Edumund Barram

His steps were quick, his mind was set,
A friend too dear to let death get.

~To Save A Friend

The shocking events of March 12, 1504 DE are being put onto paper on this day for the first time with all the facts, carefully gathered and sifted through by a team of men. The story is told by many witnesses, the first being General Jerroll Taft, who was in charge of the trial.

‘The evidence was too strong. No one believed that Edumund and Georgie had really been together that night, because it was well known that they’d been in a fight only that morning.’
~General Taft

‘I saw a man running away from that wagon, and I still say it was Georgie Hanell, no matter what anyone else says. He killed that mother and her son for the money they were transporting.’
~Fredick Layol

‘The trial took place on the eleventh of March. There really was no evidence. In our view it was a waste of time to send for Edumund who had been sent three days earlier to help escort a supply wagon back to camp.'
~General Taft.

The trial took place after the particularly brutal death of Mrs. Gallne and her eleven year old son Rellon. As the description of their deaths has been described many times already by both us and others, we won’t trouble anyone with the details again. It was known that Mrs. Gallne was transporting a rather large sum of her savings to the army safe after several of her neighbors had been burgled.

‘Georgie denied it from the start. He told us that he and Edumund had made up after their fight that evening and both of them had gone to The Rose and Crow, which was not far away. We questioned the innkeeper, but he couldn’t say weather Georgie had been there that night, as he’d had a large amount of customers. No one could remember having seen him, so it was agreed that he’d made the story up to gain time. It seemed very convenient for him to use Edumund as his witness when he was gone.’

~General Taft

‘Georgie was sentenced to be shot the next morning. The trial had taken all day, and all the proof pointed toward Georgie, including the witness who’d found the wagon train. He’d seen Georgie run away from the wagon, but not only that, he’d found a scarf pin at the scene that was undeniably Georgie’s.’

~Lieutenant Grevon Nemar

‘Edumund got back to the camp to find us all crowded around trying to see what was going on. We all knew Georgie was getting shot, but there were so many people that we couldn’t see a thing. He joined us curiously and asked me what was going on. I said, ‘Georgie Hanell is getting shot for the murder of Mrs. Gallne and her son.’ He turned as white as a sheet and began waving his arms as he pushed his way through the crowd. The only thing I heard him say was ‘he didn’t do it! He was with me!’

~Private Bevil Marthon

“Edumund looked like a wild man. He reached the front of the crowd, and knocked me down along with several other men. Time slowed down then. He waved his arms and yelled as he lurched to a stop, just as General Tuft gave the signal to fire. I watched him then. His face turned pale. He looked at the soldiers and then at Georgie and then he started running. I saw him jump in front of Georgie and then he smiled! He smiled! The shots fired and then I realized that everyone was yelling. For a long second, Edumund stood there before he sort of collapsed onto his knees. I could see the blood trickling out of his mouth. The roaring stopped and a silence so thick that a knife could cut it settled down. Georgie dropped to the ground and took Edumund’s head onto his lap. The firing squad dropped their guns. I saw General Taft up on the stand swaying.’

~Lieutenant Grevon Nemar

‘Georgie was the one to break the silence. He made a sound like a wounded lion and the spell was broken. Everyone still seemed to be in a sort of shock. Many of the younger ones began to cry, and probably the older ones too. There’s something about a situations like that that touches the heart.

~Solvan Greay, The Army Doctor

‘Georgie’s conviction was overturned at the cost of an innocent man’s life. Edumund is to be given a hero’s burial on the twentieth of March. Any loyal citizen of the country of Maxindal is requested to string their windows with a red ribbon in his honor. His funeral will take place on the Everlasting Hill. Anyone who wants is allowed to attend.’

~General Taft

The question everyone is now asking is who did it? It is generally agreed that it wasn’t young Georgie, but it was someone. A trial is to take place against Fredick Layol the day after the trial. He was arrested immediately after the death of Edumund Barram.

Please honor Edumund Barram for his bravery, loyalty and love. He was twenty-three years old since last December, and is survived by at least seven siblings, and countless nieces and nephews. Investigations into his back history are still being made. He will be joining both his parents and his younger brother in the life to come.

‘A decree has been sent out by his Royal Majesty, King Havil that all trials henceforth and forever are to have at least three days discussion and that if any question is given of a witness is to be looked into.’ ~The Royal Announcer, Theolan Rebo

*In a short interview with Abbi Connes, Edumund’s sister, she admitted that she is having a hard time reconciling his death, but that it doesn’t surprise her in a way. ‘He always was a bit too heroic. I’m not angry at Georgie. It wasn’t his fault, and besides, if Edumund felt Georgie was worth his life, he was.’

We would like to add a ballad written in Edumund’s honor by his fellow soldier, Janik Havel.

To Save A Friend

The wind was cold, my feet were swift,

To where my friend had gone adrift.

He stood with pride against the wall,

No fight within, prepared to fall.

They said he killed, they said he lied,

But I had been there by his side.

That night beneath the stars so still,

No crime had passed, no blood to spill

Yet now I ran, my fear was raw,

His life would end by soldier’s law.

No time to speak, no chance to plead,

To save him now, it fell on me.

My steps were quick, my mind was set,

A friend too dear to let death get.

And as the soldiers took their aim,

I threw myself into the flame.

The bullets flew, the air went black,

But still, I stood, no turning back.

For Georgie’s life, I stood and bore,

The cost of friendship evermore.

The soldiers froze, their guns still raised,

And Georgie knelt in awful daze.

With blood that flowed, his friend lay still,

Who gave his life with steadfast will.

In silence now, they bowed their heads,

For friendship’s bond had paid its debts.

His steps were quick, his mind was set,

A friend too dear to let death get.

And as the soldiers took their aim,

He threw himself into the flame.