Wikkheiser Accused of Violating Dictum Familia

In a startling and worrying twist in the ongoing spat between House Wikkheiser and House Canidar, House Canidar has accused their rivals of attempting to kill Tidal Canidar, heir apparent of House Canidar, outside the forms.

In , Tidal Canidar married Zilpah al-Moise. During the wedding, an attempt was made on his life. The assailant was killed by the Imperial Mentat, Count Fenring, who happened to be in attendance. Even with the Imperial Mentat's assistance in the early going, the culprit couldn't be identified, nor could a sponsoring party be determined.

But just this month, we heard of Canidar's accusation of House Wikkheiser, but through a surprising source: House Wikkheiser themselves. It seems that House Canidar, upon obtaining certain letters and financial records pointing to House Wikkheiser's involvement, decided that they would threaten House Wikkheiser. Specifically, they demanded several of House Wikkheiser's CHOAM shares in return for silence and a return of the evidence to Ohashi Prime. House Wikkheiser, rather than comply, announced the attempted blackmail, apparently in full, to the Landsraad Congress.

This set off a flurry of threats. Using their proffered evidence as a basis, House Canidar began the round with a rather hasty demand that the Landsraad condemn House Wikkheiser. House Wikkheiser countered with accusations of Canidarian hypocrisy. House Canidar, throughout their CFI drama, has complained that due process had been followed, that their rights were not upheld. Yet here was House Canidar, obviously obtaining their evidence by back channels and immediately using official levers to harm House Wikkheiser, who would theoretically enjoy the same rights as House Canidar.

House Wikkheiser followed up these apt criticisms with a declaration of kanly, threatening to militarily crush House Canidar, forcing her to Tupile. House Canidar countered with a proposal for a Landsraad investigation into their allegations. That, in turn, was met with offers of third party assistance, which would presumably avoid the rather cumbersome processes of official Landsraad protocols.

The evidence House Canidar brings against House Wikkheiser includes the following:

• Records of generous financial gifts from House Wikkheiser to the aristocrat's household in the months prior to the assassination attempt;
• subsequent ledger entries illustrating substantial outgoing payments, in solarii, from the aristocrat;
• a letter, signed by the Margrave Wikkheiser, dated before the assassination attempt and addressed to the aristocrat which offers thanks "for agreeing to deliver House Wikkheiser's 'wedding present' to Canidar Prime."; and
• a letter, again signed by Margrave Wikkheiser, dated after the assassination attempt and addressed to the aristocrat's widow, expressing condolences and commending her for how, "though the details must remain forever secret", her husband died in the line of noble duty to the House.

These evidences make a strong prima facie case against House Wikkheiser, and the case hangs on the authenticity of the absconded documents. The Landsraad, or whatever third party is elected to undertake the investigation, will obviously focus their attention on that issue.

Given the history between House Canidar and House Wikkheiser, there can be no question about motive. House Wikkheiser has held a very long and very deep grudge against House Canidar dating back a few years to the controversial end of Proces Verbal 10, which saw House Canidar acquitted in the death of Annika Wikkheiser, a Bene Gesserit bound concubine to Baron David Canidar and a relative of the Margrave. While away on vacation, Kyle Canidar, then heir to House Canidar, under the influence of the radical priest Moshe Hassim, attempted to arrest the Bene Gesserit on charges of espionage. The arrest resulted in the death of the Canidar swordmaster. The ensuing pursuit eventually led to the death of the Annika Wikkheiser, and the Bene Gesserit and House Wikkheiser jointly presented the case to the CFI.

House Canidar has made heavy weather of House Wikkheiser's apparent sour grapes ever since. They point to Proces Verbal 11 as a case in point. Proces Verbal 11 involved an accusation from "Agnan" against the Bene Gesserit of various treasonous offenses. Baron David Canidar was called by the Bene Gesserit as a witness for the defense. As legal experts have pointed out, this is a common strategy in which the witness is the actual target of the Proces Verbal, not the named defendant. Under this theory, it is likely the Bene Gesserit themselves crafted the accusation. Whether that was the strategy or not, the CFI decided to determine who "Agnan" really was, and the Bene Gesserit provided handwriting analysis as evidence that it was Professor Madjil, head of the Canidar Legal Academy. House Canidar has always maintained that this whole affair was orchestrated by the Bene Gesserit and House Wikkheiser to avenge their loss in Proces Verbal 10.

Assuming the allegations of dictum violation is confirmed, it's hard to say what will come of it. House Wikkheiser is something of an Imperial favorite at the moment, but that doesn't guarantee their safety. What might guarantee their safety is the fact that they have just taken the post of governor of Arrakis. What punitive measures House Wikkheiser will face will probably have to be tempered by the need for the spice to flow. Since House Ziyaira's disasterous abdication, spice traffic has been reduced to a trickle. The Spacing Guild, among others, will not take kindly to any punitive measures that threaten House Wikkheiser's ability to restore the flow of the spice.

Lastly, there's the matter of the status of the CFI. Lufius Alairs, chief diplomat for House Canidar, made a lengthy speech in the Landsraad Congress explaining why House Canidar must show the ultimate contempt of court by simply going around them and directly to the Landsraad. Going all the way back to Proces Verbal 10, with the allegations of dithering and pandering, and to Proces Verbal 11, with the allegation of corruption and/or collusion, and now with this latest episode where the CFI is not even involved, the reputation of the CFI has continued to suffer. One wonders whether the institution can survive.