Pedophilia, sodomy, embezzlement of public funds, mass executions of plebeians...
Everything was laid bare for all to see.
The spectators filling the Orchestrozeum, patricians, plebeians, and visitors from distant cities alike, stared with wide eyes as the procession of their fellow citizens advanced across the stage. The accused shuffled forward with bowed heads, crushed beneath the authority embodied by the character of Lady Justice.
Above the heads of the smaller group walking along the right-hand road, equally vivid scenes unfolded.
Only this time, they depicted good deeds.
The construction of orphanages.
Devotion to family.
Spending personal fortunes to improve the city's infrastructure.
Organizing free food distributions for impoverished plebeians.
To the astonishment of many, the right-hand procession was led by the very same corpulent consul whose secret acts of kindness had now been dragged into the light. Far too many spectators had regarded him as one of the worst members of the nobility.
Apparently, gluttony was not considered a sin by the colorful directors of this extraordinarily unusual performance featuring living actors.
Those actors had been pulled directly from their homes, much to the horror of their personal bodyguards and the numerous patricians who now realized they could be abducted just as easily.
In the years to come, that realization would spread paranoia throughout the city.
Much to the delight of the actor narrating the tale.
Sir Law.
With no less astonishment, the audience watched as the left-hand procession was led by the celebrated actor Rominius himself. Beneath his mask of heroism and nobility, he had concealed the soul of a notorious serial killer who delighted in imagining random people as monsters before brutally "slaying" them and leaving mutilated corpses behind for horrified plebeians to discover at dawn.
Meanwhile, the male performer continued his recital.
"They walk toward the ending they have earned. Reward or lash, the consequences come. For every choice you made while yet alive. The choices you made."
At that very moment, amid the furious orders and shouted commands of legion officers attempting to storm the arena, those upon the left-hand road began receiving punishments suited to their crimes.
The speaker shattered into thousands of colorful fragments resembling shards of stained glass before sweeping through the air and reforming at the end of both roads.
The brightly dressed man reappeared beside a newly materialized tribunal and a judge's gavel. With obvious enthusiasm, the one who had named himself Sir Law began hammering the gavel down.
Each strike was followed by Lady Justice carrying out another sentence with her sword.
Castration.
Blinding.
Beheading.
The removal of fingers.
The severing of limbs.
The female figure showed no mercy.
Just as true justice was never meant to.
Meanwhile, the man wielding the gavel continued in a voice that bordered on song, his tone vibrant with theatrical energy.
"In earthly courts, the endless cycle
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Of mortal ideas spins around.
Where innocence is often far more frightening
Than guilt itself.
When human inequality decides all things,
It becomes quite clear
Who was right,
And who was wrong.
But we can see your deeds from every side.
Think twice before embracing villainy.
Here, no matter who you are,
You cannot escape the law.
For truth is not found in words,
But upon the scales."
At that moment, the scales in Lady Justice's hand rang out with particular clarity, utterly ignoring the screams and desperate pleas of those standing upon the stage.
Meanwhile, the legionaries attempting to force their way into the arena found themselves trapped within countless labyrinths of shifting colors. They repeatedly collided with one another, and no amount of coordination or assistance allowed them to reach the performers and interrupt the Spectacle of Justice.
Sir Law continued presiding over the proceedings, enthusiastically striking his wooden gavel against the tribunal while the grotesque grin upon his mask stretched ever wider.
"The hour of judgment has arrived.
Whether old or young,
Rich or poor,
Honest or deceitful,
Here you shall answer fully
For all your deeds
When their price is named!"
Suddenly, the man leapt forward, spun gracefully through the air, and landed atop the narrow edge of the tribunal. He spread his arms wide, balancing effortlessly upon the tiny surface.
Then he launched himself forward once more, performing twists and somersaults utterly impossible for any ordinary human.
At last, he landed beside Lady Justice and cried out:
"And let fair judgment be delivered.
The just court of Sir Law and Lady Justice!"
By then, the female performer had completed every sentence.
Turning toward those who remained untouched upon the right-hand road, the two unexpected guests offered a theatrical bow.
Then they bowed again.
And again.
To every section of the Orchestrozeum, where stunned spectators sat frozen by everything they had witnessed.
High among the seats, a young boy watched it all unfold.
He was so completely absorbed by the performance that he barely noticed the two mysterious actors sprinting across the heads and helmets of the legionaries who had finally managed to break into the arena.
What he had witnessed carved an indelible mark upon his heart.
The principles revealed upon that stage would remain with him for the rest of his life.
And that boy's name was...
Konor Guilliman.
...
Later.
Whew...
Those had definitely been difficult weeks.
An enormous amount of work had gone into preparing that performance. Conducting investigations and uncovering the crimes of those publicly judged had actually been one of the easier tasks.
Mostly because they had barely bothered hiding their crimes in the first place.
Despite their technological sophistication, the methods employed by the nobility to conceal their wrongdoing were laughably primitive.
They had no one they truly feared.
Power rested entirely in their own hands.
The greater challenge had been configuring every Harlequin projector to display precisely the right holographic images at exactly the right moments. Then came the far more troublesome task of linking those projectors together into a seamless illusion capable of preventing the local guards and legionaries from sneaking through and ruining the performance.
Although...
In the end, they had come dangerously close.
They had brought along some truly terrifying pieces of archaeotech dating back to humanity's Federation, the Dark Age of Technology itself.
Even so...
They had still almost managed to break through.
"Tell me that wasn't at least decent."
Grinning from ear to ear, I turned toward my partner while watching humans scramble through the streets below. They were establishing cordons, organizing search parties, and desperately trying to track down the mysterious troublemakers responsible for the greatest theatrical scandal in Macragge's recent history.