Cults of the Past:
The Lawmen

Hargin of Selna

  Unlike most of the well known cults of the past, the Lawmen had no viable political activities.  Their sole purpose for existence was the study of law--any law.  Members of this lawful society would discuss at great length and in infinite detail the laws and application of the past, including what may have been the legal codes of dead civilizations.  They were equally interested in current law, how it might be applied, abused, skirted, and understood.  Even theoretical law was of great interest to them, raising questions like the lawful base of a lawless society, the necessary statutes for a colony on the moon, or the force of law when not codified.  Anything that could be related to law was open for discussion.

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  Saying that the Lawmen had no viable political activities is not to say that there was no effect felt from this group.  Many of its members, not surprisingly, were lawyers, judges, jurors, and governors.  In fact, legal rank in society formed the basis for rank within the sect--a man who was in fact a judge sat as judge at meetings; a lawyer generally was in a position to argue the case.  Conversely in life, much of the private discussions of the sect came out in the courts.  Decisions like the Marcouri land grab case were an extension of the same arguments considered by the judge within the setting of the cult meetings.  books written by various scholarly members, such as Taka Shan's "The Basis of Power", were read by monarchs and other governors, and applied within the realms they ruled.  In a sense, no other group has done less or more to change the world of today:  less because no effort was ever made to evoke change, more because no legal system in the world today is unaffected by its ideas.

  The sect was outlawed by the tyrant Inod Org, who apparently felt the discussion of alternate legal systems to be subversive.  He was undoubtedly mistaken, as his mere decree crippled the sect.  Only a handful of members held on, and these generally are believed to have affiliated with more militant groups such as The Iron Hand, or Libra Ficta.  Its reformation would certainly be welcomed by all who believe in law and structure, while it would not be regarded important to any who do not.  Even some of the great anarchists have drawn from the lawmen ideas for an unstructured society.  Such depth of thought about law is badly needed in every age.

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