(OOC: Npcing matthos obv)

The Master of Laws, perhaps former Master of Laws if Brandon meant to be a king, sat with his legs crossed, his posture relaxed. As he watched the trial his head seemed to tilt back and forth as if he were fading into sleep. In truth, this trial interested him little. Bracken's guilt seemed painfully evident, the Mallister did not need to confirm his hand, having seen that same writing many times. Though he listened to the Vance as he spoke, his eyes remained closed.

Whence Alayne had finished asking her question and the Vance had answered, Matthos decieded to interject his own rhetoric. "Lord Vance," he began with a perfunctory nod, "do you yet hold any ill will towards Bracken? Perhaps this same vitriol would spur you to speak out against your fellow high lord of the Riverlands."

The question was a leading one, with only one possible answer. Such was the way of a trial such as this, a trial with a clear verdict, a trial that served as nothing more than an assurance of Brandon's commitment to justice. In all the time Matthos had spent as Master of Laws he had sat in judgement over many such trials. In all those experiences he had yet to meet with true justice.

The Vance paused for awhile, a damning silence to any with the ear for it. "No," he said "I harbor no bias that obliged me to speak up. I believe that this is his hand, truthfully. Unlike others," his gaze seemed to pause on Blackwood "I do not partake in ancestral rivalry."

Matthos seemed to accept his answer, his head lolling back, eyes closing once more. Distantly he heard Brandon announce that the judges need ask no further questions, it was time for Symond and Bracken to make their case now, as hopeless as it may be.