Case 442-B: The Matter of the Sleeping Colossus

transcript

HIGH MAGISTER'S COURT DISTRICT OF THE UPPER REACHES TRANSCRIPT: SESSION 12, CASE 442-B PRESIDING: Magister Elian Thorne PLAINTIFF: The Gilded Compass Merchant Guild (represented by Counselor Vane) DEFENDANT: The Hamlet of Oakhaven (represented by Elder Kael) (Recording begins) MAGISTER THORNE: We are reconvening. This is a matter of salvage rights and trade route obstruction. Counselor Vane, you may resume your argument regarding the classification of the entity. VANE: Thank you, Your Honor. The Guild's position is straightforward. The entity, hereafter referred to as the Colossus, has remained immobile for three hundred and twelve years. Under the Mineral Rights Act, Section 14, any geological formation that obstructs a primary trade artery and exhibits no signs of biological or magical volatility for a period exceeding one century is classified as a dormant asset. Therefore, the Colossus is not a person, nor a sovereign, but a mineral deposit of significant scale. We are simply requesting a permit to excise the portion of the asset currently blocking the High Pass. MAGISTER THORNE: And the defense contends that the asset is, in fact, a resident? ELDER KAEL: (Quietly) Not a resident, Your Honor. The sovereign. The valley exists because the Colossus allows it. The village of Oakhaven is not a settlement on the land; it is a settlement upon the Colossus. To excise a piece of the entity is not salvage. It is an act of war against a sleeping head of state. VANE: Your Honor, this is sentimentality masquerading as law. The defense has provided no evidence of consciousness. There is no respiration, no pulse, no verbal communication. It is a mountain of basalt that happens to look like a reclining humanoid. If we applied this logic to every oddly shaped cliff side, the entire zoning map of the Reach would collapse. MAGISTER THORNE: Elder Kael, do you have any documentation of tenure or residency for the entity? ELDER KAEL: We have the Oral Covenants of the First Age. They specify that the Colossus is the rightful owner of the valley floor, from the East Ridge to the Silver Stream. The villagers pay their tithes in the form of songs and maintenance of the entity's skin. We are tenants. One does not salvage one's landlord. VANE: (Scoffs) Songs are not legal tender. The High Magister's Court recognizes gold, grain, and land deeds. The Gilded Compass has presented a deed of transit for the High Pass, granted by the Crown four centuries ago. The Colossus is an encroaching obstruction. If the entity is indeed a sovereign, as the defense claims, then the entity is in violation of the Transit Treaty of 310 by blocking a designated imperial road. MAGISTER THORNE: That is a pertinent point. Counselor Vane, if the entity is a legal person, would it be subject to the fines associated with road obstruction? VANE: Precisely. We would be happy to file a lien against the entity's physical mass to recover the lost revenue of three centuries of trade. However, the most efficient resolution is the removal of the obstructing limb. A simple surgical excavation of the left forearm, which currently spans three miles of the pass, would resolve the dispute. ELDER KAEL: The forearm is the foundation of the South Bridge. Removing it would displace four hundred homes. MAGISTER THORNE: (Sighs) This brings us back to the zoning conflict. If the entity is a resident, the bridge is a private structure built on private property. If the entity is a mineral deposit, the bridge is an illegal encroachment on a trade route. Either way, the current arrangement is a bureaucratic nightmare. VANE: We propose a compromise. The Guild will pay the village a relocation stipend if the entity is declared a dormant asset and the arm is removed for industrial use. ELDER KAEL: The Colossus does not recognize stipends. It recognizes silence. MAGISTER THORNE: Let the record show that the court finds the definition of "dormancy" in this case to be ambiguous. I will take a recess to review the 212th Zoning Decree regarding the status of sentient geography. We shall reconvene tomorrow at dawn. (Recording ends)