I think it's the "Force them to pay for a righteous kill" that would upset them, not "ask them to pay for an accidental kill". Anyone (in Orlanthi society, anyways) should be able to recognize a Humakti (it's not like they go around in disguise - their god won't let them!), and if they *still* want to cross swords, well, it's their own d**n fault if they're killed. Humakt *is* Death, any lesser result of combat is definitely *not* to be expected. So the "punk" gets himself killed - the king who is 'hosting" the Humakti temple better feel real sure about himself before putting any pressure on them to pay up.
Does this mean Humakti get to be bullies? Yep - if their Honor didn't rein them in. You get the same problem with Uroxi (who have *no* self restraint), or any other highly-trained band (even a bunch of Kadone the grounder worshippers could be trouble, if they had as many people, and as highly trained, as a Humakt temple).
> Well if it came down to the crunch a tribal warband would usually
> have enough warriors to take out a Humakti temple. Those Humakti
> sworn to the king would still fight for him as long as the temple
> wasn't desecrated. Sending other Humakti to their god wouldn't
> dishonour anyone. I'm sure it's happened a few times.
Going against a Humakti temple isn't easy - as the movies say, "I've got six bullets, which six of you want to go first?" (or some such - it's been paraphrased sseveral times). Just how anxious are you (as clan chief or tribal king) to eliminate them? In a straight up fight you're going to lose a *lot* of men. Yes, you may eliminate all the humakti, but you've got to figure out if the price is worth it. Remember that you can't just replace your slain warriors - not without hiring mercenaries, and mercenaries have their own problems...
RR
He was born with the gift of laughter and the sense that the world was mad
R. Sabatini, Scaramouche
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