>Imperial citizens are exempt from many taxes and are immune to local law
>enforcement.
err.. well if the offended parties pick up an axe an split your head and your family take it to the local thing... well ... there is no local law enforcement!!! Lunar occupational forces have to take up the case..
>In Sartari terms...
>
>If your clan has been slapped with a 200-cow/year tribute for their part in
the
>Starbrow rebellion you would be exempt from contributing if you were a
citizen.
well, I think it is more along the lines of that if your clan becomes citizens .. tax is leveled against clans (the basic Heortling social unit) not individuals... an idividual who was a Lunar Citizen would have to cope with pissed of clan members if they refgused their taxes, not the Lunar authorities, and woe betide them if the needed clan help (prety essential in Heaortling society)
>Also, IIRC, in thunder Rebels much of your property and herds are
considered
>communal property buy the Clan. Upon becoming a Citizen you could register
that
>property as yours and the clan would be hard pressed to prove otherwise.
in Sartari terms, just try it mate...
>And, if you killed a man in a fight the local Thing couldn't touch you if
you
>were a citizen. You could demand a hearing before the local Imperial
>authorities and plead you case there. Who do you think the judge is going
to
>listen to, a citizen or the barbarous locals
the Thing is only there as a mechanism to arbitrate a comprimise between conflicting parties (clans) and hopefully end the (destuctive to everyone except maybe the clan/tribes enemies) cycle of blood-feud - no-one can make you do anything - The Lunars can not just walk in and ignore the entire Heortling legal system ( with enough troops maybe they could! .. but this is brute force and would have wide ranging consequences incliding total rebalion) - the Lunars do not have the power to do this - if they did, why bother trying to woo converts to the Lunar way?
Lunar arthorities might be able to use force against outright rebels (and any tribe who values thier own survival will comdem and outlaw those rebels at least in theory at least in front of the Lunars) but the Lunar govt can not just walk in and take the piss out of Heortling law unless they are courting a revolution..
just my 2p ... :)
Dougie.
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