The Vladan Trial
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The Vladan Trial was an event that occured in the city of Belvitz in the Duchy of Adria, located on the continent of Atlas after the Adrian Marshal Vladan Valic was accused of murdering city clerk, Sabo Gradic.
Contents
Prelude
The events of The Vladan Trial started after Sabo Gradic, a long-term and well respected Belvitz city clerk, was found to have drowned in the Baltas River that ran past the city. With Sabo knowing how to swim, the event was pinned off as a murder, and investigations were started by the Order of Saint Emma, which yielded no results. This was until a man named Adler entered Belvitz after hearing about the death of Sabo Gradic. The first years Adler spent in the city were nothing special-- they had a background in legal matters, and seemed to have settled in to a peaceful life within Belvitz.
Vladan and Sabo were known to have political standoffs over the governance of Belvitz, with both Vladan and Sabo working behind the scenes to garner more political power within the Duchy for their respective political parties. Sabo Gradic was the head of the Burgher Party, while Vladan Valic was the head of the Traditionalist Party.
According to a report made by Adler, he stated that Vladan Valic and a knight known as Ser Pandir had attempted to recruit him into the Order of Saint Emma, and when he refused, Adler overheard Vladan saying he would kill Adler after the battle due to suspecting him to be a cultist of the September Prince. According to the report that Adler had created, Marshal Vladan Valic seemed to do everything out of spite for Adler. More details of the report can be found in Adrian Criminal Report 07.
But, as the years wore on, it became more clear that Adler intended to get to the bottom of the situation with Sabo. Adler began to gather supporters and eventually issued the claim that Marshal Vladan Valic had murdered Sabo Gradic, the accusation breaking the Duchy of Adria into two sides-- the Alder and the Ducal Loyalists alongside The Order of Saint Emma.
These events led into years of unrest between the two sides-- although day to day life within Adria changed little, anybody who had picked a side to be loyal to was keeping their allegiances a secret, and only speaking freely among others they knew to have the same pro-Vladan or anti-Vladan stances. Both sides gathered information about the other, and a trial looked as if it was becoming imminent. Some months later, a date for a trial on the 15th of the Grand Harvest, 1679 was planned, and the situation would be wrapped up once and for all.
The Vladan Trial
The trial was to take place in the Belvitz Cathedral, and Adler was the first to arrive. Although many members of the Order of Saint Emma had taken Vladan's side at the beginning of the conflict, there were a select few low-ranking members that sided with Adler and worked with him throughout the investigation and lead-up to the trial. Two of these men were ordered to be stationed with crossbows on the catwalks of the Cathedral, and another two were ordered to guard the doors, claiming these defensive positions before Vladan could do the same.
Vladan was the next to arrive, just on time for the start of the trial. He traveled to the front of the room and gestured for a retinue of pro-Vladan Order of Saint Emma members to take seats around him. The trial was being overseen by a lawman from Renatus-Marna alongside the local Bishop Humphry.
The trial did not last long before Vladan requested more time to gather witnesses, to which Adler responded that he had plenty of time to do so in the months leading up to the trial. This later broke into an argument between the two sides, with supporters of Adler and Vladan pouring out into the street after the lawman stated that the trial would be postponed.
Confrontation
As supporters of both Adler and Vladan poured out into the street, deep in argument and yelling matches, there were many crowd members that attempted to defuse the situation to no avail. Eventually, the two sides broke off into separate groupings, based on who they supported, and it looked as if a battle would be imminent. Duke Ratibor had came to the square to see what the commotion was about, and sided with Adler, giving him the support of the Adrian Duke as opposed to the weak claims he had before. It was then that Ser Alexander, a knight under the moniker of the Carrot Knight, began moving closer to Adler. Another figure in black leather armor then approached, swinging a punch at Adler. Supporters jumped to the defense of Adler, and soon, there was a battle raging in the once-peaceful streets of Belvitz-- by standards of the Duchy, the battle was large and bloody, yet it came to a close just minutes after it had begun.
Outcome
The battle ended in a victory for the Ducal Loyalits and for Adler. Although there were many injuries in the battle and a small number of deaths, one of them was more shocking than the others-- Vladan Valic lay fatally wounded on the ground of the square. It is not certain who had performed the fatal blow on the Marshal, but the man had only minutes left to live, which he spent with a crowd gathered around him and his children kneeling beside him. Although there were attempts made to save the life of Vladan, it was no use, and he died on the bloodstained streets of Belvitz.
After this event, The Order of Saint Emma was disbanded, and Adler took over as head of the Belvitz military. Those Order of Saint Emma members who sided with Vladan were not punished due to simply following the orders of their superior, and those who sided with Adler were given considerable promotions within the newly formed military.
Years later in the Golden City of Ves, one of Vladan's surviving children revealed that their father was, in fact, the one who orchestrated the murder of Sabo Gradic.
Important Figures
The Order of Saint Emma
Vladan Valic - The Marshal of Adria and head of the Order of Saint Emma. After accusations of killing the city clerk, Sabo Gradic, Vladan rallied the Order of Saint Emma to defend his position as Marshal.
The Ducal Loyalists
Duke Ratibor of Adria - The Duke of Adria, who sided with Adler after one of their colleagues in the Atlasian Merchant Collective, Cameron Halmar took Adler's side and convinced the Duke to join and support him, and his stance was made concrete after Vladan attempted to charge him.
Adler - The head of the efforts against Vladan Valic. They were little-known when they entered Belvitz some years before the trial, but very quickly rose to a position in which they could take over the local military.
