From our 5th ed. Dungeons and Dragons Campaign. A few levels back, my character did a major reveal of some of her backstory, much to everyone's surprise. Our group finally reached Jaz'Nanh, capital port city of the Hadiq Empire. We had met along the way, first as travelers, then as shipwreck survivors, then continued for mutual protection, slowly developing a friendship. Upon reaching the city and settling in, my character, Kiss, became nervous and melancholy. She asked the group to accompany her to the local church of light. One of our group, Misha, is a Dragonborn Eldritch Knight of noble bearing and station, and Kiss asked her specifically to help her gain an audience with the leaders there. As we waited Kiss was trembling. Our Ranger and Druid characters, Aka and McKenna, held hand and stayed close as Misha almost held Kiss up as they prepared to see the temple's high priestess. Our group's Bard, Braylon stood off to the side waiting and watching, concerned and ready. Kiss, a petite Tiefling a mere seventeen years old, was close to fainting. As the High Priestess, a venerable dwarven woman, approached Kiss said "If you leave I understand, but please don't think less of me." We gained audience because we had information regarding a man named Rafiq Al-Amir, a paladin of the church who had not been seen for nearly a year. Kiss stepped forward (with the help of her friends), and held out his holy symbol. Kiss said he had given it to her in his last moments. He was kind and just and the closest friend Kiss had known... ...And Kiss had killed him. She began to cry as she explained. Kiss had met him in Azuma, a country across the sea. For descriptive purposes it is reminiscent of feudal Japan, and is at odds with Hadiq. Not at war, but they've had their conflicts. The paladin Rafiq Al-Amir had traveled to Azuma to bring word of the Light and seek out injustices as he did wherever he went. In Azuma, there are fighting pits and gladatorial arenas, much like most places in the world, but there is it much more organized and for the pleasure of the nobles. Azuma is heavily into magic (much like the country of Thay in the published Forgotten Realms settings) and many of their arenas were arcane in nature. The outside world says Azuma uses slaves to fight, but Azuma denies this. They say they have no slavery, but a simple system of indentured servitude. That system is rife with technicalities and conditions so their claim is thinly veiled at best. Rafiq was at an arena giving comfort to to the Gladiators. It wasn't all slaves and servants. Some fighters were there by choice, others were paying off debts and some were criminals and the arena was their sentence. And then there were those like Kiss. Tiefling are not common on Ambarxinia (the world and setting created by our DM for this campaign), and they are treated differently depending on where they are encountered. In Hadiq and other areas, they regarded as otherworldly emissaries, often in the employ as assistants or advisors to those of rank and station. In Azuma, they are looked upon as aberrations, powerful and useful, but below the citizenry and not worthy of right or protection. Kiss was taken from her home and placed in the arenas for the amusement of the Azuman nobles. It is here that she met Rafiq Al-Amir. He was always kind and soft-spoken, giving comfort and words of encouragement to the gladiators. He would slip them extra food through the bars and even give fighting advice. He respected those who were there by choice and did not look down on criminals there, instead encouraged their atonement. For the rest, those who had been placed there unjustly, he spoke out openly against their imprisonment and use as entertainment. Kiss was the youngest and he talked most with her, and through the bars they developed a close friendship. Finally his criticisms grew too loud and the paladin was arrested. Kiss is unsure what crimes they charged him with, but he was sentenced to death. A public execution on the arena floor, and since Kiss was closest to him, she was chosen to perform the deed. She wanted to fight back, rebel against the order, but Rafiq wouldn't hear of it. He knew they would kill her too and said he would keep her safe. It wasn't quick. Kiss was only allowed to use the lowest magic she knew, a simple cantrip (Shocking Grasp), and Rafiq was a veteran paladin (in game terms several levels so a high number of hit points). It took over a minute of being electrocuted for Kiss' friend to die. He never cried out or raised his voice. He just whispered words of absolution to her and to encourage her to find a way to escape. A fire was sparked inside Kiss and within a few months she did find a way and escape. It took a further three months, but she finally made it to Hadiq, the home of her friend. Now she told his Order what had happened to him and she was the cause... and she had come to accept their punishment. Kiss knelt waiting for their verdict. In the end, knowing what they did of Rafiq, the order decided Kiss was telling the truth and she was put through a ritual of purification to be absolved of the deed. Another of our party, a paladin in his own right, was already at the temple researching information about a personal quest. Kiss was charged with helping him to further atone for what she had been forced to do.