Chapter 3: Advice and Consent
A typical day for a common citizen varied from person to person. True, some might have similar rituals to start off the day, but afterward was different. Whether it was training knights in the military, sowing seeds in the field, or healing injured citizens, nothing was guaranteed to be the same.
The arch sage was no different, and his day was far from typical. His mornings, however, were a bit chaotic and filled with grotesque imagery.
But today was different for the arch sage. Instead of his routine of rummaging through cutting utensils, or looking at jars filled with laguz entrails, he silently sat down and enjoyed the aroma within his room, isolated from the rest of the continent. A smirk graced his countenance, but what it was for was a mystery that only he could figure out. Whether it was true happiness or diabolical schemes he worked out was unclear, and even might not be either one, but either way, he felt content.
"Ah, how beautiful this morning is turning out to be," he commented to himself. "Is it always this graceful and serene? I should explore more and ascertain the answers myself." The sorcerer stood up from his seat and walked over to a drawer. He opened it and took out some paper and a quill with ink.
"Let's see . . ." said the arch sage thoughtfully. Suddenly, the door to his chambers opened and in entered his "boss", Jeremiah.
"Ah, greetings, my friend," said the arch sage to the marshal. "I was just about to go through the strategy."
"You've been doing so for the past five days!" Jeremiah yelled. "The soldiers are getting impatient. When are we going to attack!"
"Patience, patience, my good friend," said the musician calmly. "If you haven't listened to me five days before, we need to begin to tear each country down from within."
"But you haven't done anything! We've made no progress!" roared Jeremiah at his friend. "I'm starting to think that you don't want this to happen, is that it?"
"No, no. It's not that. It's just that we need more time," replied the arch sage. "If you would let me talk, I will inform you of the plan of action we'll be taking."
Jeremiah gave a discontent grunt, but moved closer to his friend to see their plan. He glanced at the papers and saw numerous terms and phrases that he did not even understand. Not that he cared; Jeremiah only provided the fighting force while his friend worked with all the complex and political concerns. On one of the papers was a map of Tellius, and next to it was a small parchment of the arch sage's handwriting. He noticed that all of the countries' key locations had been circled and labeled, but Begnion had the most.
"Care to explain what all of this means?" said Jeremiah to his comrade.
"Of course," the arch sage replied. "As you know, all of the countries seem to be in some state of political or economic turmoil, or both. Of all of the countries, Begnion is the most powerful and most populated. It, too, has a great burden resting on its shoulders. This is where our conquest will begin."
"Wait, what?" said Jeremiah shocked. He looked at his friend as though he were suicidal. "Are you crazy? We can't attack the Begnion Empire! They're too powerful! Have you lost your mind?"
The arch sage just lightly chuckled and shook his head. He seemed to be amused at his friend's show of panic and surprise. Only he could do that to him, however, and not suffer any dire consequences.
"I am not insane, I assure you," he informed. "We will not be attacking them with fighting force, but with political force."
Jeremiah's countenance became that of confusion and said, "What do you mean?"
"Allow me to clarify," began the arch sage. "I highly doubt that you are familiar with Tellius' political system, so allow me to shed some light on the topic.
"Many other places outside of Tellius use a bicameral system. That is, there are to be two houses to make up the congressional assembly. Tellius, however, uses a unicameral system, meaning that there is only one house that composes the legislative system. That house is the senate, and combined, the count is a total of 100 senators.
"However, senators represent the country as a whole rather than the districts within the country. To allow equal representation during hearings, the continent of Tellius uses what is called a branch system, and is the one of very few places to do so. What this does is that it divides the senate powers and representation into one of two sub-divisions.
"The first house is called the main house. This branch composes of all the senators and representatives who speak for the country as a whole. The second house is called the branch house. This branch of government composes of all the senators who represent the people within the districts of their country. In a sense, the branch system makes a unicameral system more bicameral, only having fewer members.
"Each country has a different number of senators. Crimea and Daein each have 20 senators, 10 in the main house, and 10 in the branch house. The laguz nations of Goldoa, Gallia, and Serenes do not have a senate, but representatives serve as such. Each only has only 2 representatives, bringing the total to 6. And last but certainly not least, Begnion caps it off with 54 senators, 27 in the main house and 27 in the branch house. These numbers altogether total 100 senators."
"Is there a point to all this rambling?" demanded Jeremiah, growing bored at his comrade's sermon-like lecture.
"I'm getting to it," replied the arch sage. "You see, the senate plays a very major role on whether or not a treaty is approved, or whether or not a bill is eligible for becoming a law. However, these decisions are overturned by the person who presides over the senate, and that person is none other than the empress of Begnion herself."
"And her senators are rarely on equal terms with her, right?" said Jeremiah starting to catch the meaning of his friend's speech.
"My, your really are smart," commented the arch sage. "Yes, she does preside over the senate, but only does so when they are discussing laws and treaties that affect the entire continent. Locally, the leaders of the senators' country preside over them, respectfully."
Jeremiah ran a thumb over his chin thoughtfully, trying to decipher what his friend was getting at. The arch sage just calmly watched as his partner wandered off into his thoughts. After a few minutes of silence, Jeremiah got tired of guessing.
"Okay, what is the point of all this? Just tell me already!" the marshal said forcefully. The arch sage just chuckled and patted his friend on the shoulder.
"You will see in due time, my friend."
-.-.-.-.-
Political science is not usually a profession one would choose to specialize in on Tellius. The work was long and complex; the hours moved on by with little to no regard for the person; and the demands faced by the nobles, many of them who are only motivated by sheer greed, would mentally break even the most sharpest of minds. The result was a person that was tired, sick in the head and on the brink of mental insanity (as far as Tellius goes).
In addition, most of the people who worked as political scientists rarely liked their job, or even tried to make their work more enjoyable. The only responses from those people were "it pays the bills on time" or "puts crumbs and water on the table". In reality, many of them would quit if they had the choice, but sadly cannot.
However, there was one person who actually liked the line of political science. He earned his place and renown among royals for his savvy concerning Tellius' affairs. His speech, although difficult to understand, was taken with the highest regard among many political leaders.
That man, Bastian, count of Fayre, was whom all of Tellius widely depended on.
Unlike many political scientists in Tellius, Bastian was quite satisfied with his work. His quick wit and sharp mind had helped the continent's reconstruction in a number of ways. He effortlessly went to work, using all of his knowledge to ensure that every peace treaty was signed and approved. Despite his ambiguous way of speaking, his mind was always kept sharp with wit to following behind.
Bastian made his way over to the Mainal Cathedral, having arrived twelve hours earlier. Today was a hearing between the senate and the empress of Begnion regarding a peace treaty and two bills, which he knew no doubt, would become law. The treaty that he had proposed addressed the laguz and beorc interrelations, stating that laguz that lived (or plan to live) in a beorc nation would get equal rights as all nations would. In addition, the beorc countries must adhere to the laguz practices and laws passed from their immigrants' country of origin.
This treaty was approved by all laguz tribes as well as the rulers of Daein and Crimea, Micaiah and Elincia, respectfully. All that remained was the empress' approval, and the treaty would take effect immediately. The two bills, regarding the same concerns as the treaty, were also approved by the same people, and too only needed Sanaki's say-so.
But there was one thing that pestered the count of Fayre. The political (and at times, theatrical) arch sage was facing a problem that many other men faced in their lives. And that was the struggle of true love. His in particular was for one, and only one, woman alone: Lucia.
Bastian had thought of all the numerous times he had tried to win over Elincia's true-blue foster sister. He tried time and time again with a multitude of praises, mountains of gifts and sweet poetic speeches, and tolling hours of holding special events just for the two of them. To ensure that he would win her over, he did whatever she would ask of him and stuck by her side day by day to show that he, and no one else, was the one she should be in love with.
But Lucia was cunning and sharp. True, she did not possess the wit and political savvy as the count did, but she proved herself to be no slacker either. She put her loyalty to the queen first, and in doing so, bluntly rejected Bastian on the spot. He, of course, would not take 'no' for an answer, and continuously tried to woo her, each time upping his game.
But the answers were always the same as the previous attempts. Lucia would kindly, and sometimes viciously, reject him and say that they were only friends. This dismissal hurt the Bastian's pride, but his attempts would never cease until Lucia's heart was his.
The count came to a stop in the middle of a room and reflected deeper onto these thoughts.
"O Lucia," he started, "what a beauty thine art. Why must thou be so cruel and sagaciously wicked when it comes to mine love? You're eyes and hair glisten as beautifully and radiantly as the sky hov'ring o'er the sea. Your voice sings harmonic melodies, but is dangerous as the Sirens, luring sailors to their shameful death.
"Are thou scared to make a pact of love, or are thou truly not sure if she should be in love? Is that why you, my eternal joy, must be parted from me? O, how terrible you have become, for no matter how many times you cut me open, I keep bleeding love! I care not the others misconstrued jests and thousand injuries they may tell me, for no tourniquet can stop the love that I bleed for you!
"Lucia, I-"
Bastian, unaware of his ongoing soliloquy, was interrupted from one of his speeches by a rather hard tap on his shoulder. Coming to a stop, the arch sage turned around to see none other than Sothe standing behind him.
"Ah, a good afternoon to you, Sir Sothe," greeted Bastian.
"Um . . . good afternoon to you too, Bastian," replied Sothe. The whisper was used to the count of Fayre's speech after hearing it for so long. Still, it did feel awkward, but that was only because it was Bastian.
"What can I indulge thine person with?" asked Bastian, for which Sothe took as a simple 'How can I help you?'
"I just wanted to make sure you were ready for the hearing today," said Sothe.
"Ah, I am most certainly ready," Bastian replied confidently.
"Good to hear," said Sothe. "Oh, and if you hadn't noticed, you were talking about Lucia again . . . loudly."
The count's facial expression was, as people would say, completely priceless after hearing what Sothe said. His countenance was that of pure shock and surprise of his unknown soliloquy to the entire noble branch of Begnion. He glanced around the room and saw many people chuckling or commenting over whether Bastian was sick in the head.
Casually, the count shrugged off these remarks and made his way to the meeting hall; Sothe followed behind him.
-.-.-.-.-
The senate hall was filled to capacity with all of the senators and representatives of all the nations of Tellius. Many of them, mostly beorc, wore the same attire consisting of a glistening translucent white robe with a hat to match. The other senators wore a similar outfit without the hat, while many of them wore outfits completely different than that of any social norm. The hearing looked more like a masquerade than anything else.
Bastian made his way around the chaos that ensued and took a seat in the front row. Sothe sat beside him and began glancing around the room, gagging at some of the "fashion trends" many of the senators were wearing. The only people that did not try to look like a self-obsessed and arrogant noble were the laguz representatives. Out of everyone in the room, they kept their attire simple and straightforward.
Sothe continued to glance around the room, searching for someone that he knew. He gave up and began staring off into space until someone interrupted his thoughts.
"SOTHE!" yelled a voice from behind him. The only problem was that the voice was right in his ear. Sothe, perturbed and slightly deaf, turned around to see none other than Gallia's right-hand man to the king.
"Ranulf!" greeted Sothe. "It's great to see you."
"Same to you, my friend," said Ranulf cheerfully. "So, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be helping Micaiah out over at Daein? Speaking of her, shouldn't Micaiah be the one here and not you?"
"Micaiah has other pressing matters to attend in Daein, so I came here instead as a representative and listener," explained Sothe.
"Well, that's good to hear. Better to have someone she trusts here than some snot-nosed, spoiled, 40-year-old brat," Ranulf said cheerfully. Sothe laughed at his remark, which was true in many ways.
From Ranulf's comment, Sothe and the blue-haired cat began talking about their lives after the war, and catching up on old times. Ranulf, being the newly crowned King Skrimir's right-hand man, worked relentlessly to see that the new king's reign went well. He was run rather ragged by him, almost breaking several bones on some occasions, but he seemed pretty content with his life. Sothe's role needed no explanation for Ranulf, for the blue-haired cat laguz could see how his life was turning out.
Their small conversation lasted for well passed fifteen minutes; the hearing did not start for another hour. The two continued to talk about their daily lives, but soon ran out of things to converse about. Then, as if turning to a last resort, Sothe asked a question that Ranulf thought he never would ask.
"Ranulf, how is Lethe doing? Are you two still together?" said the whisper to his friend.
Ranulf looked up slightly surprised at the question. It was true that he and Lethe were a couple, and a rather unique one at that. Lethe was full of pride and far too stubborn, while Ranulf was almost a polar opposite. Lethe was a bit cold and dissenting towards Ranulf at first, but soon warmed up to him, and before anyone knew what hit them, the two had magically became a couple during the Laguz-Begnion War.
"We're doing fine," replied Ranulf nonchalantly. "Though, things are still rough with a new king and all."
"I can understand why," said Sothe, understanding Ranulf's situation.
"And what about Micaiah?" asked Ranulf. "How are you and her doing?"
Sothe, who was happy and content until now, became hesitant and silent. He did not answer Ranulf's question, but the cat did not need one. He knew the answer by seeing Sothe clench a fist and look down at the table somewhat remorsefully.
"Look, just forget it," said Ranulf. "I'm sorry I asked."
"No, you don't need to apologize," Sothe informed. The two then became dead silent, only glancing at each other every once in a while with the chattering of the other senators serving as background noise.
Both their thoughts were now the same: 'When is this meeting going to start?'
-.-.-.-.-
The hour passed by far too long for some people, and seemed like an eternity for them. Thankfully, a senator announced that Empress Sanaki has arrived, and that all representatives and senators take their seats upon her arrival.
Within mere moments, Sanaki entered the hall with Tormod, Tanith and Sigrun as her escorts. Sanaki sat down into a chair situated in the center of the first row of seats. Tormod, Sigrun and Tanith walked away slowly and waited near the door, though Tormod wanted to stay with her, but knew that it was best he did not. The young empress got up from her seat and took to the floor.
"All senators, please still your tongues," said Sanaki to get the attention of her "advisors". "I would now like to officially call this hearing into discussion. We are here to discuss a treaty between the laguz, and two bills that are subject to debate on whether or not they are law. I will hear each positions story. Please tell us who is speaking, and for which house branch."
With that explanation, Sanaki sat back down into her chair. After she was situated, two nobles arrived at her side. One was a thin male with brown hair and hazel eyes. He wore a white robe with the matching hat, along with white shoes. The other was a female with black hair and brown eyes. Her attire similar to that of the male's, but she did not wear the hat and wore black heels as opposed to boots.
"I am Lord Saron, representing the branch house, and favoring," said the male.
"Keiko, representing the main house, and resenting," said the female.
"You may begin," said Sanaki. Both senators went out into the center of the small hall and stood in front of their peers. Then, the debate began.
"Empress Sanaki. Noble senators," started Saron. "It has come to my attention that the laguz want to move into the other nations of Tellius. And by all means, why shouldn't we allow it? We already have accepted the bird tribes of the Serenes Forest, so why not allow other laguz to move here as well. By making these two bills a law, we would help bridge the gap between laguz and beorc prejudice, and would help keep rebellion at bay.
"Refer back to the war, when Begnion and the Laguz Alliance fought each other. Both sides suffered massive casualties, and for what? There was no purpose for the fighting, and in the end, it was they who saved us from an almost irrevocable end. And we need to change that. If we let fear rule our hearts, we rot the society with malice and death.
"Empress Sanaki."
Saron ended his speech and walked off the stage temporarily, the audience applauding at his leave. After the applause died down, Keiko made her way to the center of the floor and stood before the massive inside stadium of nobles.
"Empress Sanaki. Noble senators," Keiko began. "We are here to discuss two bills and a treaty that would become law. All three focus of laguz and beorc relations and immigration. All three say or imply that we must grant equal protection to these laguz, and that we cannot make any laws that ban their practices and tradition. That doesn't sound bad, right?
"Well, my friends, while there is a good part of it, there are many holes that we cannot fill if they are passed, and might even step on values we hold dear to our hearts.
"Suppose that a crime is committed by a laguz upstart. Suppose he "accidently" killed a man on the streets, and continues doing so. If it were a beorc who committed these heinous, why, we would execute him without trial. But because these laws will pass, we are going under the assumption that it is "laguz ritual" or "common practice". Is there any justice in that?
"If we make these bills law and accept this treaty, we give more power to the laguz than we have for ourselves. When that happens, it can lead to a slippery slope of abuse and misguided punishment among the beorc race. I mean, they have a right to kill, but we can't? Honestly, all three are as poorly worded as a sentence with no grammar structure.
"I ask, no implore, all of you to look into your hearts. What is it that matters in our society? What we hold sacred, or forcing to look at practices we consider barbaric, or kneeling before our oppressors all because of a stupid piece of paper? I for one don't want to find out, and encourage you all to take action immediately.
"Empress Sanaki."
Keiko ended her speech and returned to her seat. The room roared with applause and praise from a majority of the senators, all of which were from Begnion. Sothe, who paid very close attention to everything, felt disgusted that many of them would approve of such an action, but he was not surprised at all. Almost every senator did whatever they could to eradicate the laguz, but knew in his heart that Sanaki would never allow that to happen.
Sanaki rose from her seat and approached the stage to face the nobles.
"Thank you for your positions," she started. "I will now cast my vote and opinion on the matter. While yes, we do hold values that are sacred to our hearts, we must also remember to accept others as well. In these times, we must put our personal beliefs aside and walk proudly as one nation.
"With that said, I accept both the bills and treaties, and declare that-"
"Wait a moment, Empress," interrupted a voice. The entire crowd, surprised that someone had the guts to cut off the voice of Begnion, turned to see Keiko standing from her seat.
"What is it, Senator Keiko?" Sanaki asked. "You have not been addressed, so you better have a good explanation for interrupting me."
"I do," Keiko answered. "I ask that all senators take a brief leave of office."
Everyone, the senate included, was confused at this sudden change of plan. Even Bastian was caught off guard to this maneuver. But he was not a senator, only a representative, so he could not join in their "circle of trust".
The senators left from their seats and made their way out of the room, leaving only a select few remaining. Bastian, Sothe, Tormod, Ranulf, Sigrun, Tanith, and Sanaki were those people.
"What's going on?" asked Tormod.
"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about this," said Sothe.
"Do not worry, my good friends," said Bastian. "For no matter the manner they may go about or their thoughts, Sanaki will always choose the best course of action. Correct, your grace?"
"That is correct," replied Sanaki. No sooner, all of the senators had taken returned and taken their seats. Well, almost everyone. The one senator, Keiko, went to the center of the floor where Sanaki would be.
"My sincerest apologies, Empress, but I thought that this matter required more debate and opinion," said Keiko.
"It is all right, Senator Keiko," said Sanaki. "But now, if you do not mind, please take a seat."
" . . . I am sorry, but I cannot," said Keiko. This maneuver had shocked everyone, even the senators of Begnion themselves, who had despised Sanaki's plans for equality. However, they did not have enough courage or power to speak against her.
"Is there any reason why?" demanded Tanith. "The empress of Begnion has given you a direct order, so do as she says."
"I will not," countered Keiko, "for I am not finished yet."
"What do you mean?" said Sanaki, now starting to get angered.
"Empress, your plans for equality are very valiant, indeed," started Keiko "But it has come to Begnion's attention that you are making decisions to hastily."
Everyone was petrified at that comment. No one had dared to speak to the empress in such a manner, even if they wished utter misery upon her. For someone to say something like that was considered suicide, and perhaps that is what Keiko was trying to commit.
"What are you getting at?" demanded Sanaki irately.
"I am saying that you must take into consideration the words of your fellow senators," said Keiko.
"But we have no problem," said a Crimean senator. "Many of us approve of this bill as well."
"Yeah, every senator from Crimea and Daein as well as the laguz representatives don't have a problem with it at all," said a senator from Daein.
"But what about Begnion?" asked Keiko. "They make over half of the senate. Shouldn't they have some say?"
The light now switched over to the Begnion senators, who became nervous when Keiko shined it upon them. They did not answer her question at all, but they did not need to. It was painfully obvious of their position on the matter. But it mattered not what they meant, for Sanaki had the final say in every political matter.
"Excuse me, but what point are you making?" said Sothe.
"If it's to stop Sanaki from approving these laws, then you're failing miserably," added Tormod. Keiko, however, smiled a wide grin.
"Actually, that's where you are wrong," she said, pulling out a piece of parchment from her robes. "Empress, it seems you have failed to read part of the binding constitution you have taken oath to. In a certain article here, it says that before the empress should pass any treaties or bills, they must be reviewed and approved by the senate."
"No . . ." whispered Sanaki, finally realizing what was happening.
"That's right," said Keiko, enjoying Sanaki's expression of terror on her countenance. "All of your actions did not follow this order, but my fellow senators will make sure this one does. In a 54 to 46 vote in favor of the opposition, the treaty and bills are repealed and shall not become law!"
"WHAT?" yelled Bastian, rising from his seat as he did so. After that, the entire room exploded in shouts and hollers of chaos. The senators from Crimea and Daein, and the representatives of the laguz nations all verbally fought with the senators of Begnion.
"This court is corrupt!" yelled a senator.
"You can't do this!" yelled another senator.
"But we can!" retorted Keiko. "From now on, all laws and treaties that concern the entire continent must have advice and consent from the senate in order to become law. Only through a majority vote will decide its fate."
The Begnion senators could now hear bells of joy and relief. They had waited for their chance to get back at Sanaki, and with this new policy, they had a fighting chance. Their power had returned and even overpowered them, and no one could do anything but accept it.
-.-.-.-.-
A messenger walked down the dilapidated hall and approached a door. He felt nervous at first about knocking, but decided to do so anyway. He gave the door three hard knocks.
"Come in," said the voice from behind the door. The messenger opened the door and saw two people standing inside. One was a marshal, the other an arch sage.
"Jeremiah, sir, we have received news from Begnion," said the messenger.
"Ah, yes," said the arch sage. "So, what is the verdict?"
"The two bills and treaty have been successfully declined, sir," informed the messenger.
"Ah, perfect," said the arch sage happily. "As always, Keiko has delivered another outstanding performance. I should give her a present for her work. You are dismissed."
"Sir." The messenger left the room, leaving Jeremiah and the arch sage alone.
"What was the point of all that?" asked Jeremiah to his friend. "I'm happy that it didn't pass, but how does that help our cause?" The arch sage chuckled before replying.
"Simple. The peoples' trust is in the government," he explained. "I have created a situation where political efficacy can be easily manipulated. Their trust in the government will now dwindle even more."
Jeremiah now started to realize why his friend went to such lengths to make sure to interrupt the senate hearing. "My friend, you are as deceptive and cunning as ever."
"Thank you," said the arch sage.
"So, what's our next plan?" asked the marshal.
"Now, we advertise."