The Duchess’s testimony ends beneath the estate seal. The Duke orders Baron Edric Vey brought from confinement, while Celia and Elianor remain beside the living marks.
The broad-shouldered herald leads the restrained Baron into the hall. The dim marks beneath his skin flicker once, and Celia raises her deathly radiance to contain them.
the Duke
Baron Edric Vey, the court finds you guilty of coercion, unlawful siphoning, and the deaths your machinery threatened. You will be sentenced under the estate law.
Baron Edric Vey
I directed the work, yes, but I did not create the hunger within that vessel. Sentence the crime, Duke, and do not pretend you can sentence the gods.
Celia Graves
The gods did not bind Tavin Rusk or the Duchess. The marks are alive, but the corrupted power is gone. They must be watched until they fade.
Celia traces the marks without touching them. Their silver answering light weakens, and the Duchess exhales in relief while Elianor steadies the account before the waiting court.
the Duke
The Baron will remain confined pending final sentence. Afterward, this court will decide Elianor Vale’s marriage decree, and what place her champion holds within it.
Elianor Vale's turn“I say to the Duke "Maurice, my champion, was the winner of the tournament. I will marry Maurice, he saved my life enough times that I will accept no other. If I am to marry any other man, I will make myself a widow shortly after the wedding. Though I do ask the Baron's land also be given to myself or Maurice."”
FAILURE (Fair Oratory, rolled -2)
Elianor Vale's turn“I say to the Duke "Maurice, my champion, was the winner of the tournament. I will marry Maurice, he saved my life enough times that I will accept no other. If I am to marry any other man, I will make myself a widow shortly after the wedding. Though I do ask the Baron's land also be given to myself or Maurice."”
FAILURE (Fair Oratory, rolled -3)
Maurice Headsman
Duke Alaric, Maurice, my champion, won the tournament and saved my life more than once. I will marry him, and accept no other man. If forced otherwise, I will make myself a widow. Give the Baron's land to me or Maurice.
Divine Favor steadies Elianor's voice with a quiet warmth, carrying every word beneath the estate seal. The court hears resolve rather than panic, but the Duke's law remains the greater weight.
the Duke
Your choice of husband is heard, Elianor Vale, and Maurice's victory is recorded. Yet this court will not grant the Baron's lands on that declaration.
The Duke's ruling accepts the champion's standing but separates it from inheritance. The request for land falls away, and no second appeal can turn the sentence into a marriage decree.
the Duke
Maurice may be honored as the tournament's champion, but as he as your champion he has won you freedom from marriage. If you two wish to marry, we will hold the wedding in recognition of your service. The Baron's estate, however, returns to the duchy until its debts and claims are settled.
Celia lowers her deathly radiance as the living marks fade to harmless silver. The court records Elianor's chosen champion and the denied land claim, closing the matter without granting her demanded settlement.
The last silver marks dulled upon Tavin Rusk and the Duchess, fading like frost beneath sunlight. Celia Graves let her deathly radiance sink away.
Duke
So ends the Vey affair. His estate returns to the duchy, its debts and claims to be settled lawfully.
Duchess
And Elianor's marriage shall be hers to choose. Let the record show it plainly.
Maurice Headsman
Then let it show Maurice Headsman beside me, by my choice and by lawful consent.
Maurice Headsman
I have faced worse judgments than happiness.
Celia Graves
At last, the hunger was only a memory.
Baron Edric Vey was taken to confinement, guilty and stripped of the power he had poisoned. The duchy reclaimed his lands, and the court closed its doors on the vessel, the marks, and the crimes that had gathered around them. Elianor Vale stood free to marry Maurice by her own will, while the first quiet of a hard-won peace settled over the hall.