Fable - Ask Bring Down the Tower

[Praetor Ruslan Gildal]

But not all in the Council pledged themselves so readily.

There came some concerns. One Praetor, saying that the Senate was likely to ask, inquired as to the size of the force needed; Ruslan replied that by the reports of scouts only two maniples of soldiers would be needed to match the Vestian garrison. Another Praetor raised the question if Gild ought not stay its hand in this matter, to conserve its strength to fight against Omma and cast off its yoke; Ruslan introduced the idea that Vestia, poised as they were with Hullundrome to aid their mages, might not stand idle if Gild and Omma fought.

And there came also some voices of outright adversity. Praetor Senjani Mynnal stood, straightening out his fine Beyar garments in stately manner as he did, and spoke.

"I would advise this Council not too be so hasty in pledging support to our fellow Praetor Ruslan." And with this he cast a small and mocking glance toward Irene and Letta. "A fine history he has given. But who here has forgotten that it was a Gildal who sued for peace on Ommite terms, leaving all Gild shamed? I will speak plainly, if bluntly: how are we to know that this is not merely some rash plot to regain lost honor by a Praetor whose family name has been tarnished?"

Letta Quaestor Farrell Leguin

 

[Letta]

Letta was glad her blade was not in hand at present.

Praetor Senjani was one she never liked on the three separate occasions she had crossed paths with him before this day. The last had been at the Accolades, where he had been unimpressed with her performance and had made comment that Letta should have stuck with being an artisan, as her family were all stonecarvers.

The entire year and a bit since then, Letta had done her best to spite him with high praise from all her peers. The Praetors all spoke highly of her, and even now, she knew her worth was better than the opinions of Mynnal and his stupid mouth.

"If the Praetor wishes to mend some wrongs, then I think it shows courage and loyalty to the values we uphold, not just as Praetors, but as Gildans too."

Her hands went to clasp behind her back, leaning all her weight to one side and she gave off nonchalance to battle the stately poise Praetor Senjani stood with. "If we judge a family for making a tough call, then perhaps we should take a look back on our histories, perhaps to the Battle of Salizon. A battle made famous because of your ancestors, Praetor Senjani." And he would see it now, recognising her from the day she received her Holy Accolades, and all the time since that Letta Callistal was able to build her ammunition against him. His face steeled against the frustration due to Letta talking back to him, but before he could even retort, Letta was smiling like a cat that caught their dinner.

"I do not raise my sword because of pretty words said by a famous name. I lend my sword to a man that still thinks of Gild and all of us that reside here." Her gaze turned back to Ruslan, bowing her head to him. "I certainly wouldn't like to be stuck in the old ways of Gildan thinking, don't you think, Praetor Senjani?"

 

[Praetor Ruslan Gildal]

A great frown accompanied the cross look on Praetor Senjani's face as Letta let loose her retort. In civil manner he sat down, offering no mean-spirited rejoinder of his own, but, if his face were any suggestion, surely a procession of ill words marched steadily through his mind.

Ruslan said, "I will add my own voice in answer to Praetor Senjani's question. How are you all to know that this is not some 'rash plot', he said. And here is the truth of the matter:

"You don't."

He surveyed his fellow Praetors, eyes moving about the Council slowly.

"If it is fixed in your mind that I act not for Gild first, and primarily for my own gain, then what reason could possibly dislodge this notion? If my very name draws accusation before even the first axe is lifted for Gild's sake, then what argument could dissolve so strong a charge? But I say to this Council that I shall not be found wanting in my share of the danger, should the Senate grant this motion. I will be among the first to set foot on the Eye." He laughed genially, and said, "Regel willing, I will be the fastest of my brothers and sisters-in-arms, if I do not suffer a mishap of footing, tasting dirt and embarrassment in equal measure! And even if that is so, I will stand back up and charge into battle nonetheless! There, my friends, out in the battlefield, is the only place that I can prove to you without a doubt that I am as Praetor Letta says I am."

The Council continued for a trifle longer, the remaining questions less about doubt of the proposal itself and more of smaller details, for that seemed to have settled it. When Praetor Ruslan called for the vote, for those who showed their support and those who did not to move to opposite sides of the chamber, those who supported the motion were in the large majority.

So it would come to the Senate. And then, if passed, battle would be brought to the Vestians.

Letta Quaestor Farrell Leguin

 

[Praetor Irene Savashal]

Irene quite enjoyed Letta's handling of Praetor Senjani. To Irene, Senjani reeked of a man who hid a deep-seated cowardice behind airs of caution, authority, and so-called wisdom. She had no proof of it, merely her intuition in the minute ways in which he carried himself and spoke, but she reckoned it to be true.

Presently, she stood by the Council doors with Letta. Other Praetors were leaving (Senjani had been one of the first), and those who supported Ruslan's proposal were to gather with him after the noontime hour, when the Senate was back in session, to be the first motion heard after the midday meal. It would be a couple hours yet.

Irene slid her eyes over to Letta. Smiled broadly. And said, "The look on his face."

Letta Quaestor Farrell Leguin

 

[Letta]

Letta allowed herself some satisfaction hearing Irene's praise, and her eyes flicked to Senjani, who appeared livid.

"It was worth speaking up for what I believe in." She smiled, turning back to Irene and loosing the air in her lungs.

She saw the Praetor leave after a large group lingered by the doors, watched Senjani leave without pause. Letta still felt satisfied for calling him out, for staying true to the vision Ruslan shared with them all.

Irene's words made her grin outright, "Perhaps if being a Warrior doesn't work out for me, I may be convinced to join politics." But Letta believed a good Praetor had elements of all potential avenues in their career, to help them be more well rounded. After all, she hoped to be one of the greatest Praetors of her time.

 

[Quaestor Farrell Leguin]

Farrell stood silent and watched whatever commotion had erupted lower down run it's course. The praetor that started was named...Sen-something. Well, whatever his name was, he was out of his league. Ruslan had spoken well and true, and choosing a time so awful to interrupt was simply a terrible strategy. Luckily, it seemed he had been shut down by another fellow Praetor. She looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place her.

After the vote he began his trek down the stairs and tried to catalogue in his mind exactly what came next. The war proposal had left the council, and that meant it would have to be approved in the Senate before anything major occurred. That break would totally depend on how fast Ruslan chose to move on his preparations. In the meantime, he would stay sharp.

By the time he got down the stairs, the reality of exactly what he was getting himself into had dawned upon him. Following the crowd by sound and simultaneously lost in his own head, he completely missed his guide step to the side and continued walking forward, unknowingly on a collision course with Irene and Letta.

 

[Praetor Irene Savashal]

"You have the tongue for it," Irene said. She herself, of course, did not. Irene did not do especially well at her academic pursuits in the War College—passable, but certainly not remarkable. But Letta, from what little Irene had witnessed this day, could do both, wield the blade and the spoken word.

And by now the Praetors in the chamber had dwindled immensely, and the last of them were leaving. But unexpectedly one of them—a Quaestor in truth—bumped into Irene's side, distracted as he was.

"Easy," Irene said, turning to look. And regarding Farrell the first thing she said was simple: "You're young."

She herself was not very elder, yet still. But mostly, so far as Irene could tell on her few visits to the Senate Hall, those Praetors who engaged primarily in politics tended to skew older in age.

Letta Quaestor Farrell Leguin

 

[Praetor Ruslan Gildal]

Ruslan after the Council was brought to its conclusion stayed and traded a few words with friends and supporting Praetors down by the speaker's floor. Now as the chamber was all but empty he ascended the stairs toward the chamber doors, and he'd a brief moment of thought to himself.

In truth he had some doubts, as he had entered the Council chamber and before he had begun his speech. He feared mostly that his fellow Gildans might have become accustomed to peace, however detestable that peace happened to be. But what greater slayer of nations than this: that the hardiness of its people, being allowed to wane from the decadence of its conquests or from the easy obsequiousness of having been conquered, is lost and all its attendant virtues lost with it? The great edifice first collapses from within ere the wind from without strikes it down.

But he took heart now. And the saying, proclaimed in dire times around the Jemaat for centuries, came to him: Gild is the last flame of Jura, and it shall endure.

Ruslan came then to Letta, to Irene, and to Farrell, who by accident had joined them.

"So the first step has been passed," he said. "And I think with the body of support from this Council, we will have no trouble convincing the Senate."

And he smiled.

"We will be among the first to strike a blow against Vestia in many years."

Letta Quaestor Farrell Leguin

 

[Letta]

Letta had been about to speak but Irene spoke the words and the young Praetor gave a small smile. There was no time for idle chit chat as Ruslan made his approach to them first. Letta bowed her head to him, still a sign of respect, but one not so formal as the Gildan salute she gave him earlier.

"We will be blessed in this endeavour. So many of us are in favour, the Council will surely see that this is not a fruitless idea. Not will all our support." But Letta's sword was meant for more than standing behind Ruslan of the famed Gildal family. She was to make a name for herself, to be remembered by all in Campania.

This would be the first time she put herself on the right path to that goal. She did not expect Ruslan to even remember her after this day, nor did she feel bad in soaking up his attention now. Anything that would put her in a spectacle would get her name out there so that she could restore something to the Callistal name.

 

[Quaestor Farrell Leguin]

Farrell heard words and broke out of his worrying, realizing he had bumped into someone. When he looked up and saw who it was, his brain momentarily shut off. It blinked back on just as fast, but the sheer shock of what he had done still left traces of fear in his eye. Praetor Irene Savashal was a regulator, and an exceedingly zealous one at that. Surely not someone you wanted to irritate needlessly as a Penitent, nor a citizen of Gild. "I-Indeed. I'm still at the college, but this opportunity is...unique." he said, forcing himself to exit mental overdrive.

He bowed his head deferentially and then rose, preparing to walk out until he heard Ruslan speak just nearby. Steeling himself, he would turn back and wait, simply calming down by listening to what the statesman had to say. He shifted a bit and heard some coins rattle and sound lightly in his pocket, his attention momentarily going to an earlier misadventure. Not quite the first to strike, but this is much, much bigger. He thought, grinning a little bit despite himself. "Sir Ruslan, your eloquent words should work as well in the Senate as they have here. I have faith your motion will pass." he replied after Letta finished saying her piece.

Praetor Ruslan Gildal

(Vig, just DM me if this reference to VoV is at all problematic!)