Book of Bone and Ebony

COURTLY ESSENCE
The courtiers that walk the halls of the Dual
Monarchy’s palace manage to attain a measure of
greatness merely from their association with the
Dual Monarchs. Without knowing it, their presence
serves a role in the vast and ongoing ritual of the Cult
of the Dual Monarchy. Those who become most
accepted in the court are those who become deeply
attuned to this process and can tap into the intensity
of the prayers in the Dual Monarchy’s palace, receiving
the benefits of Underworld Cult •••. This
requires a minimum of Socialize •• and at least a
month of making friends and contacts within the
court (which can be represented by either a Background
of Contacts • or Influence • in relation to
the court). This association is fickle, however, and
the Storyteller has the final say over who is a member
of this “inner clique” and who is not. Such members
are notoriously arrogant, perfectly aware as they are
of their greater status within the city.
The Keeper of the Mandate, Master Amenti, knows
every law, every precept, by heart. He is a frail spirit with
thin, white hair and skeletal hands covered in the fine
parchment of ancient, ghostly flesh. His face hides behind
a bestial mask, and long, colorful robes adorn his body. He
long ago forgot the mortal world, and all of his passions and
enormous intellect now focus on the legal matters of
Stygia. None understand the law as well as he. He is
hopelessly corrupt, with his hands in every governmental
pocket and bribes flowing from his many arrests. He is
petty, filled with all the spite and rigidity of the dead, and
he enjoys using his position to wreak havoc on his enemies.
His rivals have come to despise the rustling whisper of his
voice and the impeccable logic of his arguments. However,
despite his shortcomings, his dedication to the status quo
makes him the most stalwart ally the Dual Monarchy has,
and he uses all of his considerable resources to aid it.
Hidden in the Hall of Two Truths, behind his scrolls, legal
summons and the massive Mandate, he reads in peace,
occasionally reaching out with his influence to ensnare
the foes of the Monarchy in bureaucratic red tape.
The law serves Stygia in a myriad of ways. Foremost, it
serves as a method to clean the streets. The police gather up
useless rabble and either throw them into chains to serve as
slave labor or pitch them from the city, exiling them into the
wilds that surround Stygia. For the wealthy, it serves as a
distraction, something to fuel their passions. Many powerful
dead pay close attention to the drama of legal proceedings.
A few police even hunt down dangerous elements within
the city. Not every agent within Stygia is a corrupt thug, and
often, the young ghosts of investigators and guards are
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CHAPTER ONE • STYGIA
driven to seek out nephwrack conspiracies and hostile
criminal organizations, bringing safety to the city.
When an arrest occurs, the officer generally arrives
with a sizable contingent of armed guards, usually between
five and ten. For wealthy detainees, the guard serves a sort
of ceremonial function, and the more guards that attend,
the greater the prestige associated with the arrest. For more
reluctant suspects, the guards must be prepared to fight, for
the dead are passionate and enjoy a final showdown. The
charges are read from a long scroll, and the flowery detailing
of the crimes can take several minutes. Charges come
in varying degrees of severity, and the Storyteller should
assign a level between one to five for them. Level-one
charges are minor traffic infractions, violations of etiquette
and various small peculiarities and technicalities
that exist in the enormous legal codes of Stygia. Such
charges are often dismissed outright after some legal wrangling
and a few bribes. Level-two and -three charges are
often assault and theft, with petty theft and assault against
lesser, unimportant ghosts making up the level-two charges
and greater theft and assault against more prominent dead
making up the level three charges. Level-four and -five
charges are reserved for murder, treachery and consorting
with the minions of Oblivion, though this final charge is
seldom leveled with any seriousness anymore and never
leveled against any servant of a Deathlord. However, the
complexity and obscurity of Stygian law ensures that
arrests can be made for almost any reason. For example,
insulting Lord Stalwart might result in some strange and
ancient level-four charge being brought against the offender.
Also, a torrid affair with a foreign princess might
bring a level-two charge, just to keep things interesting. In
practice, arrests are not made to serve justice. Rather,
Stygians use them to further their tormented games of
intrigue and politics.
After receiving the charge, a ghost may attempt to
construct a defense that will diminish the effectiveness of
the charges made against him. This requires an Intelligence
+ Bureaucracy roll with a difficulty equal to the
severity of the charges. If successful, the severity is lessened
by one, and level-one charges are dismissed (meaning that
only the most legally inept ghosts ever go to court over
such minor infractions).
Court proceedings can best be described as a circus.
Because the verdict is always known before the trial even
begins, the purpose of the trial is not to prove innocence
or guilt, but rather, to provide a platform for melodramatic
performances. Prosecutors grandstand, and witnesses burst
out in wailing confession, and above it all, perched atop
towering podiums, the skulls of the judges peer down from
beneath their powdered wigs, their claw-like hands clicking
hungrily against the wood of the bench. Indeed, the
powerful ghosts of Stygia find it quite fashionable to be
arrested and enjoy the hardships of the Stygian legal
system, so long as the price of conviction isn’t too high.