Messages

Vizier,

I need to speak with you soon, it is a pressing matter that will determine the success of your term in office.

Stop by my office as soon as you can.

Legate Ricario Cassella

Leon,

Please stop by my office when you have the chance, this is not a simple matter for me.

I would like to discuss it further.

Legate Ricario Cassella

Deputy Chief Scribe Al-Samar,

Following last nights assembly the merchants license renewal has been put on hold until we can resolve this issue.

On another matter I would like to know the exact details of our water tithe to Ba'zeel and who oversees the delivery of such. It is my intention to negotiate such that we may retain more of our supplies so we may utilise them in growth and trade.

Regards,

Legate Ricario Cassella

Deputy Chief Al-Samar,

Following our discussion could you please investigate including dates upon licenses issued. If we can use the date of issue it will make things so much simpler regarding renewals and I'm sure that you can do without the headaches of such.

If there is anything that you need or that would make this transition easier please don't hesitate to ask.

Legate Ricario Cassella

[The letter is received although no immediate reply is forthcoming]

Sister Amélie,

I thank you for bringing this to my attention and I will review it thoroughly and can only offer you my condolences for the tragedy you have lived through.

Rest assured that my commitment to the new district is of the highest priority and together we shall see it through.

Kind Regards,

Candidate Ricario Cassella, Proprietor of the Peoples Market.

*a brief note is left at the Banda Rossa barracks for Vico*

Please remind your men of their contractual obligations. I look forward to our future dealings.

Ricario

*A bellow echoes out to the ears of Ephia's*

"'Hoy Ephia's, it's ye White Candidate Ricario speaking. As we enter the final hours of the campaign period I wanted to share some final words. Firstly I would like to thank all those whom has pledge their support and share my vision for a prosperous future, ye support means a great deal and together we shall make sure this truly is the year of growth and prosperity.

In the interests of openess and honestly I will announce those whom I would nominate to support me in government should ye name me ye Legate by weeks end.

As my Prelate I would nominate Akna Ymir; she has proven to be a tenacious and thoughtful challenger in the primaries and has since  exceeded my expectations as she has supported our campaign, offering sage advice with a measured and fresh approach. She has challenged me at every turn something I respect and welcome among those who would advise me.

For my first Magistrate I would nominate Jordan Clearcreek. I think none would disagree that Jordan is an intellectual and dedicated soul, I can think of no one better to serve the people in the position of Magistrate.

Finally- my second Magistrate nomination remains open. I have approach both my rivals in the interest of forming a government of co-operation, but due to their short sightedness, they would nay even consider any form of co-operation, so I say to you those of the Purple and Gold League:

Do not let the failure of ye candidates be the failure of ye league. I extend the opportunity to any suitable candidate that believes they are qualified to such a position to approach me before the voting begins. If ye can put aside our difference in views there is a place for you, for we all want ultimately the best for our home.

When it comes to casting ye vote good people, know that a vote for White is a vote for growth, prosperity and a brighter future for all peoples. Vote white, vote Ricario and vote for the people! Live 'n drink my friends."

I extend my appreciation to Jordan for moderating and allowing this debate to go forward despite our scheduling issues.

As many already know the new district is something I have taken a personal interest in supporting and believe that its construction is of paramount importance, to our refugees as a means of shelter but also to help support our growing population.  It shall be grand undertaking and will require co-operation and effort from the entire well, but one that will also demonstrate what we are capable of achieving.

I have discussed this with many advisors and although I believe we are more then capable of generating the wealth required in a timely fashion to realise the construction of the new district, we may have to look abroad to secure initial funding to see initial constructions underway less we lose another six months, once committed we shall see it through.

Our primary focus in location should be that of security, the new district will house some of our most vulnerable people and they will need protecting not just by walls but those who are committed to defending our well. It is that reason I believe the Rose Gate is the most appropriate location for such, already guarded by the Cinquefoil Rose.

Construction must focus firstly upon defences and reinforcement, less our enemies take advantage, and then we can look to internal structure. These areas shall not be protected by the Shade so we must seek means as well to shield the district from the storms, by either working with the Tower to enhance the capabilities of such, or looking elsewhere such as Tllonysia to obtain Mills capable of holding back the storms.

The sand gate was considered for location, however right now I consider such a security threat to the well, poorly manned and easy to infiltrate with no immediate access to defenders. The incursion of THE SNORF was an example of this. Eventually the Sand Gate will provide an excellent place to expand to, but right now we over-stretch ourselves by trying to accommodate it, this should be reviewed as part of our defence enhancements.

All of this of course costs a great deal of dinar and my plans to enhance and bolster our coffers, something with which I am very experience at, shall take precedence as our top concerns can all be remedied by achieving a healthy and steady supply of dinar into our coffers. I will not detract from the question too much, but a few things I have highlighted to achieve such ends are raising taxes on our wealthiest, our merchants, securing trade deals with our neighbours and reclaiming the surplus waters we need of our supply to grow and trade.

I promise that if you elect me as your Legate the construction of such will be underway within my first term and if you honour me by choosing me to continue beyond that I will see the project through to fruition with the zeal and passion I show in all my works.

In response I shall say my initial answer was quite clear on how I would seek to achieve the three goals and what areas I would focus on. There is of course the matter of funding which my rival didn't elaborate on themselves.

I do not mean to shift the course of discussion, but readers will clearly see I have no intention of abolishing citizenship over night and I have proposed many such ways to increase our coffers. I would only reduce the price of citizenship over time until it is no longer required and we have far more funding coming in then we have now.

Ariel is indeed a merchant, but the facts are quite clear, an inferior merchant who is not even in the same league as me. I personally have turned over nearly 130,000 dinars in just over two months, many of which have been re-invested back into the well and its people, over 20,000 of which have been invested into the new district.

I actually see the potential we have in the well  to generate vast amounts of wealth that we may apply to efforts such as this, my rival just lacks the vision to achieve such. She speaks of change but in the same breath she talks of keeping things as they are, which has not bolstered our coffers to the level that is needed to achieve these goals.
 
I say to the people consider the experience of those of us before you and when it comes to such put your faith in those who can deliver on their promises. I have the vision and ability to lead us to prosperity.

War is a concern that should always be on the mind of any competent leader. Defence has been a great concern of mine and will be a top priority should I be elected your legate. There are three key areas that I believe we should be focused on in this regard.
 
The first; making Ephia's well a difficult target for invasion or infiltration. Currently there are various weaknesses in our defences, namely the Sand Gate and invasion from below as the recent Melek invasions have highlighted. We need to strengthen our walls, sure up our our weaknesses and ensure that we are ready for these invading forces.

The more difficult we make it for our walls to be breached the more difficult a target we make ourselves and the safer our people will be. I have personally already been working with my engineer to produce siege weapon that can be deployed in rapidly in defence of our city, that I would seek to produce in greater quantity to make sure our defenders are ready. We must also spend time and resources investigating methods by which we may detect underground incursions through the sand tunnels or gutters.

Secondly; Prevention has always been one of Ephia's strengths, seeking out the enemy to halt their efforts before they can reach our walls. The Legion and Banda both provide execellent scouting services reporting back information from the field serving as our eyes and ears. We should also take advantage of other such valuable groups who offer these services such as the Torch Bearers and the Sage Brush Corps.

I believe we need to take this a step further however and have scout specifically tracking the movements of identified threats and learning how we might best strike at them. For example Diakos is currently warring with the clans in the Ramparts, do we know why? What does he want there? Where our his food and water supply lines coming from? All of this is valuable information we can pursue to thwart our enemies efforts before they become a threat at our gates. We must fund and support further efforts to this end.

Thirdly; Leadership of our defences. In my experience there is usually one leader when we march out to battle, often under the banner of the Banda Rossa or Legion whom have great experience in such matters, which is fine in principle however many often splinter off into their own factions, and lack the discipline of a true army.

We can not expect citizens who put their life at risk to possess the discipline of a soldier, however what we can do is provide a central figure with whom all men and women from all factions can look to for leadership. This person must  possess the necessary skills to command and be respected by the people, as such this position should be agreed upon by the assembly and by accorded members.

I do not claim myself to be a battle commander and that is why I will surround myself with advisors that are experienced in such matters. The peoples safety is paramount and we must continue to constantly review our defences to ensure long term prosperity and to forge our home into a fortress that is not to be trifled with.

*Ricario Cassella Rebuttal is published*

The voice of the people should not be used to trade as a resource. It is how the system works right now but it doesn't have to be. We have become to reliant on this and it is a poor basis for progress.

Having 4500 dinars does not make you a good person or someone who will contribute productively to society.

Earning citizenship is a good idea, but that is earned by being a civilised member of society, by obeying laws and contributing as you are able to. Citizenship should be a basic right for those living under Ephia's protection, but it is also the responsibility of our citizens up uphold our laws and ideals.
 
Just by restricting property purchases/rentals behind the veil of citizenship we have empty properties all across the well, generating no income but still requiring maintenance. This is another great oversight. This is a great drain on our resources. I for one would much rather see our properties in use for both living and businesses that would not only be more efficient but also attract outside business into the well.

If the people elect me as their  Legate I will use my skills within trade to ensure that we are no longer reliant on the cost of citizenship and we will generate far more then we do now, which is a fraction of our potential.

*The White Candidate Ricario Cassella leaves his response for Jordan to publish*

My view is that citizenship should not cost anything, it should be a right granted to all who would call Ephia's their home. That is not to say that it isn't a privilege.

A citizen should obey and uphold the law. Those who commit capital or treasonous crimes should have their citizenship revoked and not receive the protection of the laws, which are in place for all of our protection and to maintain order within our lives.

To deny one citizenship based upon their station, wealth or contributions to society is to degrade their worth, and the truth is no one man is more important then another. We are all mortal, we all bleed and we will all die.

Those who wish to contribute to our political process should be allowed to, to deny someone such behind a price tag, is to silence voices that might have something constructive and enriching to add. A poor physician might have the answers to cure what ails you, but if we do not listen shall we simply suffer in ignorance?

We should encourage contributions to our society, it is how we grow and learn.

In an ideal scenario we would transition towards removing the cost of citizenship, over a trial period of time. Reducing the price over a period of time until we can remove it entirely. Our coffers currently rely on the income from such, but introducing other means, such as trade deals, sale of water, taxing the wealthiest for fair contributions, such as my proposed merchant license renewal. This would create another form of stable income, that is far more sustainable and allow us to work towards this goal.

- Ricario Cassella

Domhnall,

Appreciate you are busy. I don't really need any input on the election, got everything in hand so far as securing the votes. Might be a few obstacles but nothing I can't handle.

There is something you can do for me, if you can do it during the campaign all the better. Remove Hamdan from his position effective immediately, it's time we purge all traces of Marcellus troupe from government and it will bode well in securing a dual white mandate.

I'll gladly settle any repercussions from it.

Regards,

Ricario

Soldier Hosan Abtahi,

I appreciate your attention in this matter.

I have passed on everything I know to your colleagues, he openly preaches anarchy in the streets. Do let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Kind Regards,

Prelate Ricario Cassella, Proprietor of the Peoples Market