-312 after the ascension of the Celestial Monarch-
"Reflect repeatedly on the swiftness of the passage and departure of existing beings and events. Because substance is like a river in incessant flow, activities are continually changing, and causes undergo innumerable alterations. Almost nothing persists, and very close is this infinite abyss of the past and the future, into which everything vanishes. How, then, can he not be mad who, in these circumstances, is puffed up with pride, despairs, or complains because he suffered some annoyance for a certain time or even a long time?" —Colonia Adela.
Those words came to Redsu Muradi's mind the moment she had to judge a crime.
Normally, on the eastern continent, since the time of the Danna and the Aesir before them, the filiad were the judges and masters of laws. They memorized the history of the lands around them, hundreds of poems and stories, thousands of different traditions, and the actions of their ancestors and predecessors in the role of dispensing justice.
That duty was quickly replaced by a new magisterium, the Magister Filiad. Curiously, the position didn't necessarily have to be occupied by a filiad; the name was simply an honorific for their work, although the role was usually held by such scholars.
That was not the case for Muradi. As the Magister Majoris Filiad, she held the supreme duty of dispensing justice throughout the province of Ulheim and rarely had to get involved in matters concerning the dictation of sentences. There were hundreds of filiads and magisters willing to do her work in all cases—civil and criminal, public and private, and both boring and annoying.
And, in this case, there was an annoying one. A very annoying one.
"You're telling me that the son of the master of the lord of Ulheim and his nephew have clashed with an Elektrym hunter?" Redsu asked, astounded, as she subconsciously thought of Ducanor.
Although Redsu had lived in Viddar Castle for some time, she hadn't run into Ducanor in a long while. The castle was large, and avoiding one person was easy, but both she and Ducanor had some history. Too much history.
Her secretary nodded, also somewhat astounded. She was young and innocent unlike her master, who had lived for more than five centuries in this cruel world. Even so, Redsu tried to remain young and active—after all, she looked to be in the prime of her youth.
"My lady, it seems Master Arreus's son was involved in a brawl with a member of a giant clan in a bar. As it happens, that giant is a servant of a member of the Magister Elektrym, and he has advocated for him and for his servant's honor."
"Servant? Why would he be interested in advocating for a servant?" Redsu asked, puzzled. Although servants were de facto free, they were inseparably bound to a master; usually, they were former slaves or children of servants who lived affiliated for life with a clan or a family. As a general rule, masters didn't take much interest in them.
"He is his son," her assistant added. "He took a servant as his concubine and had a son with her; apparently, he is very fond of him."
A Goddess of War and Bureaucracy
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Redsu couldn't help but feel that this Elektrym hunter was a fool. Even though the Magister Elektrym had power and influence, he had messed not only with Ducanor, but also with Pandamar himself.
"And what does he want me to do? Advocate for him to defend justice?" Redsu replied disdainfully, completely uninterested.
"Umm, I don't know, my lady. I only received the notification from the Magister Majoris Elektrym that this case..."
"That old bastard plans to pick a fight with Pandamar at this exact moment!" Redsu said furiously as she stood up abruptly, making the air tremble.
She revealed an absurd aura, an invisible pressure that made her own secretary sweat. Although accustomed to it, the girl couldn't help but be surprised to see why her lady was suddenly so angry.
Redsu was a woman with blue hair and fair skin, boasting a robust figure that easily exceeded two and a half meters in height, with long legs and thick arms. Her face was a mask of iron will that did not hide a brave beauty; she looked like a goddess of war with two eyebrows furrowed like swords.
"I don't have time for this garbage. What is the condition of both of them?" Redsu asked, annoyed.
"Both are unharmed. A bit bruised and furious, but without serious injuries."
Redsu nodded and began to write a letter with her quill, pressing down on the paper with such force that she seemed close to breaking the table with her strokes. But, miraculously, the desk remained intact.
Among the papers on her desk were signatures for massive projects with costs that made even the Hegemony bleed: three million spiritual gems for the construction of an aqueduct in Otranto, ten million for a theater in Viddar itself... Considering that a Magister Iaspis member earned approximately twelve hundred spiritual gems a year, one could see the absurd amount of money being spent just in Ulheim, not to mention the rest of the continent, and in Tara especially.
"Give this to the Onyx Guards. Let both troublemakers spend a night in custody and then release them. If they want to keep screwing around, let them do it in private. I refuse to do anything else. I already have enough problems with the embezzlement by those bastards in the city of Edna, plus the election of the new tetrarch of the continent and the retinue that is leaving now, since they want me to organize the departure of more than..."
"Yes, ma'am," her secretary said, bowing as she quietly withdrew, leaving her lady to vent in her office.
After all, despite being an existence that could destroy a city with the palm of a hand, the bureaucracy could still break her back if she kept up with so much work. Sighing, the diligent-looking, black-haired girl murmured:
"I hope nothing serious happens in the near future."