Intermediate Law - Mordeneb [Private]

[Aesha]

Timestamp: The Second Brightening of Junctior, in the Autumn of Era I of the Celestine Mandate, Era X Post Fractum.

Classroom three of the Academy of Lore looked much as Mordeneb had left it on his last visit to the room. The desks were still arranged in the same manner, the big blackboard still had its stubs of white chalk arranged clumsily on the small shelf brlow it, and the same pieces of parchment were still stuck to the same four walls that the elf had walked into for his basic training, and had now returned to for intermediate lessons.

The teacher had not changed either, and Leon was sitting in practically the exact same position that he had been when Mordeneb had first encountered him. The Law teacher was once again sitting behind the big, heavy teachers desk, and once more he had the carved pipe in his hands. The only difference was, that on this occasion, instead of leisurely blowing smoke rings up towards the ceiling, he was now puffing away with a look of concentration on his face, a thick tome open on the desk that he was peering at intently. He looked up when the sounds of someone entering his classroom reached his ears, and he gave Mordeneb a friendly wave in greeting.

"Ahhh, Mordeneb! I knew I recognised the name. I taught you Basic, correct? Well! Are you ready to continue onward to Intermediate? Nice to see you back here, by the way. So many people give up after learning the basics."

[Mordeneb Ashcliff]

Mordeneb strode into Room 3 with his hand in his pocket out of habit. The familiar arrangement of the room brought a brief smile to his face. Perhaps it was merely an odd personal quirk, but if the elf was going to learn something new and challenging, he would prefer to do it in a safe, familiar atmosphere.

The sight of Leon brought an even broader smile. He had so much enjoyed his Basic lessons, and was glad to see that the man who had helped him so much would again be his guide.

"It is good to see you again. Yes, I was your student in basic, and I was in fact hoping that my intermediate classes would be with you. I learned much, and am eager to learn more."

He had taken the basic class almost on a whim, but the lessons he had learned had indeed kindled something inside of him. His life had been so focused on finding Falaria that, when he had found her, he had no longer had the kind of overriding direction to which he had been so accustomed. Perhaps knowledge of the law -- and, eventually, application thereof -- would give him a direction in which to go as he and Falaria built their new life.

[Aesha]

Leon was evidently pleased at Morneb's words that so complimented him on his teaching, and he gave the elven man a hearty grin. Leon teached because it was something he really loved to do, and more than anything he liked to have his students appriciate his subject of choice as much as he did himself.

"Good, excellent! Well, if you'll just like to find yourself a seat then we can begin!"

Waiting for Mordeneb to sit and make himself comfortable, Leon busied himself with sorting through a few tomes and pieces of parchment that had been left on his desk, either from a previous lesson or perhaps for use in the current one, or they possibly were just a permenant fixture of the room. Once he was sure his student was comfortably seated, he began the lesson. He did not take a seat, however, but paced randomly around the classroom, his pipe in one hand, though it was not lit. He commonly used it to gesture and make points when he was making long speeches.

"Well then. It's been a while since your basic course, how about you tell me what you remember of it to recap? Nothing specific of course, don't want it to take too long. Just tell me briefly what we covered."

[Mordeneb Ashcliff]

Mordeneb sat down at the same desk that he had used during his last class. When Leon asked him to recap the previous class, Mordeneb thought for a moment, and then gave his reply in a clear voice.

"We spent the majority of the class discussing the basic laws of the Empire as found in the Annarian Code and the Articles of Imperium. We also talked about the structure of law enforcement and adjudication -- prefects, justicars, and on up to the Imperial level. Additionally, we discussed applying the Code in particular to the current disputed Imperial succession."

He wasn't sure if Leon wanted more detail than that, so he paused to allow his teacher time to either ask any follow-up questions or move on to the next section of the class. He was excited to learn, and he began to channel all of his concentration in an attempt to focus on the new material.

[Aesha]

"Good. That will do nicely as a brief recap of what you learned last time."

Leon nodded in satisfaction, obviously requiring no more of an explaination for his student. The point had been to refresh Mordeneb's mind on what had been taught at basic level, and the law teacher was satisfied that the half-elf remembered his lessons thoroughly. Although the explanation had been sort, it was also very precise, and Leon had no qualms with it.

"Before moving on to more explanations and things that come with Intermediate level training, I usually just do a basic excerise in the application of the Annarian code to every day life in Alleria."

He paused, and picked up a book that had been lying on the desktop, flipping through it before resting on one page. Smoothing the parchment out a little, he proceeded to finally take the chair behind the desk in order to present Mordeneb with the exercise.

"For instance, suppose a someone came across some children in the street. The larger children were picking on a smaller one, in the middle of the group, buy calling him names and throwing stones. If the witness chose to do nothing about this, what Law of Justice would he be in violation of?"

[Mordeneb Ashcliff]

Mordeneb remained silent for a moment -- not that he was seriously doubting his answer; he simply wanted to make certain that he hadn't forgotten anything before he began.

Finally, he said, "The obvious answer is provision number five in the Annarian code, The Weak Shall Be Defended. A child is naturally weak, and one in a situation such as you have described is doubly so. To do nothing would be to not defend the weak.

"Additionally, the case could be made that the bystander in this instance would be in violation of the eigth provision, Thou Shalt Comport Thyself With Honor. A person walking away from the situation in question could hardly be said to be acting with 'consideration and respect.'"

Mordeneb kept his eyes focused on his instructor. When he had finished, he waited, almost curiously, to see what Leon would have to say by way of response.

[Aesha]

"Aha, exactly right!" Leon thumped the top of his desk with the palm of his hand to emphasize his exclaimation, obviously pleased that Mordeneb had provided him with the right answer. He stood up once more, apparently more at home with pacing about the classroom than sitting down, particularly when he explained things, he began to elaborate on his affirmation of the correctness of his students reply.

"Most people usually always reply as you did at first. However, several students tend to look over the fact that the scenario is also in violation of, as you said, the eigth provision. In a way this is generally because the possibility that it could break two of the laws of justice. Generally they think of the first, and then stop. In Law, it is very important that all possibilities have been covered."

Switching the direction of his pacing slightly, so he was making a beeline for his desk, he picking up a heavy looking volume of text and waved it at Mordeneb, before taking the desk next to the elven man so the book can be viewed by both of them.

"This rather forbidding text is a copy of the Articles of Imperium. The Annarian Code deals with how Allerians should life their everyday lifes, whilst the Articles deal with everything from government positions to rights of civilians. We need not go over all of them in detail, for some of them aren't connected with the pursuit of law. However, had you heard of them before? Do you know anything about them at all?"

[Mordeneb Ashcliff]

Mordeneb allowed himself a small smile at his instructor's enthusiasm concerning his answer. It was always nice to be correct.

He almost smiled again at the sight of the Articles and Leon's question. His instructor had a compendious knowledge of law; however, he often seemed slightly...absent-minded. Mordeneb carefully kept his face a neutral mask, however. Leon could very well be testing him. He wouldn't want to say the wrong thing.

Calmly, Mordeneb replied, "Most of my knowledge of the Articles comes from our Basic class. We read through them, and I gave a verbal summary of each Article. I have, of course, spent some time since then in pondering what I learned; I have not, however, had any other training regarding them."

Indeed, the Articles had seemed remarkably forbidding, and, though he had seemed to do well when summarizing them in the previous class, Mordeneb was well aware that there was much more information in them than he could possibly have obtained upon first glance.

He was very interested to see what Leon would teach him regarding the Articles. He clasped his hands together and looked at the man with renewed interest.

[Aesha]

Leon nodded at Mordeneb's comments on his questions about the Articles of Imperium. He remembered the elven man summerising them at Basic level, which of course, was sufficient for that class, but Intermediate class demanded a more intricate understanding of the documents.

"Ah, yes, I remember your summaries of the different articles. Very shrewd, if I may say so myself. Anyway, you have a Basic knowledge of the articles, but at Intermediate level you need to have a more complex knowledge of them, and what each proclaimation entitles or denies to the subject of it. But first, we will start with a little history of the Articles. Even so this will require us to study them, also."

Leon pulled out a thick volume that held all the articles, and put it down on Mordeneb's desk with a slight thump due to the weight of it. He opened the tome at the first page, smoothing the parchment down carefully.

"Now, here's Proclamation I, Title I, Article I. 'We, the Allerian People, do hereby submit ourselves to and entrust our destinies before Emperor Constantine and Empress Michelle, the Sovereign Monarchs of the Allerian Empire, and to them defer our freedoms and liberties in exchange for security and safety before the Sacred Three.' This obviously tells us that the Articles were written in the time of Constantine and Michelle. That much is straight foward. However, I would like you to read, specifically, Proclaimation I, Title I, Article II and tell my your opinion on it."

[Mordeneb Ashcliff]

Mordeneb nodded in understanding at Leon's request. He read the section in question again, without haste, pondering carefully. After a reasonable pause, he turned back to Leon.

"Well, to begin with, we are given an exact date, 9 Kalendryas of the Year 9259, that represents the moment at which the Articles took effect. The names of the monarchs are repeated. Additionally, the language states that the Articles 'constitute the legitimate authority and sovereign integrity of the Allerian Empire.' This leads me to believe that the Articles represent something of a sea change from whatever was controlling the government beforehand. We are also told that the Articles are to be followed without exception, under all circumstances. The monarchs ordain this to be so under an oath by the sacred three, which elsewhere appear as the foundational elements of the document."

He looked expectantly at Leon, waiting to see if his instructor had further questions regarding the section. The Articles had many complexities, that was sure, as the elf was beginning to see.

[Aesha]

Leon nodded in a trite manner at Mordeneb's interpretation of one of the first articles in the important documents that were being studied. He looked down at the book on the desk as he commented on the elven man's thoughts on the subject, his forefinger tapping the page where the second article had been written in a slightly absent, yet thoughtful manner.

"You're right Mordeneb. Of course, there are so many ways that some of these articles can be interpreted that right or wrong does not always come into the equation, however, this one is fairly straight forward in its passage, yet holds a great deal of information. As you can see, Proclaimation I covers the Empire itself, as we covered previously in your Basic classes. Now, 9 Kalendryas of 9259 was obviously a very momentous occasion. It would certainly be very interesting to know whether the people of Alleria celebrated the writing of the Articles." Leon paused in his speech for a moment, aware that he was rambling and running away from the subject at hand a little. He cleared his through, than ran his finger down the page to the next Title.

"Title II, Article III has 3 sections to it. I'd like to hear your thoughts on all of these, though take your time reading through them if you need to refresh your memory. Section 2 is particularly important, I feel, but perhaps your opinion will differ to mine."

[Mordeneb Ashcliff]

Mordeneb nodded in understanding. Then he took a deep breath and returned his attention to the imposing tome that contained the Articles of Imperium.

He read in preternatural stillness, moving very little and saying nothing. Eventually, however, he looked back up at his teacher and began his recitation.

"The first section declares that Alleria is an 'imperial state of law.' Not a state of 'government,' but of 'law.' I would take this to mean that, not only does the Emperor govern Alleria, but the word of the Emperor finally is the law. The Emperor appears to be the highest possible mortal authority.

"I say mortal authority, because in the end of section I and then in section II, we are given two things that do in fact stand above the Emperor. The first is the trio of ideals: Law, Order, and Justice. The second are the gods, who are represented as ruling the Empire through delegation to their lieutenant, the Emperor. I would assume that this would provide one of the basic legal justifications for, for instance, the rite of the Aethercrown, since one would hope that the gods would be authorized to choose their own lieutenant." Here the elf permitted himself a small smile.

"In section III, we are told specifically that the government is a monarchy. There could, for example, be an imperial form of government with three hereditary Emperors, or a popularly elected Emperor who would then have unlimited power. However, Alleria is none of these -- rather, it is a basic monarchy."

Having completed his exposition, Mordeneb stopped to catch his breath, and to await his teacher's comments.

[Aesha]

Leon shifted in his seat slightly and cupped his chin in a hand, listening carefully to his student's interpretation of the give material, Article III of the Articles of Imperium. He nodded along with Mordeneb's opinions of the sections, though he did not add his thoughts on the elven man's answers until he had finished speaking and had no more to say on the subject. Once he had, Leon leaned back in his chair for a moment before saying anything in return.

"Well, lets see. Let's start with section one, of course. You're quite right on your assumption. The key word in the paragraph is definitely 'law', which you've picked up upon quickly. The only think I would add is, well, something quite obvious, but that the section ultimately states that Law, Order and Justice are the three upmost important things in the Empire. As for the second... well, you're absolutely spot on with that." Leon gave a grin. "There's really nothing I can add, you covered it all perfectly."

Leon paused a moment to let Mordeneb asborb his added information, reading over the third section briefly while he did so. He then gave his opinion on the third, and explained what he thought of the elf's own interpretation.

"Section three is the simplest of the sections, and doesn't need a lot of explaining. As you said, it more or less simply states that the form of government is the Imperial Monarchy. The only thing to add would be that, as long as the Articles of Imperium stand then the form of government should not be changed. Thus of course Julos is in violation of the Articles."

Leon gave Mordeneb a smile of encouragement, then turned to the next Article, Article number 4.

"I have to say you're doing really well with this so far. I think you might be a natural! It's a pleasure to have a student who catches on to things so fast. Now, lets move on to Article 4. Tell me what you think about the three sections."

[Mordeneb Ashcliff]

Mordeneb allowed himself to smile at Leon's praise. He appeared to be reaping the rewards of his efforts, and this pleased him.

Again, he turned to the musty tome containing the Articles of Imperium. As always, he read carefully and worked without haste. He was confident that Leon would allow him to take whatever time he needed. Indeed, his mentor seemed to be a remarkably understanding sort, for which he was grateful. As an elf, he disliked being embarassed -- disliked it immensely -- and Leon appeared to be quite willing to allow him to forgo that unpleasant experience.

After some time, he looked up, ready to proceed with his summary.

"Section I lists five parts of the Allerian Empire, or Imperium Allerianum: the Allerian People themselves, the sovereign lands or the empire, and the territorial possessions, protectorates, and administrates. This is interesting because one might not think of a protectorate consisting of conquered territory, for instance, as being an integral part of the Empire. This, however, is the case under the articles.

"The section further declares the empire to be indissoluble -- though if I may offer an opinion, the practical enforcability of such a provision may be open to question. I would posit that we are currently observing a test of this. Additionally, we are given a definition of Imperium, that being 'The Sovereign Integrity of the Allerian Empire, and of the powers that guide it.'"

He stopped and took a breath, waiting to see if Leon would have any comments. Then he went on.

"Section II decrees that all land in Allerian waters is the possesion of the Empire. The most important provision states that any land which may appear -- perhaps through volcanic activity, or arcana -- becomes the possesion of the Empire, thus eliminating border disputes, at least in theory." The tall elf half-smiled.

"Section III declares that the airspace above the land and water posessed by the Empire is also claimed as part of its territory. The section also provides the justification for the Empire's territorial claims -- the 'right of history' -- and states that no territorial cessions or secessions will or may ever be made. Again, I believe we may be observing a test of the practicality of this proviso at this very moment."

Having finished with his discussion, Mordeneb stopped to allow Leon to continue the lesson.

[Mordeneb Ashcliff]

OOC: Hoping to move this ahead, will self-mod a little.

IC: Leon gave a broad smile as Mordeneb rattle off his latest summaries. "Quite good, young fellow, quite good! Yes, trying times these are, most definitely. But those of us who believe in law, who study it and try to uphold it -- why we must hope for the best. And, what's more, we must work for it. Law is all fine and good in theory, but if citizens -- citizens like you and I, Mordeneb -- don't work to uphold it in our everyday lives, why it doesn't do us a bit of good, does it?"

The teacher nodded thoughtfully, then added, "Here you see where law intersects with some other fields. This 'right of history' -- why, it must refer to an event or series of events specifically, musn't it? In fact, I recommend to all my students to study basic history at some point. Law is framed in a historical context after all, and it must be understood that way."

Returning after this typical digression to the subject nearest at hand, Leon added, "Articles 5 through 8 each have only one section. Why don't you try your hand at summarizing those?"