The three pillars

Oralius leaned heavily on his staff as the pair of them climbed the winding path up towards the spire. He didn't really need the staff at the moment, but he liked to play up his age when he was on Order business like this. You never knew when you'd find some fool who'd underestimate you if they thought you were old and infirm. Livia, his loyal sentinel and dearest friend walked patiently alongside him. She was usually happy to follow his lead, but it was clear that something was puzzling here. He raised an eyebrow, after twenty years of working together, it was all the communication he needed.

"I can't work out why you're going to tell them you're a member of the Shuttered Lantern" she admitted.

The magician grinned, happy for a chance to show off. "Well, ordinarily they'd know about the Conclave's declaration of course... But since they've formally left the Empire, they won't know the grandmaster has asked us to report back to them."

"Right - so wouldn't it be better to pretend to be a member of a different order?" she interrupted.

"When dozens of magicians from all over Urizen suddenly show up here, in an obscure part of Spiral, you don't think they will be the least bit suspicious? You think they won't consider the possibility that someone might lie about their order?"

Livia smiled ruefully and shrugged to acknowledge the point.

"If any of them are members of the Order they might be able to check. Better to be honest."

"But surely if they know you're part of the Lantern, that will make it harder to find anything out?"

"Of course it will..." he grinned at his old friend. "That's what will make this assignment so much fun!"

The current Warmage is Urizeni, and there is a chance that all their successors will be, as well.

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Overview

There is open rebellion in Spiral, as many of the inhabitants struggle to accept the striking change of circumstances, following the allocation of the territory to the League. That decision angered many loyal Urizeni who had remained in the territory enduring the rule of the Grendel enduring the malign influence of the Black Plateau, in hope of the day they would be reunited with their nation. The Imperial Senate may have felt Salt Lord Kaliact's offer to betray the Grendel was too good to pass up, but many did not agree and spires in Ankra and Cinion took up arms in protest, openly seceding from the Empire and daring them to do anything about it.

Keen to avoid the rebellion spreading, the Empire has made concerted efforts to meet the rebels demands where they can. Those who were loyal to their spire have been given a way to keep living in Spiral with the aid of the Rainbow Serpent. Now that the bountiful mana from Lorenzo's legacies is flowing into Spiral the territory is becoming richer and more prosperous than it has ever been. Those Urizeni magicians who are content to live in the League territory of Spiral are keeping to themselves for the time being, since the mandate encouraging cooperation was withdrawn, but it is clear that they are largely content with the new settlement.

The inaugural address of the new Throne has come at an opportune moment, just as the Senate were wrestling with a way to satisfy the demands of those Urizeni whose loyalty was to their nation. This group were prepared to leave Spiral, but not before the nation was compensated for their loss. Crucially, they were concerned at the loss of influence and asked for the Master of the Imperial Mint to be made an Urizeni national position, to ensure their people continued to have an important voice in the Senate despite the loss of a Senator.

That was deemed too expensive, but a counter-proposal to make the Warmage an Urizeni position was well received by the rebels. An initial attempt to do just that foundered in scrutiny, but the Constitutional Court have asked the Speaker for the Senate to raise administrative motions that could allow the Senate to achieve their goals if they are satisfied with either of the two solutions.

This approach, in combination with the inaugural address of the new Throne, presents a clear opportunity to address the concerns of a key group of rebels leaving only Caela of the Silver Flame to be dealt with.

Conciliation

• The Imperial Senate passed a motion declaring that the Warmage would be appointed by Urizeni generals
• The Constitutional Court have announced that this motion has failed scrutiny, but offered administrative motions for two alternative that would pass scrutiny if they were acceptable to the Senate
• If the Senate passes either motion then the Empire will regain control of Cinion as more than half the rebels stand down
• Either motion would constitute a constitutional vote requiring a two thirds majority and ratification by the Throne

At the Winter Solstice, the senator for Zenith raised a motion to amend the title of Imperial Warmage such that it would be appointed by the Urizen generals. Regrettably this motion has foundered in scrutiny, but keen not to get in the way of the Senate's attempts to resolve the rebellion peacefully, the Constitutional Court have taken the unusual step of asking the Speaker for the Senate to raise two distinct administrative motions, either of which would allow the Senate to satisfy some of the demands of the rebels if they are acceptable to the Senate.

To amend the title of Warmage, to be a national Urizeni position appointed by simple majority vote of Urizeni magicians present in the Hall of Worlds.

Administrative Senate Motion

If this Senate motion is passed then the title of Warmage will become an Urizeni national position which means that only an Urizeni citizen may hold the title. As the current incumbent, Andronikos of the Lighthouse at Nikephoros, is Urizeni, they would remain in position until the title was elected again one year after this motion is passed. The election would be carried out by simple majority vote of Urizeni magicians present for the election which would be held in the Hall of Worlds, in a manner similar to the election of the Doyen of the Spires and the Emissary to the Celestial Library.

The only alternative that the Constitutional Court have found would be for the Imperial Senate to appoint the title.

To amend the title of Warmage, to be a national position appointed by the Senate.

Senate Motion

If this Senate motion is passed then the title of Warmage will still become an Urizeni national position as above, but it would be a regular Senate appointment. That means that once vacant it could be appointed at any time by a unanimous vote of Urizeni senators, or by Senate motion of appointment (in the same way that a nation's generals are appointed).

As always, it is possible that alternative approaches could be valid, but the Court have considered and ruled out any possibility that the Synod, Bourse or Military Council could be given the power to appoint the Warmage. Any change of this kind is substantial and significant, it fundamentally alters the power of the Conclave as well as the title. As such either motion would require a constitutional vote to pass, meaning it would require a two-thirds majority of the elected senators, ratification by the Throne and could be vetoed by the General Assembly or the Assembly of Nine.

Furthermore, the Constitutional Court advise that it is always impossible to have a position be appointed by Urizeni electors without that title being an Urizeni national position, with all the accompanying implications. That means that if the Senate want to use the Warmage to meet the demands of the Spiral rebels in this way, they will have to alter the title so that only an Urizeni citizen can assume the position.

In any case, if the Imperial Senate pass a legal motion to make the Warmage an Urizeni national position, then Tiborion of the Endless Horizen has confirmed that he and those magicians who follow his lead will give up their rebellion. They will move to Zenith, Morrow or Redoubt and once there petition to rejoin the Empire.

With Actius, Arbiter of the Deathless Cave, already satisfied, that would more than halve the number of remaining rebels. The Empire would regain control of Cinion leaving only Ankra in the hands of those rebels still holding out.

Belligerence

• Caela of the Silver Flame and her fellow rebels would remain in control of Ankra regardless of what else happens

Unfortunately that would still leave Caela of the Silver Flame and her supporters who are demanding that Spiral be returned to Urizen. It's almost impossible to see how such demands might be accommodated at this stage. There is no room for compromise on the core issue that offends them, no visible space for common ground. Given the support the rest of Urizen have expressed, sending in the army to root them out would be disastrous, but short of that, it's impossible to see the situation getting resolved.

That means that Ankra remains in open revolt and is not considered to be under Imperial control at this time. The Empire could choose to live with that, given that there is little of significant economic value in the region. Not controlling the entire territory has strategic implications, but the Military Council could chose to ignore that obvious risk.

Crucially Emperor Vesna's address has created the potential to leave Caela and her followers isolated, ensuring there is little chance of their revolt spreading unless they receive significant outside support. Even if they do, the rebels have made it clear that they have no intention of attacking the Empire - that would be madness. Their plan is to wait for the Grendel to invade Spiral, conquer the territory and then hope to have it reassigned to Urizen if and when the Empire retakes the territory.

It's not exactly a great plan, but arguably they have even less options for resolving this confrontation than the Empire do and it does at least mean they are unlikely to cause the current situation to escalate. The Civil Service can offer no suggestions on what could be done to improve on the situation for now, pending more information on the rebels and what they want. Hopefully the decision of the Grandmaster of the Shuttered Lantern to send their order to investigate the situation will provide new insight - but how much of that insight they choose to share will be up to them.

Having scrutinized the senator's motion we regretfully find it unconstitutional. According to the terms of the Imperial Constitution, the Military Council are charged with ensuring the rigorous defence of the Empire. There is nothing in their duties that either demands or implies any understanding of the nature of magic. Indeed, it is the responsibility of the Warmage to provide the Council with specialist advice on tactical and strategic use of magic. If their understanding of magic is good enough that they are in a position to pick the Warmage, then arguably the title does not need to exist in the first place.

The fact that there is a single Urizeni general is a practical concern, but not a legal one. A similar situation exists for the Imperial Orc general who must be appointed by unanimous decision of the Imperial Orc senator. We are pleased to note that, thus far, Bloodcrow Rasp has managed to discharge their responsibilities in this regard without finding themselves at odds with themselves over who to elect.

What is a constitutional question is the fact that members of the Military Council would be charged with appointing other members of the Military Council. The singular importance of the Warmage makes this a pressing issue - the same factor that makes the position of interest to Tiborion and his fellow mages is what gives this Court pause for thought. This is effectively one of the great titles of state, purely by dint of the fact that it carries a vote in the Military Council. It is fine for the assembled generals to appoint a title like the Quartermaster General of the Imperial Armies because that position doesn't have a vote in Council. An Imperial citizen may only ever hold one Imperial title, but not all titles are of equal constitutional significance, a fact rendered inarguable by the election of the new Throne.

Thus the Court considers the Warmage to be of equal importance as a general, a cardinal or a senator. As such any significant changes to the title require a constitutional vote by the Imperial Senate to pass them. They also warrant careful scrutiny by this Court, to ensure that they meet the strictest adherence to the terms of our shared Constitution.

As such, any attempt to appoint the position through the Imperial Bourse, or by judgement of the Imperial Synod would, in the view of this court, fail scrutiny. There is nothing in the Imperial Constitution to suggest that either body possesses the expertise with magic needed to pick which citizen is best placed to advise the Military Council on matters of magic.

Of course the Constitution makes no such claims on behalf of the Imperial Senate either, but it does give them the responsibility to "ensure the good governance of the Empire". As the senior executive body of the Empire, it falls to the Senate to appoint a position where no other suitable mechanism can be found. Thus they can take on the responsibility to appoint the Warmage, should they accept the burden.

The ideal body to elect the title is the Conclave; who better to determine which magician is best placed to offer specialist advice to the Council? However the Court can see no acceptable mechanism by which the Conclave could ever appoint a national appointment. Given the involvement of hundreds of magicians, Conclave sessions are already lengthy. The mind recoils in horror at the prospect of the Empire's finest magical experts being forced to stand round watching, while a tenth of their number engage in a lengthy election.

However that does leave open the possibility that the title could be directly elected by Urizeni magicians, a well worn path graved by the smooth appointment of the Doyen of the Spires. It is hard to imagine a body more appropriate to appoint an Urizeni magician to advise the Military Council than the collected wisdom of the magicians of that august nation.

Such elections are expensive of course, they consume a significant amount of Merlot's most limited resource as Overseer of Imperial Elections; his time. There are no circumstances where the Court would tolerate such an expensive method of appointment being used for a minor sinecure or the like. But as has already been established, the Warmage is one of the most significant titles in the Empire. As such we are satisfied that Urizen could use their own well-established unique approach to directly elect this key position if it were made an Urizeni national position.

As the Court failed to provide this advice in advance of the Senator submitting their motion, I suggest we ask the Speakers to raise a pair of administrative motions for the Senate to consider if either of these constitutional options is acceptable to them. That seems the fairest given the circumstances, plus it'll wind up any number of Constitutional scholars which is an added bonus (don't publish this bit!).

Magistrate Abraham, Constitutional Court

Homecoming (Conjunction)

• A force of Grendel mercenaries have been found sheltering near the Black Plateau
• This skirmish is a combat highly likely encounter
• The Oblivion Sentinel is responsible for killing the Grendel

Iontach Erin was at one point a promising magician in the employ of Merchant Prince Kaliact; paid to oversee Black Plateau and ensure that nobody went too close to the malign heart of Spiral. Erin went missing during the political coup that saw Kaliact and other Apulians join the League. Nobody knew where she might have gone and the disappearance was chalked up as just another victim of the Black Plateau. Until Shadowsong, an enigmatic herald of the Rainbow Serpent, called on the Oblivion Sentinel to keep to their promise to deal with any threat associated with the Black Plateau. Shadowsong can't (or won't) explain why the Grendel have been sheltering so close to the hateful core of the territory.

Shadowsong has asked that the Oblivion Sentinel, Floria Sunshaper, take responsibility for leading a force of Imperials to deal with this threat associated with the Black Plateau and kill the Grendel who have sheltered in its wake.

Misdirections (Conjunction)

• A force of Grendel mercenaries are moving to attack the Legacy
• This skirmish is a combat highly likely encounter
• The Custodian of the Legacy is responsible for stopping the Grendel

Maistir Orla was head of one of the many mercenary companies hired by Paymaster Muireall for her ill-fated raid on Tsark. Orla and most of her company survived the raid and were part of Muireall's enclave, which the magistrates shut down shortly after the peace treaty ended. The militia sent to break the enclave did not find Maistir Orla during the raid on the encampment and until now everyone had assumed that Orla and the rest of her mercenary company had either fled across the mountains to Mareave or fallen victim to the feral beasts that contribute to the dangers of Spiral.

Now, thanks to a patrol from the Ballaghadruh, they have been found making their way towards the Legacy. Following divination rituals the civil service believe that the mercenary company is planning to raid the Legacy and loot as much of the harvested mithril as they can before disappearing back into the wilds of Spiral. Given that this is a direct threat to the Legacy it is the responsibility of the incumbent, Taskel Di Apulian, to stop the Grendel.

Black Plateau

All characters on both the Homecoming and Misdirections skirmishes will be under the effect of WEAKNESS that cannot be removed whilst on the skirmish and experience heightened emotions unless they:

• Expend a hero point upon entering the area
• Are subject to an anointing
• Overcome the oppression using their cambion lineage
• Are bonded to a magical item or have a ritual enchantment that mitigates effects like these