Stain of Guilt

The Stain of Guilt (罪の刻印, Tsumi no Kokuin^?, "Carved Seal of Sin") is a term from Tales of Crestoria. A criminal who bears this mark is known as a transgressor (咎我人, togabito^?).

Description[]

When someone records another individual committing a crime, the witness sends the crime footage to Vision Central through their vision orb. If a great many people plead the criminal to be condemned, their vision orb is destroyed, and they are marked as a transgressor with a Stain of Guilt. The process is shown to be quite painful, similar to getting burned. Based on the nature of the crime, the placement of the Stain may vary. Even if the Stain is covered by clothing, the symbol can be temporarily projected through the cloth once the culprit is branded. Those with this Stain are targeted by enforcers to enact their punishment. Should the transgressor attempt to remove their Stain of Guilt, their sin will slowly come to life as an incarnation and consume the bearer.

In cases where Vicious is involved, he can give a transgressor, who is prepared to bear the burden of their crime, a "trigger" dubbed his "blessing" (選定^?), impaling said transgressor with a spear made of his own power, and tells them the following; he asks them whether they want to own their sin or let it own them before telling them to "carve the answer out of [their] own fouled soul." The process is shown to be extremely painful until the transgressor grabs the spear tightly. The Stain of Guilt changes to a Stain of Blood Sin (ブラッドシンの刻印, Buraddoshin no Kokuin^?, "Carved Seal of Blood Sin"). Those who have the necessary willpower to "own their sin" can manifest it into a weapon dubbed a Blood Sin (ブラッドシン, Buraddoshin^?), which is the only weapon that can effectively harm enforcers. However, according to Vicious, it is possible for the Blood Sin to consume the wielder, possibly due to "letting their sin own them." As each crime is unique, so is the Blood Sin and its new Stain, making each weapon manifestation unique, and cannot be shared with other transgressors. If a Blood Sin wielder confronts their innermost selves pertaining to what they truly desire, and their resolve becomes stronger than before as a result, the Blood Sin itself gains a new, stronger form. Wielders of improved Blood Sins can change their weapon's form at will. Vicious also has the ability to revoke or return the granted Blood Sin at will.

History[]

At first, when a person transgressed, their sin caused them to turn into an incarnation after it overpowered them. However, since Kasque tapped into the same force responsible for this act, she created vision orbs with Stains of Guilt becoming a sort of "vessel" for incarnations, resulting in them being largely removed from the world, although they still exist, but in fewer numbers.

List of Known Transgressors[]

Vicious - condemned over the demonic powers he acquired since birth
Naph - crime unknown
Genitz - condemned by critics due to the provocative nature of his plays
Bernette Kluber - condemned after she was recorded beating her daughter, Penelope Kluber
Alicia Combatir - killed a nobleman's son for kidnapping and locking her up
Gordon - mortally injured an old woman while stealing from a shop
Kanata Hjuger - killed his father after learning of his true nature and to protect Misella from being sold in slavery
Misella - accidentally killed Nisha while causing a fire at the shelter to cover Kanata's escape
Aegis Alver - condemned on the base of falsified accusation made by King Gadel that he seduced Queen Rebecca and wanted to escape with her, but being unable to do so, he killed her
Yuna Azetta - accused of lying about Penelope Kluber's latest performance, despite the fact that she was not lying at the time
Monica (モニカ^?) - condemned after killing her abductor and being caught in the act by his manservant
Orwin Granberg - killed his wife Naya to preserve her humanity.
Madeline (マドリーン^?)'s husband - condemned after villagers decided that his actions regarding his ex-girlfriend were tainting Madeline's honor and good name
Esvanilla's Father - condemned on the basis of "censoring arts" after he destroyed many pieces from an arts exhibition that proved to be too provocative and resulted in condemnation of several artists involved in it
Hawken Alver and Nema Alver - condemned for defending their son, Aegis.

List of Pardoned People[]

Luke fon Fabre - pardoned on the base of falsified explanation made by Senegal that he killed a Southvein citizen in self-defense after blaming him for the landslide that destroyed the town that was then followed by the genocide of the townspeople

List of Unaffected People[]

Edna - despite being put on Vision Central for the crime of being the Reaper, not enough people condemned her to mark her as a transgressor, a result of her young and innocent appearance