Following several more rounds of statements, Vahn was ready to make his decision, declaring, "Alright, we've heard the arguments of both sides. We will now hear the opinions of the three Justices."
With Vahn glancing in her direction, Lasti, who had slumped in her chair with her feet kicked up on the bench, sat straighter and raised herself on her tentacles. She had little interest in the proceedings, but her ability to absorb, retain, and recall information perfectly meant she had everything she needed to form an opinion.
Passing her icy blue gaze over both delegations with a bored expression, Lasti kicked off her opinion, declaring, "The Demi-Human Alliance should withdraw its forces from the Roble Holy Kingdom's territory."
Hearing Lasti's declaration, the delegation from the Roble Holy Kingdom immediately perked up.
"That isn't to say that I'm siding with the Roble Holy Kingdom..." Lasti clarified, her gaze shifting to Calca as she asserted, "This incident would not have occurred if not for your beliefs and the weakness of your people as a whole. Your people believe that humans are chosen by the Gods, but what have you done with that belief?"
Resting her cheek on the knuckles of her right hand, Lasti asserted, "You have used it to control rather than to better your people. To make matters worse, you lack the power to protect those you have compelled to follow your beliefs. If not for the intervention and mercy of external forces, your Kingdom would cease to be, your people killed, persecuted, and enslaved as a direct consequence of your belief and policies..."
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"But that is beside the point..." Lasti droned, turning her attention to the demihuman delegation as she stated, "Your belief that might makes right is reflected across countless worlds. Indeed, it is because of that that we are here..."
Narrowing her eyes, Lasti unleashed an aura that caused those in the well to feel immense pressure as she appended, "However...you did not attack the Roble Holy Kingdom because you were mightier. You were compelled to attack them by an external force. And to further stain the honor of your tribes, you were forced to ally against a population you view as inferior for the same reasons your alliance was formed—because you were too weak to resist the compulsion of a more powerful force..."
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"That said..." Lasti droned, retracting her aura as she conceded, "There is nothing inherently wrong with bowing to a superior force, especially when it concerns the survival of your species. Based on your testimony and the evidence gathered by my mate, your refusal to mobilize your forces would have jeopardized the continued existence of your individual tribes. As the God-Queen of a planet and species that was nearly exterminated twice, I cannot fault you for forsaking your pride in the face of a threat you had no meaningful means to resist..."
"You have something you would like to say, Chieftain Rokesh...?" Vahn questioned, his brows perking as the snake-like man tentatively raised a hand.
"Great Justices...forgive my impertinence..." Rokesh started, bowing his head and choosing his words very carefully as he attested, "While it is a fact that our alliance was forced to invade the Roble Holy Kingdom, our campaign has not been without cost. Before our invasion began, many of our fields and storehouses were razed. We need the grain and provisions we gained from this campaign to survive the forthcoming winter. And then there is the person who forced us to act..."
"What you need to understand is that your people were likely not meant to survive long after this war's commencement..." stated Lordgenome, his deep, baritone voice reverberating through the air with a flat but decisive intonation.
With all eyes in the well turning to him, Lordgenome, sporting his usual fierce glower, explained, "You fundamentally lack the forces and group cohesion to effectively occupy the Roble Holy Kingdom's territory for an extended period..."
Making a casual gesture with his left hand, Lordgenome produced a map of the Roble Holy Kingdom's territory, including the current distribution of the Demi-Human Alliance's forces, denoted as red dots.
"As you can see here, most of your forces are currently stationed in the west, where the Roble Holy Kingdom's capital and most of its wealth and resources are consolidated..." Lordgenome stated. "What you have failed to consider is that the Roble Holy Kingdom is situated on a peninsula that is essentially isolated from the rest of the continent. You have effectively cut off your own path of retreat. And with the majority of your forces here in the Roble Holy Kingdom's land, there is little to prevent external forces from penetrating further into the Abelion Hills..."
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Scanning the map Lordgenome had produced, Rokesh's expression hardened, his serpentine eyes narrowing to slits.
"We did not leave our lands undefended..." one of the other Chieftains, the four-armed Nasrene, asserted.
"It matters not," Lordgenome asserted, shaking his head and grinning as he attested, "What matters is that you left them vulnerable..."
With another motion of his hand, several clusters of red dots appeared throughout the Abelion Hills, considerably smaller than those occupying the Holy Kingdom.
"You left behind enough warriors to deter your traditional enemies and suppress opportunistic attacks from neighboring tribes. Under ordinary circumstances, that may have been sufficient," Lordgenome conceded, his smile broadening as he added, "Unfortunately for you, these are not ordinary circumstances..."
With another gesture, Lordgenome caused the map to zoom out until the Roble Holy Kingdom and the adjoining Abelion Hills were just a small part of a much larger landmass.
"The destruction of your fields and provisions ensured that retreating without substantial gains would result in famine," Lordgenome continued, raising both hands and gesticulating like a conductor as he stated, "Your subsequent mobilization removed the warriors most capable of defending your territories. Your advance into the Holy Kingdom placed the majority of those warriors on a peninsula with limited avenues of retreat."
Seeing arrows extend from the predominantly human nations of the Re-Estize Kingdom, the Slane Theocracy, and the Free Nation of Eryuentiu pushing into the Abelion Hills and the sequestered territory of the Roble Holy Kingdom, the bodies of Rokesh and the other Chieftains tensed in grim realization.
"And, as you pointed out, your campaign has not been without casualties. Even if you were to conquer the Holy Kingdom without further resistance, your forces will continue to diminish from both the war and interpersonal conflicts among your disparate ranks..." Lordgenome asserted, sweeping his hand to zoom back in on the Roble Holy Kingdom. At the same time, a breakdown of each Chieftain's forces appeared.
"You may be marching as one right now, but an alliance formed through coercion is transient. Your people have been at war with one another for generations. That hatred hasn't disappeared. And once there are no more enemies to fight, you will invariably succumb to quarreling over land, food, and other resources your tribes require to establish themselves in a new land..."
Sweeping away the map with a dismissive gesture, Lordgenome met the gazes of the six Chieftains as he pointed out, "And that's assuming you were left to your own devices. The fact that you were compelled to march by a third party means that the moment you are no longer useful, you can be discarded at their whim."
Adopting a malicious, ear-to-ear grin, Lordgenome sent a chill through the demihuman Chieftains' bodies as he hummed, "In your efforts to preserve your people, you have marched them into a trap that leaves them no room to escape when those who compelled you to march come to pursue what they will invariably tout as retribution..."
"Such is the fate of fools who relinquish honor for short-term survival..." Lasti appended flatly, leaning back in her chair and kicking her bare feet up with a wide tablet in hand, disengaging from the discussion.
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Seeing the six Chieftains lowering their heads, grinding their teeth, and clenching their fists, Vahn couldn't help but sympathize with them. What they had done to the people of the Roble Holy Kingdom was inexcusable. But at the end of the day, they, too, were victims of a more powerful and opportunistic force, coerced into doing its will.
"As has been made apparent by these proceedings and the events that brought us here, those with sufficient power and will have the means to compel those with less to obey..." Vahn declared, his expression and tone somber as he rose to his feet, prompting Lasti and Lordgenome to do the same.
Looking first to the delegation of demihumans, Vahn proclaimed, "Once these proceedings have concluded, your forces will be teleported to the Abelion Hills. Concerning your food situation, you will be provided with a surplus to help you weather the coming winter and replenish your pre-war populations. And to prevent similar situations from occurring in the future, a Praefectus will be assigned to oversee the Abelion Hills..."
Shifting his gaze to the delegation of the Roble Holy Kingdom, specifically Queen Calca, Vahn's expression remained resolute as he concluded, "The Roble Holy Kingdom has already agreed to have a Praefectus oversee the rebuilding and restructuring of their nation. Unfortunately, it is beyond my power to reverse the tragedy that has befallen your nation and its people. And as it was ultimately your responsibility to prevent such an incursion, I am unable to conclude that the tribes of the Abelion Hills owe you for the damages you have sustained. Sovereignty carries obligations, and a state that claims authority over a population is responsible for being capable of protecting that population..."
"I object...!" Remedios shouted, her voice cutting through the atmosphere of the Tribunal like a fury-laden arrow.
Pointing at the demihumans' delegation, Remedios asserted, "You said as much yourselves! If these monstrous bastards were left alone, they would destroy themselves! It doesn't matter that they were influenced to attack us or that we were too weak to repel them! They've slaughtered countless innocents, and all because they were too stupid and chicken-shit to resist the bastards who manipulated them...!"
Though she didn't say it aloud, Vahn got the impression that Remedios' final words were directed at him. She likely believed he was the person responsible for the demihumans' attack. And even if he were to present the actual culprit, she would almost certainly view them as a scapegoat.
'This woman is exhausting...' Vahn thought, closing his eyes and reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose.
fwoom
Catching Vahn by surprise, Lasti abruptly zipped past him, leaping over the Tribunal's bench and making a beeline toward Remedios at a velocity most within the well couldn't trace.
BOOM
With Tanya closing her eyes and taking a single step to the side, there was no one to stop the lunging Lasti from grabbing Remedios by the face and dragging the wide-eyed woman across the marbled floor for several tens of meters.
stabstabstabstab
"Aaaaaaaaaaah...!"
Though there were numerous protections in place to prevent conflict and protect those appearing before the Tribunal, Lasti's authority allowed her to bypass them. Unfortunately for Remedios, this meant having her upper arms and thighs pierced by the sapphire-skinned Klaxosaur, who promptly stepped on her breastplate and asked, "You dare to direct hostility toward my mate? Foolish woman. What need have you for eyes if you cannot see the truth presented before you...?"
Using two of her tentacles, Lasti was about to ruthlessly blind Remedios before Vahn appeared at her side and promptly scooped her up, placing her in a Princess carry.
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"I will not apologize..." Lasti muttered, her cheeks gaining a faint purple hue as she averted her gaze to avoid Vahn's gentle but helplessly smiling gaze.
"I don't expect you to," Vahn responded, shaking his head before looking down at Remedios, who was glaring up at him with tears streaming down the sides of her face. He had already mended her wounds. But unless he was willing to violate her agency and free will, there was little he could do to mend her wounded pride and convince her he wasn't some mastermind looking to take advantage of her nation and Queen...
And thus, following a few more exchanges and decrees, the first Tribunal of the Imperium Draconis Arbites, named by Tanya, drew to a raucous but unceremonious end...
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