Dark Star Scandal

Dark Star Scandal
The Dark Star Scandal is the name given to the corruption the plagued the Dark Star Bureau from EC 980 until the end of the Leviantan Civil War three years later. Allowed to thrive under the jurisdiction of Chief Justice Gallerian Marlon, the incident became among the most infamous in the history of the Union State of Evillious.

Origins
Following his wife and daughter's tragic deaths in EC 978, Chief Justice Gallerian Marlon became wrecked with grief. Two years later, the judge consulted his longtime friend, Ma, on her earlier statements regarding the Seven Deadly Sins, claiming that when all seven were collected that they would grant a wish. Willing to bet on her testimony, the judge decided to find and gather the vessels of sin for himself.

Ignoble Dealings
Presiding over the Spoon Corruption case, Gallerian identified the Marlon Spoon as one of his required vessels. As a result of the jurisdiction, he confiscated the spoon and kept it for himself. Around this time, the Dark Star Bureau was privatized, leading Galleriant to accept bribes to judge aristocrats innocent for their crimes; similarly, kickbacks were accepted to falsely indict enemies of the nobles and present phony evidence that would convict the innocent accused. With the corruption spreading to many officials within the court, Gallerian had free to profit off his deceitful rulings.

At some point, he conducted the murder trial of Second Lieutenant Nyoze Octo, who was in possession of the Venom Sword. After convicting Nyoze of multiple homicides, the weapon was confiscated as evidence and stored in the judge's personal warehouse in his home before handing off the vessel to Ma. On his collaborator's suggestion, Gallerian constructed a small theater in EC 982 to house his collectibles away from prying eyes. By EC 983, the infamous Marlon collected six of the seven vessels and garnered a fortune from his shady dealings.

Leviantan Civil War
In August of that year, General Tony Ausdin was charged with serial murder and placed under Gallerian's jurisdiction. After accepting the bribe and judging the general innocent, riots broke out in the streets of Levianta. General Ausdin was brutally killed in the chaos and the rioters set fire to Gallerian's home, burning him to death.

Aftermath
After the riots had been suppressed, the mangled corpse of General Ausdin was discovered in his backyard. As the sole benefactor in his will, Ma inherited Gallerian's collection before disappearing from the public eye a few days later. The rest of the collection was stored in the small movie theater thereafter and was largely ignored until being rediscovered in EC 990.

Civilian Perception
With known criminals and murders being exonerated while innocent citizens were being convicted, public opinion for Gallerian quickly plummeted in the years of the scandal, and the uproar by the corruption plaguing the Dark Star Bureau eventually led to civil war. In the years after his death, his existence in the bureau became a blemish in the USE's history that was often spoken about. Because of the vast fortune he collected from his corrupt dealings and personal collection of the vessels of sin, he was regarded by later generations as the "Collector".