Meeting of the City Council (open)

[Tristan L'Evienne]

Second Cycle of Melora, Winter, Era XV Post Fractum

Invitations had been sent to all the members of the Demios City Council. The Thane wished to meet them. There was nothing special going on, nothing besides the Thane’s older brother suddenly becoming His Royal Highness and a bloody war down on Sherian. Tristan, who had only had his current job for a few cycles, just wished to be informed about what was going on on the island. He wanted to be a good Thane. He wanted to know how much money he had, whether there were any problems, what needed to be done, what he could do better than his predecessor. It was strange maybe, considering his reputations and his previous jobs, but somewhere in his twisted mind he actually cared.

He sat at the head of the table in the council building, dressed in a dark suit, politician-elegant and boring, dark hair tied back, looking to all the world like his colleagues in the rest of the Empire, as if he were one of those men that talked about politics, the law, taxes and other mind-numbing things all brightening long, except for his youth maybe. At twenty-three he was young for a thane. At least thane had always seemed like a job for old people when he had been a child, like teacher or lawyer, something you only did because you were too weak to party all darkening long or risk your life on the battlefield.

The rest of the table was still empty, but they’d probably arrive soon, his asisstant Zohana who was old, ugly, had breasts down to her knees and treated him like a very naughty boy, but made amazingly delicious cake, Saka, the prefect who’d known almost nothing about the law when he’d started and had a very interesting attitude, the aedile and whoever else mattered in the city government. There were also a few extra chairs in the room, for the audience. He’d thought it would be fun to make the meeting open to citizens so that they could make suggestions and make the meeting a little less dull than it would be if there were only politicians in attendance.

[Adelyn Weiss]

Adelyn had heard of the open city council meeting and immediately felt compelled to attend. After all, the woman hadn't studied politics an era ago for nothing. The skill might come in handy at the meeting or at the very least give her a mild understanding of the on-goings within the city, politically. Up until this point in her stay in Demios the woman had no time to dabble in city politics, but this was her chance.

She walked silently from Viskyia's manor by the beach to council building completely devoid of mishap and mostly boring, if anything. Adelyn entered the room and took a seat as close to the front as possible, in the chairs provided by the Thane for the citizens of the city. She smiled politely at him if he saw her - or even remembered her - knowing the last time they spoke to have been at the masquerade he threw. Not many people were in attendance just yet, but looking outside she noticed it early yet. People had a habit of arriving just on time or late to meetings of this nature. Politics definitely did not interest everyone, and that she hard learned in her travels.

Sitting alone made her feel slightly awkward, normally accompanied by a crowd of women, her sisters, naturally. She fumbled with her hair, grown now nearly to the small of her back, and twisted it with her fingers. In a single movement she tied it up into a bun, and instantly she looked older, more professional. Waiting was not the hardest part; waiting alone, was. Her eyes shuffled across near the doorway bidding people stream in soon.

[Tylag]

Tylag despite having recently arrived in the city had heard about the oepn city council meeting which was being held. As an additional means of getting involved in his new home the dwarf decided to attend.

The dwarf wasn't sure what to expect at the meeting. The young dwarves previous expierence in politics was mainly limited do his on again off again expierence as a constable in various cities.

So the dwarf had left off his exploring of the city and with the help of other passerby's the dwarf was able to locate the Council building where the meeting was reported to be held. The dwarf had worried about what to wear but had decided to wear the most omfortable lothes he had. These clothes were of course the most poorest looking clothes he wore. These were his travel worn clothes. The clothes were earth tones primarily brown and gray.

Tylag entered the council building and made his way to the room where the meeting was going to be planned. As the dwarf entered he looked around checking to see the number of people already attending and to see where the citizens were supposed to be seated. Seeing some mostly empty chairs which provided seating options the dwarf headed towards the front.

The dwarf noticed at least one female human sitting in the observers seats. Tylag moved past the lady and as he passed her he nodded and said "Serale." The dwarf then sat down so there was a chair between him and the human female.

[Whisper]

Slowly but surely, the members of the Demios City Council began to file in.

There was Rosamund DeMar, the Aedile, with her wispy blonde hair in its usual messy bun. She wore her trademark mismatched earrings and a fluffy pink shawl about her shoulders to protect her from the roaring winds outside. "Good brightening, Lord Thane," she said with a smile as she took a seat near him.

Next came the Treasurer Ethulia Te'haralos and the Secretary Sirena Collins. They were an odd pair, the Nimalni woman towering over the plump secretary, but they were engaged in friendly chatter which came down to quiet whispers once they took their seats.

Trennor Willow, the Orator, took a seat by himself at the end of the long table. Even though his job was to inform the citizens of Demios about the goings-on of the city, he didn't much like to talk to people one-on-one. He had most likely been selected for his loud, booming voice and not much else. He came in eating a sandwich, and nonchalantly brushed some lettuce and crumbs off the table between bites.

The last member of the Council to enter was the captain of the militia, Bromwick Morveson. Like most dwarfs, he was stout with a beard that nearly reached the floor. He had braided his locks, dark red streaked with grey and white, so that they didn't brush his boots when he walked. He gave a curt nod to Tristan as he took his seat, motioning for one of the office assistants to bring him a cushion so he could sit a little bit higher.

Two others entered the council building, practically reeking of the sea. Rosamund wrinkled her nose and covered her mouth with her shawl when they entered. The first was Supervisor of the Docks Phineas Capreen. Though not an official member of the council, he was present at most of the meetings because he knew the ins and outs of every transaction that happened on Demios' ships.

The woman who entered with him, though walking slightly ahead of him, was a beautiful Baijani woman with golden skin and brown hair that had been streaked with the summer sun. Anyone who frequented the docks would recognize her as Aluna Morseth, one of Demios' most beloved captains. She had won the hearts of more young sailors than she could count, and she lent a friendly ear to lovelorn ladies when her ship was docked. She was a merchant who specialized in trades, and so was the unofficial ambassador of Demios to anywhere the seas touched. She had friends and connections in every port, and would be able to rattle off a list of any goods and services that went to or from the island.

After all of those council members, official and otherwise, entered, the only one left was Saka, the city prefect... and of course, any other audience members who wished to attend. After that, it was up to Tristan when he wanted to begin.

[Saka Rosedl]

Saka an person that was special on so many accounts, his outlook on life, the way he choose to live his life. And his darkest secrets he kept from the council and thane himself.

The law, the reason why most picked to become prefect yet he did not know much about the law still. He knew some things and read up before each case so he did know the law on some level.

When he first came to Demios he was rather pale and weak but now he held an inner flame that gave him more then just strength. He stood a bit over 5'9, pale crystal blue eyes with sunlit blonde hair, his skin was an earthly pale bronze tan thanks to Viskyia Crow. His body showing a few cuts along his hands, arms yet no scars laid on his body. His robes were an deep crimson as he slowly walked in the room.

"Sorry I am late" Was all he said in his pleasant happy tone of voice he held when he dealt with people he did not trust and theses people he was no where near trusting.

He took his seat as he waited for them to start talking. He knew what he needed as an Prefect but knew that others needed things to.

[Altriak]

Altriak was bored one brightening and decided to take a stroll around Demios. He was curious as to the layout of the city, and figured a bit of exploration would be in order. Leaving most of his belongings at home, except for the necessities such as a few crowns, his Visa and pet hamster Pudgy, the plump gnome eventually found himself in the governmental district. Of course, he didn't realize what type of district he was in, but noticed a peculiar professionalism oozing from most of the people who walked around the area, which was a stark contrast to the bright blue that Altriak wore, particularly considering his matching blue pointy hat and contrasting pink cloak.

Despite whatever looks the rotund gnome may have gotten, the gnome continued his roaming, wondering what all the buildings were. There was, however, one in particular that seemed to catch his eye. Quite a few people were entering this building, looking dreadfully serious. Thus, the gnome entered the council building, curiosity consuming him. (Maybe it's some theatrical show...?) he pondered, giving Pudgy some fresh carrots he had bought along the way.

Once he found himself inside, he was baffled at the room's set-up. Never being in many official governmental buildings--nor being versed in politics at all--the gnome became even more curious as to what everyone was gathering for. (It has to be interesting. I don't know why so many people would come here if it wasn't) he continued to think as he found himself sitting in a rather hard and uncomfortable seat.

[Tristan L'Evienne]

Tristan watched everybody that entered and was pleased to realize that he actually recognized a few of them. There was a human woman with emerald eyes and dark brown hair – Adelyn. He remembered her from the ball, although he didn’t remember the name itself. He actually remembered her better than the members of his government, the Aedile, the Orator, the Treasurer and all the others, a fact that spoke volumes of his character, a mistake that had to be rectified if he wanted to be thane longer than it took them to find a replacement.

He nodded at everybody, his kind of greeting, but he let a few more minutes pass before he began, to give people the opportunity to enter and find a seat, so that they would not miss anything. That especially concerned the prefect who had yet to show up. “There is no need to apologize”, he said as Saka finally made his entrance – he was a rather forgiving man – although the happy tone of Saka’s voice confused him slightly. His prefect was probably stranger than he was, happy when he was supposed to be embarrassed, pleasant when he was surrounded by people he didn’t trust.

He hoped that the man wouldn’t let criminals free when he was supposed to take them to the gaol or other things that couldn’t logically be explained even though it would without a doubt be more entertaining than the opposite.

“Please take a seat, Saka”, he told the young man, and then he adressed the others. “I have asked for this meeting for two reasons, ladies and gentlemen. As you know I have only been thane for a short time. Some of you have already met me, some of you have yet to meet me. I hope that all of you will have a better idea of who I am when this meeting is over. As you are aware, I have not been living on this island very long. For that reason I would like you to begin by giving me a summary of what has happened recently and what our situation is currently like. After that I would like to decide on our course for the future.”

[Adelyn Weiss]

OOCHelping continue this until a mod is assigned it.

The city of Demios did not exactly scream large city and even though her arrival was recent she figured she had seen many of the people of the city, but to her surprise a lot of unrecognizable faces began filing into the council room. Among these was a nice enough looking dwarf that moved in front of her and sat a seat away from her. Adelyn smiled brightly at him and whispered a soft, "Serale" back to him. After he sat she turned to him to strike up some conversation, "How do you do? I can't wait for the meeting to begin to see in what state Demios is in, but no doubt it looks to be outright thriving. What are your expectations of this meeting?"

As things settled down Adelyn looked around and noticed a seat still empty up at front by the Thane and she figured the meeting still was delayed because one more had to arrive. Ah, and there the last of them all came into the room. Adelyn never had met the man, and did not even know what his position was, but it didn't matter.

The dwarf and Adelyn finished up their quiet whisperings as the Thane began to speak. She nodded, completely understanding everything so far. She couldn't imagine the difficulty of holding such a position and being new to the city in which it would head and not be overwhelmed by it. But the man did not look overwhelmed in the least. Her eyes gazed intently into his, trying to read just what sort of Thane he'd make.

[Aqua]

As Tristan called the meeting to order, the assembled members of the Council looked carefully at the only recently-installed Thane. The first of them to speak was the Aedile, Rosamund, who despite her unorthodox dress and quiet demeanor seemed to be something of a leader among them.

"Our biggest problem lately, your royal highness, has been the weather. We all know the unpredictable nature of Demios' weather, but the rains and storms were so bad in the mountains that it forced the temporary closure of the mines. The weather has settled down slightly, and plans are underway to reopen the mines as quickly as possible, but the intervening time has been hard on the workers and the city coffers both."

"That's right," the treasurer, Ethulia, added. "We'd been very fiscally prudent before, and so we were able to weather this down time without any cutbacks, but we don't have a lot of money for extra projects right now, and likely won't until the mines are fully operational once more."

"Otherwise," Rosamund put in, "we've just gotten a new Thane, of course." There was a lopsided smile here. "And the changes in the Realm, which aren't specific to Demios, but certainly occupy the minds of the people. Those, I think, would be the key points to highlight at the moment."

[Tylag]

The lady the dwarf had greeted greeted him back. She then struck up a conversation with the dwarf in a whisper. "I don't know what to expect I have just reently arrived in the last few brightenigns and heard about this meeting. I thought it would be informative to listen in and see what the political plans for the city were. It is hard to be thriving anywhere currently"

The dwarf responded taking his cue by the lady and speaking in whispers. the Thane began to speak just the dwarf and the human finished their speaking.

[Tristan L'Evienne]

Tristan did not mind the aedile’s unorthodox outfit. Another thane might have complained that the woman didn’t look professional enough with her pink shawl and her mismatched earrings, but he liked that. He liked people that were a little out of the norm. It showed that they weren’t boring bureaucrats that took their work too serious and made dealing with them a pain in the ... you get the idea. She also seemed to be rather competent. He decided then that they would get along well – unless she turned out to be another Zohana who insisted on treating him like a misbehaving child.

He liked being called royal highness – the novelty of it had not worn off yet. He’d probably never get used to it, but he didn’t show how much he enjoyed it. Tristan was a good enough actor to successfully pretend that he was just a nice, humble young man and not in any way arrogant. He sat there, hands folded, listening attentively.

He had known about the weather on Demios, but he had not known about the mines. He hadn’t even known that there were mines on the island until Rosamund had mentioned it. He looked at her thoughtfully. “What would it take to reopen the mines?” he asked. “You said there are already plans for it?”

“That would be me”, he remarked as Rosamund told him that they had just gotten a new thane and grinned. “I hope we can make this island a better place together, Rosamund.” For most people this would have just been politician’s speech, something you said because it sounded nice, but when Tristan decided to work (and he did not do it often), he put a lot of effort into it.

[Aqua]

"Fixing the roads, mostly," Rosamund replied to Tristan's question about the mines. "The rains were so bad that the roads, which are steep and require high maintenance anyway, nearly all washed out. We've got a crew working on the roads now, and we hope to have them repaired within two months. Once that's done, we can see what repairs need to be done to the mines themselves, whether sections need to be bailed out, that sort of thing. Our goal is to be fully operational in six months -- if the mines are in good shape once we get up to them, it could be sooner than that."

The others nodded in assent. Given that no one seemed to feel the need to add anything, it certainly seemed like Rosamund held an unusual amount of sway with them.

"And I think that all of us are eager to work with you for the good of Demios, your Royal Highness," she added. There were murmurs of agreement from the rest of the group, and Aluna's face broke into a broad grin.

[Saka Rosedl]

Saka just made a fake loud yawn at her last remark. He looked rather bored at their kissing up but knew they were just simple humans trying to get on his good side. All the same in the end that he has seen in his lifetime.

"Do note that I won't be calling you that nor kissing up to you like the rest of these people. Crime in the city is lower now than it was a few months ago but I believe that is due to the season itself. I would like to start to hire more guards due to we have more and more people moving to life not just to study then leave. Other then small crimes here and there Demios is still rather dull and I mean dull as in not alot of crime." He said as he played with a quill that was left on the table for writing.

"And no I do not support crime so don't think of giving me any looks, people are rather bad when it comes to wanting rumors out of a person and what they say and to blackmail them when it suits you." He said after a bit and hinting towards Rosamund then anyone else.

[Tristan L'Evienne]

Tristan nodded as Rosamund explained what needed to be done before the mines could be reopened again. “Six months, you say?” he asked. “Demios can survive financially until then, can’t it? Once the mines are reopened, I’d like to establish trade agreements with other cities so that we can fill our coffers again. Metal is always in high demand, and I also want to look at other goods we can export. Of course I assume we already export some things.”

He answered the aedile’s statement that they were all eager to work with him with a broad grin of his own. In his past life, where he had been a bartender in a seedy pirate tavern, he had hated nobility. He’d thought they didn’t deserve their status, had been convinced that they only exploited people, but now that he was a Royal Highness himself he didn’t have such narrowminded views anymore. He quite liked it when people used his new title.

“Noted”, he replied dryly as Saka made him aware that he would not kiss up to him. “I believe that hiring a few more guards is a very good idea. Annd why do you think that I think you support crime? You are not a criminal, are you, Saka?” He looked at him very seriously as if he really believed that the prefect had a secret life as a thief or murderer, but the corners of his mouth twitched. That was just his weird sense of humour.

[Aqua]

Rosamund gave a somewhat wounded look at Saka. Aluna Morseth glared at the Prefect. "I don't think that was really called for," the beautiful Baijani said sharply. "No one is trying to blackmail anyone." Although Tristan seemed to have a firm grasp on Saka's style of humor, it seemed that the others weren't as informed.

The Aedile herself took a sharp breath in and then looked back at Tristan. "Yes, fishing exports have been good, which is the other main thing we do, aside from tourism. And I believe we ought to be fine for the next six months, as long as we're careful."

Ethulia nodded in agreement. "Yes, the treasury can handle it. We've got an era's worth of operating funds on hand, though that's assuming we're operating at the bare minimum. But it should cover us until the mines begin producing once more and tax funds are coming in again."