Petition to the Majordomo [DM]

[Tulwyn]

In regards to His Sublimity's Esteemed Majordomo, the honorable Siursum avak Res,

Live and Drink. I am writing this letter to you as a formal inquiry towards the future of Ephia's Well, and as the Sultan's representative in our fair government, I believe your stance on this matter imperative, for I was told by the Legate I was serving at the time (Alexandria Sayburgh, may the Martyrs preserve her soul) that it was the want of Mother Baz'eel to disallow such course of action in policy and reform.

Therefore, I will bring to light this reform in question, albeit an aged one;

Disclosed and attached is an old document.

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THE FIRST REFORM - VOICES AND CITIZENSHIP
Penned by Edmund Lothere
Iyar 1, IY 7789



For too long has this city felt the weight of a 15,000 dinar Voice. With the ascension of Alexandria Sayburgh to the seat, the People have once again been given the hope they crave, and the avenues of growth from which the olive branch of peace is extended, and the Nascent Lily given rise again.

This Reform is regarding three matters;

• The Price of a Voice
• The Definition of a Voice
• The Declaration of Ephian Citizenship, abolishment of the term 'Voiceless' in law

On the first, the price of a Voice shall be lowered to 5,000 dinar from 15,000 dinar.

On the second, the definition of a Voice is more formally a Speaker in Assembly, with the right to vote and own property in Ephia's Well. A Voice is no longer attached to any definition of citizenship.

On the third, terms and criterias shall be written for the definition and declaration of true citizenship in Ephia's Well, defined not by purchase but through providence and merit, and fundamental rights.

It may be called the Citizen's Act, followed by a brief set of rights owed to all citizens of Ephia's Well.
On the terms and criterias of citizenship, it has been discussed in a number of proposals from;

• Length of residency in Ephia's Well (1-2 months)
• Purchase of a license
• Membership of an Accord constituent or city faction (i.e the Scribes, the Glaziers, the Sandstone College)
• An application (the most straining of options on our bureaucracy)

Therefore, with these proposals, I suggest a meeting of the League of White be held soon to formalize these proposals and present them to Legate Achaeus Komemnos so that we may see if he shall budge, or if we will have to wait for victory in the next election and begin to strategize our approach.

[close]

When this proposal was sent to Legate Sayburgh, she informed me it would never come to pass or be allowed. Whether this was due to Legate Achaeus' stance or not is unknown to me but while serving as interim Legate after her passing in the Iakmean War, I found no such report. In fact, the copy that was placed into her hands had been vanished entirely. There was no trail or sign of it.

In earnest, Master Siursum, I wish to know if such things would ever be entertained by His Sublimity. It is my belief that the Sultan wishes Ephia's Well to be content, but in my experience, such a thing does not stem from stasis, and sooner or later the people shall cry out for change. Not violence, not blood, nor treachery, but change.

We are all loyal to the Sultan, and we are thankful for what he has given us. We, who without Ephia's Well, would be homeless vagrants lost adrift in a world we perhaps no longer belong in, and yet fight each and every day in His Sublimity's name to earn our place in the Great Disc.

The details are not precisely how I would pen them, but in soothe, my hope is for every Ephian to have the right to call themselves an Ephian citizen, with rights set in Baz'eeli law (so that in the future, these rights cannot be trampled on at the whim of a Monochrome Pyramid, as seen during the days of Legates Balstan Gloamingdaith & Argent Argyris), and for our Voiced Assembly to be empowered with our democracy. As it stands, we are votes and little else. Play things for politicians, to be dismissed when it pleases them, while nearly every decision of import to the city is done at the behest of our two sitting Legates and not our Assembly at all. We may only make suggestion, plaint and discourse but it changes little if the Legates wish it so.

This is not the way it should be, and I dare say this Experiment would fair much better if the Legates could not hold absolute authority over the Assembly, and the Assembly could, if necessary (and at the behest of the League Officials & past serving Legates) hold some part in the foreign and domestic policy of our city. Voting in the Legates is not enough, for it is far too simple for Legates to promise the world during an election and do the complete opposite while in power. We need accountability, order and function. A General Assembly that sees us forward, not a vanity gathering.

I leave this thought in your hands, Majordomo, and thank you for your time.

His Sublimity's humble servant,

Palatial Advocate Edmund Lothere