(finally someone says to Raoul "your group is trying to save Tortall but you'll end up destroying it Jill Zavodnick Normal Jill Zavodnick 8 79 2001-10-05T20:04:00Z 2001-10-18T20:44:00Z 2 978 5577 Home 46 11 6848 9.3821

A/N: This was a hard chapter to write, but an important one. It should finish quickly after this, unless I decide to do a chapter on what goes on in the committees. Which I might (yes, I'm evil and I'm boring all the people who are nice enough to read this story). I might do a sequel, a real Tortallan political story. Or not. In any case…

Politics is repetition. It is not change. Change is something beyond what we call politics. Change is the essence politics is supposed to be the means to bring into being.

~Kate Millet

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            The Hall of Crowns was full to capacity with representatives from all over Tortall, as well as servants, palace dwellers, curious people from Corus, and every landholding noble that was able to get to the palace. Like most court ceremonies, the first day of meetings was late getting started, giving the people of Tortall plenty of time to talk about the sudden change in events.

            "I heard a relative of the king came to claim the throne," one woman whispered to her companion, "and they had him killed."

            "Don't be ridiculous," said the man sitting next to her. "The Prime Minister was murdered. Someone shot him on the way to his rooms, clean through the heart."

            "You're both wrong," Numair said. He was leaning on the wall behind them. The man and woman looked to him expectantly, hungry for more information, but he ignored them and scanned the hall.

            A fanfare of trumpets quickly hushed the crowd, and all eyes turned to the small platform at the front of the room. Myles of Olau, flanked by several important nobles, raised a hand for attention.

            "Unfortunately, the Prime Minister will be unable to attend today," he began, but the main door burst open. Everyone in the room turned to see Gary stride quickly through it, Alanna two steps behind. Although his left arm was in a sling, he looked perfectly alive. Myles looked perfectly relieved, and was down off the platform before anyone in the audience saw him leave.

            Gary stepped up on the platform and waited for silence. He got his wish almost immediately. Taking a deep breath, he began the speech that he had been writing in his head for days.

            "Welcome, esteemed citizens of Tortall. As you all know, King Jonathan has been assassinated, as have all relatives close enough to take the throne. Rather than throw the realm into chaos, we are here today to create a new set of laws, which will allow the people of Tortall to govern themselves with no monarch. It is my belief that if we all work together and keep in mind what will serve the realm best in the distant future, we can build such laws—laws which will withstand the test of time."

            Gary bent his head and breathed an inner sigh of relief. Now that the preliminary remarks were over, it was time to really get started. After an additional second to collect his thoughts, he looked at the crowd again.

            All these people right here, he thought, and outside this room, an entire nation, all waiting for what I'm going to say next. Waiting to see how their children, and their children's children, are going to live. It was a thought that was both frightening and exhilarating.

            "In such a large group," he continued, waving an arm casually to indicate the audience, "we could never hope to get anything accomplished. Instead, we're going to break up into much smaller committees, which will have various meeting places around the palace. Each representative may join as many committees as he or she would like, because each will meet at different times.

            "Our first committee will meet right here in this room, with Myles of Olau and myself. The task of this committee will be to create the top office or offices in the nation, and decide how the officers should be selected and how much power they should be given. Next door, in the antechamber, will be His Grace Duke Turomot of Wellam's committee on the law. This committee's task will be to review the laws of the realm and decide which ones are fair and just, and revise or replace those that are not.

            "Lord Wyldan of Cavall has agreed to host a committee on nobility in his chambers. In our new government, everyone should be equal. Men, women, nobles, commoners, each person should live by the same set of laws and be given the same set of privileges. No one counts for any more than anyone else. This group will decide what to do with the old class system: it will either be abolished or radically modified."

            Gary continued to describe committees until every possible need was covered. After finishing, he gratefully accepted a glass of water from Alanna, took a few sips to soothe his strained throat, and resumed.

            "Please take one of these papers and pass the pile along," he said, starting a large stack of papers at the end of the bench nearest to him. "They list the meeting place of every committee. Right now, I would like you to go to the meeting place for each committee that you would like to join and sign up with the head of the committee. Once you are finished, there are refreshments in the Queen's Ballroom. Tomorrow we will meet here at nine in the morning and committee schedules will be handed out. Thank you for your help."

            Gary stepped down from the platform as loud applause filled the room. The people in the Hall of Crowns rose and began to disperse.

            "The fun's about to begin," Gary said to himself as he began to write down the names of the first people on his committee.

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            "Get it out of them carefully," Imrah of Legann instructed Raoul, "but make sure you get it out of them. If they can help us, put a little dot next to their name. Discreetly."

            "I know, I know," Raoul grumbled. At first, he had been enthusiastic about Imrah's idea, but he and Wyldon seemed to be the masters of menial tasks, while Imrah did the thinking. "You've told me."

            The first people to enter the room to sign up for the "nobility committee" were friends of Imrah, Wyldon, and Raoul. Just to make sure, Raoul asked them about their loyalties.

            "Do you really want the general public running the country?" Raoul asked an elderly noble. The man snorted.

            "I'm just glad I'm close enough to dead to never see Naxen run this country into the ground," he said as Raoul put a black dot next to his name.

            Raoul started to notice a pattern. The people who were all in favor of creating a democratic government generally were commoners and progressives, and they came off as kinder individuals than the snooty, blue-blooded nobles who wanted nothing other than to find the closest living Conté. There were many more of the latter.

            Maybe Gary has the right idea, Raoul thought to himself as the number of dots grew. But it's too late to change my mind now.

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A/N: Hmm…doubt sets in…was there a better way? I'm really regretting having Raoul do what he's doing, but it's too late now. Hope everyone enjoyed it, and if you did I want to know. Or if you didn't enjoy it, I want to know why. So review it! Duh!