Dragon Alliance Dark Storm : Dark Storm (29 page)

“Senator Gindren, may I, as a Wizards’ Council of Thirteen Member, be allowed to address the senate on this issue?” Jodem stood up and spoke, leaning on his wizard’s staff, the dragonstone glowing blue.

“Master Wizard Jodem, please speak. Your wisdom and sound advice are well known to the senate body,” Gindren replied.

“Senator Gindren, I protest the allowance of a non-elected wizard to speak before the legislative body,” Tekend objected.

“Then, Senator, you have not truly studied the Articles of the Alliance. In Article One, it allows dragons to speak. It also mentions the voice of the Wizards Thirteen; now please sit down,” Gindren shut Tekend down.

“Thank you, Senator Gindren. I would like to sum up this argument regarding the Enlightened Party’s movement to ban the possession of weapons to the general public. First, I want the senate to acknowledge that all weapons, swords, crossbows, and such, are inventions of someone,” Jodem said, at which the majority of senators nodded. “Now take the invention of the wheel. Someone had to be the first to make one.” Again, nods all around. “Now, try to un-invent the wheel.” Looks of puzzlement and smiles swept through the senate. “The Second Article is clear in its intention, a free and just republic should not be afraid of an armed, responsible citizenry. And as I speak for Draden Weir, I have confidence in all the weirs that we will not permit those in our provinces to be disarmed,” he finished to the applause of the majority of the senate.

Several Enlightened senators stood to address the issue, but Senator Gindren pounded his hammer to order silence and call the issue to a vote. The measure received nowhere near the two-thirds majority needed to even initiate the amendment process and was defeated.

After the vote, Senator Tekend stood up again with a point of order. “As I see the senate is in the mood for a lack of foresight, I must address this growing issue of the portion of Article One of the Articles of the Alliance regarding the Right of Open Speak and Thought, in the Clause of the Right of Franchise to citizens only and not civilians. This arcane concept must be changed. Civilians must be given the rights to vote and to hold political office. These times require an equal voice for all, not just our privileged veterans. Additionally, these barbarically harsh penalties for slight misunderstandings in the reporting practices of the Truth Saying guilds must also be changed, as well as this practice of public punishment or death for voting fraud.”

“This suggestion bears the true absurdity of the Enlightened Party. It is common knowledge that any freedom or right without a corresponding sense of responsibility is doomed for failure. The reward of being able to actively take part in your government’s actions or being able to influence government actions or even becoming an elected leader in the Alliance can only be bestowed upon those who would give some measure of sacrifice to that body. While service either in the military or the nonmilitary support corps doesn’t give an individual a greater power of wisdom, it does, in a majority of instances, attract those who can see outside themselves to a greater idea that is the Dragon Alliance Republic. It’s ridiculous, Senator, for a nation as great as ours, or any free kingdom, to take a course radically different than what those who defend it think. Freedom without responsibility is like trying to collect water in sand; it slips away, leaving nothing but dry, barren waste.
No
nation or kingdom can survive if this basic principle is not adhered to. The character of the nation and that of those who defend it must be in sync, or else our very will, our spirit, will fall,” Senator Zelmellor eloquently stated.

Again, everyone knew why the Enlightened were pursuing this measure; so they could increase their power, for their popularity was much greater among civilians than citizens. This was not by an overabundant number, however, for most civilians understood the limited role of the government and especially the weirs. This move had also grew only a couple of years after the election of Premier Reagresh. The Enlightened Party and the Enlightened-influenced Truth Saying Guilds, and many of their truth seekers and writer controllers had been jailed or sentenced to several lashes for lying or misleading stories in the common seeing crystal information reports and print and had been looking for more lenient standards. These actions carried a severe penalty in the Alliance, for it was an insult to freedom and truth, this false reporting by truth seekers, and it was considered an abuse of the tremendous responsibility and power in the ability of these guilds to influence the political process.

“We will quickly settle this matter with a call for a vote,” Gindren announced after a pound of his hammer. He announced the proposal as a measure to amend the Articles of the Alliance to allow the civilian vote. Not a single non-Enlightened senator voted for the measure, which did not even come up with a third of the votes needed to propose a change, not to mention an actual change vote itself.

“The last measure under this section of the agenda is the taxation issues for the general population in relation to the military budget. Since Senator Kushien was the major proponent of this initiative, who among his peers will speak his reasons or rationale?” Gindren asked.

“Yes, Senator Gindren, I will address his initiative,” Senator Turbic stood up raising his hand, a half-crooked smile on his face. “Simply put, many of us feel that in light of the lack of a true threat to the Alliance that the army and navy’s budget should be cut back. This will allow broader domestic expenditures to be planned. If this is found to be disagreeable, then a possible tax raise should be considered. The military has been getting a sizable increase in treasury flows as of the last several years under Premier Reagresh, and with these self-incited brush battles in the unsettled lands, and our over aggression at sea, maybe a more constrained budget would force our senior officers to be more prudent and less prone to fight unnecessarily,” he stated smarmily.

“Thank you, Senator, for your stepping in and making Senator Kushien’s proposal so eloquent. I will now hear from an opposition voice,” Gindren stated.

“Senator Gindren, I will voice opposition,” Senator Orhanch stood up. His stately mannerisms reflected his gentlemanly demeanor, as did the well-maintained dress robes he wore. “To reflect the point of order that our esteemed Enlightened senator so skillfully narrated, we must put current events and the recent past to light. First is the status of our republic. We are living in an unprecedented time of prosperity. The Alliance farmers with the aid of our halfling guests are producing far more food than we can consume. Our guilds are thriving, and trade is well, in spite of the troubles in the sea lanes. While there will always be those who simply do not want to take responsibility for themselves, if someone wants work, then they can have work. No one in the breadth of the republic has to go hungry with the charity of the Triad and Trinity Alliance Churches, and the generosity of the weirs.

“So the question is why a tax increase is needed. The heavier we would tax beyond our 10 percent individual tax and 12 percent guild or business tax, the less wealth there would be in circulation, which creates more wealth unto itself. Private citizens and civilians can produce far more wealth than the central or provincial governments could ever hope to. Simply, the more gold and silver they have, the more wealth they can create, which benefits us all in the long run.

“In regard to the revenue that the weirs generate, this keeps our citizens and civilians from paying for almost half of the Alliance military and aids in filling the coffers of the republic from the mineral wealth that the weirs donate to our treasury. Our friends, the elves and dwarves, also prosper from the goods and services they provide for us, and again, this is to our benefit, for they buy goods from us. A cut to the military’s budget would stymie any advances they have made in trying to catch up from the many years of neglect under Premier Bilenton. With the aggression demonstrated from many directions as of late, the budget increases have come none too soon. To say you support our soldiers and sailors, but not the battles that are thrust upon them, is akin to supporting the players of the hand-and-foot game but hating the game itself for being too rough, or brutal, and unthinkably barbaric. Then you would take the funding away from them so they could not play effectively, but their game still benefits you from the sale of spectator tickets, just as the Alliance benefits from the freedom the military provides.

“This is at best naive ignorance, likely plain arrogant stupidity, or at worse an unpatriotic disdain or disgust for the dragons and military and their efforts to maintain security and promote freedom for us and all others. You are shameful, and to quote the arch dragon Michenth at our Founding Senate gathering, ‘Freedom is the freedom to fall or fail; for without failure, there is no learning for success, but we must always protect the innocent.’ Thank you,” he finished with a round of applause from the majority of the senate and protests from the Enlightened.

Senator Gindren pounded the hammer to call for a vote to address a tax increase and a cut to the military’s budget. The measure was defeated handily. “Ladies and Gentlemen, we will now address the next grouping of issues to include the recent series of events outside our borders, specifically the almost open state of hostilities with the kingdom of Shidan and their undeclared naval war. This includes the intense amount of pirating taking place as well as the Morgathian-tied battles in the unsettled lands surrounding Battle Point. The issue is, do we declare war with Shidan and possibly renew open hostilities with their Morgathian supporters, or pursue the Enlightened course of action and send another peace diplomatic envoy, as the last one sent was turned away,” Gindren announced after the last vote, to call on another debate. “We will hear from the chief of the diplomatic corps and General Becknor to give the senate the latest updates on recent developments,” he finished and nodded to the diplomatic corps representative to the senate.

“Thank you, Senator Gindren. I will start in our most troubled spot, the Southern Ontaror region. As you all know of the failed military venture by Shidan against the kingdom of Ian two years ago, since then, King Ibliss has been attempting a two-front approach: one by whipping up a fervor against our small ally Ian, with all the neighboring kingdoms in that region based on their religious connection, and the other by sanctioning, supporting, and manning this open pirate war to finance their arms buildup. For even their gem and mineral wealth is not enough to satisfy Ibliss’s ambitions and lust for power. He is also starting trouble with the kingdoms of the Northern Ontaror region, in conjunction with the Arianans; most of those in Northern Ontaror are part of our Northern Confederation Defense Pact. The Ontaror Sea and the Straits have been constantly contested unless one of our fleets sails them to reinforce the warships of our allies.

“The Canaris Twin Islands, or subcontinents, are currently engaged in a vicious civil war with the native tribes of both subcontinents fighting ferocious battles with their giant lizard armies. We believe that the Morgathians are supplying the northern and eastern tribes with weapons and refined dark crystal for their shamans. There are even reports of rogue black and green dragons aiding those Morgathian-friendly tribes. According to the Freiland raiders, who trade with the southern and western tribes, they are holding their own but are at a stalemate with the aid their enemies are receiving. We also believe that this war was instigated by the Morgathians because of deposits of dark crystal that have been found on both islands. They and the Shidanese have been taking the eggs and young of the giant long-neck thunder lizards, likely for food for the growing number of chromatics and the burgeoning orc tribes.

“The archipelago chain island kingdoms are in trouble and falling into lawlessness. Their leaders are apparently weakening due to Morgathian and pirate provocation, as well as Shidan and Arianan strong-arming. While they do not have a substantial army or navy, they can cause trouble in that part of the southern sea, and they can definitely harbor a substantial number of pirate and Morgathian warships. Helping the islands that are still friendly to the Alliance is paramount.

“We all know of the recent fights in the Battle Point region, especially the battle at Handsdown, where our legion stationed out there defeated a whole Morgathian army group and several wings of chromatics, with the help of Draden, Eladran, and the Capital Weirs,” he said as he looked over at Gallanth and the Draden Weir crew. “This escalation of aggression, as well as the current gathering of the fire giants in the Smoking Mountains has us deeply concerned. Additionally, the introduction of several new species of evil creatures seen in these battles, the reinforcement by the drow, and the power of these new unholy hybrid demon chromatic dragons leads us to believe that there is some sort of plot or at least coordination with all these groups. The Kaskar tribes are also starting trouble in the unsettled lands with several small skirmishes with the Northern Ontaror kingdoms and even with our forces in Battle Point.

“On a more positive note, the Freilanders are doing an excellent job in helping the Alliance Navy fight this pirate threat and have been instrumental in supplying intelligence to us in the darker areas of the Southern Seas. The Southlanders are also strong in their resolve against the current threat, and the people of Ian are defiant in the face of a massive array of forces that surround them. The Ontaror Confederation is holding, but I fear weakening. I would now like to introduce the Freiland ambassador Ragnarg, who has a few words for the senate body,” he finished his brief summary of current events.

“Thank you, Ambassador; I would first like to thank the Alliance Navy and the weirs for their support in this undeclared war on the seas that we are currently fighting. Without your arms and the power of the dragons, the losses among our raider ships would be a hundredfold more,” the white-bearded former raider stood and spoke out; his studded leather armor was well maintained and polished as was his raider sword, with the traditional sea serpent dragon on the pommel. “We are, right now, fighting a wide variety of pirates that have been enlisted by the Shidanese and the Morgathians to conduct raids on all merchant shipping they find. Strangely enough, even the Morgathian warships we have fought mount the standard of the Blood Wolf pirate flag. They refuse to fight the Alliance Navy; they’re ready to scuttle their ships rather than face capture. On the vessels we did manage to take, we find a great deal of gold, copper, and drow platinum coming from Morgathia and Shidan. There are large amounts of goods, foodstuffs, and dark crystal going back. We have also noticed that when we sail with the Ianese fleet, they are attacked with particular vigor. While not the best seaman, they are good fighters and prove their worth.