• Closed • An Important Meeting (Pugasus Please)

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Timestamp: 47th of Ymiden, 717
Location: Scalvoris Council Building

Kura looked around for a moment, noting the atmosphere of Scalvoris. It felt happy, but she could see how unprotected they were without the Imperial navy around anymore. Letting out a sigh, she turned and continued on her walk to the council building. Hopefully she could change that lack of protection, and she'd need to start here. Faith had led Kura to where she could make an appointment with the Albarech of the island, and it was almost time for her to meet with him.

Walking into the building, Kura smoothed the front of her simple black skirt and dark purple blouse. She was also wearing the black cape with the red interior she had bought at the same time she had gone shopping with Faith. All put together, the outfit looked good. Enough to be work-wear, but not so much as to be an official Imperial uniform. Once she was sure everything was in order, she walked up to the receptionist. "I'm here to see Albarech Brandel. I have an appointment, my name is Kura Mareth." she said, her Atvian accent showing clearly as anything that she was an Imperial.

[Pegasus]

Brandel had raised his eyebrows when he had seen the name and he had agreed, immediately, to the meeting. The main Council Halls were in Almund, but here in Scalvoris Town there was a smaller offices which was where they were meeting.

So, when Kura arrived, she was shown immediately into Brandel's office by the receptionist. A woman named Felicity who smiled at Kura and said that yes, she was expected and could she come right this way, please? Felicity then led Kura down a short corridor and she stopped at one of the doors along said corridor, tapped it twice and then opened it. "Your appointment is here, Albarech Brandel. Kura Mareth." She then held the door open for Kura and asked, politely if there would be any refreshments required. If Kura wanted anything, it was brought to her, but Brandel did not.

Brandel was a man who had aged during his time on Watch; that was unsurprising to the Mortalborn of course. However, he stood and he saluted her with the traditional salute, showing her senior office to him, in the Imperial sense of the word. "Ma'am, it's a pleasure to see you." His voice was a deep baritone voice, not the sort of rough voice which might be expected from arcs of drinking, but instead a calm and almost soothing tone.

"I was not aware that you were on the island. If I had been, I would have made contact" His words were careful, clearly spoken and as he sat down and gestured that she did the same, he looked at her. With deep blue eyes he regarded Karem's daughter as he pressed finger-pad to finger-pad and held his hands together in front of him. "May I ask, what is the purpose of your visit?"

Ah, and there was the onyx nell question, wasn't it?

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Kura followed Felicity into Brandel's office without another word spoken, though she smiled at the secretary when she offered refreshments. "Coffee, please. Lots of sugar." she said, before turning to Brandel as Felicity left to retrieve the drink. She smiled warmly at the salute and returned it with a crispness that over a century of practice had given her. "A pleasure to meet you as well, Albarech." she said, showing that she considered his title official enough to be used, something The Eternal Empire didn't always do with foreign nations.

"I've only been on the island for three days, countin' today. Part of that was spent sleepin' off the affects of the trip here. Sea travel and I don't always get along." she said ruefully as she sat down across from Brandel. At his next question, however, she smiled delightedly. "Spoken like a true son of the Empire, Brandel. Too many other places would have spent the next half a break exchangin' pleasantries. It's quite refreshing to have someone get to the point." she said, her tone showing genuine happiness.

"As for why I am here, however, that's...complicated. I have been away from Korlasir for roughly an arc now, so I am unaware of what the Empress plans to do now that the both the Navy and the Lords are missin' from Scalvoris." she said, before taking a deep breath. "But you should know as well as I do that she will not be content to let Scalvoris remain autonomous. She considered it part of the Empire." she said, her tone now entirely serious.

"If Scalvoris decides to resist, you know how she'll answer. Lives would be lost in a pointless conflict that would merely delay the inevitable. That is why I am here, to make sure that doesn't become necessary. You, I see, are loyal to the Empire still, and from what I hear, we are still well thought of in the streets." she said, leaning forward and meeting Brandel's eyes unblinkingly. "With some luck, determination, and skill, at least two of which I can provide in abundance, we can grow that into outright support for the Empire, a willingness, if not outright desire, to be brought back into the fold." she said, before grimacing slightly.

"I also worry about trouble from within Scalvoris. No offense intended to you or the rest of the council, but you are a new government yet. There is every chance that someone will try to take control of Scalvoris for themselves. We still have to deal with that in Empire proper, such things are inevitable. I have...experience in puttin' down such rebellions." she said, smiling coldly at that point. The ruthlessness of the Imperial leaders, Kura included, were well known. "I am here to offer my aid, in the government of Scalvoris, in helping to make sure there is no fight with the Empire, in putting down any rivals to the councils power from within."

[Pegasus]

"I'm glad you appreciate forthright, Ma'am. It's all I know." Brandel had a reputation for such and, once Felicity had brought in the coffee which was already sweet and had a bowl of sugar next to it, he waited for Kura to get that to her liking and so on and then he addressed her points.

"If the Empress wanted us to be part of the Empire when the Lords left, the Empire wouldn't have left too. I send reports, every season. The rest of the council know that, it's not a secret." He looked at Kura with an intense expression and spoke calmly. "The Empire is informed and they seem content to maintain with the council as it stand. I see no reason to argue with them." He wasn't prepared to mess about here, and his expression was clear. He wasn't prepared to overstep any more than he was prepared to prejudge the Empress. "I don't presume to know what she wants long term, but whilst I have the ok to do what I do, I'm going to keep at it here."

Maybe, he'd considered, there was some reason why the Empire wasn't here any more ~ maybe there was some specific reason that he didn't know or need to know. It didn't matter to him. He did what he was doing, he sent in his reports. His responses were often one word, received or understood being the usual, but that was fine.

However, she was right about the situation in Scalvoris, and he nodded his agreement. "There are a number of factions and groups. Things are going to get nasty, I'd reckon. We're building as fast as we can, but..." Brandel's gesture was obvious ~ he was in a losing battle with time, he knew it. Kura told him why she was here, then and he sat back and raised an eyebrow. "That's good. You're here as an individual, though, not a representative of the Empire, yes? No one sent you, you've received no orders?"

Straight talking seemed to be very much his thing.

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Kura raised an eyebrow when Brandel mentioned the Imperial navy having left at the same time as the Lords, then shook her head. "Knowing both the Lords and the navy, neither group is likely to have left willingly, and that worries me as well. The possibility that the Lords will return and attempt to reclaim control of the island." she said, before falling silent as he explained the reports to the Empire and the responses he received.

When he paused, she considered that for a moment before replying. "There is, I believe, a three fold reason why the council is being left alone. The first is that we never had a good way to reinforce the navy. Sending more troops to regain control of the island would be difficult. The second is that shortly after I left Korlasir, the Empress started an invasion of the Hotlands, something we had been preparing for a decade. Diverting resources from that would be costly." she said, before smiling at Brandel. "You and your reports are the third, and probably the most effective. Because of them, the Empire, and by extension, the Empress, knows that Scalvoris is currently being well taken care of and that people they still consider theirs are protected." she said, her tone showing she was reassured by this knowledge.

Then the conversation turned to the Scalvoris itself and it's future. At his question, she grinned slightly. "I'm under no orders and am, currently, a private citizen." she said, before she broke into a short laughing fit. "And I think this actually the first time since in over a century I've been able to say that. It's a very weird feeling for me, I'll be honest." she said, grinning slightly as she calmed back down.

[Pegasus]

Her assessment of the three reasons why the council had been left alone seemed reasonable and Brandel nodded his head in agreement. He didn't feel the need to elaborate or do more than nod to show his agreement. Whatever the Empire was doing, he did his bit and that was that.

At Kura's laughter, though, a slight smile lifted his face and Brandel sat and watched. "It must be strange." There was no doubting it and although it wasn't a century for him, he'd been twenty arcs on Watch and that change had been just weird. He couldn't begin to imagine what he would feel if he'd done one thing for a hundred years and then, suddenly, didn't.

Still, he said nothing and waited for her to laugh and regain her composure. "So, at the moment we have a number of factions, groups, zealots. All of which seek to return to the old ways, change to the new way or whatever. Thankfully, there's more than one of them and so my hope is that they'll keep each other busy." That might work, he considered, for a while at least. "Of course the downside to that is that our citizens tend to get in the way, and then get hurt. We're building up the military, but it's all new still."

Brandel looked at Kura and raised an eyebrow. "You are offering your help, and I'm pleased. But in what capacity are you seeing that help as being?" There were all sorts of things that Kura could be suggesting, after all, and Brandel had no intention of jumping to conclusions. She could be offering to be an intelligence operative, work in the military or all sorts.

Besides, he had to know what she was proposing before he went any further with discussing it with her. Clear parameters were vital, after all.

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

When Brandel mentioned having the other political factions work against each other, Kura considered that and nodded. "Certainly possible, especially if we help such things along to a degree." she muttered, still thinking of the possibilities that presented. "And that would be the trick, though, keeping the citizenry out of the line of fire, whether they be fighting each other or us." she said, bringing herself fully back to the present with a shake. Time enough later to consider how to deal with the upstarts.

The condition of the military was not a surprise, but Kura herself could only help from the political end of that. She had never been part of the Imperial military except a few times as a commander. Training them was outside her skill set, though she could perhaps help in finding trainers and equipment suppliers if need be. She'd have to see who and where their current trading partners were before she could even begin to give advice about that, however.

When Brandel asked how, exactly, she was offering her help, she grinned slightly. "I've been in politics and government for most of my life. That's the field I'm offering my help in. I took a look at what the council handles, and I noticed that you don't have anyone dealing with things like mages or Scalvoris fauna issues. However, more worrying to me, is that you have no one who handles issues from outside Scalvoris. Such a thing could be very useful to you, securing trade agreements or preventing outside conflict, if it comes to that." she said, her tone serious. "Where I would be of the most use, to everyone involved, is involved in the government here in some fashion."

[Pegasus]

A slight smile tugged Brandel's lips as he listened to Kura. She was a daughter of the Empire, there was no doubting it in his mind and a political one at that. The points she raised, though, were good ones. "Aye, I've considered that. We need a minister for magical affairs, and the flora and fauna too." External affairs though? He looked at Kura and nodded his head.

"Alright. I understand what you're saying and why you're saying it. But I'm one person on the Council, for all that I'm the head of it. So I'm going to make you an offer." He sat back and looked at her, putting his hands together and then nodded. "You've looked at the council, yes? You're suggesting three new roles. Find me people for them. You want foreign affairs. There are two others." He smiled at her, and he explained what he was doing and why.

"If I simply say that we should make a new role and that you should have it, then my fellow council members will laugh me out of there." He was being as honest as ever; Brandel wasn't known for beating around the bush. "However, if a citizen approaches me with suggestions for three roles, I can put forward a very clear argument. It might be," he said, thoughtfully, "that you don't know a mage. If that's the case, put forward four roles, with suggestions for three. It might be that we can do some internal shuffling."

Was one of the existing council members a mage? If so, that was not well known at all. He looked at Kura and raised an eyebrow. It would be hard work, he thought, finding someone who was prepared and qualified to take on the roles she was discussing. But if she could do it, then he would be more than happy.

"What are your thoughts?"

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Kura listened as Brandel made his offer to her. She hadn't expected for a moment that he could just make her a council member without a single hiccup. She was, after all, an experienced politician, not some young village girl just considering getting into government. When he asked her thoughts on the issue, she paused in thought for a moment, staring down at the coffee in her lap. It was a good bit before she spoke again.

"I know many mages, but not here in Scalvoris. However, I already have some connections with the Scalvoris community, I'll see what I can find." she said, before pausing in thought again, this time considering the council members and what they lacked. One member in particular stuck out to her in particular. "Accountant. Does that position manage trade affairs or the council treasury? If both, you want to divide that role between two. Managing the Council funds should be a full time job, as should managing trade agreements. Commerce is a strange thing, independent of other manner of alliances." she said, before shaking her head.

"The people I find for the other positions may not be politically experienced. If I find them, I'll need permission to teach them. Best way to do that is on the job with a guide." she said, before nodding to herself. "Four roles. Foreign Affairs, Ecosystem Management, Arcane Affairs, and either Minister of Trade, or Treasurer. I'll find you three of them, at least." she said, smiling slightly. "Is that workable to you?"

[Pegasus]

She worked it through in her head and Brandel nodded but said nothing, letting her speak and mull over her options. He told her that the accountant was both, indeed and he looked at her without comment when she said those two needed to be separate. There was only one thing on which he disagreed. "You won't be training them, no." He was a straight talker, and he seemed very clear on this. "You'll be joining together and those folks experienced in Scalvoris will train you all. Whether you need it or not." There were nuances to this place, he explained and that was something the whole council agreed on.

As for what kind of informal training, well that was a different thing, but Scalvoris was not like anywhere else and they would all need to be briefed. "You'll also be assigned a mentor. We know that. Course, we've never had to do it yet, but still." It was good to be thinking about expansion, but he worried. "Scalvoris has undergone a lot o' change in the last few arcs and we're just settled. There's changes to come, I don't doubt it, but if anyone intends on coming in and tromping over people who've lived and bled here, they'll be in for a world of resistance."

He hoped that Kura understood what he was saying to her. "Four new people, not native to here?"Or he assumed such since, were any of the natives interested, he'd have hired them. "You're gonna have your work cut out and it'll be a long slow process. If it isn't, it'll be a quick an' painful one. Sclavoris folk don't mess around."

But he smiled and nodded. "Aye, that's workable." Then, if there was nothing else ~ although he checked to see if she had any questions ~ he would bid her good trial.

Off Topic

Done as far as I'm concerned. Do a wrap up post, I'll review. If there are questions, I'll answer them pre-review. Thanks!