[SPOILER FOR KNOT OF SHADOWS]

As I read about murder miracles (er, “death miracles,” sorry, that was a spell…ing mistake), I wondered what would happen in some specific—but not exceedingly rare—situations.

Let’s say a good man gets assassinated, and his widow, despairing to ever see justice done, decides to offer her soul in exchange for the killer’s. (It could also be a good woman and a widower. I tried to make my question gender-neutral, but it ended up being confusing.) If the Bastard consents, who dies? The assassin, who may be evil or more like Alixtra, or the person who sent the assassin?

A power-hungry ruler sends an army to invade another country. The soldiers kill other soldiers, but also rape and pillage, as soldiers are wont to do. One of these soldiers kills a mother and her child, and the widower (who isn’t a soldier), despairing to ever see justice done, decides to offer his soul in exchange for the murderer’s. If the Bastard consents, who dies? The soldier who committed the crime and is clearly guilty, or the power-hungry ruler at the origin of this crime and all similar ones?

A power-hungry ruler sends an army to invade another country. The ruler of the other country is being wronged, personally and in the name of all her people. She decides to offer her soul in exchange for the power-hungry ruler’s, in the name of seeking justice but actually more in hope of putting an end to the war and the atrocities wrought on her people. Would the Bastard answer such a prayer?

A few months back, I read about a politician being rebuffed by his peers for saying that a certain world leader, who sent his army to invade a certain country, should be assassinated. It reminded me that, for many people in power, the idea of killing a VIP is more abhorrent than the idea of killing tens of thousands of the “nameless.” The same principle underlies many works of fiction, in which the old-school action hero may thoughtlessly mow through the big bad guy’s minions, then fight the big bad guy, but stay his hand in mercy at the very end.

In the Penric & Desdemona series, it is made very clear that a soul is a soul, and that power and riches mean nothing to the gods, so I wonder how the three scenarios sketched above would play out.