The Conclave Chambers

The Chancellor of Isra sat in his chair at the far end of the room, in front of the small, tinted windows, waiting for the other Conclave members to arrive for their first meeting. As he settled back into the leathered chair that he had commissioned for himself, he reflected briefly on the progress he had caused in the brief time in Isra. He was pleased to realise that he had turned a functioning body into a working government, a rare feat in this world, and he was especially pleased to realise he had managed it nearly single-handedly. Despite his external reservation, at heart, he was mortal, and he was like all other mortals.

As he waited, and reflected, he sipped occasionally from the glass of water he had had provided, whilst flipping through the papers he had brought with him, his eyes flickering to the door occasionally.

As Elizabeth entered the room and saluted, Ryden's attention departed the papers in front of him, preferring instead to address the young woman before him.

"Good evening, Commodore. Have you and Lord Crovan had a chance to prepare a report in the rendezvous at the Goraian border? I'm sure the Conlave would appreciate hearing it. Congratulations, also, on your promotion. I haven't had a chance to speak properly with you before, but I figured that some form of equality was needed between the leadership of the military."

Taking another sip of his water, Ryden considered the young Commodre, at a tender age of little more than only half of his. Yet when he thought back to his own past, he wondered if he had been the same. Not the same, no, he decided, in the end, but markedly similar. He doubted, though, that she would take the same path through life as he had.

She addressed the Chancellor as she sat down, her tone formal but not cold in spite of her disagreement with previous military policies he had advocated. No sense in worrying about the past any more.

"Thank you Chancellor, and congratulations on yours as well. I blame our lack of formal introduction on the various deployments I was on prior to the Aaedan incident. I am looking forward to working with you."

She took note of Akai'a entering the room but said nothing, clearly the Minister was doing her best not to be noticed. Liz could not help but be noticed, clad as she was in full military regalia, even the armor, and she would likely be one of the few people armed in the room.

As the time of the meeting draws nearer with the ceaseless march of time, Naoki also marches- or perhaps, more accurately, strides into the Conclave chamber. Under one arm, she holds a small, otherwise unbound stack of parchment. As she approaches her seat, her eyes sweep the room and its assembled occupants, making eye contact with and nodding slightly to any who reciprocate.

Without anything in particular to say before the meeting begins, Naoki slides her seat out, slides into it, and scoots back up to the table. Her sheaf of paper is placed with only a modicum of care onto the table before her. Weaving the fingers of one hand into the other, Naoki rests her elbows on the table and her chin on the interwoven fingers, waiting for the meeting to begin.

Not long after Naoki and Alden, Cyronin entered the chamber, his helmet under one arm. Walking around the table, he took his seat, offering greetings to the Lady, the Chancelllor, and anyone else around him, as he waited for the meeting to begin.

Lord Crovan entered the Conclave chambers, he planned on a representative of sorts being here but this being the first meeting he felt he would need to attend himself. His cloak trailed behind him and with each step the flaps of his long leather jerkin made a soft slap against his leg as he walked to his seat. He had no parchments, no reports. He didn't even have a request of the Conclave or Naoki. Their deal was working well and everything was running smoothing. He to a seat rested his arms on the table, his hands clasped together.

Crovan received an annoyed look from Liz as he walked in without the report to give, which she assumed meant that she should probably give the report. She was hoping to be able to stay quiet and catch up on logistics reports during these, but it would seem she had to speak, and not only that, but be the first to address the Conclave with a report. Just another battlefield Liz.

"The 'visit', as it was, was largely uneventful. We confirmed the continuing existence of the Goraians, no undead threat inside their isolated walls, although the undead may have proved friendlier. They offered the usual insults and excuses, which were dutifully ignored. Lord Crovan, as the leader of the primary force, can provide you with the details."

That'll teach him to not have the report for his expedition, she thought to herself as she sat back down, winking at Crovan as she did so. Her trip to Winterhold was coming up, and try as she might to deny it, she was looking forward to it immensely.

“Hm?”

She glances up to meet Ryden’s gaze as her name is mentioned, still apparently thinking ahead to the summit. It takes a half-moment for her to switch tracks, glancing down at the scrolls arranged before her.

“Oh. Yes. I do, I have a matter to bring up.”

She takes another half-moment to coalesce her thoughts, and form her primary train of thought for the small speech she’s about to deliver. Presently, she begins, “I have a man. Mr. Juan C. Ruben. One of Isra’s more senior citizens. He’s not a very charming man, speaking frankly. He’s a bit of an addict, and that’s an understatement. However, he is a brilliant architect, as well as a former Aaedanian.”

She pauses for a moment, primarily out of respect for Aaedan, but continues shortly thereafter, her tempo increasing with each word, “As I was visiting The Sun the other day, he staggers down the steps and approaches me, one lense of his spectacles shattered, hair every which way, and smelling strongly of twenty different chemicals. He says to me, “Ma’am, ma’am, ma’am, look. Loooook.”

Naoki’s substantial talents of impersonation allow her to mimic the man’s tone with an almost surreal degree of accuracy. The voice doesn’t fit her at all, but seems almost effortless as she breaks it off abruptly and continues in her own speaking voice, “And he proceeds to dump into my hands a crate, filled to overflowing with scrolls like these,” she gestures to the scrolls sitting before her. There are five of them, rolled in a little pile, seemingly identical, each bound by a small red ribbon.

“The undead are coming, ma’am. They’re coming. Comin- *hic* Coming to kill us allllllll…” and he reached over and snatched some poor woman’s drink, downing it in a single go before continuing, “The walllllls. They’re not e'nnugh! We need moah walls!”

She even goes so far as to emulate the hiccup in the man’s speech, lurching in her seat and gesticulating as he did to add a level of pantomime to her impersonation.

“And then he passed out on the floor, stone cold.” With that said, Naoki proceeds to slide off one of the ribbons and unroll one of the scrolls, spreading it on the table before her. It depicts a building that seems strikingly similar to The Citadel, but significantly larger, and with heavier fortifications. Despite the apparent madness of their author, the plans themselves are immaculate, each line perfect to the point of seeming unnatural.

“He’s completed seven crates of iterations so far these so far, depicting The Citadel- both expanded upon and rebuilt, the city walls, watchtowers, outposts, forts, and probably other things too. I haven’t looked through them all yet. Midnight is a powerful drug. He’s probably revised his designs another crate’s worth since I spoke with him this afternoon. And though I will be the first to admit that dear Mr. Ruben is stark raving mad, he does raise a point that I have deemed worthy of consideration. There are threats in this world. The recent catastrophe in Aaedan has established that. And while taller walls may not have helped in that instance, they most definitely would in others. Isra’s fortifications- both of military installations and the city in general, are not all they could be. Not all we could make them to be.”

“Some things are easy, such as replacing old guard-towers and seeing that the fortifications we already have are well maintained, and supplemented with the correct enchantments. I’m not referring to those things. Such things ought to be considered standard. I’d like to consider the notion of undertaking a larger project. I’d like to consider the prospect of getting very serious with our static defenses, expanding the civilian, military and industrial-logistical infrastructure, and turning Isra into a fortress-city.”

As she speaks, she unrolls another scroll. Rather than the technical schematic of the previous scroll, this is more of an artistic rendition. It depicts the city of Isra from above and to one side, as if one is flying. The level of detail is incredible- each visible building is entirely accurate and depicted faithfully. A keen eye would be able to easily pick out such landmarks as The Ctiadel, The Midnight Sun, and other such landmarks. How he manages to do the shingles is anyone’s guess. However, the most prominent features are the walls. Great, black things, stretching what would seem to be perhaps… a hundred? Two hundred meters up into the air? It’s hard to say, the sense of scale is skewed. Regardless, massive walls, arranged in a pentagon around the city, broken at regular intervals by towers and topped with all manner of step-layered crenelations. It is truly a sight to behold, and after raising for all to see, she slides it along with the first scroll to the center of the table, to be viewed more closely by any who might choose to, either for practical reasons or ones of artistic appreciation.

“My personal opinion is such that an operation of the scale I intend to describe will take years, and that we ought to start sooner rather than later. The treasury is in a fine state to support such a venture over the course of a few years, and in addition to the primary benefit of having the walls once they’re done, building the walls will also serve to bolster the economy, creating a demand for jobs. Laborers, builders, supervisors, as well as all of the support staff involved in obtaining the materials and bringing them to where they need to be. I am in favor of the project, with the caveat that it be done carefully, properly, and not excessively quickly. I would like to bring this matter to the table, and hear any strong opinions held on it.”

With that said, Lady Naoki slides back into her seat, finished speaking. Her eyes slide from left to right and back again, inviting any who might have a strong opinion to share to do so.