Advisory Council Meeting (late TT, Chyril 27th)

[Ssinith DIllil]

S'sinith paused to listen... it was true that the people had to be convinced, but as of late, the way things have always run had not protected them well at all. Perhaps a new way which would give them more power would, indeed, earn their trust.

Something in him feared Silk. As he spoke, S'sinith kept his gaze in a tone of slightly envious respect. He was older than he was... more cunning, and he had a belief that he was slightly more sinister. Someone who could command attention such as he had to have a knife ready to plant in someone's back.

He was a man who worshiped power... something in S'sinith could smell power all over this man, moreso than the Caesar. The Caesar had the authority, but this man had power enough to sway the entire room with wisdom. The young Adhiel knew he was being spoken to, but took the polite retort with an understanding, listening in on his logic. If the Caesar was complacent with listening to this single man, S'sinth knew the true power behind the throne. For one to make such a bold move had to have a maddening amount of clout.

His eye eventually turned to the Caesar's, awaiting his reply with a look of intensity, but not one revealing his intentions or feelings.

[Andolin]

Sitting back on his chair, steepling his fingers in thought, Andolin listened carefully to each speaker, trying to judge their motives as they spoke. Given that Mother Abeaja had not spoken, he assumed that the silence was awaiting his response. His eyes searched those of Isis, Hector, and each of the other Council members present, as if to invite them to speak. Surprisingly, few did.

"The Imperial Secretary is a wise man and a man whose advice I respect. He argues for tradition and he argues for the Caesar to control such decisions, rather than this sage Council. I had thought to show my good will to this Council by allowing it a greater voice in such things. In doing so, I may have erred."

"Caesar is a position that is looked up to by the people. I have responsibilities to the people. In that, I should be perceived to be strong. As such, I think you are correct that the decision should be mine and the tradition of the first born of the Caesarii should be maintained. I realize that I am only the second Caesar in the recent Age, so there is not much tradition to research, I suspect.

If the Gods will it Mother Abeaja, I will abide by their will. If the Gods do not command it, then they leave it into my hands. As the Secretary rightly points out, there is the tradition felt by the common man. We would be wise to consider it."

"It is for me to chose my wives. It is for me to choose the Caesarii. I will follow tradition in this, for now, if it makes the Council happy. But, I reserve the right to make a change if circumstances warrant. I do not expect such to happen; but, if my first wife should prove unworthy of the Empire's trust, for whatever reason, there must be recourse by me to correct it. As Councilor Silk has so aptly put it, we must hold the faith of the people we serve. The people will trust me to ensure that the Ceasarii, whoever she may be, will be worthy of me and the Empire. If the Caesarii is to be my representative to this Council and the people, then I must have an obligation to continually assess who best serves the fine traditions of the Empire."

"So, in that, tradition is respected, but safeguards are in place for Caesar to correct any threats to the Empire that might be presented by a misguided Caesarii. There is one Caesar. The Caesarii is his representative. As such, like any citizen of the Empire, one must have the power to correct any poor representation."

Looking at Rosalie, he waved his hand in acknowledgement. "I know you might argue that the possibility of a shift will worsen relations between the wives and myself; but, I put to you, that it will aid me. If a Caesarii becomes incapable, for example, then I can simple pick a different wife to be Caesarii, to represent me. I do not see this as a common event, but it is a good compromise between tradition and giving Caesar control over who is his best representative. Changes would not be made lightly; but, the mere threat of it could insure the Caesarii's fidelity to the people of the Empire and the throne," he explained.

Andolin's reasoning was simple. Not knowing what wives he might be pressured into marrying, he wanted to have a tool to keep the wife faithful to him. What if the Caesarii came to hate him and bore him children with another man? He needed a weapon to command her loyalty. If she could be replaced with another wife, she would be incentivized to behave herself. That is what he needed ... power to compel the loyalty of a wife that might not care for him.

[Ssinith DIllil]

Ssinith assessed the Caesar's response. After he thought about it, it was a decent compromise and not following Silk's missive directly. Though he would have liked more power, this missive took the route of peace. That and he was willing to clean up his own mistakes.

His face was understanding as he nodded. Though the recent traditions have not done much for people lately, change may have been a good thing, but the Caesar had a point. Everyone looked up to him and if he couldn't take the political rabble he had, he would make the Empire look bad.

Shrugging to himself, he made a mental note not to cross blades with the Imperial Secretary, be they literal or not. He would also have to speak with Vlast about the best way to deal with someone so powerful other than appearing too young and weak to trifle with.

[Meridiuz]

Once the Caesar has made his final speech, Mother Abeaja stood up and gave the room a warm, kind smile. "The Mother does not command, Caesar. However, for the sake of the Empire it would be wise to follow the rituals that any Caesar should follow." She sat down again, at which point Lady Sosa started talking. She had taken the opportunity to stand up while Abeaja was talking, since Sosa was highly pregnant and it took her quite some effort to stand up. Something that she wanted to hide desperately.

She looked straight at the Caesar with a cold, hard look on her face. "If the Caesarii becomes incapable and her actions are not beneficial to the Empire anymore, then the least of her worries should be that she will not be a Caesarii anymore. She should be more worried about her head." She remained standing for now, not wanting to go through the whole process of sitting down while everyone was watching her.

Silk looked at Sosa. A loud "Aye" left his mouth and he grinned. Since Andolin had altered his own proposition, holding the traditions in place, none of the others present were eager to join into this discussion. If they didn't have to chose sides, they wouldn't. Therefore an "aye" was heard from all the other council members present. Jacob de Besnie thought about it for a flicker, always looking for a way to oppose Silk. But if Sosa felt this way, then there was no way that he would be the only one to oppose here. For Erwin couldn't be here today and he had made Sosa his representative. That meant she had a lot of votes. Something that Isis knew as well, but she wasn't afraid to openly support the Caesar. However, it seemed as if Andolin had already made his choice, so she looked at him and smiled as she said "Aye".

[Andolin]

It was really not so much of a compromise as he had framed it. He wanted the power to change Caesarii's if he so desired. The Council had given him the power to do so. Therefore, practically, he had the power he wanted without Council interference. It was even more than he had asked for initially. As such, he fought the smile that tugged on the corner of his lips.

"I thank the Council for its support," he declared and then added to Hector, "I have no other matters to present to the Council at this time."


OOC~ I'm done

[Meridiuz]

Hector stood up once more and took the floor. "As the Caesar has no other topics to discuss today, is there anyone else who wishes to take the floor to discuss any important issues?"

He looked around questioningly, waiting for one of the members to stand up.

[Ssinith DIllil]

"Gulanadur has an offer for Citadel."

Standing up slowly, he looked around at the other Council Members around the area.

"I entered Citadel only a few tides past and my second night here I was going to the Red Banner for some fine dining before I found myself taking haven under a roof top and saving people's lives from an attack of archers. In the past few days, I am certain we can all agree that the security of Citadel is a regular concern. With the disbanding of the Purple Guard, and the lack of the University of Magic's battle mages, Gulanadur offers the services of Gulanadur's Army of the Ascent to fill in the gap which has recently been left."

He paused a moment, seeing the general reaction of everyone about the concept, knowing some were leery of the Dark Adhiel.

"After the War of the One, our surface army is now in peace time at Ft. Dusk. We are now a part of the Empire, and desire to pull our weight in this area. Particularly when Citadel is offering aid to others of the Empire, it would also loosen the resources you have here which could help other nations."

[Andolin]

Since no one else spoke up, it fell to Andolin. He was responsible for security after all.

"Of course, the Purple Guard was restricted to keeping order here at the Citadel and inner rings. When it attempted to enforce order in the outer rings, chaos ensued. The people in the outer circles are more independent by nature. They prefer to be policed by the City Watch, which is said to be corrupt."

"Though there is a risk of riots again, especially when finding themselves policed by people so foreign to them, I think it is a good idea, if done on a temporary basis and if the Ambassador will ensure that the Army is trained in protocol for dealing with unarmed civilians, as opposed to an enemy army. Civilians must be treated differently and cordially. We would need only a few companies of your troops while we continue to grow the Imperial Guard. After you leave, we will reclaim the streets." Much to the relief of the citizenry.

It was an interesting gambit. Andolin had wanted to take over control of the whole island, but feared a repitition of the Purple Guard fiasco. Instead, he planned to arrest Crane and all his lackeys, with the help of some trusty supporters; but, the ambassador was offering a better option. Speculating that the people of the outer circle would hate the dark adhiels in time, they would petition Caesar for their removal. Andolin would agree, but on condition that it was the Imperial Guard that would replace them. In that sense, the Guard would be hailed as liberators and his mission easily accomplished. As such, Andolin smiled inwardly.

[Ssinith DIllil]

It was better than S'sinith was hoping for, wondering how many truly loathed and distrusted his kind. At least the Caesar was somewhat open, but there was something not right about it.

"We merely request that we are treated on an equal playing field as any military unit would be. We know we have much to overcome from the... folklore that many have heard of our kind. I want to be safe in this city as much as anyone else."

Temporary... well, let us see what the rest of the Council says.

[Meridiuz]

As the Caesar seemed to be gladly accepting the help from Gulanadur, Isis was quick to reply, not wanting to give Gulanadur the opportunity to strengthen their relationship with the Caesar while the rest of them would only be idly watching by. "My dear Caesar, Amun Rah is fully willing and able to support in the security of the Citadel, if that is needed." She looked back and forth from Ssinith to Andolin. "The people might feel...more comfortable having our soldiers guard them than.."

"Stop." The voice came from the other side of the room and when all the heads turned to watch who had interrupted Isis, they saw Sosa standing up again. "We are fully capable of protecting ourselves. What happened at the Red Banner was an incident." She looked from Isis to Ssinith, to Andolin. "The people in the outer rings are more independent by nature, this is true. But I am confident that they will adjust to the Purple Guard. If needed, I can send paladins to support them. The fact that the people didn't immediately accept the authority of the Purple Guard says enough about what they would accept from any foreign army. It would do more evil than good." Another pause. She continued to look at the Caesar, with a quite determined look in her eyes. "Having foreign troops in the city could also be sending a wrong message out to the other parts of the world. The Caesar in need of foreign troops to protect his own city? How can he protect the Empire? It looks weak. Therefore, even though I realize that it is a much appreciated and friendly gesture, I would advice not to take any of the members up on their offers and let the Imperial and Purple guard handle the security in the city, with support from paladins if neccesary."

[Ssinith DIllil]

[Human]
"Foreign? ... I thought we were all one Empire."

Though they had spoken with civility during the Coronation, but it was apparent that even with his speaking with the Scribe that he was clearly not trusted. His face reflected a slight hurt at that comment, but not something desperate. He understood Isis' intentions and understood her wariness of the people not quite being ready for such a big move by his people, but to blatantly call the both of them 'foreign' was an insult to both Gulanadur AND the Oasis.

[Human]
"With all due respect, Lady Sosa, it is known that the Caesar is the first among equals. The entire Empire is made of such equals. I do not mind if the Gulanadur army works alongside the others offering their aid, if it would make everyone more comfortable, but we as an Empire need to be working on a more unified front."

S'sinith sighed, knowing he would be met with more opposition than he had anticipated, but for the sake of his Queen, he would not give up.

[Human]
"As I understand, it is not just the Red Banner... was there not another fire just tides after that? What about the Secretary getting attacked and the rise of crime? Is it truly alright for us to send aid to another country such as Trothgard with your suggestion, then? Should we all simply ignore the problems of one another? Surely, then, you are saying the Caesar looks weak for taking compassion on Trothgard's blight. No! We are all one Empire! If the Caesar, who is the first among equals should look weak as you say from accepting another nation's aid, then you say that his entire Empire looks weak when it helps one another."

He kept from getting angry, understanding Sosa had meant well despite her unintentional insult.

[Human]
"If it makes the people feel more at ease, perhaps a "United Imperial Guard" should be called for. Since both the Lady Sosa and Lady Isis have offered their assistance as well, we can at least make this an attempt to see if the Empire's martial leaders can work together as a whole. This way, should another large threat come our way, we will know how to work well together instead of having our own fights to win. If it proves successful, we could elevate it to a "United Imperial Army" which could take care of crisis' of other nations such as Trothgard is experiencing."

[Andolin]

This was an interesting development. It allowed Andolin a chance to watch other Council members argue amongst themselves. It allowed him to play a role as mediatir, which is what he preferred.

"It is not foreign soldiers I was contemplating," Andolin replied, being polite to Gulandor. "These are good Imperial troops." He offered a political smile.

"Amun Rah is a jewel of the Empire as well." Here he was catering to Isis and her three votes on the Council. "If we would take aid from one, we should certainly be open to aid from another."

It was Sosa's passion that surprised him. The Purple Guard had been disbanded in favor of the Imperial Guard. Yet, Sosa controlled three or four key votes on the Council, so he had to consider her wishes carefully.

"Are you suggesting reinstating the Purple Guard?" he asked her in a tone that sought clarification. "I welcome the presence of paladins in the Outer Circle. The people would respect them," he noted.

"There is no reason for rivalry here," he offered. "What if each of the islands were invited to send a company of soldiers to aid security here? Rather than operating independently, they would become companies of the Imperial GUard here, so that all races and people of the Empire would be represented in the Guard. Each company would have its own captain, and they would report to the Commander of the Guard, and to myself ultimately. They would be permanent members of the Guard."

"We would then send detachments of the Guard to police the Outer Circle, augmented by squads of paladins for support. In that way, the people are happy, everyone here offering help today is honored, and the Gulandor Ambassador's idea of a diverse ethnic Guard will be a step closer to reality."

It was his attempt at compromise. Though it altered his first plan, it had the beauty of aiding recruitment in his Guard.

[Meridiuz]

Isis quickly agreed to the proposition, being glad that she had a chance to participate and not having any other members being given the chance to get in favor of the Caesar without her able to do anything about it. The members of Kislovan agreed to send troops as well, although they were a little reluctant to do so given their current rebel situation. It was already clear that Trothgard wouldn't join, although Ina mentioned that she would be more than willing to send some troops when things had settled down in her home country and help was still needed in the Citadel.

Sosa pondered on the suggestion the Caesar made. It was a compromise for all the members, but in her eyes it wasn't a smart move. Sure, the members of the Council were happy, the political powers would be happy, but would the soldiers themselves be happy? Would the people of the Citadel be happy? She doubted it. And who would control all the different troops with different cultures? If there had been just a riot already with the purple guard, there was bound to be a whole lot more problems with all these different cultures clashing all the time. Unconsciously she started to rub her belly. Fortunately she had an excuse to retreat to her home when the shit would hit the portal. The most kind smile appeared on her face as she bowed. "A wise choice Caesar, your proposal will satisfy everybody's needs."

Silk had been waiting for a chance to stand up once more, but as he heard Andolin's reply to the suggestion, he looked at Sosa and he could follow her reasoning. If nothing else, he could even help the different troops to "get along". He nodded and made his "Aye" clearly heard.

Hector took the floor again. "So it shall be done. We shall begin the process of assigning troops to the Guard and the preparations shall be made for this new set up. Are there any other points that need to be discussed today?"

OOC:
All done?

[Ssinith DIllil]

Not what he expected, but Gulanadur was pulling their weight now. Still, he felt somewhat defeated and would have to explain the recent events to Lady Vlast. Did he somehow lose the favor of Sosa?

Ah well, there was plenty time to worry later as he would report his work to Lady Vlast and hoped he had made wise decisions as a politician.

((Maybe one last post of Vlast's reactions about his workings at the meeting for me?))

[Andolin]

Compromises had the beauty of satisfying everyone and no one at the same time. Andolin knew it to be a risk, but the beauty of so many ethnic troops was that he could counter-balance them. One known to be paranoid, he believed that he could play off the various companies against each other so no one would have the necessary number of troops to launch a coup against him. He would make it work, he was certain of it. Then again, he was certain of many things.



OOC~ done.

[Meridiuz]

Lady Vlast was surprised to hear that they were now sending troops to Trothgard. She could understand Ssinith's reasoning to give the offer, but she was more surprised about the response of the Trothgardian ambassador. The fact that there would be troops from every isle in the Imperial Guard pleased her. Ssinith was doing a good job at putting Gulanadur back on the Empirial map.

OOC: locked & ready for skilling!

[Ashari]

SKILLS:
Ssinith
NEW SKILL! Leadership: basic
Logical Analysis: +*
Etiquette: +*
Diplomacy: +**
Language [human]: +*

Lir
NEW SKILL! Acting/Impersonating Others: basic
Disguise: +**

Anora
NEW SKILL! Acting/Impersonating Others: basic
Etiquette: +*
Disguise: +*

Andolin
Culture [Trothgard] +**
Debate: +*
Diplomacy: +*
Public Speaking: +*