The Trial and Execution of Mauve Einstrahum

Civil action

Mauve Einstrahum, the daughter of a well respected educator and inventor, Thomas Einstrahum, was a quiet girl throughout most of her life. While she showed a great deal of promise and was believed to on the path to follow in her father's footsteps, she harbored a dangerous secret, one that would change and evolve her, slowly granting her the power and ability to manipulate the minds of those around her in ways that led to the deaths of many of her countrymen and her father as well.

Mauve Einstrahum's early life was one of care and encouragement. Her mother passed on early in her life as the result of Void exposure, driving her father, Thomas Einstrahum into a deep depression that he escaped by throwing himself into his work. This left Mauve in the care of several caregivers over the course of her life. The initial ones had little issue with her, though one by one they fell ill, complaining of severe headaches and manic bouts of anxiety. Thomas, still consumed by both grief and his work payed little attention to the complaints and health issues of his staff, marking most of it up to the location of Einstrahum Manor being on the edge of the Maliciean Scientific Commune and some distance from what most would consider the civilized world.   By the time Mauve had come of adult age, she was already seemingly leaps and bounds ahead of most of the students her age in the Commune, and with very little effort at that. She was a solitary woman, however, and would go to great lengths to avoid any gathering groups of people if she could, and in fact would often complain of her own headaches and nervousness when she was forced into social situations. Once again, her father's attentions were heavily focused elsewhere and the young woman was left to consult with the resident Benevolents in order to seek solutions to the issues that seemed to plague her.   Following her twenty third birthday, a change came over Mauve, noticeable to the rare few people she would allow in her company. The biggest change was that she seemed to suddenly relax and embrace people more easily, and as she did, it was as if the entire commune was suddenly enamored with her. One meeting, one conversation was all it took and Mauve would have a friend for life. The vast majority of citizens there were relieved to see her coming out of her shell finally, and held out hope for a up and coming scientific leader. Her mind was astute and her knowledge of both science and technology seemed to be virtually limitless. She could hold her own in the company of the greatest minds in residence at the commune with seeming ease, and in many cases, even stump them on occasion. She showed an uncanny knack for being able to find the fault in any theory as well, much to the chagrin of those with hopes of glossing over them.   As time went by, her father buried himself even deeper into his work, and while this caused a great deal of resentment in his daughter, she managed to keep a strong focus on her own pursuits. She gathered a substantial following of friends and suitors, and they would dote upon her every need, often to their own detriment, giving Mauve virtually anything she asked for. Eventually, this doting became something closer to outright servitude, these people beginning to neglect their own lives and even families, just in order to be around her, and to do whatever she asked of them. Those that came calling to see what was happening, more often than not never complained, as it would take little more than a few moments alone with Mauve for them to fall in love with her as well. Her father, however, seemed to be immune to her charms, and continued to ignore her, barely coming to the Manor at all anymore, preferring to sleep and take meals in the labs below the surface of the Commune. Mauve grew bitter about this over time, and her displeasure and anger was as infectious as her charisma. Slowly, the other residents that flocked to her began to mirror her feelings towards her father as well, as well as the other scientists and technicians that worked with him. These sentiments escalated, and it was only a matter of time before altercations began to break out in the public areas of the Commune between those that worked with Thomas, and those that surrounded his daughter. This continued to escalate until it finally broke. Following an argument between father and daughter, Thomas became acutely aware that the throng of people that normally followed his daughter around had gone completely silent, each and every one of them glaring at him. For the first time in years, the doctor noticed his daughter as well, and to his dismay, that she had an unhinged look in her eye, one filled with rage and hatred, and all of it aimed at him.   Thomas fled, raising the alarm as he did. He and a small number of Wraith Guard attendants and the researchers and technicians that worked with him, managed to escape the now raving mob to residents and make their way into the tunnels below. It was only a small matter of time before the mob broke through and a bloody fight ensued. The Wraith Guard attendants held a line in one of the larger corridors of the subterranean complex, their barrage of well trained gunfire and shield work protecting the terrified scientists, and felling the rushing throng one by one. Mauve was seen at the back of the altercation, wordlessly pointing and directing the people as they tried to circumvent the shield line and avoid the lethal firearms. The worst came when, in her frustration, Mauve herself rushed defenses, hurling bodies with sheer will it seemed, and producing fire from thin air, hurling it at the shield wall, screaming like she had completely lost her mind. A number of the guard were hurled aside as she came barreling through the midst of the violence as if they weighed nothing and she fell upon her father like a ravenous beast, crying and clawing at him, screeching incoherently. While distracted, one of the guard took advantage of the opportunity and knocked her unconscious with the butt of his rifle. When she fell, all remaining aggression stopped. The people that followed her becan to look around, confused and scared at the carnage around them, as if the had no idea where they were or what was happening. The guard secured the remaining attackers with no further struggle and bound Mauve herself, placing her in isolation to await trial.   When Mauve awoke and gathered her senses, the Guard, and her father, noticed that the imprisoned attackers suddenly turned once more, hurling themselves against the bars of their cells in unison with the muffled screams of angry protest that could be faintly heard from Mauve isolation. Her father began to put the pieces together, as incredulous as it seemed, that his daughter had developed some form of mental control which she was able to exert over others. He quickly sedated her, and the jailed followers, once again fell silent and passive...confused even by their own outburst.   Thomas kept his daughter sedated until the trial, and even then maintained a high enough level of drugs in her system that she was not able to function beyond the most basic verbal responses. The tribunal was horrified by the telling of the tale by both the defending witnesses, and the surviving supporters of Mauve, who continued to claim they had no control over their actions, and were forced to watch themselves commit these terrible acts unable to intervene, passengers in their own bodies. Other atrocities came out during the course of the hearings, stories of Mauve's depraved demands upon those under her control, taking what she wanted from those unlucky enough to have been victim to her control and desires. In the end, there seemed no other choice but to execute Mauve for the greater good, her power seen as too great to be allowed to persist unchecked and unregulated. While her father, filled with regret and remorse for what he claimed was his part played in the whole affair, pleaded for mercy and gave a grand speech about the human aspect of his daughter's situation. He claimed that she was a victim of her own mind, and that with time she could learn the discipline needed to control it without endangering those around her. The Tribunal countered with the fact that, at the end of it all, nearly four hundred citizens of the Empire were dead, many of which were the greatest minds the Empire had to offer. The final verdict was reached, and Mauve was sentenced to death.   Sentence was carried out two days later. She was placed in a sealed chamber that would fill with a deadly toxic gas, rendering her unconscious and the dead in mere moments. The chamber was set so that there was no way to intervene once the process had begun, and Mauve was allowed to regain her full faculties once inside. Her reaction was a fearful one, but using her abilities, she quickly realized the futility of the situation. Only her and her father were in allowed in the room with the chamber, and there was no one else that could help her. The two had a short, tear filled conversation, and Thomas recorded her last words as,   "I'm sorry Father...I just missed you. All the time alone and yet, never a moment's peace. I didn't know what else to do. I love you."   Mauve passed quietly after that, and her body was taken to the labs for study, there at the Commune. Thomas was promoted to Chief of Staff for the Commune and remains there to this day.