[Thanal Office] - Addressing A City

[Keldon Elsdragon]

28th Brightening of Ponutis, Winter of Era XIII PF

Keldon sat at his desk reading over the newspaper in regards to the death of the Empires leader, and the assertion of a Regent. His mind was thinking about what this could mean for the people of this city, or the Empire. Perhaps the people of other nations. But he had to trust in the abilities of the authercrown.

He withdrew his pen and began to write for sometime, pausing once in awhile, thinking and writing again. In the end he had come up with a brief letter, but he was not satisfied with it. He looked it over reading it in his mind.

Alleria, a Empire filled with asperation, dreams, love, anger, family, desires, lust, and all those other aspects that make us all who we are, that push us forward in this day and age.

Our Empire has seen many deadly blows, war, desies, a death in the royal family. Expecially one that has done so much for us, for our Empire, her Empire. Is a deadly blow to us all, but with the mounting tension throughout the Empire we must look forward towards the future. The future of our generation, and those that are to follow in our footsteps.
Primus Gaudeo is a city full of history, it is founded on dreams, from a culture that is rich in history. No event in our Empire can take away from all of this, and we must use this as our strength through these dire times.

As of this date, and until otherwise informed several changes throughout the city will take effect. Our way of remembering, and mourning the death of our Empress. All city officals which it applies, will be in there dress uniform's, all flags within the city shall be lowered to half mast. This includes Provincial, Municipal, and any other orginization that bears a coat of arms within and around our walls.

He called in his clerk, "Yes your Grace?" He said bowing as he entered. Keldon raised his eyes to him. "Please fetch me one of the Senior Aedile's and send for Commander Careddyn. If you have the time please." He said with a smile, most of the time he made his orders seem like requests. At times he did not require people to follow them, but they always did for the most part regardless.

Soon one, or perhaps both of the officials he requested to his office would arrive and he could begin discussing things with them. As important, and tense events would soon come into play.

[Adder]

Time passed, but not too much for the request of a Thane wasn't something easily ignored. The Aedile, Johans who seemed to be the top of everyones list of volunteers was soon waiting in the anteroom, but of course the Commander took longer since she was out of her office dealing with something down on the Caravan Square. Soon though she was back and they were shown through to the Thanes office together. Johans nodded but said nothing while the Commander set herself in a military pose and eyed him, ensuring that she met his gaze. "You called, Your Excellency?"

[Keldon Elsdragon]

Keldon tilted his head and smiled to the two. "Yes Careddyn, and thank you for coming. Both of you, I do reapologizes if either of you were busy with something of any urgency when my summon for you arrived." He said in a warm tone. He then sighed a little, "You both have likely already read the artical in the Herald in regards to the Regents announcement. I fear the ramification's for the death of the Empress could have certain ramification's and I want to make sure the city is ready for them. Both from a military, and business stand point." He made a smile. "Hence why I request both of you here now. I am beginning to write my address to the city in regards to these circumstances, at the moment I only can think of lowering all the flags in the city, doubling the guard, and perhaps constructing a monument in a specific location in the city dedicated to the former Empress. However I would like opinions from both of you, on a personal level and professional level."

[Adder]

Jonas nodded slowly at the news, "yes your Excellency, I can arrange the flags for you on all the official residences and pass word to the Legion and Pheonix Legion compounds. I take it that the Commander here will arrange it for the locations for which she is responsible."

The Commander listened impassively to this, but kept her attention on the Thane. "For myself I can see two potential issues that need to be dealt with. The reaction to your speech and the security that will need to surround it and any resulting public activity. This however is quite routine, the question that arises in my mind is perhaps more around whether there might be those who might use this to seek some advantage." She paced for a moment before facing the Thane once more, "political intrigue is more your sphere and you may have access to information that I don't. Are you aware of any groups who might have an axe to grind or perhaps could use the situation?"

[Keldon Elsdragon]

Keldon nodded to Jonas, "One thing I will need you to figure out is prime locations for such a statue. You know the city far better then I do at the moment. I would like a location that is peaceful, and trangqual. Perhaps near a city building of justice. If there is a open space that is unused we can always construct a small park or greenland for the statues home." Keldon said with a smile turning towards the commander, his face going quite serious. He sighed at the Commanders comment briefly. "Over the past while a large concern for all of those in any political position of power have turned there gaze to the Churches. There has been rather large accusations against the Church of the Faith, some have even been taking matters into there own hands, this is perhaps the reason why I requested your presence here Commander. I fear the death of the Empress could spark a chain of events that none of us are ready for. The protection of everyone in this city if my primary concern at this moment as it is yours. The political world is becoming far more tense, and with the death of the Empress it is likely not going to get any better."

[Adder]

"Perhaps the main park in the Eastern City would be the most appropriate place. Certainly there are other statues there and I can think of a place that is peaceful and yet also has good access for the public."

The Commander though had more serious things on her mind than the placement of statues and she rolled her eyes at the penpusher, an expression that he noted but ignored for he and her were old adversaries.

"The Church, yes. We haven't had any trouble from that quarter for a while, though you might well be right about that." She sighed, "and just when I thought that the Cult of Cetheron was all that we needed to worry about."

[Keldon Elsdragon]

Keldon smiled to Jonas, "Indeed the first thing that came to mind was the park in the Eastern City, if you can also come up any other locations that would be greatly welcomed. I would like it to be a perfect location, as our rulers do not die all the time... Atleast I hope not." His eyes shifted to Careddyn to greet her own eyes with the comment then back to Jonas. "Please have all the cities flags lowered to half-mast, and thank you for contacting the Pheonix Legion. I would also like you, well someone from your office to also contact the major establishments, guilds, and any other notable organizations to lower there flags to half-mast. I will personal write a letter for you to disperse to all the noble homes and buildings outside the city walls that reside in my jurisdiction to lower there flags. I am sure the nobles and those who praise themselves to be higher then the rest of there subjects would prefer to have a letter from my hand. No offense to you however." He smiled then looked to Careddyn.

Returning his gaze towards Careddyn. "With the recent events that are starting to unfold and the current gossip around the Empire I am starting to become more and more concerned with the Churches, not just a specific one. Although the Church of the Faith seems rather up there and the more... direct factions that appear to be spawning from them. However the chance of open conflict between the Churches could indeed be in the future." He sighed and looked to the two. "The Cult of Cetheron?" He asked. "I would presume I should be aware of who they are. But yet there name means very little to me. Fill me in Commander."

[Adder]

Johas made his own notes but had nothing to add other than a quiet "of course Your Excellency". His ears however were alert for the conversation that continued, though he had little to contribute just at that point.

The Commander however was on her home turf now. "The Church itself has never played a large part in the city and indeed there was a short while fairly recently where the priests in the city all left. I have to say that I've never quite understood what happened there, but the situation has since rectified itself."

She tapped her fingers together. "I suspect however that it was to do with the Zerdargia war and the Church Armys part in levelling a good part of that city. As you'll be aware, we got a lot of refugees in from there, especially the families before the siege closed on the city. There was a good deal of resentment at the way Zerd was allowed to be destroyed, though I don't know that we could have done much to avoid it.

However, rightly or wrongly it has caused a good deal of militancy amongst certain of the dwarf clans. One of the factors that hasn't helped is that new Church faction who are calling for the worship of only some of the dieties which has angered the dwarfes." She eyed Keldon. "Cetheron is of course the god of the dwarfes and while most of them are polite enough to pay lip service to the other gods, few have any doubts about where their fealty really lies. The Cult is something that has appeared recently and I think it's something that has come from Zerdargia. I don't know much more than the name so far since the dwarfes are the only ones who know anything of it and they won't talk about it. What I have put together is as much speculation as anything, but it's directly related to the militancy and I think they are going to rear their heads sooner or later. I can't see any reason why they would choose now to act, but certainly if that new Church faction goes public then I think we can expect some reaction from the Cult."

[Keldon Elsdragon]

Keldon was talking about the things he loved most. Military tactics, perhaps plans and so forth. Nodding his head to Jonas his gaze turn to the Commander. "Perhaps my Announcement of the flags being lowered will be tailored far more politically then I had originally thought. If it presents itself as a method to smooth out some of the wrinkles in any hostile emotions of the dwarves towards the Provincial Government then I will use the opportunity." Keldon said leaning into his chair tapping his finger on the desk. "I can understand there resentment, it was a city that was full of history, pride, family, friends, it was part of them. Having an entire city practically wiped from the map would upset anyone." Looking to the two he smiled briefly.

"Jonas I want you to start setting up the structure for a massive recruitment drive in our Guard structure." Look from one to the other he nodded. "Yes.. as both of you know I have wanted to expand the guard double, or triple if possible. I have been toying with various options and at times I have glanced the option of offering jobs to refugees an option. Which I would think at this moment would likely be somewhat better timing then waiting for it. The possibility to expand the guard when there is a massive working force around us is a chance I am not going to pass up. I am sure many of them are still looking for employment and would enjoy the idea. Or they will reject it..." Looking directly at Jonas "If you have a list of all the refugees I suggest you put it on the top pile of your desk. I am going to be making your office and staff extreamly busier over the next cycle. I will give you a letter of invitation that will need to be copied and printed for every refugee containing each person's personal name. If I am going to invite them into the cites society I would like to do it correctly, any objections?" Turning his eyes back to the Commander without letting anything be said just yet he started again.

"Careddyn I have decided to take your previous suggestion to heart. The Constabulary will come under the command structure of the Guard, and yours. I believe it will make investigation's and the implementation of justice to run a little smoother if it is under one roof. Although with my desire to expand the guard I think it is time to make preparations for such a thing, and the first move was separating the city into sections under command of Captains. I have personally selected the Captain to run the Southern Quarter as you are well aware of, and my own personal compound. I will leave it to you to select Lieutenants from your own roster to commander the other sections, aswel as it now falls to you to make your recommendation to me who will fill the role of Constable, unless you would like to take that onto your own list of duties." Keldon said with a smile waiting for the two to speak.

[Adder]

Jonas accepted the challenge with equanimity. "That I can do for you your Grace. I will have to work with the Commander in order to work out the best methods of recruitment, but she is accustomed to the process. However, while I find the idea of exanding the Guard laudable, I should warn you that we currently cannot afford such a thing. Until this point in time I'm aware that we have been tapping into the Phoenix Legion for special projects and in order to provide additional troops when needed. Until now those forces have not been charged to the city budgets, though perhaps that would change anyway, and certainly would if I were in charge of the provincial budgets, though I can think of counter arguments.

In any case I can work with the Commander and then present you the budgets and then we can work out how we are going to afford it." He realised that there wasn't any point in protesting the idea until he had the hard numbers on it. "As for the refugees, no we don't have lists of who they might be. Most of dwarfes were absorbed directly into the cities clan representation, and the city has representatives of nearly every clan here. There are some we could find easily, the others would be harder to track."

The Commander though, was somewhat less enthusiastic about the totality of the the expansion idea. She supported the expansion, but she had no wish to be saddled with a huge intake of recruits who would no doubt be laced with all manner of criminal elements, the weeding out of which was a time consuming process. Nor was she pleased with the imposition of staff without her approval. The meddling in her area of expertise from an armchair general with a head full of ideas and no practical experience irritated her immensely.

"I will work with our new Exchequer, but I would caution against too fast an expansion. I appreciate that the refugees represent a pool of recruits, but those who were inclined to join the military would likely have already done so, though perhaps they were not ready to join the Legion and the Guard might be a more attractive proposition.

But thank you for the decision on the Constable, I will need to do some more work befire we integrate the departments and I will present you with my proposed candidate for the position." She had some ideas on that, ideas that she needed to mull over a little more before presenting them.

[Keldon Elsdragon]

Keldon nodded his head towards Jonas. "Yes that is true. But there is almost nothing done in the Empire that does not have counter arguments and disagreements in some aspect or another." Tilting his head. "As for the provincial troops. From what I understand and hear around the city there is a possibility a large portion of them could be withdrawn. Although that has yet to become official or into official discussion with many government members. But from the discussions I have had it is in the air with the possibility. But once the numbers are together please present them to be and we can talk more. I do not wish to expand in any speed to be honest. If it does happen it will take place over a extended period of time so each area has time to adjust and adapt to the changes and we have the time to change anything that needs to be changed. A grace period of sorts." Nodding his head then turning to Careddyn with a smile.

"I agree Commander, many of the refugees will likely not join. However with a large force like this I would rather try encase many do but have not considered the option as it was never suggested. However I am rather happy to say Sir Raliric Ered`Gard, a personal friend of mine has agreed to offer several dozen of his knights to train the new recruits and help find those who would be best suited for the guard and those who would not be worth bringing into the fold." Smiling he paused for a second. "That is if you would like to have them training the new guards, he has offered to have his men train the officers aswel if you would like. Although that would require some extended absence on there behalf."

[Adder]

Jonas was satisfied with the answer and made some scribbled notes. He needed to make some investigations as to the likely effects of what had been proposed otherwise the discussion would move too far from the reality of what was acheivable.

The Commander however had other things to consider. The former Provincial Commander was someone that she knew reasonably well and she knew that he could be relied upon to follow her wishes, providing the troops without imposing rules on how they were to be used.

"That could be interesting and you may thank Raliric for me for the offer." She bridled slightly that the Thane had once again meddled in the Guard without consulting her. "If we are going to do a large scale recruitment drive then although we only teach rudimentary weapon skills, using his men would allow us to divert my troops into Guard training, an area which with all due respect to Raliric, his men have less experience than he thinks they do."

[Keldon Elsdragon]

Keldon nodded his head and smiled. "I am pleased to hear that response Commander, as that is what I expected from you. Although I respect Raliric as a personal friend, and a experienced military commander. His men have seen limited ability when it comes to training, however he offered to train, or serve in locations around the city if required. Given I did not have the ability to discuss it with you at that exact moment I choose to pick the lesser role. But if you would feel his men would be best suited on patrol or other duty around the city that is fine. He has also agreed that his men will be clothed while assisting the guard in any role."

[Adder]

She absorbed the news quietly for a moment, considering the options. "If you don't object I'd rather not speculate on exactly the best way to utilise what has been offered until I've had chance to meet his representatives and understood both exactly what the challenges are that will face us and the exact nature of what he is offering." She smiled, "I rather suspect that the process will be one of negotiation on both sides." She cocked her head at him slightly, "so what now Your Grace?"

[Keldon Elsdragon]

Keldon nodded his head quickly. "No objections, I leave the integration of his forces into ours, there placements, and how they are used in your capable hands Commander. If he has not done so already I will request him, or one of his representatives to come to your office." Keldon looked to the group after she asked what now. "Well, now I shall leave you all to your duties. As I there is a lot of work ahead of us. I would request the financial report for the city be on my desk by the end of the cycle as I will begin to look it over and formulate a idea were money can be used elsewear and pooled to provide funding to expand. I shall also contact some of the other cities in the province to discuss possible trade agreements and other such matters." Keldon nodded his head leaning forward in his chair. "If there is nothing anyone would like to bring to my attention, ask or request then you are all welcome to return to your duties."