Chapter Fifty-Two: Res Publica
The fraternities did indeed approve of our recommendation.
The Justice left Amaranthine on December 3rd for the shores of Valhalla, under Paulie Walnuts' command, two weeks or so before the election. The good captain was to survey the Bay of Dolphins and the Ile des Chiens for any insurmountable threats or obstacles. He was due back on the 13th, which was far more time than he needed to get there and back, but he was also given the task of gathering news about the situation in the wider world. We had no network to keep us up to date on goings on. The 13th was two days before the scheduled election.
Just enough time for it to be made into an election issue if any of the major political factions wanted to object, but not enough for any serious alternative to be presented.
I had made sure of that by giving that space of time for the job. Covering my ass, and more importantly the asses of the entire High Command, was high on my priority list. No one could complain that Fisher and I did not deliver on our task, and no one could imply a problem with our reasoning either, not without looking like they were jumping the gun.
All factions quietly agreed to accept the recommendation, courtesy of how little wiggle room I had given. I was pleased as punch about that. Regardless, I had other duties.
Keeping order during the election campaign being the primary one. It was the Fereldans who were the biggest issue. Their curiosity seemed to be getting the better of them, at best. A sense of amusingly haughty superiority at worst. There was wide bemusement at the concept of people barely a step up from peasants being able to choose the very same class of people as leaders. There were far less flattering things said about being able to choose an elf or mage.
It was a very good thing the bulk of our people could not actually speak the Common tongue, one of the few times that particular piece of Orlesian social engineering by the nobles played out in our favour. Many Fereldans would likely have died by fusillade otherwise. The temptation to make an example of them was pretty weighty on my own shoulders, but I got through it by reminding myself that it wasn't my job or the right thing to do to punish people for their stupid prejudices. I had plenty of my own, once upon a time.
Regardless, the first public debate on the matter of leadership of Troy was scheduled for December 8th, a week before the vote. Two more would follow on the 10th and the 12th. All three had a theme of sorts, something Velarana had insisted on 'to avoid confusion and anarchy'. Something she was a fan of, evidently.
The first was to be what sort of country we intended to have. The election was choosing not only a government, but the people who would decide what kind of government we intended to have for years to come. They would only be empowered for a year, at which time we'd have another election. Some things were more or less locked in stone on this front already. The decisions under Free Orlais were considered to still stand, as were Julie's decrees. So, we'd have an Assembly and a High Chancellor elected by it to lead it. Pretty much everything else was up in the air.
The second was about the rest of Thedas. Our soon-to-be neighbours, the Chantry, the great powers, and the mother country; Orlais. What relationship did we want with the rest of the world? Ideally and practically. Velarana's insistence on having a separate debate seemed like a trap to me; Julie was bound to be put on the spot about what she planned. Most of the world had little doubt she would declare a crusade to liberate the Free Marches from its nobility. I wasn't so sure. Julie was a zealot, but she wasn't a fool.
The third debate was about what sort of economy we wanted, and that was a very serious question too. We were to settle on what was effectively virgin land, how would it be distributed? How would taxes be organised? My Earth books introduced the concept of different forms of currency, what sort of money would we use?
I was pretty sure what Julie wanted on this. She was a radical anti-monarchist, but she was no collectivist. On the other hand, Velarana was a complete enigma on the subject of money. She had never expressed any ideals publicly on the subject, and was pretty vague on the subject until the debates themselves. Lots of talk about good governance and improvement over what had come before, but very little talk of details.
The debates are very interesting history if you're into that sort of thing, though even those without such an interest need to know about them to understand just what we were building up from the ashes of our previous failure.
The debates were to be held in the main Chantry chapel, the building with the largest room available, with the added bonus of also having the best acoustics. People were randomly selected from the regiments, as our electoral districts were and continue to be called, to attend. As were the journalists, and an Army archiver. There are extensive, sometimes conflicting records of what happened at each event. I will recall my own version of what happened here, but perhaps more interesting to me at the time was something else.
December 8th was the day I found out exactly why Julie was a zealot.
The Chantry required extensive preparation for hosting the debate.
Our wounded had to be moved safely to Anora's Watch, into the ballroom there. That was an easy task. Markham had done his job to the best of his ability, there weren't many that needed constant care by this point in our occupation.
Sentries around the Chantry quarter had to be shifted to reflect the fact that thousands of our own people would be making their way to the place from the docks, and not in a trickle over time. No need to invite an attack during that particular procession.
Cannon positions had to be set up just in case there was an attempt to disrupt the democratic process by an undiscovered patriotic conspiracy, which never in fact emerged or existed in any real form, but one we had to be ready for just in case.
The lists of candidates had to be put up, as the deadline for standing for election had passed at midnight before. Half the presses in the city would be printing out ballot papers for the next week.
And lastly, a decent amount of firewood, food and drink had to be brought, because keeping the crowd comfortable and happy was part of my cunning plan to keep the whole political process civil. Last thing we needed was our own people battering each other over the head in front of the few Fereldans who would be attending.
I oversaw all of this in the morning from nearby the main doors of the Chantry, somewhat bored and more than a little cold, watching Templars, Hospitallers and Tranquil mill about, either on jobs or just loitering. The Amaranthine Chantry was considerably larger than the one in Hearth had been, and had more ornate stone carvings, but lacked the gilding that you saw in Orlesian chantries. Probably because the gold would have been stolen in some way if the Templars weren't on guard, which was a little too manpower intensive for them to bother with. Ferelden, what can I say.
Tam and Claire were keeping me company, Julie having volunteered to take care of Victoire and Patrice until the time came to go. Whether or not that betrayed nerves on her part has been speculated upon often, but I don't think she was worried at all. I think she just wanted a reminder of her motivations, at their core.
"Are those really necessary?" asked Claire, pointing at the cannons nearby being bagged down by Tranquil in fur coats.
"I hope not," I said, "But you know how it is, hope for the best, prepare for the worst."
"And those things firing on a crowd would definitely be the worst," Tam added. Very true, I thought.
Claire's eyes turned to the lists of the candidates beside us, hanging from the large double wooden doors. Her eyes scanned the list for her own name, drawing my own curiosity. She found it at the top of the Libertarian list for the 36th Reserve Regiment, which was in fact made up entirely of civilians. I came beside her and put my hand on her shoulder, trying to show my support.
"Thirty-three thousand voters, one hundred and sixty five seats, three to six seats per regiment," I said quietly, "You only need two hundred votes to win, and you're at the top of your regiment's list."
Being elected was different to what I was used to. It wasn't the system used in my homeland. You voted for a party list in your own regiment, and the percentages determined who got elected. Results were rounded up or down to give the best possible representation according to whoever had 'spare' votes. It was entirely alien to me, but one that Leha had come up with to keep things looking on the level.
If it had been done the way I was used to, the result wouldn't have reflected the true political feeling of the people out there... but it probably would have been more decisive. I suspect Leha was making sure that the Lucrosians didn't get cut out of power entirely. Maybe only one in twenty people would vote for her party, but there was no way in hell she would have got one in twenty of the seats if we had straight run-offs, most votes wins outright.
Claire sighed, and looked at me with wide eyes. "Winning is not what I'm worried about," she said, "I'm foster mother to my sister's children... but Julie is the elder sister, and I took that responsibility from her because I said involvement in politics was too dangerous. Yet here I am, competing for a place in that world..."
"You think you're putting the children in danger?" I asked, "I don't think only people without children should be willing to take that risk."
"That's the thing," Claire said, "I believe what Julie believes... I just don't have the fire that she seems to. There are days where she seems like she could burn down the world with her passion for these matters."
"As we are very well aware," Tam smiled from the side, "But the Libertarians need cooler heads also. That you have both a cool head and a familial relationship to the leader of the fraternity is doubly useful."
"You think I have a duty to run?" Claire asked, "I'm too young for this."
"Almost everyone in this army is young," I noted aloud, looking up at the sky to see if it would rain, "Well, young enough. I'm getting old."
Tam scoffed at that, which was probably the best I could hope for given that she was older than I was by an indeterminate but small number of years. The way Claire's face contorted every so slightly also told me she didn't agree either.
"Either way, decisions need to be made," I pressed on, "And by the best people. You're on that list because both your sister and your fraternity agree you're among the best. I think maybe you do have a duty, if only to make the best possible outcome for your niece and nephew."
Claire seemed more accepting of that line of argument, nodding once to herself and looking at the lists again.
I looked up and down them myself, having never really done so during the process of gathering them. I wondered who was running and for what faction. I quickly spotted Armen's name at the top of the list for the 1st Mage Regiment. Ciara was second on the Guard's list, right after Louise de Villars, and was probably the only elf on that list. Leha was on the Lucrosian list for the same regiment. At the top, naturally.
Velarana was at the top of the Aequitarian list for the Mage Regiment, in direct competition with Armen but very unlikely to miss out on a spot because of how politically divided that regiment was. Julie was at the top of the Libertarian list for the Rangers. Both leaders were sure of their place in the Assembly, in other words.
I could see why only the Libertarian and Aequitarian leaders would be in the debate at once; they were the only two fraternities that were running enough candidates to win anything like a majority. All those running in a regiment had to be from that regiment. I acknowledged this fact, my eyes still moving over the paper, when I spotted something very unusual.
Two electoral regiments had a Jaderite fraternity running in them and in no others... My mind immediately jumped, like I had found the smoking gun. More amusing was the fact that every single one of the candidates put forward for the seven seats seemed to be a woman.
"So that's what Fisher has been up to," I said to Tam, pointing, "Velarana must have offered something for those seats."
"It also appears he believes the place correct place for a woman is in the National Assembly," Tam remarked, squinting slightly at the list, "Just not on a ship."
Sailors' superstitions are particularly hard to break.
"He doesn't seem afraid of the contradiction," I agreed, "But you have to remember that all of the Jader men are in the Navy, they can't be on the list... unless they're noble, which none of them are. It seems Julie knows too, she's only got one candidate each for the Jaderite regiments."
"Do you believe that the Admiral was offered an alliance?" Tam asked.
"I think I gave him by accident what Velarana offered," I replied, "He wanted position, power... The Admiral's hat. Which is strange, because I don't know why he'd want it. All he wanted before was shelter for his people."
"Admirals don't go hungry," Tam remarked, turning away from the lists, "That's reason enough." Her use of the Orlesian term for an oceangoing commander rather than the Qunari term differentiated her conceptions of the rank accordingly.
"I think safety for his people is still what he wants," Claire said, "With his position, he can make sure his people have a place in the new order."
Both assessments weren't far off the mark, though they didn't exactly capture the scale of Fisher's ambition. Not by a long shot.
"Hopefully that's all he wants," I said. Before I could add anything further, movement in my peripheral vision had me looking to see what it was.
Grand-Cleric Brandon was rushing towards me from inside the Chantry, with a half down lay sisters in tow behind her, struggling to keep her hat on the top of her head and her robes in good order as she moved. She was too slightly small for them both, but she wasn't a large person by any means. Made up for it by being loud.
"Marquis, a word!" she called across, her voice carried by the stone of the building, "An urgent word!" She waved a piece of paper at me as if to get my attention.
I breathed out in exasperation. I wondered if it was because I had not been keeping up with my lessons on the Chant. Lana still came over at the appointed times to teach, but she always ended up just following me around as I did my own duties, sometimes cutting in with witty remarks or quotes from the Chant to back up my opinions or orders. It was cute as hell, but it wasn't exactly a lesson in Andraste's life and teachings.
"Grand-Cleric," I said politely with a smile, "What can I do for you?"
"Have you seen this?" Brandon panted, holding up the paper as she arrived beside us, "Did you approve of this? The criers are going around, spouting the same thing!"
Not appreciating her tone, I snatched the paper from her hand and opened it up. It was one of Julie's pamphlets. A freshly printed one by the smell of ink around it. Inside was a print of the Statue of Liberty with more Andrastian elements on her robe, and the words 'Freedom to Believe'. The flipside had a text in a smaller font, promoting religious freedom and separation of chantry and state, and at the bottom; "Vote Libertarian!" So, I had an answer for Brandon after all.
"No, I haven't seen this before," I said, "But yes, I do approve."
Brandon gasped in shock. "M-marquis, she says that the Chantry should have no official place," she stuttered, "Worse... the Black Divine... the Qun?! There's nothing to stop either of them from infecting our new city if the Chantry is not given pride of place! You must see the danger in that!"
Claire came up alongside me from behind, and the dear cleric blinked once, having not seen the sister of the woman she was criticising behind me before speaking.
"Grand-Cleric Brandon," said Claire sternly, "The Imperial Chantry holds slaves, and the Qun is not merely a faith, but a political doctrine of loyalty to the Qunari realm. Both are incompatible with our liberties. The Libertarians have no intention of pretending that either will be allowed to do whatever they wish. "
Very nice speech, but I detected that it must have been practiced. Scripted, even. Julie knew rightly that she couldn't piss off the Chantry types too much. I guessed right there and then that she had made sure every one of her candidates knew exactly what to say if challenged about religious freedom. In truth, it had been Armen's handiwork, him being far more familiar with the details of Chantry doctrines than Julie was.
The Grand-Cleric puffed up, not sure whether to take Claire's word on this. "So you can guarantee that the Qun and the False Chantry will not be present within our city?"
"No, we can't," I said, "The Qun doesn't announce itself, and I'm getting married to a Tevinter mage so that we can actually have a city, remember?"
Brandon's mouth curled in disgust. "Don't remind me, Marquis," she said, "I only thank the Maker that you are almost certainly immune to her spells. I hope you remain equally immune to her... feminine wiles."
I had to stop myself from pointing out that it was unlikely I would be immune to that, given my record on the matter. "So it's unavoidable that the Northern Chantry will have a presence," I continued, "Unless you'd rather stay here and conquer Ferelden?"
That drew another disgusted face from the cleric. "The Marquise is too bold," she said, "The Divine may not tolerate this."
"The Divine already tolerates a Circle that doesn't hold mages prisoner," I replied, "And I think she's going to have bigger problems soon enough."
"I would only pray that it is so, save for the damage that the Mage Rebellion could do if open warfare began," Brandon sighed, "For all our sakes, seek moderation. I would only ask that Julie refrain from doing anything that jeopardises our people."
"Your support is always appreciated," I said flatly, before changing my tone to one more respectful, "I'll pass your words on to Julie. I know she values your opinion. She might even do something about it. And please do pray, all the assistance we can get from the Maker is needed."
The cleric did not seem pleased, her mouth and nose wrinkled at the lack of customary immediate obedience. She was someone we didn't want as an enemy, but wanted even less as a master. She needed to conform to the new ways of doing things. Some might have called it foolish to simply deny her, but one has to remember that she endorsed me as a person chosen by the Maker. She couldn't have gone to any of the other factions without being called out by Julie for abandoning me. But it wasn't like I was comfortable leaving things like that either.
"I shall do as you ask, Marquis," Brandon said, inclining her head and making to go, "Excuse me."
"Grand-Cleric... Heloise, please," I said carefully, "Just talk to Julie about it. I'm sure there's something she can do. She won't give up these ideas, but she is still one of Andraste's flock. I'm sure she'd have no problem saying so to anyone and everyone. It's Chantry policy she disagrees with, not the theology."
Brandon actually broke out in a smile. "Marquis, you always know what to say," she said, "Your influence will be required in the days to come, in the likely event of the Marquise's victory. As I said, I will do as you ask." She left at a much more relaxed pace than she had arrived, moving off towards the local Revered Mother, Cooper I think her name was, who had been left waiting at the main Chanters' rostra at the back of the main hall.
"Julie's going all out," I said, waving the pamphlet about, "Not giving an inch in case the Chantry or others take a mile from the Aequitarians."
"It seems like a dangerous strategy," Tam said, "The majority believes as she does, that is certain. But can she convince them that the world will not try and destroy us for acting on those beliefs?"
"She'll try," Claire said, with absolute certainty, "Even if she thinks she would fail, she has to try."
"Why?" Tam asked, "As I understand it, she was this way before Sam came with his books. How did she become what she was? She is always vague about her motivations on this. It is a blind spot that I do not like."
Claire looked first at the ground, staring for nearly a minute, kneading her palms.
Tam and I exchanged a glance. We knew at once there was something that Julie hadn't told us. Claire finally met our Qunari lover with sad eyes. "She hasn't told you?"
"Told us what?" I asked.
"I can't believe it!" Claire half-shouted, "She's been going around all this time, and you don't even know!" She rubbed her face, as if trying to physically get the frustration out of her head.
Tam took her hand. "Then tell us," she said, "If it is that important."
"I'm not sure it is," Claire replied, "Do you know what she was doing before you arrived?"
It seemed like an obvious question to me. "Blacksmithing?" I said.
Claire shook her head. "No," she said, "Well, yes, but that wasn't all. She struck at the chevaliers however she could. Robbery, arson, trading information..."
"That sounds more like Leha," Tam thought aloud. It absolutely did, because there was money to be made in such things. Even arson let you rob the place while people were trying to put out the fires, a problem we've had before ourselves.
"Leha was the one who encouraged her to do it," Claire said, "She was in the Carta, you know?"
"Oh, we know," I said, "All too well."
"I should get to the real story," she continued, flustered, "You know that two years before you arrived, there was a war?"
"Yes," I replied. Not mentioning what I knew about it, because it was the war that the man who was Julie's stepfather and Claire's father had died in.
"The war was short but brutal," Claire said, "At one point, the Baron departed from Hearth on campaign. The chevaliers loyal to the lords of the Emprise were waiting for that in the woods nearby, and they made a surprise attack on the city."
Which likely would have been stripped of anything resembling professional soldiery.
"Shit," I exclaimed, "Did everyone get behind the walls in time?" I was thinking of the Smith Quarter, where Julie must have lived at that time, protected only by a wooden palisade.
"No, and worse, the chevaliers got inside the walls," Claire continued, "They were there to embarrass the Baron, make it look like he was weak. So they burned, looted and raped, killing only those that resisted. The town guards put up a fight, but they were fighting chevaliers..."
I felt my insides go cold at the thought.
"The fucking Great Game," Tam growled, letting loose a rare curse.
"Oh Claire," I said, "Don't tell me she … or you were..."
"No! We weren't," she said, "Thank the Maker. But it was a close thing. Three chevaliers got inside our house... it was only Elodie and I there at the time. They tore off our clothes to... you know. Julie burst into the room with her warhammer from the courtyard."
Claire audibly sucked in a breath, steeling herself. "They threatened us if she didn't put her weapon down, take down her clothes and go down on all fours beside us. She complied, and they got undressed. My father and a dwarf I had never met before came in through the side. They killed the first with a sword from behind as he was undoing his breeches..."
"You don't need to give me the details," I said, "I think we get the idea. The bastards got killed." Not even a chevalier can adequately defend himself when his breeches are down around his ankles.
Claire nodded, thankfully. "The dwarf was Leha, whom had stumbled into our courtyard looking to shelter from the fighting just as Father came in looking for us," she said, "Together, we managed to get the house locked up, but all we could hear were screams and shouts for hours. The Baron returned later the same day, a bridge had collapsed, stopping him from getting too far to help. The other chevaliers fled as soon as he was spotted, their job done."
"Hopefully most of them died at Sahrnia," I growled, "Never more glad we won that battle."
"Most of them died at the siege of Valreal a few months later," Claire said, "The Baron and his allies chased after the chevaliers and laid siege to the keep they fled to. My father died there, overseeing the siege engines. The war ended with the Baron's victory there..."
"I'm sorry," I said, "I can see why that would make Julie hate chevaliers and nobles, but..."
"She doesn't forget anything she sees," Claire said, "So she can remember those chevaliers, pinning Elodie and I to the ground, our clothes torn off, their blades at our throats, being told to get dressed and down on her hands and knees... all in detail."
"You can't forgive if you can't forget," said Tam, her voice wavering.
I practically choked on that realisation. "Jesus Christ," I said, "That's terrible."
It made me feel like a complete asshole for ever opposing her plans for revolution, or at least for doing so in the way that I had. Some might think that it was Julie's fault for not explaining this to us, but such traumatic events are never easy to share. I myself have seen things on Earth and on Thedas I have no intention of sharing, at least not in person. Writing about them seems to help, rather than hurt.
"She vowed revenge," Claire continued, "After my father died. If Leha hadn't been around, maybe she would have settled down, but the dwarf was there. She said the best place to hit nobles was in their coinpurse and their reputation."
Another thing clicked in my head. "How Julie met Pierre... the baron, she snuck into a party..." I recalled, "She was trying to steal from him or get information she could use against him."
Claire nodded. "She partially blamed him for what had happened," she explained, "Not directly, of course. But once she had met him, got close to him with the goal of bringing him down, she eventually forgave him and counted him as an ally. She realised that it was stupid to blame absolutely all nobles as individuals. In fact, they worked closely together on some things, against particularly egregious chevaliers that happened to be the Baron's enemies."
Another piece of the puzzle. Why had Pierre been so quick to give me a piece of land and an Orlesian title, albeit the lowest in existence? Despite his obvious sexual jealousy? He trusted Julie and Leha's word on matters of state implicitly. I was presented as an asset, that much was clear from before. I just thought he had been taking a massive chance on me, but it appears he had trusted Julie from the start more than I knew.
The Game's many layers were still opaque to me.
"Julie worked with anyone she could to fight back," Claire said, "Some Carta, prostitutes that chevaliers liked, toughs who could tell her what was going on up and down the Elfsblood... She was a Red Jenny for a while, but they didn't want to stir things up like she did." Carta like Leha, prostitutes like Soprano and toughs like McNulty.
"Red Jenny?" Tam asked, "What?"
"It's hard to explain," Claire said, "They help ordinary people in however small ways they can. Everything from playing pranks on nobles to stealing things or killing dangerous people."
"So Julie was a prankster, spy and an assassin?" I asked, "I find that hard to believe."
An image entered my head of her placing a whoopee cushion on Gaspard's throne just before he sat down, followed by her stealing his war plans as the entire Orlesian court gasped in horror, and executing him with a Beretta to the sound of cheers of elves. I almost broke out laughing at the Looney Tunes absurdity of it all.
"No, not really," Claire said, "She was just a blacksmith almost every day. She had to take care of us, remember? On the other days, she and Leha were thieves, stealing what they could. She had to get enough for good clothes, smithing materials, not to mention dowries large enough for Elodie and I to marry good men..."
There's just not enough time in the world for revolution when you're a working person, something the socialists of Earth probably lament. Which is why they were all upper middle class intellectuals.
The reminder that Claire was in fact married made me think to ask about her husband, Yves Maçon, but I thought better of getting off the main point. I hadn't seen him around in a while. Maybe there was a good reason for that.
"But she either stole a little too much or was identified," I concluded, "So the chevaliers came to collect taxes on her, knowing they'd be able to lock her up for it."
"Julie met you in prison because she was a Libertarian all along," Tam said, "I'm beginning to see why she believes the Maker sent you to us."
I waved that off. "The magical immunity certainly helped," I said flatly.
"That's the story," Claire said, "Do you see now why she'll never back down?"
I did. "She has every motivation in the world, thanks to her memories," I said, "And won't betray the memory of her step-father, who died trying to get revenge."
"With the assassins' work on top," Tam added, referring to the killings of much of the leadership of Free Orlais just before the Halamshiral Campaign.
"I think the only reason you were so successful is because of what those chevaliers did," Claire said, "Hearth remembered who they were, their noble blood."
"How come I've never heard this story before?" I asked, "From someone else?"
"The Baron was ashamed of it, and forbade any mention of it," Claire said, "And no one in Hearth wanted to remember, because there was nothing we could do."
"Understandable," Tam said, "Though she should have told us. Such a thing would have helped us understand her better."
"She knew you would have loved her any way," Claire smiled, "And didn't want to trouble you with the thought."
"Well, I'm damn troubled now!" I said, "I'm sorry you had to recount all that to us. Those aren't happy memories."
"I'm luckier than some," Claire said.
"I need to see Julie," Tam declared, "Now." The look of sympathetic agony on her face was a sight to behold. She quickly gave me a kiss, before running to Fritz. She mounted up, getting a snort from the horse for good measure, shouting for the Tranquil in her way to move it. They complied, and she rode off in the direction of Anora's Watch down the main avenue of the quarter.
"That's Tam for you," I said to Claire, "Always worrying."
"That's why you both love her," Claire replied, "Strange as it is."
"True," I said, "I guess all I can say now is that I hope Julie can convince people. I don't know what Velarana wants, and we've been here three weeks. That tells me it can't be good."
Claire looked up at the lists again, away from my gaze. "We're going to try," she said, "I was there that night too."
The first debate was to start at noon, but it took a little longer to get everyone settled than expected. Soon, the Chantry was filled with our people, a mix of Orlesian masks, helmeted heads and chattering faces staring forwards. The front row given over to desks for those recording the event and the few Fereldan guests; Arlessa Andras (wearing a flattering noble's dress that sent my eyes boggling), Warden Hawke, and Bann Howe.
There was barely room to move about in any direction, and the temperature of the bodies present spread into the air. Thankfully, the probable accompanying smells that effect usually creates were did not follow, the chandeliers that lit the hall also had incense slowly burning from them, the smoke drifting down and creating a foggy effect that was picked up by the candlelight.
Julie and Velarana stood some distance apart to the sides of the rostra, in front of two varnished lecterns that were usually used by the Chanters of the chapel. Julie had opted for the uniform of the British Army, desert-pattern fatigues complete with beret and jacket.
A reminder of just who had the Outlander wrapped around her finger? I liked the choice, if only because they emphasized Julie's natural attributes better than the puffy Orlesian dress she had worn on other political occasions.
Velarana stuck with the tried and true robes of an Aequitarian mage, dark coloured and flowing, the Chantry's Sunburst in light grey on the front of them.
The referee or moderator of the debate sat centrally behind them at a table, where he could be both seen and heard. The flag of Free Orlais was draped across its front. With him was Grand-Cleric Brandon, whom had insisted on assisting.
The referee was Baron des Arbes' old seneschal, Robert Clermont, who was still technically the highest judicial authority we had. Seneschals were more or less the equivalent of magistrates or district court judges, to use two analogies from two worlds, as well as administrators and chief heralds. He was wearing black satin with a white neck ruffle and an embroidered golden lion over his heart, more or less the uniform of his office.
He was Cecile des Arbes' former tutor, the man who had gotten her into legal practise, and had subsequently been inducted into the Orlesian nobility as a baronet when she married Pierre. A serious man, and never hesitated to point out that our rank in the Empire were the same; my title of Marquis was not formally recognised in the hierarchy even if it was socially recognised by all. We were both baronets according to the Council of Heralds, the civilian equivalent of chevaliers or knights.
I stood up against a wall near the front, leaning against a stone statue of Andraste herself. Tam and my other companions were with me, fully armed to dissuade any ideas about turning the event into a riot. Claire was on my other side. We were by a wall on Julie's side of the building.
On the other side, Velarana had a squad of knight-enchanters in padded armour, the hilts of their spirit blades tactfully kept out of display. I had given them a wave of my firelance, half in jest, half in warning to not go along with any bad ideas.
Needless to say, there was that sort of tension in the air.
McNulty and a platoon of Grenadiers were stationed at the main doors at the rear, where the electoral lists were. When the time came, they closed the doors and a nod from Brandon sent a lay sister pulling on a long, thick cord. The bells of the chapel rang out, deafening me and everyone else present, but announcing the end of chitchat and the beginning of the debate.
Clermont stood up, ran his hand through his grey black hair, and started things off.
"Welcome, citizens, to the first of three clashes," he intoned gravely, "In the war of words, the victor of which shall become our leader and High Chancellor. Today, the subject of battle is the Constitution. How will we organise ourselves? Who shall make the decisions that affect the very lives of all of you and your families? Who do we count among our number and who do we count as strangers to our law? What of the nobles and the commons? These are the fields to be fought over today."
I rolled my eyes. The man always was verbose.
"First, we begin with what our two candidates share," the seneschal continued, "No matter our political differences, we have far more in common."
Clermont launched into a statement agreed upon by both Julie and Velarana on the things neither wished to see change, taking about twenty minutes. Probably ten minutes longer than was absolutely necessary.
In no particular order... Both wanted to see the Assembly kept as the most powerful lawmaking body. There were no plans to change the status of the Army or its command, i.e. they were both content to let me get on with that job. They both agreed that judges had to be separate. Plans for a Cabinet appointed by the High Chancellor to take care of specific responsibilities, rather than the mishmash of semi-official military posts that had been taking care of them before.
The right of the Assembly to declare war, establish commerce, conclude peace, the right of the Government chosen by the High Chancellor to conduct diplomacy and war as best required. The creation of an Office of the Auditor-General to oversee the spending of public money. The enumeration of a declaration of rights, superior to all other law.
All very important, very thick subjects of varying levels of interest, made excruciatingly boring by Clermont. By the end of it, I swear I almost needed to shoot off a couple of rounds into the ceiling to get the crowd to stop talking quietly among themselves. I was more tempted to put them into our dear referee for making such a thing necessary. He was used to playing to a far higher brow crowd, and needed to move along with it.
I'm pretty sure Julie and Velarana agreed on all that simply to avoid boring the hell out of the electorate.
"The two candidates will make opening statements," Clermont boomed, with a wave of his hand, "The opening salvoes. As precedence dictates, the Marquise de la Fayette shall speak first, in accordance with both her rank and her position as our incumbent leader. Marquis?"
Julie gave Tam and I a suggestive wink. Clermont got a short bow of the head, before she turned towards the crowd.
"My first point has been made for me," she started, "Think about what Lord Clermont just said. I have the privilege of speaking first, before Madame Velarana, because I am a noble. Thanks to my marriage to General Hunt, I am better than her according to the law. But am I? This is what I rose up against. This is what all of you rose up against, when you joined with me in facing down those that would throw you to the dirt and put their boots on your necks."
Julie pointed to Tam and I. "Am I better than any of you because I love that man?" she said, "Would I be any less if I only loved that woman? The answer is no on both counts. Rank should be based on merit, not on who your father and mother are or who you are married to."
"If the Libertarians win this vote, if I am re-elected as High Chancellor, I will make this a reality," she said, "The people will rule through their own representatives, in their own name and in no one else's. Anyone who wants to join us and is willing to swear fealty will be welcomed, just as anyone who opposes us by violence shall receive it in kind. Those with noble titles will lose all privileges, except for the right to call themselves by those titles to honour their ancestors as equal citizens. Lives and property will be respected. People will be judged by their works, not their bloodlines."
A round of applause rocked the hall, causing me to shift against the wall. I hadn't expected it, but I should have. I had grown too used to seeing elves and had forgotten that they had been judged by their bloodlines for centuries, millennia even. And although the exact proportion was never really established, at least three out of every five of our citizens was an elf.
Besides that, the human merchants and skilled labourers had no shortage of anger about the fact that they were considered lesser than nobles whom mostly sat about on their asses. They made up the bulk of the remaining citizenry.
Armen gave me a grin as the cacophony continued. "We're going to win," he mouthed happily, unable to make himself heard. I simply shrugged and looked on.
Julie raised her hand, getting the silence she requested after a while.
"Our Marquis' homeland was a republic," she concluded, "A land where the res publica, the public business, was in the hands of everyone who lived in it and swore allegiance. A land for the people, not for nobles or for kings!"
Another, more restrained round of applause, but nonetheless enthusiastic. Julie was finished, and took her hands off the lectern and crossed them in front of her to show as much, shooting a look at Velarana. The Aequitarian pushed a blonde curl of her hair out of her face and looked straight ahead, contriving to look as unperturbed by the display of support as possible. She should have grinned, I thought. Grinning in the face of the enemy always is more unnerving to them than pretending to be unimpressed.
Clermont stood up again, managing to get the crowd to quiet down with greater success than before. "Madame Velarana, the floor is yours."
The Aequitarian leader smoothed down the front of her robes.
"Today I will ask you all to consider two questions on these issues, when deciding on which way to vote. The first is this; if rule by the people alone is so natural, as the Marquise believes, why is the world ruled by empresses, kings, archons and grand-dukes? Where are the lands of freedom? Not even Ferelden is truly ruled by its people, despite the bold proclamations of its Landsmeet."
Velarana turned her cool gaze on Julie. "The Lady Marquise is fond of pointing to the Marquis, and saying 'Look, here is a man from another world where these things are possible.' He is indeed from such a world. Yet we do not live in that world, we live here and now. We must ask ourselves why a nation like ours has never existed before."
"The answers to these questions represent a harsh reality, for I too believe in the things we have fought for together," she continued, "The truth is that people are not compelled to act for the good of the many rather than the good of the few. Naturally, this causes competition. Competition can be good, strengthening a realm. It can also be devastating, as we saw in the mother country. Even now, Orlesians kill Orlesians in a competition for the throne, benefiting no one but those who might sit on it."
"There is also the question of foreign opinion to consider," Velarana said, waving vaguely at the Fereldan section of the audience, "If we throw away absolutely everything that is familiar to nobles across Thedas, they will fear their own people doing the same to them, and they will try to destroy us before that can happen."
"If we want to save ourselves from faction-fighting and from invasion," Velarana said, "If we want peace, we must compromise. We must maintain the ceremonial position of the nobility, as we did in Free Orlais, and we must choose a noble to act as our face to the world, as we also did before our exile."
That sent me into a mild panic. The noble they had chosen for that last job had been me. The allegedly prophetic Fade dream I had came screaming to the front of my mind once more. "Your children shall wear crowns" sayeth the spirit. "Piss off" sayeth Sam the Tyrant.
"This does not mean throwing away anything we have fought for until now," Velarana said, soothing any possible objections, "Our laws will still be made by your representatives, and will still apply to all equally. But it will protect us from starting wars we should avoid. "
"The second question I ask you to consider is whether or not we can afford to go to war? Once we arrive, once we establish our city in Val Halla, we will be the smallest realm in the Free Marches. There will be towns under the sway of other realms with more people than we have. We will require time to build ourselves up, to populate our city. We cannot take the chance that the world will simply let us be if we do not act with caution. There is safety in the familiar, do not reject that. Our luck can run out, we must be prudent."
The crowd broke into murmurs, verbal consideration of what they had just heard.
"Nor is the external threat is not the only one that could cause war," Velarana interrupted, "In order to maintain the unity of our society, we must maintain the Orlesian character of our nation. No one should forget that it was in Orlais that our new liberties were born. Many of you have families and friends whom would now gladly join us, if only to avoid the brutality of civil war. I say that these willing men and women are also entitled to join our project, and should be given pride of place before those whom have no connection to our movement."
That really got my attention, my eyes narrowing as I registered what she was doing. Appealing to the Orlesian sense of superiority, or at least the sense of otherness from the rest of Thedas, that even elven peasants held to be absolute fact. Even Julie held to that, but she viewed it as hypocritical to deny a person the right to join that exclusive club. Velarana evidently did not.
"A vote for the Aequitarians is a vote for peace. Peace between nobles and commoners under the same laws. Peace through a common language and traditions. And peace with our new neighbours through tolerance for their own traditions. A peace that will bring prosperity to all. Thank you."
Velarana folded her hands over each other on the wood in front of her, as the crowd gave polite, considered applause. More than they would have if they were doing only to be polite. The strategem at work was simply to undermine Julie's radicalism. It appeared to be going as planned, but how far? We wouldn't find out until election day. I rubbed my neck, worried about just that.
The thing about secret ballots; quiet people get as much of a voice as loud people.
For her part, Julie seemed cool as a cucumber. She regarded the crowd with a neutral, examining eye. It wasn't as if these arguments were unknown to her. I couldn't help but compare the language used by Velarana to Julie's own. It was simultaneously more cerebral and more vague. Julie used clear cut words that anyone could understand.
Clermont rose from his seat once more. "Now begins the rebuttal," he said, "The verbal fencing between the two candidates, to test the mettle of their ideas and oratory. As before, the Marquise de la Fayette has precedence."
Julie looked across at Velarana, with a fire in her eyes that betrayed her complete enjoyment of what was about to occur.
"Madame, did nobility help us before?" she asked, "Were our nobles not in fact killed? To make our reforms seem like the work of peasants alone, so our movement could be destroyed?"
The Aequitarian kept her eyes on the crowd.
"Lady Hunt, the nobles, whom died for our liberties, did in fact help," Velarana said, "Their support kept the Chantry at bay, something very important to we mages in particular. They also kept the armies of the Crown away too. Whoever assassinated the nobles, along with your own sister, used that method because they knew that they did not have the power to raise an army capable of defeating us. In fact, if they had tried, still more nobles would have joined our cause, bringing their vassals with them."
This implies that the Day of the Long Knives had not been the work of Celene, trying to preserve the unity of her empire through murder. It wasn't certain by any means, though there are arguments for the view too, strong ones. Such as the Empress not being so naïve to think that a couple of assassinations could crush a revolution.
At this point, Velarana shot Julie a surprisingly poisonous look, that sent my blood to boil when the accompanying words were spoken.
"We made the mistake of declaring war ourselves," she said, "Rather than consolidating our position against the undoubtedly inadequate forces that would have been sent against us, and simply acting to get the refugees out of Halamshiral and Jader. We provoked the deployment of far greater forces by going on the offensive. We must learn from that error, and with haste!"
A harsh criticism of what had happened to my mind. That we had any real choice in adopting an offensive strategy is simply incorrect. Eventually, overwhelming force would have been brought to bear on us by the Crown. We needed to take the fight out into the rest of the Empire to prevent it. It was a spectacular risk, but one we weren't entirely unprepared for and the alternative was certain defeat after a long grinding campaign amongst our own home territories. I'm sure we could have fled to the Grand-Collines, the hills of the De Villars being very defensible, but what sort of life would we have lead there?
"Our only mistake was marching on Lydes!" Julie said, "And the proof is that we won a great victory afterwards at Vindargent. It was numbers that beat us, not skill. Numbers would have come regardless. You have admitted that nobles leading us didn't prevent prevent others from sending assassins. Assassins roaming the land, killing who they want, is that peace?"
"Is it peace to declare war on the entire world?" Velarana shot back, "That is what you will accomplish by creating a place where nothing familiar exists. All you need do to know that is look at the Qun. The Qunari could have conquered the world by now, if they had only shaped their rule to suit those they intend to rule over. Instead, they united the world against them by opposing both Chantry and nobility, which is exactly what you intend. I respect the ideals, and perhaps one day the world will accept them, but not today."
"A point of order!" Clermont interrupted, "Both candidates will refrain from discussing matters of explicitly foreign reaction, which is the subject of the next debate."
"Then I shall ask this of the Marquise," Velarana said, holding up a pointed finger, "Does she believe that abolishing nobility will accomplish anything? Does she not realise that by doing so instead of blood, nobility will be decided by gold and silver? That all obligations of the great towards the many will be rendered obsolete?"
"The most important thing about gold and silver," Julie replied, "Is that it doesn't care who you are. Who your father is, whether you're an elf, human, dwarf or qunari... It can be earned by anyone, if they know what they're doing and are willing to work for it. You cannot say the same for nobility. Besides, in Orlais, you can buy titles if you are rich enough, so surely gold and silver already plays some role?
"All the more reason to maintain nobility," Velarana said, "What will happen when it is the rich who rule over the poor? Is that a recipe for peace either? Nobility the responsibility to defend the realm and its values. Nobles that fail to defend this... republic, can have their titles stripped from them by the Assembly. I pledge as much. We must encourage those of noble blood to see the wisdom of our policies, because through them, we can spread our ideals without the need for wars or bloodshed of any kind. Which in turn makes us safer."
"Or you'll weaken the basis of our revolution," Julie said, "By bowing to the demands of nobility, by refusing to accept anyone who would embrace this way of life. And the day will come when we find ourselves ruled by uncaring nobles once more."
"That is speculation," said Velarana, "Nothing more."
"And you would turn away good men and women for the simple fact they were not born in Orlais?" Julie continued, "Even if they adopt our values and language?"
"No, I would prefer those that already share those values and language," Velarana replied, "Of whom there are millions in Orlais, facing down the prospect of a civil war lasting Maker only knows how long."
"We do not have the luxury of being picky, Madame," Julie said, "The reliable way to grow our movement and increase our security is not through the nobles, but through commoners from all the cities of the Marchers as well as volunteers from Orlais. Let them bring their skills to profit from our liberty, and we will benefit in turn."
"And among them will be the assassins you have already mentioned," Velarana said, "Not to mention the spies of the nobles, whom seeing nothing but death at the hands of a revolutionary army, will try everything to undermine us. The Crows of Antiva, the Coterie of Kirkwall, the secret forces of Starkhaven, all of them will look upon such openness as an opportunity to stab us in the back. For coin, for their liege lords, or for both."
So that's how it went.
Julie arguing in favour of a liberal republic that accepted people from more or less all backgrounds as long as they accepted the central values of the realm. Velarana arguing that the nobility were more useful in place than abolished as a class, that Orlesians ought to form the core of the population, and always referring her points back to her central goal; peace, both civil and military.
The arguments weaved around each other more or less in a circular manner, until Clermont finally put an end to it and adjourned the debates until the next session.
The candidates and their entourages were allowed to leave first. Again in order of precedence. Julie and Armen led the rest of us out, the Grenadiers in tow, to the horses. The clouds were looking angry now, presaging a nasty downpour. Yet it didn't dampen Julie's mood.
"We won," Julie said, turning Revas about as I mounted Bellona, "I'm sure of it."
Truth be told, so was I. The great bulk of the Army had signed on to fight for their own freedoms, not the privileges of nobles. Velarana had more or less said that those privileges had to be tolerated for the sake of peace. I'm not sure many believed that.
But I was also sure that Velarana had nonetheless done the damage she aimed to in the first debate; associate Julie's program for our country with war.
"It was only the first round," Armen warned, "And I'm going to make sure that we did win. We need to pre-empt this war talk, I don't like what our opponent is laying out with it." He had come to much the same conclusion as I had.
"Good idea," Julie replied, "Bring De Villars." Referring to Blondie the Slightly Elder, rather than Mariette.
Armen flashed a grin and moved his horse off at a trot towards the docks. Ciara fell in behind him. The pair weaved between the checkpoint barriers and cannon with great ease, the Tranquil watching them with neutral expressions.
"How did you get the Baroness to agree to run for you?" Leha asked Julie, as we watched the two elves ride away. Louise de Villars had been more closely associated with the Lucrosians, like most of the nobles. But she would likely fall on her sword before supporting an elf mage without credentials for High Chancellor, never mind a non-Orlesian like Leha.
My lover smirked. "A new order of chevaliers," Julie replied, "Within the Army alone. With her as its Grand Master."
"Nice bribe," Leha snorted.
"Noblesse sans noblesse," Julie agreed, "The Army is not a democracy, nor can it be. What harm is there in titles there?"
I spread my hands, reins over my thumbs, impressed with her craftiness. "No harm at all," I said, "Obedience to officers is required either way. Fisher will probably want an order of nobility too."
"Monsieur Pecheur peut avoir un ordre de noblesse, gratuit," Julie said, imitating the sailor's gruff accent, "Mais il n'y aura pas des femmes aux rangs!"
We all laughed, as it was a good impression, except for Claire. A guilty conscience was weighing on her. Julie noticed the lack of mirth, came alongside her. The younger sister seemed to wither under the stare of her sister. "You're quiet," she said, "Why?"
Claire fidgeted with the reins of her horse, then looked her sister dead in the eyes. "I told them," she said.
Julie shifted in the saddle, her lips tightened. She knew without further explanation as to exactly what had been said. "Ah. I see," she said.
She was still for just a moment before she turned to Tam and I. "Now you know I'm following in my step-father's footsteps."
I remained completely quiet, half out of approval for her instinct and half out of a lack of anything to say to that.
Tam had noted the wording Julie used, however. "Is that what you are doing?" she asked, "Just following your father? I would have thought it was personal. It would be for me, if the same thing had happened." I certainly believed her words. The image of her killing the man who was in charge of our imprisonment in Halamshiral came to my mind unbidden, the long upward stroke of her curved dagger in his chest in particular. And that was for a mere threat of a personal assault, not any overt act.
"It is personal," said Julie calmly, "But it was for my step-father too. Both of us came to the conclusion that the nobles could all go to the Void. He died trying to make them pay."
"You're not angry?" Claire asked.
"No," Julie said, "I didn't tell because I didn't want them to see the scene I do in their dreams. Or for them to hesitate to come to me to fulfil their desires."
"You should have told us," I said, getting a little angry at her dismissive tone, "We aren't so weak or stupid that we'd shun you for a thing like this."
"And you should know that," Tam added coolly.
Julie hung her head. "I do know it," she said, "But there's this fear inside me that I can't get rid of... it overwhelmed me whenever I thought of telling you. I'm sorry."
My anger fizzled away, not really being stoked up that high to begin with. "You don't need to apologise," I said, "It just screws with my head when you keep secrets. We always end up finding out too. Remember the firelances?"
Julie nodded, green eyes slightly tearful.
"We don't need protection from your past," Tam said, "You can expose yourself to us, and we'll protect you."
Julie nodded again, more rapidly this time.
"Well then, Boudica," I said, stretching my arms, "Let's get back to the castle. I'm starving."
Julie laughed, and brought Revas alongside Bellona. "So am I," she said, "And nothing makes a victory meal taste better than a few glasses of wine."
Leha grunted loudly, muttering about her own involuntary abstention over the sound Claire's soft sigh. I thought it was a decent idea to round out the day. So did Tam, showing it by moving Fritz ahead of the group. She had a Warden's appetite now, after all.
We raced back to Anora's Watch.
The next debate two days later, the one about our relations with the rest of the world, was far less formal.
That was a product of the weather more than anything else. The streets of Amaranthine were lashed with heavy rain, so heavy that it put our military drilling on hold and had us desperately patching the roofing of the warehouses where most of our own people were quartered. When everyone finally reconvened in the Chantry, the mood was not permissive towards lengthy opening speeches. The scent of damp clothes could be smelled through the incense, and with it, a certain sense of discontent.
The first debate had been far less conclusive than Julie had hoped, even if there was general agreement that she had won. There was no great love of nobility among the soldiers, and if anything they were simply tolerated by the merchants as a necessary evil. Naturally, Julie had come out on top because of that, but it was far from enough, especially with Velarana's explicit warnings of war.
People were undecided, and needed more to make up their minds. And they were getting impatient. Perhaps even violently, had it not been for the weather.
Clermont stood up, made the introduction in less than five minutes, and sat down again. It wasn't that he read the crowd, it's that he was utterly miserable in his black judicial cloak as he had made the mistake of wearing it on the way to the Chantry and it had soaked in the water more than most.
It was thought that Julie had a disadvantage on the topic of the day, so she ceded her right of precedence in order to let Velarana present a target for her to hit.
The Aequitarian had no problem with playing along.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I have but one objective where our relations with foreign powers is concerned," Velarana declared, "If you haven't heard what it is from the criers and pamphlets yet, not to mention the last debate, allow me to spell it out in a single word: Peace."
She stopped to let that settle, for a few heartbeats.
"Everyone in this room has a lost a home to war," she said, "The natives of Hearth have lost their ancestral birthplace to fire. Perhaps others have too by now, thanks to Celene or Gaspard's forces. The Templars, the lay sisters and our clerics have no idea if they have been condemned as heretics for staying with us in this time of trial. The Avvars follow us because we defeated them in battle, and will go boldly where they have never gone before to follow the Marquis. And we mages have lost a sanctuary the likes of which the South has not seen since before Andraste."
"It was war that took these things from us," Velarana said, "Regardless of whether or not it was an inevitable war, war is responsible for this loss that I know many of you feel deeply. We have made it this far, but so much could happen. As soon as our feet touch Marcher soil, we will be tested and examined by many powers that could do us harm. We must rise to these tests, but we must not be needlessly provocative."
Julie's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. No doubt she was restraining the impulse to scream "Our very existence is provocation!" or something along those lines. I was half tempted to interrupt myself, but I'm glad I didn't in light of where the Aequitarian was taking the conversation.
"My plans to keep the peace are threefold," Velarana said with a smile.
"The first is to square our new liberties with the common traditions of all the civilised nations of Thedas. The nobility should not lose their rank, merely their immunity to the law. The Templars, whom the Marquise placed under the Army, should have their independence returned so that mages are also subject to the law as equals. We should not declare war on any realm that does not do us harm. And most importantly, we must choose a noble as our symbolic sovereign and supreme commander, so that our unique liberty can be preserved and the threat it poses to the rest of the world reduced."
I detected the distinct knowledge of Earth's political systems peeked out of that last line. But what sort of sovereign did she have in mind? England's model? The French under Napoleon or the Orléanists? Or, most ominously, Prussia? I should have been thinking about who she might actually want on this throne she intended to raise, as Julie and Armen were at that very moment. My previous academic study of history threw me off that scent.
My internal musings ended when I saw the glow of approval in Grand-Cleric Brandon's eyes. The Templars coming back to her control was something she dearly desired, after all. She didn't pursue it out of respect for me, but it was well known that she held
"The second part is to encourage trade in every way we can," Velarana continued, "We have to create a space in which all real obstacles to commerce are eliminated, the elimination of which will be paid for by the gold of commerce itself and the sweat of our citizens' own exertions. We must have good roads, safe seas and streets, laws that enforce contracts and agreements, and an end to bribery and other forms of corruption that have sapped the strength of our mother country. By doing so, we make ourselves too valuable to foreigners for them to consider destroying us."
All of which sounded great, but who would pay for it? Velarana had the answer to that too, though it wouldn't be revealed until the final round of the three debates.
"The third and final way to guarantee the peace is through strength," Velarana said, "I'm sure the Marquise will be eager to paint me as weak on the defence of our rights and persons from foreign invasion. I want you to know that a vote for the Aequitarians is not a vote for subjugation by foreign powers. To maximise our strength, our army and navy must be given the highest priority. Every citizen must contribute towards it."
Here we go, I thought, the pre-emptive counterstroke to Julie's accusation of weakness.
"Wars are won not only with weapons, but with soldiers and gold," the Aequitarian stated, "Under my plan, every adult will be part of the National Guard, given a weapon to be kept at a local armoury of the Army. In times of war, all will be paid, but in times of peace, soldiers will be allowed to work and earn their own money for six days out of the week. The seventh day will be for training, both of body and mind, as well as necessary work to build up our new city. Meanwhile, our borders will be kept safe by Peacekeeper Brigades and the Navy, who will remain professional soldiers."
Having heard that logic before, I grimaced. Her plan was to partially demobilise two thirds of the Army. I had to give her credit, it was a bold move. Freed up lots of money for other things, not to mention skilled labour, while increasing the numbers on paper of our combatants to include every breathing adult. The problem is that she was essentially proposing conscription. Levée en masse, as we call it.
While the idea was familiar to everyone, peasants had to work the corvée in Orlais and were pressganged into war service all the time, she hadn't grasped the concept that a fully professional army is better than a conscript one. It has a greater sense of élan, better unit cohesion, it's more effective at using its weapons, and its discipline both on and off the battlefield are far better. Our Army had committed no major atrocities despite taking many enemy towns and villages in part because of the latter fact.
Velarana was gambling that our weapons and a professional core alone would be more than enough to defeat whatever opposition might arise against us. I figured she had good odds on being right about that when it came to the foreseeable threats on the horizon, but war doesn't only arise from the foreseeable things.
"Peace through strength, peace through prosperity, and peace through our common heritage," she concluded, "Thank you."
The applause that followed was very respectable, possibly as loud as the reception Julie's first speech got. Julie lowered her head, looking over some notes in front of her, politely conceding the floor to the audience.
Clermont got them quieted soon enough. "And thank you, Madame," he said to Velarana, "Marquise, the floor is yours."
Julie took a breath, steadying herself. "Peace is a dream," she began, "It's beautiful, it lets us all fulfil our wishes, no one gets hurt, everyone grows old gracefully and no one dies before their time. But like all dreams, it disappears when you wake up, when you get back to reality. And the reality will be that war is inevitable."
"Madame Velarana is very aware of this fact. Her aim is not to prevent war, her aim is to make it as small a war as possible. That's a good idea, but she seems to be counting on one thing; that the nobles of other cities and realms will believe us when we say we don't want to interfere in their fiefs. Our very existence is interference, an example to the world that cannot be ignored. The more prosperous and safe we make our city, the bigger a threat we make ourselves in the minds of our enemies. They cannot allow us to succeed."
Julie looked at Velarana. "With every success, we will bring war closer whether we like it or not."
"If you want to avoid a bigger war, we need to make ourselves look as big a threat as possible," she continued, "We must strike fear in the hearts of anyone who would oppose us. That starts by following our ideals with confidence, not shrinking from them in anxiety over what others think. Our nation will be ours, no one else's. If we act any differently, then we'll be treated as if we can be bought or intimidated into giving our nation over to the highest bidder or the strongest enemy."
I recognised the philosophy of Sun Tzu and Machiavelli in Julie's logic immediately. If you are strong, appear weak to entice your enemy to attack unwisely. If you are weak, appear strong to dissuade your enemy to attack when it is in fact wise. Those who benefited from the old order will resist those trying to institute a new order fiercely. Velarana wasn't the natural inhabitant of our library, after all.
"As for the Templars, we can't allow an army we don't control to move freely among us," she continued, "Whether it's the Grey Wardens, the Templars, the new Order of Hospitallers, we have to be absolutely sure that any group of armed men and women inside our borders are loyal to us and no one else. Outsiders can use the threat of violence to influence us, but it would be far more easy for them to do it if we sacrifice the authority of our realm."
"We must insist on being treated as equals," Julie said, "The first step, as I have said, is standing firm on our principles. The second is to continue the tradition of excellence of our Army, and make sure the Navy establishes a similar tradition. Well paid professional soldiers, men and women whose sole job it is to protect us, are always better than part timers or mercenaries. When war is your profession, you learn its depths more than any temporary soldier could and certainly more than someone just looking for an easy fight so they can walk away with coin and loot."
"The third step to being treated as equals, and to peace if you desire it, is to give back what we are given. If our neighbours leave us be and remain trustworthy, we must do the same, though I doubt that our neighbours will behave like this. If our neighbours attempt to undermine our security, our trade or our nation, we repay them in the same coin and more. If our neighbours invade, their leaders forfeit their right to rule. We cannot be the weak person who is slapped and allows themselves to be slapped again."
A considerably more moderate position than waging revolutionary war across the Free Marches, however much Julie might have wanted to do just that, but still more radical than what Velarana was proposing. The implication that the Aequitarians would let some things slide was doubly effective. But, as a means of convincing people that she didn't want war, the speech fell flat for the most part.
"Put your mark next to the Libertarians," Julie said, "And stand up for your dignity and honour in the face of the world."
The crowd seemed to like the speech, shouts of support joining with the clapping, although it was probably equal to what Velarana had received for her speech. I began to think that our people were deeply unsure of how to go about the matter. I had also noticed that Julie had kept her cards close to her chest on the subject of money, whereas the Aequitarian had talked about trade.
The questions and answers didn't clarify much either. There were two strictly important parts, the rest was just sparring over the points raised above. The first, naturally, involved clerical opinion of our little project under Aequitarian rule.
"Madame, you wish to appease the Chantry by giving the Templars back their independence," said Julie, "But you yourself are a mage. While I have absolutely no problem with that, and I would gladly go to war to defend your right to be chosen as our leader, I must point out that the Chantry isn't going to be so accomodating. Especially with the Tevinter presence, however small, in our midst."
"Marquise, I am glad you raised that issue," Velarana replied politely, "You are quite correct in saying the Chantry will strongly disapprove. However, as you well know my lady, they have far bigger problems than we few hundred mages. The other Circles are close to revolt, and the Templars are on the brink of mutiny over the Divine's repeated refusals."
"So you believe an Exalted March will not be considered?" Julie asked.
"No, because I intend to take further measures to prevent that," Velarana said, "I will ally our nation with the Chantry, pledging our full military support in the event of a full or partial Templar mutiny, or if the Circles declare war by voting to secede. This will also protect us from the Qun, as we could call to all Andrastian nations for assistance as long as the alliance stands. I will also prevail upon Grand-Cleric Brandon to appoint a trustworthy templar to watch over me while in office, so that there is no danger of a magical tyranny."
And watch over her he would... But he would never be a threat to her. I'm getting ahead of myself.
"Madame, what happens if that templar kills you for some perceived slight against the Chantry?" Julie asked, "It would throw our nation into chaos."
"At which point you or the Marquis take power and restore order," Velarana replied, eyebrow cocked, "The gesture of goodwill in letting a templar supervise me is more than worth the risk, if it wins us the Divine's blessing."
The other significant topic of discussion was the other inhabitants of the region we intended to settle.
"Lady Marquise, I must demand that you tell us how you plan to win this inevitable war," Velarana drawled at length, her upper crust Circle accent emerging and showing that she was losing her patience, "Can we defeat the combined forces of Ostwick, Hercinia, Markham, and Wycome? To say nothing of Starkhaven, Antiva, Nevarra and the Felicisima Armada?"
"You are assuming that every single one of them will be united against us," Julie replied, "And even if they are, the chances of them being able to attack us together any time soon are slim. It would take at least until the autumn at least for them to accomplish such a thing, and every month that passes by will see us grow stronger. It's more likely we'll have until late spring of 9:41, in fact."
"And if they don't conform to your notions of organisation?" Velarana asked, "What happens if they decide to attack as soon as possible rather than waiting? They do have the advantage of numbers."
"If they move sooner, they won't be able to gather their numbers together," said Julie, "Which means we can beat them piece by piece."
"You seem very confident of that," Velarana said, "Yet I don't see any reason to be."
"The Free Marches are not Orlais, they are a collection of many city states with different cultures," Julie replied, "The armies of most of the cities are weak. They rely on nobles' bodyguards and mercenaries. The big exception is Starkhaven, with its royal legions, but Starkhaven is far away from where we intend to live. Antiva doesn't even have an army, and Nevarra is even further away. Very few of the cities have the capability of pressing peasants into service and won't have the weapons to equip such an army on hand either."
In a way, mercenaries are even less effective against our sort of army; peasants have the ideology of amateur warriors; get stuck in, kill the enemy, go home. Mercenaries are conditioned to try and get out of any fights alive regardless of whether or not the enemy dies. Professionals are far more versatile than either.
"Our army is already better equipped, better trained, more disciplined and lead by more experienced officers following better doctrines of war, and our troops are not merely fighting for pay but for the future of their children too. By the time our enemies gather, they'll have even more advantages and our Navy will be ready too."
"So why not declare war immediately?" Velarana asked, "You seem to be restraining yourself, considering you are so confident in our ability to win a war. Why not attack quickly?"
"We can beat their armies, but we can't take and hold their cities," Julie replied, "Our best chance at winning the war is destroying their armies and military leadership in the open and demanding concessions. Show them the cost of fighting us, and they'll find that it is too high a price."
"The problem, Lady Marquise," came the reply, "Is that they can afford to pay a much higher price than we can."
The second debate was generally considered to be Julie's loss. It wasn't an overwhelming victory for Velarana in the same way the first had been inconclusive. Velarana's education in a Circle worked against her to some extent, her ideas expressed in more flowery language even when she was restraining herself. Nor were people willing to overlook her support for the nobility so easily.
You may have noticed that both of the women who wanted to lead us had converged towards more moderate positions than they actually held personally.
Julie absolutely would have declared war on the nobility of the Free Marches if she believed it practically possible. She would have had no hesitations in saying so either, if it wouldn't have cost her the election. Not only for her own ideological satisfaction either, but we'll get to that.
Velarana on the other hand had absolutely no issue with monarchs and nobles, even those empowered above the people to rule. In fact, she saw inherent wisdom in such systems, even after reading the partial history of Earth. She was more interested in the longevity of the state rather than the absolute liberty of the people. We'll get to that too.
Both moved closer to what I thought of as the centre ground where the most votes could be found, towards a future where the people ruled their land in their own name but the country was at peace. That's the problem with democracy, the people often want what they can't practically have. The Libertarian and Aequitarian positions on the constitution and foreign relations reflected the closest two possible options, with the Lucrosians perfectly content to have either set of positions as long as the cash rolled in.
For one of the few times in her life, Julie was beginning to get worried.
We didn't go back to the keep this time, but instead Julie led us down the main avenue to the Crown and Lion tavern. In the rain.
Past the checkpoints, watchful soldiers and bowing Fereldan subjects. We even got an eyeful from the whores plying their trade from beneath the overhang of the nearby buildings, as the tavern's horse stands were on the Doxy Row side. I wasn't sure why we were there, but I had followed along without question. I thought it was part of some ploy of Julie's, perhaps to show she wasn't afraid to go have a drink and possibly be confronted with questions.
We dismounted, tied up our horses under the leather canvass awning, and entered the establishment, all seven of us. Julie first, Tam, Armen, Ciara, Claire, Leha and I.
The huge tavern stretched the entire width of the block, the ground floor dedicated to a bar and the upper three floors served as an inn. There were no less than five fireplaces, with varying degrees of fire burning inside them. It was empty, most people not willing to brave the rain in the middle of the day or too busy working. I had deliberately made sure the locals got some of the runabout jobs, another measure to keep the peace. Our footsteps echoed, making the few servers and barmen look up.
Julie grabbed a chair and sat at a table close to the door but just far enough away to not be overly bothered by the draft. We all followed suit, curious as to why we were there. There was no playful suggestion of getting food and drink this time.
"I lost that one," Julie admitted as soon as we were all settled.
"No shit," Leha said at once, "That bitch slid the accusation that you're a warmonger in like the harlequin would slip her blade in under Sam's ribs. Quietly and softly, lovingly, so it doesn't seem like a fight at all."
I winced, suddenly feeling defensive about Mariette, who wasn't present to defend herself.
"Velarana is never one to shout and scream accusations," Armen half-whispered, mindful of the setting, "Not when she's in full control of herself."
"I don't suppose you know how to make her lose control?" Leha asked, "That might be useful."
"Not without making us look like we're at a disadvantage," the mage replied, "If we keep our cool and hold fast, we can pour cold water over her notions of peace with ease. I didn't see an absolute defeat for us in that Chantry today, I saw uncertainty in all of those watching. People genuinely don't know who is right about whether war will be necessary or not."
"Which is why I'm not trusting her word," Claire added, "I'm not risking the lives of my niece and nephew on the chance that Velarana is right. Promises won't keep the peace, and that's what she's really offering."
"It's an attractive offer," Ciara said.
"Yeah, I'm getting that feeling," I growled, shaking my head in disbelief, "People vote their hopes, not their fears."
Leha gave a quick flick of her head towards the bar, indicating that someone was coming. We all shut up at once, as a waitress came over with confidence. Clearly someone who had been doing her job for ten years or more, even though she was younger than Julie by a year or two by my guess. She took our order, a set of simple meals, and refused payment as she turned away to deliver the order to the cooks at the kitchen stoves tucked away in the far corner.
"So it'll come down to the last debate," I said, "Money. Do we have any idea what Velarana is going to say about that?"
I looked to Leha, as the person most interested in the topic. She shrugged.
"The Aequitarians haven't said much about it," she said, "Other than saying peace is the path to prosperity. Clearly the bitch hasn't seen our account books from the past year, I could show her just how profitable war is.."
"Looting is profitable," Julie frowned, "But we can't exactly rely on it."
A huge proportion of our fortune having been derived from exactly that source, at least originally. The chevaliers sent to collect taxes, the small Templar treasury at the Wolf's Lair, the proceeds from the Sahrnia campaign in the Emprise, the small part of the Royal Treasury at Halamshiral we were able to cart off to Hearth... it had all been put to good use making even more coins, at least until our defeat. And then we managed to carry off the Ferelden paychests and capture the tax base of Amaranthine to boot.
"So is it another win for us?" I asked, "Or will Velarana pull something out of her hat?"
"I don't know what she could offer," Julie said, "It's not like she'll have many resources at her disposal if she does win. We've mostly been using our own personal funds to keep everyone who needs to be paid in coin."
Claire let out a shocked noise. "Do you think she'll try and take your money away?" she said.
"What? Claim it?" I asked, "Is that a possibility?"
"It is," said Leha, "But she'd be incredibly stupid to do it. I have a plan if she does try it."
Julie looked at her dwarven friend over her steepled hands. "Care to share?" she asked.
Leha chuckled to herself, very much pleased at the dastardly nature of the ploy she had in mind. "No, I think it's best if it's a surprise for everyone," she said, "I can't wait to see the look on her face."
Julie hissed out a breath of frustration. "It's going to be close," she said, "I can feel it. I can't believe I didn't feel it before."
"But we'll still win," I said.
"Can we seriously imagine High Chancellor Velarana of Halamshiral?" Armen snorted, "An elf mage treating for peace with the prejudiced nobility of the Free Marches? I'm an elf and a mage too, but even I'm not stupid enough to believe those aristos would ever respect us if I was High Chancellor. Most commoners would have a problem with it too."
"You're also a little young for the job," Ciara added, giving him a small push, "Trust me, I know."
"I defer to the wisdom of the former Vice-Chancellor," Armen said, before kissing her on the cheek.
I tuned out there, as our drinks were being delivered to the table. What sort of leader would Velarana be if she did win? It was a complete mystery, despite weeks of campaigning. Plenty of feel-good, sounds-good words, but no solid positions on anything except building towards peace, which was a wildly popular idea. She was a great politician, I have to give her that.
"Julie, you should relax tomorrow," Armen continued, catching my attention once more, "You run yourself into the ground yesterday, and I'm not sure it helped. I think Velarana was counting on it." She had been very busy the day before, which wasn't the wisest move for someone with a hangover. We had hit the drinks pretty hard after her victory in the first debate.
Julie flexed her hand open and closed in a motion of apathy. "Agreed," she said, "I don't want to look like I'm hiding, so we'll have to treat it like an ordinary day."
"A trip to the forges then?" I asked, "Followed by... well." The implication being obvious.
"Not for you," Julie smirked, "Not safe."
Tam cleared her throat to get our attention. "I do not mind," she said to Julie, before glancing at me. She had also acquired Grey Warden woes about fertility... Worries about which affected her acutely. The coming nuptials to a certain Tevinter lady had exacerbated matters greatly. My breath caught in my throat, not because I wasn't willing but because I was afraid of her disappointment if it didn't work out.
"Oh Tam," Julie said warmly, "There will be plenty of time for that." Forgetting that Tam was older than I was, perhaps, but it was exactly what needed to be said.
But you could always count on someone else to say exactly what shouldn't have been said.
"Children are expensive," Leha grumbled, "And I don't see you earning any coins, sex-addled Qunari."
The Qunari in question shot a dark glare at Leha, the lecherous dwarf. Armen's grin, which had been disappearing during the election campaign, sprung forth immediately as I looked to him for some sort of moral support as the only other male at the table. So much for fraternity of men.
Two days later, and we were back in the incense-filled Chantry hall,
"My fellow citizens, our resources are limited only by our willingness to work," said Julie, beginning the final debate, "We have a full treasury. Gaspard was thankfully unaware of just how much gold and silver we had. This will buy us the time we need to make ourselves at home."
There were murmurs in the Chantry that were caught and projected by the stone of the walls, half-mumbled wonderings about just how much money we did have. A very significant amount, truth be told.
"We have some of the most skilled artisans in Thedas. Blacksmiths and metalworkers who might just be the best in the world. Shipwrights from Jader. Merchants from Hearth. Distillers and seamstresses, coopers and glaziers, dyers and weavers, farmers and herders."
"Most of our people can read and those that can't are already in the process of learning. We have Chantry and Circle scholars, we have graduates of the University of Orlais, we have those that have read the Terran Library, and all our citizens with their individual life experiences."
"The Libertarian plan for our prosperity is simple," Julie declared, "Let these people do their jobs without interference and keep taxes as low as they can be!"
The crowd cheered raucously, the clapping and shouting accompanied by whistles. I think Julie stacked the crowd on that occasion, or the draw had favoured common soldiers by chance.
Taxes always were spectacularly unpopular among the peasantry for the simple fact that they rarely ever gave return benefit, and often stripped people of protection from starvation or exposure. Merchants disliked them too, because commercial types always want to maximise profit, although most weren't so stupid as to believe in not paying anything. It was only the nobles that believed that, their contribution came in military forces or emergency supply levies instead. Of course, with democracy comes the increased likelihood that taxes can be spent for the majority's benefit. A fact not lost on Velarana...
"Those from the Dales can remember the chevaliers riding through the countryside, demanding payment or death!" Julie continued, gaining in confidence, "I myself was arrested for refusing to accept the robbery of my hard earned coin, imprisoned until Sam and Tam rescued me from my fate. And what did the dukes and counts spend it on? Fancy clothes and huge chateaux! Emerald encrusted slippers! No more of that wasting our money, I say!"
Another cheer, the antipathy of the crowd towards that sort of behaviour made absolutely clear. Armen gave me a nudge, as if to say 'Listen to that roar'. I frowned. It was a bit of populist theatre to make such a point; it's not like we were going to piss our gold and silver away on frivolous bullshit to begin with.
Hell, the only reason Julie even had a dress or shoes worthy of an Orlesian Marquise was because she had needed one for her position. Reasons of state. Ciara's revealing green dress had been acquired for exactly the same reason.
"I will not lie," Julie said, once the throng had quieted, "Taxes will still need to be paid. Work to create a place we can all live in safely and healthily will still need to be done. But I pledge that not a single copper more than is necessary will be taken out of your purses if I become High Chancellor. I pledge a plot of land to every family, either a small one in the city or a large one for farming in the hinterlands of Valhalla. I pledge that every merchant or artisan business that existed in Hearth will also have land equal to or greater than they possessed before our exile. And I pledge to connect all of our people with good roads and free access to ports, so that we can get the fruit of your hard work to market."
"If we follow this path, we will create great things that the world will want to buy," Julie smiled, "You've already seen our new weapons, and I'm sure many of you miss some of the things we were making before. These are only the beginning."
"A vote for me as Libertarian candidate for High Chancellor is a vote for both prosperity and security. Free trade for a free people. Thank you."
There was loud applause, this time unaccompanied by verbal or whistling noise. Julie stepped away from the lectern and bowed to them respectfully, as a servant might do towards her master, increasing the length of the applause. A nice touch.
Velarana did not wait for Clermont to make the formal handover of the baton, speaking as soon as she knew she would be heard.
"I must thank the Marquise for pointing out the many strengths we possess," the Aequitarian said, "As well as the hardships most of you have been through. Both before and after the … revolution began."
That sure as shit got the attention of the crowd. "Revolution" was a word only the Libertarians used in any sort of positive light.
"Life for most have you has been unspeakably cruel," Velarana continued, "Something we don't appreciate in the Circle of Magi until we get out into the world. The depredations are numerous. I'm sure most of you have gone hungry before. I'm sure most of you have seen mothers, sisters or wives die in childbirth. You have been unable to get warm in winter at some point in your lives. You have seen children crippled or die from terrible diseases, diseases that could have been treated. You've lived in places where thugs and bullies have dominated, and not just ones with noble blood in their veins. For almost all your lives, you've lived under a regime that cared nothing for you. Not even our own nobles were seen as anything other than fodder for the Game."
She paused. If you dropped a pin on the ground, it would have sounded like the bells ringing, it was that quiet. Everyone was wondering just where in the hell she was going with this. Me included.
"The reason why we don't appreciate these things in the Circle is simple," she said, "We don't experience them. In the Circle, we do not go hungry. In the event of pregnancy, we are cared for until we give birth and afterwards, even if our children are destined to be taken from us. Our hearths are always warm with fires. As healers live with us, mages do not die of disease, as children or adults. We are sheltered from criminals looking to rob or rape us, for the most part. We are protected."
"When I decided to put my name forward to be your High Chancellor, I had no idea what I would propose to create prosperity at first. In the course of finding out how things worked for all of you before, I discovered this difference of experience. I was protected and you were not. And I knew that had to change."
"My pledges are to extend the same protections that I have had all my life to you. I will make magical healing and the techniques of the Marquis' homeland available to everyone. I will not only give plots of land to every family, but I will have homes built on that land from our own treasury. I will establish a grain dole that all citizens may draw from. I will create a force of gendarmes to patrol our streets and investigate crimes. I will make the streets of our city beautiful, for all the world to see."
"In short, I will care about and for every single one of our citizens, and I will put the money of the realm behind my words."
Again, total silence from the crowd as Velarana paused to drink some water. I had the bad feeling that the lack of cheering was bad news for us. That the audience was enthralled.
"I'm sure the Marquise will ask what this has to do with our prosperity," she resumed, "All of this sounds like it is spending money, not making money, correct? Think about it like this; is a hungry person going to achieve the best that they can? Or are they going to be too worried about food? Is a family without a good home going to be able to work and raise their children to the best of their ability? Can work be valued as highly as it should be if some bandit can come along and rob a worker of their hard earned silver without consequence? Can our nation be respected by foreigners if all visitors see are factories and slums?"
"Everything I propose increases our prosperity by allowing our people to be at their best; healthy, well fed, safe and kept out of squalor. People at their best create great things, and strive to improve themselves. That allows them the space and energy to build their wealth, where otherwise they would be stuck simply trying to survive."
"Of course, paying for these things means paying taxes. I know you do not like paying them, and until I left the tower at Halamshiral, I had never paid them myself. But I make two promises. Every tax will be voted on separately, so that you may inform your representatives of your preferences. Citizens who earn more will pay more tax so that those who earn less can survive and thrive. The Marquise and Madame Cadas, both already very rich women who are sure to make large amounts of gold, will naturally pay more of their income than the ordinary soldier or worker."
I could practically feel the heat build in Leha as she heard that, without any need to look at the dwarf. She was pretty damn close to going high explosive, if Ciara's muffled giggles were any evidence. Julie on the other hand seemed as cool as ice, avoiding the image of contempt too, simply listening attentively.
As for myself, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was the most ambitious idea of government ever seen on Thedas. The Europeans would have been impressed. I wasn't, however. I saw the looming war coming, just as Julie did. We needed to look to that first, before even considering half the proposals Velarana put up, I said to myself.
"A vote for the Aequitarians is not only a vote for peace, but a vote to make our city worth living in as quickly as possible. Thank..."
She stopped speaking, her voice drowned out by something a great deal louder. The interruption was the creaking sound of the main doors opening, and the strong wind coming off the sea howling in between the giant slabs of wood and metal. The entire occupancy of the Chantry turned their heads to see what was happening; the main doors had been ordered shut until the end except in an emergency.
Mariette de Villars stepped in, only recognisable to me from the colour of her blonde hair and effortless gait, as the top of her head was the only thing I could see past the crowd. She soon skirted them, red-faced and flustered about something. She came along the wall directly, locking eyes with me as she moved up, the crowd murmuring again. She stopped in front of me and curled her finger for me to lower my head. I complied, and she whispered the news in my ear over the course of a few minutes
The feeling of elation rose over me, buoying me up. The time had come at last.
I straightened up, and thanked Mariette, motioning for her to follow me. The murmurs of the crowd died down as I proceeded directly to the middle of the Chanter's rostra, between Julie and Velarana.
"Lord Clermont, Grand-Cleric Brandon" I said to the two sitting at the table behind, "With your permission..."
"Certainly, Marquis," Brandon said, before Clermont could say anything. I thanked her went to the front of the rostra, in front of both candidates.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we must cut this debate short," I said, "You will remain here until both candidates and their escorts leave, and you will be taken back to your quarters by our troops."
The murmurs burst out again, somewhat indignant that they would be missing the back and forth that should have followed the statements of the candidates. I held my hand up for quiet, and got it. Mostly.
"Sails have been spotted on the horizon," I announced at the top of my voice, "The Tevinters are here."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Apologies to all for the delay in releasing this, it was another nightmare chapter to write and one that will also probably require a good deal more editing. Also apologies in that it turned into an episode of the West Wing, for the most part, which may not be to the taste of some.
Tevinter and the moment of truth in the elections next time, as well as the arrival of two more familiar faces from the games that we all know and love.
In other news... The story has now broken 450 favourites, another milestone. Again, thanks to all of you for your support.
For fans of Fallout, I also published a story concept called Tyrant that you might be interested in, basically the prologue of a story I'd like to write but seriously don't have the time for. It's set post-Fallout 4, and as the title suggests, all is not well.
I'll be working on some heraldry for the characters to put up on my DeviantArt page, under GreaterGoodIreland there as here. More battle maps may be forthcoming too, suggestions for which battles you'd like to see mapped out would be good.
Lastly, I'm thinking about getting images of the various characters of Outlander commissioned. Obviously Sam, Julie and Tam first, but maybe more later. I'd like to ask if anyone would be willing to contribute modestly towards that, or if you have suggestions as to what artists would have a style that would go with the overall feel of this story. I've seen a couple of artists that might be worth a look, PM me or drop it in a review if you know anyone you think I should take a look at hiring for this.
Katkiller-V: Already answered you by PM, but I'll post my initial reply here for the record.
Time to do a full accounting of the numbers... if only because they've only been vaguely kept in my head and I might as well.
The Free Army had about thirty thousand troops on leaving Orlais. Ten thousand 'Peacekeepers' of the original force, and twenty thousand volunteers and levies that had returned from Lydes to Hearth via Vindargent. The rest of the army assembled for the offensive against Lydes fled to the safety of Halamshiral's walls. The exiled army was organised into 32 regiments, going up to 33 with the addition of the Avvars and to 35 now at Amaranthine, when two more were created to form the male-only Marine regiments under Fisher.
In addition to that, the entire population of Hearth/L'Ambassade came too. Sam estimated this to be about 5,000, excluding the soldiers. Many of them not originally from there, and many of the twenty thousand volunteers are former workers and craftsmen too. So he thought there were about thirty five thousand, give or take a few hundred. You can see why Leha was very worried about how to feed that many for long in winter.
The entire Avvar populace after Honnleath was about 2,000, most of whom are capable of fighting to some degree, pushing the number up to 37,000~. Two to three hundred more mages were picked up at Kinloch.
Since leaving Orlais, 1,538 soldiers are KIA. 189 in the Deep Roads, 146 at Redcliffe (almost entirely Avvars), and 1203 at the Hafter. None at Honnleath, due to Velarana slaying their shaman leader and causing the Avvars to surrender. Significantly more have been injured, five thousand odd at the Hafter alone, but the huge numbers of mages in the Army and the introduction of Earth-origin basic physiological and medical knowledge means that almost all of those people have been returned or will return to full capacity. It only takes a mage moments to stabilise a patient with serious injuries, that much is clear from the canon. The scene where you meet Mother Gisele in Inquisition springs to mind.
TLDR: The Army still has about 30,000, even after losses and incapacitations, and more than five thousand civilians in tow.
As for the numbers in the Free Marches, they aren't the only factor. You have to remember the force multipliers of firearms, field artillery, and the discipline and élan of professional soldiery. Hell, even the pike/crossbow tercios are a decided advantage over most Thedosian armies. The likelihood of Ostwick being able to cause thousands of casualties like Alistair accomplished is minimal. For one, Ostwick wouldn't let several hundred mages loose, for another, Alistair had far more than ten thousand.
5 Coloured Walker: Indeed the Veil is quite weak on the coast due to the fights that happened there during the Qunari Wars, but it's not actively breached and can still be reinforced. It's not like that place in Tevinter, Marnus Pell I think it is, that is actively ruptured, nor is it like the rifts created by Corypheus later.
As for Venice, Val Royeaux is more like it than Wycome is as far as I can tell.
Dekuton: She didn't think she would have to. Recall that she almost single handedly improved the lot of tens of thousands of people in the Hearthlands for a while there. The black mark against her is the defeat, but it was generally accepted that the Hearthlands would have been attacked eventually anyway, and likely in the same manner, so the importance of that isn't as high as other factors. As I think I've implied pretty heavily here, Julie wasn't blamed for the exile, quite the contrary, it was seen as the best possible outcome of a whole pile of shitty ones.
Halo is bad ass: Nope, no Vikings unfortunately.
Tempted to write a side story like that though. Viking Outlanders. Another project I don't have time for haha
Makurayami: Indeed it is where the kossith come in. As for what role they'll play, you will have to find out. And yes, the Dalish are going to be relevant. One Dalish in particular.
Tmroc725: Yeah, Cieran in Another Realm definitely has a rougher group...
I won't rule out Soprano having her day. Because I love her character, as you can probably tell. But I'd have to think hard about how to go about it tastefully, if doing such a thing can be.
It's the Waking Sea. Of course they'll run into Isabela.
Thepkrmgc: Halamshiral's story will intertwine with this again.
The Lady of the Sky is like Flemeth? That's a pretty good guess. Close to the mark.
Xolsis: Yeah... please review on a laptop in future hahaha
I'm always perturbed to hear people don't like Julie. I like Julie. She isn't generally aggressive or insulting to anyone except when she receives that behaviour first. She reacts to contempt badly, like many people do. This chapter dealt a little more with her motivations, it isn't just a matter of her wanting personal power for its own sake. Although admittedly, I can see how you might have thought that up until now. I wish I had seen this review before writing those parts, so I could have added more. The notifications are acting up again.
Cole will show up. He makes the entirety of Inquisition more interesting by being able to get under people's armour so easily. I can see the use of that sort of plot mcguffin here haha
Francisco914: Yes, it is possible for another Outlander to appear, and it's already been more or less stated that Sam's niece Samantha will be joining him in Thedas at some point in the future.
I think dumping a scientist into the story might be a little too... Deus ex machina. Far too convenient without the plot backing to cover it.
Guest: Muchos gracias! I hope Google is still translating everything!
Natzi Sumbitch: I've had the idea for Val Halla/Valhalla in my head for three years now. You have no idea how good it is to finally put it in the story haha
Sammyboy47: The bureaucracy from Hearth is with them, for the most part. Clermont and the Baron's former staff. On top of that, they have the Circle mages, all of whom are literate and educated, and the bulk of the population are gaining in their education too.
As for the rest of your insights, I'm afraid I can't possibly comment without spoiling, save for saying your perspective is pretty close to my own on all matters.
Zx: Thanks! More canon characters very much will be involved.
Englishpleb: First of all, great nickname haha
Secondly, yeah, industrialised warfare could indeed tear the Veil. Warfare on a similar scale to that has already happened and already torn the Veil in Tevinter, although blood magic had a lot to do with that if memory serves. There's going to have to be a lot of care taken about that, but the mages with the Army are well aware of that sort of problem.
