Letter for Legate Argent

[Hierophant]

To the honorable Legate Argent Argyris,

You must forgive me for my vanishment last night, I perhaps found riches through diligence and as reward, called it an early sack. Today, I awake with urgency upon my mind; the flair of an artist, or at the very least, the idea of an artist.

Ephia's Well lacks for much political commentary and philosophy in terms of literature or treatise and having been studying past leaders of our city, I must say that despite our differing views and affiliations (your League of Gold and my League of White) I do admire your success and methods as do many others, it seems.

My question to you, sir, was whether you welcome such popularity, and perhaps further methods of embellishing it with true and prestigious fact via my writings and chronicles, or if you would prefer a fictional piece that is loosely inspired by your rise to power?

If your answer cannot be told in a letter, please let me know a time and date we can arrange to meet and I shall pen a loose draft with your presence.

Kind regards,
Escribe Barend Hoensbroeck

[big metal rod]

Mr. Hoensbroeck,

You must forgive me for my sluggish pace in answering your letter.  Election matters tend to dominate my thinking when the polls are open and the knives come out.  Ephians, for all their virtues, can also be quite viciously competitive (myself included!).

I am happy to let my reputation precede me in regards to your work.  Send me what drafts you drum up, and I will - if necessary - provide the odd flourish.

-Legate,
Argent
Dragon

[Hierophant]

[Received]

[Hierophant]

To the honorable Legate Argent Argyris,

As keen as I am to commit your doctrine to paper, having heard tell of your nearly martial reputation as a politician of formidable efficiency, and when necessary, a sorcerer whose name others shun either out of respect or, when charm fails, out of dread,

As keen as I am; I would be woefully presumptuous indeed to assert that I possess every intricate detail already. Therefore, here is a preliminary sketch of what your portrait might encompass.

1. Introduction, who is Argent Argyris the Dragon? (In the present; what does he represent to day?)

2. Why is he called the Dragon?

3. The Argyris Clan, its forebears, a brief overview of its history and how you came to be in Ephia's Well

4. The title would go on to talk of Total Victory, of how Iakmes' War defined a different sort of ruler for Ephia's Well; a Legate who can both govern the coffers, the people and the battlefield while also commanding respect upon it by his neighbors

5. The post-war efforts of our Palatial Pyramid have thus far been rather quiet, and all await with baited breath the next Assembly for a reduction in the price of a Voice. The law is instituted, and it cannot be revoked while you are in office, unless you lose your next election in two months. A very important aspect of Ephia's governance and its future rests in your hands. Will the price remain as it is, be lowered or will it be raised further?

My own thoughts on this, sir, if you would allow me this ample counsel that I beg is heeded; we must begin to assert distinctions between Citizen and Voiced. It is this Scribe's belief that much resentment of the Voiced system is a direct result of it being jockeyed as that of a 'Citizen's Tax' or 'Paid Citizenship', and beyond what the Voiced receive as privileges such as owning property, beginning a guild of their own, and the right to vote in our elections and to speak at our Assemblies.

Out of these privileges, I am almost certain that no politician would ever decline to agree that giving more Ephians the right to vote, henceforth creating a larger pool of voters to influence (especially if you were the one responsible for their newfound right), is a good thing for all. It is this reason that many purchase a Voice simply for that right.

Now allow me to paint you a picture of a newcomer arriving in Ephia's Well with dinar in his pocket, sure. He is ready to invest and it is in his power to perhaps fund a great project with such swathes of funds but alas, he discovers simply for a right to participate and belong, no matter whether he brought fortune to the city or naught through his time here, he must afford thousands and thousands of dinar and trust a government he does not know well to divest it towards things that matter?

Legate Marcellus I'm certain has promised a return to the status quo, that the Voice be lowered again to pre-Gold Monochromacy numbers. But as we have explained in this letter, it is impossible for him to do so without exceptional leeway or a miracle in two months. With the state of the League of Purple, even the lack of backbone and unity in my own League of White, I am forced to admit that indeed, in two months, your tenure shall undoubtedly continue.

So you might use this to your advantage and discuss with him a lower caste that may not speak out of turn at Assembly (they must coordinate with the Voiced who stand for the Voiceless), but may vote so long as they bear membership in a political league. This will then create elections of loyalty without need for skullduggery, and the three Leagues will grow in number all and prosper together in refining our merits and ideas for the good of Ephia's Well.

A citizen who is Voiceless, but Ephian through and through. Perhaps he fought at Arslan, or tended the sick and the wounded out of eye sight. These men and women are often left unmentioned and forgotten, but if we are to stir the minds of the people so Ephia turns like a wheel and does not creak like an old wagon on its last wheel. In this way an inheritance's worth of dinar remains the price of a Voice, that shall reduce the number of Voices over time and those who pay such a fee, shall take this privilege seriously and take the responsibility of leaders.

But the right to vote, to be called an Ephian, to be a citizen of his home; this can be another thing entirely, and I believe we would then see the refining of future generations and the prestige of Ephian politics shall expand into greater heights. This privilege could be distributed in a number of ways, from applications with strict guidelines and credentials required, to a recurring tax similar to that of the Voiced where all citizens pay forward a sum of their labor for their right to vote. Or it could be implemented into the Leagues; memberships must be paid for, and this grants one the privilege. It coincides with the other restriction of requiring League membership anyway to vote so it may work well.

6. Humility is a recurring theme in my writings and I should like to conclude the text with acknowledgement of a superior. If only we could all be a little bit more like Argent Argyris? The basis then being who you are, what you've become, what you stand for, and how another might take inspiration from your motives and principles. A phenomena of Ephian patriotism, living and breathing with us to day, exacting of every man a certain envy unfounded.

Let us meet soon. We have much to discuss, and I promise to be more stimulating company than the respectable Apothar Eisenberg whose heart has not recovered from the candy that was stolen from her as a child; a notion I fear is shared among all the Accord, and what I imagine some notion it feels to be Legate at times. The people, sir, are somehow coddled and ignorant in a world that should have by all accounts staved off and made extinct such caricatures and it is our duty as firebranded to wake them up by any means necessary for the good of all.

Yours truly,
Barend Hoensbroeck
Scribe of the Sublime Garden