Venalion
10-04-2005, 01:43
bar-Ven
December 09, 18:48
Lord Alexander serel-Vee was a very proud man. Nearly seventy now, he carried himself as if age had not yet taken a toll on his posture. Although the Prime Minister had increasingly few meetings with the Lord as the years went by, he could tell just as well as any that the man refused to accept that his voice was failing, the last of his hair disappearing and, unfortunately, his mind beginning to go.
Matthew rel-Kars, on the other hand, was more than aware of his aging. He had already decided to rule himself out of consideration for the House of Parties next year. He wasn't yet sure he could stay out of politics for the rest of his life - he still had a decade to go before he even rivalled the Lord's present age - but he wouldn't put the population at the risk of decisions made by a man with no mind.
That was the failing of the Lord. His position was far too important for a mindless semblence of a man to run. On the other hand, there was the question of succession. The Lord's wife had died only a few years ago. Both of his sons had died years before that fighting in the Eastnortheast Rebellion. Of course, both of them had had grandchildren, but none of them were on especially good terms with any of the others or with their grandfather.
As for going outside the family...the Lord had few friends now, and he would be-
"Matthew? Matthew!" The Prime Minster turned and saw, to his immense horror, President Robert rel-Mit. The leader of the House of Provinces was eseentially the opposite of Matthew. They were the leaders of the two separate Houses and between them controlled the entire body of law, and unfortunately that requires the Prime Minister to do not just the work of three men, as all Prime Ministers had had to, but the work of five, as he handled most of the President's duties behind the scenes. The President was young to the rel-Kars' age, and he was prone to quick action. He acted entirely on insinct, rarely pausing to consider any of his actions. He liked helping people, and in usual Centrist style tended to forget that helping some people cost everyone else money.
Most annoyingly, he had taken a liking to rel-Kars, and treated him as something like a formalized drinking buddy. Find an excuse, find an excuse..."Robert? You should've caught me a few minutes ago. I'm afraid the latest polling data just came in from our internal checks and my people say I should check it."
"Well, okay. But my people have been hearing rumors that there's something important in this speech."
"Please, Robert. This is just the same speech he gives at the end of every year. He's been talking for a good ten minues already about how important it is for us to recognize our own mortality, and so we have to put more people into the army."
"I know, I know. But my people heard some things from his people. How about instead of carrying on important conversations that could all wait ten minutes you actually go back out and listen to the speech."
"Fine. You know what? Fine."
The Prime Minster, having reluctantly agreed, walked back out from the lobby, where he had been watching the Lord and having conversations on the phone, took his seat again neither the front of the massive auditorium, and began to listen.
"The revolutions of our past have taught so many of us, myself included, about how quickly it is that our loved one or ourselves could die. And when, last week, my doctors reported to me that since last year my health had begun to deteriorate rapidly, I worked with my speechwriters..." - the Lord paused to cough - "I worked with my speechwriters to craft some emergency changes to this speech. And these are those changes: beginning in two weeks, I will be holding an emergency summit with all interested parties both inside and outside Venalion to discuss the succession. I have drafted a letter of resignation and plan to submit it to the Leadership of the Houses within the next several days, to be made effective January 31."
The Prime Minister sat back, shocked.
OOC: This will be a thread to determine who will become the next Lord of Venalion at a conference. There will be several notables from Venalion, including the Lord, the Prime Minister, and President who you've already met, as well as the Lord's grandchildren and some Party leadership. If you're interested, I would suggest you post a statement that you will be sending a representative to the summit. Yeah.
December 09, 18:48
Lord Alexander serel-Vee was a very proud man. Nearly seventy now, he carried himself as if age had not yet taken a toll on his posture. Although the Prime Minister had increasingly few meetings with the Lord as the years went by, he could tell just as well as any that the man refused to accept that his voice was failing, the last of his hair disappearing and, unfortunately, his mind beginning to go.
Matthew rel-Kars, on the other hand, was more than aware of his aging. He had already decided to rule himself out of consideration for the House of Parties next year. He wasn't yet sure he could stay out of politics for the rest of his life - he still had a decade to go before he even rivalled the Lord's present age - but he wouldn't put the population at the risk of decisions made by a man with no mind.
That was the failing of the Lord. His position was far too important for a mindless semblence of a man to run. On the other hand, there was the question of succession. The Lord's wife had died only a few years ago. Both of his sons had died years before that fighting in the Eastnortheast Rebellion. Of course, both of them had had grandchildren, but none of them were on especially good terms with any of the others or with their grandfather.
As for going outside the family...the Lord had few friends now, and he would be-
"Matthew? Matthew!" The Prime Minster turned and saw, to his immense horror, President Robert rel-Mit. The leader of the House of Provinces was eseentially the opposite of Matthew. They were the leaders of the two separate Houses and between them controlled the entire body of law, and unfortunately that requires the Prime Minister to do not just the work of three men, as all Prime Ministers had had to, but the work of five, as he handled most of the President's duties behind the scenes. The President was young to the rel-Kars' age, and he was prone to quick action. He acted entirely on insinct, rarely pausing to consider any of his actions. He liked helping people, and in usual Centrist style tended to forget that helping some people cost everyone else money.
Most annoyingly, he had taken a liking to rel-Kars, and treated him as something like a formalized drinking buddy. Find an excuse, find an excuse..."Robert? You should've caught me a few minutes ago. I'm afraid the latest polling data just came in from our internal checks and my people say I should check it."
"Well, okay. But my people have been hearing rumors that there's something important in this speech."
"Please, Robert. This is just the same speech he gives at the end of every year. He's been talking for a good ten minues already about how important it is for us to recognize our own mortality, and so we have to put more people into the army."
"I know, I know. But my people heard some things from his people. How about instead of carrying on important conversations that could all wait ten minutes you actually go back out and listen to the speech."
"Fine. You know what? Fine."
The Prime Minster, having reluctantly agreed, walked back out from the lobby, where he had been watching the Lord and having conversations on the phone, took his seat again neither the front of the massive auditorium, and began to listen.
"The revolutions of our past have taught so many of us, myself included, about how quickly it is that our loved one or ourselves could die. And when, last week, my doctors reported to me that since last year my health had begun to deteriorate rapidly, I worked with my speechwriters..." - the Lord paused to cough - "I worked with my speechwriters to craft some emergency changes to this speech. And these are those changes: beginning in two weeks, I will be holding an emergency summit with all interested parties both inside and outside Venalion to discuss the succession. I have drafted a letter of resignation and plan to submit it to the Leadership of the Houses within the next several days, to be made effective January 31."
The Prime Minister sat back, shocked.
OOC: This will be a thread to determine who will become the next Lord of Venalion at a conference. There will be several notables from Venalion, including the Lord, the Prime Minister, and President who you've already met, as well as the Lord's grandchildren and some Party leadership. If you're interested, I would suggest you post a statement that you will be sending a representative to the summit. Yeah.