Valerius,
It is my hope that the citizens of Lower are coming to respect the actions of my knights, and further my desire that should you agree with what my knights are doing that you use your influence to speak well of our Order.
It is a simple truth, no force in Lower or Upper currently exists with the power to guard the citizens from our myriad foes. I have been in contact with mercenary groups, at best should Upper and Lower continue to work together--no mercenary band can be hired to uphold the full burden of the Tigereyes. They worked for far lower pay than most forces due to their past history as the Broken Shields.
Here now is a perfect time to implement a fuedal system. A system based on land-tax with lords established by the current powers of Lower Sanctuary. Some compromises will be made, but I have strong ideas on how to develop this sytem. Once a stable system is arranged in Lower, moves must be taken to re-establish connections with Upper for security not just from foes but before the next Watch or Spellguard attack to "instill order" and "regain control" which I assure you are in the planning stages now.
I suggest that Lower Sanctuary make a set of offers to Upper, by which it will willingly reunite in a confederacy. The terms are:
1) Recognition of the fuedal leaders who have taken control of Lower Sanctuary, coupled with their ownership of the lands and properties granted to them.
(As a concession we will be willing to offer reperations to those Upper citizens who thusly lose property, the exact amounts of these reperations will be negotiated at a later time.)
2) Total amnesty for all crimes committed during the revolt.
(This is a necessity. Otherwise, criminals will be punished in Upper and Lower both for their rolls in these revolts and the heavy death tolls.)
3) Lower Sanctuary will be made responsible for its own internal matters in all regards; only external security through war, treaties, civil defense will be handled by the full Council.
(Some concessions can be given here for tax rates, bans on internal tariffs, etc)
4) The Council must henceforth equally represent Upper and Lower Sanctuary.
(Ultimately, this will have to be conceded to a 5:3 ratio; but the strong stance will impress Lower citizens while concessions here will avoid them elsewhere.)
The Lower Council members will be freely elected and serve as the fuedal heads to the various powers in Lower. Exact details of how this Council will act can be handled latter.
5) Fuedal leaders must contribute to the defense force of Lower Sanctuary. The total defense force must equal 100 men, this is an increase 10% over the amount in the Tigereyes and equates a 1/3 force that can be raised by Upper.
6) A new system of internal laws will be drafted for Lower Sanctuary. This system will replace and supersede any laws drafted by Upper, but with no authority to over turn those laws regarding trade, tariffs, war.
7) Upper Sanctuary shall rebuild the stairwell that they destroyed in fear of the Lower Revolt.
8) The Spellguard and Watch will both be forbidden any jurisdiction in Lower Sanctuary.
(We'll concede here ultimately. The Watch can persue criminals but only after announcing their presence by ringing a warning bell which will be erected near the rebuilt stairs. The Spellguard is a trickier issue, I'll leave you to consider suggestions about them.)
9) A single fuedal lord will oversee the enacting of these changes, and assure they occur quickly, fairly, and as bloodlessly as possible. While I expect the summit will nominate such a leader, it is my sincere hope that my cousin Gregor is chosen. We have nearly 30 armed men ready to move into Lower from the canal gates when we are called.
10) Lower will continue to support the full civic tax burden, but its share of the burden will be re-examined in light of the damage to Lower's economy by the recent revolt.
These are suggestions that I think will benefit us all. I have a prototype map of how Lower will be split between the various powers. You will of course be given a prime choice of land including the Pissing Crone, the Ghail Tailory, and the nearby Curio Shop from which to collect tax money.
Your thoughts are greatly appreciated, as is your support in this matter-as well as gaining further support from the other factions operating in Lower Sanctuary. Once Lower agrees to these terms; it will be an easy matter to force Upper to agree.
Obviously, if this is acceptable to you-it will be a fine idea if you presented it at the summit. A system must be enacted that will deal with our realities.
In Regards,
Sir Dungal Toboerski