IC Scene: The Council Chamber (Provinces / Free City Event)

The Eventide scribe entered the room, and he said aloud, "Ser Varys and Sir Celduir will be arriving shortly."

Mastifus was next to enter, a large stein of ale in hand. He stomped over to his former seat, and swinging his boots on the table sat back and took a deep gulp, leaving a foam moustache around his mouth.

Isabel leaned a bit away from the feet of Sir Mastifus, even though she wasn't that close to them.

"It seems you enjoy the ale of the south, Sir Mastifus, but not the customs for drinking it."

"The south, nay lass! One of mah men managed to find some proper Ravenstern ale. See, its dark'n a Mystmountain's heart!" he growled, tipping the vessel slightly to show the pitch black liquid with an oddly white foamy head. Content that all knew it was the real stuff, he took another happy slurp.

Isabel was cut off by the arrival of a rather sour-looking Sir Azrael who sat next to her.

I fear I cannot deny that, Sir Mitchell. He beckoned for the scribe again.

Chadwell, the protocols for Sir Mitchell. And addressing Sir Mitchell again he added: We are still waiting for the Eventide emissaries and Sir Kamos, so you will have enough time to read.

When zekic heard isabels remark about Mastifus, he smirked, over his time in Laria forests, he smelt things way worse then that, he watched Isabel, and Mastifus a bit more, but Mitchell's arrival distracted him.

Zekic heard of this, immortals grandmaster, but never seen him, hmm immortal, he tought, this should be interesting

Celdiur re-entered the chamber, aware that he was one of the last to arrive. That didnt really bother him much though. He took his seat again without a word.

Varys crept into the chamber and took his place beside Celduir. He stood there, toying with a small coin he had in his hand.

Seeing that almost everyone had returned to the council chamber Iskar beckoned for the guards to close the doors.

Ladies, knights and rangers, he said, having settled the issue of the Free City, we can now fully address the provinces and duchies. When some knights breathed in as if to speak up, he preemptively silenced the assembly by raising a hand. Since we should not loose ourselves in a multitude of petty unrelated issues, I have worked out a full suggestion as basis and starting point for a more organised debate, even if it was only for being voted to be put aside, as even that would clear up matters more than if everyone advanced their own suggestions about this or that duchy.

He unfolded the largest of the parchments he had brought and put it down on the centre of the table for everyone to see.

Map:

Let me explain the thoughts and motivations behind this suggestion in detail.

He had risen from his chair and used his quill to point at the parts of the map he was talking about. At first the quill performed a sweeping move all over the map of Pendor on the table.

As you can see I suggest Pendor to be ruled via five provinces, just as of now, but with different territories and names belonging to each of them. On the map I have indicated each duchy by a different shade of colour, while the provinces are formed of the three or four duchies in different shades of the same colour: The yellow central province of Crown's Hold, the red western province of the Merchant Coast, the purple northwestern province of Wintersea, the blue eastern province of Eastmarch and the green southern province of the Sentinel Coast. These names are by now just preliminary ones and at the disposal of an appropriate debate once we decided on the territorial and titular issues.

He folded his arms in front of his chest and looked around at the gathered faces, when he continued:

Since his majesty has expressed his discontent with the current situation where the traditional borders of the provinces as former kingdoms do little to reduce - if not to add to - old rivalries and dangerous separatist thoughts, my leading idea was to create provinces that are comprised of duchies from at least two of the old kingdoms while not leaving any of the latter completely intact within a province. Bringing together different cultural tendencies in each of the provinces should make it easier for the people of Pendor to overcome old prejudices and form a united people of Pendor instead of Sarleonian, Ravensternian, Imperial and so on subjects of the Pendorian Crown, while dividing the old kingdoms should make it harder for separatists to get hold of all of one of the old kingdoms. However, apart from that leading idea, each province serves its own purposes in its design and hardly anything is arbitrarily designed.

The quill whipped back towards the map as he unfolded his arms again, his other hand now underlining his speech with emphasising gesture.

First of all, the central province, Crown's Hold. As the province where the main bulk of the royal army is garrisoned its central position and common borders with all other provinces allow the king to react quickly should any of the other provinces cause problems. Moreover, the most dangerous or dubious lords of the realm are concentrated here: Dukes Brennus and Aelfwine and the ever mysterious Shadow, ruler of Singal. Having them under the direct provincial control of the king will make it way easier to keep them in check. Furthermore the central province will profit greatly from tolls imposed on inland trade, since most of the important trade routes connecting east and west and north and south run through it. As Lord Chancellor of the realm and duke of Sarleon, Sir Darlion would rule this province in the name of his majesty.

In the west we have the Merchant coast, comprised of coastal duchies whose merchants are known for their long experience in overseas trade. Having them all in one province will allow the governor to adapt tolls, taxes and local laws in the best possible way to the prerequisites of flourishing trade. Gundar Doomseeker is unquestionably loyal to the crown and a seasoned merchant prince. The province would certainly benefit from his governorship.

The province of Wintersea in the northwest will have the rich city of Ravenstern and the port towns of Senderfall and Windholm. The rivers running from Icemirror Lake to Lake Avendor and the western sea will allow for easy transport and trade between the north, the western coast and - via Lake Avendor - the central province. Wintersea is therefore best equipped to ensure the food supply of the often snow covered plains of the north and most of all the barren mountain regions, while enabling the resources wrought from the mines in the mountains to be sold to the rest of Pendor. Duke Alexis has so far not given any reason to doubt his loyalty and is a man well acquainted to the way of the north. He would be a good choice as governor of Wintersea.

Eastmarch may at first sight look rather big compared to the other provinces, but consider that many of its counties are either barren mountain wastelands or recently settled steppes that still require swords as well as coins to keep them safe and calm and develop the settlements that have sprung up so far. In particular the Wyrmhold, Granite Pass and Holdfast mountains have been recently explored and claimed for the realm by the order of the Dragon, while the Silvermist has secured the steppeward halves of the Talon, Evasolde, Alden and Valorshield marches and has newly claimed the Eastcrown march and the Silverwood forests. Still many enemies lurk at the borders of this province, Mystmountain tribes to the north and Jatu clans to the east. They may have been beaten during the unification wars, but not eradicated. As soon as they have regathered some strength they will strike again at the homes and hearths of his majesty's subjects. Furthermore, you will have noticed that both the Gauntlet and the Silvermist are based in this province. This ensures that no matter how the balance of power in the Noldor council shifts - be it in the favour of the cooperative Lord Ithilrandir or in that of the warlike Lord Aeldarian - the province will be able to react appropriately, the Silvermist upholding peace and good neighbourhood with Ithilrandir and the Gauntlet fighting off Aeldarian should he win other lords for a war against Pendor. In any case Duke Alamar would be a good choice as governor. His surname "The marcher lord" is well earned and he has proven time and again his qualities in defending the eastern border against whatever foes approach it.

Finally we come to the southern province, the Sentinel Coast. The main purpose of this province is to prevent Snake Cult incursions, large as well as small ones. The coastal duchies of Ishkoman, Janos and Cez will form the front line of defense, fighting off whatever enemies land on their shores. Meanwhile the rich duchy of Torbah will be mostly unharmed by such incursions and thus be able to provide support in terms of troops, coin and supply to the coastal duchies. The governor will be able to coordinate the military, navy and sentry posts of all the coastal provinces in an optimal way. The question remains who this is to be. Kyros Dux has proven to be a fierce defender of Pendor against the Snake Cult. He also knows best how to fight the troops of Azi Dahaka. However, Duke Rafiq in Torbah is unquestionably loyal to the crown and a seasoned general from the unification wars. None of the two should be slighted, so if one is given the title of governor the other should be given another title. Protector of the Coast for Kyros Dux, for example, giving him access to extended defensive levies and entitling him to maintain a bigger fleet of warships, or Protector of the South for Duke Rafiq, allowing him to raise additional funds and troops to support the coastal duchies while moving against the desert raiders as well.

When he had finished his rather long speech he sat down again and took a hearty gulp of water, then waited for the others to comment.

While the Silvermist spoke, Sir Mastifus removed his feet from the table, and placed the goblet on the floor in easy reach, leaning forward a little to catch every word. From the moment Ravenstern was mentioned, his good eye flashed, and when the split was proposed he began drumming his finders on the arm rest of his chair, the tap, tap, tapping an ominous drum roll for things to come.

The Grandmaster had enough diplomacy to allow the man to speak, but he was quick to rise once the constable took his place, most of his usual bravado gone. Instead his fist was clenching and unclenching as though he was trying to control a towering rage.

"Yeh'll split Ravenstern over mah cold, head body" he managed to hiss, his voice as taught as a drawn Ravenstern Ranger's bowstring.

Taking a moment to compose himself, the big warrior shut his good eye, and probed under his patch with a stubby finger, scratching an age old itch.

"Yeh will have teh forgive meh, I will have teh concentrate on the Ravenstern lands, fer they are meh home." Sir Mastifus began again, his voice calmer but still containing a dangerous edge.

"Ah have too much respect fer Duke Alamar to slight his good name, but he is no a man of Ravenstern, and he'll no understand the problems we face. The men of the north want a northern lord to rule over the whole of Ravenstern, any southerner would have less luck ruling over the northern lords than a Noldor would commanding a Gauntlet."

"If yer so fixed on having a southerner in the north, give Alamar a duchy around Poinsbruk, aye, I kin see sense in that. Gods know we could use another good military mind against the Mystmountains, but anything more...?" he left the sentence hanging, shaking his head.

"But partitioning our lands into two provinces... Yeh'll have to be bloody mad teh even think it" he sat again, still shaking his head as if confused why someone would want to carve his precious homelands up like that.

Saeros gestured to speak, but it took him a few seconds to actually let the words out. His lips were stiff, as he tried not to laugh on the Dragon's outburst. Explosive personalities always amused him.

"Sir Mastifus, thank your for sharing your opinion. I should point out that Ravenstern is as much yours as it is mine - I was born and raised in Poinsbruk. In the North, only us of Poinsbruk are familiar the harsh life of the marches. With the Jatu raiders in the South, Mystmountain savages in the North, bordering a vast cold forest *and* an endless steppe, I can safely say that life in Poinsbruk and its surroundings is of a very different nature from that of Rane and Ravenstern. Now, duke Alamar is the most experienced marcher lord in this entire kingdom. I assure you that he is more than fit to rule some of old Ravenstern lands, and his experience in these contexts will surely be beneficial to the people.

And this is another issue: Ravenstern does not exist, not anymore. The land has changed and the new provinces are adapting to that change. The men of the North will be ruled by whichever lord this council agrees upon, and they will accept it gladly, because the king sanctions our decision. If you have any objections to the proposal, we can certainly put that to vote."

"Don't antagonize the people of Ravenstern, Saeros." Laisha walked into the chamber, looking oddly disheveled with a twig tangled in her hair. "I apologize for my lateness. One of the Griffon patrols saw it fit to warn me of danger. It turned out to be a rodent." She smiled wryly at the Griffon knights present and started to walk around the table.

"As I was saying," she began again, making little effort to hide that she had been listening through the door for some time, "while the people of Ravenstern most certainly have a separatist streak in them, to divide them and then so boldly flaunt it in the face of Sir Mastifus is a very bad idea. You may have grown up in Poinsbruk, but it is a far easier life there than in the rest of the land. Those of us who lead lives in the snowy plains and foothills have no time for book-learning. We're united by our hardiness and survival in what can sometimes be a very hard place. Southerners who act as though they understand or can easily break the unity in the north put themselves in a bad position.

"While I can't disagree with the sentiment driving the need to split up Ravenstern to ensure unity in Pendor, I fear we may trigger a revolt if we're careless in doing so. You should keep that in mind before speaking to a Dragon that way." She sat down in the place she had before. Whether she was unaware of the twig or just didn't care, she made no effort to remove it.

"Changing the borders of the duchies wont change the people loyalties. The people follow whomever rides a horse and lives in a castle, lines on a map mean nothing to them. What economic and military advantages can you name to justify splitting the realm?" murmered Merzinas.

Splitting the realm, Merzinas? The realm is already split. That is why we are here. In order to devise new provinces that break up the old borders. As long as the old kingdoms live on as provinces with their separate levies and taxes separatists will have easy game taking over one and declaring independence.

As for your Sir Mastifus, your words prove that splitting up the old provinces is direly necessary. You seem to be caught in the old ways of thinking where Ravenstern still existed and could only be ruled by a Ravensternian. Did you forget that Ravenstern has been under the reign of King Mordred for several years? Furthermore those words of you sound all too close to traitorous separatist thoughts. Perhaps you might want to be more careful with your choice of words or this council might mistakingly be led to believe you wish to separate the northern province from the realm.

The stern argument of Iskar caught Merzinas off guard, but he rallied his thoughts, even as he felt heat rush to his head and chest at bieng the brief focus of the Silvermisters rage. He eventually managed to stutter out some words:

"Y-y-yes the realm is already s-split, and you can see how a-agitated you will make people simply by changing the borders."

Merzinas swallowed nervously, racking his brain to say the correct words, and not make a fool of himself again. "H-how exactly will changing what side of a line the lords levy resources from change their desires for independence? More has to be done than c-changing maps to enforce loyalty. So I must ask Constable, what other changes apart from the borders would these reforms inspire?"

Zekic rised from his seat

"Silvermist, hold you'r tongue! it's not for you to accuse anyone being a traitor, even if not directly, don't overstep you'r boundaries."

Zekic striked the table with his gountleted fist, sounds of it echoed accross the room.

" It seems it is needed for someone to remind you," Zekic pointed at iskar, and then spread his hands at others "that you aren't any better then any of us."

Zekic took a deep breath and then continued

"You Silvermists don't know a damn thing about north, you care only about you'r precious noldor and they'r forests, so don't pose that you can decide what's best way for noth of our kingdom.People from north are stubborn, and yet they are honorable, they allready know they are part of our glorious kingdom, and won't rebel against it for the sake of rebeling."

Zekic stared directly at Iskar, his words were accompanied by hand gestures

"People of north will integrate in kingdom of pendor, will assimilate in it as a whole culture, but, it will take way longer then with other provinces, but this is rather safe way. By separating former ravenstern, you will give north a reason to rebel, a reason to despise our king, and this is a wild card, and if you think that everything will end up good, and you will break a morale of northfolk, you are underrestimating those of the north, this way rebellion is very likely, and do you want another war silvermist? to destabilaze our kingdom?" Zekic's voice was raising up to the word kingdom, but then he made a pause, and spoke silently, but more then enough for everyone to hear. "Tough i doubt that wars in the north matter to you."