BenevolentManacles

Philip Augustus prays soon after his conversation with the young Duke. He was wiser than Philip had anticipated, "He loves his people as I hope we all may love ours," he remarks after his short prayer. "Let us hope he does not misunderstand my harsher rhetoric."

The Duke of Crestfall caresses the feathers of his favored hawk, lamenting that he was disallowed from risking himself. Though perhaps he was being foolish, he was not young enough to soldier as he had so long ago.

"I will spend the whole of my avenging their insult," he emits to nobody in particular.

Philip Augustus commends Liluth, who was put in such an unfortunate situation for being such an apparently considerate person. "She told me all she desired was peace. Her King brought war to his own people, and she has suffered because of it. I pray for her and her family, and that the rest of the ash tree's company will bring her no harm."

Philip Augustus would often be seen in the gardens of the Augustine, caring for his hawks, feeding the pigeons, but always humming this most patriotic tune.

Cardinal Pelagius,

You have flattered me as revered and graceful when I am neither. I am a humble sinner. I know the nature of flatterers.

You and many would assume that to forgive you is graceful, merciful, and holy. I am an old man now, Cardinal, and I have stared into the face of the devil, and clutched the aura of angels. I know what is holiness, and to forgive you does not bring me closer to it.

You have apologized for being drunk for my wife's funeral, that you had caroused too much, that your politics interfere with your sense. You mock priesthood with these excuses. You are a student of opulence. I will pay you no mind for the rest of my days. It is not my duty to teach you the nature of goodness of service or God.

Should there come a day where you find yourself escaped from the obstructions of your faith in the form of politics, fear, drink, or riches, I shall be overjoyed and thankful to the Lord.

HIH The Duke of Crestfall

James,

I abandoned her more often than I was with her. It was the nature of our union, that she loved me so dearly and submitted kindly that my duty as a soldier, as a Prince, was paramount. I am a dire sinner, you see, to have not seen the brightness in her smile. I was cold and decrepit, and when I wavered, she remained the pillar of my faith. And with time, I loved her more deeply than any man ever loved a woman.

She gave me good children, sons and daughters to be proud of. She gave me good hope, that I may, in my coldness, become affectionate for the sake of it, and for nothing in return. She made my life easy where it should not have been. She was, by all accounts, the greatest thing in my life, which gave to me all other great things. 

I have grieved so deeply as this only when you yourself passed on, yet for all you were to me, Judith was everything else. Robert will suffer for the rest of his life for her death and her agonies, for which he finds himself mostly culpable. I can recall the decades of my sons and daughters growing older, asking me where their mother was, what she was doing. They wanted nothing more than to be with her, and to hold her close, and feel the warmth of her most infinite love that I had kept to myself, for her sake. 

For the truth is, father, this girl who I married had been sickly all the time. As time passed, she could barely speak to express herself, yet still she smiled, and drew for me the images of the country in her youth; of the windmills of Kaedrin, and the golden fields. I would sit, and hold her hand, and tell her how I loved what she had made for me. Yet so often, she was alone for months on end as I fought with my comrades or embarked on some self-righteous mission to find more Godliness inside myself.

For so long as I abandoned her, she sat, smiling, and drawing for me. Silent, and filled with love for her children and myself, and all I could do was mistrust that I was good to her. What else could I do, for a woman who promised herself to me with every fiber of herself, then to expect that I am not enough to make her happy.

Now, I will carry with me the hours in the parlor, where paints splattered the pristine imperial rugs. I will forget nothing of her sacrifice, and my selfishness, and remember that despite my sinful self, she truly loved me.

Your son,

Philip

Judith of Crestfall

1764 - 1815

An elf named Nyseia begins shouting at passerby as they gossip, commanding that they misunderstand the ongoings of the imperial family. He retreats to his shrine of John I, recalling how he, too, had marital issues!

In a visitation of the past, in the gardens of the Novellen, an aging Duke seized a young soldier's hat, turning to another. His dear son. His beloved son. His heir.

This old man took the hat and placed it on his own head, raising his fist in salute to the young man, giving to him a display of his pride in his son.

"I would follow you into the depths of hell!" He told his beloved son, the young soldier, who drank and smoked and made merry with him. 

Now, this other Duke would relish in their peace together.

Society of the Nine Stripes

INTRODUCTION

It is a great preoccupation of the common man and aristocrat alike, of the foreigner and resident alike, what is the complexion of our Empire. The saga of mankind is written in Empire, and in eras where no such state reigns, that name and that idea are upon the lips of every man. Yet with each stripe earned in this struggle for the nation of Oren, we find that no effort is precisely like another, and its peoples are altered by the Country’s struggles, her sovereignty, her sovereigns, her wars, her innovations, and her designs.

Our flag bears nine stripes, one for each iteration of Empire. Our society, representing the ninth and final stripe, is both akin to and supremely unlike any Empire before her. Over the course of a century, our path to providence was bloody, even by the standards of the Imperial martial heritage. This violence and subsequent peace are the foundation of the modern Orenian culture. We describe now the society marked by the ninth stripe.

THE LORD & LADY

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Though he is a successor to the feudal lords of old, the aristocrat’s power has waned significantly. The lessons of previous eras brought an end to the feudal social contract, so often imbalanced, which caused many breaches of peace.

The aristocrat who laments the departure of feudal levy is a sore sight in Augustine. In this Empire, it is the nobility whose fashions, duties, pleasures and failures are instead the whole of the Empire’s and not only his own given land’s. He does not pass laws or judgement, but instead becomes an example of excellence and an emblem of the culture. Any behavior not becoming of this duty is considered lamentable.

Though their status confers no ex officio authority, noblemen and women tend to involve themselves deeply in the affairs of government, seeking to strengthen the prestige of their family name.

When insulted, nobles of the modern day move not armies, but spar with wit and oratory. These verbal duels are more satisfying to the mind and culture, and they result in fewer breaches of the peace. Where previously men dominated the warrior culture among the nobility, women of this age are members of this oratory arena.

No longer bearing the symbols of state upon their clothing, the modern aristocracy have abandoned such pretensions as the circlet and the lordly sword. In their stead, noblemen and women adorn themselves with marks of wealth and courtly fashion: the powdered wig, clothes of luxurious and eccentric origin, makeup, and jewelry. On account of the aforementioned behaviors and fashions, commoners and foreigners often criticize the Imperial nobility as haughty, prudish, lazy, or pompous. The individual aristocrat takes pride in his or her social standing, however. Family, bloodline, marriage, and personal relationship to the Emperor and other nobility is often at the center of a nobleman or woman’s ambitions. Thus the respectable nobility is fiercely loyal and deeply concerned with the State, and an unwavering defender of their own family’s legacy and honor.

THE STATESMAN

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The Statesman is a new breed of Imperial, whose class originates from the common folk, once relegated to insignificance by stifling nepotism and a lack of political representation. Yet this Empire of the ninth stripe has learned from her errors, and through a continued and insistent meritocracy, has seen common men without a drop of prestigious blood rise to the highest offices in the land.

As the aristocrat fumbles with his family name, the Statesman is more likely to fumble with his given name. These men are justices, attorneys, elected legislators, members of the Cabinet or its ministries, servants of the municipal governments, or any servant of the Empire’s manifold civil institutions. It is common that the most successful and renowned statesmen earn themselves and their family a rank among the nobility, should they and their progeny prove to be attentive and dutiful across generations.

In truth, it is the bureaucrat who attends the Emperor’s commands and delivers his lawful will and agendas into creation. Their conflicts are political in nature, delivering pointed criticisms over failures and policies with the intention to depose, by contested election or other means, their adversaries within the State. Even so, for the proper Statesman, none of these conflicts amount to the disruption of their duties, lest they embarrass themselves and be considered a poor servant of the people.

And that is the center of their ambition: that their work is respected. Some may imitate the noble class’s more gaudy fashions, balls, galas and revelries, yet this ultimately to approach the necessary parties on familiar terms, and not to become an aristocrat by apery. Some may even reject the aristocrat, tying themselves instead to the cause of the common men whence they themselves most often originate. Such a Statesman is careful not to upset the peace by openly flouting the proper, respectable treatment of the nobility. He simply prefers other means to power, currying the public’s favor through electoral politics.

The Statesman’s relationships within and without the many appendages of government are their lifeblood. Through these, and diligent work worthy of respect, they become great among their peers. Should they lack diligence or respectability, however, they become lowly, envious, scheming, or chronically unemployed.

THE SOLDIER

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The modern army sees its origins less in previous military organizations than in a deep-rooted patriotic revolution promulgated under Peter III. The meritocracy within the Imperial State Army is further evidence of the destruction of the nepotist state, and the common man has a path to high office with fair judgement and due diligence. Where the modern soldier may have been relegated to permanent servitude beneath the cousins of Kings, these soldiers are proud servants of the law, and the State.

There can be no government or law without order, and there can be no order without an army standing. The Imperial State Army and its soldiers are the strong base upon which all the State is constructed. Trained vigorously, and fiercely proud of their government and their country, the warrior culture of the Imperial State Army promises a hunt for excellence. It is founded on the principles of loyalty to the system and the Crown in place of any other single person, even their officers.

The soldier is an obedient, resilient, and benevolent protector of their comrades and those whom they are sworn to protect. In staggering, nearly fantastical proportions, their love for eachother and their work seeps into the soil of the Empire, shaping her culture.

Not all warriors are suited to be soldiers, however. Often one may find recruits who have yet to abandon the pretense of glorious battle fought in their own name, for their own glory, and without respect for the discipline necessary to achieve the monument that is the Army. Such men often resign the army rather than resign themselves to duty, but perhaps just as often, they are transformed through the love of comrades and their country. As opposed to the rank warrior, a soldier’s service is the manifestation of their patriotism. Thus, to be a good soldier is to be a countryman of good repute who earns the respect of his fellows.

The most diligent, resourceful, and innovative soldiers become officers with an unquestionable reputation. These men become part of a greater system, ensuring its proper function for the sake of all. They are pragmatic, logical, fair, and decisive--sometimes to a fault, but never to the detriment of this Empire.

THE COMMONER

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In days past, the Empire’s common classes were one great mass, often stifled by poverty or subjugation. The oversaturation of landed noble families in ancient Empires offered little space for the blossoming of the common folk, with their common struggles and common stories. Now, the democratic values of this ninth stripe have birthed a liberal middle class, one free to choose a life of their own making.

They are men, elves, merchants, artisans, socialites, and perhaps most importantly, taxpayers. The common man is a regular attendant of taverns or other public houses. They labor for a future above their station, or at least a comfortable home for themselves, their friends, and their kin. Freed of the more lofty and dignified expectations of the higher classes, they are most often revellers.

Commoners are gregarious creatures and lovers of novelty, both tolerant and even inviting of the unexpected or otherwise unwelcome, especially should it be the cause of revelry. They are free thinkers, whose faith, interests, and personalities are shaped less by greater ideals, and more by their loved companions, their place of birth, and their vocation.

As such, they are hardly ever bound to cults of personality and never bound to a feudal lord. With most, they must be convinced to support an official’s election, or to pay homage to a noble’s ancient lineage. With the exception of loyalty to their country, the common folk do not deliver their respect lightly or without good reason. In the great clockwork of this Empire, the commoner is the mainspring; though there are more beautiful parts, and more finely crafted parts, there is none more essential.

With some commoners, however, their ambition will get the better of them and they will seek gainful employment by their betters. A commoner whose loyalty rests solely with a statesman or a political party is most likely committed to joining the bureaucracy themselves, seeking to become a Statesman. One who commits his service to a noble Lord most likely does so for pay, or otherwise, seeking status. The latter case is particularly unfortunate, for in this commonwealth the Lords cannot bring to fruition such ambitions as they could in times long past--unless, of course, the Lord himself is an official of the government, as many are.

THE PEOPLE
 

Out of decades of war, internal strife, exhausted discipline, and despotic nepotism, a providential ideal has grown. It is, as all things, imperfect, but it is built upon an intention to create rather than to conquer or destroy. This was a cultural revolution, at which the core was the State and her institutions becoming not a part of the Crown, but its servants. After nine fine stripes upon the back, our people have learned a fine lesson: the foundation of Good Government. Merit and resolute service are rewarded with opportunity, and law reigns where the Emperor does not.

With this innovation comes the abandonment of backwards principles of bygone eras. The feudal vassal was dismissed, for he served only himself and not the State. The privy council, once a release valve for appeasement and nepostic endeavor, has been dismantled. Paths are cleared by these radical reforms to create the State, and through it a vibrant people, whose relationships create a generational loyalty in their progeny, and pave the path to providence.

Published by the Ministry of Civil Affairs

With credit to Philip and Josephine of Crestfall

Philip Augustus prays in approval.

The Duke of Crestfall cannot help but be pleased that a common man would seek so fervently to defend the honor of a noblewoman. He pens a swift letter in response,

Holy Sir,

Your offer is to be never accepted, for folk of lower standing may not, by all tradition, challenge men of higher birth, and certainly not my Imperial son to a duel. I will, however, receive you, as a Holy Sir, and pray with you, should we seek to find the Grace of God together, and reconcile in place of this strange politic of my family you involve yourself in. That you should accept is a great defense of your honor, and I pray we may see the sense in it together. Too often we dearly pious men are clouded by the simplest politic, myself included. So it is, we are all sinners,

HIH The Duke of Crestfall.

An imagined Church of James II

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I address this letter to the Imperial subjects of the south, within Redenford, and namely the Lord Stahl-Elendil, proprietor of the municipality;

I have been given the responsibility to serve as your humble Magistrate, and as such, I shall perform my duties without reservation against politic and remorse. That this land, that has changed hands so often it may as well have never been given, is in the state it is, is an example of the failure of the men given it. You, too, have suffered difficulty in it's development, from a lack of parties interested, or otherwise, I cannot say.

All these things, I can forgive. That I write you now is evidence of this. As your Magistrate, and your Prince, I shall be fair and stable, and make yourself my partner in our endeavor to create, should you also make me yours. Yet there must be stipulation to this, that without I can have no faith that we may resolve the poisons of past attempts and become truly together and truly in dedication.

You do all things in service to the state, Lord Stahl-Elendil, and I am eternally grateful to this, as was my dear Imperial mother. I, too, served the state in the Army for nearly twenty-five years before I departed to work only in the service of God. And so I ask you this, relieve the burden of soul from this place so without Him. Let nothing stand in Redenford before a monument to God, and share with me in His glory. 

Tear this old Redenford down, and there should be no nail hammered in a new Redenford until a Church is built and consecrated in whole, and that that Church be named for my deceased and most holy father, James II.

Peace be with you,

HIH The Duke of Crestfall

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A pious Prince in the Augustine praises the decisiveness of the King of Haense, and even the pagans of Norland, to a collection of soldiers assigned to his guard,

"There, then. This is where the King of Haense stands, with God. And so the Nordling King has plucked a poison from his nation. There is only virtue in this, I should hope to see this Rurikid in virtuous skies. The Lord above is no doubt pleased, where when pagans have murdered a man of His flock, they have been purged from their own nation."

Philip Augustus lingers outside his afflicted son's chamber, when a message of the priest's death meets his ears. The Prince curses under his breath, dismissing the messenger before lamenting to a nearby soldier, assigned to guard the door of his son.

"There but for the Grace of God, so go we all."

Dear James,

A grandson, the midwife told me, with a polite address, offering the child out to me as if I were to hold it. 

I could think of nothing to say but to tell the midwife to return him to his mother. A cold command, my innate affection for the boy clouded by the tumult of my most recent years. My first grandchild, my first grandson, and I could not give him my all, not in the moment, Lord forgive me.

I am an aging Prince now, James, but I have no pity for myself.

You would be overjoyed to see me live, vicarious, through my children. Josephine is the image of your wisdom, though without your piety. I warn her daily that her wisdom is too old for her, and that it will suffer her. I was, when young, without the same, and it served me well. If I knew what I know now, I would have been tormented in my quest for faith, where instead I was blinded and blissful.

The General would not take me as an officer since my return, and he condemns me as a deserter. This is the greatest shame of my life, that he considers me so lowly, when I love him and his army so dearly. Should not my decades of service be revered? Shall I be hated by the officers of the army, one I bled for so harshly, and fought with so fervently? I curse him for the insult. I am a servant of God, and His soldier, His servant, and the bearer of His banner. If I see no honor for it from mortal men, it is merely proof of the Lord’s test, that I am destined to walk the rainbow bridge in the end times, to see the virtuous dead.

This is rambling, though. I have learned the lessons of sin. I must seek to live as a Saint, and know I will never become one. How can I be more virtuous, if this is not my path? This tumult may be invented by the Lord as insurmountable, and so it is, when I once thought he would only give me that which I could conquer.

I know deeply that I am a sinner, still. The boy, the General’s grandson, spit in my very face. My daughter’s hand in marriage offered to him, and he cast it aside. I have prayed so dearly for forgiveness for what I write to you now.

My son, Robert Francis, stood with me in the garden, the brigadiers in guard around me, as the future Duke of Sunholdt rebuked my daughter’s hand. It could only be that he knew nothing of the insult he gave me, and in my rage, I resolved myself to finish the matter by my own hand. I feared shame for bringing this to my Imperial father, who with a stroke of his hand would see it resolved. 

I told him that he would eat mud and that he and his progeny would beg forgiveness for generations. I have been unable to extinguish the violence of my soldiery, and I passed it to my dearest son. I told him I would kill him, and my son threw the gauntlet at him, thirsty for blood, to defend his sister’s honor.

What would my new grandson think of me, James? Will he hear this tale and lament the sad weakness of his Imperial grandfather, who lost the grace of the Lord and brought insult onto his fellow?

I think not. I think he will agree with me. I know this was a sin, James, but his offense was too great. I have determined that some failures to be saintly are natural, or necessary. 

My Imperial father imposed the marriage between my daughter and the d'Arkent all the same, deeply offending the Helvets who had believed their marriage to the d’Arkent son was secured. The new Duke Cathalon, a young boy named Thomas, descended on the Emperor with references to tyranny for his action against the d’Arkent’s insult.

I could have killed him as he sat there, spitting at the Emperor without obedience. Whence my brother and I reign, James, I will be sure such behavior is eradicated severely. The Emperor is not the autocrat he once was, but the authority of good and Godly government comes from him. It must be respected, God willing.

My daughter, even, despised my father’s action. She lamented against the Emperor and myself. These Princes and Princesses, these Dukes and Duchesses, they desire all things of their status besides the duty. Judith and I wed without question, as were my brothers and sisters, though some of them struggled a bit. But all this offense against the command of the Emperor. It boils me, James, even after, as she has submitted to be happy in her union, and learned the lesson she must.

Robert Francis has all of my violence and all of my faith. He called the Cathalon girl a w.hore  for betraying Josephine’s betrothal, only then to be set to marry her by my father in recompense for the marriage the Helvets lost to d'Arkent. God knows irony.

I hope dearly that you do not feel defeated, that you cannot send me paper in return. There will be a message received, James, I will read it in what the Lord shows me. 

I told you before you died. I am but a form of wax, by you imprinted. I will remember the lessons, and pray forever that the Lord forgives my weaknesses, and supports me against my own sin, and the sins of others. That I forgive with quality of soul, and chastise the unrepentant. I do not regret my violence of word or action, James. This Empire requires a rough hand, well toiled, as much as it needs a gentle hand filled with the Lord’s love.

Forever your son,

Philip Augustus

On a dirt road, far from those belonging to his home in the Empire, a man of middling age an unorthodox posture is seated astride a warhorse that had once trotted alongside the Empress' own, a decade ago. As the horse trotted lightly along, the brisk air sent the main to pull his leather cloak tighter around himself. Snow was unfamiliar to him. The humid heat in his Helenan youth had not prepared him to be subject to such deviations as the frozen air of the peaks to the south. There was nothing here for him, nothing he could find here that would absolve him of the many aches in his chest for his old country, and people.

He spoke to the horse, his comrade in this pilgrimage to nowhere, to find answers that he may never find.

"So goes another master of her trade, so different from Peter, and so singular in her resolve. But most vitally, so loved."

The aimless pilgrim and his horse would find a cavern from which he could gleam a potential shelter, and he would dismount, guiding his horse into what would be revealed as more of a shallow outcrop than any substantial shelter from the brutal cold. He breathed into his gloved hands, rubbing them together as the stallion neighed in protest to the darkness. Within the hour, the pilgrim had a fire of middling size to warm the pair of them, and to light the project he would embark upon.

There, in this small stone outcrop in some hidden piece of the world that no man may ever see again, he would build with cold stones, both small and large, a monument. With his dagger against the icy stone, he would carve out, in bold letters, 'Anne', and a prayer for her peace.

He would kneel, reciting endlessly this prayer. Hours would pass, and his knees would grow raw from the rough stone beneath him. The dry frozen air would take his voice from him, till all he could do was whisper to God his love for his mother.

Rp Name: Edward Selm
MC Name:  TangoIsPointless
Voted: Yes 

Edward Selm and Civil Protection

Our Cause

There has existed, for generations, an explicit lack of protection for citizens from the abuses of government. In an Empire where the rule of law is key, we have guaranteed liberty, life, and trial to our citizens, and yet we have been painfully relaxed on enforcing those inalienable rights.

There is only one way to remedy this. Where we have long operated simply expecting our rights are protected, we must reach into the maw of the political and government elite, and seize it rightfully as citizens of this great Empire.

We can do away with party boss cronyism, and create a system of civil defense from the infringement upon our rights. We need only elect the solution.

My Promise

I have made it my life’s work to defend those who lack the power to defend themselves, in order to do all I can to extend the rights of our citizens to live and have a fair trial. I am the singular foremost private practicing lawyer in the Empire, and I wish to sacrifice my business in favor of civil service.

Right now, only the Ministry of Justice may sue other parts of the government under law. If your neighbor breaks into your house, you must trust the Ministry of Justice to file subpoena on your behalf, and defend your rights. Many times those who infringe upon your rights are not held accountable, either because the Ministry is in bed with them, or because it lacks diligence.

I will pass laws to ensure everyday citizens may use our legal system to defend themselves against the abuses of government, and against others who would infringe upon their rights, regardless of who.

Where now we only have a criminal code, we will have an extensive civil code, protecting citizens from damages, destruction and theft of property, defamation.

We have rights, and now we must elect officials who will ensure they are upheld.

Edward Selm

Candidate for House of Commons

SURNAME: Selm

FIRST NAME: Edward

ADDRESS OF RESIDENCE: 2 Adria St

YEAR OF BIRTH: 1760

Are you registered and eligible to vote in Providence District? Yes

Do you have any other title, peerage or military service that may conflict with becoming a Member of the House of Commons, as per the Edict of Reform (1763)? No

If yes, do you understand that you will be required to resign or abdicate from this position should you be elected to the House of Commons, and if this does not occur your seat shall be considered to be vacant?: Yes

((MC NAME)): TangoIsPointless

BRIEF ON BEHALF OF THE CITIZENS OF PROVIDENCE

IN CONSIDERATION OF PRECEDENT

It is made clear in the ruling on The Judicial Review of Election Cancellation and Ballot Nullification that this Court understands that to discard legal ballots in a national election after they have already been certified is a violation of O.R.C. 301.041. 

“The Secretary of Civil Affairs is not permitted to nullify ballots wherein their legitimacy has been confirmed prior to the nullification, as such shall be in violation of the principles of law wherein the right to suffrage and right to vote, combined with the clarification provided through the Pompourelian Reforms, explicitly prevents the Secretary of Civil Affairs to take the mentioned action within the electoral process of the Holy Orenian Empire. “ [Ruling on the Request for Judicial Review: Election Cancellation and Ballot Nullification]

One may consider that the requesting party would propose a ruling that is in violation of this precedent, when in fact, it is not. This precedent lays out plainly that it is based on 301.041, which is explicitly reserved for national elections, and therefore the cancellation of ballots is not, by virtue of the aforementioned precedence, illegal, and because no similar law applies to local elections, it would be irresponsible of the court to uphold this precedent.

The only mention of the rights to suffrage in the Imperial Charter for the City of Providence is the following;

“That the city legislature be considered a parliamentary body with the power to legislate concerning inner matters concerning itself, as well as concerning the frequency, manner, place, and the suffrage of local elections so long as these rules do not conflict with Our charter.”

As the Assembly has not met even for the first time, no legislation could conceivably exist to further clarify the rights of suffrage in Providence. It is clear that by the verbiage of this line that the Crown intends for the City Assembly to define that right to suffrage, and not the Courts, who would be legislating from the bench should they elect to do so.

Should the above not be the opinion of the court, We believe, by virtue of O.R.C. 301.041, if applicable to city elections in the opinion of this court, that when votes are validated that should not have been validated, it not only violates 301.041 to nullify those ballots per this precedent, but it also violates 301.041 to certify an election where ballots that should not have been counted were instead counted. If a vote of a single person, who rightfully owns a residence, can be put up against someone who may explicitly not legally vote in an election, then the person who rightfully owns a resident is de facto disenfranchised by that election, rendering it an unfair, and un-free election, requiring a new election.

ON DEFINING RESIDENCE AND RESIDENTS

All laws passed by assemblies and municipal legislatures in the City of Helena are defunct, as Helena no longer exists. We may only examine statutes which apply to the Empire and to Providence.

There are two statutes in the Oren Revised Code by which we can construe the definition of residence.

207.01 - On Vagrancy

207.011 - Where an individual intentionally lives the life of a vagrant, participating in improper begging, and illegally staying in residences and towns, this shall be the crime of vagrancy, a misdemeanor.

604.01 - On Voting Rights and Registration

604.011 - All citizens of the Holy Orenian Empire over the age of 18 who are registered to an address have the right to vote in national elections in the province of their residence.

And one line from the Imperial Charter for the City of Providence by which we can do the same.

That this city government be composed thirdly of a clerk, who shall be appointed by the city assembly, and who shall…

...

II. Administrate the collection of local taxes or rents, and sale of residences and other properties.

From O.R.C. 207.01 we can see one who does not have a residence but resides in one illegally may be guilty of vagrancy, from which can easily construe residency to be defined as a place of living, per the typical definition of vagrancy and it’s intention under this law.

From O.R.C. 604.01 we can see that residing in a residence, or a place of living, within a province of the Empire entitles one to vote in national elections. From here we can define a residency as a static property that may not exist wherever a person chooses their residency exists. If this were not true, a person could claim residency in different places at will in order to vote where they pleased, which could not have been the legislative intention of this statute.

From the lines from the Imperial Charter, we can see that both residences and other properties exist in the City of Providence. Therefore, we can define residencies further as properties within which there are reasonable facilities to properly house an individual or individuals, and not as other places, that do not meet these standards.

It is also clear that, in addition to these definitions, we must define reasonable accommodations for living to include space to sleep, eat, and rest.

In conclusion on the definition of residencies, this Court should recognize that a residency must be defined as or something near to;

A single building, room, or apartment that may reasonably serve as a place to sleep, eat and rest.

Now we come to the issue of the relationship between the ‘resident’ and a ‘residence.’

It should be the opinion of this court that if one does not reside statically in a residence within a city, then they could not conceivably be construed as being a resident of that city. If instead it were the case that a person could own any property in a city, and not reside in it, then foreigners who owned property in a city would be, de facto, residents of that city. This would be an immeasurably dangerous precedent to set, and if the court were compelled to set it despite the danger it poses, first it should consider that some definitions must stand on the basis of common sense, and then consider that opposition to it would have no statutory basis.

THE CASE’S MERIT

On the day of the Mayoral election, multiple witnesses reported people declaring addresses which were not residential addresses.

The addresses used by several registered voters in the recent election were not residences. The Imperial Charter for the City of Providence explicitly states that,

“That this city government be composed firstly of a lord mayor, who shall be elected from among the residents of this city, and who shall… “

Those who voted in this most recent election using addresses not reasonably defined as residences were not residents. Therefore, their votes were illegally added to the vote. The only reasonable action this court should take is to order the cancellation of ballots which were not legal.
 

IN DIRECT RESPONSE TO THE AMICUS BRIEF ON BEHALF OF THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

I. DEFINITIONS OF TYPES OF PROPERTY MUST EXIST

It is the intention of the Attorney-General to make the argument that because the Oren Revised Code, or no other law, does not define specifically what a residence is, that anything may be a residence.

However, there are immeasurable amounts of things in law that the Oren Revised Code does not explicitly define.  The O.R.C does not define prison or jail, for example. Shall I now argue in court that when my client is sentenced to prison, because it is not defined, his prison shall be wherever he pleases? It would be poor practice for the Courts to set the standard that if something is not explicitly defined in the O.R.C., then it has no definition. 

Furthermore, the Attorney-General proposes that because residencies are not defined in the Oren Revised Code, then they must be defined as what he claims. He says that any property may constitute a dwelling or residence, meaning a residence may be defined as any property. This is a contradictory argument that has no basis in law.

We must instead investigate our basic language and common sense, and if we must reference law, then reference the aforementioned laws on vagrancy. If a man illegally sleeps on a park bench, is that bench now a residency?

 II. THERE NEED NOT BE A LAW DEFINING RESIDENCY FOR A DEFINITION TO EXIST

I have defined residency explicitly above. The Attorney-General claims that laying out the definition of legal verbiage is not within the power of the court, but that is precisely it’s job. A law is drafted, and when questions arise about it’s precise applicability or legitimacy, it is the court’s duty to decide what the law does, or says, and whether it is constitutional. There is precedence for the Courts even directly rearranging government, let alone defining a word, where they have found the law must be clearly defined and followed upon that definition, by order of the Court. In the opinion of the Court, drafted by Chief Justice John d'Arkent, in the ruling on the Judicial Review Concerning City Rights, the Court freely defines the conflict between different policies and legislation to mean something other than what they would otherwise say separately. And what, the Courts cannot define a single word?

III. SUFFRAGE IS NOT GUARANTEED IN MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS

There are only statutes defining suffrage rights in national elections, but none in municipal ones. It is excruciatingly evident that George Galbraith may have, or may have not had the right to determine an individual’s citizenship based on property ownership, but that is irrelevant. The Imperial Charter for the City of Providence makes guarantees of suffrage only to residents and not citizens. It may even have been his right to determine what is, and what is not a residency, but he did not (he likely should have,) and now, here we are.

Signed,

Edward Selm

PETITION FOR EVIDENCE VIA ORDER OF THE COURT

It is our opinion that the registry of voters valid and invalid, in it's purest form, should be made available to those filing amicus briefs, for evidentiary purposes. We cannot rightfully discuss the precise nature of the use, or misuse, of residential or other addresses at a level coherent with Imperial jurisprudence without the foundation of all the discussion, and the evidence around it, made available to us. We ask that the Court issues an order to the Secretary of Civil Affairs and/or to the Magistrate of Providence to provide this documentation before proceeding with amicus briefs.

Signed,

Edward Selm

RESCINDMENT OF SUBPOENA

The prosecution has decided not to move forward with the case, and will halt all prosecutorial endeavors.

Selm & Associates,

On behalf of Ophelia Wick

This  document shall be considered a binding contract through which a person subscribes to the services offered, in exchange for payment.

Edward Selm, owner and proprietor of Selm & Associates, shall, upon the signing of this document by all signatories, be committed to providing the following services to Sir Henry Marshall;

• Basic legal advice.
• The writing and filing of one patent upon request during each calendar year, beginning 1797. Not requiring a patent for a calendar year does not accumulate the right to multiple patents later.
• The defense of those patents in a court of law, without any charge.
• Operating as personal legal counsel in a single criminal or civil case unrelated to patents, as prosecution or defense, over the course of four calendar years, beginning 1797. Not requiring a prosecutorial or defensive counsel for multiple calendar years does not accumulate the right to multiple instances of such counsel later.
• The drafting of up to one contract per calendar year, beginning 1797, on behalf of the client.  Not requiring a contract draft for a calendar year does not accumulate the right to multiple contract drafts later.
• Not to litigate or assist in the litigation of the signatory.
• To not take on clients who could reasonably be construed as having the potential to take up litigation upon the client.
• Provide a discount of 50% on legal expenses not covered by the included services.

Sir Henry Marshall, upon the signing of this document by all signatories, commits to;

• Paying twenty minas per calendar year, by the end of each calendar year, to Selm & Associates.
• Not utilizing these services to litigate against another client of Selm & Associates.

This contract shall remain in effect for eight calendar years, beginning 1797 , and be subject to change upon any potential renewal. This contract shall be amended e at any time both signatories agree to a specific amendment, and confirm that amendment with both of their signatures.

This customer shall have first priority should they enter litigation with another retainer contract holder of Selm & Associates.

Signed,

Edward Selm

Sir Henry Marshall

REQUEST FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW ON RESIDENCE STATUS

MEMBERS OF THE ELECTORATE
As Represented by Selm & Associates

DESIRES TO SEE THE LEGAL CONTEXT OF THE FOLLOWING REVIEWED

The legality of the vote in the most recent Mayoral election with regard to those who voted without a residential address.

ON THE BASIS OF THE FOLLOWING PRINCIPLE(S), DOCTRINE(S), EDICT(S) OR ARTICLES OF LAW:

It is explicitly in the Imperial Charter for the City of Providence that,

"That this city government be composed firstly of a lord mayor, who shall be elected from among the residents of this city, and who shall… “

It is evidenced by several signed affidavits that many voted in the most recent election by using addresses attached to stalls or mercantile properties.

It is also explicitly in the Imperial Charter for the City of Providence that the City Clerk may;

"II. Administrate the collection of local taxes or rents, and sale of residences and other properties."

From this excerpt we can reasonably construe that both residences and other properties exist in the city, and that one who owns something other than a residence, such as an open stall is not, by definition, a resident. If this were the case, then a foreigner who owned a stall could be considered a resident, which this court should not concede due to the disastrous precedent it would set.

It should be the case that the votes registered to non-residential addresses are disqualified, and a recount performed, and that the tally of votes be provided to the Supreme Court for the evidentiary purposes of this case.

YOURS HUMBLY,
Edward Selm

MOTION TO DISMISS

Selm & Associates

On behalf of the CIPRIAN DE LAS BALTAS CAMPAIGN

We have been shocked. The new Attorney General has his head screwed on in a proper way, which is nothing but strange coming from the modern iteration of the Ministry of Justice. We motion to dismiss our request in favor of litigation with stronger foundation.

Edward Selm