The robed man sat down in front of the four elders. "This village is on the outskirts of human civilization, so I am unsure how much all of you know of the Laws and the Revocation. It's regarding that."
"You call it the Revocation then?"the second of the elders responded, "The village is largely unaware of Laws and the events regarding them, but we are. We are also aware that something transpired 7 winters ago, but we do not know what. Is it something related to that which brings you here?"
"It is indeed. I believe it is possible to reverse the Revocation. I am trying to do so."
The elders shared glances and then began to size up the robed man. "How the hell do you intend to do that? What lies here for you?"
"Are you aware of the Divine Court?"
"Afraid not. My knowledge of laws stem from the interactions with the imperial magistrates when they would come to our village," the third elder responded.
"The Divine Court legislates the laws. By that, I mean every natural law. The mundane laws are legislated by the mundane powers, and the physical laws are set in stone since Creation. The Divine Court stripped humans of their right to judge, and so we have no ability to defend ourselves," the robed man continued, "I believe there is a possible solution; the Universal Precedent. The universal precedent is a law stating that every sentient creature is identical in the eyes of the Law. If it was passed in the Divine Court, then stripping our right to judge would be considered illegal, and therefore void, and we would be able to gain that right again."
"If you somehow managed to propose that to the Divine Court, and somehow the same people who stripped us of our right to judge agreed to pass it, I could see that as a possible solution. But you can't propose it to the Divine Court, and they wouldn't pass it. So then what business do you have in Dregan?" The first elder finally spoke up, and looked at the robed man with her sharp eyes.
"You see, that is in fact why I am here," the robed man defended himself. "There are laws even the Divine Court are subject to. One of which is a commandment from the Creator's Seal. It's a relic he created to give the mundane a chance for self government. I think its on the Eastern Mainland, and I am searching for it." He pulled out the circular relic from his pocket. "This thing might be able to help me find it, once I get it working again."
The elders shared a look of uncertainty and distrust. "The imperial magistrates called this place the Eastern Mainland long ago. I believe you have found the right place. However, I must ask you, do you know anything about the disappearances of late? You appear to be a seasoned traveler. We have little confidence in your plan, but we can offer our support if you handle the disappearances of late."
"Yeah, my story really does sound like a long shot, doesn't it? Mind explaining more about the disappearances?"
"Every so often it happens without pattern. ten months can go before one, two could happen in a week, and 4 years could go by before the next. Its usually one of the young folk, about fifteen to twenty, who disappear one day when they venture into the forest. twenty years ago, we were plagued by such a creature. Back then, an imperial magistrate came to our village and entered the forest. After that, fifteen years passed before the next disappearance from our village. Our people grow restless, we are unsure of the next action we should take."
"You could always not enter the forest. Sounds like you guys have some kind of forest sprite on your hands," the robed man responded.
"The forest is this town's lifeblood. We fish, but its far from being able to sustain us. Currently the forest is forbidden since the recent disappearance, but it can't stay forbidden forever. It is also those who are reckless and ignorant that usually go missing. They usually don't follow our decree of anyway," the fourth elder said. "Do you think you could assist us?"
"In my current state I would find it difficult to handle a forest sprite. I have no right to judge. I also don't have anything that I need from the town. I'm terribly sorry, but I can't risk my life here. Not yet."
"Something you don't need? When we found you, you had no supplies, your ship was a crappy little piece of wood, you collapsed from exhaustion, you had no idea where you were going, and the only reason you can even stand now is because we took care of you. Are you really in a position to turn down such an offer?" The fourth elder retorted, incensed.
The robed man was taken aback by the sudden outburst of the fourth elder. "Well, I suppose you might have a point. I really am lacking supplies," the robed man took a deep breath and thought about the situation. "I will try to handle the sprite. I don't know if I will succeed, and I will leave the town if I decide I am unable to take care of it."
"Fine. We'll take it. You can stay in the straw house you awoke in earlier. It was a storage shed, but it should do. In the meantime, you'll be fed," the first elder waved her hand. "I really hope you don't disappoint us."
The robed man walked out of the elders' hut and saw Karm waiting for him. "I see that I wasn't called to put you in chains. I guess you worked something out then."
"Yeah, I'm going to take care of the disappearances in return for supplies."
"Sounds like a tough job. Need any help?"
The robed man thought about it for a moment and nodded. "I could use someone who knows the area. What do you know about this thing?"
"Well people pretty much only go missing when they are in the forest. A lot of people suspect that its just where the kidnapper is able to get them without being noticed."
"And what do you suspect?"
"Things live in the forest. I think they went where they weren't supposed to be."
The robed man began walking to the forest, and turned to Karm. "Do you know what the Law of the Forest is?"
"No, not exactly."
"There are multiple. Each forest has some unique variation of it, but it all stems from a single codex set up by the God of Nature. The codex has one specific theme that iterates throughout: the strong devour the weak. There are a lot of little things, like rules regarding territory or prey, but it mostly follows that idea."
"So, uh, what are laws for?"
The robed man turned to Karm and looked at him. 'Right, this guy doesn't know what laws are.' He then began to explain, "Magic from folklore exists, in a form. Power stems from the laws of the world. Somebody who violates a specific set of laws is able to be judged by a magistrate of those laws. The judgement gives the judge and executioner a set of magic stemming from the God that rules over that law based on the infraction. Magistrate are also able to bend the laws that they govern, to an extent."
"This forest has its own court overseeing it. That court is subordinate to the court that governs the concept of the forest itself. That court is then subordinate to the court of Nature, which is in turn subordinate to the Divine Court. It also goes in the other direction to, the courts become more and more infinitesimal, more simple, and more weak," the robed man finished. "I guess that's an overview to begin with? I doubt you'd need to know too many more complexities of the courts for this."
"And I'm supposed to just take your word for that?" Karm said in disbelief. "If magic did exist, it wouldn't work like that."
"Why not?"
"Well, it's," he paused for a moment, thinking, "I'm not sure. I guess it just seems kind of stupid. I'd like to see it. How about I steal an apple over there and you use magic on me?" Karm pointed towards an apple lying near a man operating a well in the village.
"I'm not a judge. I have no right to pass judgement."
"Of course you can't show me. How convenient."
"It doesn't matter if you believe me or not," the robed man turned to look at Karm. "Just do as I say when we get into the forest. If you mess up once, you won't just kill yourself. You'll kill me too," the robed man approached Karm and stared into his eyes. "Kill yourself out of stupidity if you want, but don't you dare kill me." With that, the robed man turned to the forest.