Inquisition's hall of Justice
Few buildings struck fear in the heart of Phaldoryan's commoners as the Hall of Justice, sinisters legends surround its dungeons.
Purpose / Function
The Hall of Justice is a building designed to host the trial of the inquisition, whether the crime occured in the city of Saythian or it involves a very important defendant or if the accusations are so complicated to deem necessary involve the chief inquisitor. The hall has several rows of benches to allow people to attend, since trials are public to grant a fair judgement.
Architecture
The Hall of Justice is a high and deep, rather than wide, room with pointed vaulted ceilings decorated with frescoes depicting the theme of the seven-pointed star and divine punishment. The columns of support are made of white marble from the Silver Spire and the wall are draped with crimson brocades, as white and crimson are the colors sacred to Be Chuille.
Trials' protocol
The trials involve a rigid protocol, the defendant from improper magic usage accusations gets introduced in the room, wrists tied around their back, by two Crimson Guards that force them to kneel in their post. Then two inquisitors ring a silver bell to call silence in the room and introduce the judge, usually the Chief Inquisitor. One of them read the allegations and request the accuser to confirm or deny them, when the accuser confirms the Chief Inquisitor starts to interrogate the defendant, if this one confirm the allegations the trial is usually short and the defedant is carried out to the square to face his punishment. In case of denial of the allegations, the trial may continue occasionally for several days during the night the defendant is detained in the dungeon and, often, tortured in order to obtain a confession.
Oh dear a place that condones torture for a confession. Are their situations where people confess simply to make the pain stop? I like the idea, great article :)
Yes, there have been. Although I will need to work to explain that in most cases the trial is fair-ish... The big trouble is that the present inquisitor is over-zaelous and the crimson guards are generally sadic people who follow orders without discussing about ethics.