The King's Inquisition is a political institutions outside the normal judicial system, tasked with eliminating corruption, treason, and political dissent within The Union; reminiscent of a secret police force in a totalitarian state. Their methods are clandestine with little or no transparency or oversight. People apprehended by are invariably subjected to coercive interrogation and torture. There is no due legal process, the Inquisition rely almost exclusively on written confessions or verbal confessions in Open Council.
Location[]
The Inquisition's headquarters is the massive House of Questions within the Agriont in Adua. Above ground are offices, including lavish chambers of the Arch Lector and Superior of Adua. Below ground are a labyrinth of cells and interrogation rooms, all eerily alike: a grubby white box with the ceiling too low for comfort, the room too brightly lit, and often a badly scrub bloodstain on one of the walls.
The Inquistion has branches all over The Union, including Adua, Angland, Starikland and Dagoska; seemingly every region in the realm except for Westport, though later during the events of The Trouble With Peace, the city is shown to have one. In Angland, the Inquisition also runs a number of prisons / penal labour camps, where criminals and traitors work in terrible conditions at mining and logging, rather than being hanged for their crimes. Imprisonment is seemingly for life, and maybe include entire families, even children.
Structure[]
The overall head of the Inquisition is called the Arch Lector. The Arch Lector is one of the most powerful men in the Union, and holds a seat on the Closed Council as one on the three Lords of the King’s Household. Arch Lector Sult is in charge during the events of the original trilogy. Later Sand dan Glokta becomes the Arch Lector, and when he recuses himself from the Inquisition, his replacement is Pike.
Reporting directly to the Arch Lector are a number of Superiors. Each Superior is responsible for a regional branch of the Inquisition. Known Superiors are:
Name | Branch |
---|---|
Superior Kalyne | Superior of Adua at the start of the trilogy |
Superior Goyle | Superior of Angland at the start of the trilogy, and later promoted to Adua |
Superior Davoust | Superior of Dagoska at the start of the trilogy |
Superior Glokta | Promoted to Superior of Dagoska during the trilogy, and later Adua |
Superior Pike | Superior of Starikland during Red Country, and later in Valbeck, and Adua |
Superior Risinau | Superior of Valbeck in A Little Hatred |
Superior Lorsen | Superior of Westport in The Trouble With Peace |
Beneath the Superiors are a number of Inquisitors. Each Inquisitor works independently on active investigations; arresting and torturing suspects into confessing. Known Inquisitors are:
Name | Branch |
---|---|
Inquisitor Glokta | An Inquisitor in Adua |
Inquisitor Harker | An Inquisitor in Dagoska |
Inquisitor Lorsen | An Inquisitor in Angland in charge of one of the penal labour camps |
Inquisitor Teufel | An Inquisitor Exempt reporting directly to the Arch Lector |
Practicals are the muscle of the Inquisition: they are able to fight when a criminal resists arrest, and torture prisoners while an Inquisitor questions them. Each Inquisitor, Superior and even the Arch Lector has a number of Practicals to assist him.
Name | Inquisitor |
---|---|
Practical Frost | Practical of Inquisitor Glokta |
Practical Severard | Practical of Inquisitor Glokta |
Practical Vitari | Practical of Inquisitor Goyle and later Superior Glokta |
Practical Byre | Practical of Inquisitor Goyle |
Practical Halim | Practical of Inquisitor Goyle |
Practical Pike | Practical of Arch Lector Glokta |
Practical Dole | Practical of Arch Lector Glokta |
Practical Wile | Practical of Inquisitor Lorsen in Red Country |
Practical Bolder | Practical of Inquisitor Lorsen in Red Country |
Practical Ferring | Practical of Inquisitor Lorsen in Red Country |
Practical Pauth | Practical of Inquisitor Lorsen in Red Country |