Dougie:
>So by extension, if the Humakti kills my brother, I could take him to court
>and demand wergild to compensate for the loss to my family and to satisfy
my
>honour so I don't have to get friends and kin involved in more bloodshed
>with a dangerous humakti and possibly his dangerous humakti friends.
Not exactly. It can be true if he or she has been 'resheafed' (ST 96), but most Humakti (and indeed most Gori, Uroxi and tricksters - see ST 63) are 'severed' and are not part of a bloodline or clan. It's tough, but life with humakt wasn't meant to be easy. Actions normally dealt with by courts are instead dealt with by Divine Wrath for members of such cults. If they are truly acting according to their gods - for whom admitedly a little bit of bover and blood is taken with milk and daily bread - then they are safe, but if they use their cult as an excuse for some personally motivated revenge or random violence, then they - and their fellow cult members - are in some deep supernatural do-do.
Once a clan has dealt with this a few dozen times, there will be some clear precedents in law about dealing with humakti, but let's assume that you could take one to court for the murder of your brother.
First up, the humakti doesn't have a kin group - so you'd be taking his kaylings (his cult) to court. In most clans, this would be a substantial minority of the weaponthanes - not a good political move.
Humakti have a cultic disinterest in the processes of law. They are obsessed with Truth and Honour, rather than the more typical Heortling concern with pragmatic opportunism and compromise. You'll usually get better results by going straight to them and asking for the truth - whether sheafed or severed. ST 96 suggests that this is the norm. They'll usually tell you what happened without excuses or embellishments. They may admit that they're wrong and arrange for honourable settlement - "Yes my herds ate your crops, and honour demands that I make fair recompense", or else they will say it was their religious duty. "Your brother Braggi Bentbow mocked the Honour of Death, and the God told me to strike him down." If you disbelieve this explanation and start a court case, you are in effect calling them a dishonourable liar, in which case go straight to trial by combat and don't expect mercy.
The example you raise is a good one to think through. Lets examine the interests of the various involved parties.
'We want justice! We want revenge! We want compensation! We don't want to start a feud with the cult of Humakt - this is universally accepted as a BAD THING, and there are much easier (albeit slower) ways to die. And no, trail by combat will just mean *two* deaths in the family.
2. The Clan Chief (or King)
The chief needs to maintain social order. He or she doesn't want humakti killing clansfolk, nor does he want to lose the services of the best and most fanatic warriors around. He may look the other way if there are occassional killings. However, if they become too common, and the cult itself doesn't appear to be addressing the problem, he may dismiss a few weaponthanes or sent them of on impossible missions. "Bring me the head of the Red Emperor!" "Bring me that white bear-rug the wolf pirate Harrek wears - it would look good by my hearth fire!"
2. The Head of the Local Humakt Cult
There is room for tremendous variation in manifestations of the Humakt cult, but for purposes of brevity I'll discuss two alternative types of leader. A humakti deep into the Mystery may become a death-dealing, sword-slicing obscenity, but these types are unlikely to stick around a stead. Candidates for Death Sword status, they will become solitary wanders, hunters and hunted, will join a mercenary regiment, or will wander off to a place like Pavis, where lots of humakti go to... well to die. A senior humakti who sticks around a stead will probably be a bit more of a pragmatist, willing if not to compromise then to temper the actions of his cult somewhat in the interests of social cohension. Such types are more likely to be resheafed, will have continuing warm relations with (former) kin, and continue to engage in distinctly un-death-like interests like sex and marriage and family. (They may even breed fighting cuks :)). They are likely to be a weaponthane or warband leader. And they will be an utter terror to new recruits, shaming and cutting the anger and resentment out of them so they become pure dealers of death and war. The old 'humakti as bushido' analog is instructive here.
A clan humakti leader is unlikely to have a large number of followers. He or she is concerned with three things - Truth, Death and Honour. The humakti concept of honour is not the same as the more general Heortling concept of fame and status and a good name, but its close enough for the two to be mutually intelligible. The leader's honour is reflected in the actions of his followers: if they cause trouble then the leader's honour will suffer, and if they really stuff up with a selfishly motivated killing, then the Divine Wrath of Humakt is gonna hit ALL of you. In minor matters, honour will demand fair and immediate recompense if a wrong has been committed, even though your typical Heortling will want a court case for the sheer entertainment value. And in cult-related deaths, weregild might sometimes be paid anyway, in the interests of honour and the g good of the clan. Also, a tremendous effort is going to go into instilling discipline and honour into new recruits, cutting away old notions of vengeance and opportunistic violence - sometimes in a quite literal way.
4. The Humakti who did the deed.
If the God tells you to kill, then kill, but realise there are far worse things than death - like explaining yourself to a senior Sword whose honour you've put on the line. Learn the wisdom of the blade, honour death when you deal it, and know the difference between showing the blade and using it. Honour and discipline are both difficult for a young Heortling to master, but if you kill for a selfish purpose and then hide behind the freedoms of your cult, then Divine Wrath is a terrible, terrible thing. Your honour will be compromised severely, and perhaps permanently. And did mention the wrath of your Sword? In certain circumstances, even if you acted out of pure motives, you might be asked to kill yourself to preserve the social order and to prove the purity of your motives. Life wasn't meant to be easy.
Generally, a law suit isn't the way to deal with humakti, even when it is possible. The bloodline elders may press for a suit, but elders love court cases for their sheer entertainment and gossip value. The lawspeaker may recommend one, but law is all that she knows, and what humakti ever respected a lawspeaker? Go to the humakti, or to the local Humakt cult leader. Ask for truth, and respect their honour when they make reply. If nothing else, they'll sing a song of your bravery about your funeral pyre. :)
And if you *really* want a nightmare, imagine dealing with other unsheafed cultists who *aren't* dedicated to Truth and Justice.
Gori - "Make another sound with your whining mouth, man-thing, and my axe will slice your genitals to plug the hole!"
Tricksters - "Nobody. Not Me! Yes I did it. Cause. He he. Why did the lawspeaker cross the field? With spots on! But its the chief's responsibility. It is too! "
Uroxi - "You make my head spin. Where is Bladger, my axe? Stand still and stop bleating!"
Cheers
John
nysalor_at_... John HughesQuestlines: http://home.iprimus.com.au/pipnjim/questlines/
Edmund: Let's try again shall we? I have two beans, then I add two more beans. What does that make?
Baldrick: A very small casserole.
Edmund: To you, Baldrick, the Renaissance was just something that happened to other people, wasn't it?
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