[Council Meeting] Ymiden, 718 - Part 2

[Sephira]

Sephira bristled once again at the Warden. There was something about him that made her skin crawl. When the man spoke about his time in level Seven the mage’s eyes darkened. Maxine was in that horrible place. She wondered for a moment how the woman was doing and if she had survived. The barest crack of a smirk twitched at the corner of her lips. If anyone could survive in the depths of Slags Deep, then it was Max. The woman was a storm unto herself, nothing and no one would keep her down.

The Special Assistant was broken from her inner dialogue when the Warden mentioned that his guards were far better equipped to deal with the prisoners. She glared at him icily before flicking her eyes up to the Militant. She didn’t know how he might handle the insult but it wasn’t her role to retaliate. She had her own goals tonight. So Sephira remained silent, even if she was struggling not to bite her tongue in half.

The mage’s brow lifted at the mention of another council seat being created to manage the new prisoner program. She knew this for what it was, a play for power. Men like the Warden of Slags Deep collected power like a noble woman collects jewelry. Its no wonder that he had managed to gain sovereignty for the prison itself.

When Faith spoke her words were well reasoned, and she voiced many of the reservations that Sephira herself have been musing over. At least someone wasn’t ready to outright hand over a council seat to t his man.
Kura spoke next, and her conversation quickly turned to Rynmere. For the time being Sephira directed her attention away from the Warden and instead listened keenly to the councilwoman’s words.

War on the horizon? It was something of a surprise to the mage, but perhaps that was due to her paying more attention to domestic threats within Scalvoris rather than the potential for external threats that might come from afar. When the councilor finished speaking the Special Assistant stood briefly.

“Might I suggest reaching out to Yaralon for additional training for our forces as well. Their mercenaries are famed across the world for their prowess in combat and often work with other militaries in extended campaigns. At least from what I’ve heard.” Sephira nodded respectfully toward the Militant. She had no intention of speaking out of turn to insinuating that their military was somehow lacking. But what Kura had stated made good sense. The Elements had little experience when it came to open war and working with foreign armies. It was time to fill that chink in their armor and ensure that they were prepared for any eventual future.

“It might be wise to send a contingent of Elements to Yaralon to negotiate a contract that will entail whatever training we might require.”

With that said the woman took her seat again and relegated herself to listening to the remainder of the discussion, while trying very hard to ignore the Warden seated nearby.

Dialogue|Thoughts

[Tio Silver]

“Excuse me… sorry… out of the way… one-eyed bloke coming through…”

There was a small stir among the crowds of watching citizens as Tio shuffled his way through past the front line of onlookers, stumbling into the middle of the debate floor with an awkward hop that almost sent him falling to the ground. As he regained his balance he drew a wide, cheerful grin onto his face and pivoted in a full circle to get a look at the surrounding crowds, with one hand raised in a gesture of greeting.

“Hi there everyone. Sorry to barge right in the middle of this very important debate but… did I hear that right? Is nobody else concerned that Councillor Maveth just dropped two metaphorical bombs as a backdrop to some small prison labour debate! We might be going to war with Rynmere! We're trying to forge an alliance with The Eternal Empire! How long has this been going on?! And with these two major political events apparently now on the horizon why is the council not opening up these for discussion with the public, instead of distracting us by harassing our jail warden and threatening to slap wristbands on a couple of magicky-jiggery folk?”

He turned to face the council members, making a point of catching as many of them in eye-contact as he could. “Now don't get me wrong, I'm not concerned by the prospect of fighting a few houses of prissy nobles and their daintily dressed knights. What I'm concerned with is Councillor Maveth's proposed solution! It is a very well known fact that The Eternal Empire is headed by the Immortal Raskalarn, a god infamous for wanting nothing more than complete world domination! Their history has been filled with nothing but hostile military takeovers since their foundation, with the sole exception of the one time they promised the people of Yaralon that they'd kill them last! And we're supposed to ally with those people? Scalvoris is one of the few places in the world ruled by democracy; where the people are allowed to decide the laws they must live under for themselves. Do you think Raskalarn would really allow a system where she does not hold the power to exist? Any alliances she would claim to make would hold up only until the Empire’s borders reach our own, and at that point she'll turn on us in a heartbeat. We cannot trust a civilisation that seeks to create a society the antithesis of our own!”

Once again he turned around to address the assembled crowd. “Given that our national security has suddenly been revealed to be at risk, and that backdoor alliances with warmongering empires have been secretly made without prior discussion, I think I speak for the public when I say that this vote on prison reforms should be quickly settled, Councillor Augustine's proposal should be put on hold, and we should discuss what action Scalvoris is going to take regarding a possible upcoming invasion! Forget running to other nations for help, we should be discussing preparing ourselves for war right away!”

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Kura was caught somewhere between amusement and annoyance at Tio's debate, but she let the one-eyed man, though she paused to wonder where he had lost the eye, say his part before she stood up to answer. "Apologies for interruptin' the voting process, but I feel it is best to nip this in the bud." she said, her tone polite, but firm. "Mister Silver, I understand your concerns, but your information is lackin' on all fronts. The potential for a war between Scalvoris and Rynmere has been discussed openly before. Our last council meetin' was, in fact, an emergency session called discuss that very thing due to Rynmere breakin' the terms of a treaty set between our two nations. That session was as open as this one is, and the possibility of war has been in the councils mind ever since. However, the potential onset of war does not take away from the importance of other matters of state." she said, her tone firm.

"As to your concerns regardin' The Eternal Empire, it is clear you not overly familiar with them, their history, or the nature of its ruler. First off, Cahryst, alongside other, smaller villages, have joined The Eternal Empire willingly in the past, seekin' the protection The Eternal Empire can offer. Secondly, the agreement between Yaralon and The Eternal Empire was of Yaralon's offerin'. They wish to be The Eternal Empire's final opponent because they believe it will be a glorious battle, against the greatest of foes, and Yaralon is rather focused on such things. Finally, there is your concern as to whether The Eternal Empire, and more importantly, Empress Raskalarn, will keep their word. As evidence by every record I can find, The Eternal Empire has not broken its word once in the centuries of its existence. When a treaty they are involved in is broken, they are not the ones who broke it, they merely respond to the breach of agreement as we are doing with Rynmere. Their culture, which is largely built by Raskalarn herself, puts great value on the concepts of honor and duty." she said, her tone firm. Those familiar with The Eternal Empire would likely agree with Kura's assessment of their history and culture, as well as note her own accent marking as being Imperial herself. Those familiar with her record since joining the Scalvoris Council, as the only Council Member to be on the front lines of every major threat Scalvoris had faced since she arrived, would probably note that she still held her own honor and duty very close despite no longer being part of The Eternal Empire.

"As for the final point, no treaties or deals have been brokered between Scalvoris and The Eternal Empire. Likewise, none have been reached with Rharne as of yet. We're at the point of scheduling meetings to discuss the possibilities of such treaties, and nothing more." she said, before looking at the rest of the council. "I move to finish the voting, the continue with Councilor Augustines proposal as planned." she said, sitting back down.

► Show Spoiler

Link to the last council meeting: viewtopic.php?f=251&t=10937

[Amaris]

Amaris Nyme

Amaris had expected something eventful to come of this meeting. It had started with a historic movement, yes, but part of them had hoped that that would be it. Freeing of slaves, and the smaller things. But such was not the case. Instead, there was talk of war and prisoner rehabilitation and the room itself seemed to tense up, holding all the anticipations of each seated member of the audience and the council alike.

War was not something they could fathom - they had learned it, certainly, but reading or being told of it was not the same as experiencing it, and they figured that what lay in war was beyond anything they’d experienced. Beyond the riot of Ashan, and definitely beyond any small incident they might have been part of in prior seasons. As such - they had nothing to say. They had even less to say about the Warden. He was an unfamiliar face made familiar by his own introduction and that was the extent of it. Their focus was on him for but a short while before it turned back to that looming word; war.

All that they could do was partake in the vote, which was pressed towards agreeing with this proposal. Fueled entirely by fear of the unknown fallout - would Rynmere wait for them to bring their complaint on their shores again? Or would they put a swift end to the opposition they faced from Scalvoris? They doubted the nation would hesitate to send fleets their way; they had not hesitated to burn their own people.

But - oh, but of course we need another surprise - there was Tio speaking his mind unceremoniously. The mixed blood wondered how often interruptions like this had been before they joined the council. Was this just something that had become a new trend? And it seemed he was terribly off with some of his information to boot. Understandable; emotion clouded the need for a firm grasp of a situation - but then again, he’d wondered how the man knew to begin with.

So, quiet he remained and he watched and waited.

[Tio Silver]

Tio raised his hands in a gesture of mock surrender as Kura countered his argument. He had to admit that she knew how to give a good refute, but that didn't mean he was going to give up. There was something important he wanted to do here, and for that he needed the stage. "Fair enough; I admit that I don't know much about the Eternal Empire besides what's public knowledge. Had I known this subject was going to come up I would have done a bit of reading around it. But there is something I do know a lot about. The Immortals."

He circled around to address the audience again. "I've met them you see; a lot of them. U'frek, Delroth, Edasha, Ilaren... I've been tangled up in their games more times than I'd have liked to be. And throughout all of it I've come to realise one thing about them: all they care about is their domains!" His smile slowly morphed into a deep, grim scowl. "Who was behind the deadly plague that threatened to spill across the island from the Immortals Tongue an arc ago? Who was responsible for the shadow beasts that attacked the arc before then? Who always leaves disasters behind in their wake wherever they go in their attempts to promote their own agendas? It's the Immortals! It's always the Immortals! Their domains are their obsessions, and they care about them more about the lives of every one of us mortals; even those of us who follow them! Councillor Maveth you countered most of my arguments, but you neglected to address the one that really mattered; that Raskalarn would never allow Scalvoris to exist as a democracy!"

He looked back at Kura with a scowl. "Can you really swear that to us upon your honour Kura? That Raskalarn, the Immortal of Conquest and Dominion would go against her own domains and allow a place that she does not rule to exist? Can you honestly promise that a god who makes no secret of her desire to become the sole ruler of the entire world would allow a island where the people rule themselves, free from her control, to exist just because you asked her to? Forgive me if I don't take your word for it."

He turned back to the surrounding audience again, allowing his scowl to turn into a small smirk as he called upon whatever charisma he had. "We don't need to hide behind the coat-tails of other nations! We don't need to beg for scraps of approval! And we certainly don't need to barter for alliances! We are Scalvorans! We can protect ourselves! Once upon a time we were the masters of the sea because being an island gave us the perfect natural defense against an invasion; because if any army wanted to take our shores they had to go through the most powerful navy on Idalos! And where is that navy now?" He pointed to the doors of the council hall, to the city of Almund that lay beyond it. "It's out there. It's in the sailors wasting away in the taverns without work to do. It's in the rotting docks of Port Diablo. There is a slumbering navy right on our doorstep, and all it would take to wake it is a little bit of time and timber! We should be rebuilding our ships and retraining our sailors; forging a sword and shield to deter those Rynmerian fops from picking a fight with us!"

[Aegis]

Date

"You speak truth Councilor Augustin. It is quite unacceptable for Scalvoris to accept such standards of inhumanity. But Slags Deep is not beholden to such an upholding of morality. Our duty is to merely keep contained that which Scalvoris sends us. If you wish for more human treatment for them, please, create a system that does not knowingly send them to such hostilities. Men and women are sent to war by country's leaders all across Idalos. They go to die, or to live, but it matters not. Prison is no different. The morality of wishing to be rid of those who cause problems for others is no higher than by the means in which we keep them away. "

With a smirk, "And I shall not divulge of the secrets of our defenses, nor to the acquisition of my people and their skills, certainly not to another nation that might wish to abuse that knowledge for their own gain. If you wish to know more, by all means, go to the same hell in which you send those you wish to not see in your streets."

Turning to Councilor Mareth now, "Your concerns for the use of your own soldiers as compared to mine are a fair point. I will concede that particular point. Use the troops or police to guard these prison camps as you so deem fit. My own will remain in Slags Deep. Though perhaps if you wish to train your own troops in tactics, perhaps you reach out to the nation who has fought against and with nearly every other nation. I'm sure you, with your obvious ties to the Empire know of whom I speak. If Scalvoris can afford it, that is."

And when Sephira spoke that nation's name, "They did say you were quite the clever one, Special Assistant Blackwood."

As the outraged Tio Silver started in, however, the Warden nodded his head at the council, unbuttoned his jacket, and sat down, to watch the meeting devolve, as had happened in the past, and was clearly a trend for the budding government. Albarech now spoke, directly to Tio, "Sir, this meeting is not an open forum. If you have questions concerning pending actions by Councilor Mareth and foreign policy, by all means, schedule with her a meeting. If you'd been here in a timely fashion, you would understand we are currently discussing matters concerning the prison and establishing working camps with the prisoners. Please keep any future outbursts at the very least bound to the topic at hand. If you cannot, you will be removed."

Pausing, he looked at the council, "May the vote on the matter of allowing Councilor Mareth to establish the working camps agreement with Slags Deep continue." The votes went around the council, and it came to a conclusion. The Aye votes took the matter, so that Kura could begin work on the proposal. "Councilor Mareth, please begin focusing on the creation of this agreement. It should be presented ready at the next season's meeting. There are no other immediate assignments for this proposal, unless Kura herself needs additional help or resources from the other councilors."


Before the meeting could continue though, two spirits manifested themselves at their respected companions sides. The first was Phelan, manifesting before the room at Kura's side. He communicated to her privately that he'd found Elliot's scent outside the council hall, had smelled Elliot's smoke. He also found Elliot's blood. A fair bit of it. But the trail stopped there. Phelan had been unable to find anything beyond that one spot.

Meanwhile, a rabbit manifested next to Faith, upon the table., her own spirit, a diri of Death. It reached out with its little nose, plucking at her hair with its mouth to get her attention. It felt death, quite nearby. It normally never pestered her on such a thing, but this death was... delicious smelling, and close. So very close. It wished to go feed on the air of death, and was poking her to get permission to go, with or without her. It simply needed to be near to that death, to run free in it, to dance in it, to feel the pleasure of it. Death gave the diri life and joy, and it wished for more.

And with that, the audience in the room just stared, for most were not so used to spirits as these particular councilors. The Warden just chuckled at their arrival, amused at how this government ran things. Albarech looked at both councilors, "Councilors, is something... amiss? This is quite the... distraction."

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Kura let Brandel shut Tio down, then watched the vote proceed in silence. When the ayes had it, she smiled. "No, I will not require any further assistance. I wrote out a few drafts of what the final bill might be like before the meeting, so as to speed the process along if the council passed the proposal. I'll have them ready for the next meeting with time to spare." she said, before Phelan suddenly appeared next to her, while a chalk bunny appeared before Faith. The rabbit wasn't an animal she could hear, but Phelan's voice was clear and Kura closed her eyes and let out a low growl at his news.

After a moment, she opened her eyes and stood up again. "I sent Phelan out to look for Councilor Elliot, as it is unlike him to be late for meetings. He has reported that he was able to find where Elliot was smoking his pipe, and found a not insignificant amount of blood at the location, and that the trail stopped there, gone cold. Councilors, I am afraid to report that Councilor Elliot has been attacked." she said, before looking over at Faith with a saddened expression.

"If I were to hazard a guess, Faith, given your service to Famula and Vri, that is a spirit of Death." she said, before looking at the rest of the council. "Councilors, with all due respect, I believe this meeting should be adjourned. It is my sorrow to report that we must mourn the death of one our fellows. If Councilor Elliot lived, his trail would not have gone cold so. I ask that word be sent to Darbyton as well. Elliot did well by his people, and they will want to mourn him." she said, sitting down as the rest of the council processed the dire news.

[Faith Augustin]

Some things transcended others, and what happened next was simply too important for Faith to be worrying about the Warden. She might well regret that, later, but as PB materialized, she frowned and listened to him. Kura spoke and Faith nodded. "That's right," she said and then she looked at the Warden with a sudden, deep frown. "There is nothing funny here." Faith turned away from him, then, and spoke to Brandel, urging a brief bit of patience from the Death Diri. "He's dead, yes. In an unusual way. Intense, probably violent. However," she glanced now at Kura. Kura who was her friend and who understood her in a way that others here did not.

"If we find him quickly, with Vri's grace, I can try and bring him back. So I need to find him." Kura could track him, Faith knew that. After all, Kura was Karem's daughter ~ not that Faith had any intention of telling anyone that any time soon, or at all. But instead, she looked at the woman who had officiated her wedding, who was her very dear friend and she asked her all she needed to ask. "Can you help me? Enough people have mourned on Scalvoris."

Whatever the answer was, Faith nodded to PB. "We're going. Together, PB."

"Knickers, love, you know I'm faster without you. 'ow can you refuse this cute little buns?"

"Together, PB," was Faith's firm reply and PB sighed.

"Yer no fun, you aren't. I blame Paddyrags." PB's words caused a ghost of a smile to cross the serious young woman's face.

As she picked up her things, Faith glanced at Tio. "I know the Immortals, too," she said, softly. If she was right about him, then he knew that about her. "And you're wrong. Some of them do things which hurt. Others, do good things. Just like people. Judge them as others judge you and in the manner which you should, I hope, judge yourself." With a calm expression, she finished. "Judge them, yourself and everyone else, by their actions. As individuals. Not as a race, that is a dreadful thing to do." Serious silver eyes regarded him. "Wouldn't you agree?"

Then, Faith headed out, letting PB lead the way and she aimed to get to where Elliot was, then, to resurrect him in Vri's name and using his Immortal-granted ability.

[Aegis]

Date

Albarech looked at Kura with a stern gaze at the report she gave. While he was not practitioner in anything to do with spirits and the divine, he'd long since come to terms with the idea that such things were useful in the right hands. "Agreed, Councilor Mareth. This meeting is adjourned. All topics not yet addressed shall be tabled for the following meeting. Leshlie will contact you soon with the date of the next meeting, though I will ask that she make it sooner than later." He slammed his hand on the table, signaling the end of the meeting, and immediately stood up.

He looked over at Brandel, who held up a hand, "I've got it sir. Deputy Fall here will take you to Darbyton." Albarech nodded, an immediate weariness replacing the normal face of stern stoicism. He turned and left, heading to the roof to catch his ride. Brandel, on the other hand, pulled out a large conch shell, and plucked an oblong pearl out of it. "Blackwood." He then tossed the pearl at her. "Put that in your ear. I'll be able to hear you, and you'll be able to hear me. Go with Councilor Augustin, representing the Scalvoris Military. You have our full resources on this. I am in contact with the Deputies, and a few other special assistants with this, and will coordinate based off what you need."

The room began to empty, though many of the audience stayed behind, speaking about Elliot, for despite being a quite, private man, it seemed many had come to know him. And not a poisonous or foul word was uttered. The man had touched many without having to flaunt his position. The Warden did not look amused whatsoever, and made his way to a woman in the corner of the audience, one who was outright sobbing, taking her hand, and comforting her. For while many did not know her, they knew her to be Elliot's half sister. And she came to every meeting because she knew he never liked politics, but participated out of duty for his people. And afterwards, she made him his favorite dinner, using the same recipe their shared mother used.

Cornel Sherapo and two of her compatriots walked out of the council chambers, smug looks on all of them. They exited the building, talking about the tavern they were off to visit, to celebrate the "latest successes of an amazing government." Her group went on opposite direction that PB would lead Faith. He led her around the building to where Elliot had been assassinated, the same spot that Phelan had discovered. The rabbit began to act very unrabbitlike, rolling about, preening, wallowing in the Councilor's death.

There was no soul here for Faith to see, yet PB would let her know that he smelled the newly deaded man. And could hear him speaking. It was a fairly well traveled road, lots of food prints, old and new. To even a poorly trained eye, it was clear on the imprint where Elliot had fallen. His pipe laid next to it, with a fair amount of blood pooled next to it. However, to the eyes of those that were well trained, there were two sets of tracks that had walked toward the indention, then walked away, sinking deeper in the dirt, under a strained weight. The tracks vanished at the alley though, which was riddled with many other fresh tracks of man, horse, and a couple of smooth lines.

[Amaris]

There was a certain chill that came with the pronuncement of what the spirit that came to Faith was for. It wasn't that the mixed blood was particularly keen on matters of death; they had not had a good history with it. If anything, they felt so inclined to sink further into their seat, as if to distance themselves from the spirit and the woman. Relief, though, soon flooded through them as it was decided that the meeting would end.

They had not gotten to speak about their ideas, but that didn't matter much to them. Or, well, they would be able to present it at a later date. And if not then, then perhaps it was not meant to be. Not yet, at least. They remained in their seat a moment longer as people left the room. There were things that the mixed blood needed to work on. Speaking up, for one. They had not displayed any sort of assertiveness during the meeting. No interjections, no comments. What were they doing, really?

Sighing, the mixed blood stood. Running a hand through their hair, they gathered up their papers. Maybe they could take this time to tweak what they had already managed to put together. They could spend the remainder of the season until the next meeting fine-tuning what they had. The optimism in their own thoughts was somewhat uplifting, but not quite believable. Just enough to get them moving, though they hung their head as they went.

"Speech"