Lag-Mathaer

A warrior who wields shavev mashkalran to uphold the law of the land. Log-mathaer are an ancient order among the vaettir and have existed through every variation of their culture, even before the rise of class society. As enforcers of law, they existed before class society as protectors of the community against outside forces, but they evolved over time. In other cultures, they tend to be rare, as their rituals make little sense outside vaettir nations. Others who use shavev mashkalran often cite them as their origin, but the connection is tenuous, as the energy exists anywhere laws exist.

Legitimacy

In vaettir societies, which are by custom very small communities, there are three sets of laws: law of the community (town or city), law of the clan, and law of the nation. These three sets of laws are what vaettir recognize as legitimate. However, most vaettir nations are part of a larger country that has its own sets of laws, and as law-abiding people by tradition, they accept those as well. As such, a vaettir seeking to become a lag-mathaer must acknowledge all of the laws they are subject to, and therefore, all of the laws they will enforce. This is done by studying them via copying them over and over into a book known as a skammrbók (short book).

Trial of Choosing

When a vaettir wants to be a lag-mathaer, they must submit to the local council their intent, then walk into the ríkrhringr (great circle) in the center of town and wait. The shortest wait is seven hours. The longest is six days. During that time, either another lag-mathaer will arrive and place their hand on the shoulder of the vaettir, a town councillor will call the name of the vaettir, or the circle will glow bright blue in order to mark the vaettir as chosen for training, or the time will pass and no reaction will occur in order to mark the vaettir as unworthy. If this happens, the vaettir may try five more times, once per year.

While in the circle, their worthiness is tested internally, as spirits of law and order will tempt them, challenge them, and test their knowledge. None of this is visible to outsiders, but eventually, a lag-mathaer or town councillor will be visited by spirits or the circle will glow to indicate success. The method of choosing is determined by practical circumstance: if there is a local lag-mathaer in a position to train a new lag-mathaer, they will be called to do so; if there is one in a nearby town or city, a town councillor is called to make the arrangements for the candidate to go train there; if neither of these is in place, the circle will glow and the candidate must find their own way to gain a mentor.

Training

Training takes up to six years, but usually about three. If the vaettir seeking a to be a lag-mathaer does not gain a trainer right after their choosing, they must go on a quest to find one. The quest often involves some self-training along the way, usually guided by spirits. Training has three parts: learning the law, wielding the law, and interpreting the law. Learning is something the vaettir will have already started. Wielding the law is mostly combat training at first, but it evolves into learning to invoke the law (see below). And interpreting the law is about the complexities, contradictions, and corrections within the law that a lag-mathaer must contend with.

Graduation

To graduate to a full lag-mathaer, the vaettir must spend six days in meditation upon the law, stand up to a series of combat tests, and then be tested on difficult cases by their mentor. If the mentor views them as worhty, they are given their goat's head hammer and a wooden shield, then granted a jurisdiction to stand for.

Powers

A lag-mathaer who is worthy is granted three powers:

Invocation of the Law

To invoke the law is to call down its power such that it can be wielded in combat against a violator of the law. Invocation of the law gives the lag-mathaer bonuses to strength, athleticism, and prowess, and the power to bind a target with blue bands of light, empowered by their will power.

Jurisdiction

A lag-mathaer is usually given a village, town, or neighborhood to stand for. This means patrols, meeting the community, and enforcement of all relevant laws. Within their jurisdiction, their familiarity with it gives them home turf advantage and a bonus to perception.

Judgment

The power of judgment is only possible if the lag-mathaer is absolutely certain the person they have accused and caught is the perpetrator. If they misuse this power or realize they made a mistake, they are denied access to all of their powers for a year and a day or longer. Judgment can kill. Judgment invokes the penalties proscribed by the law upon the target. It comes in the form of a blue flame that is emitted from the goat's head hammer, and it is nearly impossible to resist if the lag-mathaer is judicious in its use.

Contradictions

When the laws of the land are contradictory, the lag-mathaer must either decide which to enforce, choose not to enforce, create a hierarchy of enforcement, or find a compromise in order to use their powers when such cases arise. As long as they are consistent in their approach, they will suffer no penalties for their choices.

Inventory

A lag-mathaer has but one significant tool. All others vary by individual choice.

Goat's Head Hammer

The goat's head hammer is a hammer decorated with an actual goat's skull. The goat is the symbol of the law among vaettir, so the skull is an invocation of that power. The hammer is a warhammer made from iron, steel, or magnacopper, depending on the resources of the lag-mathaer's mentor. It is the only tool that can be used to invoke judgment or the law.

Variations

There are a few specific variations in vaettir cultures of the lag-mathaer:

• Drengr: a vaettir warrior who wields the power of shavev mashkalran to defend the community rather than to enforce the laws.
• Eirgera: a shimisi who uses shavev mashkalran and other shebvic energies to forge objects.
• Gongu: a ranger of the forests and hills of the vaettir lands.
• Harfrhirthr: a goatherd/warrior who can take the form of a massive black goat via zoanthropy.
• Hleypa: a mechanic among the vaettir who taps into more fundamental laws to work on machinery.
• Ivithia: a witch among the vaettir who wields shavev mashkalran from the laws of the women.
• Konungr: a vaettir king whose power comes from the laws of their people.
• Laegaedom: a user of shavev mashkalran who wields it to command bodies to obey the laws of anatomy and restore them. It is a very painful kind of healing used among the vaettir.
• Luthrkarl: brass musicians among the vaettir whose music follows specific rules and is empowered by shavev mashkalran.
• Nysa: a lag-mathaer who is sent on a quest to hunt down a culprit, thus given the tools to continue to wield their power outside their jurisdiction.
• Sendimathr: a lag-mathaer who serves as a messenger bewteen vaettir jurisdictions and thus carries their law with them as they travel.
• Vakaseggr: a lag-mathaer who still has their powers but does not answer to local authority, thus becoming a vigilante.
• Yrseggr: a drengr archer.

Cultural Variations

There are some in other cultures who still wield shavev mashkalran in a similar fashion to the lag-mathaers, but with different tools and views on which laws are applicable.

• Adhikāri: in subcontinental Dabusen, the adhikāri wield swords with gaur skulls on them.
• Axiomatikós: among the merfolk, the axiomatikós wield spears with a trout's skull on them.
• Donosilac zakona: in Ollygrus in southern Ranu, the donosilac zakona use swords engraved with the symbol of the martin (bird).
• Lusaĝlugal: in Ansulym, the lusaĝlugal wield chain maces with the skull of a goat, but they only obey laws at the level of the empire or country.
• Omuserikale: in eastern Taggarus, the omuserikale wield spears with a forest boar's skull on them.
• Qanwn gudar: in western Dabusen, the geliqurofi have sometimes in their smaller towns a qanwn gudar who wields a hammer with a roe deer's skull.

Conversion to Marshals or Police

Many lag-mathaer find the lack of an alignment to greater forces to be stifling sometimes. Some chafe at being aligned to the status quo, which is often far from any form of true justice. Some rebel, seeking celestial essence like lhair to invoke a higher power than the local authority. Others embrace the local system, which is often part of a larger structure that wields oppressive powers like imperum. Thus, many lag-mathaers convert to marshals or police officers in bigger societies, while still wielding shavev mashkalran as part of their occupation.

Similar Occupations

Other users of shavev mashkalran include

• Brehon: a fili who serves as an expert on law among the vaettir.
• Curandero: shamans in eastern Palhur who mix the church and shamanism.
• Grand Judge: a court judge who uses shavev mashkalran.
• Tlmid: a scholar who uses shavev mashkalran in studying laws.

Societal Role

Among the vaettir, the lag-mathaer are police, judge, and jury, but they are held to such a standard that most in the community accept them. It is when they come into conflict with laws that are imposed on the community by greater authorities that struggles come into play. If a lag-mathaer upholds community or cultural law over the law of empire or country, they are generally considered rogues or outlaws, but also heroes by the people. Most find a fine line to walk or are assimilated into the country's power structures.

Skills

Common skills include

• Legal knowledge
• Tracking
• Investigation
• Community connections
• Goat-herding

Stats

The typical lag-mathaer will have the following variations from the base stats of their nation/species:

PRO +3
ATH /
STR +2
AWA +2
WIL +4
STH -2
PRS +1