Harrune has arranged for a meeting of the leaders of the four courts of Amber. As it is the middle of the day... and ladies are present... Ht'Gon is currently hosting. One of the many rooms set into the mountain that opens out of the side is set with a number of comfortable chairs and enchanted to keep the winter outside.
Morgana is already there, making sure the enchantments are all set. Ashara was invited and arrived early, and has settled down, waiting for Harrune and Oberon*.
__________
*: The only one we could find from Amber. Seriously? Any humans out there? Anyone?
07.08h: Four Courts
Re: 07.08h: Four Courts
Harrune will enter the room and bow deeply to the Ladies. "Morgana, always a pleasure. Thank you for arranging this on short notice. It would be easier to go through this once rather than three times."
"Lady Ashara, excellent to see you again. My apologies for any trouble my rash actions may have caused ...last night?" Harrune scratches his ear. "Yes, last night. It always gets confusing when one starts playing around with time. I was a very poor guest, and I have no doubts that I have been the subject of much discussion...and likely little of it good. I shall try to avoid repeating my mistakes..which will no doubt clear the path for all new ones." Harrune will grin and wink.
"Is there anything we need to cover before Oberon arrives?"
"Lady Ashara, excellent to see you again. My apologies for any trouble my rash actions may have caused ...last night?" Harrune scratches his ear. "Yes, last night. It always gets confusing when one starts playing around with time. I was a very poor guest, and I have no doubts that I have been the subject of much discussion...and likely little of it good. I shall try to avoid repeating my mistakes..which will no doubt clear the path for all new ones." Harrune will grin and wink.
"Is there anything we need to cover before Oberon arrives?"
Re: 07.08h: Four Courts
"Before?" Ashara will ponder. "Do we trust him to speak for Amber? I mean, it is just him and the Raven... but... he does not speak for the city in the same way that I can speak for Rebma."
Morgana will shrug. "He speaks for the courts, and likely speaks for newcomers to Amber. That's enough for me."
Morgana will shrug. "He speaks for the courts, and likely speaks for newcomers to Amber. That's enough for me."
Re: 07.08h: Four Courts
"The Raven is a newcomer. He is not well known in the city or the Court and has yet to establish a power base here. On the other hand, Oberon has been with us for a long time. He knows the Court and the Pattern. He is respected and his word carries a great deal of weight. We either have to accept Oberon as the spokesperson for Amber, or accept that there is no such person. Oberon and I have not been the closest of friends, but I would not treat him with such disrespect."
"In a similar vein, one could argue that you should not be here Lady Ashara now that Krajk and Kokytos have walked the Pattern...but that one would not be me. You can speak for Rebma in a way that neither of them can. You have my respect and support, as does Oberon."
"Oh, and one other thing to keep in mind: should you ever need a champion for a duel please let me know."
"In a similar vein, one could argue that you should not be here Lady Ashara now that Krajk and Kokytos have walked the Pattern...but that one would not be me. You can speak for Rebma in a way that neither of them can. You have my respect and support, as does Oberon."
"Oh, and one other thing to keep in mind: should you ever need a champion for a duel please let me know."
Re: 07.08h: Four Courts
Ashara will nod. "I will agree. There is none who can speak for the city, but Oberon will speak for the court." She will nod. "I hope a champion will not be needed. I suspect Krajk wants to avoid politics. I am unsure of what Kokytos actually wants."
Oberon will arrive shortly thereafter. "Greeting. What was this about again?"
Oberon will arrive shortly thereafter. "Greeting. What was this about again?"
Re: 07.08h: Four Courts
"Greetings Oberon. I would like to keep this brief, but I fear that is unlikely to be possible."
"As we all know, last night I walked the Pattern in Rebma. I am the first to walk two Patterns, so it raises the question of my status. Arguably I am now an Amberite of the Court of Remba. The problem here is that it is arguable."
"Before we get too deeply into that issue, I am going to complicate things more. For reason of my own, I feel a need to walk the other two Patterns as well. Lady Morgana, Lord Oberon, I formally request your permission to walk your respective Patterns at the earliest opportunities. That is one reason why I wished you to be here. Whatever accommodation we reach about Rebma will need to apply to the others as well. Also, I value your wisdom and insights."
"I do not plan to abdicate my role as Ruler of Tir-Na. I have no desire to be a Ruler in any other Court, or honestly a major player. My hands will no doubt be too full to have time to interfere much in any of the other Courts. I would like to see myself become a bridge between the Courts, and I think that would work best if I had a voice in each of the Courts, even if I use those voices rarely. The questions would be how do we define that and what limits so we set for it?"
"As we all know, last night I walked the Pattern in Rebma. I am the first to walk two Patterns, so it raises the question of my status. Arguably I am now an Amberite of the Court of Remba. The problem here is that it is arguable."
"Before we get too deeply into that issue, I am going to complicate things more. For reason of my own, I feel a need to walk the other two Patterns as well. Lady Morgana, Lord Oberon, I formally request your permission to walk your respective Patterns at the earliest opportunities. That is one reason why I wished you to be here. Whatever accommodation we reach about Rebma will need to apply to the others as well. Also, I value your wisdom and insights."
"I do not plan to abdicate my role as Ruler of Tir-Na. I have no desire to be a Ruler in any other Court, or honestly a major player. My hands will no doubt be too full to have time to interfere much in any of the other Courts. I would like to see myself become a bridge between the Courts, and I think that would work best if I had a voice in each of the Courts, even if I use those voices rarely. The questions would be how do we define that and what limits so we set for it?"
Re: 07.08h: Four Courts
Oberon thinks. "I am not sure any additional powers are needed, beyond what you already have as a pattern-walker. I mean, you can declare local laws in other cities by simple decree. We've avoided doing it by mutual respect, but I don't see why that has to be a law. There's no reason we can't intermingle as much as we want."
Ashara blanches a little. "But, none of you would be accepted in Rebma. You're outsiders. The same way that you (OOC: Oberon) would stand out in Ht'gon."
Ashara blanches a little. "But, none of you would be accepted in Rebma. You're outsiders. The same way that you (OOC: Oberon) would stand out in Ht'gon."
Re: 07.08h: Four Courts
"That is the power in question: the perception and acceptance of the people. While it's true that by law any Amberite can make any decree he wishes, how do we enforce them if the people do not follow it? We could make examples of a few to try to force the others to submit. What is our other option? To kill them all and start from scratch with new immigrants? To be truly effective we need the support of the people."
"My goal is walking the Patterns is to gain knowledge. Dworkin challenged me to learn more of the Pattern. I am trying to do so. Like it or no, there will be social repercussions. We have associated walking a Pattern with having a standing in the corresponding Court. I'm sure that right now the people of Rebma are trying to reconcile the facts that I've walked 'their' Pattern and that they consider me an outsider. Am I wrong in that belief Ashara?"
"As I said, I do want a voice in the Court, but I don't want the people to see me as an usurper or a threat to them. I think it best if we can find a way for them to see me as a part of their Court, but only a small, not too dangerous part. Winning their trust and support will be a slow process, but I think in time it can be done if handled properly. I do not believe I could do it without Ashara's support. Similarly, I would not be able to do the same in Ht'gon without Morgana's support, or in Amber without Oberon's."
"I think I can forge the social repercussions into something positive for all of Amber. To do so, I will need your guidance and support. That is why I asked you here. I am asking for that guidance now."
"My goal is walking the Patterns is to gain knowledge. Dworkin challenged me to learn more of the Pattern. I am trying to do so. Like it or no, there will be social repercussions. We have associated walking a Pattern with having a standing in the corresponding Court. I'm sure that right now the people of Rebma are trying to reconcile the facts that I've walked 'their' Pattern and that they consider me an outsider. Am I wrong in that belief Ashara?"
"As I said, I do want a voice in the Court, but I don't want the people to see me as an usurper or a threat to them. I think it best if we can find a way for them to see me as a part of their Court, but only a small, not too dangerous part. Winning their trust and support will be a slow process, but I think in time it can be done if handled properly. I do not believe I could do it without Ashara's support. Similarly, I would not be able to do the same in Ht'gon without Morgana's support, or in Amber without Oberon's."
"I think I can forge the social repercussions into something positive for all of Amber. To do so, I will need your guidance and support. That is why I asked you here. I am asking for that guidance now."
Re: 07.08h: Four Courts
Ashara and Morgana will think. Oberon, however, has an immediate suggestion. "Envoy. An envoy from the other courts. A position that can only be given to those members of the other court given permission to walk the extra pattern. That show of trust should be enough. We could even make a ceremony of it, when needed."
Ashara will ponder that. "An envoy has the connotation that you do have legal standing in the other court, but not as much as a full time resident. It does seem to be the title we are looking for." She ponders. "For now, we could limit the official title to one per court (per court?*), but allow additional people to become candidates if needed. That way we could avoid the issue of having more envoys than members of the original court. As things fill up, it would be less of an issue and numbers could be expanded."
Morgana shrugs. "I tried having mandatory envoys between the dwarves and orcs of my camp, but it didn't work. Is there a way we could prevent the absence of an envoy from being seen as an insult? Or even the absence of the potential? While most of us would be willing to accept, say Oberon, Rebma does not have anyone I would currently trust except Ashara... and she cannot walk the Ht'Gon pattern."
________________
*: So, each court could have three, one from each foreign court. For a total of 12 among all 4.
Ashara will ponder that. "An envoy has the connotation that you do have legal standing in the other court, but not as much as a full time resident. It does seem to be the title we are looking for." She ponders. "For now, we could limit the official title to one per court (per court?*), but allow additional people to become candidates if needed. That way we could avoid the issue of having more envoys than members of the original court. As things fill up, it would be less of an issue and numbers could be expanded."
Morgana shrugs. "I tried having mandatory envoys between the dwarves and orcs of my camp, but it didn't work. Is there a way we could prevent the absence of an envoy from being seen as an insult? Or even the absence of the potential? While most of us would be willing to accept, say Oberon, Rebma does not have anyone I would currently trust except Ashara... and she cannot walk the Ht'Gon pattern."
________________
*: So, each court could have three, one from each foreign court. For a total of 12 among all 4.
Re: 07.08h: Four Courts
"Envoy? Hmmm...yes, I think that would be an excellent choice. If we were to make it only for those who walk a second Pattern as Oberon suggests I doubt we will have much issue too many people being candidates. I don't believe I have mentioned this publicly yet, but the second Pattern was harder to walk than that first. I suspect each consecutive Pattern will be harder still, but I have yet to be able to prove that. Also, I have not noticed any corresponding increase in my abilities. I'm not sure how many would take the risk just to gain a title."
"Given the risks of walking the Pattern in general, I do not find the idea of making it mandatory so we can appoint an envoy to another Court appealing at all. From what I have heard, it seems that Kokytos, for one example, is unlikely to survive walking a second and if that is true forcing him to do so would be a death sentence. And, no offense intended, at the moment Rebma and Amber would be hard pressed to find three to act as envoys to the other Courts. Given that shortage, I don't think it would be an insult to not send an envoy, I think it would be simple practicality. I think we could convince the people to see it that way as well."
"Given the risks of walking the Pattern in general, I do not find the idea of making it mandatory so we can appoint an envoy to another Court appealing at all. From what I have heard, it seems that Kokytos, for one example, is unlikely to survive walking a second and if that is true forcing him to do so would be a death sentence. And, no offense intended, at the moment Rebma and Amber would be hard pressed to find three to act as envoys to the other Courts. Given that shortage, I don't think it would be an insult to not send an envoy, I think it would be simple practicality. I think we could convince the people to see it that way as well."