bearing down on your position—only levels and experience. Even within that hierarchy, teams are given the independence to self-organize. Leadership is determined by the team, not necessarily by their ranks.

Draga leads his team because his teammates trust his leadership, and I have every reason to believe that trust is why Draga's record as a team leader is among the best in the organization for his tier and tenure." She takes a deep breath to prepare herself. What she's about to say next is not going to earn her any friends.

"He is also the highest level and most decorated member of his team. While teams aren't obligated to organize that way, they often do by default. For an exception, we need look no further than one of the rangers you mentioned—Lady Mira Shaa Baanu. Ranger Mira is not the highest level on her team—in fact, she is frequently the lowest. I say 'frequently' because the composition of her team changes often.

Despite rarely taking missions outside of the general Stebaari region, she has the highest casualty rate of any team leader—at any rank." A mild susurrus sweeps through the gallery. It's not surprising news to anybody that knows Mira, only that Faarah actually said it.

"Arbiter, I object—I fail to see what this has to do with my complaint!" Lori interjects.

"Lady Faarah has the floor," the arbiter argues.

"She can do with it as she pleases."

"I'll get to the point," Faarah assures them both.

"Sir Draga's conduct has been spotless since he joined the order, with minimal casualties and a strong record. While the woman you touted as one of the few pillars holding up the organization has had frequent warnings for her poor conduct. Most recently for assaulting a legal resident of the city!

"It's not my intent to impeach clan Baanu or the Shaa family. Only to highlight a serious flaw in your complaint. I do not lead the Rangers because of my status, I earned my status by becoming the leader of the rangers. Our organization values merit above all else, because in our line of work anything else gets you or someone else killed. Do not tell me how to do my job, Lady Lori—if I ran it the way you want me to, the entire order would be dead within the season."

Lady Lori clenches her fists and narrows her eyes at Lady Faarah. The battle has begun and the opening rounds have been fired. It's going to be a long day, and they haven't even started shouting yet. The young lady came prepared to pluck at heartstrings, undermine Faarah's leadership, and demonize Draga. Faarah came prepared to shout over her until the Great Wheel stops spinning.