Chapter 8
One Man, One Vote
28th of Fifthmoon, 6 Charles 9
Benvenue, Catuna County, Principality of Rovena, United Principalities of Laruna
The council chamber of League Hall had a large ring-shaped table in the center that was divided into three sections. The first section was for the representatives of the founding member states and their successors. The second was for the more junior members and the third was for the non-voting observers. The observers were mostly a collection of assorted Ebonians who had successfully lobbied for a seat in the Grand League if not a vote. Besides them there were little Vlatoska, which found itself isolated after pulling out of the League of Six, and Nurchin and Soochian, who lost their voting status after being dubbed 'insufficiently independent'. In Nurchin's case, it would have been little more than a second vote for Gandoh, while in Soochian's case, the various colonial powers would all be competing to get the vote in their pocket, so it was decided that it would be more efficient to simply remove Soochian's vote from the equation rather than escalate tensions.
All of this maneuvering over votes was unnecessary for practical purposes as the League's resolutions were rarely enforced. They did, however, serve as a useful pretext for taking action against one's enemies, which was why it was important to keep the votes deadlocked as much as possible.
Palatinia and her allies formed a rather solid block. Byrandia could usually count on Slanoa to stick with them against their mutual rival Palatinia and the Gandohese might join in out of appreciation for Byrandia's policy of not meddling in their affairs. Of course, having the Gandohese on your side pretty well guaranteed you would have the Tungese against you, though they did not have much love for any of the other powers either. As for the Malvinas, if the South was for something, the North would be against it and vice versa. Marsouk and Barsouk might be persuaded—that is, bribed—to vote a certain way, but much like the Tungese, they had a grudge against all the other powers and could not be relied on as allies. Then there was Kasshu, the most mercenary of them all. Over the past forty years, they had become quite adept at leveraging their position to play the other powers off each other and profit while doing so.
The arrival of the New Earth Empire made global politics appear petty and insignificant, but they nevertheless needed to be navigated if King Charles' goals were to be achieved. It seemed like a fool's errand, but he had to try.
The seven senior member states would swap out in the role of President of the Assembly every five years. The current President of the Assembly was the representative from South Malvina, Anastasio de Paulo-Olande, a tall, rail-thin man with deep-set eyes, an overlarge nose and a dainty pencil moustache. Unlike what you would expect from the sort of person who is chosen to represent his nation on the world stage, he had a feeble, reedy voice and had to rely on a microphone even when speaking among the several dozen members of the assembly.
"The chair recognizes the delegate from Xanadu."
Of all the fractious statelets in Ebonia, only a few could be regarded as genuinely independent nations and Xanadu was one of them. Xanadu was the driving force behind the coalition that sat at the table now and was seen by many as the face and voice of Ebonia itself. The man who presented that face and voice was Isoro Thani. Although he was dressed in the traditional fashion of Xanadu, he was educated in South Malvina, a graduate of the prestigious University of Nuestra Señora de los Siete Dolores. He spoke in accented Malvinan, his voice deep and powerful, a sharp contrast with President de Paulo.
"I would like to thank the chair for the opportunity to speak. As my distinguished colleagues here are denied a vote in the assembly, it is the only way our voice can be heard."
It was Thani's trademark to open his speeches with a word of criticism regarding the non-voting status of the observer states. Surely he knew that the great powers would not stand to have their vote diluted, nor would they court those nations in an alliance of equals. Kasshu was meant to be the exception, not the rule.
Thani continued, "We remained silent while you made your speeches, while you debated and disputed, because it was amusing to us. It amused us because it had an all too familiar ring to it. For two hundred years, while our lands were being raped, we had our own speeches, our own debates and disputes. Some saw the futility of resistance and called for submission in the hope of favorable treatment. Others vowed to fight for their liberty in spite of the odds. There was talk of alliances, deals, bargains, and battle plans... And we all know how well that turned out, do we not?
"Now it is your turn. The day comes for all empires to fall and it would seem that your day has come at last. Whether you decide to bow to these new foreigners or fight them, it makes no difference to us. We will not aid you in either case. We shall be as the rock. You may try to buffet us as the waves but as the waves you will break! On! This! Rock!"
The observers applauded as Thani took his seat. The voting members were not so appreciative. It was an empty act of defiance, but there was not much more they could do. De Paulo looked like he regretted giving Thani a platform, but what was done was done.
Byrandia's representative Lord Peer looked up to the gallery where King Charles was sitting. The King gave him a hand signal and he then told President de Paulo, "I move for a vote."
Misko Ludovec, Slanoa's representative, then said, "I second the motion."
"Very well," President de Paulo said with a sigh. "All in favor of the proposal set forth by the delegation from Byrandia to use the document dubbed the Saintcharles Accords as the framework for an agreement between the nations of Miravel and the New Earth Empire, say aye."
As the proposal came from Byrandia, it was to be expected that Lord Peer was the first to say, "Aye."
Next was Ludovec, just as promptly as he had seconded the motion to bring the matter to a vote.
"Aye."
Count Hiromasa of Gandoh looked around at the other members before adjusting his glasses and saying, "Aye."
The real surprise came when Don Paolo di Rossiano of Palatinia was the next person to say, "Aye."
The representatives from Laruna, Antigua, Meridia, and Verness—Palatinia's League allies—immediately echoed Don Paolo's response.
Carmelo Flores of North Malvina, seeing his neighbors to the north vote aye, did the same, and not to be left out, so did President de Paulo for South Malvina, despite the usual pattern for the South to vote the opposite of the North. That made for ten out of fourteen, which was more than enough for the resolution to pass, but then the representatives from Tunggwo and Marsouk added their voices as well.
After waiting a moment to see if the remaining two representatives would join in, President de Paulo then said, "All opposed, say nay."
"Nay," Shaykh Latif of Barsouk said.
Only Nawabzada Irfan of Kasshu remained silent, no doubt intending to use his abstention for leverage later in the typical Kasshian fashion.
"The ayes have it," President de Paulo said. "The resolution passes."
Don Paolo promptly said, "I motion to adjourn for the day so that we may contact our home countries to inform them of the results of the vote and to seek further instructions before we proceed further."
"I second the motion," the Larunan representative said like the well-trained dog he was.
President de Paulo looked around and asked, "Any objections?"
Lord Peer once again looked to King Charles, who signalled for him not to interfere.
When no one else raised an objection, President de Paulo then said, "As there are no objections, today's meeting of the Assembly is hereby adjourned. We will reconvene tomorrow morning at nine."
The representatives rose from their seats and placed their hands over their hearts, the internationally recognized salute used to open and close the meetings of the Assembly. In appearance at least, the representatives displayed a collegial spirit that transcended their nations' political rivalries.
As the representatives, clerks and other minor functionaries withdrew from the chamber, King Charles remained in the gallery, contemplating the turn of events. If for no other reason than the fact that Byrandia was the one presenting the proposal, Palatinia should have opposed it with all her allies singing the same tune. With the League of Six voting in favor, the balance quickly tipped to the nearly unanimous vote. The question was why.
One possibility was that the move was genuine. The Palatinians realized the overwhelming power of the Empire and did not want to risk being outmaneuvered by Byrandia. Better to keep your enemies close where you can see them. You might be sacrificing some freedom of movement, but you were also denying your enemy the same.
Another possibility was that this was a ruse. Byrandia was sticking her neck out for this and they wanted her to keep her neck out there while they reached for the axe. Now, it was one thing for them to mean treachery for Byrandia, but did they honestly think they could take a stab at the Empire? It would be madness if they did, but madness could not be ruled out.
The King had to be prepared in either case. And it was not just the Palatinians either. Each and every nation that voted for the resolution was suspect. If any one of them meant treachery and acted on it, it could spell disaster for them all. King Charles needed to anticipate whatever moves they might make and have a counter ready for them. There would be no guarantees, but he needed to be surer of his allies in this venture. Maybe he could win a few over while he was at it.
"Sorry, Root," he said to himself, "but I'm about to make you earn your pay."