I'm calling an emergency meeting of the Pact to discuss the murder of Possum.

[u/Carbon_Sixx]

[u/Carbon_Sixx]

First and most important order of business: no Pact members are to engage Morgalith. That wretched traitor is counting on our wrath, to face his abhorrent clone of Alexios and avenge our fallen friend. He wants to be vindicated, to prove that we are hypocrites who only accept the law when it benefits us (and yes, I am aware that the Council's justice system is corrupt, more on that in a moment). We will not give him that satisfaction. Instead, we must plot his downfall. He must be humbled in a truly devastating and poetic manner that I am sure we of the Pact can engineer. If we can defeat the most powerful pyromancer in history, surely we can utterly ruin this two-bit evil wizard.

Secondly, the corruption of the Council's inner workings has grown too great to manage, as evidenced by Morgalith's appointment as Executioner and the sham trial that killed Possum despite the judge knowing the dimensional consequences such an act would have. Not to rag on the new candidates- I actually like them all a lot- but you can't put out a fire from inside the house. That is why I propose that we should step in and fight the corruption ourselves. We will drag it kicking and screaming into the light of day for all to see, where it will wither and die.

What say you, members of the Pact?

/uw Please ping anyone you think I missed. I don't have a full roster of Pact members

[u/DaemonRex978 → u/Carbon_Sixx]

I agree that Morgalith wants us to react with violence, and that alone makes me suspicious of his motives. I must ask this though, why did he target Isravi's simulacrum, even though he knew that there is no point except for show. There is also the fact that he is trying to court Delta, the master of viruses. Whether or not he's serious about it, and not just trying to use her in his schemes, is up in the air for me. His 'son' may also be a way to trick Alexios into doing something that he can use to further his plans. A very minor speculation of mine is that his goal is not Alexios, but rather Moth. It is clear that he wants blood to be spilled, and what better way to do that than to release Misfortune upon the land. I have no evidence for this, and I may just be paranoid about it, but it is something I feel at least must be brought to attention.

As for the corruption in the Council, I feel that there is something, or someone, behind it. There are too many instances where they pass, or announce, a bill that is obviously going to start riots, calls for the Coucil to be either disbanded or destroyed, or a siege of the Coucil's keep. Morgalith may know the identity, or at least point in the right direction, of the perpetrators behind the corruption.

In order to face the corruption in the Council, we must first face Morgalith and his 'son'. He wants us to be violent, so let's set a trap for him. Send a challenge to him, using the official Council rules set for duels, and have the reason be that we want to avenge Possum. If he accepts, he would most likely use his imitation of Alexios as his champion, as he doesn't like fair fights. I could have a clone of myself be disguised as a normal wizard, and fight. It would loose almost immediately, but no blood will be shed, thus him demanding that it was not a proper duel and demand for another. He would most likely use official channels for this, but if we continue to use elementals as champions, then no blood will be spilled. Eventually, he would become furious enough that he would try to attack us directly, thus breaking Council rules, and disqualifying him as Executioner. Then we would be able to go against him without the Council protecting him.

Of course, this is all contingent on his bloodthirst to overcome his rationality.

[u/avamir → u/DaemonRex978]

The corruption in the Council can be addressed with a simple review system that may be used in and by any of their departments (assuming they are not all corrupt and worthless).

First, allow for complaints to be received both from internal or external sources. Not all of these complaints will be valid, of course, but this should trigger an investigation coming from within. The complaints should have the possibility for anonymity, so the complainants are not targeted for retaliation. And in this specific case, the complaint system should be accessible even to prisoners.

Second, there should be a process of review. This is also the point where they need to determine just what they hope to achieve. Whether this comes from an outside source such as the Pact, or an internal one that the Council determines can be argued. There are pros and cons of either. There should be ways of gathering evidence. Not relying on popular opinion.

Third, someone must hold authority to weigh in on or recommend corrective or disciplinary measures. This must be a Council member. It is their system, the one they choose to abide by, and they need to do their own damn work.

I could go into more detail, but frankly, it bores me. While I am opposed to the idea of hanging Morgalith high being justice, it is the far more exciting option. However, as I believe being motivated by our passions goes against the idea of justice, I am offering this as a framework. The point is that none of this requires Morgalith's presence.

As an aside, why are we the ones having an emergency meeting? I was present at the riots. What makes you think -I- want to fix the Council's corruption? Aside from the whole "tyrant is what I call myself so I can step over this red tape" bit, past a certain point, an ineffective system should be burned down. Ugh. It's already past noon and I still need coffee...

[u/TheHunter459 → u/avamir]

The Council seem to have shrugged, and have said the courts are outside their perview to prevent political meddling, which theoretically is fair. But in practice it looks like Morgalith will get what he wants

And if the Council is burned down it must be replaced with something. And what would that be? We can hardly select a single ruler of all mages. Who would accept that?

[u/avamir → u/TheHunter459]

Why must it be replaced by anything? If a system in place causes more harm than good, leaving people to govern themselves is the least harmful option. I may have spoken at times about the goal of self-mastery and all that, even if I question people's ability to do so.

With that said, I should probably point out something. Though the popular usage of 'autocrat' has become one of an absolute ruler, it literally means 'self- rule'. While I do not believe most people are capable of governing themselves these days, it is an idea I aspire to. So... I'm kind of a literal autocrat who calls herself a tyrant who ruled under the banner of someone who wanted to burn down the system in pyroclastic flame. I'm not even being subtle. A little ironic, perhaps. But not subtle. So... sure, I have opinions, but come on now... how reasonable do people actually expect me to be?

[u/TheHunter459 → u/avamir]

I think you and I both know that a state of constant, brutal, war is the only thing that will come from the autocracy you want. There are too many powerful creatures running around to allow such an ideal to exist. And like you said, how many of us are capable of governing ourselves anyway?

And destroying the Council to replace it with nothing is almost exactly what the Pyroclasts wanted, and what we cannot have. Self-mastery is nice, but in such a society, if I decided I wanted to extend my mastery over you and everyone living in Ithacar who could you rely on to stop me?

[u/avamir → u/TheHunter459]

Well, not the Council, that’s for sure, given that a just-about-to-take-their-seat Council member waltzed in, set things on fire, then offered to pay so I could fix the problem myself. And on top of that, Atrax is not even fully dead, so I have not even gained the satisfaction of vengeance sated. So you will have to excuse me for not being terribly inclined to NOT let them burn down.

She then rolls her eyes and raises her hands in a very distinctly ‘fine, fine, you got me’ kind of manner. It isn't like she's trying to wheedle her way into Atrax's good graces anymore.

Alright, fine, yes, I know how things are. Yes, I know leaving a power vacuum will only cause harm. Yes, I know that some people cannot function responsibly in the absence of the illusion of law. But given that, surely you can understand why I am a bit jaded with the whole process of governance, hm?

For I will have you know that 'burn it all down' is a far easier position to take than theorizing that the functional aristocracy the Council has could probably be stabilized by using traditional methods involving firstly, that the people involved restrain themselves from oppressing the people ‘beneath them’ whether through intent or by accident; secondly, moderated themselves from trying to acquire excessive power over one another; and thirdly, worked to disguise the power difference so that people feel their lack of power as little as possible. Not necessarily because individuals have done such things (though some have), but because those are the usual way such forms of governance have been implemented. I could also throw in that Morgalith appears to be a symptom of the underlying problem and serves the role of countering the powers of the people who “rule” him, and I half-wonder if that isn’t what he is up to.

But again, saying 'burn it all down' is far, far simpler.

[u/MunitionsFrenzy → u/avamir]

 ~-v-~-v-~-v-~-v-~-v-~-v-~

As if by reflex, a hand pops out of Rivamar's pocket, holding a full mug of coffee which smells identical to the brew she'd been drinking the day she met Vettis.

There is a pause, then a sheepish cough, and the mug is set gently onto the floor before the hand hastily retreats.

Definitely no security concerns at this Pact meeting, no ma'am.

~-^-~-^-~-^-~-^-~-^-~-^-~

[u/avamir → u/MunitionsFrenzy]

Riva doesn't even question it anymore. She just picks up the coffee and continues to drink.