Style and Tone
FAQ
Equality and Themes
Factions
Found in a building with clear evidence of Angel occupation: one receipt for a grey VW Campervan made out to one T. Marcarth and one M. Darzi.
— on the Hallowed Chamber Pinboard
And last we turn to the mirror of the bizarre crimes which this book as focused on so heavily - bizarre solutions to crimes, and bizarre apprehensions of criminals. These flourished during the mid and late 21st Century, and have become a bit of an iconic marker in hindsight. The prototypical example of this would be the spree attributed to Tennin Marcarth and Mohammed Darzi. Their calling card, an unmarked, yet unmistakable grey van, has seen turning up around the world, just in time to stop a crime or apprehend a fleeing suspect. It shows many of the hallmarks of their later counterparts, but in contrast, they never focused on the fame or riches that they could gain from their exploits and disappeared back into the shadows as quickly as they appeared.
— from the final chapter of Bizarre Crimes of the 21st Century by P.I. Carter
“…
Tennin Marcarth
Mohammed Darzi
…”
— From a memorial list of those lost during the New Paris Incident of 2032
Murder has very few defences in the modern understanding of Celestial Law, in fact they can be enumerated on just one hand, but one of the most notable is known as the Tennin Defence. Why it has this unique name is not known for certain, but there is historical evidence for a figure known as Tennin Marcarth acting at around the time of the formation of Metatron. This, sadly, raises more questions than it answers, as Marcarth was not known for anything to do with Celestial law, and what attestations survive mostly point to him ruthlessly dispatching the Seraphim who fell to Nyx.
The Tennin Defence, as it is currently understood and practised, allows for a reduction of sentence for those who act with 'good intentions'. What 'good intentions' conveys is different to what we would commonly understand from a human perspective. Yes, the connotations that the accused wanted to do good remains, but it must also be combined with a preternatural misunderstanding of the specific metaphysics of the situation at hand, leading irrevocably to the death of a Celestial. Why it is understood in this very specific way, and why it is indulged, remains a mystery.
— An excerpt from “A Study of Celestial Law in Context” (Published 2132)