There is no real prohibition against killing in the North. There are, however, plenty of ways to sully one's honor while killing someone. While it's relatively easy to avoid "murder," (that is to say, dishonorable killing), the finality of death means that certain issues of honor become much more pertinent in such matters.
There's really only two ways to violate one's honor directly by killing another person. One is to attack through stealth or ambush, without giving the other person a chance to defend against the attack. To a lesser degree, attacking without giving fair warning is also an Honor violation... the distinction is whether you possess an unfair advantage, or if resistance is impossible. The other is to attempt to conceal your crime... that is to say making the death look accidental or from natural causes (this would deny your victim's family the opportunity for revenge). Generally, if the other person knows one intends to attack violently, these are not issues. The most common practice of dueling is not to strike until the other person's weapon is bared (this is not a necessity, but if the other person has their sword ready, it's hard to say they're not aware they're about to be in a fight).
This is not to say that killing another person is not a risky proposition to one's Honor. This is because there are several prohibitions against violence... some stronger than others. For example, attacking family or striking one's betters are considered sins against Honor. Most notably, those with Unstained honor (Honor 5, 6, or 7) must consider the following:
There's really only two ways to violate one's honor directly by killing another person. One is to attack through stealth or ambush, without giving the other person a chance to defend against the attack. To a lesser degree, attacking without giving fair warning is also an Honor violation... the distinction is whether you possess an unfair advantage, or if resistance is impossible. The other is to attempt to conceal your crime... that is to say making the death look accidental or from natural causes (this would deny your victim's family the opportunity for revenge). Generally, if the other person knows one intends to attack violently, these are not issues. The most common practice of dueling is not to strike until the other person's weapon is bared (this is not a necessity, but if the other person has their sword ready, it's hard to say they're not aware they're about to be in a fight).
This is not to say that killing another person is not a risky proposition to one's Honor. This is because there are several prohibitions against violence... some stronger than others. For example, attacking family or striking one's betters are considered sins against Honor. Most notably, those with Unstained honor (Honor 5, 6, or 7) must consider the following:
- Are they about to do violence to another individual sworn to their liege or a priest or priestess of their religion? Doing so would be disrespect to their liege or religion
- Are they about to do violence to another of higher status? Doing so would be a refusal to acknowledge status.
- Are they about to attack a guest? Doing so might violate the guest rite.
To avoid such pitfalls, there are a number of formal conventions to follow when issuing a challenge of violence.
To avoid these pitfalls, there is a tradition of the Long Walk... a formal duel.
(Continued in The Long Walk)
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