Law and Order

Law and Reconciliation
The "Law of the Mother" is of supreme importance within the Trident, and upholding it is treated as a religious as well as civic duty. Criminal Justice is the purview of both Templar and Confessor. The Templars serve as the police of the Free Cities, enforcing the Law and bringing criminals before Confessors to answer for their crimes.

Justice as it applies to the Free Cities is consumed with reconciliation, rather than punishment. It is therefore seen as the Confessor's duty to unblemish the souls of the criminal. The Confessor seeks to have the wrongdoer fully repent their crimes, and will go to great lengths to ensure that their charges die unburdened of guilt.

The Law of Proportionate Response
Templars, for the most part, keep to enforcing the most important law of the Mother of Waves and, therefore the Free Cities: "The Law of Proportionate Response." It is not just one law, but a codified tradition handed down through generations regarding the proper customs, rituals, and limits that are imposed when two houses or individuals find themselves in disagreement.

At it's core, the law states that for every action, there is an appropriate and just response. A fist is met with a fist, a stick is met with a stick, a blade is met with a blade. In practice, this law is meant to lead to quick reconciliation between feuding parties. Once both parties have had "satisfaction", it is expected that things de-escalate and an agreement is reached.

Therefore, a Stranger to the Free Cities might see the strange sight of two men beating each-other bloody while a Templar stands idly by. A foreigner might assume corruption or laziness on the part of the Templar, when in fact he regards the conflict with a close eye, watching for any deviation from the laws, forms, and ritualizations set forth by the Mother of Waves.

The Drowners
For capital offenses; murder, rape, and treason, criminals are handed over to the "Drowners." an ancient and much-revered Sea-caste house. The Law of the Mother condemns murder and bids that any judged to have committed these crimes be handed over to the Mother-of-Waves. Murderers are therefore brought in chains out to deep waters and cast into the sea, irons and all. It is rumored that those who do not drown have been judged innocent by Maeve, but those who survive such an encounter are unheard-of outside of legends.

The Arbiters
For property crimes, including theft, matters are brought before an "Arbiter" of the Free Cities. These men and women act as civic leaders, traveling between towns to hear cases and mete out justice in the name of the Regent (and, therefore, the Mother of Waves).

A thief in the Free Cities might be compelled to offer restitution to the wronged party; usually in the form of goods returned with a hefty penalty attached. A well-connected thief might have a beneficiary in the form of a powerful Sand-caste house that could pay their restitution.

In addition to judging property crimes, the Arbiters will also hear cases brought between rival houses or disputes between the citizenry. It is up to an Arbiter to decide how far a given conflict may go, and what proper restitution between parties might look like.

Foreign Customs
Trial by Combat, while common in other lands, is not an option in the Free Cities. The sons and daughters of Maeve view it as sacrilege, as it implies that strength of arms is a substitute for justice and order.