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Setting: Betaria, Year 3 after unification.anchor
The excitement of early nationhood is beginning to mellow. Redvale now serves as one of the island’s major civic hubs, and its citizens take pride in their outsized influence on the new government.
Main Charactersanchor
- President Iris Dareth
- Formerly a beet farmer and one of the original families that founded Redvale.
- Soft-spoken but unshakable in principle, now serving as the first elected president of unified Betaria.
- Personally affected by the attack, but firmly opposed to capital punishment.
- Arin Vos
- The would-be assassin. A former priest-in-hiding from Citara whose family was stripped of power during unification.
- Radicalized by underground rhetoric claiming Betaria’s new order is illegitimate and spiritually void.
- Commander Isha Renn
- Head of Betaria’s civic guard. Lost two officers in the assassination attempt.
- Privately sympathetic to public calls for execution, but committed to upholding due process.
- Tarin Salma
- A Redvaler councilor and longtime ally of Iris Dareth, known for his fiery rhetoric.
- Initially wavers, tempted by vengeance, but ultimately delivers a moving address backing the president’s position.
Plot Outlineanchor
Act I – The Attackanchor
- During a routine ceremonial event in Redvale’s public square, Arin Vos attempts to assassinate President Dareth.
- The attempt fails—Iris is grazed but survives—but two guards and a close aide (former spymaster turned chief-of-staff Daya Vesh) are killed.
- The attacker is apprehended alive, shouting a prayer in an archaic Citaran dialect.
Act II – Aftershockanchor
- Public grief turns to rage. Calls for Vos’s execution echo across Betaria, especially in Redvale, where the fallen guards were local heroes.
- Tarin Salma fans the flames in early interviews, calling for “swift justice.”
- Iris Dareth, still recovering, releases a short statement: “We do not return to the old ways. We move forward, even when it hurts.”
Act III – The Debateanchor
- A special session of the national assembly is convened to decide Vos’s fate.
- Heated arguments ensue: some argue that abolishing the death penalty removes deterrents; others warn that any state killing undermines Betaria’s moral foundation.
- Iris makes a surprise appearance, weak but composed. She delivers a quietly devastating speech about Redvale’s founding—how it began with the idea that everyone deserved a chance to live free from fear, even those we hated.
Act IV – The Voteanchor
- The assembly votes narrowly to uphold the existing legal prohibition on capital punishment.
- Vos is sentenced to life in a secure rehabilitation compound, not imprisonment in the traditional sense, but under intensive psychological observation and community service.
- Tarin Salma publicly apologizes, saying he let grief cloud his judgment—and that the president reminded her of who they all chose to become.
Coda – A Monument and a Memoryanchor
- A memorial is erected in Redvale’s square—not just to honor the fallen, but to reaffirm Betaria’s commitment to nonviolent justice.
- Iris places the first lemon at the base, whispering that she hopes the story is never forgotten.