Chapter 17 preamble

Events in my life have often led me to investigate the good and the bad in human nature.I have seen evil that is pure, repetitive and unique at the same time.I spent all of my early life in this evil, where the smell of evil was so heavy in the air that I felt suffocated and had to leave. Until recently, when prestige began to earn me some recognition among the human population - even those cities that did not welcome me were at least tolerant - I also began to witness Something more complex, a shade of gray cast by the transition between light and dark.So many humans—there are so many—have a dark side to their nature, a desire for the horrors of death, and an ability to stand still in the pain of others for their own gratification.

Of all the other pretexts of justice, none were more blatant than Luskan's Prisoner's Carnival.Prisoners, sometimes guilty indeed, sometimes innocent--which hardly matters--are paraded before a bloodthirsty crowd, beaten, tortured, and finally staged in a "flamboyant" manner. way of carrying out the death penalty.The reason the magistrate who presides over the carnival works so hard is to get more screams out of sheer pain; his job is to create pain that distorts the expressions of those prisoners, making their eyes project infinite terror . Once, when I came to Luskan with Captain Deudermont's Sea Spirit, I dared to come to the carnival to witness the trial of some pirates-they were hunted down by us, and they were sunk from the sea. Fished up.And what I saw was more than a thousand people densely gathered in front of a big round table, roaring happily to watch those miserable pirates being cut into pieces one by one. This scene almost made me make up my mind to leave Deudermont's ship, almost Let me give up the life of a pirate hunter and find a forest or a high mountain to live a life of seclusion.

Of course, it was Catti-brie who reminded me to see the truth, pointing out that the pirates themselves often tortured their own innocent prisoners in the same way.Though she admits that even that truth doesn't justify the Prisoner's Carnival—just thinking about this place makes Catti-brie so terrified that she vows she'll never go near it again, even if Nearby—but she still thought it was better to treat the pirates that way than to set them free in the open sea. but why?Why is there such a phenomenon? This question has haunted me for years, and I've been searching for an answer to it, an answer that would explain this aspect of those incredibly complex creatures called "human beings."Why did these normally decent and gracious people degenerate to such a degree at the Prisoner's Carnival display?Why would even some of the crew on the Sea Sprite, some decent men and women I know, rejoice at the sight of such a horrific and bloody torture performance?

The answer, perhaps (if there is an answer more complex than inherent evilness) requires a survey of the attitudes of other races.Among all the benevolent races, humans are the only ones who use the form of "carnival" to execute and torture prisoners.There is no such display in halfling society - halfling prisoners are executed in the famous "fed to death" manner.Neither do the dwarves, as they have in their aggressive, aggressive nature.In dwarven society, the execution of prisoners appears to be clean and tidy, with neither performance nor public onlookers.A dwarf guilty of murder would end his life with a simple but effective blow to the neck.I've never seen elves at Prisoner's Carnival either, except once, when a couple tried to look at them, and then walked away quickly with obvious disgust.I know that in dwarf society there is no capital punishment, instead the prisoner is locked up for life in an elaborate cell.

So why are humans like this?Why is it that the emotional structure of humans allows them to create events like the Prisoner's Carnival?Is it evil?I think such an answer is too simple. Dark elves love torment - I know that well! ——And their behavior is indeed based on sadism and evil, and it is to satisfy the insatiable demonic desire of the spider queen, but for humans, considering all aspects of human characteristics, the answer will become more It's a little more complicated.It is certain that there must be some sadistic elements here, especially those magistrates who preside over the carnival and his torture assistants, but for ordinary people, those helpless people who cheered and applauded in the crowd Beggars, I believe there are three sources of their happiness.

First, the peasants of Faerun are the most vulnerable group. They are ruled by lords and landowners who often have strange ideas, amoral and unscrupulous, and are threatened by invaders that seem to never end, or goblins, giants, Even humans themselves, those who trample on life at will and without reason.The Prisoner's Carnival offers these unfortunates a test of power, a power that can make or break life.Over time they feel as if they are in control of their lives. Second, humans don't live very long—compared to elves and dwarves; even halflings usually outlive them.Those farmers faced the possibility of dying every day.A lucky enough mother who gave birth to two or three children is also likely to witness the death of at least one of them.Living so intimately with death obviously engenders a kind of curiosity, awe, and even fear of it.Those at the Prisoner's Carnival saw death in its most horrific form, and offered its most grisly execution, which brought comfort to those who actually faced death themselves, unless They also became defendants brought before magistrates, otherwise it would be impossible to appreciate the real horror.I have seen your worst, terrible death, so I am no longer afraid of you.

A third explanation for calling for the Prisoner's Carnival is that this method must be used to demonstrate justice and punishment in order to maintain social order.This was also the view held by the mage Robila when I returned to the Sea Sprite for a debate after witnessing the horror.The difference is that the mage is not in the mood and rarely goes to the carnival, but the vigor I have seen Robila defending this behavior is comparable to that of the magistrate himself.The public is being ashamed of these people, and the public is showing their anger, which keeps others honest, he believes so strongly.Therefore, the cheers and applause of those peasant onlookers undoubtedly expressed their extraordinary trust in the law and social order.

It's a hard argument to refute, especially if it's central to the idea that such a show has the effect of deterring future crimes, but is it really fair? With Robilar's point of view, I came to Luskan to discuss with some of the lesser magistrates how the Sea Sprite could better submit the draft for captured pirates, but it was really a discussion with them about the Prisoner's Carnival.The results of the discussion were quick and obvious: Carnival itself does nothing for justice.So far innocent men and women have been brought to this stage in Luskan, coerced by acts of savagery into false confessions, and then publicly executed for those charges.The magistrate knew this and was happy to admit it, and he quoted the distressed expressions of those people as proof that at least the prisoners we took were indeed guilty.

For that reason alone I would never want to go back to the Prisoner's Carnival again.One of the ways to measure the goodness of a society is how it treats those who have stepped outside the process of public morality, and torturing these criminals in a bad way undoubtedly lowers the moral standard of the whole society. The fact is, however, that this treatment has continued to prevail in some of the cities of Faerûn, as well as in many more villages, where justice must survive in a more crude and authoritarian way. . Perhaps there is also a fourth interpretation of Carnival.Maybe the onlookers were there enthusiastically just for the excitement of the display.Probably without any deep reason or explanation other than pure entertainment.To be clear, I don't like to think about the possibility that if humans, who make up such a huge percentage of living things, could so completely erase emotion and compassion just to enjoy the sight of others being horribly tortured and hurt If it is a feast, then I am afraid this is the real definition of a devil.

After hours of investigation, debate, questioning, and dozens of hours of thinking, I have come to no easy answer to the nature of the human beings living around me, to the twisted prisoner beyond the comic So is Carnival. I'm not at all surprised by this.I have hardly ever come up with a simple answer to anything that has to do with humans.That, perhaps, is why there is so little dullness and boredom in my day-to-day travels and encounters.Maybe also, and that's why I've always loved them. — Drizzt Do'Urden