| Serial killings | |
|---|---|
| General Information | |
| Type | Murder by asphyxiation |
| Place of occurrence | Tharios |
| Beginning date | |
| Date of completion | |
| Length of event | |
| Belligerents | |
| Strongholds | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable fighters | |
| Weapons used | |
| Status | |
| Outcome | |
| Strongholds | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable fighters | |
| Weapons used | |
| Status | |
| Outcome | |
| Crime Information | |
| Perpetrator(s) | The Ghost/Eseben the prathmun |
| Investigators | Headed by Demakos Nomasdina Trisana Chandler, Niklaren Goldeye, and Kethlun Warder (unofficial aides) |
| Victims | Female yaskedasi |
| Motive | Revenge (sparked by The Ghost's mother against those who were like his mother) Violence against women |
| Weapons used | |
| Captured by | Trisana Chandler |
| Sentence | Death |
| Illness informtation | |
| Symptoms | |
| Caused by | |
| Researched by | |
| Cure | |
| Bibliographical information | |
| Circle Universe event | |
| Event in | Shatterglass |
A series of killings took place in the city-state of Tharios in 1039 KF. The perpetrator was a prathmun man known as The Ghost. He was caught by the Tharian police and executed by the city.
Victims
The Ghost's victims were all female yaskedasi. He would strangle them with their own yellow scarves that they were required to wear and leave the corpses in public places for the police force to find later.
He killed eight yaskedasi before his capture.
Motive
The Ghost was a prathmun, the lowest caste, and was treated abominably along with other prathmuni. His father was a wealthy man of the First Class and his mother was a yaskedasu. Neither of his parents wanted him so he was abandoned to become a prathmun. He began striking out on the more vulnerable caste, the yaskedasi, as they all reminded him of his mother.
Investigation
The prime investigator was Demakos Nomasdina, a member of the Tharian First Class who wanted to become a police detective. The investigation was impeded by the ritual and magical cleansing of the site where the body was laid, as not even Niklaren Goldeye could use his magic to look for traces of the perpetrator. It was also impeded because the Ghost killed only yaskedasi, who were considered to be scum by the wealthier and more powerful Tharians. Crime against yaskedasi, was okozou, literally meaning "crime against people who don't matter". Okozou would encompass other categories of people besides yaskedasi, like prathmuni and poorer shenosi (foreigners).
The investigation started turning around when Nomasdina discovered magical glass globes made by Kethlun Warder. At first, the man was suspect, but was soon found to be innocent of all wrongdoing thanks to the powerful truthsayer Niklaren Goldeye.
Capture and aftermath
Both Niklaren Goldeye and one of Kethlun Warder's glass globes saw the prathmun targeting Trisana Chandler. Niko was more worried that Tris would kill the Ghost instead of leaving him to the authorities, damaging her morality forever.
Nomasdina, Goldeye, and Warder tracked down the pair just as Tris was about to shoot the Ghost with a lightning bolt. Nomasdina and Niko talked her out of killing him for different reasons. The Ghost was arrested and executed.
Tris, knowing that once Tharians knew that a prathmun was the murderer there would be a massacre, warned every prathmuni that she came across on the way back to her lodgings, hoping that they would all get the news to each other. She was mostly successful, as only 29 people failed to leave the city and were killed by mobs. The escaped prathmuni, which numbered in the thousands, started negotiating better living conditions and compensation with the Tharian government[1].
Notes and references
- ↑ Shatterglass, final chapters
See also
These serial killings are the main problem of Shatterglass, the fourth and final installment of The Circle Opens quartet. Other events in the quartet are listed below:
- Serial murders in Summersea, main problem in Magic Steps
- Arson attacks of 1039, main problem in Cold Fire
- Serial murders in Chammur, 1 of 2 major problems in Street Magic
- Gang warfare in Chammur, 1 of 2 major problems in Street Magic
