Fighting fish

"Yeah - and paint the eel with a piece cut out of its tail. That's important."

Rodhri stared at the proprietor of Sykes End as it was called now. He'd never been to Ottery himself - it was awful long way. Two days walk if you stopped off at Sallow. He'd always heard that folks over there were strange and the proof was here now in his pudding.

"It's a nicked eel you see! Do you see?"

The artist nodded slowly. A quiet voice inside his head told him to just shup up, take the man's money and paint the bloody sign for him. Arguing with customers was never a good idea. "Right... So we're celebrating poachers now are we?" he heard himself saying. His mouth was always getting him into trouble.

"The point is - it's like that Friar Luke says it. We've don't have to prove owt to 'em. It's them as got to prove themselves to us. If they want our Loyalty they can bloody well earn it. Pride in small things, Loyalty to great ones. Do you see?"

"Not... really... " he said shaking his head.

"Look, Bushel Sykes showed 'em what'll happen if we're not trit right. He showed us that we can fight for ourselves if we want. As long as the Empire deserves our Loyalty then we'll pay our taxes and cause no trouble."

Shut up he thought. Stop talking! Take the fool's money and shut up! "And if they don't?" he queried.

"Then we'll do what Shel said we should have done the first time. Take up our bills and show 'em what for!"

He stared at the barkeep's enthusiasm and tried to keep the disbelief out of his voice. The ageing publican was in bad shape - it looked like the only bill he'd ever seen was the one from the brewery. He tried to imagine the fellow in a brig, holding a line against an advancing Imperial army. Your job is to paint signs the voice in his head said over and over and over. Just paint the damn signs.

He stopped, bit his tongue, and drew in a deep breath. "Right. Nicked Eel. No problem. Five crowns and I'll have it ready for you by Tuesday."

Overview

It's been a harsh winter in the Marshes, but foresight and a reasonable harvest have kept everyone warm through the worst of the weather. Now it's Spring, and time for planting. There's a lot going on. Developments in Bregasland and arguments with distant neighbours for a start. Yet the long, cold winter that has kept people close to home has given people time to chew over old business, and the Loyalty Assembly have certainly given them plenty to gossip about.

Indeed, the Loyalty Assembly is a subject of some discussion itself, and not just in the Marches. The judgement they upheld regarding Bushel Sykes has attracted some attention, and there are folk across the Empire who are watching with keen interest to see what they do next.

While the Loyalty assembly didn't recognise Bushel Sykes as an exemplar, they acknowledged his clear Loyalty to Bregasland.

Bushel Sykes

Pride in small things, Loyalty to great ones.

Marcher Proverbs

• The Loyalty Assembly has acknowledged the virtuous Loyalty of Bushel Sykes
• Their judgement goes further and challenges the Empire to earn the Loyalty of its citizens

Thanks in part to Emperor Vesna's inaugural address, the situation in Bregasland is starting to look up. Still, there's no day so fine that a black cloud can't find it, as the old saying goes. And, slightly predictably, the black cloud in question comes in the shape of Bushel-bloody-Skyes. Nobody has actually recognised the old arsehole as an exemplar thank goodness. Not a proper recognition. But the Marcher assembly acknowledged his virtue and that raised questions, and not only among people who had no proper work to do. Some people kept a weather-eye on the Assembly of Loyalty to see what they'd do in response to the judgement Father Edmund raised and the Assembly supported. There were unlikely to be any winners. If the Loyalty assembly ignored the matter or denounced Sykes, they'd leave people questioning their commitment to the idea that it's the Loyalty that matters, not what it's to. If they said he was worthy of being an inspiration, they'd be chucking fresh wood on the fires burning among the Bregas.

Loyalty cannot be presumed or coerced but it can be inspired. We, the Empire, must strive to be the spark that ignites the flame of Loyalty in the hearts of its people. Bushel Sykes was Loyal to the dream of a free Bregasland, his unwavering devotion proven by the miracle of this spontaneous dedication, a true aura of Loyalty. If the Empire upholds the oath it made in its constitution to serve and protect its people, providing the freedom, prosperity, and dignity it promises then it will inspire the strength of loyalty that Bushel Sykes displayed. The virtuous build up their fellows, they do not tear them down. I challenge the Empire to find ways to heal the rifts that are turning people's hearts away from us.

Brother Luke of the Navigators of Virtue, Loyalty Assembly, Winter Solstice 385YE, Vote: Upheld 205-32

In the end it was Brother Luke of the Navigators of Virtue, a Highborn priest, who set the meter for the Loyalty assembly. It didn't receive a greater majority, but it didn't really need one - there were enough people actively looking for the Loyalty assembly to share their thoughts on Bushel Sykes thanks to Brother Edmund's judgement.

Luke's statement seems carefully worded, but passionate for all that. It acknowledged that Bushel Sykes was Loyal, but it also threw the focus back onto the Empire, demanding that it "must strive to be the spark that ignites the flame of Loyalty in the hearts of its people." It has ignited debate, of course, and there are two main schools of thought. One sees it as a clear endorsement of Sykes' argument that Bregasland should look after itself. The other sees its as an acknowledgement that Sykes wasn't wrong to be Loyal to the Bregas, but that it was a failing of the Empire that got them into the situation where anyone was listening to him.

Doomsayers were sure that any endorsement of Sykes by the Loyalty assembly would be a disaster. Sykes saw the Jotun invasion of Bregasland as an opportunity - he tried to turn the Fishers' invasion into a rebellion against the Empire, hoping to see his home free of the Jotun and the Empire. There were fears that accepting that he was Loyal would make the old poacher into some kind of hero. But between Brother Luke's careful words, and the tone of the Empress' address, that doesn't seem to have worked out quite as bad as the worry-warts feared. No armies of angry Bregas are marching under the banner of the nicked eel or anything like that.

He were an arsehole, sure, but he were our arsehole.

Old Harry, Landlord of the ''Syke's End''

That's not to say it hasn't had an impact. The tacit encouragement of the Assembly of Loyalty has started a strange alchemy working on the memory of the man himself, turning him from a bad-tempered, grousing wazzock into a brave hero who spoke truth to power. Stories about him are beginning to shift and change - not due to any magic or miracle but just because of the way people tell tales. People forget he was a glorified thief, and see him as a brave freedom fighter, someone possessing a spark of the spirit that led to their ancestors marching out of Dawn, a staunch supporter of the rights of individual nations over the demands of the Empire, and a lot of other things that would frankly amaze anyone who'd actually met the man.

Folks who know the history of the Way point out that Sykes wasn't that different to someone like Ruth, an actual exemplar of Loyalty. Of course the difference was that Ruth fought the Patricians and won - where Sykes fought the Empire and lost. Or the orc fella... Thrace for that matter. He raised a rebellion against the Empire and again he won.

Bregasland Rebellion
To be clear, while the rebellious quality has spread to Ottermire, that doesn't mean that there is more likely to be a rebellion any time soon. Rather it means that if Bregasland does rise in open rebellion to the Empire - if the Imperial bodies catastrophically lose the trust of the people of the territory or the Marches - the results will be worse. But for now, it's just people romanticising the stories of Bushel Sykes and vainly boasting that if the Empire doesn't earn their Loyalty then they'll be inspired by Sykes' memory to take up arms. If Bregasland did start rebelling it would now be worse than it would have been, but that outcome is no more likely to come about than it was before Brother Luke and the Loyalty assembly acknowledged Bushel Sykes' virtue.

The rebellious sentiment of the unhappy households in the North Fens has spread to Ottermire, mind, just as predicted. Which means that if the Bregas do ever rise up in rebellion it'll be worse than if they Loyal had just denounced Sykes as a traitor... But folks are, if anything, less angry about the matter than they were. As the seasons change, people are already beginning to move on from the fighting. Sykes the Poacher who tried to convince folk to side with the Jotun against the Empire has been replaced by Sykes the Beater - who loved Bregasland more than anything in the world and who was prepared to fight for it against anyone - even the Empire. The mood, encouraged by Brother Luke is that the Empire had better deal fairly with Bregasland because Bushel Sykes showed them what will happen if they don't. There are folks in Ottermire openly boasting that if the Empire does look after Bregasland, they'll take up arms to fight for their home, just like Bushel Sykes did.

... But right now? People are just getting on with it. Old Harry of Ottery has been true to his word and changed the name of his tavern to Sykes' End, and visitors openly toast the memory of the old poacher at the tables where he met his ignominious end. In the unlikely event that the Loyalty assembly makes the bold move of actually recognising Sykes officially, the pub will be at the forefront of places to turn into an inspirational location. But that's about it. For now.

Eyes on Loyalty

• During the Spring Equinox statements of principle with a greater majority raised in the Loyalty assembly will have additional reach
• Interest in the Eyes of Loyalty means any priest in the Loyalty assembly can attempt to raise a supporting mandate

There's some interest in the rest of what Brother Luke had to say of course - and not only in the Marches. The Highborn priest challenges the Empire - presumably the Senate and the Synod - "to find ways to heal the rifts that are turning people's hearts away from us." There's a bit of interest in what the assembly thinks it means to be loyal to one's nation, or to ones homeland, in the way that Sykes, or the way the rebels over in Urizen are Loyal to Spiral or their own nation. It's not lost on people that last Summer the Loyalty assembly set itself to support those rebels. There's a little speculation about what that might mean.

The effects have been threefold. First of all, following the Spring Equinox every congregation where the priest preaches Loyalty will receive an additional liao and two additional votes in the Imperial Synod. People want to hear what the dedicates of Loyalty have to say about the duties of the Loyal, the responsibilities of Empire, the new Throne, the situation in Bregasland and Urizen... all that kind of thing.

This also means there's a few more eyes on the Assembly of Loyalty at the coming summit. Any judgements they make, especially if it contains any practical suggestions about how the Empire might go about renewing its covenant of trust with its people, will receive additional scrutiny. As a consequence, any statement of principle raised by the Loyalty assembly this summit that receives a greater majority will be read by priests of all assemblies, and is much more likely to generate some kind of response than normal for a virtue assembly.

Oh, and of course there'll be plenty of people interested in seeing what they do with the eyes of loyalty. Indeed, one of the immediate results of the decision to acknowledge Bushel Sykes is some discussion of the commitment of the assembly to encouraging the Loyal to follow their own hearts. Previously, it has required a judgement by the Cardinal of Loyalty to employ this ability. Going forward, any member of the assembly can raise a supporting mandate for consideration by their peers. If more than one is raised and supported, then the one that achieves the greatest margin will be the one that influences the Loyal.

Further Reading

• New port, old wine - 386YE Spring Wind of Fortune relating other events in Bregasland
• I already know you - 386YE Spring Wind of Fortune dealing with other developments in the Marches