Chapter 333.1
The following morning.
The trial took place in the very courtyard where the duel had occurred the previous day, with numerous paladins present to witness. Soltnar Culvain, the inquisitor, had charged Isaac Issacrea, the Holy Grail Knight, with heresy, and Dera Heman presided as the judge.
“The accused, Isaac, has been found guilty of coming into contact with heretical and vile relics during the relic recovery process. Instead of destroying or returning the items immediately, he used them, clearly allowing his mind to be tainted by the beliefs of heretics and apostates. There are testimonies that he has spread heretical teachings, notably the ‘Teachings of the Owl’…”
While Soltnar passionately recited the charges, drawing on his limited knowledge of religious trials, Isaac’s mind wandered elsewhere.
It wasn’t that he had no intention of defending himself. If he wanted, he could seize control of the trial. That is, if it were a normal trial.
But religious trials were far from rational.
Almost all of them ended in a guilty verdict, driven by evidence planted by inquisitors and the testimonies of “witnesses” that seemed to appear out of nowhere. The accused’s only choice was to either resist and die horribly or confess and die more mercifully.
Moreover, Dera Heman, acting as the judge, had already given Isaac the ultimatum: “Join me or die.”
Thus, Isaac saw little point in devising a clever defense.