Gates of Good

These gates were invented by Sir Edmund Verney, a magician of renown, who had not yet turned to the dark side.

Each gate has six pieces of tassite, three on each side and each with a different spell cast on it.

The first detects disease when someone passes through. A green line of light appears if the person is totally healthy. An orange line of light appears if the person is either ill with a non-serious but easily catchable disease like a cold, or a dangerous disease that is very hard to catch, like the world’s equivalent of AIDS. A red line of light appears if the person has a disease that is both very dangerous and easily transmitted to other people.

Normally the guards will turn a blind eye to an orange light unless plague is raging in the city, but those people who are red-lit are either turned away from the area or arrested and quarantined by force until they are better.

The second detects criminal activity. A green line of light appears if the person has committed no crimes at all or has only broken laws that have long since ceased to be enforced.

An orange line of light means that the person has committed minor crimes such as vandalism or perhaps committed a serious crime decades ago or that they have already been legally punished for.

A red line of light means that the person has committed serious crimes such as murder, maiming or large scale robbery. The guards will often turn a blind eye to an orange light unless unrest is raging in the city or riots are occurring, but those people who are red-lit are arrested to try and find out what their crimes were and may well end up in court facing serious charges.

The third detects troublesome political activity. A green line of light appears if the person is a political loyalist.

An orange line of light indicates political opposition but not to the point where the person is going to become a serious political problem.

A red line of light means that the person is a serious political threat, perhaps a pretender to the throne or a demagogue with a lot of supporters.

The guards will often turn a blind eye to an orange light unless serious political unrest is raging in the city but those people who are red-lit will either be sent away or arrested and thrown into prison or worse.

Each gate needs guards to arrest or turn back unwanted troublemakers so only the richest cities can afford to have a great many of them.  Most cities only have them set at the gates in the city walls.