Bronze Stands Bold

[CosmicWhaleShark 2488]

 

Within the main square Phaedrus steps before the fountain, armored in bronze with a black cloak draped behind his back. He looks to those gathered before giving a slight nod, clearing his throat, beginning to speak afterward.

 

"It has been my duty to command the Elberu'cinhir for over a decade now. I've honored the alliances of Haelun'or, the Silver Enclave, with the blood and sweat of myself and those I have lead into battle alongside our allies. I have lost men because of it, friends, but not all due to the flames of war. The manner in which the mali'aheral have conducted themselves in the past has pushed away veterans of wars fought before, seasoned soldiers that protected the citizens of Haelun'or to the best of their ability. Haelun'or is weaker because of this mistaken pride, and it will continue to grow weaker unless a new path is forged to prosperity. One of humility... Equality. 

 

Silver's edge has grown duller and lazier as the years have progressed. Time advances onward but they do not! They do not even have a represented military currently, Bronze and Onyx are their only form of protection - as well as their only method to answer the alliances that they so often hide behind. Mali'ame and mali'ker have performed their duties admirably, I could not be prouder of you all, but we are now their only true link between the outside world and themselvesl.

 

Yet despite all this, here we stand unequal. Mali'aheral scorn and slander the very soldiers that protect them! Yet in the past we have been ordered to slay outsiders due to their loose tongues. Accountability must be upheld in the future if progress is to be made. We will simply lose more citizens as time goes on if this is to continue. 

 

I have read the tomes the mali'aheral apparently uphold, maehr'sae hiylun'eheya, the pieces written by Lucion Sullas, they are admirable pursuits. However, maehr'sae hiylun'eheya is not being adhered to now in the manners discussed upon the pages they preserve on their shelves. A layer of dust has gathered upon their doctrines and is now merely used to forward political agendas and scare citizens into following their leaders toward a path of self-destruction.

 

It is my hope that the mali'aheral listening do not carry forth with them wounded pride, spite and anger. These are merely the issues that have arisen from years worth of stagnation. As I have said! I have dutifully served this state for a decade. I've performed my duties so efficiently that you suspected me of being mali'aheral myself and called an investigation! I have aided your crippled, protected your citizens and fought on your behalf many, many times before. I will continue to do so, and I will continue to represent you honorably upon the world's stage.

 

As Annilir I am a guide for my men, a leader and an example to follow for mali'ame. It is with this established that I make a request of you, citizens of Haelun'or, members of the Silver Enclave. Allow me to lead you on a new path and teach you how to become strong once again, to unite our three races properly and progress as one. Allow me to represent you politically as efficiently as I have done so militarily. Allow me to become, your Sohaer, the head of Haelun'or's state."  

 

Phaedrus falls silent once again, looking across at those gathered with a stern gaze, jaw locked with a furrowed brow.

[VL 298]

Damasus Visaj stands in shock and awe.

 

"Only a mali'aheral may be Sohaer. Annil'sul is OUR city. We built it, and we housed mali'ame and mali'ker. If you do not like it, then LEAVE. The Sohaer however, will always be a mali'aheral."

 

"But if you are willing to stay under Mali'aheral command in Annil'sul, all who join your defending force will be exempt from shop rent. Including yourself."

[CosmicWhaleShark 2488]

Phaedrus squints towards Damasus before replying promptly afterward.

 

"Did you not listen to a word I said before, mali'aheral? Many have left, and many will continue to do so. They will leave you vulnerable and soon you will be seen as worthless. How many times do you expect the Men of Oren to run to your aid? You are century old beings, not children. If we leave, you will have no protection.

 

Do not worry though, we do not intend to leave, we have worked too hard and bled too much for this city.

 

Think of it as an offer, llir, you have given us a new home. We have grown strong because of it. Let us help you now, now that we have become strong ourselves."

[Matt011011 166]

Milo listens within the crowd, raising his hand once Phaedrus finishes speaking. "Perhaps a grove o' peace would 'elp?"

[Lago 2572]

 

"The Mali'ame have been a part of Haelun'or since the fall of the Conclave. To call them guests is no longer appropriate. I once cautioned that the Tahn'siol Arrangement, the unity of the elven people under one city in which the Mali'aheral were both literally and figuratively above the residents of the Lin'ame and Ker'lomi districts of wood and dark, was not one that would last.

 

Discontent with the domination of their people by us Mali'aheral first flickered in the time of The Fringe, but it was tainted by the support of advocates of embracing impurity and welcoming murderers, mutants, cannibals and their ilk in our city in the name of "tolerance" that it was dismissed as the the usual uneducated drivel of "disruptive elements" that brought down Malinor. In other words, non-residents.

 

However, this movement for positions of high office in Haelun'or has now resurfaced, and this time it is championed not by those who do not even cross the threshold of the city but by none other than Phaedrus, a distinguished member of the Mali'ame population of the Silver City whom the Sohaer himself has remarked upon the Mali'aheral-like qualities of.

While in Phaedrus's speech he dangerously uses the word "equality," a favoured buzzword of the savages outside our gates, he goes on to qualify this. Phaedrus is not proposing equal treatment for any entity that happens to arrive and our gates and which possesses a pulse. He is suggesting that it is not only Mali'aheral that can aspire to be Mali'thill, that mali'ame that renounce the disturbing behaviours of the majority of their kin and embrace the doctrine of maehr'sae hiylun'ehya can aspire to it also. The Sohaer is the leader through teaching: if a Mali'ame achieves a grasp of purity greater than that of the majority of the Mali'aheral populace then surely there is that he can teach, and thus appropriate as Sohaer? Once again, the Sohaer is our leader via teaching. That is the definition, and any who can fit that definition and which can hold the support of the educated and informed people of Annil'sul can hold the position.

 

Our esteemed Sohaer, Kalenz Uradir, would no doubt counter this assertion by the claim that such an approach is preposterous: if it is possible for Mali'ame to be Sohaer then surely an Uruk could take the position of high office? This I counter with the simple fact that empirical evidence suggests that uruks lack the capacity to comprehend maehr'sae hiylun'ehya, let alone to comprehend and practice it to an extent which the populace of Haelun'or stand to learn from them. The same is held to be true of the other races: they will never exceed us in purity of body and mind.

 

Yet Phaedrus is empirical evidence to the contrary, at least in regards to the Mali'ame.

The scientific principles to which many esteemed Mali'aheral adhere establishes that an assertion can only be held to be true while there is evidence to suggest it is and while there is no evidence to suggest otherwise. Phaedrus has proven that the Mali'ame can too have ascended to our higher level of thought and bodily purity. And if he is capable of following maehr'sae hiylun'ehya to the extent that we do, is he not then...

 

...our equal?

 

I have but one question for the Sohaer'adont, the one who desires to be Sohaer. From where do you get your drinking water?"

[CosmicWhaleShark 2488]

Phaedrus listens with an amused squint directed to the speaking mali'aheral, chuckling quietly afterward before gesturing behind himself.

 

"The pond here that many others fish and drink from, or streams and rivers on my travels."

[Lago 2572]

"So you drink of the water supply of Annil'sul? Would you describe yourself as a person to who drinks an appropriate quantity of water?"

[Kardel 1054]

"When onyx and bronze shine brighter than silver, one begins to wonder which has more value" -Random Elf in Crowd

[Lago 2572]

"My, that elf is quite short and bearded, isn't he?"

[CosmicWhaleShark 2488]

Phaedrus nods briefly in agreement, though he does not address the random Elf in the crowd. Rather he responds to the original mali'aheral.

 

"...Yes, I would say so. I normally have a flask or canteen on my person as well, normally filled with water."

[VL 298]

Damasus sighs as he speaks up once more.

 

"The Silver Council recognizes your wish to improve the city, however a mali'ame will never be Sohaer in a High Elven government. Your challenge is therefore invalid. However, if I am to be chosen as Sohaer, I promise you a substantial amount of power to better govern your army force and you will be exempt from rent on shops. This will allow for better representation of both Mali'ker and Mali'ame on the Silver Council. Kalenz Uradir did not see that his Lomian'onn only further separated the three variations of Mali, but I see that if we willingly accept greater representation and follow through with the demands of all citizens, Haelun'or will prosper. Maehr'sae hiylun'ehya."

[CosmicWhaleShark 2488]

Phaedrus blinks as he turns back to Damasus, his previous smirk falling into a stern line once again as he listens. He releases a small sigh, before responding. 

 

"I have been a commander far longer than you have even been in office. You are a master of coin, not diplomacy nor war. Your first act within your current position was to tax my forge which supplies armor and arms to two entire chapters of the military. You sought to put me in debt so you could purchase quartz to pretty up the cihi that we are not even able to adequately protect.

 

You have relieved me of such obligations now, and such actions can thus be forgiven. However they cannot be forgotten when you seek to lead our entire people. Rash and imprudent actions such as that can be arguably what lead us to this state in the first place. 

 

I will stand my ground and maintain my offer as Sohaer."

[VL 298]

Damasus laughs in his gentle voice.

 

"Sohaer is voted in by the Mali'aheral, if you believe that the mali'aheral will pick you over any of their own kind, you are surely dreaming. Previous taxation was necessary. Your position doesn't matter. Everybody is taxed fairly and justly, no exemptions. I offered you an exemption just now to keep the peace and yet you refused it. You are foolish and rash, as befits a martial man. You are a soldier, not politician. Good luck with your silly and rather impossible dreams of leading the Mali'aheral government."

[CosmicWhaleShark 2488]

Phaedrus tilts his head slightly to the side as he watches Damasus speak, simply bowing his head gently with a small chuckle, saying nothing more to the man as he looks to the others gathered afterward.

[_Thorn 21]

*Katona taps his cane on his foot gently, resting against a pillar as he listens to Phaedrus, once he has finished talking he nods in agreement, he then traces his eyes among the different people around him, gauging interest as well as agreement*