Law and Order in The Crossroads

[Abby Peterson]

After our recent legal proceedings and dealing with Slater, I went to see what the fuck the laws actually look like around here these days.
Here ya go, Beacon, the laws of the land (so far).
Or, at least how people have been handling disputes in recent years.

• Groups tend to handle things internally, if possible. Most examples of theft, assault, or even murder are investigated and punished by the group they're a part of, frequently. Example, infractions in the Walled City are almost exclusively under the jurisdiction of the Walled City.
• Conflicts involving multiple factions tend to be handled in one of two ways. The first is that the governing bodies of said factions will negotiate for involved parties and reach a decision. I've seen a few examples of this.
  
  The second way is that the different groups can appeal to the now-constituted Falconspire Coalition. Then infractions are investigated, discussed, a jury may be selected (seems to depend on the cultural background of the defendant in most cases), and a judgment is made and carried out.
  
  Falconspire has become more and more a hub for bringing up and disputing complaints, especially those of a legal or trade-related nature. The Falconspire Constabulary was established to help investigate disputes and its employees are well-compensated as to curtail bribery and must undergo mandatory training to assist in remaining impartial for various legal proceedings.
• In the middle of nowhere, like we are, it gets kinda tricky. It's hard to monitor out here, who people take their dirty business this way to try and avoid getting caught. When they are though, the legal precedent tends to be from Falconspire or the nearest settlement. Examples include: The Gemini killings, The vampiric serial murders.

According to the records, this wasn't even a question thirty or so years ago. The region is undergoing a population boom and becoming more cosmopolitan. More settlements, more factions and more ideas about the right way to do things. All that said, most of the records show (and trust me, I read a lot of them) that almost all people trend some form of lawful or accepting of a code of conduct - or at least are against theft, slavery, abuse, and murder.

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One other thing.
I ran across a document in the files that was referenced frequently in the various legal proceedings in the region. It was filed with a copy of the Falconspire Charter, so someone felt they were connected.
It reads:

"The Crossroads is not lawless, but instead governed by the principles of the people as long as they act in accordance with the following — All peoples have the right to dignity, equality, and freedom. All peoples have the right to live unfettered by imposed pain, fear, and suffering. All peoples have the right to freedom of expression. All peoples have the right to assemble, demonstrate, picket, and petition any governmental entity that exists or ever will exist in our region.

The aim of any and all judgements should be to limit injustice and minimize suffering. If ever this aim is not upheld, or becomes corrupted, then it is the dictate of the lifeblood of the Crossroads that such responsible entities be removed from power."

[Abby Peterson]

After investigating, the results we have so far:

Around a hundred years ago or more a Grand Sorcery was done to make a deal with the Crossroads itself (or imprint upon it); the land, spiritually. This document was the resulting contract between them:
"The Crossroads is not lawless, but instead governed by the principles of the people as long as they act in accordance with the following — All peoples have the right to dignity, equality, and freedom. All peoples have the right to live unfettered by imposed pain, fear, and suffering. All peoples have the right to freedom of expression. All peoples have the right to assemble, demonstrate, picket, and petition any governmental entity that exists or ever will exist in our region.

The aim of any and all judgements should be to limit injustice and minimize suffering. If ever this aim is not upheld, or becomes corrupted, then it is the dictate of the lifeblood of the Crossroads that such responsible entities be removed from power."

The land has made sure those terms are followed ever since. Any government overreach or imbalance is immediately met with problems; small at first, but then bigger. Falconspire Hollow is in the midst of an increase in crime and violence, possibly because the council is imbalanced. Just a personal theory, I'd lay a few pinions down that the reason one of the Endings bee-lined straight for Battery City damn near the minute it reappeared is because it was sudden in violation of this rule and this...I dunno, curse? It responded.

I don't have all of the facts and am going to go back and get them now, because this seems important. But yeah, this seems like something important in the metaphysic of the place; possibly why we find the little (or big cracks) that give us leverage to attack big causes of suffering or why government structures destabilize at the rate that they do.

I'll know more soon, but to be on the safe side, if people come into town to protest our bullshit - as long as they don't turn to violence - maybe try to hear them out. We're no government, but we do impose our own order on the place and maybe should try not to piss it off until we understand it better.

[Abby Peterson]

Included in this 'imbalance' may be the 'kicking in of doors' actions of one Agent Slater.
Not sure how hard he swings the pendulum one way or another, but his enchantments may be connected up to this. Pure hypothesis on that second half, though.