Two years ago, one of the largest beds of crime and poverty disappeared, as if by magic. Nearly two hundred people died in the fighting, including several large figureheads in The Soul Trade, Romantic Literature, [REDACTED BY THE MINISTRY OF PUBLIC DECENCY] and protections rackets spanning from Spite to Wolfstack Docks.
Although the conflict lasted less than seven hours, the effect it has had on the surrounding areas has been tremendous. The Flowerdene Massacre, or as some of a different political agenda call it, The Flowerdene Reclamation, has caused the economy in Spite to flourish and violent crime rates to plummet, but has markedly increased crime in other areas of the city, including Veilgarden and the areas around Mahogany Hall.
The perpetrator of this atrocious and bloodthirsty assault on the good people of London now stands on trial before a jury of his peers, having finally released his name and address to the public, most likely in some sort of expectation of clemency.
Elias Lowe II stands before not only the people of London, but also some of it’s more noteworthy members of society, selected from all walks (limps, shuffles and lurks) of life. Those that stand against his cruel perversion of morality and justice will speak against him personally, the shatter any disillusionment his supporters might be under.
So it has been decreed by The Powers That Be and so it shall be delivered. Who steps forward first?
(( I thought this might be something new to try. A court room drama tied hand in hand with a guilt-free way to call out Eli and all his ideals for what they are! Anyone looking for favor among high-society would be thoroughly praised for helping put such a menace to public society away! Once you feel like you’ve got enough information, cast your vote! ))
A high voice, with an accent indicative of one of the more western States of America, shouts “Behead him! Burn the walking Cordecyps-infested corpse too!” from a gallery.
The chief persecutor smirks at Eli when the high voice rings out but asks for relative silence.
“On a quiet afternoon, two years ago nearly to the day, this man that stands before you brought no less than eighty eighty men and women of undefined identity into the rookery. In the seven hours they were there, they wantonly slaughtered a total of one hundred and eighty seven people! Permanently!” The crowd gasps dramatically.
“Actually, it was a round one hundred and ninety.”
“Silence!” The Judge hisses. “You may proceed.”
“The loss of life in The Flowerdene Massacres has effected us all tremendously. Many of us lost family in those attacks… Friends… Colleagues… And now! The blood-crazed murderer stands before us as king of this putrid pile of waste! He has made the former neighborhood into a fortress! Where he trains corruptible youths and weak-minded degenerates to pursue lives of murder, lust and indignant trickery! Will we stand for such a usurper of a none existent throne, my good people?!”
The crowd whole-heartedly mimics Bertrand’s cries, turning his isolated indignaty into a cacophony. Elias is allowed to speak.
"The battle was an entire war contained within a single move. It’s objective was to dismantle the hierarchy of the crime rings that have been exploiting and dis-empowering the people of Greater Spite and Wolfstack since before The Fall. I was successful.
A angry, polish voice is heard from a gallery "Let him out, Дурак. He tries to improve the world. He fixes what you sukinsyny failed to do and created a lot of trouble. So, pójdźcie sobie do piekła!"[li]
A list is delivered to the jury and passed around for all to see. Most of the people on the list are either vague descriptions and clinical causes of death, or are clearly street names with no surnames being used. Among them, Lamia might recognize the name of a very vicious and unscrupulous spirifer who went off the radar a year before the attack. Maria might recognize several notorious racketeers and a handful of innocent bar patrons. Bertrand might recognize a banker and a bloodless snuffer in hiding. edited by The Absurd Rogue on 6/23/2016
(Lamia looks over the list.) "Excuse me. But if the people lost in the fight were someone’s ‘family members and colleagues’, then why is this list so vague? ‘Family members and colleagues’ implies that there were people who were able to positively identify the dead."
(OOC: Sorry, that was my initial response before you added the detail about the spirifer. Lamia’s not sure what to do with that information right now, anyway. She’ll just store it for later.) edited by Lamia Lawless on 6/23/2016
Elias attempts to get a word in but he receives several withering glances and decides to stay silent. The persecutor pauses only a beat before replying.
“Many of the deaths were attributed to blunt trauma or burns caused in the fires and close quarters combat that ensued throughout the massacre. Many of the bodies are unidentifiable, even by their next of kin.”
[quote=The Absurd Rogue]A list is delivered to the jury and passed around for all to see. Most of the people on the list are either vague descriptions and clinical causes of death, or are clearly street names with no surnames being used. Among them, Lamia might recognize the name of a very vicious and unscrupulous spirifer who went off the radar a year before the attack. Maria might recognize several notorious racketeers and a handful of innocent bar patrons. Bertrand might recognize a banker and a bloodless snuffer in hiding. edited by The Absurd Rogue on 6/23/2016[/quote]
"Your honour. Miss Lawless is right. The list is very noticeably vague. And… most of these people are Kurwa! What was the word again… those who sell their bodies. They DESERVED to die. Eli did our society a favor by killing them." The auburn haired thief starts to cry "H…h…he just c’ c… can’t go to p…pr… więzienie. Doesn’t deserve."[li]
There is a notable uproar, including from Elias, who is not heard over the din before the judge slams his mallet. “ORDER IN THE COURT!” He sneers down at Maria. “The people killed in the massacre have all been accounted for, even if their precise identities were not. Many were passing through, but many more were invalids who lived there out of necessity and might have been rightly disowned by their respective clans and kin.”
[quote=Lamia Lawless](Lamia whispers to Maria.) "Probably had better not call me ‘Miss Lawless,’ here. It’s Miss L." (She hands her a handkerchief.)
(She continues to address the prosecutor.) "Then these names, few that they are, are the only positive identifications we have?"[/quote]
(Maria dries her eyes and whispers to Lamia) Sorry. I have another idea to defend. Which could send me to prison. How… corrupt or scared are english judges and prosecutors. They might now want to lead a half-life the auburn haired radium enthusiast grins[li]
"This man clearly believes that he is entitled to be judge, jury, and executioner to the masses. Why then is he offered the solemnity of a trial? Do the processes of law only apply when it’s him?" Eglantine’s lips thin. "If what he did was a fit thing, would it not also be a fit thing for the kin of the dead to avenge the fallen upon his body? And if it is not right for them to do that, how can he justify his own actions, in doing these deeds outside the law? It would be hypocrisy of the highest order." edited by Eglantine-Fox on 6/23/2016
The crowd was always against Eli, but they rally around Eglantine. A crumpled newspaper is thrown from the stands but fall short before reaching Eli. The Judge lets the outrage simmer before calling for order.
“Even a murderer of this putrid prominence deserves a trial, but the way this is turning out, it will be a short one.”
"Hold on. I don’t think this trial should proceed as it is. The prosecutor was clearly trying to drum up enmity among the jury when they invoked ‘friends, family members, and colleagues.’ And I still think, explanations notwithstanding, that the information being presented to us is suspiciously vague.
I think we deserve all the facts. I don’t appreciate being led by the nose. I’d rather draw my own conclusions.
There’s another thing I find disturbing: He couldn’t possibly have murdered all of those people single-handedly. There were other people involved in the fight. A substantial number of people, in fact. So why do we keep calling him the ‘murderer?’ Where are the other people who were responsible?"