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"The Council of Tarna has determined that you, Prince of Shapeir, have broken the laws of Tarna by giving aid and comfort to one who is without honor. Thus you have shown yourself, too, to be without honor. Do you have anything to say before you are named Honorless?"
The Prince of Shapeir stood alone before the six Liontaur women who made up the Council of Tarna. Between the six councilwomen before him and the two guards behind him, bereft of his weapons and armor (which now lay at the feet of one of the younger councilwomen, the Warrior of Tarna), he had never felt so helpless. Even in the deepest tombs of the Forbidden City, he had at least had a weapon.
Which law had he broken? What could he say to salvage what was left of his honor? He knew in his very bones that giving food and a sympathetic ear to Harami had been the right thing to do, the honorable thing to do... and for that, he now stood in judgment, just as Harami had.
Thou shalt harm none.
Thou shalt not use magic upon the streets of Tarna.
Thou shalt not take that which is not thine.
Thou shalt behave with honor.
"I have harmed none," the Prince of Shapeir began. "I have not used magic upon the streets of Tarna," he announced clearly. "I have not taken that which is not mine." By now his voice was almost at a yell. "And..."
Suddenly, his speech gave way. Would the words he was about to speak be the truth?
"...I have behaved with honor," he whispered.
He won't always follow orders, for he dares to question why,
And unless he likes the reason, he refuses to comply.
He will brave the battle boldly, even though he may not win.
He will face his fate unflinching, for he is a Paladin.
Encouraged by the memory of his father's words, the Prince of Shapeir spoke again. "I have behaved with honor, as a Paladin must. I have given aid and comfort to one whose need is greater than that of any other living being in Tarna. Such an act cannot be anything but honorable. Finally, should there be any doubt that I am a Paladin, I would ask the Warrior of Tarna to take a close look at the sword that was confiscated from me. Do you recognize it?"
The Warrior of Tarna picked up the sword and pulled it out of its scabbard. "Yes, this is the sword that the former king Rakeesh wielded against the demons fifteen years ago. I was only a cub then, but I remember how its blade glowed with blue flame."
"Just so?" the Prince of Shapeir asked, and focused his will into the cold steel of the blade. Even with the sword out of his hands, a Paladin could still will the blade into flame, as Rakeesh had demonstrated so many months ago in Shapeir.
The council chamber lit up with the bright blue light of the sword's flame.
"Rakeesh gave the sword to me a few months ago when he named me Paladin. By the blue flame, let there be no doubt that I am a Paladin in truth. Let there be no doubt that I am not without honor."
The six Liontaur women spoke among themselves for a few minutes before the Speaker spoke her verdict.
"By the Judgment of the Council and the Laws of Tarna, you, Prince of Shapeir, have acted in accordance with what you as a foreigner believed the law to be. Your ignorance of what it means to behave with honor acquits you, unless you continue to give aid and comfort to the Honorless." Then, to the guards, she continued, "The Prince of Shapeir shall have his weapons and armor returned to him, and be free to leave the hall."
As the Prince of Shapeir retrieved his sword, dagger, and armor, and as he turned to walk out of the council hall, he reeled at the gall of the Council to lecture a Paladin about "what it means to behave with honor." Nonetheless, he held his tongue as the sunlight warmed his face, and he descended the stairs outside to the house of Kreesha and Rakeesh. He needed his friends now, as he had never needed them before.
Fortunately, it was not long before Kreesha descended the stairs herself and met the Prince outside of her house.
"You spoke well, Falcon," Kreesha said as she entered the front door to her house and beckoned the prince in. "I know that you are angry at the Council's final judgment, and rightly so."
"They know what a Paladin is, they know Rakeesh," Falcon grumbled as he stepped over Kreesha's threshold, "and still they see fit to allege a Paladin's 'ignorance of what it means to behave with honor...'"
"Not all on the Council agreed to call it ignorance," Kreesha replied, sitting down in front of the magic symbol inscribed into the middle of the floor. "Some were rather inclined to call it arrogance."
"Arrogance?" The Prince of Shapeir knew in his heart that to dispute such a thing truly would be arrogant, and so he said no more as he sat down a respectable distance away from Kreesha.
"Besides, you do not need to refer to the Council as 'they' when speaking to me, Falcon. You know that I am also a member of the Council."
"From what Rakeesh has told me, you of all people--of all Liontaurs--would know better than to call a Paladin ignorant about honor. I am more frustrated at those who did."
"And arrogant?"
"You can call me arrogant if you like; it's no worse than my opinion of them. I know it's not like a Paladin to have such uncharitable feelings, but I can't pretend not to."
"Nor should you," said a low voice from outside. Falcon turned and saw his friend Rakeesh entering the house. "I know as well as you how frustrating it can be to do what your heart tells you is right, and still be reprimanded for it."
Falcon's heart suddenly felt lighter in Rakeesh's presence. "It's good to see you again, Rakeesh. I know I'm a not at my best right now."
"Nobody would be, so soon after such a harrowing ordeal," Rakeesh replied. "More than once I have wished to say to the Council what you said, and I never had the courage. I salute yours."
Falcon smiled in spite of himself. "Thank you, Rakeesh. I'm glad to have friends like you and Kreesha." His smile faded as a new thought occurred to him. "What should I do now? Helping Harami is dishonorable, not helping him is also dishonorable... what should I do?"
"As always, Paladin," Rakeesh answered, "you should do what you know, deep in your soul, to be right."
"Helping him," Falcon replied. "As long as he needs my help, the right thing is to help him. And to hell with any law that says otherwise."
"And how will you know whether or not he needs your help?" asked Kreesha.
"Well, he needs help as long as he's trapped here. And he's trapped here as long as the caravans stay away from Tarna. And the caravans will stay away from Tarna as long as the rumors of imminent war persist. So to really help him, I have to put a stop to the rumors of imminent war. I have to get to the bottom of this grudge between the Simbani and the Leopardmen, and make peace with them both, and put an end to any demons that may get in my way. That's what I came here to do, not to argue with the lawmakers of Tarna about honor."