3. Martouscha's Voice of the People thread

Martouscha's Voice of the People thread


  • The woman looks at you for a while in thought.

    "Perhaps there's hope yet, after all. A word of warning for you, Se.. Martouscha. Things are not always as they would seem. Be careful with your contacts."

    After that, she simply disappears from sight. No spells are cast. The commoners speak hushedly to one another, making gestures to ward off evil spirits.

  • Legion

    @ade01235a7=Wywernywin:

    Now that such a position is being created, you'd wish to abandon it and bring back the Senate? Pardon me, Senator Martouscha - but I must doubt whether your intentions are as pure as they would appear."

    Oh you totally misunderstand me my dear. I'm not "abandoning" anything. I'm multiplying it.

    King George is a good man. No tyrant at all. If I believed him a tyrant then I'd not be running for this position. I'd be organizing a revolt. It is the duty of all noble souls to resist a tyrant.

    I only long for what King Tidus established. It is a dream that was first marred by corruption in the senate and finally slain by the plot that installed this current monarchy. A plot loaded with lies. First the senate was dismantled. Senators going "missing" or seen wandering around in rags. Then the general illegally declares martial law. And all the sudden a "census" is held … the enforcers of Siamorphe's will stating that they "would not be selecting anyone to rule over" us. A bit of a fib. They said they'd leave after the census, another pretty big fib.

    But Monarchy is what we now live with. I have sincere love for King George. He is a fine man. Hopefully his heir will be of similar quality? Who can say?

    But you think my motivations may not be pure? Woman what are you talking about? If you're on a campaign against "impure motivations" you're knocking on the wrong door! If my motivations were so suspect why would I want to share a prestigious position like the "voice of the people" with a host of others in order to ensure that the will of the people is actually heard? What you're implying makes no sense.

    Lady, my devotion has always been toward the city who raised me. My motives toward Peltarch's people are as pure as the driven snow. In fact, I pronounce a curse upon the loins of anyone who says otherwise. May their lies and hypocrisy bring their own bloodline to an end.

    And why do you keep calling me "Senator"? If I'm a senator then there is still a senate. And if that were the case we'd have a serious problem!


  • The people that were cheering before cheer ever louder after Martouscha's speech. The wealthier minority mostly walk away. The sorceress waits for the cheering to die down before speaking out again.

    "You make it seem like our king is a tyrant that has taken the rights of our people. I must ask, however - how many have you asked for an audience from him, and how many times has he turned it down? In fact, I ask this from all of you."

    Some of the commoners mutter and nod to each other.

    "Unlike the Senate elected by the backing of the guilds, our King is establishing a position with the sole purpose of reaching out to the people, to actively search for concerns of the citizens of our city and bring them to the council meetings.

    Now that such a position is being created, you'd wish to abandon it and bring back the Senate? Pardon me, Senator Martouscha - but I must doubt whether your intentions are as pure as they would appear."

  • Legion

    @ac24a786e2=Wywernywin:

    "Pardon me, Senator Leaffall - but anyone who bothers to learn magical theories could have told you the spell is non-harmful. Tell me this; why do the people need multiple voices in the King's Council? Do we all not share the same major interests? There are three things the city needs - every one of us here. Food, homes and education. The rest is luxury. Should you be chosen, how do you plan to advice the king so that all people may have these? It is easy to mock the current government for their errs - it's another matter entirely to actually solve issues of importance."

    Thank you dear.

    Let me answer your questions one at a time.

    I am someone who has bothered to learn "magical theories". You say the spell was "non-harmful". I beg to differ. The casting of that spell was used as a part of a plot to rob Peltarch of it's most precious possession - her political freedom. That spell exploited our lust for personal power, was used to split our community in two, and eventually brought us down to bow our knees. "Non-harmful"? We were once all heirs of Tidus' crown. Now we are subjects. In our context it has destroyed the democracy that made our city shine like a jewel when compared to the dull stones of other dictatorships. Thanks to the casting of that spell we lost the very principle this city was built on … Freedom.

    King Tidus built this city on freedom. He forged a state that enjoyed political autonomy. We lost that. In his wisdom His Majesty King George has opened this position - the "Voice of the People" - to create the feeling that we still have some kind of power over our own political destiny. So to answer your second question, "why do the people need multiple voices in the King's Council?", the title of the position is "the Voice of the People", not "the Voice of a person".

    You said "Food, homes and education. The rest is luxury." You could not be more profoundly mistaken. Freedom is not a luxury! It is the very foundation upon which we stand. We need to be free to harvest our food, build our homes and to pursue knowledge. Without political freedom we have to wait for those things to be given to us down from on high.

    So what am I going to do to make sure "everyone has these things"? That's not the question. The question is, what are you going to do? And what do you need to be able to do it? Give the answer to that question to the "Voice of the People" to carry to the ears of the king, and if he is wise maybe he will create opportunities for people to pursue their own destinies.

    Marty lifts her focus from the purple haired sorceress to address the rest of the crowd

    Lets understand the role of this position people! Making you feel that the king hears your voice creates the illusion that you still have a say, that you are still free. I'd like to dispel that illusion and create proper public representation in this city.

    Our destiny is forged by our own deeds, never by the the head of some royal bloodline!

    As the oldest saying in Narfell goes: "DEEDS, not BLOOD!"

    ((edited to fix typos))


  • The reactions are mixed. The poor and ill-educated are quick to erupt to cheers, especially after the usage of Lavindo-style speech. The better educated people take a ponderous look, while those versed in magical arts scoff at the mention of the spell and the voting, one of them speaking out loud:

    "Pardon me, Senator Leaffall - but anyone who bothers to learn magical theories could have told you the spell is non-harmful. Tell me this; why do the people need multiple voices in the King's Council? Do we all not share the same major interests? There are three things the city needs - every one of us here. Food, homes and education. The rest is luxury. Should you be chosen, how do you plan to advice the king so that all people may have these? It is easy to mock the current government for their errs - it's another matter entirely to actually solve issues of importance."

    The young, purplehaired sorceress tilts her head and waits for Marty's response.

  • Legion

    Dressed in a brownish overdress that she sometimes wheres when gardening, Marty takes up a position on the rant stand. After clearing her throat she begins

    Hello! Everyone!?

    SONS and DAUGHTERS of PELTARCH!
    If I could have your ears for just a moment?

    Thanks!

    Before I begin I would like to state that I am not magically enchanted in an attempt to sway your opinions. "Eagles Splendor" has not been cast upon me, and you are not under a charm spell. I possess no magical gear that would help me sway your opinion. Your minds are free.

    As you all would know by now His Majesty King George (long live he) has issued a decree that we are to elect one of our own to be a "Voice of the People".

    Now almost all of you know me, mainly because I've knocked on your door with a some survey or gathered your signature on some petition. If you know me then you know that I have always fought hard to bring the voice of people to the powers that rule over this city.

    For the one or two people here who don't know me, my name is Martoushca Leaffall. I grew up in an orphanage here in Peltarch, and her streets are very much my home. I am a gardener here in the city, a farmer, and a soldier. I stood against N'Jast when they marched against us. I stand against the undead raising cult bellow us, the orcs to the west, the gnolls and giants to the south.

    In truth I had no interest in this "Voice of the people" position when it was first proposed. I have no need nor desire of a title. Gosh if there were something that I knew the people of Peltarch wanted the king to know I'd write it down, wrap it around a rock and throw it through his window! But with the official title I would be able to say, in an official capacity, the following to the king each and every morning …

    Marty unrolls a scroll and puts on a pair of frail looking, wire rimmed spectacles

    I wrote it down

    after clearing her throat again she reads the following
    @172e4701de=Marty:

    Your Majesty, may the crown upon your brow bless you with wisdom.

    On behalf of the people I beseech you to do as your father Tidus did. That you adopt his spirit and do his works - these being that you reform a senate to properly represent the will of all people in Peltarch, use your wisdom to establish a system by which it is protected against corruption and self interest, grant it the power to govern and then return the crown upon your brow to the brow of the people of Peltarch.

    Or if you will not lay down thy crown, let it remain. But let the people govern themselves as did your father Tidus. In his wisdom he allowed us to forge our own destinies, and such wisdom will reside in you if you restore the same.

    Marty rolls up the parchment and removes her spectacles as she continues

    So why would I say this to the king every single day? Let us go back for a moment. Followers of a foreign religion had us line up - those of us interested in being a monarch - to have unknown magical enchantments cast upon us. And then only those were permitted to vote on whether or not we had a king rule over us. Only those who had already displayed a disposition toward monarchy were given a voice! Only those happy to have an unknown "blessing" spell cast upon them were given a voice! If you disagreed with the idea of a monarch ruling over us - you were not allowed to vote! If you were uncomfortable with a foreign cleric casting an unknown spell over your mind - you were not allowed to vote!

    Marty shakes her head slowly as she pauses for a moment

    And that is what we have now. A system that will only hear the voice of those it wishes to hear from. A system built on rigged "elections" that now believes that a single person could possibly represent the vast diversity of opinions in this city!

    If you put me in the "palace" as this "Voice of the People" then that's what you'll get - somebody in the king's ear every single day "advising" him that Peltarch should be governed not with the trickle of public opinion that comes to the kings ear through a single "Voice of the People" but by the torrent of a senate that truly represents every soul in this city!

    If His Majesty shall not forge a senate, then I would. The "Voice of the People" would not come to the king only through my own opinions of what may be your will but through a multitude of elected councilors.

    Marty finishes with a Lavindo style war cry

    **LONG LIVE THE KING!

    LONG LIVE THE JEWEL!**

    and a SWIFT END TO HER ENEMIES!