It is a nice morning in the city of Kalseran, capital of a now tumultuous republic, the birds sing in their flight and perches across the city, the breeze flutters the flags on the docks and in the large square before the Lady's palace a great uproar shatters the illusion of peace. The Lady Luisa sits before her assembled nobles, all surrounded by the watching eyes of the people of city. This is a rare sight, a public court, and no matter their walk of life, no-one in the city would miss this for the world.
The current uproar comes from one of the older nobles, who has taken to standing before the Luisa "You would drive us to ruin before the armies to the east! We have no place in this war, if Dorist wishes to commit a grand and spectacular suicide then let them! But I say we have no part in it! We must look to ourselves now, with all that is happening it is folly to send our troops north, we must secure our own lands, our own holdings."
There was some murmuring as he finished speaking, but they were quickly silenced as Luisa held up her hand, bringing back a silence to the morning. Standing she approaches the noble, extending her hand she places on his shoulder, offering him a smile before addressing both him and the crowd "This may come as a surprise, but I do agree. It is not in our best interest to send our solders north to die on a field of combat most haven't even seen or heard of. Especially not with a band of traitors holding our southern province hostage. But that is why we are not sending an army of guns and shot, but of wagons and coin. We have not committed to an armed conflict, in its stead we have instead committed to a business deal. And do we abandon our deals?" she waves a hand around to the surrounding architecture "No, we stand by them until the end. I have known merchants who would rather sacrifice a hand then break a contract." She turns once more to the noble "So we will keep to our deal, to the letter if not the spirit."
Luisa strides once more to her seat in the front of the whole display, letting the crowd dominate the reaction to her answer. As she reaches her chair she takes only a small moment to let the sounds of the crowd fill her ears, and to let her eyes land upon a fluttering flag, the amethyst banner fluttering in the wind, the great beast of the sea that stands upon it as the golden symbol of the Republic. Takes a deep breath in, letting the salty air fill her lungs, and for a moment she is alone her problems laid out before her, the rebellion that needed to be crushed with efficiency, the war that needed to become profitable, and the families that would never stop vying for her throne. Luisa exhaled and let her breath sweep away the issues to their base core, she know what needed to be done. There was only the doing now.
Without turning she held her had up, giving all assembled a moment to grow quiet before turning around to face them, gathering herself once more into the imposing figure of the Grand Lady "All will listen and all will here. Before we adjourn this court I have one last decree. General Bettino Gianni will go to those wayward souls, to bring them back to us with no more Republic blood spilled upon our soil. But before he goes let my words carry to those in the south as his vanguard. An offer to all Internal Citizens and full Citizens there. Those who wish it may return before any deal is reached, they will be greeted with open arms with no potential penalty or charge, for they are the Republic and her shores are their home."
Taking her seat she let the sounds of the crowd and the nobles wash over her once more, her face and impassive mask as the snap of the flag was the only sound she truly heard.
The current uproar comes from one of the older nobles, who has taken to standing before the Luisa "You would drive us to ruin before the armies to the east! We have no place in this war, if Dorist wishes to commit a grand and spectacular suicide then let them! But I say we have no part in it! We must look to ourselves now, with all that is happening it is folly to send our troops north, we must secure our own lands, our own holdings."
There was some murmuring as he finished speaking, but they were quickly silenced as Luisa held up her hand, bringing back a silence to the morning. Standing she approaches the noble, extending her hand she places on his shoulder, offering him a smile before addressing both him and the crowd "This may come as a surprise, but I do agree. It is not in our best interest to send our solders north to die on a field of combat most haven't even seen or heard of. Especially not with a band of traitors holding our southern province hostage. But that is why we are not sending an army of guns and shot, but of wagons and coin. We have not committed to an armed conflict, in its stead we have instead committed to a business deal. And do we abandon our deals?" she waves a hand around to the surrounding architecture "No, we stand by them until the end. I have known merchants who would rather sacrifice a hand then break a contract." She turns once more to the noble "So we will keep to our deal, to the letter if not the spirit."
Luisa strides once more to her seat in the front of the whole display, letting the crowd dominate the reaction to her answer. As she reaches her chair she takes only a small moment to let the sounds of the crowd fill her ears, and to let her eyes land upon a fluttering flag, the amethyst banner fluttering in the wind, the great beast of the sea that stands upon it as the golden symbol of the Republic. Takes a deep breath in, letting the salty air fill her lungs, and for a moment she is alone her problems laid out before her, the rebellion that needed to be crushed with efficiency, the war that needed to become profitable, and the families that would never stop vying for her throne. Luisa exhaled and let her breath sweep away the issues to their base core, she know what needed to be done. There was only the doing now.
Without turning she held her had up, giving all assembled a moment to grow quiet before turning around to face them, gathering herself once more into the imposing figure of the Grand Lady "All will listen and all will here. Before we adjourn this court I have one last decree. General Bettino Gianni will go to those wayward souls, to bring them back to us with no more Republic blood spilled upon our soil. But before he goes let my words carry to those in the south as his vanguard. An offer to all Internal Citizens and full Citizens there. Those who wish it may return before any deal is reached, they will be greeted with open arms with no potential penalty or charge, for they are the Republic and her shores are their home."
Taking her seat she let the sounds of the crowd and the nobles wash over her once more, her face and impassive mask as the snap of the flag was the only sound she truly heard.