Family Reunion

[Anastasia]

The hit me real quick, get it all out in one post and we'll roll from that.

[Iron Dragoon]

"Ladies and gentlemen, I've come to you today with a proposal. One that's likely the most significant since our founding and will, if passed, alter everything we are; hopefully for the better. Since my empowerment, events and the interests of those larger and more powerful than our Order have outpaced us rather significantly.

We've been behind in everything. Manpower, defenses, offenses, resources, and dozens of small things across the board. I've done research into ways to solve some of these, and in every category I've mentioned, it's required significant and bold moves. The next thing I'm going to propose will be no different. I would like to mention before I make this proposal that the timing is no accident. I waited until I was able to hand power back over to the council. I've waited until everyone could breathe a little easier after bolstering defenses and the treasury.

I would like to preface this with a bit of information as to how I came to this idea. I've been considering how to make my mark on the history of our Order. My empowerment is significant on its own, but it's only connected to the Order by my presence. I've considered how my presence makes our worldly neighbors view us. After some thought and a conversation with the Goddess Seira Aryn, the mother of our guest Emily, I've realized that our current structure is beginning to stifle and strangle us. We're not big enough and can't expand the way we need to, to face what's coming. I want to note that while Seira made me realize this, it was through a disagreement with her on how and why I should do this. She advocated the rightness of it because of my power. But she's both a dragon and a God, so I believe her view on it is different than my own.

I propose this: We transform our Order into a nation. I recognize that with this will come many difficulties, fears, and possible conflicts. Let me address some of those in order, and then I will open the council chamber for questions and discussions.

The first point is that I've made sure that my proposal falls in line with all Order by-laws. I'm not using loopholes or my position to force the issue."

At this point, Alyssa uses her TK to pass out the paperwork bundles to each member.

"I've written the proposal, legal-wise, in these bundles. Please read them at your leisure, as I don't expect a hard answer at the end of this meeting. Let me know that while the infrastructure of the proposed nation will build off of the current Order's structure and resources, I've ensured that the Order itself will continue to exist as an academic entity, with all the same current goals. I refuse to compromise the purpose of what we are.

However, we will have to lean on our structure until we get all of the national systems in place. Which means double duty for many of us, and new assistants specifically for those functions. More work is always miserable, but usually worth it.

The next point is fear. Many of us and many of our workers have come here to us thanks to the Mageocracy. I've included in the proposals I've given you provisions to help allay this. Ideas on how to use magics like Zone of Truth, Peacebond, Lesser and Greater Geass for oaths of office and contracts and the like to help impose fairness and combat corruption. There's still much work to be done here, and I welcome input.

The possible conflicts are, obviously, almost everyone on our world. We've got good relations with a few countries, but they're used to us being small, and this will alter those relationships. The Mageocracy will not like this for certain, but I think our alliance with the Red Knight and my presence will make the pause long enough for us to make diplomatic alliances with enough of our neighbors to make them pause more permanently.

Now, let me address why I think this is necessary. I believe we've reached the upper limit of what our current size and space can provide us, especially when you weigh in what we've been facing. We need more people. We need more space. We need more everything. With Jarem's assistance, I've gotten a spell that will let me raise new land. New islands. Our primary defense so far has been our small size, power, and resources. When we begin to raise land and expand, that will all change. We'll become more and more plentiful and powerful, and our threat level will increase equally. We'll be viewed as a threat with the same lens as they use for other nations. In order to deal with that, we'll need to work that way. In order to deal with the new immigrants that our expansion will draw, we'll need to function that way. With more people, more space, we'll need more effective and efficient ways of managing things. All those lead to us building systems that are equivalent to a government. If we're viewed as one, if we function as one, we might as well be one.

I now open the floor. Please take a few moments to look over the documents."

[Anastasia]

There's barely a moment for Madala stands, "Oh, you ballsy bitch," she declares, everyone turning to her as she takes the initiative. She slams her hands down on the table at that, "You ballsy, power grabbing bitch. I thought that little nickname for you was just a pet name."

Delaize speaks up now, barely carrying but carrying nonetheless. "The Mageocracy aside, that brings into focus the matters of leadership, royalty and nobility. I move we hear your solution to that before anything else."

[Iron Dragoon]

Alyssa snorts at Madala, "Oh calm down. Everyone here knew, at least vaguely, that at some point the Order would expand beyond a simple research cooperative. No one expected it to be this soon, or in this way, but I also never expected to meet an aspect of Io. And, to your point of power grabbing, with my magic at the level I currently am, I don't need to grab power. I have it. I could walk away from here and be none the lessened. That would leave the Order in a lurch, and you'd have to deal with some very intense interest from the Mageocracy who would assume my empowerment is a result of our research. I'm not claiming I made this proposal solely out of good nature and concern for the Order, but it was the largest part. Don't worry, I plan to put you in a place to keep a check on things."

Turning to Delaize, "Leadership will be dealt with based on a competence review board followed by endorsements and voting by the ruling council. The system we have worked, and I don't see a reason to change it only to break it. It'll need to be expanded and flex, but it'll work. Royalty, much as Madala suspects, will start with myself. I don't plan to make it solely bloodline related, however. The ruling councils should have provisions to alter the royalty if enough of a vote of no-confidence can be made. That said, those votes and provisions should be done under heavy Geas and Truth spells to prevent corruption and petty political games. I do believe anyone raised to the royal council and family will be granted a noble title. Nobility is a thing of contention for me, however. The institute of nobility is a sticking point for me. I don't like it in the function of granting permanent governing power or imposing status on non-nobility. That's something that will require quite a bit more discussion than what we'll get through in one sitting, I imagine.

For our citizens, I'm working on a set of simple spells and enchantments we can provide that will make life, and homesteading, much easier."

[Anastasia]

Gimme Diplo there, something you said warranted it.

[Iron Dragoon]

> roll 1d20+36+21 Diplo/Cunning Knowledge
<Kobot> Iddy rolled 1d20+36+21 Diplo/Cunning Knowledge --> [ 1d20=20 ]{77}

[Anastasia]

Murmurs amid that, heavy and strong murmurs. Madala listens, expression turning composed and neutral swiftly. She sits, allowing that to be taken in.

Regent Ule watches, "Troubling. Let's read first," he says, raising his voice to carry. "There's much to argue about later rather than quarrel about now."

Madala's glare turns to Ule, but she keeps her mouth to herself.

"I concur," Delaize cuts in forcefully, "I propose a recess while we all read this and discuss it privately, rather than making this a bloody spectacle."

Meanwhile Yorel's expression is contemplative, slowly reading his set of papers. "Have the diviners augured if these actions are to our weal or woe?"

[Iron Dragoon]

Alyssa shakes her head. "Not yet. I thought it best to get the idea, and paperwork, in your hands for consideration first. As I said, even if we vote against it now, it'll have to be done at some point."

[Anastasia]

"Then I second the recess. Alyssa, get your shit together and divine," Yorel retorts, looking up over his reading, "No half measures on this."

[Iron Dragoon]

Alyssa raises an eyebrow at Yroel. "If I had done it before, someone would have complained that I was putting the cart before the horse. In an effort to not half-ass this, how about we compile a list of questions a little more defined than weal or woe after the recess, and get it done in a single go? I'm sure there will be concerns brought up whose answers will need to be divined after everyone reads through the proposal."

[Anastasia]

"Alright," Yorel says evenly, and from there...

Anything to add before a recess?

[Iron Dragoon]

Nope

[Anastasia]

Thus you get out of the initial meeting and..

Ball is in your court.

[Iron Dragoon]

Alyssa heads out to find her family. Let's spend some time together.

[Anastasia]

Gimme the dread d100.